Helck is following a very consistent, steady pattern in terms of development.  Every week it lays another few bricks, building up our knowledge of the mythology bit by bit.  And so far at least there haven’t been any huge surprises – every reveal fits neatly with what we’ve been told before.  It seems pretty clear this isn’t a series that trades on misdirection.  Rather, doing the expected in an entertaining way seems to be the order of the day.

On that score, surprise is the theme of Helck and Anne from Management’s encounter with the elder.  He’s merely trying to give Vermilio a little surprise party, and Helck is playing along.  But everyone on the island (so far) is utterly feckless and welcoming.  They just want to hang out and have a good time, boredom seeming to be the biggest challenge with island life.  There is talk, however, of the “Great Witch” who lives on the mountain.  She, the elder says, is the one who can tell Helck and Vermilio which way to sail back to the mainland.  But she’s put up a barrier around the mountain because the local pinheads were constantly showing up and bothering her.  I look forward to her likely appearance next week.

Vermilio and Helck finally have a frank discussion (a long time coming).  She asks him flat-out what he plans to do once they get home, and whether (and why) he can raise his sword against his former friends.  Helck’s answers are quite interesting.  He was alone, and the demonkin welcomed him, fostering a sense of gratitude.  And as for humans, they’re a “blight” (wow, strong language there) that must be wiped out – his enemies now.  That all seems to stem from the human king, who Helck believes is responsible for the state of war between humans and demons.

Meanwhile, the three contestants left behind have more than their hands full with a sky full of winged heroes who seem to view Edil with disdain for having gotten himself killed.  In fact the decision is made to send Kenros back home to report on what’s happened, though he’s rather reluctant to leave Hyura and Dorsche behind on their own. That becomes moot, however, when the cavalry shows up – in the form of Isuta (who can do a lot more than cut hair).  She hasn’t brought an army with her, but something even better – a badass in a bad mask.

Up to this point we’ve pretty much only seen Azudora in comic relief mode.  But hey, as someone who outranks Vermilio in the hierarchy you had to assume he was packing some serious firepower.  And indeed he is – a squadron of winged knights is nothing to him.  But Azudora makes it clear that his preference is to avoid conflict, and he tells the awakened humans that they and demons used to peacefully coexist – something which they seem to have no knowledge of whatsoever.  When push comes to shove I can’t think Helck is going to adopt its title character’s position on humans – Azudora’s seems much more likely, though there’s clearly going to be a lot of convincing involved (not least with Helck himself).