The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 9

More Momo Content

I wasn’t expecting The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 9 to be good. I don’t know why. But, I actually ended up enjoying it. And one reason for that might be the inclusion of more Momo content. If Momo’s on screen, I’m happy.

In this episode, Momo continues her investigation into the source of Monstrine. At first, the lax security at the Monstrine production facility was a bit odd. Momo was able to walk in and beat up all the guards without an issue. But, we have to remember that she’s an executioner priestess.

Most people who tried to enter that facility wouldn’t survive. For someone with no etheric barrier, or a weaker one than Momo has, the armed guards would be enough. Thanks to Momo’s strong etheric barrier, bullets ricochet off her. But, Manon Libelle planned for a priestess of Momo’s caliber showing up.

A deadly trap lies within the dungeon beneath the facility. After making her way down there, Momo comes across the iron maiden used to create Monstrine. Inside the torture device, she finds a young girl who hasn’t yet succumbed to her injuries. And this is the trap.

When Momo attempts to remove the girl from the iron maiden, an explosion spell activates. Not only is the explosion itself powerful, but it sends the poisoned spikes of the iron maiden flying. The blast kills the girl and one of the spikes impales Momo, poisoning her.

Over the past two months, I’ve mentioned many times how Momo is my favorite character of this series. And one of the reasons why has to do with the kind of content we get with Momo. She’s the one doing all the dangerous investigations. That’s the good content. I don’t care about Menou babysitting Akari

Menou vs. Ashuna

For the first time in the series, Menou and Ashuna come face to face. Though, Ashuna doesn’t get to see Menou’s face because Menou is hiding it with magic. Still, after their confrontation, Ashuna knows that Menou is the “senpai” Momo loves so much.

The main takeaway from this fight, for me, is Menou’s strength. We already know Menou is an accomplished executioner. And we’ve seen her take on powerful opponents, such as Orwell. But, it was also established that she either doesn’t have much ether or isn’t very good at manipulating it.

I don’t remember which it was. But, that detail doesn’t matter much right now. My point is that despite what we know Menou has achieved, she’s fighting with a handicap. As you may remember when she was in training, Flare even pointed out how Menou wasn’t suited for the job.

It’s not a stretch to say that Momo is often depicted as being stronger than Menou. Momo beat a dragon to death with her bare hands. She also took down the red automa in angel form that Orwell summoned. And it was never stated that Momo has any issues with her ether capacity or manipulation.

In Episode 9, we finally see that Menou is, in fact, stronger than Momo. Based on their previous encounters, Momo and Ashuna seem to be on par. So since Menou was going easy on Ashuna during their fight and was still winning, she must be stronger than Momo.

Of course, Menou’s fighting style is very different from that of Momo and Ashuna. At the end of the day, Momo and Ashuna rely on brute force. Menou is far more strategic. And so, it may be that Ashuna only perceived Menou as going easy on her.

Child of an Otherworlder

I may not like Akari’s character. But, she does play a part in many of the more interesting developments of the series. As an otherworlder with the Pure Concept of time, there’s a lot we can learn about the world of this series from Akari.

Thanks to Akari’s existence, we learned that Manon Libelle’s mother was an otherworlder. That’s a pretty major revelation. And based on the title of the next episode, I’m sure we’ll get more information. But for now, I’m going to theorize about what this could mean.

First of all, it now makes sense why Flare killed Manon’s mother. In my review of Episode 7, I questioned why Flare would kill Manon’s mother, but only arrest her father. From what we know, Manon’s father was the leader of the Fourth. Now it all makes sense, though. Manon’s mother was the real target.

As an otherworlder, Manon’s mother would have had a Pure Concept. We don’t know what her Pure Concept was. But, I’m sure we’ll find out soon. And, considering how long ago her death was, Manon’s mother may even have had the Pure Concept of Chaos.

The Pure Concept of Chaos is what’s responsible for the Pandemonium off the coast of Libelle. It’s said the user was a child. So, if Manon’s mother caused the Pandemonium as a child, that could be 40 years ago. And she may not have survived into adulthood thanks to the Fourth hiding her.

This could also explain why Manon seems to be attempting to create a Pandemonium of her own. She was close to her mother. So it’s only natural that her revenge would emulate her mother’s Pure Concept. She might even want to “become” her mother in some sense.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 9? Do you want more Momo content? Who do you think is stronger, Menou or Momo? And do you think Manon’s mother is the one responsible for the Pandemonium? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 10 is available now.