WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 3, Episode 7, "Dix Perdix | The Dreams of Beasts," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Bell's struggle to help the Xenos hits another bump in the road. In Episode 7 of DanMachi's third season, Dix continues to wreak havoc on the group of mounters. Bell's battle with the Ikelos Familia's leader presents his own challenges, but the bulk of the damage is done when Dix brings the fight to the surface in the worst possible way.
The Ganesha Familia round up all but a handful of the Xenos left on the 18th floor, but they're soon wiped out by a massive minotaur on its way to rendezvous with the rest of the Xenos in Knossos.
In the man-made dudgeon, Dix and Bell take each other on. Though Bell is able to put up a fight, Dic constantly gets the upper hand, inflicting him with untreatable wounds using yet another curse. During their fight, Dix tells Bell that the pleasure he gets from killing the Xenos outweighs the effects of Daedalus' curse on his bloodline.
Dix toys and provokes Bell throughout their fight, eventually leading Bell to a secret room within the dungeon to reveals a shackled and weary Wiene. Bell tries to free her, but Dix removes the stone on her head, forcing her to change into her true form. Wiene turns violent and barrages Bell with attacks, but he refuses to attack her and eventually gets through to her.
Bell's kindness gives Lyd the strength to fight through Dix's curse and he joins Bell as the two take him on. Both Bell and Lyd back Dix into a corner, with Bell landing a devastating blow and freeing the Xenos of Dix's curse as a result. Dix immediately reveals that he'd lifted the curse to return to full strength and takes the opportunity to run while the rest of the Ikelos Familia are overwhelmed by the retaliating Xenos.
As he escapes, Dix hypnotizes Wiene, causing her to once again lapse into an unstable mental state. She moves towards an exit and heads to the surface. Fels heals Bell, and the latter makes his way to the surface to stop Wiene from rampaging in town. Once he gets there, he finds Wiene terrorizing Orario's residents -- just as Hestia and the rest of her familia do the same.
With the Hestia Familia looking on, Bell tries to calm Wiene down once again. However, a spear pins her to the wall as she's distracted, and Bell looks up to see the Loki Familia hovering over them. Aware of the consequences of protecting a monster in public, Bell shields Wiene from any further damage as Ais and the other Loki Familia members look down at them.
This episode marks a major changing point in DanMachi for Bell and the rest of the Hestia Familia. Dix might've not won his bout with Bell, but he's caused enough trouble to damage the Xenos and Bell's cause considerably. The look of terror on Bell's face as he shields Wiene shows just how grave this situation is, as his decision will likely have long-term ramifications for both he and the rest of the Hestia Familia going forward.
