It’s a battle royale!
Episode 22 brings the much-awaited face off between Sariella and Ohts, but the main highlight is obviously the match of Kumoko against the Demon Lord Ariel. However, there are a few things to note before we tackle that.
First, Body Brain has almost finished fusing with Ariel’s soul, and it is really funny to see the stoic and calm Demon Lord rapidly deteriorating into a carefree and hungry individual much like Kumoko. Of course, she is still mostly her own person. But Body Brain has integrated too deeply that she can’t be called the original anymore, but an entirely new persona.
Meanwhile, our favorite spider finds herself smack dab in the middle of the war between Sariella and Ohts. But while Kumoko feels really guilty for causing the war, her own agenda in earning EXP overshadows that.
But this only attracts Ariel, and we see another epic duel between a little cute spider and a foe who is leagues above her own. Obviously, Kumoko is heavily outmatched, finding her skills being cancelled left and right. As expected, Ariel is a demon in the battlefield with a repertoire of powerful skills—skills that Kumoko might not overcome this time.
Another funny thing about this is the presence of none other than a much younger Julius, who is but an amateur Hero at this point. He’s weak, he’s young, and he’s a scared little boy who finds himself facing two powerful monsters. But despite that, Ariel is actually cautious around him, which stems from Julius’s Hero attribute which could kill a Demon Lord.
However, Kumoko is still a much bigger threat to our Demon Lord. And as our little Julius is distracted, Kumoko finds herself facing the brunt of an Abyss Magic.
Back at the present, Shun continues his fight against Hugo, who now has a Level 1 Demon Lord skill. But it seems something is wrong: Hugo doesn’t remember anyone aside from Shun and Oka. Moreover, his newfound strength might just prove too much for the new Hero.
Overall, episode 22 features a great battle between two powerful opponents. The fight scenes may sometimes look subpar at times, and the animation quality is not at its best, but it still gives us enough entertainment to keep us wanting for the final two episodes.
Episode score: 8/10.