天下制覇

Wow. I never saw that one coming.

Impressions:

Whoa! Konoe was Hecate? What a twist! I never saw that one coming. Never ever ever in a million years!

Sarcasm aside, this was another very good episode of Shana. See? I told you that Pheles makes everything better. While there was a lot of action, there really wasn’t a ton of exposition, so I imagine that they’re saving that for next episode. The fight scenes were also not quite as well animated as a couple episodes ago but yada yada NIT PICK NIT PICK IT’S WHAT I DO LEAVE ME ALONE. What we did learn is that Bal Masque are after the silver critter inside Yuji (well, not really but yada yada SPOILERS) and have their own pieces of it all stored up in their central HQ.

I did find Imp-Boy’s cube attacks to be really funny. CG Cubes, JCStaff? Who do you think you are… Gonzo? Alright. I apologize, that was low. These CG Cubes were far more defined than your usual Gonzo mecha. Still…that was really the best that you could come up with? Thousands of cubes? I guess it’s better than the Denizen who had the power of exploding rings and shoe wheels, but I don’t think by much. Couldn’t they at least have just given him generic TK? Alright, I’m done making strange and nonsensical complaints about the episode. It was action-packed, the 10 episode overdue revelation about Hekonoe happened, and the butler exploded. Basically… everything that I could have wanted from the episode.

 Pheles floats… shocked by the silver arm through her. Yuji likewise starts to panic. Pheles starts spitting flame/blood from her mouth and the silver arm blasts its flame through her. Pheles reaches towards Yuji, but the arm pulls out and then Wilhelmina snares Pheles. Shana also takes flight along with Margery.

Margery casts a spell to pull out the silver, and Shana watches warily from above. Marco is fully with Margery this time. Pheles screams as Margery redoubles the spell.

Wilhelmina tries to calm her down as she’s badly bleeding. Kazumi and Satou watch helplessly from the sidelines.

Eita starts panicking again in the barrier, thinking that things are going to be destroyed again.

In Margery’s barrier, the Silver begins to pull out of Yuji. He screams in fear.

In the school, Konoe and her butler wander the halls, their bracelets glowing. They keep heading upwards.

Back at Bal Masque, silver armor missing a head and an arm… and leaking a black flame is wired up to a huge machine. The professor and whose-his-face-the-little-imp-guy watch it with interest along with Bel Peol. Hecate walks up too… they’ve been forced into action a little earlier than expected by Pheles. Bel-Peol rubs together two glowing chain links.

Margery’s spell seals the silver creature coming out of Yuji. She tells Yuji to feed her more power. He manages to do so as Margery concentrates on the silver creature.

Konoe and her butler make it to the roof, to the surprise of Kazumi and Satou. Bel Peol grins and breaks her chain links. The bracelets also dissolve. Konoe is surrounded by an aura, and the butler explodes. Konoe floats upwards to Yuji and summons Hecate’s staff. She attacks Margery’s spell and destroys it. Shana tries to attack, but Hekonoe shoots a spell downward. Shana dodges, but it absolutely decimates the area where it hits.

Hekonoe touches the silver creature with her staff, forcing it back into Yuji and then stabs him with it.

Shana and Margery try to interfere, but huge blocks start falling and they’re forced to dodge. Smaller blocks start raining down, forcing everybody to take cover. Shana and Margery remain, but Hekonoe releases a huge light and Hecate appears along with the imp dude.

Hecate and Konoe look at eachother as the Hazes try to figure things out. Shana rushes to attack, but is held at bay by the falling cubes.

Yuji struggles to understand Konoe stabbing him with Hecate there as well.

The Hazes can’t get through the cubes to attack.

Konoe removes her staff from Yuji, and then all her memories and the whole of her being is pulled into Hecate. Hello flashback montage. Konoe smiles as her memories are dismantled and assimilated into Hecate. Finally, the two reach out to the other and Konoe’s body dematerializes as their hands touch.

Hecate summons her staff and levels it at Yuji. The Hazes fly back into battle. Imp dude gets ready to hold them back, but Wilhelmina snares him and Margery is able to attack. Shana flies at Hecate and they attack eachother. They’re fairly evenly matched, but Hecate probably has the raw power advantage as she rains merciless death on Shana.

Like an idiot, Yuji keeps floating there… but then loses consciousness and falls to the ground below.

Hecate manages to knock Shana’s sword aside and blasts her.

As Yuji falls, Johan appears in his place and floats downward. He happily greets Pheles. The Bal Masque troops are shocked. Pheles and Johan are surrounded in her tornado. He teases her a little bit. The Bal Masque try to attack, but Pheles’ tornado holds them at bay and the two float upward and out of the barrier.

Shana desperately flies upwards after them. High in the air, Johan’s existence from the Reiji Maigo pours into Pheles. He kisses her and he starts reverting to Yuji. Shana tearfully screams and a bright light erupts from the tornado.

The Bal Masque duo remark that there’s nothing else to do now and teleport away.

Shana falls, knocked out, but recovers before Margery can catch her.

Above, Johan lets go of Pheles and falls… reverting to Yuji. Shana grabs him in tears and the two float down together. Kazami watches helplessly. Pheles appears next to her.

Later, Satou checks up on Yuji. He thinks that he’s okay. Pheles is happy too… Johan is with her now. There’s nothing more that she can do… they’re together now. She prepares to leave, but Wilhelmina stops her, wanting and answer. Pheles says little else and takes off.

Back in reality, Ogata bitches about Satou and Yuji not helping. On the roof, Shana mentally pledges to protect Yuji. Kazami holds a cross while watching them.

Satou and Margery stand together. He says that her search is over… but she says that the real thing starts now.

Preview:

Flashback to Pheles giving Kazumi a cross, and lots of people standing around.