WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Ranking of Kings Episode 14, "The Return of the Prince," now streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.
In Ranking of Kings Episode 14, Dorshe and Hiling's battle against Miranjo's mind-controlled dog-creatures and the Underworld criminal Gigan reaches its intense climax. Dorshe might be able to withstand almost anything, but the creatures' attacks are overkill even for him, and Hiling is desperate to use all of her magic to save him.
The giant three-headed snake Mitsumata bursts in just in time to give the Queen and her Shield some relief, but this is short-lived when Gigan grabs Mitsumata by its tail and clobbers the serpant. It genuinely feels like someone is going to die -- until Bojji and Kage make their return.
Arriving at the castle just in the nick of time, Bojji uses all the skills he learned from Despa to swiftly defeat Gigan in battle. It was already known he could take down opponents by hitting their pressure points, but the prince has an even more amazing trick up his sleeve: he can shatter any object by hitting the weaknesses in its atoms. This explains what happened to the giant rock at Despa's, and this astonishing ability is shown in action when Bojji shatters Gigan's hammer on his path to victory.
Kage also manages to prove himself useful -- almost entirely by accident. It turns out Hiling's healing powers are fueled by a potion she's run out of in the heat of battle. Kage's infinite void of stolen items fortunately just happens to have enough bottles of this potion for Hiling to recharge her abilities and save Mitsumata. Hiling initially judges Kage as a troublemaker who needs to swear to protect Bojji, but when she learns just how much the shadow has already been protecting her son, she gets embarrassed and has Dorshe offer an apology on her behalf.
Bojji and Hiling's reunion is as sweet and heartwarming as can be. Kage explains to Hiling that Bojji is able to read lips, and in her new understanding that her child has understood far more than she believed, she encourages Bojji to take pride in himself. Gigan makes things even more heartwarming when he regains consciousness and decides to join Bojji's side out of respect for the boy who defeated him. As Prince, Bojji hires Gigan as a "retainer," but all he really wants is to be friends.
Ranking of Kings may be a seinen anime aimed at adult audiences, but it has the same heart as shonen and children's shows like Dragon Ball and Steven Universe, where every enemy has a chance to be redeemed through the "power of friendship." The limits of this redemptive ability, however, will be tested by foes who have lost their souls. In Episode 14's final minutes, it's shown that Ouken is Desha and Despa's brother who lost his soul after achieving immortality. Immortality has already been stated to be Bosse and Miranjo's goal, so Bojji might end up facing multiple soulless enemies.
New episodes of Ranking of Kings premiere Thursdays on Funimation and Crunchyroll.
