Highlights
- Hinata and the Ten Great Saints discuss the threat of Rimuru, leading to a surprising decision to avoid antagonizing him.
- Various personalities clash as the Saints report on Rimuru’s activities, highlighting internal conflicts and potential alliances.
- Reyheim’s report on Rimuru’s power sets the stage for a one-on-one duel challenge to Hinata, escalating tensions further.
The following contains spoilers for That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Season 3, Episode 5, “Meeting of Both Sides”, available on Crunchyroll.
Episode 5 of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime season 3 is a turning point in this part of the story, as Hinata Sakaguchi meets the other Great Saints in order to discuss the threat of the newly-awakened Demon Lord Rimuru and the state of affairs in the recently dominated Kingdom of Falmuth. Sakaguchi, having conferred with Lady Luminous herself after the events of Walpurgis, makes the seemingly out-of-character decision to no longer attempt to antagonize Rimuru.
However, when Falmuth’s former Archbishop, Reyheim, arrives and tells the story of what took place on the battlefield in front of the Luminaries and the Great Saints, Hinata receives a message: Rimuru Tempest is challenging her to a duel.
Introduction To The Ten Great Saints
What To Do About Tempest
Hinata Sakaguchi arrives last to the meeting of the Ten Great Saints teased at the end of the previous episode, and is immediately berated by a young man named Saare, who blames her for the birth of a new Demon Lord; however, many of the others immediately step up to defend her. Unfazed by Saare’s scathing comments, Hinata puts an end to the building argument, because it’s pointless to be fighting amongst allies, showing a clear level of disagreement and serving as a quick glance at some of the personalities and loyalties in the room. Each member is designated a position ranging from Rook to Knight, with the Paladin of Water, Ritus, giving a report of her time in Tempest. She noted the level of progress evident in the infrastructure and overall safety of the region, as well as constant trade with various merchants, including humans. This is evidence that Rimuru’s claim to want to be on friendly terms with humans is holding up. Their biggest concern, the newly-revived Storm Dragon Veldora, was nowhere to be found.
There’s a short montage of the various saints reporting back about their various assignments, with clear emphasis on Ritus and Saare’s reports because they concern Tempest, Falmuth and whether Demon Lord Rimuru may have anything to do with the situation in the latter. Saare reports that the newly-appointed King Edward appears to be forming an army, drafting a lot of mercenaries and citizens; and he has come in contact with the Free Union, merchants from the east, and even forces from the Western Holy Church, desperate to build up a powerful military force. Despite there being several new characters introduced at once, the instantaneous impact of each character’s personality was felt without it feeling overly archetypal, which made the discussions enjoyable as various internal conflicts and friction were always at the forefront.
Rimuru, The Untouchable
The One Who Controls The Catastrophic Threat of Veldora
Since Veldora hasn’t had much impact since his revival, the only report concerning the Storm Dragon after his return is the destruction of Falmuth’s military forces; however, the Paladin of Light, Renard, reports that it’s fully possible that the damage caused by Veldora’s return is actually zero, meaning that something else must’ve happened to the forces of Falmuth, because Veldora’s return is undeniable. Hinata shares the news she heard from Lady Luminous after Walpurgis; that Veldora is actually under the control of Rimuru, and because of that fact, they are not to initiate any further aggression against him. This naturally doesn’t go down well with several other Great Saints, especially the Master Rook, Grigori, who can’t imagine simply allowing a Demon Lord to determine the fate of a human territory.
Edward’s actions are evidence of a budding civil war in the Kingdom of Falmuth, so Hinata wants to prioritize minimizing the harm that will befall its citizens and neighbouring nations, over taking down Rimuru. Hinata, who encountered Rimuru previously during the invasion of Tempest, now feels some level of regret for not taking the time to talk to him. She now wants to believe that his claim to want to get along with humans is true, realizing that she was also used by eastern merchants with an agenda. Remembering his behaviour, he really seemed to not want conflict, so Hinata feels responsible for the current situation. She was told by the merchants that a monster named Rimuru had killed Shizu, her master, as part of some kind of agenda. Hinata shares that Rimuru is, like herself, an Otherworlder who died in his previous life, so it’s possible that he could still be open to discussion.
The Archbishop’s Report
The Luminaries Spectate Over Proceedings
Reyheim shows up to report on what he saw, and he tells them the truth about Rimuru’s near-instantaneous decimation of an army 20 000 strong. Just as the Archbishop arrives, three members of the Seven Luminaries – the very Luminaries of legend who train Heroes like Hinata Sakaguchi herself. This puts immense pressure on Reyheim, as one of them also shows that he knows about things that the archbishop could be hiding. Reyheim recounts what he saw on the battlefield, the sheer terror of Rimuru, claiming that he was a fool and that the actions of the humans gave rise to a new Demon Lord.
The Luminaries speculate on what kind of magic fitting Reyheim’s description could have such devastating effects, but Hinata knows it’s an application of physics from a modern world that these people could have no knowledge of. Upon hearing about the Megiddo technique, all Hinata could think was the word “catastrophe”, realizing that Veldora and the newly-awakened Demon Lord Rimuru now rank among the few entities in existence that Lady Luminous herself cannot handle: the Lord of Darkness, Guy Crimson and Milim Nava – the Destroyer. Just as the group gets ready to disband, one of the Luminaries, Arze, reminds Reyheim of the message he is yet to deliver to Hinata from Rimuru himself; one in which the Demon Lord challenges her to a one-on-one battle.
The Eighth Trial
The Luminaries Give Hinata A Loaded Gift
With their ill-intent obvious to her, the Luminaries applaud Hinata on her decision to accept the challenge, and offer her a holy sword called the Dragon Buster that should be capable of damaging the Catastrophe-Class threat. Hinata is unsure of the reason for the challenge, as it would be strange to seek revenge now of all times. The best-case scenario for the Luminaries, whose intentions are steeped in treachery, is that Hinata and Veldora take each other out. At the end of the episode, Rimuru receives transmission that Hinata is on her way to Tempest with four Holy Knights, to the Demon Lord’s chagrin, as his message was most likely meant to scare them into leaving him alone. Diablo materializes and reports that Reyheim has died, in addition to the situation brewing in Falmuth. Essentially, the main event we’ve been waiting for this season is about to begin.
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