The Black Clover Dark Zogratis Theory That Makes So Much Sense

Though he comes from a pretty dark family, Zenon's own path of darkness doesn't truly begin until he kills his friend and squadmate Allen with a spell when the pair battles a dangerous devil. Allen's death disturbs Zenon so much that he disavows emotions altogether, and decides to become a devil host himself.

However, this isn't the first time he gets the chance to do so. Before the fateful incident, his powerful eldest brother Lucius — the villainous second soul of Wizard King Julius Novachrono (Toshiyuki Morikawa and Robert McCollum) –  has already offered Zenon the opportunity to become a host. Yet, it takes Allen's death and a total breakdown for the youngest Zogratis to embrace Lucius' suggestion. 

In a Reddit thread discussing the fandom's dark theories about the plot, user u/Shockybomb revealed their belief that Lucius isn't the type to take no for an answer. According to this theory, the eldest Zogratis may have orchestrated the demon encounter to manipulate his younger brother. "The oldest zogratis sibling planted the devil in that dungeon for zenon and Allen so Allen can die and zenon would then want the devil powers from his brother," they wrote. 

At first, this may seem like a pretty far-fetched idea, considering that Lucius' Soul Magic effectively gives him mind control powers that could renders such complex plots unnecessary. Yet, it makes a creepy kind of sense that Lucius might have wanted Zenon to become a demon host of his own free will. As his many machinations prove, Lucius is an archetypal chessmaster who revels in playing the long game, and a talented liar to boot. Since a powerful and cooperative Zenon is instrumental to Lucius' plans to reform the Tree of Qliphoth, nudging things along with a strategically placed dungeon devil would be very much in the most powerful Zogratis' wheelhouse.