WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 34 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, "Humming Fairy," now streaming on Funimation, Crunchyroll & Hulu.
The 33rd episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero lurched the Shield Hero, Naofumi, into a state of despair as Rapthalia falls prey to the wiles of the cunning Kyo Ethnina. The episode starts by showing the four-man party, Naofumi, Kizuna, Rapthalia, and Rishia, making plans to escape to the country of Sikul for different reasons. But, sadly, at the last moment of their plan's execution, everything changes, leaving Naofumi in panic and despair.
Meanwhile, in episode 34 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, the three-man party, Rapthalia excluded, made solid progress in finding the adorable filolial, Filo, allowing viewers to experience a comic relief from the tragedy set by episode 33. Filo aside, the episode also starred notable developments for the Rapthalia search party.
Kizuna’s Suggestion For Finding Rapthalia
At the start of episode 34, Naofumi panicked considerably, abandoning his sense of reason to find Rapthalia as soon as possible. Worse, he suggested Kizuna warp them back to Mikakage using the Dragon Vein. Kizuna advised Naofumi that the plan was unwise and that even if the Dragon Vein works, they will be falling right into the hands of Kyo Ethnina. Despite Kizuna's sensible warning, Naofumi, filled with rage and despair, insisted they carry out the plan, showing his affection for his first and oldest companion as a Hero. Giving into Naofumi’s desires, Kizuna tried to activate the Dragon Vein.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work, implying that Kyo Ethnina had already foiled any possible return to Mikakage using the Dragon Vein. Frustrated at this outcome, Naofumi finally calmed down after Kizuna suggested that she knew an expert tracker named "Ethnobalt" that could help the party find both Rapthalia and Filo. Suddenly, before the episode gives way to the show's opening theme, Filo is finally revealed, albeit in a sorry state. Unlucky for the filolial, she was captured by a greedy slave trader and this might have been another sick plan of Kyo to wreck the Shield Hero party.
Episode 34 officially kicked in with the party making plans to find Rapthalia. The episode also portrayed Kizuna in good light. Kizuna was revered by members of Sikul, contrary to the citizens of Mikakage who treated her disdainfully by locking her up in the Labyrinth. This implies that the new world Naofumi arrived in was subject to internal strife and conflicts. However, the happy mood created by the citizens of Sikul appraising their long-lost Hunting Hero disappears after Kizuna mentions that Naofumi is a Cardinal Hero from another world.
The citizens' negative reaction to this information hinted that either other-world heroes had a bad reputation in Sikul, or someone, most likely Kyo, had already spread sickening, fake rumors about other-world heroes. Either way, this news puts Naofumi's party on guard since they would now have to be careful with the way Naofumi is introduced. Finally, in the midst of the commotion, Kizuna's "Ethnobalt" shows up at the scene.
Ethnobalt Helpful Ability & Filo’s Rescue
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After Ethnobalt introduced himself as the “wielder of the Boat Vassal Weapon,” his presence sets the mood and pacing for the quest to find Rapthalia. Ethnobalt also introduced a new foreign creation, Naofumi, and Rishia: a shikigami. Apparently, a shikigami is an animal-like tool used for finding missing people due to its nature. However, some conditions need to be met to create a Shikigami. It needs to be created from a body part of the person that they need to find. For instance, Kizuna’s shikigami, Chris, is created from Kizuna & Glass and is able to find them. After hearing this explanation, Naofumi decided to create Rapthalia’s Shikigami. Using Rapthalia’s hair and Naofumi’s blood, Ethnobalt created Rapthalia Shikigami in seconds.
Lucky for Naofumi, Rapthalia’s Shikigami inadvertently signified that Rapthalia still lives. Since if she was dead, the Shikigami would never have been created. After the creation of the Shikigami, Naofumi, relying on his uncanny intuition, questioned Ethnobalt on whether he was human. The question led Ethnobalt to reveal his true form as a monster rabbit, who Kizuna appraised as a descendant from a monster tribe that has protected her summoned world for generations. After a bit of catching up on Ethnobalt's interesting transportation-based power, the parties, acting on Rapthalia's Shikigami's suggestions, traveled to Rapthalia's location.
Soon after their arrival, the scene of the episode changes to reveal Filo tortured by a slave trader to attract customers. The unpleasant state Filo finds herself in signified that she wasn't separated from Naofumi by luck but by the actions of Ethnina. Coincidentally, his party members landed in the city Filo was captured. Due to his connection for Filo, Naofumi sensed her presence and followed his instincts and after racing through the city's streets, he finally found Filo, now called “The Celestial Maiden," being maltreated.
Angered, Naofumi tried to bust the show, rescue Filo and thrash her captor. However, thankfully, Rishia’s levelheadedness stopped her from acting rashly. This action of Rishia shows how much how she had grown in the past episodes from the timid, Itsuki-obsessed girl to a self-assured person. Following Rishia's advice, Naofumi waited till nightfall and rescued Filo in the dark while torturing her captor’s mind. The long-lost companion of Naofumi finally reunited with her ‘Master,” highlighting a teary moment for Rising of the Shield Hero fans. Unfortunately, the well-appreciated development lasted shortly until Rapthalia’s stats disappeared from Naofumi’s stats, suggesting that her slave status had been revoked. This ushers in an uneasy feeling for the hero as he is disconnected from Rapthalia. One can only wonder what Kyo was up to in his new plan with Rapthalia at the forefront.
As every minute passes, the Shield Hero party’s mission grows complex in this new world. Fans can only hope Naofumi and his party venture out of this world unscathed after giving Kyo Ethnina his due.