The past few weeks have painted a grim picture for the Hesita Familia in Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon, or DanMachi. Since the very beginning of Season 4, the Familia and their party have been put through the wringer time and again without any real chance to catch their breath.
When the first half of Season 4 ended, the Hestia Familia's party was completely separated from their leader Bell Cranel, who is trapped and fighting against the unstoppable irregular monster, the Juggernaut. To make matters worse, they had to contend with the Floor Boss, Amphisbaena, all on their own. While they seemed to be doing fine at first, by the end of the last episode things were looking rather dire, with maybe two of their members potentially dying. Given the circumstances, it looked like it might be the end.
How the Hestia Familia Turned Things Around
By the start of this episode, the Hestia Familia's spirits were basically broken. As soon as they thought they had gained the upper hand, Amphisbaena flipped the script and seemingly killed two of the party's members, Mikoto and Haruhime. In a fit of rage, both Ouka and Aisha charged at the monster, only to be swiftly take care of.
However, it was actually thanks to the two members of the Familia that were thought dead that the party actually managed to claim their victory. Even while submerged in water and being eaten alive by other monsters, Mikoto manages to cast her gravity spell on the area surrounding her and Amphisbaena. Ouka manages to notice the light from her spell as she was casting it, and has Welf create a massive ice bridge leading above the monster with his magic sword. Once Mikoto casts the spell, it manages to kill all the monsters attacking her underwater and even immobilize Amphisbaena.
The spell ended up working to not only trap Amphisbaena, but also strengthen Ouka's strike as he came crashing down with extra force from the ice bridge thanks to the increased gravity. With Mikoto's magic assisting him, Ouka managed to generate enough force to decapitate one of the Floor Boss' heads, specifically the one that could fire the magic-dispersing red mist.
While this was great news, the other head that could breathe fire capable of burning even water remained. Considering this head had the greater offensive capabilities, this fight could still have gone either way. Thankfully Haruhime managed to survive Amphisbaena's fire from last episode and even manages to perform her magic, Level Boost, on Aisha, giving her the strength of a Level 5 adventurer. In this state, Aisha manages to easily power through Amphisbaena's flames and cut down the remaining head, killing the beast in the process and earning the team their first victory since this ordeal began.
Was the Battle Really Over?
Unfortunately, even after killing the beast, the Dungeon wasn't willing to let the Hestia Familia catch their breath. Almost as soon as Amphisbaena falls, the Water City starts crumbling down. With all of their members either exhausted or severely injured, the group is split on whether they should try and get back to a safer floor or continue on downward in hopes of finding Bell and Ryuu.
Surprisingly, it is the normally quiet Cassandra who actually helps guide them to safety. While a capable healing mage, Cassandra's greatest talent would arguably be her clairvoyance, and while she had struggled to figure out exactly what her vision and the message that accompanied it meant, she realized it was warning her about this exact situation. With their only to options being either climbing up the floor or heading to lower-levels through an eastward passage, she ascertained that her vision was warning her that going east was the only way to save her party. After convincing the party to head that way, they are all relieved to see that she was right as the other adventurers trying to escape upwards all fell to their deaths in the process.
All in all, this week's episode managed to renew hope in the hearts of both the show's characters and audience, as this major victory seems to be sign of good things to come. However, considering that both Bell and Ryuu are still stuck in the White Palace while also being hunted by the Juggernaut, it's hard to say that things are truly looking good. Hopefully, the rest of the Hestia Familia can find Bell before it is too late.