A hero has fallen!

Episode 10 is a chilling and bloody episode, which results in a shocking twist! The calamity in Cassandra’s dream has been unleashed, and true to her prophecy, the end is ill-fated.

Unleashed

Ever since Jura has revealed his true colors, we know that the guy is terrifyingly unhinged and desperate to take revenge against Ryu. But for all his schemes, he hides a deep trauma and resolve to ensure that no one, including the elf, will be able to harm him.

The result is an unyielding resolve, an obsession, to research more about the accident that wiped out both the Astrea and Rudra familias. It is interesting to note that while Jura  admits that the whole incident was caused by Astrea, and that Ryu somehow killed her familia, he was indeed traumatized by it.

Unfortunately, this had an undesired effect on him, and now he is hellbent on taming the very monster that caused the massacre, all for the sake of power.

Massacre

The Juggernaut looks unimpressive at first sight despite its powerful name. It is literally a skeleton dinosaur, and a bit silly in appearance. In fact, the Black Goliath was a far more intimidating opponent.

However, looks can be deceiving, as proven when the bloodbath begins. And it is terrifying to witness this monster tearing everyone apart in the blink of an eye. Literally. To date, this is arguably the bloodiest scene in Danmachi, filled with flying body parts and a lot of screaming.

What makes this worse is the fact that even Ouranos is scared, and he has no power to stop its rampage. Interestingly, no one except him and the Xenos, and now Fels, know about this particular abomination, which is a self-defense mechanism of the dungeon. Of course, Ryu has also encountered it before. But that only begs the important question: how did Ryu even survived it?

The Hero Falls

Bell has always been a compassionate individual and willing to help others, especially those in danger. As such, it is no surprise that he would not let the Juggernaut’s rampage continue. Indeed, out of everyone still left standing, he might be the only one who could kill the monster.

In the previous fights, we’ve always seen Bell clearly outmatched and suffer injuries. And in most of these cases, sheer luck combined with his perseverance and skills allowed him to survive and win despite all odds.

But not in this one-sided battle. The Juggernaut is not even a monster that lives in the Dungeon; it is the Dungeon’s perfect weapon, its killing machine. This is the only battle where we already knew the outcome from the very beginning. And it is anything but victorious.

In a strange twist of fate, Bell Cranel suffered a fatal blow.

Conclusion

Bloody, violent, and shocking. There’s no better way to describe episode 10. And judging by its ending, we can expect more despair to come in the first cour’s final episode.

Episode score: 8/10