The Gale Wind’s warpath continues!

Episode 8 is even more vicious and bloodier than the last. Ryu continues her quest for vengeance, and it is up to Bell to stop her.

Suspicion

The episode begins like episode 7, but with a more graphic and detailed version of Cassandra’s dream, showing that everyone indeed die. It is a bloody mess, though strange enough, there’s no sign of Bell. But is Ryu really the sole perpetrator of this horrible future? After all, a prophecy is never clear, and everything is still a mystery until the events has happened.

Curiously, there is something highly unusual with the werewolf, Turk—something that Bell noticed too. For one, he seems too eager to hunt down Ryu, even though there are already lots of Adventurers who are in pursuit. And when Bell’s party decides to join him, he and his group becomes wary.

Suspicious, isn’t it?

Search

While Lili and the rest of the party monitor Turk, Bell continues his search for Ryu. But first, he and Bors’s group has to survive the dangers of the lower floors.

Which is not too hard, considering that Bell has taken down the Moss Huge with ease. It comes to a point that he always takes the role of a vanguard, the other Adventurers safe. And this situation proves to be an advantage for him as he can easily scout alone to check things over, leading to another encounter with Marie.

As always, the mermaid Xenos keeps watch over Bell. Her knowledge of the lower floors is invaluable to Bell, and her guidance finally got him to meet the primary suspect.

A Bloody Encounter

Ryu is a very different character during this episode. Or rather, this is Ryu as we’ve never seen before. She’s vicious, angry, and merciless.  And like her epitaph, she’s like a force of nature as she defeats Adventurers left and right.

The fact that she’s hunting remnants of Rudra familia, the same ones that wiped out hers, is obvious from the start. But something is amiss here. Jura, a wanted man, swore that he has changed. Why would Ryu start hunting him and the others then?

Conclusion

Overall, episode 8 has a different vibe compared to the rest. It feels more like a thriller, which is a nice breath of fresh air into the series. There are still tons of questions left to be answered, and the next episode should tackle Ryu’s side of the story regarding this whole debacle.

Episode score: 8/10