WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 27 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, "Footprints of the Spirit Tortoise," now streaming on Funimation, Crunchyroll & Hulu.
The new season of The Rising of the Shield Hero introduced a new and interesting narrative to the story. Episode 26 unfurled a new saga in the aspect of the Spirit Tortoise saga, a legendary monster popularly known for wreaking havoc and destruction after its awakening.
The episode highlighted the Cardinal Heroes' lack of responsibility and consideration, excluding Naofumi for people who need their aid. Then, episode 26 ended on a cliffhanger after revealing a mysterious woman who requested Naofumi to kill her.
A New Revelation
In the latest episode, after Naofumi reels from the effects of using the most powerful shield at his disposal and a mysterious woman appears, an unknown pressure descends on Naofumi and the surrounding area, presumably from the Spirit Tortoise. After the pressure dissipated, Naofumi raises his head to find the mysterious woman, but she is already gone.
The Rising of the Shield Hero then changes the setting to a meeting among the Allied Forces, a group consisting of leaders from different countries. The goal of the Allied Forces’ meeting was to devise a strategy for eliminating the Spirit Tortoise. At the start of the meeting, a member of the council revealed that the Spirit Tortoise had already laid waste to the Spirit Tortoise kingdom, massacring both nobles and civilians alike and that it was currently hibernating.
Afterward, the Queen of Melromarc reveals a piece of crucial information regarding the Spirit Tortoise: It attacks largely populated cities. The reason for this creature’s actions was soon revealed. In the meeting's discussion, a member boasted of possessing military might that could easily get rid of the Spirit Tortoise; however, his optimism is reduced when a member of the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom revealed that they tried using the usual soldier-based attacks on the monstrous creature, but their attacks were ineffective.
This leads to the council's admittance that they need The Cardinal Heroes. Naofunmi understands the situation and tells them not to make any sacrifices involving unnecessary deaths, revealing his kind-hearted nature. Episode 27 also revealed another crucial piece of information; The Cardinal Heroes weren’t the only individuals summoned from a different world.
Who is the Mysterious Woman?
These heroes were referred to as the “Seven Star Heroes", which included individuals summoned from another world, and some members of the current world, that use Vassal weapons, similar to what people from the Waves used in Season 1. However, the Queen tells Naofumi that these individuals are currently weaker than the Four Cardinal Heroes, dulling Naofunmi's hopes for defeating the Spirit Tortoise using their collective efforts.
Another shocking revelation is made when the suspicious mysterious woman reappears in the meeting, and is referred to as the Concubine of the deceased king of the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom. Ost Hourai, the mystery woman, agrees to be the Concubine and Regent, but she confesses that she is a familiar of the Spirit Tortoise, similar to the magical beasts ravaging the kingdom, shocking the Allied Forces leaders.
Hourai also reveals that the Spirit Tortoise creates human familiars to harness souls to stop the waves from occurring. Its seal is only meant to be broken as a last resort and by the Cardinal Heroes when there is no more hope of stopping the waves. So, the Spirit Tortoise seal was broken too early by a foreign individual. Afterward, Ost Hourai requested the Shield Hero to slay the Tortoise, which finally connects the dots concerning what she meant by asking the Shield Hero to kill her in Episode 26.
After the meeting ends, Rapthalia convinces Naofunmi to fight the Spirit Tortoise not just for his town's sake but for the people whose homes are about to be destroyed. This revealed Raphtalia's intelligence and maturity and how she influences Naofunmi's decisions, despite their Master-Servant relationship. After listening to Raphtalia, Naofumi leads the members of the Allied Forces by proposing sound strategies for cutting off the Spirit Tortoise's head.
Episode 27 ends on a cliffhanger when the Spirit Tortoise approaches. So questions like, Are Naofunmi's plans going to work out successfully? Is Ost Hourai a pretend ally? These questions will most likely be answered in the next episode.