I knew there would be some people that wouldn't care for this story arc. It involves a lot of the secondary character (Annie), and does not reveal much in the way of Skullgirls lore. It also dashes people's hopes that Beowulf was a prince, a superhuman, or something else special. Some people need main characters with big stories with godly powers, and this certainly was not that.
For me, though, it had the most satisfying arc of any Skullgirls story mode. I know you may say, "but Kai, of course you like this story mode, it's the character you voiced!" Perhaps. But I think I would've liked it the most regardless, and I'll tell you why:
So much of who we think we are is based on what people *tell us* we are. If the crowd chants your name, you must be a hero, right? And if your entire reason for being known is revealed to be a fabrication, you're obviously a fraud. A beloved hero can be turned into a shell of himself when his legacy is shattered.
But like an aging quarterback pushing past two linebackers to make it into the inzone in the finals seconds of the super bowl, a pitcher slamming home one last fastball to end his career on a world series win, or a warrior killing his opponent even as he himself is run through with a blade, a true hero is not made by crowds. A true hero is always a hero, no matter what. Humiliation, defeat, and death can stare a hero in the face, and the hero will press onward despite it all. They're heroes because that's all they know to do, it's part of their essence, something they tap into when their energy is completely exhausted.
After it's been revealed that his win against Grendel wasn't fair, and he may not be the hero we thought he was...
... he stares down the Skullgirls, wrestles her 1-on-1...
... and rips her arm off with his bare hands.
In the end, he was that hero all along.
He's another example of that eternal lesson we can see anytime a person does the impossible: nothing can extinguish the flame of a fighter who refuses to give up.