Black Clover: Julius' connection with Yami and William, explained

Julius Novachrono has become one of the most talked about Black Clover characters ever since his identity was revealed to be Lucius Zogratis. Since then, Black Clover fans have not been able to resist wanting to go through the whole series again to check for hints and foreshadowing.

Surprisingly, there were too many hints given to us by Yuki Tabata about Julius being an antagonist. These hints date back all the way to his first appearance. And when you look back at the events, it all makes sense.

One such major event in Black Clover was Julius's recruiting of Yami Sukehiro and William Vangeance into Grey Deer, only to make them Magic Knight Captains once he became the Wizard King.

If we look at the end of the Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc, Yami and William were the ones needed for the Tree of Qliphoth. It simply cannot be true that Julius Novachrono recruited and, coincidentally, made Yami and Willaim his subordinates. All this must have been planned. To further expand on this, we'll look at Julius' connection with Yami and William throughout the course of Black Clover.

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How did Julius meet Yami and William in Black Clover?

Julius Novachrono was born with two souls—the other being Lucius Zogratis—in the Spade Kingdom after which he moved to the Clover Kingdom. By then, he had already become the devil host to Astaroth. He later joined the Grey Deer squad of the Magic Knights, only to later become their captain.

Yami Sukehiro, who was originally from Hino country, was lost in a shipwreck and drifted ashore in the Clover Kingdom. Here, Julius Novachrono met him and was left fascinated by his dark magic, eventually asking him to join the Magic Knights. Months later, when Yami appeared for the Magic Knights entrance exam, Julius recruited him into Grey Deer.

Young William Vangeance and Yami Sukehiro in Black Clover (Image via Sportskeeda)

Meanwhile, William Vangeance was the illegitimate child of a noble, abandoned due to the curse mark on his face. After he turned 9 years old, William started to have dreams of Patolli’s memories.

William met Julius after he turned 13 years old. Julius was in awe of William’s World Tree Magic and asked him to join the Magic Knights. While William was hesitant due to his face, Julius gave him a mask to conceal himself.

Two years later, William joined Grey Deer. Soon after, when he turned 16, Patolli fully awakened within William and received his grimoire. Sometime after that, William and Yami met on a battlefield, and ever since, they have been together on every stage.

Yami Sukehiro and William Vangeance appointed as Magic Knight Captains in Black Clover Opening 7 (Image via Studio Pierrot)

When Julius Novachrono became the 28th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom, William and Yami also parted ways. They were promoted to become captains of their own Magic Knight squad, Golden Dawn and Black Bulls.

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William Vangeance’s betrayal as Patolli

Due to Patolli's interference, William Vangeance became the captain of the Golden Dawn. He recruited members suited for the Elf Reincarnation. All the members that he picked for the squad, except for Mimosa, had an affinity for one of Patolli’s elf friends.

When the time for the Elf Reincarnation came, William could no longer choose sides between Julius and Patolli. Thus, he told Julius the truth and allowed both of them to fight it out for a solution on their own.

When Julius fought Patolli, Patolli came to the realization that Julius was no ordinary human, as he was the last bastion of the Law of Nature. However, Patolli was able to defeat Julius.

A major hint of Julius and William's being traitors all this time had been foreshadowed back in the second opening of Black Clover, where Julius, William, and Gueldre Poizot (also a traitor) were the only ones whose black and white colors were inverted compared to the rest.

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Tree of Qliphoth

Later in the Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle arc, we found out that Yami Sukehiro and William Vangeance were both at the arcane stage. Their Dark magic and World Tree Magic, respectively, were required for the Tree of Qliphoth ritual.

It cannot be a coincidence that Julius recruited and gave them both such important roles, keeping them bound to the Clover Kingdom for no reason. Julius, i.e., Lucius Zogratis, almost certainly recruited them back then only to make it easier for his siblings to find them when the time came.

Lucius then used his time magic to manipulate the chain of events, causing Lucifero to die at Asta’s hands. He then had Adrammelech steal Lucifero’s heart for him, eventually leading to his revelation as the real identity of Julius Novachrono and the host of Devil Astaroth.