「 人造迷宮クノッソス」 (Kunossosu (Jinzou Meikyuu))
“Knossos (Man-Made Labyrinth)”

Plummeting Mortal-Xenos Relations

As expected, we see a huge escalation in conflict between mortals trying to protect Liveria and the Xenos who are desperately seeking out their kidnapped kin. When even the most hopeful of Xenos in Lyd cannot control his anger to the point where he’d cross blades with Bell and warn him to fuck off, when they had been so friendly in the past, it speaks volumes about how things might have gone past the point of no return.

And one has to wonder how Bell can go around fixing these fractured race relations, even if he goes at it with the best of intentions. He genuinely wants to save Wiene. Seeing how he defied Ryu and insisted on putting himself on the line for the Xenos’ sake, even after they rejected him, I’m confident his sheer tenacity and passion will win them over. Especially now that they’ve reached a critical juncture in saving the captured Xenos from the Ikelos Familia, where cooperation is vital for them to even stand a chance considering how Dix is Level 5.

It’s too late for Ranya and the other Xenos who were murdered. And I don’t expect the Xenos community to forgive and forget so easily. But hopefully they can realise that not all mortals are evil. And that most of the mortals can understand this place of hurt where these Xenos are coming from.

The Legacy of Daedalus

As for the history lesson, that explains how Dix could operate around Orario under the nose of the Guild and various Gods. It’s because he’s a descendant of Daedalus – the creator of Babel as well as the Knossos, a secret man-made labyrinth that serves as another entrance into Babel that only those of his bloodline can freely move around in. Seeing his bloodline as a curse, he views the use of Knossos as his birthright. That he is entitled to do whatever he wants with it, even if his actions within the artificial labyrinth are horrific. Namely kidnapping, torturing, enslaving and murdering sapient monsters.

So why would he do such things? Turns out all these awful deeds have an underlying motive. Dix wishes to accrue funds that will allow him to finish building Knossos and put a rest to the obsession which eats away at him. If he wasn’t so unremorseful, I might have felt a modicum of sympathy for him. However, he’s unapologetically cruel and evil that there’s no room for giving him leeway. Many people are born with congenital conditions that inflict pain upon them, but don’t seek to intentionally subject others under a similar suffering.

There are no real excuses for Dix as far as I’m concerned, and hopefully Bell will exact karmic retribution upon this nasty piece of shit. It’s been a really long time, since the minotaur fight at the end of Season 1, where I felt this kind of excited anticipation for Danmachi. J.C. Staff have really been on fire compared to Season 2 and I have had absolutely no complaints to make so far, which is pretty rare, meaning there’s a real chance we’ll be getting something truly incredible.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading this post and see you all next week!

6 Comments

  1. I’m really intrigued about this episode.

    On its own, this feels like the endgame. The bad guy’s big secret, backstory and motivations have been revealed. The opposing good guys (Bell and Lyd) have met and talked about why they are doing this, dispelling the efar of more misunderstandings. Now it all boils down to a fight between the hero and the big bad. If a human saves the Xenos and the Ganesha familia manages to clear the field with zero casualties, the season could end in the next episode on a high note.

    But this is not episode 11. It’s episode 6. There’s still half the season to go through.

    I expect a twist, an unexpected revelation, a shocking battle result, something that throws a wrench into the narrative. And I efar that it’s not going to be pretty.

    Mistic
  2. The 3 volumes this season are adapting (9, 10, & 11) are one of the best, if not the best arc in Danmachi. Honestly speaking, the fight with Dix is pretty low on my hype scale compared to what is still coming.

    Avalon
  3. If Dix is the big bad of this season, then there’s no way that he’ll go down next episode. It seems more likely to me that Bell & team Xenos will make their escape with the help of the Minotaur, though I at least hope that they’ll manage to take Wiene with them.
    Event to me as an unspoiled anime only guy, it’s way too obvious that the Minotaur just has to turn out being the one that Bell defeated back in season 1. That kind of reveal would make for a nice cliffhanger next episode. Looking forward to it.

    boingman

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