Naofumi continues to wage war against the destructive Spirit Tortoise, and back in Episode 3, Naofumi’s team succeeded in beheading the monstrous creature to score a temporary victory. Now, the battle’s symbolic hero Naofumi approaches the beast and bravely ventures into its cave-like innards. He hopes to slay the Spirit Tortoise from within, but it won’t be that simple.
Naofumi cautiously proceeds inside the Tortoise’s guts, and to his surprise, his group crosses paths with a trio of ordinary-looking adventurers — two women and a scythe-wielding man. But this new party is more than what it seems, and Naofumi comes face to face with Season 1’s greatest villains. L’Arc, Therese and Glass are back.
Naofumi and his tanuki-girl ally Raphtalia both suspect something, so on Naofumi’s command, Raphtalia casts an anti-illusion spell and reveals the three new adventurers for who they are. The scythe-wielding L’Arc Berg and his two allies had clearly intended to keep a low profile, but when Raphtalia reveals them, L’Arc makes no excuses for himself, and neither does Therese or Glass. Episode 4 ends before L’Arc and his two allies can explain why they are here inside the Spirit Tortoise, and Naofumi can hardly even guess either.
In Episode 4, L’Arc and his friends show only minimal hostility, mainly when L’Arc, in disguise, nearly attacks Naofumi with his scythe. L’Arc claims that he did so out of reflex, but it’s still possible that L’Arc means Naofumi harm and may resume hostilities now that his disguise is ruined. Back in Season 1, L’Arc was a powerful foe for Naofumi’s team to face, and if he, Therese and Glass attack Naofumi now, the battle may end badly for the Shield Hero’s team despite the progress they have made since the events of the Cal Mira Archipelago.
L’Arc might attack Naofumi either to finish the fight or for the sake of whatever mission brings him here to the Spirit Tortoise. In fact, he may be taking orders from someone, such as whoever awakened the Spirit Tortoise to begin with. If so, Naofumi might have to fight L’Arc’s boss next, and that may dominate the narrative of Shield Hero Season 2.
If L’Arc and his two companions don’t attack Naofumi, they might instead explain why they are here, and that may reveal much about them. They are heroes separate from the four Cardinal Heroes, with their own agenda and fighting style, and this could be an opportunity for L’Arc to explain himself. For that matter, he and Naofumi might have a common goal of slaying the Spirit Tortoise, and if so, they may learn much more about one another. It’s not yet clear whose side L’Arc is on, but if he’s friendly to Naofumi, that can only be a good thing.
Should L’Arc open up about his origins, the overall lore of Shield Hero may be greatly expanded upon in the upcoming Episode 5 and beyond, and Season 2 might be all about history and worldbuilding. L’Arc Berg’s homeland is neither Earth nor the world in which Melromarc is found, leaving his origin as a total mystery. He, Therese and Glass can fill in all the blanks in Episode 5 and beyond if they so choose, especially if they now view Naofumi as an ally instead of a rival. Either route is possible, and either should reveal a lot more about who these characters are and what their ultimate mission is.
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