SRW OG: The Animation Ep. 3: Captive of the Maze

The Hagane fires but the Bartolls dodge and hit them with missiles. The SRX and ATX teams can’t seem to break through. Only forty minutes are left until the nuclear strike. The Cybuster attacks with its high familiars and takes out a few Bartolls. Kuro says she doesn’t detect any life within the Bartolls and Masaki cuts through some missiles. Kyosuke is blocked by Bartolls and thinks about Lamia. Lamia is injected with a cable and remembers when Kyosuke told her if she ever lost her will, he would stop her. Lamia says she won’t let the system do as it pleases and the system ejects her. Viletta and Aya manage to take some Bartolls down and notice that they’ve begun to move slower. Ryoto reports that the Bartolls’ movement pattern has reverted back to the original one and Bartolls start slamming into the Hagane. A Bartoll grabs the R-1, but Rai shoots it away. Gilliam tells Ryoto to activate the captured Bartoll in hopes of learning something from Jürgen. Masaki notes that all the new Bartolls are unmanned and Ryusei says their friends must still be inside Hellgate. Masaki says they’ll break through with one movement and uses the Akashic Buster to charge forward. Hellgate deploys an Aegis beam shield and stops the Cybuster. Tetsuya orders the Hagane to use its Tronium cannon to break through but Bartolls continue to crash into the ship, rendering the cannon inoperable. Tetsuya orders energy to be formed around the bow and to ram the barrier. Rätzel Feinschmecker arrives in his ship the Kurogane and says he’ll handle it. The Kurogane uses its Titanic drill and shatters the barrier. Bartolls approach, but Sanger Zonvolt uses his Dygenguar‘s Zankantou to destroy them. Masaki comments that they always show up at the right time and Rätzel tells them to continue on.

A large number of Bartolls are loaded into transport ships and Gilliam wonders if they’re going to be sent to Earth and the colonies. Gilliam adds that Jürgen’s motives are still unknown. The Hagane is ordered to retreat for the nuclear attack but Ryusei says the others are still in there. Everyone says they’re continuing on and Tetsuya tells them there’s twenty minutes left. Four Bartolls fly out and Bullet senses Kusuha in one of them. It attacks him and he sees her knocked out inside. Latooni’s Bartoll attacks Ryusei and Viletta wonders if they’ve been expelled from the system. A Bartoll containing Lamia attacks Kyosuke and she tells him to aim for the head of the other units before she is drugged and knocked out. A voice speaks through her and says that being unable to bear the loss of a comrade is the weakness of mankind. Gilliam wonders if it’s Jürgen and the Bartoll grabs onto the Alteisen Riese. Jürgen says to free them from the system he must destroy the Bartolls and wonders if he can do it. Kyosuke says he’ll take the challenge and uses his avalanche claymore to free himself. He tells Lamia he’s going to fulfill his promise and destroys her Bartoll with his revolver bunker. The Alteisen Riese flies away with Lamia in its hand and Kyosuke apologizes, saying it was all he could do. She tells him it was the best course of action. Kusuha’s Bartoll malfunctions and Bullet uses the Shishiou blade to cut off part of its head. Bullet calls out to her and Kusuha wakes up. Ryusei uses his steel knife to destroy Latooni’s Bartoll’s head, allowing her to wake up. He reports it to Mai, who is relieved. Arado and Seolla tell Aya that Excellen saved them and offer their help. Viletta says they’ll handle the transports while Masaki and the ATX team break into Hellgate. Kyosuke hands Lamia over to Kusuha and tells her to take her to the Hagane. Kyosuke, Excellen, Bullet and Masaki enter Hellgate and are met by more Bartolls. Masaki and Bullet hold them off and tell Kyosuke and Excellen to go ahead. Several Bartolls pin Bullet, but Masaki’s high familiars shoot them off. Cybuster then uses its Cosmo Nova attack and destroys the rest of them. Kyosuke and Excellen destroy more Bartolls and continue onwards. The Hagane gets a warning and Tetsuya sees there’s only eight minutes left. Excellen and Kyosuke make it to the core and see a Bartoll containing Jürgen. Kyosuke asks what his objective is and he answers it’s to unite human consciousness with the ODE system. He goes on that if humanity doesn’t unite as one, they will never overcome the threats they face. Kyosuke says they were still able to beat the Inspectors and the Einst but Jürgen says people still lost loved ones like Jürgen did. Excellen asks if he’s Jürgen and Gilliam says he’s probably the collective consciousness of the Bartolls. Jürgen goes on that if humanity combined as one, it would eliminate pain and suffering and bring humanity closer to advancement. He says those that refute that ideal are rejected. He asks how they managed to get there through all their pain and suffering and Kyosuke says it’s because they refuse to run away. Excellen thinks of Alfimi and says she understands how Jürgen feels but adds that they overcome pain with their will. Seolla, Arado and Latooni take out more Bartolls and Lamia is taken for medical attention. Kyosuke says a system created by a man who ran away won’t affect them and Sanger takes out more Bartolls. Aya and Rai attack the transports but their attacks hit a barrier. Ryusei uses his T-Link Sword attack to destroy the barrier and Viletta destroys the ships. Jürgen says destroying his Bartoll is meaningless and summons more. Excellen says they’ll live on through their own wills but Jürgen says they can’t beat the ODE system. Kyosuke asks if he wants to bet on it. Excellen fires, but the shot is blocked and Kyosuke destroys the Bartolls with his claymore. He charges forward and slashes Jürgen’s Bartoll with his plasma horn before finishing him off with the revolver bunker. Jürgen sees a vision and smiles as if he has understood everything before his Bartoll blows up. Ryoto receives a large amount of data and wonders what’s going on. All the Bartolls cease functioning and Tetsuya has the nuclear attack cancelled. Sanger congratulates everyone and Tetsuya wonders why the Bartolls stopped moving. Gilliam explains that the system evolved to a point where it couldn’t advance anymore and suspended itself. He wonders if it’s because of an organic core and perhaps humans weren’t suited for the system. Kyosuke says they won the bet and Excellen detects all the captured humans. Kyosuke says the mission is over. Everyone returns to the Hagane and the Kurogane flies away. A lone Bartoll drifts in the rubble, its head crest faintly glowing.