Episode 9

Goodbye (さよなら,) is the ninth episode of the 86 -Eighty Six- anime adaptation, originally broadcasted on June 5, 2021.

Synopsis
As the surviving Eighty-Six finally begin their Special Reconnaissance Mission", they hear a terrible voice calling out Shin's name. Shaking with fear, they are told to proceed through the forest, past the Legion, and face the Shepherd alone. Raiden is a little disappointed that Shin does not rely on him at the critical moment, but he chooses to take on other enemies and fight with them. The Shepherd's order separates them from Shin, and they are left gasping for breath in the face of the vast number of Legion approaching one after another. But then the Para-RAID connects...

Plot
While Spearhead engages the main Legion forces, Shin heads directly for Shourei to battle him one on one. However, Shourei's Shepherd unit proves to be too well armored and advanced for Shin to take on alone, and he is knocked unconscious when his Juggernaut is hit. Meanwhile, Lena approaches Annette again, revealing that she has figured out that Shin and Shourei were the neighbors Annette abandoned. Feeling guilty, Annette agrees to hack the Republic's artillery system to give Lena control of it, and she provides much needed artillery support, destroying the Legion forces and disabling Shourei long enough for Shin to regain consciousness and destroy him. Regaining his sanity, Shourei apologizes to Shin before his machine explodes. With Shourei and the Legion forces in the area destroyed, Spearhead decides to continue pressing forward beyond the Republic's borders to find their freedom. Realizing Spearhead are leaving without her, Lena has no choice but to watch as Spearhead travels out of range and disappear.

Differences from Light Novel

 * In the light novel, Lena says goodbye to Shin and the others in her office. In the anime, the scene is more intense and introduces Higanbana (or Red Spider Lily), a flower that is very present in the story from the end of Volume 3, and that ends up being a symbolic element in the story.