Episode 78

**I Won’t Go Back! Leila’s Dark Solitude** (*もう戻らない! レイラの孤独な闇,Mō Modoranai! Reira no Kodoku na Yami*) is the 78th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on October 17, 2004.

## Overview

Leila attacks Kiyomaro’s group in order to stop them from destroying the moon stone despite having helped them in the past when she had first met them. Confused, Kiyomaro tries to talk to Leila to understand why she had suddenly turned against them and to help free her from Zofis’ control.

## Plot

Just as Kiyomaro’s group was about to reach the center of the room where moonlight is shining down, they are suddenly attacked by Leila who they had thought was still their ally. After recovering from this, Kiyomaro tries to ask Leila why she had attacked them and tries to explain to her that they were trying to get to the moon stone in order to destroy it. After hearing this, Leila attacks them again with another spell. Soon after, Patie and Byonko join in to try and attack them. To buy themselves some time to recover and think about the situation they’re in, Canchome uses a spell to transform himself into a pillar to hide everyone temporarily. As they stay hidden, Kiyomaro tells the group that he still wants to try and talk with Leila and find out about why she had suddenly chosen to fight for Zofis.

While others in the group share the same desire, Dr. Riddles points out that they have to keep in mind that Patie and Byonko might get in the way of this plan. Kiyomaro realizes then that in order to stop them from trying to attack, it’s up to Gash to try and befriend Patie as she still has feelings for him and would be on their side if things work out. Gash remains hesitant of this as he is still afraid of her aggressive side but reluctantly goes along with the plan as long as they would only just be friends. After Canchome’s spell is cancelled, Kiyomaro calls out to Patie to tell her that Gash had decided that he wants to be her friend. Patie becomes overjoyed at hearing this but misinterprets this decision as Gash wanting to marry her. Gash becomes even more nervous at hearing this and tries to reject this idea as politely as he could. The group’s attempt at trying to befriend Patie ultimately fails as Patie becomes enraged at Gash for not reciprocating her feelings. Although Patie was angry at Gash, Leila tells Patie and Byonko to let her handle the situation instead.

Kiyomaro once again tries to talk to her but after hearing again about their plan to destroy the moon stone, Leila interprets this as them trying to turn her into stone. She soon attacks the group with another spell but Umagon in his battle form manages to stop it. After this happens, Leila admits to the group that while what she and the other ancient demons were doing was wrong, she refuses to let herself be turned to stone again after having suffered that fate for a thousand years. When Kiyomaro hears this, he remembers what Pamoon had told him about an incident where he saw Zofis partially turn a demon into stone for turning against him and realizes that fear was how Zofis was able to keep the ancient demons under his control. Kiyomaro would then tell Leila that there was no way for her to be returned to stone as Zofis was never truly able to recreate the spell that was able to do this. He points out that one of Zofis’ abilities is to control the hearts and minds of others and that her account of seeing a demon being nearly turned to stone again was simply an illusion. Kiyomaro goes further by also telling her that Zofis’ control also applies to the bookkeepers as well and that the moon stone’s true purpose was to heighten Zofis’ powers of manipulation and to control multiple people’s hearts at once.

As Leila thinks about this new information, a flashback is seen showing Zofis confronting her for having helped Kiyomaro’s group escape the ruins. He tells her about the group’s plan to destroy the moon stone and demonstrates what will happen if they do by making her believe that her body was turning into stone. Zofis then warns her that if she does not want to experience the same fate again, she is to not leave the area where the moonlight is shining down. After this flashback, Leila thinks about Kiyomaro’s words reassuring her that she would not be turned to stone and even sticks her hand outside of the moonlight. From Leila’s perspective, she witnesses her hand turning into stone but from the perspective of others, they only see her shaking in fear over what she believed was happening. Scared of re-experiencing this fate again, Leila pleads with the others to let her defeat them and starts preparing to use a powerful attack.

Just before Leila could attack, Kiyomaro gives Dr. Riddles’ his spell book and runs towards Leila. He would then stop just in front of her with his arms open and tell her that they want to help and even tries to continue reasoning with her. Not before long, Leila lets go of her wand. She would then ask Kiyomaro what she should do as while she realizes then that what she had seen was an illusion, she still experiences fear and anxiety so great that it nearly paralyzes her. Just as this is happening, Patie tries to intervene by ordering Leila to attack. Before she could do anything else, Gash steps in front of her and confronts her about the cruelty of her actions. When Patie realizes then how much pain Leila was going through, she quietly backs down.

After some time, Leila decides for herself that she wants to step outside of the moonlight. Kiyomaro tries to warn her about this and explains to her what may happen to her if she does so, but Leila makes it clear to him that she has made up her mind as she believes she can’t move forward until she steps outside. She thanks Kiyomaro for his help then leaps outside of the moonlight. When she jumps out, her mind begins to perceive that she’s starting to turn into stone. Despite being aware that it was an illusion, her body becomes paralyzed and everything in her vision begins to turn dark. Suddenly, Leila begins to feel someone holding her hand and crying over her. The sensations of warmth that she felt from this helps restore her consciousness and when she starts to see clearly again, she sees that her bookkeeper Albert was the one who  was holding her. As she sees him cry for her, she realizes too that throughout their time together, Albert had always been listening to her. After having overcome Zofis’ illusions, she makes a promise to Albert to save him from Zofis’ control too. The episode then ends as Leila rallies up the group to prepare themselves for their battle against the fearsome demon that’s protecting the moon stone.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Kafka Sunbeam
* Umagon
* Parco Folgore
* Canchome
* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Gash Bell
* Leila
* Albert
* Dr. Riddles
* Megumi Oumi (Flashback)
* Tio (Flashback)
* Dalmos (Flashback)
* Byonko
* Patie
* Alvin
* Uluru
* Zofis (Flashback)
* Pamoon (Flashback)
* Lance (Flashback)

## Spells by Appearance

* Gou Shudoruku
* Miguron
* Oru Miguruga (Debut)
* Amubegiru (Flashback)
* Mishirudo (Flashback)
* Akuru Kiroro
* Poruku
* Rājia Migusen (Debut)
* Radomu (Flashback)

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* Details such as blood from injuries are cleaned up from characters in the VIZ localization but other things such as scratches and clothing tears are usually left alone. All bleeding seen on Kiyomaro would be cleaned up in the VIZ localization
* Scenes that showed Patie’s underwear were edited to have a crudely drawn pair of shorts on her.