Episode 38

**The Iron Fist of Love! Gou Bauren!**(恋の鉄拳! ゴウ·バウレン, *Koi no Tekken! Gou Bauren*) is the 38th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on December 28, 2003.

## Overview

Kiyomaro, Gash, and Lien finally reach the summit of the island Wonrei had been kept on and are just about to arrive at the jail cell he is located in. Just before they can get to Wonrei, a new enemy demon arrives on the scene with the intention to destroy Wonrei's book.

## Plot

As they ride the elevator to the top of the island, Kiyomaro, Gash, and Lien wait with anticipation as they are all eager to meet with Wonrei. Unexpectedly, waiting for them at the top are a demon and bookkeeper team, Zabas and Galliont. The two of them welcome the group as they step off the elevator and inform them that they happened to arrive just before they were able to attack the jail cell Wonrei is being kept in. In order to prevent them from going forward with their plan to eliminate Wonrei, Gash and Kiyomaro waste no time casting their first spell, *Zakeru*, directly at them. While the two of them got their attention, Kiyomaro instructs Lien to go on ahead to meet with Wonrei while they try to handle the fight.

While the two of them fight, Lien rushes towards Wonrei's cell with excitement to be able to reunite and fight together with him again. While Lien is overwhelmed with joy to be able to see him again, Wonrei by contrast only delivers her a cold greeting as he only asks why she had come for him. Meanwhile during Gash and Kiyomaro's battle, they see that their first spell was ineffective in attacking Zabas as he was able to shield himself from it using his wings. Soon Zabas strikes back with his first spell, *Garuruku*, which allows him to attack Gash and Kiyomaro by spinning rapidly in the air. Although the pair just barely avoid the attack, just being grazed by it slightly easily knocks them down. With how easily he took them both down, Zabas finds himself unsatisfied with having Gash as his opponent and soon he and Galliont redirect their attention to Wonrei who they decide they will challenge instead.

Gash becomes angered hearing that they'll try and attack Wonrei despite him being locked up and both Zabas and Galliont explain their reasoning that it'll be an easy victory for them to just finish him off as he is. Unwilling to let this happen, Gash and Kiyomaro continue to fight against them. While Zabas uses his next attack spell, *Oru Wigaru*, Kiyomaro and Gash prepare to defend against it using *Rashirudo.* This spell would prove to be ineffective however as Zabas redirects his attack with a swipe of his hand and causes it to explode on the ground just beneath Gash and Kiyomaro. With the two of them knocked down onto the ground again, Zabas and Galliont head off to attack Wonrei and Lien while they're by the cell. Despite being unable to get up, Gash and Kiyomaro's strong emotions and desire to stop them causes their spell book to suddenly glow.

Back in front of Wonrei's cell, Lien pleads with Wonrei to free himself from his handcuffs so they can fight together again. She expresses her feelings by telling him how much she wants to fight by his side and cares nothing about getting hurt in the process before finally telling him how much she loves him. Wonrei however only ends up responding to her by saying that he hates her and wants her to leave the island. Hearing that Zabas and Galliont are approaching closer to them, Wonrei again tries to tell Lien to hurry and leave but when he looks up at her, he sees that she's standing in place in front of him with her arms around prepared to protect him no matter what. When Wonrei asks why she is doing this, Lien tells him that she doesn't accept any lies and that her feelings towards him are no lie at all and she is willing to protect him because of that. Wonrei becomes panicked seeing Lien put herself in danger like she is doing and again tries to tell her to leave him but Lien refuses to budge and points out that if he claims to hate her then there's no reason why he should be as worried for her as he is. Wonrei's attention to Lien is suddenly averted when Kiyomaro calls out to him. Kiyomaro angrily questions him about if he's only trying to hurt Lien even more and tells him how much danger Lien had endured to get to this point for him. He would soon continue and point out to him how Lien had given up everything in order to help him to become the next Demon King yet still chooses to disregard her feelings. Gash adds to this by telling Wonrei if Lien means anything to him, he should choose to protect her from any and all dangers by becoming her shield. Hearing Gash tell him to protect Lien ends up reminding Wonrei about when he had first told Lien about the kind of king he wanted to become if he wins — a king who protects.

After overhearing all this, both Zabas and Galliont continue on with their original plan to attack both Wonrei and Lien with one of their spells. Unwilling to sit idle any longer, Wonrei finally breaks free from his handcuffs and tosses Lien his spell book in order for her to cast their fourth spell, *Gou Bauren*. Wonrei comes to Lien's side to protect her while delivering a powerful, strengthened punch to Zabas which sends him flying back some distance. Afterwards, Wonrei makes a vow to Lien saying he will protect her to the very end as they work together in order to win the battle to determine the next king.

