The following contains spoilers for That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Season 3, Episode 9, "The Scheming of the Seven Days", available on Crunchyroll.

The ninth episode of season 3 of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, the series’ 57th overall, was a dramatic affair on the back of Hinata Sakaguchi’s injury sustained through protecting Rimuru shortly after the conclusion of their one-on-one duel.

The shadowy influence of the Clerics of the Seven Luminaries is being made evident, and Diablo is once again put in the spotlight as we get a look into the war that has been brewing in Falmuth.

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The East’s Involvement

Information Wars and The Clashing Motives in Falmuth

In the domain of Count Nidol, the Eastern merchant Damrada recounts the events that have made Falmuth the eye of the storm, starting with the false announcement that the reparations that the Kingdom paid to Tempest were embezzled by Edamaris and the Champion Youm, which naturally enraged the nobles. An army was raised against the viscount by the king, Edward, and as one would expect, Youm and Edamaris did not simply accept the accusations lodged against them. Rimuru, who strategically placed Youm in Nidol’s domain after the signing of the treaty, sent reinforcements to support the Champion, in spite of beliefs that he’d been cast aside by the Demon Lord (like Falmuth’s deceased Archbishop Reyheim).

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In addition, he reveals his involvement in the planting of the lie that made Hinata out to be a secret servant of Rimuru, which also saw the Great Saint and Crusaders Vice-Captain Leonard lead an army to Tempest, in contravention of Hinata’s orders. Knowing that there’s a good chance that the lie has been exposed, Damrada laments losing the chance to get rid of Hinata at this point, but he has other orders from a group referred to as the Five Elders to subjugate the demon that supposedly killed Reyheim. He has also learned that Razen is loyal to this demon, meaning that it must be a threat beyond an Archdemon, perhaps the revival of an ancient Calamity-class threat. Damrada tells his secretary that they will depart, leaving an observer, and the demon hunters sent by their country behind in Falmuth, effectively leaving the new King Edward with the responsibility of defeating Diablo.

The New King’s Overconfidence

Edward’s Quest For Control

With backing from the Three Battlesages, and a request for reinforcements from Count Nidol delivered by the Eastern merchants, King Edward sees no more obstacles in his path, and his desire to invade Nidol’s domain to subjugate Youm, whom he has designated a traitor. Saare, Grigori and Glenda lend their powers and their men to this cause, with Grigori joining the invading force. However, as they leave, Diablo arrives, appearing before the King and the remaining Battlesages. He reports Grigori’s force to Hakuro, who is ready to intercept the army of 5000 with Gobta’s troops with wolf mounts. A large crowd of reporters from various countries are present at Edward’s camp to witness the demon’s exchange with the king. Diablo warns him to withdraw the troops and reconcile with Youm, but the foolish king merely recounts the lie that Edamaris schemed to swindle Falmuth, going as far as to describe Rimuru as a money-hungry warmonger.

He claims that they killed Reyheim to keep him quiet, showing everybody present a crystal ball containing a clip of the Archbishop begging an unseen third party for forgiveness, imploring them that he didn’t intend to betray them. This supposedly damning evidence draws gasps from the crowd, and the King confidently continues, claiming that Glenda brought him the evidence of Tempest’s treachery and Reyheim’s unwavering faith in the face of mortal danger and terror. Diablo is amused at the king’s confidence, because it is a rare occurrence for a mere human to conquer their sense of terror at being in his presence. Diablo presents a simple challenge: if a single human present can conquer their fear of him, he will accept defeat. The king orders the demon hunters from the east to defeat him, but they are useless. Only one eastern demon hunter and the two battlesages manage to stay conscious after Diablo emits his Demon Lord Presence. After casually referring to some primordial Daemons by their names, the demon hunter realizes the calibre of opponent he has on his hands, and swifty surrenders.

Diablo vs Saare

Waiting For Help That Will Never Come

Saare and Diablo get acquainted before their fight begins. Trusting in his god Luminous, Saare charges at Diablo and unleashes a number of attacks. He wonders why names like Blanc or Rouge should instill fear in him, when he could take down his opponent with raw skill. However, when Diablo reveals that he is Daemon Lord, legendary beings with power beyond that of a Demon Lord. After her knives have no effect on the demon butler, Glenda hilariously flees the scene, leaving Saare to fend for himself and hope for Grigori to come back – not knowing that Grigori is about to encounter his own insurmountable obstacle in the form of Gobta’s wolf-riding Yomigaeri unit supported by the Dragonkin led by Gabiru.

Ranga turns the Master Rook known as the “Giant Boulder” into a literal toy, with another overwhelming Tempest win. Diablo plays with Saare, whose sense of terror grows as their bout continues. Realizing the kind of foe he’s up against is far too powerful to have had any reason to kill Reyheim, meaning that Diablo can’t be the killer. Saare becomes the latest of the Ten Great Saints to start to realize the conspiracy underlying the sequence of events over the last few episodes of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime. As the realization sets in, three of the Seven Luminaries arrive, claiming to want to help him, but the fire magic spell one of them conjured was let loose on the crowd of reporters, killing all witnesses.

What About Hinata?

Sakaguchi’s Fate Still Hangs In The Balance

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime season 3, episode 9 drags out the obvious major plot point from the end of the previous episode, as the Seven Luminaries also emerge at the site of the battle between Hinata and Rimuru in the moments after the magical attack tore through her chest. Rimuru tries to use healing potions, but Hinata’s high magicule resistance nullifies the effect. Just as Ritus attempts to use the appropriate Holy Magic to heal her, the Luminaries use binding magic to subjugate her and the other Great Saints before declaring their intent to execute Hinata Sakaguchi for “violation of orders”, which is the trap they set long before the bout in telling Leonard that they suspect Hinata of being loyal to Rimuru.

The episode ends with Rimuru preparing to take on this threat and end the encounter quickly before Hinata Sakaguchi loses her life. The episode was eventful, and Saare’s spotlight moment was cool even if it was a major mismatch, and while the sidelining of Hinata’s fatal injury for the majority of the episode wasn’t what you’d expect at the end of the dramatic conclusion to last week’s episode, the developing plot and the direct involvement of the Seven Luminaries at this stage is going to make things even more interesting.

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime is available on Crunchyroll.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Based on Fuse's novel and light novel series, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is an isekai anime that follows Rimuru, a guy who reincarnates in a fantasy world as its weakest monster. However, that soon changes.