A Cherished Wish: What is Worth Fighting For

"A Cherished Wish: What is Worth Fighting For" is the twenty-second episode of the Queen's Blade anime and the tenth episode of the second season.

Story
Nanael is drinking milk to drown her sorrows at the bar where Nyx works, and Nyx tells her of the rumor about the horned monster seen in the woods. Nanael thinks it might be Melona, and goes to seek her with Melpha. She instead finds Tomoe in a dangerous mood. Elina returns home after Claudette tells her that she is the only one of the three sisters capable of serving Count Vance any more, as neither Claudette nor Leina have the will to. Nanael tries to get Leina to ambush Tomoe in the forest, but then decides to tell her what they know about Aldra so far. Between them, Nanael, Leina, and Ymir determine that Aldra has to be allied with some sort of heavenly creature because the sacred milk actually has a negative impact on the divine (and conversely a positive one on the demonic, which is how it was able to revive Melona). Melona spies on the conversation, posing as Lana. Leina is summoned at last to fight Tomoe, and they battle in the ruins of Tomoe's old shrine in Hinomoto. Tomoe's hair has turned white, and Aldra says that she is driven by the ghosts of her friends and the suffering in her heart. Tomoe says that, for Shizuka's sake, she has become a demon who will win at any cost. A desperate fight begins with Tomoe having the upper hand, utilizing a lot of powerful techniques. Leina eventually recovers and says that she cannot lose either, and that she accepts everything that has happened, including Tomoe's feelings. Tomoe rejects that, replying that one needs to be heartless to be strong. Leina triumphs, and Tomoe claims she finally understands her. Ymir uses the fight as advertising for the sword she re-forged, and sells many cheap knockoffs of it. Tomoe awakens in the Palace of Grief.