[INCOHERENT SWEARING ENSUES] DIX YOU PIECE OF SHIT. Ugh, there were already a lot of reasons why I wished Wiene wasn’t assigned with this group in the first place, but this is certainly one of them. Lyd really should have paired her up with the monsters who are more open to Humans, because Ranieh was having none of it. It also doesn’t help that she was proven “right” with the Ikelos Familia hunting, hurting and killing their kin. Wiene already experienced the terror of hatred from the Humans on the surface, so it’s not like she’s completely ignorant of the ugly side to Humans, but now she is going to witness the worst of it.
It is very concerning to see things have gotten ugly so quickly. While Hermes’ squad was able to successfully shake them off of Bell’s trail to the hidden village, they were unable to avoid encountering Ikelos changed up their tactics. Wiene and the others were lured into a trap that was set up by torturing a fellow kin who had been captured by them earlier. They were in the middle of going to their next location so they could avoid this kind of scenario, but Ranieh defied Lyd’s warnings and went in and now they are in a mess. I am not sure how or if they will be able to get themselves out of this, it’s very possible that Wiene will end up being captured here until she and the others goes apeshit and gives Ikelos a run for their money. But this doesn’t look like this is a fight they will be able to win. This is especially terrible timing considering Bell and the others had just returned to the surface. I suppose if anyone is going to get into contact with them about this situation, it will probably be Fels since he is able to travel seamlessly between the surface and the dungeon, or even the Guild delivering yet another mission, this time to rescue the Xenos who are bound to be captured.
Apart from the distressing end to the episode, as a whole it was absolutely fantastic with how much information they were able to deliver to us. Many of the questions I had last week were answered, starting with what sets the Xenos apart from the other monsters in the dungeon besides their intelligence. They are a tiny community who are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Even though they wish to go to the surface, they can’t because of the Humans’ hatred, and despite being born in the dungeon, they are ostracized and attacked by monsters. As result they don’t really have a place to belong and have virtually no allies besides Ouranos, the Guild Master, Hermes and Ganesha (Hestia’s reaction to that revelation mirrored my own). So it’s no surprise why Hestia’s family, or anyone else who is open to helping them would be a welcomed addition to that tiny pool.
As such, this is also why Lyd took the time to explain to Bell how he doesn’t need to feel guilty or hesitate fighting the other monsters. Because they (the Xenos) kills monsters too and consumes the magic stones they drop because it is what makes them stronger. So this really gives everyone (especially Bell) a lot more room to breathe, because everything is overwhelming as it is.
So in this case, it’s not so much of “monsters” and “humans” co-existing, but is more specifically referring to this group of intelligent species. Nevertheless, because they are grouped up with the others monsters that exist alongside them in the dungeon, they aren’t being given the chance to be fairly judged without prejudice. But it is precisely because there is so much mystery behind the existence of Monsters, it’s an understatement why Ouranos wants to investigate further of their significance so the bridge can be made for people to acknowledge their value.
That’s why I found the discussion about Monsters’ origins and the Xenos was so facinating. Hilariously, it frustrates me how I haven’t had the time to catch up to the this volume. All I could think of was, “I want to read this right now.” But that was also why this episode was so much fun to watch. It was suggested cycle of a monster’s life is similar to Human’s. After death, they return to their “Mother”, the Labyrinth, (for Humans “The Heaven”) and undergo a new life through rebirth. It is suggested that the Xenos remember bits of their past life (or lives). One of Lyd’s explanations behind it is some of the Xenos can talk and others cannot. But those who do are able to pick up the language very quickly, as though they remembered how. The reason for that is because there’s a possibility they may have been Human or something who lived on the surface in their past life. Another reason to believe in this possibility is how they vividly can dream and envision the world of the surface they have never visited in this life before. For Lyd, he dreams of the crimson sunset, and wishes to go visit it once more, just as Rei dreams of flying under the sun and being embraced by the one she loves.
Finally, it was great to have Fels properly introduced to us. I couldn’t figure out exactly what he was, so I refined from making an speculation haha! He is the remains of a famous Sage (formerly Human) who was well known for being the first and only person who managed to successfully create the philosopher stone and gain eternal life in his pursuit for infinite wisdom. Now all that is left of him is literally a skeleton. As such he is regarded as Fels the Fool. He is the observer of the ages, and responsible for communications between Ouranos, Lyd and the Xenos after he made contact with Lyd over 15 years ago, and played a role in helping them gain protection and assistance from the Guild (ie: existential supplies such as food and weapons, because they can’t necessarily make it themselves, so otherwise they loot them from fallen Adventurers.)
We were also introduced to some new characters such as Gros, who aren’t completely sold on Bell and his gang yet, and understandably so, as well as implication to a powerful newcomer who wasn’t present due to training in the deeper levels. But he is said to be stronger than Lyd who is the leader and was said to be the stronger of the Xenos, poor guy, haha.
With that we now gotta wait for the next episode, and gosh, it’s probably going to hurt to watch. TT ^ TT I must prepare my heart. It hurt a lot just seeing Wiene cry while being separated from Bell… Until then, see you next week!
