Episode 2

**Anne From Management** (運営スタッフのアン, *Un'ei Sutaffu no An*) is the second episode of the Helck Anime series.

## Summary

From her perch overseeing the colosseum, Vermilio ponders what the Humans are plotting and that she needs to dispose of Helck. She then asks Hon if the horse provided to Helck would be sufficient for him to fail, and he assures her that it would be.

At the moment, the combatants arrived on their steeds, and Helck rode proudly on his small furry mount, making Vermilio do a spit take. Although Hon is impressed with his plan, Vermilio chastises him over it because of how she thought the audience would interpret it. However, her thoughts were unfounded, as the audience had favorable impressions of Helck riding on his mount.

After Rococo introduces the next round, the race starts with the racers all set-off, aside from Helck, whose mount was too frail to set-off. Witnessing this amuses Vermilio, who laughs at the scene, while Hyura and Kenros both have their individual opinions on Helck's situation.

Believing that Helck's failure is well assured, Rococo focuses her commentary on the racer's tread through the obstacle course, and Vermilio leaves her perch with Hon. Down in the colosseum arena, Helck comforts his mount noting it was scared after the cannon fire from the start of the race. He then consoles it, and with his words of encouragement, Helck's mount felt inspired.

Returning to the race, the racers struggle to make it past the obstacle course; Hyura and Kenros take the lead, and Hon explains some of their backgrounds to Vermilio. Just then, Rococo announced that Helck was striving forward on his mount, which Vermilio frustratedly claimed she knew. From Helck's perspective, it's shown that he was running above his mount, laughing all the way. Vermilio then demands that Helck be banned because of his cheating, but Hon argues that'd earn them a disfavorable approval from the audience.

Still, Hon was confident that the obstacle course that was set up would hinder him, though Helck easily passed through it and headed to the suspension bridge leading to the old mines. There, Vermilio demands that the bridge be compromised somehow, and Hon mentions the explosives from the mines. Hence, Vermilio orders him to use the explosives and cover the nearby part with oil to keep them from their feet. However, as the management crew performs this task, they accidentally destroy the bridge in the process. Despite the bridge being destroyed, Hon tries and put a positive spin on the situation, but Vermilio wasn't convinced. Vermilio's doubts were proven right as Helck leaped across the valley where the bridge once was with his mount.

Catching up to Hyura and Kenros with his mount in hand, Helck smiles at his perplexed rivals, says, "Catch ya later!" and hurries off. Inspired by Helck's ingenuity, Kenros jumps off his mount and races toward Helck as they draw close to the finish line. In the end, however, Helck wins by inches. Although he lost, Kenros took his loss against Helck and took it well. Also, Helck's downplay of his win impressed Kenros to offer him drinks later.

Before Vermilio could have a temper explosion, Hon erected a barrier to protect himself; however, Ista's appearance instantly cooled her off, much to Hon's surprise. Ista reports that Castle Urum 's scheduled reconnaissance report had arrived and delivered it. It entailed that the Castle was untouched after its attack, and there were no Humans in sight, though 103 winged creatures were there, one of which is surmised to be their leader. Although the number of the enemy has deteriorated from 300, it doesn't change Vermilio's thoughts on the situation. Despite wanting to eliminate the winged enemies, Vermilio has her hands tied with Helck.

Just then, a man known as Azudra enters the scene, and after a brief informal chat with Vermilio, he tries to tell something to her, but coughs up blood and faints because of his injuries. Mustering what energy he has, Azudra suggests that the competition's final match will be to reclaim Castle Urum. The match would also determine whether or not Helck is truly on their side. Despite, Azudra's logic, Vermilio's suspicions of Helck were unwavered. Vermilio then demands to know what's Azudra's plan if Helck decides to betray them during this final match. With a smirk, Azudra answers he's crafted a Deep-Green ring that prevents its users from harming each other. Even though there were assurances with the plan, Vermilio wasn't convinced it was foolproof. Hence, she decided to personally oversee the match, protect the Demon competitors, and eliminate Helck if needed.

Five days pass, and the final competitors, Hyura, Helck, Kenros, and Dorshe, put on their Deep-Green rings and listen to Rococo's details on the final round of the competition. From behind a curtain, Vermilio dressed inconspicuously, and Hon watched from behind a curtain as the competitors listened to Rococo's explanation of the final match. Once Rococo's explanation was over, she finished it off, noting that "Anne" from management, who was, in fact, Vermilio, would be protecting them all during the final match. After Vermilio introduces herself as Anne to everyone, Helck immediately points out that she's the judge from the cooking contest and extends his hand to her while introducing himself. As that happens, Hyura observes Helck's interaction with Anne, who looks disgusted by the likes of him. Begrudgingly, Anne shakes Helck's hand.

Meanwhile, at Castle Urum, the winged knights gather around their supposed leader as he sits quietly on a ruined piece of the castle.

## Characters

* Vermilio
* Hon
* Helck
* Rococo
* Hyura
* Kenros
* Ista
* Urum (Mentioned)
* Azudra
* Dorshe