The rebels are taking over parts of Ozmargo, but when the rebel king takes Sariphi, the situation turns very personal to Leonhart and the others.
The previous volume of Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts ended with the introduction of some new characters, and volume 10 quickly brings them into the story. Fenrir, the self-proclaimed new king, and his underling, Nir, raid Sariphi’s ship, and she gives herself up in order to protect everyone else.
The manga spends the rest of the time switching between characters as they try to fight off physical attacks and/or the attacks on their own heart. Lante, for instance, charges at Fenrir and Nir to protect his mistress, but he’s overpowered by Nir. Leonhart, upon learning of Sariphi’s capture, wants nothing more but to flee to her aid, but the people of Ozmargo are already uneasy. Anubis manages to help convince Leonhart to stay, but that also means more of the responsibility falls to him to fulfill his liege’s wishes. The characters must balance willing to throw their life away with the hope and dedication placed in them from those who care for them.
Meanwhile, Sariphi is not treated horribly because she’s a hostage, but Fenrir also takes an interest in her. At first, it’s because Leonhart is supposedly in love with her. As she — a mere human — calls him weak to his face and yet empathizes with him, Fenrir because more fascinated by Sariphi. I admit that judging by the ending of volume 9, I expected Fenrir’s backstory to be something like the situation in the Black Panther movie, but his connection to Leonhart is limited to an encounter when they were young. No wonder Sariphi calls him weak to his face when his whole motivation stems from daddy issues.
As I said, Sariphi is not treated cruelly in Fenrir’s care, and it all results from probably the one weakness of volume 10: plot armor. While several main characters receive devastating blows (and Fenrir/Nir could have easily annihilated whomever they wished), they always avoid a deadly blow. And of course, Sariphi never gets injured in the first place; she is just chained up. I also would have preferred see Amit and Jorgamund’s reaction to the news Sariphi is captured, but that’s a relatively minor quibble.
And while it was disappointing that the physical battles weren’t as do-or-die for the heroes as the unseen soldiers, it’s still an engaging volume. There is just enough humor and romance to keep the manga from becoming all about the revolution (Cy and Clops being nicknamed “Cannonball” for instance), but the bonds between characters are on full display. Clops, for instance, tries to cheer up Leonhart, and the King notes that this small creature who once trembled before him is now encouraging him. Anubis has no problem playing dirty in order to grant Leonhart victory.
Moments like these, both big and small, help make volume 10 great. The situation will continue into the next volume (perhaps longer), and I’m sure the emotional connections between the heroes will be just as strong as Leonhart and Fenrir prepare for a face-off.