Black Clover is in its final major arc, and things couldn't be more exciting. Already, the Captains of the Magic Knights have been killed or are on the verge of being killed, gods have been established, and the dead have been brought back to life to torment their loved ones.

This arc has also provided answers to many of the series' previous mysteries, such as the mysterious Land of the Sun from where Yami Sukehiro originated. The identity of Asta's father, on the other hand, remains a mystery. According to one fan hypothesis, this arc may be resolving the remaining mystery with one more dramatic twist, the identity of which is none other than the Wizard King himself.

 

How Could Julius Novachrono Be Asta's Father?

 

The entire basis of this theory centers around how Julius might be the only possible candidate to be Asta's father. Asta's mother, Licita, was a human born with a body that constantly and uncontrollably drained the magic and life force from others around her. Due to this, she was forced to live on the outskirts of a village and seemingly had almost zero contact with others. The only being she was able to be around at all was Liebe, seemingly due to him not having magic but rather Anti-Magic. She eventually adopted him as her son, and coincidentally later empowered her own son.

Due to Licita's body, it's hard to imagine how she could have ever even given birth to Asta, let alone conceived him in the first place. In fact, she was so afraid of potentially killing him that she left him at the church in Hage Village to potentially save his life. In a way, her body wasn't too different from Anti-Magic, which has so far been shown to neutralize all but the strongest magic users. This is how Julius fits into the theory. Due to Licita's body, the only way she could ever have conceived Asta would be if she slept with someone with an abundance of magic and life force, of which Julius has both in spades.

There was a moment after Asta gained his second sword when Julius asked him if he could hold it. While not able to wield it at all as well as having his magic drained due to his immense magical energy reserves, he was practically unfazed by it. He also seemed to know about Asta's unique situation, although he didn't elaborate at all on how he came by this knowledge. While it may have been due to him taking an interest in Asta while undercover at a bar, it might have been a carefully-placed clue as to how he may have been responsible for Asta's conception. Moreover, as a being that houses two separate souls in one body, Julius' life force is likely twice as strong as anyone else's, making it even more likely that he would be able to survive Licitia's condition.

 

 

The theory becomes a little hazy at this point. Manga readers are aware that Julius Novachrono, or a part of him, is the last and oldest Zogratis brother. Lucius Zogratis was born with the ability to use soul magic and a second soul that belonged to Julius Novachrono. They journey to the Clover Kingdom after accepting Astaroth's role as host, where Lucius appears to give Julius possession of their body. From there, Julius manages to secretly use a devil's magic rather than his own in order to become the Wizard King, a Magic Knight Captain, and even a member of a noble family.

While the part about Julius being one of the few people able to conceive with Licita is plausible, it also states that Julius "made" Asta as a weapon to use against Lucius, which seems somewhat unlikely. Despite being two souls in one body, it appears as though Lucius is the dominant one of the two, with Julius not even realizing that Lucius was there until he was taken over. He seemingly couldn't have even accessed their Soul Magic, with Lucius apparently locking that away for himself and only giving Julius Time Magic.

Asta as a secret weapon for Julius to wield against Lucius seems unlikely at best, however other hypotheses suggest otherwise. One theory holds that Asta's father was Astaroth, who had taken over the bodies of Lucius and Julius. As previously demonstrated, not all contracts with devils appear to be consenting, thus Astaroth may have discovered a means to seize power for a limited time in order to construct a weapon to save itself from Lucius. As with all fan theories, it's better not to place too much stock in them, but with Asta's rematch with Lucius rumored to be imminent, fans should expect to find out rather soon if the hypothesis is right.

Black Clover is now available on MangaMonster.