Episode 31



Breaking Shield

Saya pulls Kai out of bed and over breakfast, she and Riku convince him to go out with them for a walk. The still depressed Kai ends up carrying all the stuff they buy.

Elsewhere in town, David and Lewis are discussing how Saya has read Joel’s dairy and now knows everything. Lewis seems a bit uneasy that their trump card is a 16-year old in terms of emotional state, but David says that Saya will not stop until she defeats Diva, and that she herself understands that best.

Meanwhile, in the Cinq Flèches building, Diva is bored. Karl says he'll get anything for her. Then Diva tells Karl that there’s something she wants – that child.

Saya and the others are taking a rest at a cafe, but Riku is growing increasingly unhappy at how distant Kai is treating Saya. He asks Kai to become friends with Saya again and claims that Kai is acting like a kid right now.

At that time, Collins has brought Julia along to his meeting with Van Argiano. Julia expresses her doubts about being there, especially since their research is not public. Collins knows that as part of Red Shield, they can’t publish this research, but he feels that it’s too important to the future of the human race to not use in a more significant manner. Van asks the two of them to wait a little longer for his leader to come. Van and Julia knew each other from back in university, and she can’t help but be suspicious of him, even when he claims that he wants to put Collins’ name into the history books. Collins says that Julia is the person who understands his research the best, to which Van responds that his leader then must have the second best understanding.

Back in Paris, Lewis leaves David in the park. As he’s walking off, Lewis asks David if he’s got any souvenirs he wants to give Julia, but David doesn’t understand. Sitting alone and reading up on the Cinq Flèches company, David suddenly hears a voice ask if he’s in Red Shield. David instantly recognizes Solomon Goldsmith, who takes a seat behind him. Solomon knows that the Red Shield ship is currently at Marseilles and reveals that in three days, the chevaliers of Diva will launch an all-out attack on it. He further reveals that the information has leaked from the inside of Red Shield. David wants to know why the enemy is telling him this. Solomon confesses that he can’t kill Saya – he wants her to live because they carry the same Chiropteran blood, as a species. Whether David chooses to believe him or not is up to David, but Solomon advises that he take Saya and run. David has more to say, but by this point Solomon’s already disappeared.

David then calls Joel and passes on everything he just learned. Joel orders David to bring Saya and the others back to the ship. After hanging up, David wonders how the Chevalier came about the location of the headquarters. He calls Julia, but she doesn’t pick up her phone and instead turns it off. During all this, Riku, Saya, and Kai have been getting their picture taken together in a photo booth. When they return back to the hotel, David rushes them to pack up their stuff.

Meanwhile, Amshel has finally arrived at the castle where Julia and Collins are waiting for him. But before he can get to see them, his cell phone goes off – it’s Solomon and it seems that something has happened with Diva. Amshel apologizes to Van because urgent business has come up and he has to go. Amshel calls back Solomon; he is notified that Karl has disappeared, along with Diva.

While Saya and the others are being flown to headquarters, Mao and Okamura discover that everyone is gone from the hotel room. Their only clue is a note that Kai left saying that he’ll contact them there if something happens. Back at the castle, Julia wants to go back to headquarters because she doesn’t agree with Collins’ stance on their research. He asks if she feels that the Chiropterans should be destroyed, even as they have exceeded mankind and offer new possibilities. In any case, Collins seems to think that they won’t have a place to return to, a statement that confuses Julia.

Having returned to the headquarters ship, Riku is still worrying abut Kai and Saya’s relationship. He tries to get Hagi’s advice, but Hagi’s reply is that only Saya can carry the burden of her suffering. He can only be silent and stand beside her, even if he can’t do anything for her. Riku ends up joining Kai on the deck of the ship. Kai thinks that his being beside Saya will cause her pain, but Riku conveys the same advice that Hagi gave: Saya shoulders her own suffering, so even if he can’t do anything, he can stay by her side. Riku then passes Kai the baseball glove they bought earlier and convinces him to go play catch with Saya. One of her throws falls short, so she goes to pick it up and meets Kai’s hand halfway. Saya takes this chance to confess that she’s deprived a lot of people of their lives. It used to be unbearable to think about, but she’s ready to face forward now. Kai says that she’s become strong – and not just her, Riku too. Even though he can’t do anything, he promises that he’ll stay by her and Riku’s side. He also suggests that when it’s all over, they should return to Okinawa, the three of them. Saya nods her head yes, and then Riku comes over and hands them each a photo of the three of them from earlier. Unfortunately, their game of catch ends when the ball goes over Riku’s head and over the railing.

Suddenly, Saya and Riku both start to hear Diva’s song. Something soon lands on the deck, creating quite an explosion. Red Shield guards are there with guns ready, but they are no match for the lightning-fast Karl. Behind him stands Diva, who wonders where that child is.