I'm Standing on a Million Lives - Episode 12 Recap (Season Finale)

The final episode of the season is a heavily psychological one. After the events of the previous episode, Yusuke deals with the revelation that the game world is not virtual and that he killed a real human person (the one he burned alive). The heroes get to return to their own world. Taking a life shakes Yusuke, making his heart pound non-stop.

Back in school, Yusuke plays basketball during his gym period. Having gained skills from the game world, he’s able to smoke his classmates on the court. And doesn’t even need to share the ball with his team. Iu and Kusue are there, too. Kusue brings up Yusuke, but Iu replies that she hasn’t had the heart to talk to him after learning he killed someone.

After school, Yusuke walks home. Thinking of his past and again the murder he committed. Thinking of his feelings about it, obviously troubled trying to understand his identity - someone who’s been a loner and hated people his whole life. He then gets a text from Game Master asking, “Now that you’ve killed someone, what are your honest feelings?” He’s upset to be confronted in this way and ignores/deletes the message. 

When he gets back to his room, Game Master appears to him in the flesh as a small girl with a butterfly net. She requests an answer from him again, and this time he has to reply. He says he thought the person he killed was evil. After all, the person tried to kill him, and even got his nakama killed in the dungeon. They were also persecuting religious folks who did them no harm. But he’s torn, because he knows this person was doing what they believed was right. In the end, he thinks killing was a mistake and wouldn’t have done it had he known the truth about the world.

After this answer, Game Master gives Yusuke a solo quest to obtain a new player. The two go to a restaurant, and Yusuke is surprised to learn that the new player will soon come in to kill a drug dealer, having been ordered to do so by the yakuza. Yusuke is able to stop the would-be killers with his new skills, including the new player. The drug dealer gets away, and the yakuza come in to check on the situation. The yakuza gangster pulls a gun on Yusuke, but Yusuke is able to stop him thanks to a command spell glove given to him by Game Master. Game Master and Yusuke escape the scene, as does the new player and his kid brother.

Later on a rooftop, Game Master asks Yusuke what it felt like to kill someone. Yusuke doesn’t know but has come to the conclusion that saving the new player from being arrested ensured there would be a fifth member to their party. Which increases his chance for survival. From now on, he will do whatever is necessary to increase his, Iu’s and Kusue’s chances to survive.

(image source: Amazon)