Summary: Mugaro saves Azazel from death by using his power to nullify the Onyx Soldiers' armor.
Azazel takes advantage of Charioce being distracted by Mugaro's power and attacks him, but Charioce defends himself and enjoys the duel, confident that he'll be victorious.
Kaisar suddenly appears, interposing himself in the fight and preventing Charioce and Azazel from killing each other, thus turning him into a traitor to the crown.
While they settle their affairs, the gods capture Mugaro, depriving him of using his light. And although Azazel tries to help him, he ends up being seized by the Onyx Task Force, whose armors began to work again as soon as his friend was immobilized.
The gods also take Bacchus and Hamsa with them for treason.
Nina arrives at the place and is shocked to see her friends being taken to heaven against their will.
Upon seeing her, Azazel asks her to transform into a dragon and help the demons. His words immediately attract Charioce's attention. He stops the Onyx Task Force from taking action against Nina immediately, as he wants to confirm first if she's really the Red Dragon.
Although Nina tries to convert after seeing the massacre left behind, she cannot and ends up being captured along with Azazel and Kaisar by the Onyx Soldiers.
In the afternoon, Rita wonders what happened to Nina. She soon learns that she was taken prisoner on suspicion of being part of the demon rebellion along with Azazel and Kaisar, and will be prosecuted for treason along with them.
After reading their charges, Kaisar and Nina are sentenced to remain eternally in prison. However, Nina tries to negotiate the length of her stay, as she doesn't want to spend her whole life there.
Charioce asks for a moment and gives Nina the floor, who takes the opportunity to tell him that she thinks he's an evil king because he mistreats innocent demons and even leads them to death. And that as much as he exploits them, in reality, he needs them because they help him build the city.
Not being satisfied with what she has said, Nina continues and claims that while everyone thinks he's an ideal king, he's nothing more than a bully to her. And while humans and demons fear him, she's different and isn't afraid of him in the least.
While everyone listens to Nina in astonishment and expects a hostile response from Charioce, he just laughs without malice, leaving everyone speechless.
Charioce, intrigued, asks her if she's the Red Dragon, but Nina says she's not. Charioce doesn't believe her, but he says no word. Then, he gives the order to take her and Kaisar to prison.
Meanwhile, Mugaro wakes up in the Vanaheimr sky, where Gabriel greets and calls him by his real name: El. Gabriel persuades him by telling him that if he joins forces with the gods, he'll be able to see his mother again.
On the other hand, Bacchus and Hamsa end up locked up as punishment for not having reported finding the Holy Child in the human world.
Sofiel asks Bacchus why he didn't tell her, and Bacchus replies that he didn't because he felt he had to hide it. Bacchus further asks Sofiel why they want the Holy Child. When she tells him that Gabriel intends to use it to make the humans regain faith in the gods, Bacchus gets upset and tells her to leave Mugaro out of the whole conflict. Otherwise, it'll mean Jeanne's ruin.
Once Sofiel leaves, Hamsa tells Bacchus that while they were being captured, Nina was yelling from the streets and that he's worried about her.
Nina and Kaisar are transported by boat to the Prison Island's dungeons, which are impenetrable.
Nina asks her transporter what happened to the Rag Demon, and he replies that he's probably being tortured to reveal who his accomplices are. Nina then regrets not having been able to transform into the Red Dragon to help him during the parade.
Somewhere else, Azazel is tortured —just as the transport guard said— and receives a visit from Charioce, who personally interrogates him to verify if he knew who the boy the gods took away really was.
As soon as Azazel admits to having no idea, Charioce calls him an idiot and tells him that the gods had been looking for that child for a long time and that he planned to kill him before they found him, but that his actions ruined their plans.
Though it doesn't matter anymore since now that the gods have the Holy Child on their side, he won't hesitate to kill them as well, and when he does, Jeanne D'Arc will surely stop praying.
When Nina arrives at the women's prison, she's assigned a cell just in front of Jeanne D'Arc's. On the other hand, Kaisar is assigned a cell right in front of that of his old friend Favaro, who is, in turn, Nina's master.
Style: The two opposing concepts —victory and defeat— are present from the beginning of the episode and throughout it. Charioce defeats Azazel and captures him along with the traitors to the crown. The gods score a victory against Charioce by capturing the Holy Child and the traitors Bacchus and Hamsa.
Point of view: Charioce's and Nina's are the focus.
