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The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 came off the heels of a standoff in the prior episode. It answered many questions left in the wake of the episode, from the true identity of the village elder to Ardbeg's ultimate allegiance and fate.
Ardbeg's tale is not a happy one, as the prior episodes have thus far displayed. Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 went further into that, showing how he got his magic and how he's not a bad guy. It ends up leading to a tragic end, and more than that, as the episode progresses.
Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14: Ardbeg's tragic end, a Sin returns
Gowther returns
Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 opens by showing that the village elder managed to follow Ardbeg to the crystal grotto. After tense words between the two, the elder revealed why Ardbeg's reverse magic would work extremely slowly: he's over 3,000 years old. It would take over 3 days of continuous exposure to turn him into an infant, whereas it only took 16 minutes to turn Percival's group.
The elder then shed his disguise to reveal a returning Sin: Gowther, the sin of Lust. He quickly steals back the crystal containing the demons from the village, explaining exactly why he was there. He's been living among the demons, masking his magical signature with the disguise, and trying to find them a permanent home in Britannia.
Ardbeg, frightened and confused by this sudden and shocking turn of events, flees before Gowther can do much more. As he's carrying Anne and Percival, Gowther decides to pursue them slowly to not pressure Ardbeg too much. He doesn't kill Ardbeg but rather talks him down by helping him reconnect with his humanity.
Ardbeg's full story and tragic sacrifice
Nothing Ardbeg said to Anne or the others in episodes 12 and 13 was a lie, as Ardbeg's full story in Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 displays. As he tells Gowther, he lost his infant daughter in the Holy War. This traumatic event awakened his magical power, and shortly thereafter, Arthur Pendragon approached with an offer: help him make the world better for humanity, and he will see his daughter again.
Ardbeg was hiding out at the crystal grotto for a very important reason. He stated he had spent five years trying to reconnect with his daughter, as Gowther likewise explained that the grotto was supposedly connected to the land of the dead. Gowther then managed to calm down Ardbeg by summoning a mirage of Ardbeg's daughter, Connie.
As Ardbeg came to his senses and the two were starting back into the cave, two magical spears swooped out of the air. The first narrowly missed Percival, with Gowther being fast enough to save him. The second hit the wrong target, with Ardbeg sacrificing himself by taking the blow and saving Anne.
The Dark Talismans
The twin magical spears traveled from a hilltop, approximately 9.2 miles away, to slam into the mountainside. Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 reveals the culprits behind the assassination attempts are a group of five of Camelot's Knights known as the Dark Talismans. Their long-range expert, Tamdhu, at first is elated that he killed Ardbeg, but the rest of them tell him to fire again because he missed Percival.
Before he's able to, however, Gowther counter-attacks with his twin bow, Herritt, and possesses Tamdhu with his inherent power, Invasion, and then uses Jack to control Tamdhu's body. He wreaks havoc on the assembled group, making Tamdhu stab one of his fellows and generally throw them off balance until their leader, Fiddich, kills Tamdhu via decapitation.
The sudden threat of these knights isn't diminished by having one of them killed. Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 shows them more eager to hunt down and kill Percival and friends before they reach Liones. Gowther even darkly muses that Percival and friends still need work to take them on.
The village is saved, Anne learns the truth
Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 ends on a tear-jerking note. Although the village of demons is safe, and Percival's group likewise, Anne can't help but wonder about Ardbeg's final fate since their memories didn't carry over when they were turned into infants.
As Percival celebrates with his comrades and new friend Dolchomonte, including Nasiens getting some of Ardbeg's familiar's horns as medicine, Anne and Gowther discuss Ardbeg's fate. Gowther at first tries to placate Anne with a lie about how Ardbeg fled after releasing the seal on the demons and returning them.
Anne informs him of her magic that sees through lies, and he, in turn, lets her see all of Ardbeg's memories. She keeps his staff as a memento, sobbing into her hands as everyone comforts her. The last scene shows a small memorial to Ardbeg, with his dog, flowers, his Knight helmet, and a crystal showing him and Connie reunited in the afterlife.
Final Thoughts
Four Knights of the Apocalypse episode 14 ends the detour of the mysterious village. A village of peaceful demons was saved, a Holy Knight lived up to his charge, and far worse knights hounded Percival's party. With the heroes continuing onward, a question is asked of Gowther: why doesn't he join them?
The answer he gives is simple: there will be more people like Ardbeg trying to massacre the village if he isn't there. His final thoughts on Percival and company are that, despite Percival's current immaturity and the ever-increasing difficulty, he's confident that they'll overcome any threat they come across.
Considering how well they've done thus far, the only time they needed outside help since their foundation was the fight with the dragon in Cant, and now with Ardbeg, it's safe to say that assumption is correct.
