Well, that certainly got dark.

The cards are pretty much on the table at this point.  The whole flashback and to an extent the entire series has been building up to this reveal.  There had to be something big to make someone as forgiving as Helck turn on humanity unreservedly.  The straw that broke this camel’s back was going to have to be a bale big enough to feed a herd of cattle.  And I think, in hindsight, this certainly qualifies.

The impetus here is Zeruzeon (Morishima Shuuta), who popped up at the end of last week (and apparently in episode 6, though I don’t remember him).  He’s an army officer, apparently a noble. and he’s come to help for some Helck- er, Helck for some help.  Zeruzeon is a friend of Cless, and he reveals that Cless is the lynchpin (along with the king) of a plan to “awaken” everyone in the kingdom who isn’t a noble.  Effectively this turns them into mindless slave warriors, obviously an appealing prospect for most of the nobility.  But Zeruzeon is having nothing to do with it, and he doesn’t have to work too hard to convince Helck that rescuing Cless is the key to foiling the plot.

Alicia has been listening in, although that’s not too hard as Zeru hasn’t learned the concept of the indoor voice.  She insists on coming along (that will prove crucial), as does Edil, and off they go on the rescue mission.  Mikaros is awaiting them when they arrive having dispatched a few awakened (Helck does most of the damage), along with most of the kingdom’s political elite.  And the king (played by Sugita Tomokazu by the way).  He has the power to control minds, but it doesn’t work on Helck – which suggests his innate power may be even greater than his brother’s.

The other big reveal is that the “Hero Slayer” sword Helck entrusted to Vermilio originally belonged to Alicia – which doesn’t auger well for her future, of course.  She uses it to stop Cless after the King sics him on his brother, but Mikaros takes her down and turns the tables, snatching the blade and using it on Helck.  We know Helck survived this, and where he ended up, and we pretty much know what happened to Edil.  It seems like humanity other than Helck is headed for a bad end, at least in the flashback.  But if there’s any way to save or redeem them in the present, Helck is surely the guy to find it.