Tone: Defeated
Fixed literary devices:
- Transversal themes:
- Love
- Identity and Secrecy
- Duty and Beliefs
- Transversal symbols (motifs):
- Red chili
Mutable literary devices:
- Episode Themes:
- Victory and Defeat
- Intrepidness
Conflicts: Victory vs. Defeat
Thematic elements:
- Victory vs. Defeat:
- Azazel is defeated by Charioce and the Royal Army.
- The gods manage to capture El/Mugaro —the Holy Child—, which gives them an advantage over the humans and their Onyx armor, representing a pre-victory for them, as they'll use him against humans.
- Duty vs. Beliefs:
- By intervening in the fight between Charioce and Azazel, Kaisar shows that he's still firm in his ideals about coexistence and peace between the three species, despite being an Orleans knight bound to obey the king.
- Bacchus tells Sofiel that he lied about not having found the Holy Child because he felt he should keep it hidden, away from the gods.
- Charioce executes neither Kaisar, Nina, nor Azazel. Instead, he sends Kaisar and Nina to prison since he esteems them.
- Intrepidness:
- When captured, Nina tells Charioce what she thinks of him and that, unlike humans and demons, she doesn't fear him in the least.
- Like Nina, Charioce fears nothing and even enjoys fighting Azazel.
- Love:
- Charioce wonders if she has fallen in love with the Red Dragon when Azazel leaves open the possibility that Nina is by asking her to transform and help the demons.
- Charioce is further enticed by Nina when she tells him that, unlike humans, demons and gods, she's not afraid of him in the least. Nina is the only person in the whole world who doesn't fear him, and that makes him so happy that he can only genuinely laugh after listening to her.
- It's hinted that Belphegor likes Azazel.
- Identity and Secrecy:
- Mugaro's real name is El, and he's Jeanne D'Arc's son. Therefore, the power he possesses to nullify armor is divine.
- Charioce is almost sure that Nina is the Red Dragon as soon as Azazel asks her to transform to help him, and she tries in vain.
- During the trial, Charioce wants to hear Nina admit that she's the Red Dragon, but she denies it, even though Charioce knows she's lying.
- The guard who's in charge of Nina during the trial doesn't let her raise her head high enough to see Charioce's face and realize that he's Chris.
Symbols:
- Red chili: It represents the bond between Nina and Chris/Charioce.
Nina wears on her clothes the same chili that Chris returned to her during the festival the night before.At the same time, it acts as an amulet that protects her from bad luck and death.
- Winged Lion: The lion, known as a symbol of power, pride, magnificence, nobility, and courage, was associated with Mark because it highlights the power of the resurrection, the majesty, and royalty of Christ, and the characteristics of his Gospel.This symbol is found on the royal chair of Charioce when he sentences Kaisar and Nina to remain eternally in the dungeons.On the other hand, the lion represents ferocity, an animal that describes Charioce quite well since he's a hunter, as analyzed in previous episodes.
- Boat: Symbolizes hopelessness. Nina regrets not having been able to help Azazel and, moreover, loses hope that she'll be free again. The same applies to Kaisar.
Scenarios:
- Royal City of Anatae
- City Center
- Royal Castle
- Prison-Island
- Women's Prison
- Men's Prison
- Land of the gods
- Vanaheimr Sky
References:
- The Day of Defeat: The episode's title is inspired by Japan's Day of Remembrance, the day they lost to American troops during World War II.
- Lion of St. Mark: It's a winged lion that symbolically represents St. Mark the Evangelist, patron saint of Venice.
- Christ: The winged lion highlights the resurrection, majesty, and royalty of Christ.
- Santo Stefano Island: Anatae's high-security prison is inspired by what was once Italy's Alcatraz.
Foreshadowing:
- Elements:
- Winged Lion: Although Charioce doesn't worship the gods, the symbolism used on his chair shows his messianic side which, together with his real name, Chris, reiterates that he'll sacrifice himself for mankind at some point.
- Boat: As much as it symbolizes hopelessness, it also symbolizes death and portends it. There's something around Nina that leads her to a destiny of death, as she's the one who has the most focus during the transport scene to the prison-island.
This element with a fatal meaning is complemented by a foreshadowing of the following episode, around what the number 17 represents.
- Foreshadowing lines:
- Mugaro's death and Jeanne D'Arc's ruin:
- Bacchus: What do you seek to start with that child?Sofiel: The humans have lost their way, and Saint Gabriel wishes to guide them back to offering their prayers to the gods.Bacchus: And they are going to use that child to do it?Sofiel: That child's power is the only thing capable of overriding the forbidden magic used by humans.Bacchus: Leave the child out of this! It'll be Jeanne D'Arc's end again.
