Fire Force Season 3 Episode 8, “Holy Mother of Darkness,” tries to balance the dark reveals Princess Hibana discovers with Arthur Boyle’s lighthearted quest to find the real holy sword.
Princess Hibana comes face to face with her past when Sister Sumire creeps out of the shadows at St. Raffles Convent. Hibana had assumed Sumire died in the same fire that killed most of the sisters, but it’s starting to look like Sumire was the one who caused it. Now that Hibana realizes her former caretaker has always been working for the Evangelist, she uses the chance to test her theories on spontaneous human combustion.
Since Sumire doesn’t think any of the Fire Soldiers will make it out of the chamber, she humors Hibana. She confirms that Hibana’s theory is right—when people get too close to their Doppelgangers from Adolla, they merge and combust. Then she reveals that: the Great Cataclysm wasn’t an accident. It was actually the first failed attempt to turn Earth into a Sun.
The tragic truth of Hibana’s friends
The Evangelist failed the first time because the White-Clad didn’t possess enough pillars. Yet, Sumire boasts that her experimentation has rectified that blunder. Sumire and the convent’s entire purpose was to create more Adolla Bursts. Moreover, now that Iris has all but been confirmed as the last pillar, it appears that Sumire’s vile experimentation was a success. Understandably, Captain Hibana begins chastising Sister Sumire over the death of her beloved friends, which is where the episode makes a chilling turn.
In an utterly gut-wrenching moment, Sumire demonstrates that Hibana’s friends never died; they were forcibly transformed into Infernals. One of the Infernals tragically calls out in pain to Hibana, but she cannot do anything to save them. It’s unlikely that Iris will stand idly by once she figures out what has really happened to her beloved sisters. Nevertheless, Sumire doesn’t plan on letting Hibana and the Lieutenants leave with this information alive.
The woman in black
Sister Sumire launches a surprise attack on Lieutenants Hau Yam and Flam before they can react. Her movements are smooth and fast—she breaks Lt. Flam’s instrument before he even gets a chance to use his Fire powers. Turns out, that wouldn’t have helped anyway. If Flam had activated his ability, it would’ve just made her stronger. Sumire controls vibrations by adjusting how fast she “shivers.” As long as she’s even a little cold, she can wreck her opponents with ease.
This kind of power is way beyond what you’d expect from a regular Nun. The Fire Soldiers confirm that Sumire is the final Pillar. Even more shocking, she’s behind all the earthquakes that have been happening throughout the series. With Iris now stepping in, a face-off is coming soon. It’s pretty likely the two of them will share an Adolla Link. That same kind of link is how the mysterious woman in black saved the Fire Soldiers from Sumire. She first showed up in Season 2 and helped Shinra take down a horned Infernal in under a second.
The Woman in Black makes her final appearance and slowly fades away while the Fire Soldiers make their escape. Sister Sumire doesn’t chase them, knowing the world’s ending soon and there’s nothing Hibana can do to stop it. The White-Clad’s confidence in the Evangelist’s plan stays one of the creepiest parts of the show. Nothing Company 8 or the others have done has ever surprised them—especially Haumea.
Arthur’s Quest
After his fight with Dragon, Arthur’s sword got destroyed. Vulcan sends them on a plot to gather rare materials to forge a new Excalibur. Lisa and Yu aren’t on board with the plan at first, but change their minds after seeing how much it helps Arthur. Company 8 needs everyone at their best if they’re going to take down the White-Clad. Vulcan knows Arthur better than he lets on and sets up a wholesome scavenger hunt that plays right into Arthur’s wild delusions. Somehow, Vulcan gets the entire town of Asakusa to join in. The group spends the whole day chasing clues and completing quests, leading up to the final stop. But Arthur screws up—big time.
He completely misreads the last clue and decides it’s telling him to head into the Nether. Now he’s locked in and refuses to listen to reason. Arthur’s ready to march into one of the most dangerous places in the Fire Force world—with no weapon. And the worst part? The real threats might not even be physical.
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