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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 29 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, "Ruins in the Fog," now streaming on Funimation, Crunchyroll & Hulu.
The Rising of the Shield Hero's28th episode ended after an intense battle between the Allied Forces, the Shield Hero's Party, and the Spirit Tortoise. After losing many soldiers, the Allied Forces, with the help of the high-class multi-caster ritual magic and Naofumi's party members, the Spirit Tortoise.
Unfortunately, what seemed like a total victory was clarified by Ost Hourai's existence and comment that the Spirit Tortoise wasn't dead. This unsettling news set the pacing for Episode 29, where critical information was shared regarding the correct method for eliminating Spirit Tortoise.
Rishia's Backstory
Episode 29 of The Rising of the Shield Hero started with Rishia explaining to the rest of Naofumi's party members the reason for her undying loyalty towards Itsuki, the Bow Hero, allowing viewers to gain insight into the factors that shaped her deep affection. Rishia hailed from a poor noble home as a single child; however, her parents owed a heavy amount of debt to a malicious noble, and he ended up imprisoning Rishia as a ransom for her parents' debt. The world seemed to crash down on Rishia until her Knight in Shining Armor rescued her from the horrific situation. Later, she joined Itsuki's party but was soon cast out due to her non-usefulness. Still, Rishia firmly resolves to be loyal to Itsuki and aims to go back to the Bow Hero when she gets stronger.
After Rishia's story, the episode officially starts with the main purpose of the Shield Hero Party – finding the weakness of the Spirit Tortoise by thoroughly scouting its back. On the ginormous creature's back, a decimated city wrecked by the Spirit Tortoise Awakening with littered dead bodies was depicted, showing how much havoc the Spirit Tortoise Awakening caused. However, the party focused on pressing matters, which involved constantly moving on the creature's back to trigger Ost Hourai's foggy memories on how to properly finish off the Spirit Tortoise.
The Spirit Tortoise Shrine
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During the somewhat slow trip, Ost Hourai revealed her discomfort with the way the members of the Allied forces honored her; her job was to harvest souls, implying that she benefits from deaths, so Ost Hourai was stumped at this development. However, Naofumi's party members allayed her discomfort, convincing her that despite her primary duty, she helped save the lives of countless soldiers and proved to be an asset by sharing her important knowledge – the main reason the Allied Forces won the battle, so Ost Hourai was deserving of praise. Later on, the party decided to rest for the night, which was interrupted by Hourai's intense headache and the fog clearing.
Ost Hourai then led the party towards the Spirit Tortoise Temple in the company of the Queen of Melromarc, whom they met on their way to the Temple. At the Temple, they encountered ancient scripts, revealing that the Temple was a Shrine for the Spirit Tortoise. Surprisingly, Rishia would decrypt what the texts on the Shrine walls meant, but she could not decode a foreign language which happened to be the language from Naofumi's world, Japanese. This language was left in the Temple by Ancient Heroes, signaling that there is more to the Spirit Tortoise than Naofumi's party knew. Unfortunately, Naofumi was unable to decrypt the meaning on the walls because age and dirt had erased some parts of the texts. Then, suddenly, the Spirt Tortoise roused in its sleep, signaling an incoming awakening. As a result, the Temple crashed, but everyone managed to escape successfully without being harmed.
The Spirit Tortoise Weakness, Unveiled
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Finally, Ost Hourai remembered the weakness of the Spirit Tortoise: Its heart. Quickly, Naofumi split the group into two, permitting only Rapthalia, Filo, and Ost Hourai to follow him. However, Rishia firmly insisted on coming along, stating that she was now a member of Naofumi's party even though it was for a limited period. Rishia's reaction at this moment signaled notable character growth from being indecisive to making unclouded decisions.
The Rising of the Shield Hero's 29th episode then ends after Naofumi encounters a group of strange adventurers, who actually turned out to be the heroes from another world, Naofumi fought with, in The Rising of the Shield's Hero's first season. This situation depicts that the Spirt Tortoise saga is much deeper than it appeared to be, and it may provide more insight into the existence of the waves.