- Charioce: The gods are overconfident now that they have the child, so I'll just kill them all. When I do, that woman will probably stop praying.
One way or another, Mugaro's destiny seems to be marked by inevitable death. He could be killed by the gods or by humans as a result of the imminent conflict that's about to break out between the two sides. - Security of/in the prisons:
- Charioce: Lock them both in the tower prison; they'll remain there forever.
- Guard: Nice, isn't it? It's an inescapable underground dungeon.While neither Nina nor Kaisar were executed, despite their treasonous acts, Charioce shows mercy and sends them to a high-security prison.This is quite noteworthy because, previously, Charioce had warned Kaisar that if he stood in his way, he'd kill him. And yet, when he does stand in his way, Charioce chooses to keep him alive and send him to a safe place just at a critical moment when the gods can strike at any time.Something similar happens in Nina's case. Charioce could have had her executed for being suspected of being the Red Dragon. However, he doesn't do it for two reasons: he's in love with her and sees in her an equal and, also, because, like Kaisar, he prefers to keep them out of the way of what might happen and the high-security prison seems to be the safest place for both of them.
Characters:
- Charioce: As Mugaro knocks out his Onyx Task Force with his power, Charioce has no option but to hold his sword and fight for his life. He demonstrates his tactical superiority and fights to the death against Azazel, whom he easily corners thanks to his strength.Kaisar interrupts their fight by crossing swords with them, neutralizing their attacks and preventing them from harming each other.Charioce ends up fighting Kaisar directly for his insolence, but Kaisar deprives him of his sword, causing it to get caught in the gears of his mechanical hand.Once the gods capture Mugaro, his light stops working, and it's then that the Onyx soldiers capture Kaisar and Azazel.Nina appears on the scene and calls Mugaro by his name.Charioce suspects that Nina is the Red Dragon at the precise moment when Azazel asks her to transform to help Mugaro and save the demons.He carefully observes Nina, and although she fails to transform, he has his men take her prisoner on suspicion of being the Red Dragon.During the trial of Kaisar and Nina, and after their charges are read, Charioce orders send them to the prison-island and that they will remain there eternally (*).(*): The reasons behind this decision are revealed in episode 23.The prison turns out to be the safest place in the city and would resist any attack or calamity. Charioce knows that once he releases Bahamut and uses Dromos, only the people in prison, underground, will survive. He would never kill Kaisar, let alone Nina. He has imprisoned all those he considers could carry on with mankind once he dies using Dromos.Nina doesn't want to spend her whole life in prison, so she tries to negotiate the time.Charioce asks for a moment and approaches her, but before he can say anything, Nina tells him what she thinks of him. That he isn't a good king since he abuses demons when he really needs them for the city to prosper. And while humans, gods, and demons fear him, she's different and isn't afraid of him.Charioce thinks Nina's attitude is captivating, as she's the first person he's met who isn't afraid of him, so he just can't help but laugh naturally when he hears her. Besides, it's funny to him hearing that he's seen as someone who hates demons since in episode 17 it's revealed that Charioce doesn't really have any grudge against them while playing soccer with the demon kids.He likes that there's someone defiant like her and that she freely expresses what she thinks. At the same time, it's evident that there's a motive behind his disdain toward demons that Nina doesn't know about, and that's amusing to him as well.Charioce wants to know if Nina is the Red Dragon, so he asks her directly, but she hides the truth. Charioce knows she is, but doesn't insist and gives the order to take her and Kaisar to prison.Later, Charioce visits Azazel in the torture chamber and, after mentioning how pathetic he looks, asks him if he happened to know the identity of the boy who was with him all this time. Seeing that Azazel didn't know, he calls him an idiot since, because of him, his plans have been ruined (*) and he'll have to prepare to fight against the gods at any moment, and he's now forced to kill the Holy Child because, without a doubt, the gods will use their power against him.(*): Charioce wanted to capture Mugaro to prevent the outbreak of a war in which he's at a disadvantage if he doesn't use Dromos, the weapon he has reserved to finish off Bahamut. Charioce could die before his time without accomplishing his great goal because of an unforeseen war unleashed by Azazel since he was the one who dragged Mugaro into his plans and made him fall into the hands of vengeful gods.In this episode, Charioce's merciful side is seen as he spares Kaisar's life, whom he had promised to kill if he interfered in his plans. And also Nina's, showing that his human spirit prevails over his duties as king when people he trusts and appreciates are involved.
