By far, To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts (かつて神だった獣たちへ) is an intense anime series, which takes us to a rather emotional ride, and finally, the anime comes to an end with its last episode,”Those Who Seek”. Like always, the episode title offers somethings for us to ponder over. This time, it concludes the purpose of living for the main characters in this anime. And perhaps everyone of us lives to seek for something.
The death scene of Miles Byron is quite an impact, while his beastial combat with Hank is interfered by the spread of Abi’s Poison, a secret gas-weapon colonel Wall kept to exterminate the Incarnates. The highly corrosive poison is extracted from the Hydra Incarnate and is capable of melting anything or anyone.
It is sad to know that humans treat the Incarnates as nothing but tools, even after they died. The fact that colonel Wall sacrifice his subordinates to kill Miles really chills me to the bone. It reminds me of the most brutal war fact that we all familiar with: soldiers died as if their life means nothing.
The scene where Miles died is horrifying. His body flesh is literally dissolved in the poisonous mist. Especially when his immortality allows him to heal himself, he has to suffer from endless pain as the poisonous gas continuous to decay his body…
Miles is probably the Incarnate with the darkest thoughts. He believes that death is the only ending for the Incarnates. Considering all the brutal scene he had witnessed during the civil war, the immortal Centaurus seeks to end his life.
The episode reaches its climax when Cain appears out of nowhere and starts to murder every soldiers in the fortress. He seems to hold a number of abilities, which allows him to slay others with his bare hands, heal himself, control others and even divide into multiple forms.
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His strong abilities make Hank question what he has done to gain these powers. Hank can barely stand his powerful attack and for a moment, we all think he is going to lose this battle. But the existence of Schaal gives Hank courage, allowing him to transform into a stronger self, a form that we have not seen before.
In this form, Hank stays as humans, while a white sparkling aura wraps around his body like an invisible robe. I must say that the design is extremely gorgeous and Hank looks more like God than beast in this form. His divine power also allows him to overwhelm Cain, leaving his vampire abilities futile. As the Japanese term for Incarnates (擬神兵) can be directly translated as “the Imitation of God”, perhaps this divine transformation is the ultimate form for the Incarnates.
The transformation echoes to the conversation between the two. As Cain insists that the Incarnates should embrace their power and maintain a higher status than humans, Hank emphasizes that there is no way humans can be God even with inimitable power. Even though Hank’s power awake later, the way that Hank chooses to utilize that power differentiates him from Cain.
We also learn a little bit more about the reason of Cain’s madness, judging by the fact that he is jealous of Schaal standing beside Hank. At first, I assume that Cain pays attention on Hank because of his power, it turns out that Cains wants to conquer the world alongside him. Bromance is sensed here and it is possible that Cain shoots Elaine for the same reason.
More mysteries are revealed this episode and I am just dying to see more. The mysterious girl finally gets a name, Miglieglia, who seems to have the most scary ability ever: resurrecting the dead. Her ability helps Cain conquer the Southern Region of the Patrian continent, making the Free Nation of New Patria the largest nation in the country. I am intrigued to know how she comes into existence.
The fact that Elaine is still alive undoubtedly gives a twist. Her survival and the secret of Incarnates seems to be linked to Somnium, the energy stones that caused the civil war between the North and South at the beginning. I also can’t wait to see Hank’s response when he knows that his lover is captured by Cain.
The series undoubtedly echoes to the episode title, “Those Who Seek”. From the beginning, Hank seeks to fulfil his oath to annihilate the Incarnates before they turn into beasts. Even though he still believes that their existence should end together with the war, it is true to say that he gradually finds the pleasure of living, as long as Schaal is by his side.
While Schaal holds a very unique position, by seeking the truth behind the creation of the Incarnates. At first, she just wanted the answer of why her father must die, but now she seeks the ways for Hank and the other Incarnates to survive. The bonds between the two is one of my favorite things of this series and it also keeps me watching every week.
The delicate and sophisticated plot is also pleasant to watch. I genuinely hope that we could continue to follow their journey in the next season.