Episode 5

I Am... (アイ・アム......) is the fifth episode of the The Eminence in Shadow anime adaptation.

Synopsis

 * -|English =

Cid is not facing a minion but a would-be Knight of the Rounds. Normally, that is cause for concern, but an atomic bomb has no reason to fear the gnashing of a lowly pest.
 * -|Japanese =

アイリス率いる騎士団は、王都に突如現れた謎の怪物に大苦戦. そこに“怪物の素性”を知るアルファが現れる. 一方、シャドウに追い詰められたゼノンは、不穏な赤い薬の力で覚醒するが――

Summary
As Shadow introduces himself, Zenon recognizes him as the one that has been going after the Cult, but notes he is a coward as he has been targeting only bases without the Cult's core members. However, he is now facing a core member and the future Twelfth Seat of Rounds, Zenon. As Zenon attacks Shadow, he moves behind him, placing himself between Zenon and Alexia and mocks Zenon, asking him where is this core member he spoke of.

The monster had escaped above ground. After evacuating the citizens, the knight face it, but their attacks are ineffective as the monster just heals. Iris comes and inflicts a more serious wound on the monster, but it heals that too. She decides to get more serious and cuts the monster arm, however the monster easily regenerates it. Seeing that, Iris decides to cut it to small pieces so that it won't be able to regenerate. After inflicting several wounds, Alpha comes and states she is just making her suffer. Alpha states she knows the monster pain and suffering and she will put an end to it. Alpha then attacks the monster, curing it and returning it to her original human form, a young girl. Alpha sees a pendant on her, revealing that she is Millia, Grease's daughter. Alpha then tells Iris that they are Shadow Garden and she should just stay back and enjoy the show as they deal with this situation.

Zenon decides to get more serious and uses more magical power, but is still easily overwhelmed by Shadow. Zenon gets angry and continues to attack Shadow, who easily blocks his attacks. Seeing the fight Alexia is amazed by Shadow and sees that at its core, his swordplay is ordinary. Its like her ideal swordplay she dreamed when she was young, however she could never became stronger or equally strong to her sister. Shadow slashes Zenon, who gets angry and asks him why is he hiding his identity if he is that strong. Shadow states they are Shadow Garden and they hunt in the shadows, which is they sole purpose of their existence.

Annoyed, Zenon takes out some red pills and explains that by taking them he will awaken a new nature beyond human limitations and if an ordinary person takes them, he will be overwhelmed by their tremendous power and die. Zenon then takes the pills and transforms, stating he is the Third Awakened. Having far more destructive power than before, Zenon attacks Shadow, however, he easily blocks him once again. As Shadow overwhelms Zenon, he tells him that there is no road to almightiness if you use borrowed power. He then sets a magic circle around Zenon, which surprises him how powerful it is. Shadow states there once was a man who wanted to withstand a nuclear bomb. The man then developed his muscles, honed his mind, perfected his skills, however there were still heights he could not attain. In time, Shadow realized that if he don't want to be vaporized by a nuclear bomb, he needs to become nuclear himself. Zenon thinks he is crazy and tries slashing him, but his swords breaks as it hits Shadow. Shadow then tells him to witness his almightiness as he uses his almighty power. He then chants "I am atomic". A huge explosion then occurs, leaving a large crater in the middle of the city. Alexia finds herself unharmed in the middle of the crater. He picks a sword and starts practising her fencing. Iris sees her and comes down, hugging her and states she is glad that she is alive.

Sometime after that, Alexia returns to school and she tells Cid of what happened. She thanks him for liking her fencing and tells him that she also finally learned to like it. They were pretending to be a couple, but now Zenon is dead. Alexia wonders if Cid wants to keep the relationship going, but Cid refuses. That shocks Alexia, who then attacks him. The spot they talked get known as people found large amount of blood there, but no bodies or missing people were found or reported. As a result, in time the case got known as one of the school's seven mysteries, The Bodiless Murder.

The Shadow Garden girls are excited about how powerful Shadow is and how all of their enemies will one day vanish from his light, just like Zenon. They have a report from Zeta, who found the target and will be investigating. Eta's research is also going smoothly. However, they have one issue, someone has been pretending to be from Shadow Garden and delivering "justice". They are covering their tracks well, but Gamma is sure they will catch them.

Iris now knows about the Cult and Shadow Garden. She knows that Zenon was adherent of the Cult and because of that she doesn't trust the Knights Order. She trusts Glen and Marco and decides to form a new investigation team with them. Iris reveals they have found an item, but need to find someone who can decipher its functions. Meanwhile, while reading and carrying books, Sherry Barnett bumps into Cid, who is covered in blood from Alexia's attack.