Twists and revelations abound!
Episode 14 sees our favorite spider continuing her journey in the vast wilderness. And for the first time, her next encounter with humans ended in an unusual way: that is, instead of slaughtering them, Kumoko becomes a savior! Of course, Kumoko is initially hesitant. But after seeing the family being surrounded by bandits, and the baby with them, it seems her conscience would not let her abandon them, and so we are treated with a badass spider wreaking havoc among the bandits.
What makes this encounter so interesting are two things: first, that the baby is a reincarnator herself, and a vampire as well. The second? This baby is none other than Sophia, the terrifying girl who allied herself with Hugo under orders from the Demon Lord Herself. But this encounter happened 15 years ago, which begs the greatest question still left unanswered: where is Kumoko now?
In any case, it is clear that despite being reborn as a hungry and monstrous spider, Kumoko still retains some of her human morality. This is evident when she heals the injured bodyguards of the family she rescued, as well as saving them for the second time by killing a party of elves who were supposed to ambush them. And we can only guess how this has affected Kumoko after showing herself to the family.
Meanwhile, things have gone from bad to extremely worse for Shun. Not only did Cylis staged a rebellion to take the throne, but Sue has been brainwashed by Hugo and framed Shun for a terrible crime he didn’t commit. What comes next is an epic battle to save Shun from the clutches of his enemies, and we see just how capable Oka is in wind magic and combat. Hugo, on the other hand, is still outclassed by Shun, further damaging his already broken ego.
Naturally, Sophia would not allow that she misses the battle, and so some of the reincarnators are reunited in the worse possible situation: with them on opposing sides of a terrible power struggle. It is even sadder when Katia appears as another brainwashed individual, leading to a fateful duel between her and Shun that unlocks a new power for the Hero.
There are several interesting things to note in this side of the story as well. First, Sophia’s strength is obviously leagues above than all of them, including Oka herself. Then we have Katia who, despite being brainwashed, still retains some of her feelings for Shun, leading to a heartbreaking decision that would give Shun the power he needs. And of course, there is the newly awakened Feirune, now evolved into a powerful dragon, who arrives just in time to save her friends.
Overall, episode 14 is action-packed from start to finish. The characters all have been given spotlights, and there are enough twists to keep viewers glued to the screen. The plot is unraveling faster than ever now, which should make the next episodes very interesting.
Episode score: 9/10.