Highlights
- Rimuru and Hinata’s long-awaited battle reveals a series of misunderstandings that may lead to tragic outcomes.
- Lady Luminous and the Seven Luminaries play a sinister role in manipulating events behind the scenes.
- Despite the intense fighting and plot twists, the episode sets the stage for an even more intriguing conspiracy to unfold.
The following contains spoilers for That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Season 3, Episode 8, “Misunderstanding”, available on Crunchyroll.
The eighth episode of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime was very eventful as the “fated” battle between Rimuru and Hinata Sakaguchi finally takes off, with various other clashes taking place between both leaders’ generals. Over the course of the battle, a number of inconsistencies become apparent on both sides, and for one of the Ten Great Saints who made way for Tempest despite Hinata’s orders, this realization may have come way too late.
While this battle has been teased as the main event this season, the actual fighting between Tempest and the Holy Knights wrapped up within the course of the episode, making way for something even more interesting, as in the final scene, Sakaguchi sustains what appears to be a fatal wound to protect none other than Rimuru himself.
Lady Luminous Receives An Update
Hinata’s Death Would Pose A Problem
The episode begins with Luminous Valentine, the real identity of the God of Light of the Luminous Faith, as she dotes on and is enamored with a frozen box containing an individual who appears to be in some kind of suspended animation. Louis Valentine, who plays the role of the Holy Emperor of the Empire of Lubelius, enters the chamber to tell her of Hinata’s arrival in Tempest, and that the Seven Luminaries may have something to do with her actions. In the second episode of this season of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Hinata was told to avoid further aggravating him because he has become an immense threat. She is an important underling, so losing her soon after the death of Roy Valentine would pose problems. Lady Luminous prepares her underlings Louis and Gunther to head out, telling them that they can’t afford to sit idly.
The Battle Commences
Rimuru vs Hinata And Other Battles
Once their clash begins, Hinata’s Skill appraises Rimuru as someone it cannot beat, putting him on the same level as Lady Luminous. She drops the Dragon Buster and immediately materializes her spirit energy, taking on a form with glowing wings and armour that she hasn’t shown before, using a Legendary sword instead. Rimuru responds by imbuing his sword with his own dark energy and the high-speed battle continues. While Hinata and Rimuru face each other, Shion takes on Leonard and Garde, Benimaru fights Arnaud, while Sufia and Albis of the Beastketeers take on Fritz and Bacchus and Soei challenges Ritus.
Shion shows just how hopeless their situation is as she tanks the enemy’s most powerful attacks and destroys the Holy Field barrier meant to pose a major problem for monsters. Leonard is continuously surprised by the fact that it doesn’t seem like their forces are actually being killed. Once they’re defeated, she and the Knights watch Rimuru and Hinata’s battle, with Shion lamenting her leader’s current situation because all he wanted to do was talk. Leonard then realizes that he had been manipulated into trying to kill Rimuru and that Hinata was trying to curry favour with him. When Shion tells him that his leading an army to Tempest is forcing Rimuru to fight, he realizes that his actions, done to prove that Hinata isn’t allied to Rimuru in any way, may be the very reason she will lose her life.
Hinata and Rimuru’s clash was an exciting exchange, and even after his awakening, Rimuru still struggled against the Holy Knight Captain. The clash of blows revealed to both parties that they may have been manipulated into conflict. Rimuru believes Reyheim was killed to frame Tempest, while Hinata’s understanding of the abridged message shown to her during the meeting of the Ten Great Saints was that she had incurred the wrath of the Demon Lord, whom she’d been manipulated into provoking, leading to the current circumstances. Before their blades clashed, Hinata learned of Reyheim’s death, and when she confirmed reception of Rimuru’s message (which was meant to be an invitation to talk 1-on-1), Rimuru asked her if this conflict was her answer. Hinata, having long put together that this situation is the result of a number of misunderstandings, doesn’t try to explain herself, but she does mention that she has no idea why her second-in-command disobeyed her orders.
Is This The End Of Hinata Sakaguchi?
Treacherous Outcomes
During their battle, Rimuru is overwhelmed by Hinata, who has far more combat experience than he does despite the immense power he possesses. At some point, Hinata is spurred on by her memories of Shizu, and her incredible speed at which she attacks only increases, forcing Rimuru into a corner. Relying on Ultimate Skill Raphael, Rimuru gains a last-ditch ability: Predict Future Attack, which does what it says on the box, enabling the Demon Lord to see where Hinata’s next strike will go. As she notices the difference in Rimuru’s confidence after the update, all her underlings return from their respective battles, defeated. She realizes that they’ve lost, so she asks Rimuru if they can finish it with one final blow.
At this point, Raphael points out that there is no killing intent in Sakaguchi’s words, and when Rimuru tells her that his survival means she must surrender, she smiles at him, claiming that she knew he’d say that. Putting her all into the “Melt Slash” attack, Rimuru is forced to give up his Ultimate Skill: Beelzebub to offset the attack which was both unavoidable and impossible to defend. When the dust settled, Rimuru stood victorious and Hinata sat behind him, laughing at him for taking such an attack head on. However, the pleasant mood of the moment is stolen away as the Dragon Buster sword moved on its own and unleashed a powerful beam. Hinata reacted, taking the blow in Rimuru’s stead as it tore through her chest.
The Apt Episode Title
A Well-Orchestrated Series of Misunderstandings
With all the action, drama and surprises that arose this episode, the long build-up is paying off, and the next episode can’t come around fast enough. Those who have been longing to see Rimuru face Hinata Sakaguchi were not disappointed in the least as the battle that has been teased since long before this third season of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime even aired finally took place. However, over the course of the past few weeks, the series has slowly been building towards not just this clash, but a conspiracy that seems to be trying to get rid of not only Rimuru, but Hinata as well.
The Clerics of the Seven Luminaries, the enigmatic figures within the Luminous faith and the Western Holy Church have been conspiring in the background, leading Hinata to Tempest after tampering with the message that Falmuth’s former Archbishop Reyheim was meant to deliver to her from Rimuru himself, killing him afterward to make it look like it was Tempest’s doing. They also manipulated Hinata’s second-in-command, Leonard (or “Renard”) to head to Tempest with an army after sowing seeds of doubt in his mind regarding her allegiance, implying that she’s trying to gain the favour of the Demon Lord. When three Luminaries appeared during the meeting of the Ten Great Saints, Hinata saw through their gesture of offering her the Dragon Buster to vanquish Veldora, but she simply could not have predicted this.
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