The 286th chapter of Black Clover had really stirred up discussions among fans! After one of the rulers of the underworld was revealed to have time magic, many fans, including myself, couldn’t help but think of Julius Novachrono.
Not only is Julius extremely strong, but his magic type is very rare. Surely it couldn’t be a coincidence that one of the strongest devils of the underworld also has time magic?
After chapter 331’s giant series-altering twist, everything points to the fact that our beloved Wizard King is a traitorous devil host! Well, not exactly…
Julius’s body is host to the Time Devil, Astaroth. But Lucius Zogratis, the eldest Zogratis sibling is the actual Devil Host. He hid himself within Julius, and emerges at the end of chapter 331, presumably killing Damnatio, who had confronted him. Julius himself is not evil.
1. Who Are The Rulers Of The Underworld?
Nacht’s flashback in Chapter 286 revealed that his family dabbled in devil summonings and forbidden magic.
His father was very impressed with him and handed him a relic belonging to Lucifugus– the devil that supports the three rulers of the underworld.
The three rulers of the underworld are revealed to have gravity, space, and time magic – Lucifero (hosted by Dante Zogratis), Beelzebub (hosted by Zenon Zogratis), and Astaroth (hosted by Lucius Zogratis).
Megicula was a part of the Dark Triad, hosted by VanicaZogratis, but never held an actual position in the Tree of Qliphoth. He took over Astaroth’s position after his disappearance.
2. Is Julius Evil?
In Chapter 145, during his fight against Patolli, Julius reminisced about his dislike for society’s social structure and classes. Julius believed the prejudices and discrimination held back the possibilities of magic and human potential.
As a Magic Knight he wanted to change the classist society he lived and this drove him to become the Wizard King.
Secretive as he may be, Julius is intensely devoted to the kingdom, and he isn’t really a traitor. But as Damnatioreveals, the only person who has ever used Astaroth’s Time Magic is Julius.
I. How Could He Be Hiding His Devil Powers?
Julius was never hiding any devil powers. He was completely unaware of being Astaroth’s host.
As Dante explained in Chapter 256, devil hosts share power with their devils. Since they are in a different world, this puts a damper on the power devil hosts can use.
A devil host can use the entire extent of their devil powers if a gate is open, bringing me to my next point.
In Chapter 280, when Morris opened a gate, the Dark Triad could use 100% of their powers. At the time, Julius and Damnatio were defending the Clover Kingdom and fighting the ancient demon of the Spade Kingdom.
Julius almost ran out of power fighting the demon before Asta arrived.
Julius had no idea Asta would make an appearance at all and was willing to risk his life for his country. If Julius were really a devil host, he would’ve been the strongest person on the battlefield during the Spade Kingdom Raid.
The open gate would let him use 100% of his devil powers too. Julius wouldn’t risk his life and the Clover Kingdom to keep his devil powers hidden.
This proves that it’s been Lucius who has been hiding his devil powers, waiting for the right moment to emerge.
II. Has He Shown Signs Of Being A Host?
Julius has never shown signs of being a devil host. Even Damnatio’s scale magic never detected any devil powers from Julius.
It’s always been Lucius who has been subtly manipulating Julius and hosting Astaroth. To remain unnoticed, Lucius his within Julius, thereby succeeding in fooling people like Damnatio.
If Damnatio did detect devil mana from Julius and didn’t expose him, that means he was conspiring with Julius, which would be out of character for Damnatio.
Another thing to consider is that Julius also wasn’t able to read Asta’s grimoire. It could be that he was pretending not to understand it to avoid suspicion, but Julius has shown no other signs of having a devil.
Julius also didn’t have the telltale signs of a person involved with forbidden magic– wegs. Julius himself explained that horns are a sign that a person has dabbled with forbidden magic and delved into a world beyond their own.
3. Is Julius Connected To The Time Devil?
Julius is indirectly connected to the Time Devil through Lucius. But how Julius is connected to Lucius is still to be revealed.
I. Where Does His Time Magic Come From?
All signs point to the fact that Julius’s Time Magic is a result of Lucius and Astaroth residing in his body.
Through Charlotte, we know that it is possible to have magic connected to a devil without being a host or cursed directly by that devil.
Charlotte’s cursed magic originates from Megicula, even though they aren’t directly connected, and Megicula wasn’t the one to curse her.
II. Could He Have A Contract With The Time Devil?
Gordon’s family is known for its hacksand cursed magic abilities. Through his grandmother, we know that Gordon’s family made a contract with Megicula in the past, which was the origin of their cursed powers.
This contract also connects Gordon’s powers to Megicula but more directly, unlike Charlotte.
It’s possible that Julius’ family dabbled in forbidden magic in the past or made a contract with the Time Deviljust like Gordon’s ancestors did with Megicula. Maybe this is how Lucius was able to manifest within Julius – because of hefamilial connection to Astaroth.
III. Could Julius’ Time Magic Be A Coincidence?
The Clover Kingdom has inexplicable ties with devils. Besides having multiple people dabbling in forbidden magic, the very capital of the kingdom houses a gate to the underworld!
Chapter 182 revealed that the Shadow Palace had been sealed away under Clover Castle for thousands of years, which could have played a role in the Clover Kingdom losing the protection of natural mana.
Like Lolopechka explained, losing this divine protection has given birth to irregular magic types. These irregular types have the power to defeat even devils. Lolopechka also used Julius as an example of these irregulars.
Julius could be one of these irregulars born with unnatural magic. Julius having the same magic as the time devil could be a coincidence— like many other mages in the Clover Kingdom with magic types similar to devils’.
Magic types aren’t entirely black-and-white either since there are also devils with regular fire and ice magic.
This could point to the fact that Julius’s Time Magic arose of its own accord, and not because of the Time Devil.
4. Does It Make Sense For Julius To Be A Devil Host?
Julius being a devil host doesn’t make much sense, and nothing has hinted at him being one in the past either.
Nothing in his character has ever implied him as being a host. But Julius being revealed as indirectly hosting Astaroth is going to make things super interesting.
His powers are going to way surpass anything we’ve seen so far and will definitely make it infinitely harder for Asta to surpass him.
5. About Black Clover
Black Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since February 16, 2015.
The story centers around Asta, a young boy seemingly born without any magic power, something that is unknown in the world he lives in; and his foster brother Yuno who received the rare four-leaf grimoire and has more magic power than most people! With his fellow mages from the Black Bulls, Asta plans to become the next Wizard King.
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