Black Clover Chapter 333 was officially released early Sunday morning for most international readers, bringing with it significant background on who Lucius and Julius are. Fans are incredibly thankful to receive this setup at the beginning of the final arc rather than later, with many saying it’ll greatly impact how they view the two in Black Clover Chapter 333 and beyond.
Black Clover Chapter 333 also teases an exciting immediate future for the series, with a fight seemingly getting ready to break out just as the issue comes to a close. Regardless of whether the fight ends up following through or not, Black Clover Chapter 333 gives fans the impression that author and illustrator Yuki Tabata is wasting no time getting to what fans want to see.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down Black Clover Chapter 333.
Black Clover Chapter 333 sees the twin-soul origins of Lucius, Julius explained, sets up exciting potential skirmish, and more
Black Clover Chapter 333: The who’s who of Julius and Lucius
Black Clover Chapter 333 begins by explaining that Julius Novachrono and Lucius Zogratis exist as two souls within one body. Based on the exposition present, it seems that Lucius Zogratis is indeed the main host and the one whose body the two inhabit.
This is supported by the discussion of being born with the greatest devil-host potential of anyone in the history of “our family,” presumably meaning the Zogratises. The dialogue (presumably from Lucius) continues that they were an “exceptional being” who existed as two souls in one body.
The dialogue then explains that they bound Astaroth, a Supreme Devil with Time Magic, to themselves in an attempt to learn who they were and what they were meant to accomplish. A conversation between Lucius and Julius then plays out, where the former says they’ve seen the true future and the true peace for the world it held.
Julius begins arguing against this, causing Lucius to call this predicted interference a shame. He genuinely seems remorseful about this, citing that no one has ever been closer to him than Julius, and that even he doesn’t understand. Julius is then seen with a white background, asking Lucius what he plans to do as his other half reaches out to him.
He responds that it’s all right, saying he’s seen it all and that he’s confident they’ll be able to bring peace to the world. Black Clover Chapter 333 then brings readers back to the Clover Kingdom’s Royal Capital, where Asta and Lucius are still face to face as others nearby begin to understand the situation.
The recently promoted Black Bull, however, refuses to believe that Lucius is the Wizard King, likely due to the two souls having different Ki from one another. Lucius simply smiles as Black Clover Chapter 333 sees the pair's Time Magic Grimoire unveiled, leading to a shocked look from Asta.
Black Clover Chapter 333: The day the Clover Kingdom stood still
Black Clover Chapter 333 then sees Lucius Zogratis using his Time Magic to freeze the rest of the Clover Kingdom Royal Palace in time and space, with even birds stuck midair. He then approaches Asta and attempts to touch him, but seemingly is unable to do so before the recently promoted Magic Knight activates his Anti-Magic.
In what appears to be a new Devil Union form, Asta backs away from Lucius, clearly ready to fight if need be. The Wizard King’s other half, meanwhile, comments on seeing the Anti-Magic while calling it a “power that flies in the face of natural law.” Asta then realizes that time has stopped for all but the two of them, recognizing it as Julius’ magic.
He then comments on the massive size of the spell, to which Lucius responds that it’s due to him having absorbed Lucifero. Asta then recognizes the strange Ki he senses as Lucifero’s, before asking what’s going on and why Lucius is Julius, but also clearly isn’t. He furthers says that his enemy is also human, but not human, before asking who he is and what he’s done with Julius.
He introduces himself as the “savior of the world,” before saying Julius is dead, which clearly shocks Asta. He continues, saying Julius had completed his mission in the service of their ideals, elaborating that his death was for the sake of true peace, without sadness, hatred, war, or discrimination.
Asta questions this “true peace,” but Lucius continues by stating his intent to repair all humans. He elaborates that he and the other Zogratis siblings will destroy humanity before using their magic to recreate it, making them into “fortunate people who are equal in every respect.” He ends by saying that, to prevent any further mistakes, he’ll rule over this new world as “the Final Wizard King.”
The young Magic Knight then asks what he’s talking about, but his enemy responds that it’s fine, and that everything has unfolded as he foresaw besides one aspect. He names Asta as this one problem, saying that no living thing should ever be born without magic before calling him the world’s flaw. Lucius then says that, for the sake of his true peace, “flaws must be eliminated” as he reaches out to Asta.
In response, the Black Bull calmly says he understands and sees his point, before screaming about who he’s calling a flaw and deducing that Lucius is “a bad guy who hijacked the Wizard King’s body.” He then questions this intent to destroy humanity, before saying that Julius put his life on the line to save everybody, and that’s the Wizard King he and others looked up to.
He ends by saying he knows there’s no way Julius would die that easily, promising to stop Lucius and save the true Wizard King. He calmly and cockily responds that he’s stronger than Julius, prompting Asta to summon his Grimoire, draw a sword, breaking Lucius’ spell in the process and unfreezes time in the area.
As others present look on and take in the new situation, Asta promises to surpass the Wizard King as Black Clover Chapter 333 comes to an end. While Black Clover Chapter 333 doesn’t announce a series break, fans will be without a release in the coming week with the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine taking a publication break.
Black Clover Chapter 333: Final thoughts
Overall, Black Clover Chapter 333 is an incredibly exciting and engaging issue which suggest Tabata’s intent to quickly get to the thick of the series’ final arc. Having a fight between Lucius and Asta so early is most definitely an interesting case, and will likely be used to show fans how much more the latter has to grow before being a match.
With the breaking of Lucius’ time spell in Black Clover Chapter 333, however, it’s also entirely possible that the other Captains present will get involved in the fight. This could give Tabata an opportunity to show that, with the right numbers and strength advantages, the series’ final enemy is indeed beatable under proper conditions.
Black Clover Chapter 333’s decision to shed light on the origins of Julius Novachrono and Lucius Zogratis was also a great decision. While this is likely far from the last information we’ll get on the two’s relationship and origins, it no doubt makes for a great start, which serves to get readers instantly invested in their backstory.
Be sure to keep up with all Black Clover anime, manga, and film news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2022 progresses.