Tragedy

Picking up where the previous episode left off, Naomi, pushed Mari of the stage and wasted no time to turn her into black powder-like substance she sucked into her mouth. The sight of her staring at them maniacally with pale green eyes not unlike those of Horrors exposed to Madō Flames minus Makai Language effects along with aforementioned deed proved too much for the audience that they scrambled out of the building. Returning to the stage with her fully regenerated leg, Naomi seamlessly demonstrated dancing moves she hadn't practiced for a long time before laughing like a maniac.

Naomi caught up with her fleeing audience and about to reach one of them who got tripped when a fiery pink blast stopped her in her tracks; Mutsugi and Koyori had arrived at the scene and ready to vanquish her, prompting her to unveil her Demon Beast form Gaira (a partially bald woman with reptilian visage and leather bodysuit with straps and metal pieces). To further ensure their odds against their enemy, Mutsugi summoned her two masked bodyguards and had them assisted Koyori in wearing down the Horror before finally casted a containment spell to keep her in place. The spell in question formed a floating energy pentagram around the target before locking it in like manacles with Koyori and Mutsugi's two bodyguards maintaining it through three of its points while Mutsugi the rest. But the spell wasn't enough to keep her immobilized, not even long enough for their Makai Knight allies to join the fray. With some efforts, Gaira broke free, causing the spell to rebound with Koyori incapacitated by the resulted shockwave.

Meanwhile, Ryūga and Souma made haste for the base when Zaruba notified them about Gaira's dreadful presence. Certain their allies had sensed it also, the duo set out to the scene. The celebration of the success in retrieving Stone of Eternal Darkness had to wait.

Mutsugi barely had time to tend to Koyori's injuries when Gaira overpowered her two bodyguards and even devoured them. To their horror, Gaira's apparel manifested traditional accessories of Makai Priests and seized Koyori's Madō Brush mid-air when she summoned it to her grasp. As if that was bad enough, Gaira expertly demonstrated her newfound ability to use it, giving Mutsugi a hard time in intercepting her assaults. Fortunately, Swordsmen of Agora showed up and confronted the Horror on both Priestess' behalf. Igusu and Obi implored Mutsugi to evacuate Crea Hall alongside Koyori and isolate the whole place to prevent the Horror from getting out.

Ryūga and Souma met Mutsugi and the crippled Koyori outside the building. The Golden Knight presented Mutsugi Stone of Eternal Darkness they successfully retrieved while Souma promised to Koyori that he would retake her stolen Madō Brush. Koyori provided Souma a special Bagua Tag for the task at hand, one imbued with a spell to generate magical fire capable of cleansing evil spirits upon being touched by a Horror. Once Ryūga and Souma departed, Mutsugi casted a spell which isolated entire Crea Hall.

Swordsmen of Agora trio fought Gaira bravely but, the Horror proved to be a formidable adversary. When Obi rushed to attack her, she summoned a volley of fireballs which rained down upon him, prompting Ron to push his junior out of the way and endure the attack himself. As a result, he was unable to intercept Gaira's next attack which sent him flying. Unveiling wrist blades concealed in her left gauntlet, Gaira rushed to deal a killing blow at the distracted Obi. However, Igusu jumped into its path at the last momentd and got stabbed as the result, much to the dismay of his fellow Swordsmen of Agora members. Encouraging Obi to stay strong, Igusu proceeded to attack Gaira who dismissed them all as weak ones and soundly overpowered by the latter. Knowing his death was imminent, he told his fellow Swordsmen of Agora members to not forget what it means to be Makai Order's formidable force and, to Souma who just arrived with Ryuga on his side, inherit both his will and that of Godou. Gaira then devoured Igusu whiel everyone could only watched helplessly.

Upon the unbelievable sight of Gaira's evolution and newfound ability to wield Igusu's Hagane Sword, Zaruba explained to everyone her deadly quirk to attain abilities of those she devoured. Despite their now overwhelm odds, Ryūga and co. refused to give up. Obi successfully knocked Koyori's Madō Brush off Gaira's grasp, forcing her to compensate by conjuring a copy of Igusu's sword to maintain her ground. Souma told everyone that they should create an opening for Ryūga to summon his armor leading to him, Ron, and Obi pushed Gaira back from the Golden Knight and did their best in overwhelming the Horror as long as they could. For a good measure, the three title-less Knights went so far passing one another their swords to confuse Gaira, culminating to Souma placed Koyori's special Madō Bagua Tag at their opponent's back, burning her. The plan worked; Ryūga performed Flash Sword technique to incapacitate Gaira before transforming and subsequently cutting her down. But their victory tasted bitter due to both casualties on their side and the sight of Gaira changing back to Naomi who lamented what befell her before disintegrating into pink mist.

Returning to their base, Mutsugi treated Koyori's internal injuries and reassured Ryūga and Souma that she'll recover after some good sleep. The least Souma could do in the mean time was placing Koyori's Madō Brush back to its owner's hand.

In the next morning, Ryūga and co. held Igusu's funeral. The veteran title-less Knight's grave only consisted his Hagane Sword placed on the ground as the rest of him didn't survive the battle. Obi took his senior's death hardest with Ron attempting to comfort him. Ryūga pointed out Igusu to be among many who perished due to the looming opening of Gate of Destruction. Since they now had Stone of Eternal Darkness in their possession, Souma rallies everyone to head to the Gate as soon as possible. The newly recovered Koyori agreed with Souma, not wanting the grief they felt escalated further. After a moment, everyone set out to prepare for what lies ahead, though Souma lingered upon the sight of Igusu's grave. The hope of them fighting side by side after his penance might be dashed but, at very least Igusu died knowing Souma mentally ready to be a proper protector.

Ryūga and co. gathered at the mural outside Creacity. Souma entrusted the safety of Creacity and everyone in it upon Obi and Ron. Ryūga placed Stone of Eternal Darkness into a slot at the center of carved Mandala on the mural, activating a hidden Makai Path which teleported them into Labyrinth of Arvis in a flash of red light, leaving Ron and Obi behind.

Materializing on a structure at the center of the Labyrinth of Arvis, Ryūga, Souma, Koyori, and Mutsugi are surprised to see it located underground. Mutsugi insisted them to move out when Ryūga examined the carved Mandala on the floor when one of its circles, which Koyori standing on, suddenly activated. This prompted Ryūga and Souma to push her away from impending danger and ended up teleported somewhere at other part of the Labyrinth, much to both Priestesses' shock that they made haste to regroup with the others. The process separated the Golden Knight from his title-less comrade as Zaruba pointed out, though the Madō Ring nonetheless could sense Souma's presence nearby thus able to guide Ryūga back to him. Both Knights reunited shortly after Souma confirmed brute force won't do any good in the Labyrinth and subsequently set out locate others.

A force-field which protected every inch of the Labyrinth of Arvis' walls and teleportation glyphs which separated their group were first of nasty surprises Ryūga and co. must face. Ryūga found part of the wall he marked with his bloodstain meant to help them keep a track on wherever they went somehow followed him and Souma. True to his suspicion, the Labyrinth was changing its layout, and now it trapped them with a glowing glyph nearby being only possible way out...