Black Clover is currently in a series of anime-only canon episodes -- which are being overseen by the manga’s creator, Yūki Tabata -- which, in its latest arc, focus very heavily on a group of people marginalized by the Clover Kingdom: those with very little magic ability, some of whom have formed a group called the Devil Banishers/Devil Believers.
Despite Asta and Yuno's goals to become the Wizard King, and Wizard King Julius Novachrono's own desire to support every person despite their class or magical standing, some of his subjects simply don't have faith in the Magic Knights. This is largely because they received little to no help after the Eye of the Midnight Sun's attack, and have been discriminated against for years. But it's the plight of these subjects that fill the Clover Kingdom's shadowy past and will determine its path to the future.
The Failures of Clover Kingdom & the Devil Banishers
The Clover Kingdom isn't just a mage's paradise -- it actually has a sizeable population of people who are lacking magic-wise. Asta falls into this group but stands apart as possibly the only person in the kingdom without any magic ability at all. This group is predominantly made up of peasants who live in the Forsaken Realm at the furthest reaches of the kingdom. They are either unseen or discriminated against by society. After the Eye of the Midnight Sun attacked, many within the Forsaken Realm found themselves solely responsible for repairing their towns, while settlements closer to the capital had their rebuilding efforts bolstered by the Magic Knights. This brought on feelings of neglect, abandonment and distrust of the Magic Knights and even the kingdom itself.
The Devil Banishers were a small group of weak magic wielders who were personally affected by the aftermath of the Eye of the Midnight Sun’s destruction to the kingdom. They believed the devil had a hand in the disaster and its aftermath and wanted justice by any means necessary. Their targets: Asta, Marie and Nero. Later on, it's revealed that the Devil Banishers are actually Devil Believers who wished to receive enough power from the Devil within the Spade Kingdom to exact their revenge on the Clover Kingdom. They planned to use their targets as sacrifices, which led to the kidnapping and the murder of those tricked into following the “Devil Banishers.”
The Devil Banishers Are the Clover Kingdom's Fault
The Clover Kingdom consists of two intertwined social systems: royal hierarchy and magical ability. A royal's place in society is automatically determined by birth. However, being able to wield magic does factor in. Royals typically have more magical abilities and those that use them well can make a great name for themselves and a great deal of money, as well. Take Noelle, for example: despite coming from a royal family, her magical inconsistencies lead her to not be recommended for the Silver Eagle squad, even though her brother, Nozel, is the captain.
These structures lead to discrimination for those who are peasants and/or unable to use magic at the levels of royals. They are looked down upon, made fun of and pitied. As seen in this arc, there's a large number of people in this group. Collectively, they saw Asta as their hero as Asta not only has no magic ability but is also a peasant who's proven himself within the ranks of the Magic Knights. However, this leads to the belief that the key to his success is the devil inside his grimoire, and that devil is something worth dying for to get ahead. Asta, however, doesn’t feel the same at all. Though he's been severely discriminated against and made fun of his whole life, Asta still believes in protecting the people of the kingdom.
Devil Believers vs. Magic Knights
When the Magic Knights captains arrive to meet the Devil Believers, they are met with clear hostility. Even so, they take time to listen to the people and their stories, earnestly trying to understand their grievances. They go on to vow to do better by the Forsaken Realm and beg the people to go home. This actually ends up working, due to the genuine concern of each captain and the Magic Knights’ show of faith in stopping the massive mana monster.
As for the Devil Believers, their crimes were serious and couldn’t go unaddressed. They kidnapped Asta, Marie and Nero, murdered several former underlings of Damnatio Kira, the chairman of the kingdom’s Magic Parliament, stole Asta’s grimoire and almost destroyed all of the Magic Knights with what was seemingly a bomb. Damnatio eventually decided to banish them from the kingdom, which seemed like the best solution for both parties. Justice needed to be served, and the Devil Believers ultimately wanted to cross the border into the Spade Kingdom, even if that meant they'd die trying.
The Black Bulls Are the Clover Kingdom's Future
The Wizard King’s ambitions and personality are definitely inclusive and hopeful, but he can't accomplish them alone. While Yami is a foreigner who was originally discriminated against when he arrived in the Clover Kingdom, Julius not only accepted him as a friend but also was genuinely fascinated by his Dark magic, and deliberately choosing him to be the head of his own former squad. Yami then recruited people from every walk of life: Vanessa, a witch; Gauche, a reformed criminal; Charmy, a powerful and hungry half-Dwarf; Finral, a disgraced royal; Noelle, a royal without magic control; Asta, an anti-magic peasant and Nero, a Forbidden Magic-user -- and that's just the start with the Black Bulls.
The Black Bulls might seem like a rag-tag squad of hooligans and peasants, but they represent the Wizard King’s ultimate vision of inclusivity. The Wizard King has shown his pride in them in the past, during their Star Awards Festival performance, for example, and also showed his support for the up-and-coming peasant rookies, Asta and Yuno, by having them show off for a crowd in the capital.
In order for drastic structural changes to happen, the perception of weaker magic users would have to change within every class of the Clover Kingdom. An inclusive kingdom that welcomes every person regardless of gender, creed, magic ability, magic style, status or origin is the wholesome vision of the first Wizard King, and is one that the current Wizard King is taking great strides towards. This arc shows how important it is for these changes to happen. The Devil Believers showed that change is necessary to prevent the creation of more groups like them in the future. But the members of the Black Bulls and the Magic Knights' captains are proof that this change will happen regardless of who holds the title of Wizard King.
