Black Clover plot highlights Vangeance's "conflict" is deeper than fans think

While it has been some time since Black Clover's Elf Reincarnation Arc ended, many fans still feel confused about the arc, mainly the storyline surrounding Patry and William Vangeance. If William really cared for his allies, why didn't he exclusively side with humans? Why did he allow Patry to take over his body?

The entire disaster surrounding the Elf Reincarnation Arc was schemed by a high-ranking devil named Zagred. However, it could have been avoided by the then-Golden Dawn Captain Willaim Vangeance had he sided with humans and not elves. Nevertheless, the decision was highly conflicting for him, forcing him to let Patry take over him.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers from the Black Clover manga.

Black Clover: Why was William Vangeance conflicted between humans and elves?

William Vangeance as seen in the Black Clover anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

William Vangeance felt conflicted about choosing between humanity and elves due to his relationships and history. Since his childhood, despite being a noble, William was mistreated by everyone due to his scar. They thought him to be physically deformed, hence they harbored malice towards him. Therefore, William Vangeance had no friends in the past until Patry's soul got awakened in his body.

Patry was the only person who accepted William and became his friend. Given his circumstances and how his very first friend was an elf, William found it difficult to side with humans, especially after he was considered an outcast by society.

William and Julius as seen in Black Clover (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Fortunately, William Vangeance had a change in mindset after he met Julius Novachrono. Unlike other humans, Julius did not treat William like an outcast and did everything he could to make him feel better. This included the mask Julius gifted William so that he felt comfortable about his face around other people.

Soon after, William Vangeance joined the Magic Knights and realized not all humans were bad. Thus, when the time arrived for Patry to begin the reincarnation of the elf tribe, Willaim could not make a decision by himself over which side he should have chosen.

Patry as seen in Black Clover anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

At one end was his "brother" Patry's malice who wanted to resurrect the elves and inflict revenge on the humans, and on the other side was humanity. Given how both sides were nearly matched even in William's eyes, he could not make a decision. Therefore, William decided to let the two people he trusted the most from either side, Patry and Julius Novachrono, fight each other and come to a conclusion.

Even Julius Novachrono knew that Willaim did not want to betray him. This was also why the Wizard King did not fight Patry with his full strength. Julius did not wish to hurt his subordinate, thus he held back while fighting the elf, Patry, leading to his "death" at the time.

Patry stabbing Julius Novachrono in Black Clover (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As for William, he was left broken after the entire Elf Reincarnation Arc storyline. He felt like a traitor for not picking the Clover Kingdom over the elf tribe. Since then, William Vangeance has been doing everything in his power to make it up to the Clover Kingdom.

This was evident from how he sacrificed his own safety to protect members of his squad during the Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc. Moreover, he also promoted Yuno Grinberryall as the captain of the Golden Dawn during the fight against Lucius Zogratis when he could have done so after the fight at a ceremony. This proved how his feelings about betrayal essentially made him think less about himself despite being the captain of the strongest Magic Knights squad.