A True Warrior

The rules of the chariot race are laid out for Joseph: though he and Wamuu each drive a chariot, the contest is a fight to the death, with a weapon set on a marked column every lap for either rider to seize. The first is a warhammer, and Joseph already means to claim it. The moon slips behind a cloud, its return set to start the race, but Joseph steps off his chariot to sweep pebbles from the track just as the moon reappears and the race begins.

Scrambling into place at the last second, Joseph gets moving while Wamuu's chariot stalls on scattered rubble, the result of Joseph secretly sabotaging the course while all eyes were on the sky. Joseph grabs the hammer, but Wamuu tears the entire pillar loose and hurls it into his chariot, toppling him. Using the hammer as a vaulting pole to escape the trampling horses, Joseph leaps onto a steed, only for Wamuu, hidden inside a horse, to seize his foot as his boot slips free and to launch the Holy Sandstorm. Joseph binds Wamuu's arms with Ripple-charged reins to slow the spin and lands on his chariot nearly unharmed, leaving Wamuu stunned that his ultimate move was thwarted, his arms badly torn. True to his warrior's nature, Wamuu gouges out his own eyes as a psychic lock and unveils the horn he uses to read the wind.

The second lap offers crossbows, and Joseph ends up with one far too large to handle. Guiding his shots on the breeze, Wamuu strikes one of Joseph's horses, and when Joseph tries to keep the central flame between them, the warrior deduces his position and lands a deflected bolt in his side. The fall lets Joseph secretly cock his oversized weapon; his shot appears to miss badly, yet he has copied Wamuu's own rebound trajectory to strike him from behind, the greater power and the Ripple driving the ball straight through Wamuu's chest. Reeling and cornered, Wamuu makes a final gamble, flinging his severed arms at Joseph. They pin him against the central pillar and choke him until the exhausted young man can neither move nor summon the Ripple, at which point Wamuu lets loose his ultimate Final Mode: the Atmospheric Rift.

The chariot race begins after Joseph secretly sabotages the track. Joseph grabs the warhammer, escapes Wamuu's thrown pillar, and neutralizes the Holy Sandstorm by binding Wamuu's arms with Ripple-charged reins. Wamuu blinds himself as a psychic lock and switches to reading the wind with his horn. During the crossbow lap, Joseph is wounded but uses a rebound shot to pierce Wamuu's chest. Wamuu counters by hurling his severed arms to choke Joseph and unleashes his Final Mode, the Atmospheric Rift.

Airing on March 9, 2013, the episode was written by Shinichi Inotsume and adapts chapters 98 through 102. It has no opening theme and ends on Roundabout. The chariot arena relied heavily on 3DCG work overseen by storyboard artist Shin Misawa. The adaptation adjusted a few details of the duel, including how Joseph obstructs Wamuu's wheel and the state of his own chariot when he takes up the crossbow.