Spoilers ahead for Black Clover chapter 334!

An earlier event in Black Clover when a Magic Knight possessed by an elf spirit randomly targets Sister Lily actually foreshadowed what would later befall her during Lucius Zogratis' invasion of the Clover Kingdom in the present day.

Much earlier, Sister Lily is forced to protect the children of her village when the mage Digit Taliss, under the control of an elf spirit, attacks Asta and Yuno's hometown of Hage. Lily fights valiantly, releasing a powerful spell that the possessed mage actually acknowledges as strong and compels him to refer to her as a noble. But, unfortunately, her attack has no effect, and when the young boy Nash rushes in front of Lily to protect her, his own assured demise is prevented by none other than Black Clover's Asta and Yuno who appear in the nick of time.

Related: Black Clover's Villains Finally Recognize Asta As a Major Threat

Now chapter 334 of Black Clover proves its biggest critics wrong when Sister Lily's life is in jeopardy again when the invading Lucius Zogratis grabs a hold of her and alters her soul using specialized magic. The unexpected assault causes her to transform into some sort of sacred being who wishes that Asta will be destroyed for the sake of world peace. She doesn't even flinch when Lucius lands what appears to be a fatal blow on Asta as the magicless mage plummets to the earth.

Lucius Zogratis holds Sister Lily prisoner before using Soul Magic on Sister Lily in Black Clover chapter 334

Without Digit's earlier assault on Hage long ago, Lucius' latest attack against Sister Lily would feel a tad out of left field. At the time, Tabata perfectly justified the invasion of such a random village by having a Magic Knight who was already assigned to patrol the area get possessed by one of the elf spirits that were seeking revenge against humanity. The confrontation kept enough details from readers to make them want more while leaving enough room for later revelations that Black Clover is exploring now. Sister Lily was allowed to show off her magic in Hage, which alluded to the fact that she was more powerful than everyone expected, but Tabata accomplished this without letting her magic have any effect on her opponent, so when she inevitably had to wield her magic again, it would be a first. Moreover, the Hage assault prevented Sister Lily from getting maimed, both thanks to Nash as well as the sudden arrival of Asta and Yuno. This latest scene in chapter 334 is now taking that earlier dynamic to the next level. Sister Lily is still involved, but now she's the main target rather than her and the entire village, and she's actually struck by magic.

Digit's attack against Hage foreshadowed that characters like Sister Lily who are normally far away from the action in the manga will be fair game and that she would have a more important role to play in later chapters. Chapter 334 of Black Clover is now fulfilling that foreshadowing by not only making her a target once more but transforming her into more than just a victim. She could very well now be a major adversary. And even though Lucius Zogratis has given her special powers, it's likely that her new capabilities will be augmented by her inherent magical abilities, which readers already know about and even impressed a powerful elf spirit. It's also kind of perfect that Lucius refers to the power corrupting her as sacred when Sister Lily herself is a woman of faith. That will undoubtedly be explored in more detail later on as Black Clover's final saga continues.

Black Clover's latest chapter is available now on Viz Media!