- Nina: Nina arrives where Charioce and Azazel are fighting as she searches for Mugaro. Upon seeing him captured by the gods, Azazel begs her to transform into the Red Dragon to help him and avenge the demons killed in the battle.Nina looks around in horror at the sight of so many dead. For the sake of Mugaro and the fallen, she tries to transform, but unable to do so, she's captured by the Onyx Task Force on suspicion of being the dragon that has caused them so much trouble.After her sentence, Charioce orders her to be locked up and spend the rest of her life in prison. But Nina doesn't like the idea and protests.When she sees Charioce approaching her, she doesn't contain her anger and expresses her rejection of him as king and his abusive methods to maintain human supremacy over demons. And although no one dares to tell him that because everyone is afraid of him, she's different and is not afraid of him in the least. Her words make Charioce laugh, who ends up asking her if she's the Red Dragon, a fact that she hides from him.At the end of the episode, she's sent to the women's prison and she regrets not having been able to help either Mugaro or Azazel.
- Kaisar: Disobeys Charioce and stands in his way to prevent him from killing Azazel.For his insolence towards the king, he's sentenced to eternal imprisonment, as is Nina.Kaisar is shocked when Nina openly expresses to Charioce what she thinks of him, and it turns out to be very similar to what he thinks. And he continues to be impressed when he sees how Charioce reacts to her words, who, instead of being sterner with her, simply laughs.Kaisar is taken to his cell at the men's prison, where he's right in front of his old friend Favaro's cell.
- Azazel: Although he thinks he has the advantage as Mugaro uses his light to cancel the power of the Onyx armors, he's defeated by Charioce and Kaisar at the same time.Seeing himself powerless and watching as Nina enters the scene, he implores her to help him save Mugaro from the gods who have come to take him away.Azazel knows he's to blame for the death of his comrades and for letting the gods take Mugaro with them. He hopes that Nina will help him, but when she fails to transform into the Red Dragon and is taken prisoner, he regrets having dragged all those on whom he depended to an unfortunate fate.Azazel is captured and taken to the torture room to reveal more information about his accomplices.During the interrogation, Azazel receives a visit from Charioce, who laughs at how miserable he is and asks if he ever had any idea of Mugaro's true identity. Azazel had no idea that his friend was never a demon but Jeanne D'Arc's son.Charioce tells him that thanks to his clumsiness, his plans have been ruined and that he'll now have to prepare to face the gods since they won't hesitate to use the Holy Child's power against humans. And if before he only wanted to capture him, now he'll be forced to kill him if he turns out to be a great threat. And although he doesn't want to do it, maybe at the end of the day, that will make Jeanne stop praying and lead humans to stop offering prayers to the gods once and for all.
- El/Mugaro: He's captured by Sofiel and the gods while saving Azazel's life.He's taken to Vanaheimr, where he meets Gabriel, who knows his real name and who his mother is.
- Bacchus: He's captured by Sofiel and the gods for treason and enjailed, along with Hamsa, in Vanaheimr.He confesses to Sofiel that he hid the Holy Child because he had a hunch that the gods were plotting to involve him in something he shouldn't.
- Hamsa: He and Bacchus are captured and taken to the same cell as him in the land of the gods.He regrets not telling Sofiel that Mugaro was the Holy Child and wants to get out of the cell.He comments to Bacchus that he heard Nina worried about them at the moment they were being taken away.
- Sofiel: Captures Mugaro upon finding him, and also Bacchus and Hamsa, and takes them to the Land of the Gods.He interrogates Bacchus in his cell to find out why he hid the Holy Child from her, to which Bacchus replies that he did so because he felt he had to.Sofiel tells Bacchus that Gabriel wants to use El to correct the way of the humans and make them offer prayers to them as they used to, which upsets Bacchus.
- Gabriel: She welcomes Mugaro in Vanaheimr. She tells Mugaro his true identity and tells him that, if he wants to see his mom again and save her, he has to help her.
- Alessand: He disapproves of Captain Kaisar acting on his own, disobeying the king, and even betraying him. Further emphasizing his displeasure with the disrepute of the Orleans Knights.
- Dias: Unlike Alessand, he understands Kaisar and his disobedience to Charioce.
- Jeanne D’Arc: She prays in prison. Nina's cell is in front of hers.
- Favaro: He recognizes and greets his old friend Kaisar, who's right in front of his cell.
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