Gundam Build Divers Re:RISE Ep. 8: Duty and Illusion

May meets Magee in his bar to report on the Build Divers’ last mission, and he comments that the objectives in this Story mission seem vague. She mentions the Gundam Seltsam, based on the Gundam Mk-III, and asks if this is the machine Magee is looking for. He answers that the base looks the same, but the silhouette doesn’t match the registration data. May wonders if it’s been customized, and Magee notes that isn’t possible because your Gunpla is scanned when you enter GBN, so you can’t customize a Gunpla so much within the game. May reports that they weren’t able to make contact with the Diver controlling the Gundam Seltsam, and Magee wonders if it’s just an event boss. Magee asks her to keep investigating and comments that her team seems to be doing well, but May says her party doesn’t meet the qualifications of a team working together, and she doesn’t need them to investigate. Magee then tells May that she might find what she’s seeking for herself with that party. Hiroto is distracted at school with thoughts of the last battle. He turns down an invitation from two friends, and Hinata overhears them in the hall commenting that Hiroto is a spoilsport now and didn’t used to be this way. Hinata thinks to herself that this is just like one particular day, and she wonders if something happened with Eve. May enters the GBN lobby and runs into Hiroto, and they soon meet up with Parviz and Kazami. Kazami shows them a video of their last battle, which he plans to upload to his G-Tube channel. Parviz is worried about the Gundam Seltsam showing up again, but Kazami thinks it might’ve just been a boss for that mission. Hiroto suggests that they might be able to advance without fighting it, but they should be prepared just in case. After transporting for the next mission, the Build Divers travel with Freddie to the city of Seguri, which is protected by a light barrier. Maiya tells them it’s time for the Space Crossing festival, and Stola wants to know when the Resistance is showing up. Everyone splits up to go shopping, and Hiroto stops briefly to look at a necklace. Parviz comments to Kazami that Hiroto and May seem pretty similar, and Kazami notes that they’re both blunt. Stola tries to ask Jed to let him join the Resistance, but Maiya drags him away. Jed then takes the Build Divers and Freddie to meet with Abiree, the commander of the Resistance. Kazami wants to skip past all the event dialogue to the mission, and Gorus explains their objective is to reach the Silver Tower, which is defended by many One-Eyes. He adds that they tried to scout the area, but were attacked by an unknown enemy and forced to retreat. Kazami guesses that they want the Build Divers to help so a recon team can go in, and Gorus asks for their help with the underwater monster. Hiroto hands over the pendant from Muran, but Gorus doesn’t know what it is since Muran was on his own mission. Abiree asks Hiroto to hold on to it as proof of Muran’s trust. The Build Divers sit down to discuss their next mission, and Parviz admits he’s never fought in an underwater battle. Hiroto describes it as being similar to fighting in space, and Parviz suggests they participate in a Created mission called the Grand Dive Challenge. Kazami agrees with the suggestion, and Hiroto asks them to go ahead without him. Hiroto returns to the marketplace and is reminded of time he spent with Eve. He reaches an open spot where May is watching the sunset, and she asks if he’s looking for something. 

At The Gundam Base, Hinata finishes her shift and asks Ken where Hiroto is, and he answers that Hiroto is still logged in to GBN. He says the old Hiroto is back, working on Gunpla and staying logged in late. May comments that the city residents are full of sentiments from happiness to sorrow, but she doesn’t feel that from Hiroto. Hinata tells Ken that Hiroto has never been the same since the day a certain incident happened. Hinata never asked what happened because she knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything for Hiroto, and he wasn’t likely to tell her. May tells Hiroto that a mission can be a goal to accomplish, but also something that someone desires, so she asks what his mission is. Hinata doesn’t know the details, but she tells Ken she suspects something happened in GBN with Eve. Hiroto tells May that his mission is to search for something that can’t be found, and he leaves. Later, the Build Divers gather for the Grand Dive Challenge against Force Granada Bleu, led by Mayol. Mayol explains the challenge, which calls for one person to slip past their defenses, submerge 500 meters in a pool, and return to the surface with a Haro collected from the bottom. Kazami thinks that’s an easy clear condition, and May answers that it shows how confident they are. She adds that they’re also ready, including Hiroto with the new underwater use Mercuone Gundam. The Build Divers jump into the water, and Kazami’s Justice Knight starts creaking from the water pressure. Hiroto picks up multiple targets on radar, and an Acguy sneaks up behind Kazami and takes him out. Two enemies swim circles around Parviz and create a cyclone that knocks him out of the game. Hiroto and May continue to descend and attack the Acguys. Hiroto speeds past May and grabs a Haro, but he’s attacked by Mayol’s Zock. Mayol is impressed that Hiroto would use his teammate to win, and he attacks Hiroto. However, Hiroto ignores him and starts heading toward the surface. Mayol dodges fire from Hiroto’s needle gun, but Hiroto fires a harpoon and knocks him away. The underwater bits that Hiroto fired from his needle gun attach to the Zock and send it speeding toward the pool bottom. Hiroto tosses his gun at the Acguys and blows it up to keep them away from him, and he successfully emerges from the pool. Parviz doesn’t feel like they won, and Hiroto announces that he’ll go underwater in the next Story mission because only he has the detection equipment necessary, and it decreases the risk if it’s just him. May notes that would be the best bet to advance the Story mission, but she asks Hiroto if that’s enough.