After a few months hiatus with a MAJOR cliffhanger in chapter 331, Black Clover returns with the beginning of the very last arc.

Whether people didn’t like how the last arc concluded with the defeat of Lucifero, there were still tons of very positive things to say about the arc. Lacking nothing short of really good action, most Black Clover readers would agree that the journey to the end of the arc was at least a fantastic ride. Like most series with nested arcs of smaller arcs that are actually a part of a bigger arc (arc-ception), we can finally begin the conclusion of this series and hopefully turn the last page of how it ends with Asta concluding his journey to becoming the Wizard King!

Chapter Recap

The chapter starts off in a way that really confirms many Black Clover fans’s distaste for how uninteresting Lucifero as a bad guy really was as Lucius goes to the underworld and quickly disposes of Lucifero’s other half. A year and 3 months later after the conclusion of the “Spade Kingdom War,” Asta gets promoted to “Senior Magic Knight, First Class.” Yuno ends up outranking him again, as he is promoted to “Grand Master Knight.” Asta gets absolved for his trial as being a devil user and all looks to be fine and dandy until.. it really wasn’t.

Damnatio is missing and no one really knows where Julius is. The chapter continues to move forward with some of the characters romantic love arcs. Captain Yami takes a poop, while contemplating over whether Charlotte really does like him. Noelle and Mimosa starts stressing over watching Asta begins his last marriage attempt to Sister Lily. After some fun character banter, the chapter concludes with Lucius appearing out of the blue stating, “Congratulations. You’ve arrived. This is your final destination.”

Questions We Hope That Are Answered

Julius actually being Lucius might be the most fitting end to the this series arc. No matter what people think about the previous arcs and the underwhelming final antagonists, this has the recipe to be the fitting end to a very fun shonen story.

What’s going to happen when everyone finds out about the Wizard King’s true identity?

Asta, Yuno, Captain Yami and the whole Clover Kingdom. The potential disbelief, dismay and betrayal that the followers of the Wizard King will face is a plot point that may be the most intriguing of all. How will Asta react? Would he still want to become the Wizard King? Will the role of the Wizard King be reformed? What was a clear path from the beginning now can take an interesting turn for the main character, Asta.

For 4 seasons of the anime and years of this story unfolding, this has become one of the best twists to look forward to for the entire series. Deep down, we know how this is most likely going to turn out for the main characters. Still, it’s going to be fascinating to see any inner conflict occur within the characters and how the citizens of Black Clover react to this Earth shaking revelation. If you thought William Vangeance sharing a body with the elf Patolli was a shocking revelation, this one should make the characters feel a betrayal of the highest order. Let’s hope this causes some actual plot turmoil rather than being simply brushed under the rug.

Just how in the heck did Lucius Zogratis fabricate his life as Julius Novachrono?

There are so many questions as to how Lucius was able to become Julius. Are they actually two separate entities or was Lucius always Julius? Either way, a lot of who Lucius really is is probably reflected onto who he played as as Julius, the Wizard King. His leadership, the philosophy of his worldview, how he treats people & more; these are all qualities that are actually part of Lucius. At least, that is what makes the most sense to me. There is going to be an obvious clash of the “Julius worldview” vs the “Lucius worldview.” How this is revealed to Asta and the other characters is what makes this arc so darn compelling.

What are the true goals of Lucius Zogratis?

With Lucius being the mastermind of bringing the devils to the human world of the previous arc, it turns out that Lucius actually has some kind of human superiority complex as he finishes what is supposed to be the most terrifying devil of the underworld, Lucifero. It’s very intriguing to speculate over what kind of philosophical battle this will turn out to be. We already have the “Elf Reincarnation Arc,” which bears very similar resemblance to the “prejudice” angle that this current ending arc has. I wonder what spin the writer has that weaves all of these previous arcs together like Vanessa’s thread magic.

Humans Versus Devils

With the addition of Liebe’s story unfolding and Asta building a positive relationship with the devil, there might be some allegory here with devils and humans meaning many things for our own reality. Racism, prejudice and many other socially concerning issues; it’s going to be fun to see what conclusions Yūki Tobata comes up with with how the characters handle these differences. As of right now, it seems that Lucius will find some way to obtain the underworld’s devils’ magic power for himself, somehow siphon the devils’ power for humanity’s gain or some combination involving the undertaking of stealing devil magic. This angle has many similarities to The Promised Neverland’s Emma’s philosophy of wanting to not exterminate the demons.

Will Asta have the same philosophy if Lucius goes this route? Will it be “Devil Lives Matter?” What is the true harmonious balance between devils, elves, humans and other creatures having or not having magic? It makes you really think that we still don’t know much about the Black Clover lore and history.

Will Asta and Captain Yami get their romantic ending?

This is one of the few fun side-plots of all animes that fandoms love to speculate over. Will our favorite blockheads of Asta and Captain Yami finally get the attention of their female pursuers? This is something we all want to see end in a feel good fashion, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it doesn’t actually end that way. Hopefully, it ends in a clear direction one way or the other—in tragedy or all sunshine and roses.

Last Thoughts

The new chapter of the last arc starts off grooming the reader to really speculate over the looming devil problem that the Black Clover world still has. We are left sitting and scratching our head, determining what Lucius’s end goal is and how all these characters that revered Julius will react to the knowledge of who he really is. This is a very good start to a story that deserves an epic ending.