Slow and sure. II

'''Slow and sure. II' (TBA, TBA) is the 8th episode of the second season of The Ancient Magus Bride'' anime.

Synopsis
An otherwise educational and relaxing camping trip with her classmates ends with a terrifying encounter in the shadows of the night forest, forcing Chise to rely on her own wits and abilities instead of Elias' magic.

Summary
As Chise collects firewood with Lucy, Elias, in a smaller form, leaps onto Chise's shoulder, asking to speak with her.

Now at Elias' House, a flashback shows that Elias tells Chise he's interested in attending her school camping trip. Despite Chise's best efforts to try and dissuade Elias from joining her; however, he bifurcates himself as a way to join her. In the present, Chise thinks about Elias' explanation about dividing himself, and the smaller half of Elias reports he brought fish for her.

Chise notices Neighbors surrounding them, and Elias talks a bit about how they maintain a good relationship with humans. Still, Chise is overcome with a feeling of anxiety, but is snapped out of it when Lucy calls out to her, and they return to camp. There, Lucy shows Chise how to start a campfire, and after this, Chise goes to fetch some water for them.

By a riverbank, Chise encounters a horse that stands on top of the river water, and Elias believes it not to be a Kelpie, but a Each Usige. Elias then warns Chise about the dangerous nature one poses if she gets on its back. Upon returning to the camp, Chise warns Lucy about the horse.

Afterward, Chise rests in her sleeping back inside her tent and hears voices from outside. She's joined by Ruth and Elias, who assures her they're there.

The following morning, Chise awakens to the sounds of birds, and she encounters Philomela by the riverbank. They talk for a bit, and when Philomela leaves, Chise hopes she still has the potpourri she gave her. Lucy then arrives and asks Chise why she's so interested in Philomela, which Chise doesn't know, but believes she can talk more. In turn, Chise asks why Lucy hates Philomela, to which Lucy claims she hates Sorcerers. Chise then asks why Lucy was enrolled in College then, but Lucy dodges the question stating the fire needs to be reignited and asks that Chise restart it.

On the final night of the camping trip, Chise and Lucy have a heart-to-heart about their need to accomplish something when they get home. Later, Lucy leaves the tent to use the restroom, Chise follows after her when ample time passes, and she's overcome with an unnerving feeling. Searching for Lucy, Chise found her unconscious, and Elias informed her that Lucy's magical energy had been drained.

As Chise transferred her magical energy to Lucy, she had Ruth report this incident to Whoopi. Before they could return to the tent, they were confronted by a large one-eyed creature. Chise's inner monologue reveals that her senses have broadened since she acquired the Dragon's Curse. What's called a Nucklavee confronts and attacks Chise and Elias, who retreat to the riverbank as the monster can't touch fresh water. Running toward the river, Chise asks Elias if the Nucklavee is responsible for draining Lucy's magic; however, he denies the notion.

Eventually, Chise runs into Rian, Isaac, and Zoe accompanied by Ruth, who had found them rather than Whoopi. The Nucklavee arrives and tries to attack Zoe, but his earmuffs fall off, and his natural paralysis ability kicks in. However, its effects only last a few moments because Zoe passes out, and the Nucklavee spews a poisonous gas. To escape this, the group crosses the river, and since Elias cannot assist Chise in his current form, Chise asks for advice in defeating it.

Hence, Elias summons the Kelpie, and Chise asks to ride on its back to defeat the Nucklavee. The Kelpie agrees to Chise's proposal and demands she gets on his back. Leaving Lucy in Ruth's care, Chise got on the Kelpie's back and was joined by an insistent Rian, who then received a key from Isaac. They then ride off on the Kelpie to the lake, where it dunks them into the lake and then kicks the Nucklavee into it too.

Before swimming ashore, Chise was dragged into the lake by the Nucklavee, who notes that Chise has the Sight and must be destroyed for it. However, following the advice of a female who appeared behind her, Chise uses her arm with the Dragon's Curse to slay the Nucklavee.

On the shore, the Kelpie had planned to eat Chise, but was stopped by Rian, who transformed the key he received from Isaac into a metal weapon. Doing this allowed Chise to resurface from the water and was sequentially dried off by Elias. As a show of thanks toward the Kelpie, Chise gives it some of her hair, and it eats it while lamenting it couldn't eat her as it leaves.

While walking back to their camp to regroup with Whoopi and the others, Rian notices that Chise's face is disconcerted, she admits it was and doesn't know how to handle it.