Aldra's Torment

"Aldra's Torment" is the fourth episode of the Queen's Blade: Vanquished Queens anime.

Story
In the Queen's Capital, Aldra punishes one of her Fang subordinates. Deemed as traitorous, the woman is encased by Aldra's eye. After calling Irma to her out from the crowd, she remarks to her that Irma has a traitorous feel to her, and that if she wanted, she could easily kill the queen. Aldra gropes Irma, fabricating that the reason she joined was to help her reconnect with the normal world. Overcome by Aldra's actions, Irma is then made to swear loyalty to her by cleaning her crotch blade.

Irma reminisces over her memories in a forest, as unknown figures near her move around. She intercepts them, identifying them as Fang assassins. They tell her that loyal Fang assassins die for their queen, and any assassin that doesn't follow this code and escapes must be killed. After breaking the woman's arm of whom she had pinned, Irma tells them that she isn't running, rather that she left the Assassins of the Fang in order to seek out Aldra.

In Zanef, Aldra guides new citizens around the town. While passing over a bridge, she sees a strange person covered in a hood, watching her. She arrives back home after work, practicing on questioning her darling about the celebration of knowing each other after 256 days that he forgot about. In bed anxiously waiting for the three days until her darling comes home, someone knocks on her door. As she opens the door, Irma confronts her, but passes out due to the previous skirmish with the Fang assassins.

Waking up in Aldra's home, Irma questions Aldra's actions, which are out of place with how she remembered her. Unknowingly, Irma was tailed by the Fang assassins, who now have tied up Aldra, in their search for Irma. Aldra cannot recall who these assailants are, and they search for Irma inside her home. Irma now realizes that without Delmore, Aldra's memories of her previous life were lost.

Not able to find Irma, they take out their revenge on Aldra, attacking her. Remorseful of her actions, Aldra recalls a vague dream of what she did, and is forced to clean the very blade that she made her Fang assassins swear their loyalty. The assassins make Aldra drink a concoction that heightens her sensitivity to touch, and she is held by her hair and spanked. They berate her as they assault her, remarking that because of her actions that she has no right to live a happy life. With her heightened sensitivity, Aldra loses control of herself and urinates. As the Fang subordinates were about to continue their assault, Irma kills them.

Irma tells her that there are many who would have Aldra's life, including her. She informs her that her apologies have no merit, considering that she does not fully understand what she has done. Throwing Aldra to the ground, she demands that she fight her, as if to vainly kill her on equal terms, but she sees that Aldra really isn't the same one she remembers. Aldra recalls to Irma her endless wandering, finally saved by her soon to be husband, who gave her the giant plush bear as a first present. She tells of her husband's dream to open a food stall so that they may cook and serve food to the people. Unable to come to face with the drastic change of character Aldra has become, Irma goes to a tavern and drinks, realizing that Aldra has taken a similar position to her own. While at the tavern, Echidna arrives, who claims she came to the bar after the rain interrupted her routine work. Echidna gets uncomfortably close to Irma, attempting to console her wayward student. Echidna invades Aldra's home, to have her way with her. Binding her with Keltan, Echidna informs Aldra that if she had her repressed power unlocked, she could easily fend off Echidna's advances. In an attempt to help Aldra regain her abilities, Echidna uses Aldra's bear and the threat of losing her husband if she fails to regain her power. Realizing she'd been drugged, Irma races back to Aldra's home. Aldra remembers the day she had received her bear from her husband, who gave it to her as a proxy for an engagement ring.

Seeing the predicament she'd be in, Aldra's power awakens,  causing the bear to come to life by summoning a spirit into it. Aldra attacks Echidna with the bear, now much larger than before. Now able to fight back, Aldra and Irma restart their previous confrontation. After the bear encased Irma's leg with stone, it no longer wants to assist Aldra, so that she may fight her own battle. Still conflicting with the previous incarnation of Aldra, Irma's feelings for her brother's death fuel her to fight her. Holding on to the happiness that her husband provides her, Aldra releases a surge of her power, defeating Irma. Finally realizing that her battle with the past was in vain, Irma leaves Zanef, but not before thanking Echidna as they both go their separate ways. Irma now seeks to look toward the future, now that her past incidents are behind her. Meanwhile, Aldra welcomes back her darling.

Alternate ending:

After the possessed bear attacked Irma, it stopped and defied Aldra. Worse, it sexually abused her. Soon after, Echidna had a nice time playing her like a toy in bed. Knowing Aldra suffered, Irma felt the revenge had been taken and was hence relieved of hatred to some degree.