First Extermination (Episode)

"First Extermination" (殲滅のハジマリ) is the eighth episode of the first season and eighth episode overall of the Seraph of the End anime.

Synopsis
Shinoa Squad enters the subway station and fights the vampires present. They surprise the squad with an ambush, and they realize the girl they saved gave them wrong numbers. Yu saves Mitsuba's life, and they exterminate the vampires in the station.

After that, they proceed to Shinjuku and encounter vampire nobles Crowley Eusford, Chess Belle, and Horn Skuld and find they are utterly outmatched. However, the vampires leave to the front lines, and Shinoa Squad survives.

Summary
Shinoa Squad enters the Omotesando Station. According to the information the child gave them, there are seven vampires. They will attack now, when the vampires are most likely asleep. Shinoa orders her squad to stay in formation, protect each other, and not get separated.

They see human livestock lying around and leaning against the walls. They head to B3 while the livestock watch. Kimizuki asks why the livestock are not trying to escape, but Mitsuba explains that they cannot face the monsters outside. The vampires protect them in exchange for human blood. Lights flicker, and they spot their first vampire.

Mitsuba orders them to draw, and Yu quickly attacks the vampire before he can call for help. When Mitsuba moves to slap him for disobeying orders, Yu grabs her hand and insists he waited for the order to draw and the vampire was unarmed anyway. He moves her out of the way as a second vampire attacks from behind Mitsuba. When he attacks Yu, Yu cuts through both the vampire's sword and the vampire, effectively killing him as well. Shinoa comments about Yu being Guren's favorite, so she is not surprised by his strength. Kimizuki insists he is stronger.

The humans walk into a dark corner, and five vampires come upon them. The squad readies their weapons, but three more vampires break through the dark glass behind Shinoa Squad and ambush them. One grasps Mitsuba by the neck. Surprised by the fact eight more vampires appeared instead of only the five, they realize the child they rescued deceived them. One vampire mocks the humans for betraying each other just to save family.

Mitsuba orders them to escape and leave her behind, but Yu refuses and attacks. The scuffle begins, and Mitsuba experiences flashbacks of her former squad's annihilation. When the vampire moves to kill Mitsuba, Yu cuts him in half and rescues him.

Yu mocks the vampires, saying humans will do anything to save their family. The squad members regroup. Shinoa says the vampires are only with second-class weapons and says they can handle them.

After killing the vampires present, army soldiers have arrived and the child is reunited with her family above ground. She apologizes for deceiving them, but Yu tells her she did the right thing. Shinoa and Mitsuba pack food supplies. Shinoa narrates Mitsuba falling in love with Yu, but Mitsuba insists she is not in love. Shinoa tells Mitsuba Yu was held in a vampire city when he was little. Mitsuba asks Yu if it is true, that he left his family behind in a vampire city, but Yu tells her it is none of her business. Mitsuba tells him he did nothing wrong. Yu says he still left his family behind to save himself and appears frustrated about it. Mitsuba attempts to thank Yu, but she blushes too much and ends up telling him she hates him instead.

Shigure Yukimi watches over the squad.

Later, Kimizuki hotwires a hummer while Yu tells him how awesome that is and how he only rode in a car when he was little. Yu is very excited about this and asks if he could drive it. Kimizuki tells him to not touch it and promises to give him a short driving lesson later. Yu tells him how cool he is because he knows how to drive, causing Kimizuki to become embarrassed and blush. Kimizuki orders him to sit in the back seat like a good little kid.

Kimizuki leaves to tell the rest of their squad that the vehicle is up and running. In the meantime, the vehicle drives straight into an electrical pole and knocks it down. The squad watches in horror. Meanwhile, Yu, who is revealed to be in the driver's seat, switches gears. Kimizuki rushes up to the vehicle, but Yu moves into reverse and nearly runs Kimizuki over. Kimizuki threatens to kill him.

Yu manages to drive the hummer up next to Kimizuki, and he tells everyone to get on--he will drive.

Kimizuki orders Yu out, and the two begin arguing.

Shinoa calls it her car and orders everyone to get in before realizing she cannot even see over the steering wheel. Yu and Kimizuki clutch their sides as they laugh about her height. She pulls out her weapon.

In the next scene, the squad is in the car with Kimizuki driving and Yu in the passenger seat. Yu and Kimizuki are covered in new scratches and bruises. Yu suggests they do not mock Shinoa about her height anymore, and Kimizuki concurs.

As they drive, they hear loud noises. They wonder if it is Horsemen, but Mitsuba points out the sounds are coming from Shinjuku. Shinoa orders them to get ready. They round the corner to see smoke coming up from behind Shinjuku walls. As they drive closer, they come across a tall, muscular vampire, who Yu identifies as a noble.

The squad jumps out of the vehicle and rams the hummer into him. The vampire easily stops it with one hand. Drawing his sword, he orders it to drink his blood, and he easily swats away Yoichi's attack. He counterattacks by swinging his sword from several meters away, but Shinoa and Mitsuba barely manage to deflect it and protect Yoichi. Shinoa states he is armed with a first-class weapon, and instructs no one to move on their own. He appears behind her before she can finish her sentence.

As the vampire swings his sword down, Yu reacts quickly and with enough power to knock the sword out of his hand.

The vampire laughs and steps back. He says Yu is not bad for a human and asks him who he is. The squad strategizes on how to defeat this vampire.

Suddenly, a pair of female nobles, Chess Belle and Horn Skuld, leap down from above on either side of the first vampire. Yu asks for orders and suggests a retreat. Shinoa says a retreat is impossible against opponents of this level. Instead, she orders them to fight at full power with their maximum demon power without letting their demons take over. Purple markings appear on her skin. She and Mitsuba warn the squad that they may have casualties.

The vampire women ask Lord Crowley, the vampire who destroyed the hummer, what he is doing there. They tell him that Lord Ferid has summoned him to the front lines.

He says that is a shame since things were interesting. Horn returns Crowley's sword to him. He tells the humans he will let them go today but promises to drink their blood next time. He appears right behind Yu and pats him on the back, startling him, before leaving without a fight. He calls them cute little livestock.

Shinoa is grateful they are safe, and Yu is frustrated they were treated like weaklings. Mitsuba remains calm and reminds them of their mission. Shinoa tells Yu he can become stronger by learning curses, but she tells him that, even if he becomes stronger, she, Yoichi, and Mitsuba would die while he is fighting. This is why they need teamwork. She tells him she is glad he suggested a retreat and thanks him for saving her life. Yu blushes about it when she says Guren was right about Yu protecting his friends.

The squad looks at Shinjuku as the battle continues. Yoichi says he would like to return to Shibuya now, but Kimizuki reminds him that Shibuya will be next if Shinjuku falls. Mitsuba orders them to continue, and they approach the city wall.

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance:

Gallery
Anime images provide a visual overview of the events of Episode 8 with depictions of the characters, Seraph of the End world, scenarios, artistic style among other areas.