Arifureta - Episode 12

"A Looming Shadow" (忍び寄る影) is the twelfth episode of the anime adaptation. It aired in Japan on September 30, 2019.

Synopsis
Hajime's party makes their way back to a familiar location. Deep in the Labyrinth, a new foe threatens the lives of his classmates.

Characters
Characters in italics debuted here.
 * Hajime Nagumo
 * Yue
 * Shea Haulia
 * Tio Klarus
 * Myu
 * Kouki Amanogawa
 * Ryutarou Sakagami
 * Kaori Shirasaki
 * Shizuku Yaegashi
 * Kousuke Endou
 * Suzu Taniguchi
 * Eri Nakamura
 * Daisuke Hiyama
 * Meld Loggins
 * Yuka Sonobe (flashback)
 * Nana Miyazaki (flashback)
 * Atsushi Tamai (flashback)
 * Yukitoshi Shimizu (flashback)
 * Aiko Hatayama (flashback)
 * Loa Bawavis
 * Cattleya
 * Cattleya's Lover (picture)

Locations

 * Horaud Town
 * Great Orcus Labyrinth

Types of Monsters

 * Ahatod
 * Absod
 * Chimeras
 * Black Cats
 * White Raven

Differences

 * In the LN, Myu is sitting on Yue's lap while they are driving to Horaud. While in the Anime, Yue sits beside Myu.
 * In the LN, after arriving in Horaud, Tio asks Hajime if he would change how things turned out for him in the Great Orcus Labyrinth if he could, to which Hajime says no since he would meet Yue again. This prompts Shea to burst out in a jealous fit and complains that Hajime doesn't treat her like he treats Yue. This is omitted in the Anime.
 * In the LN, when Hajime visits the Adventurer's Guild in Horaud, he has the receptionist deliver his letter to Loa. While in the Anime, he personally delivers it to Loa.
 * Hajime's brief confrontation with the adventurers in the guild's reception area is omitted in the Anime.
 * In the LN, Loa's scar is over his left eye. While in the Anime, it is over his right eye.
 * In the LN, Kousuke arrives at the Adventurer's Guild first and asks the adventurers for help before being escorted away by Loa. While in the Anime, Kousuke arrives during Hajime's meeting with Loa.
 * In the LN, there are several more students that are in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. They include Jugo Nagayama, Kentarou Nomura, Mao Yoshino, Ayako Tsuji, Reichi Kondou, Shinji Nakano, and Yoshiki Saitou.
 * In the LN, Cattleya's white raven has two heads. While in the Anime, it has one.
 * In the LN, Kentarou warns Suzu to put up a barrier just as Cattleya unleashes her "Dark Gaol". While in the Anime, it is Daisuke that warns Suzu.
 * In the LN, several of the students are petrified either completely or partially, including Suzu. While in the Anime only Suzu is petrified from the waist down.
 * In the LN Kouki is shown to mostly use light attribute spells though he has an affinity for all magic elements, whilee in the Anime he is shown using a wind attribute spell to remove the petrifying smoke before it affected anyone else.
 * In the LN, Kouki and the other students retreat to the 89th floor of the labyrinth after their first encounter with Cattleya.
 * In the LN, Cattleya accompanies the monsters that attack Meld and the knights on the 70th floor of the labyrinth, while in the Anime only a few monsters appear to attack Meld and the others.
 * In the LN, the knights that guard the teleportation circle on the 30th floor try to stop Kousuke from destroying it before one of Cattleya's monsters arrives and kills them. This was omitted in the Anime.
 * In the LN, Cattleya uses Meld as a hostage just as Kouki is about to attack. While in the Anime, Meld meets up with them on his own before he is mortally wounded by one of her monsters.
 * In the LN, the students debate with each other about Cattleya's offer to join the demons after she finds them hiding on the 89th floor. While in the Anime, it is while they are trying to flee from her.
 * In the LN, Meld tries to kill Cattleya by sacrificing himself with a magical gem called "Loyalty's Promise", but is thwarted when her turtle monster, Absod who absorbs the energy from the blast.
 * In the LN, Kouki uses "Overload" against Cattleya in their second fight. While in the Anime, he uses "Limit Break".
 * In the LN, Cattleya says goodbye to her lover while holding her locket before Kouki is about to kill her. While in the Anime, Kouki sees her locket after it falls off her from his attack. In both the LN and Anime this caused Kouki to hesitate to kill her.
 * In the LN, Cattleya only has one horse-faced monster, Ahatod. While in the Anime, she has two.
 * In the LN, the horse-faced monster that Cattelya uses has four arms. While in the Anime, it only has two.
 * In the LN, Hajime asks Kousuke about Kaori before deciding to help them.
 * In the LN, the sparks around Hajime's pile bunker stake are red. While in the Anime, they are blue.
 * In the LN, when Hajime destroys the horse-faced monster with his pile bunker, it was literally torn into a million pieces. While in the Anime, his attack pierces both monsters at the same time, after which they disintegrate into black smoke.