Episode 17

The Pride of the Swordsmen (剣士達の誇り, Kenshitachi no Hokori) is the seventeenth episode of the D.Gray-Man anime.

Short Summary
As Victorio prepares to deliver the final blow to Kanda, Allen steps in and takes over the fight. However, when he quickly finds himself overpowered by Victorio, he is saved by the appearance of Claudia.

After recuperating, while Allen and Lenalee re-enter the battlefield, Kanda thinks up a plan to retrieve the Innocence from Victorio's sword, which in the end proves successful.

Long Summary
Before Victorio can land the finishing blow on Kanda, Allen intervenes but is easily pushed back. As Victorio begins to approach his new opponent, Lenalee and Pedro tend to Kanda.

While Allen just about manages to hold his own despite his left arm becoming severely injured, Pedro explains that the Innocence housed in Victorio’s sword has enslaved him. Ultimately, Victorio is unlike an accomodator in that he does not use his own will to control the Innocence, instead it is the Innocence which has taken him over, body and soul, allowing his body to go passed its natural limits. Kanda tries to get up, believing that Allen does not stand a chance against Victorio, but he is unable to.

Lenalee steps in to help Allen but is quickly knocked down by Victorio, who then approaches Allen to deliver the final blow. However, at that moment, Claudia appears and orders him to stop. Shocked by her appearance, Allen asks her if Victorio has taken her hostage, but she simply tells him to pass on the message to her family that she does not intend to return.

That night, after Allen and Kanda's wounds had been tended to, Pedro explains that Kanda had fought Victorio over the course of several days which had left him exhausted and needing to stay at a nearby village to recuperate. Pedro had used the time wisely by questioning the locals in hopes of finding more information that would help them. That is when he came across the old lady they are staying with, who told him the story of Victorio and Princess Sandra. Not only this, but it is revealed the Sardini residence is on the exact same plot of land the Princess used to live on all those years ago.

With this, Lenalee concludes Victorio has been defending Claudia because he thinks she is Sandra. Furthermore, Allen realises that Victorio’s regular reports to Claudia were made after he defeated each Akuma. The timing of both the appearance of the Akuma and Victorio’s first report to Claudia line up perfectly. Allen worries that the battles will go on forever if they do not do something soon. Meanwhile, Claudia dreams of her happy childhood with her father, as well as the day she was introduced to her new fiance. When she wakes up, she shares a meal with Victorio.

Some time later, Kanda gets out of bed having fully healed and plans to head out and retrieve the Innocence. Lenalee tries to convince him to rest for another day while Allen assures him they can deal with it, telling him to believe in them and in Victorio. After suggesting Kanda think about a strategy to get the Innocence from the sword, Allen pushes him down and leaves with Lenalee to join the battle against the Akuma at the arena. Meanwhile, to Pedro’s shock, Kanda does stay and give the situation some thought.

After Allen and Lenalee watch as Victorio easily takes down an Akuma, they tell him the truth - that Princess Sandra has been dead for a very long time and he has been pointlessly fighting for a thousand years. Undeterred, Victorio begins his attack on Allen while Lenalee pleads with Claudia to get him to stop. However, Claudia tells her that Victorio saved her from a life she did not want - while she was initially scared of him, after telling him her father is forcing her to marry a man she does not love, he helped her escape. Lenalee tells her that if things go on as they are, they will never have a normal life because the Innocence in Victorio’s sword will always attract Akuma.

Meanwhile, things are looking bad for Allen when he is thrown to the ground and unable to move. However, Kanda soon swoops in and takes over the fight. Victorio easily slices Kanda’s shoulder but he takes advantage of this, managing to cut Victorio’s arm straight off, sword and all. With that, Kanda collapses and Victorio is finally defeated.

Victorio begins to think back to the past, when he fought for Sandra. He remembers praying, and admitting he is afraid of losing but also wants nothing more than to lose, as well as being unable to stand the thought of her marrying another man. Because of this, he wants to keep winning for the rest of his life. The Innocence responds to his wish.

While his youthful appearance fades away, he admits he knew Sandra passed away centuries ago, but fighting for Claudia was one of the greatest honours of his life. After telling Claudia she should live for herself as Sandra did, he finally passes away. Three days later, Claudia returns to the Sardini residence, only to pack up her things and leave again, choosing to live her own life just as Victorio had wished.