"Maine is falling apart this episode. He's acting like a total amateur. The cool-headed leader from the first five episodes is just gone."
"Well, yeah! If you realized you were about to turn into a mindless, bloodthirsty monster, you'd probably lose your cool too!"
"Dorio was right. He should have listened to her and stripped some of the gear. Is it worth losing your soul just to be a 'big man' on the streets?"
"In that world? Yes. If you put your guns down, your enemies kill you within the hour. Maine can't go back to being an ordinary person even if he wanted to. He's locked in."
"So his only path is madness? That's so dark."
"Maine is such a great character, though. He's been a father figure to David and saved his life multiple times. I can't stand the thought of him going out like a common psycho."
"Please, Haruto Bastard, don't kill him. Don't do this to us."
"Bastard? How dare you! Call him Sensei!"
"I call him Sensei when the plot is sweet. If he breaks my heart, he's a bastard until further notice."
In the anime, the situation turned lethal.
Trapped by hundreds of officers and Trauma Team soldiers, David used the supernatural speed of the Sandevistan to break through the initial line. He carried a dazed Lucy to the safety of the underground parking garage, intending to head back up to rescue Maine and Dorio.
But Lucy gripped his arm, her eyes pleading. She didn't want him to go back. She knew the odds.
David was furious. "Lucy, you want me to just leave them there to die?"
"I just don't want you to..." Lucy's voice trailed off, her resolve wavering.
David looked at her, his expression a mix of sorrow and disappointment. "You know, Lucy... I guess you're never going to say it to me, are you?"
"Say what?"
"That one thing. 'You can do it, David!'"
With a final, lingering look, David activated the Sandevistan and vanished from her sight, a blur of motion heading back into the fire.
On the top floor, Maine and Dorio were engaged in a desperate last stand against the police. But Maine was losing the battle within.
As he exchanged fire with the tactical units, the world around him shifted. The cold concrete and flashing sirens vanished, replaced once more by the golden, sun-drenched fields of his childhood memories.
Hallucinating during a high-stakes firefight is a death sentence. He could hear the roar of the guns, but he couldn't see his targets.
Finally, Maine saw a movement and pulled the trigger with everything he had.
The hallucination shattered.
The golden fields evaporated, and Maine found himself staring at the woman he loved most in the world. Dorio had been caught squarely in his line of fire. He had just shot her through the head.
Dorio's blood sprayed across Maine's face as her body slumped to the floor.
Sakura's hand trembled.
Her heart was hammering against her ribs.
The sheer, soul-crushing collapse on Maine's face mirrored her own shock. Maine went into a frenzied, mindless rage, slaughtering the dozens of officers who rushed into the room, but the light had gone out of his eyes.
"Is this... is this all my fault?" he whispered, his expression breaking. As Dorio's life faded, Maine's sanity went with it. He began to laugh, a high as he stood there, drenched in the blood of his partner. The trauma had acted as a catalyst, and the cybernetic erosion of his mind went into overdrive.
Those five minutes were the most intense the series had produced to date. The art, the music, the pacing, and the raw emotional violence were on a completely different level compared to the earlier episodes. The sense of despair was so profound that Sakura felt like she was drowning in it.
'Who wouldn't go mad after that?' she thought.