Zabas wearily gets back up on his feet to attack with his next spell, *Oru Wigaru*. As the attack draws close to Wonrei and Lien, he manipulates the directions in which the spell is traveling at with fast and random movements in order to deliver a surprise attack. Wonrei however keeps his cool and syncs himself with the movements of the spell using the training he had received from Lien. They then manage to shield themselves from the spell entirely using *Rerudo.* Still persistent to fight, Zabas charges at the two of them using *Garuuruku* once again but this time with the intent on targeting Lien. Unwilling to let this happen, Wonrei steps in front of her and manages to stop Zabas in place using only his fist and pushes him away. Zabas tries to charge at them one again but is easily taken down by a single kick by Wonrei. Zabas tries to use *Garuuruku* to attack again but Wonrei manages to follow him quickly on foot by the side of a cliff before he strikes him using *Gou Bauren* again. This sends Zabas crashing down towards Galliont leaving the two of them appearing defeated.

After Wonrei and Lien check in with how Gash and Kiyomaro are doing, Wonrei thanks them for their words of guidance. Gash would then ask Wonrei if he plans to become a kind ruler just like him and explains that as a kind ruler, he would make sure that demon battles wouldn't have to happen anymore. Wonrei and Lien smile at hearing Gash's dream and Wonrei tells Gash that he would want to be a ruler like that as well. Suddenly, the group hears commotion coming from the elevator and Kiyomaro tells Wonrei and Lien to leave them to handle the situation while they escape. As Wonrei and Lien prepare to leave, Wonrei thanks them again for everything and tells them that he hopes they all make it to the very end of the battle together.

After Wonrei and Lien leave, Gash and Kiyomaro turn around to see Zabas who is irritated at having been humiliated by Wonrei who chose not to burn his book. With this in mind, Zabas shows them he's still persistent in fighting but this time with the intention of attacking Wonrei and Lien as they travel down the cliff. Gash and Kiyomaro however are adamant on preventing him from doing this but this time they plan to use their newest spell they gained to stop him. As Zabas charges at them while using *Garuuruku*, Gash and Kiyomaro cast their fifth spell, *Zakeruga*, which causes Gash to unleash a more concentrated and powerful blast of lightning towards Zabas. When Zabas tries to shield himself from this attack spell using his wing armor, he finds himself being pushed back by the sheer strength of it and soon sees *Zakeruga* penetrate right through his wings. Both Zabasand Galliont end up being blasted away by this spell and in the process, their book burns up and Zabas disappears along with it. With their battle finished, Gash and Kiyomaro are left to hope that Wonrei and Lien managed to make it to safety during that time.

At the very bottom of the cliff on the island's shore, Wonrei and Lien find themselves confronted by Lien's father and his henchmen. Lien's father looks at Wonrei with contempt and asks him what he plans to do with Lien to which Wonrei responds without hesitation he plans to take her with him. When her father asks how he can just easily entrust his daughter with a demon, Wonrei responds by saying that he plans to protect her from any enemy and danger they face. After hearing this, Lien's father draws out his sword and prepares to strike Wonrei with it to test this resolve. Just before the sword touches him, Wonrei firmly tells him that he will never run away even if he were his enemy.

Hearing this answer stops Lien's father and as the two of them exchange eye contact, he pulls back his sword and walks off. He approaches one of the boats left on the shore and tells Wonrei and Lien to take it and leave the island which is a gesture from him that Lien is emotionally taken back with. As he walks off, Lien tells him about Gash and Kiyomaro who she asks that he lets them go freely. Finally, she thanks him and soon she and Wonrei set off on the boat that they were left with. As they ride the boat, they reflect on how glad things had worked out for them and how Gash and Kiyomaro played a big role in making their reunion possible. Wonrei also takes a moment to think about how glad he was to have met them as they helped show him the kind of king he wants to be and the newfound hope he has discovered in the middle of the battle.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Gash Bell
* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Lien
* Zabas
* Galliont
* Suzume Mizuno
* Naomi

### Locations

* China
	+ Hong Kong Island
		- Yougan Island
* Japan
	+ Mochinoki City
		- Mochinoki Middle School

### Spells by Appearance

* Zakeru
* Garuuruku (Debut)
* Oru Wigaru (Debut)
* Rashirudo
* Gou Bauren (Debut)
* Rerudo (Debut)
* Zakeruga (Debut)

## Manga & Anime Differences

* In the anime, when Zabas tries to attack Wonrei using *Garuuruku* after Wonrei defends himself from his previous spell, Zabas originally travels along the cliff walls where Wonrei would eventually catch up to him by foot and use *Gou Bauren* to attack him in the air. In the manga, Wonrei uses his second *Gou Bauren* just after he stops Zabas' *Garuuruku* with his hand.
* In the manga, the last chapter this episode was based on ends on a humorous note showing Kiyomaro and Gash being confronted by a large group of henchmen and them trying to explain their situation. In the anime, the episode ends showing Kiyomaro and Gash returning home and delivering souvenirs.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* Scenes that show the pipe that Lien's father was smoking was removed entirely in the VIZ localization of the episode.