[Guido]

So the long morning has ended at last with Level 4 sighing its last breath of life.

It was such a brutal and ferocious battle, but I absolutely loved how it rocked at the start, and how it ended.

Cross and Lenalee & Allen packed a punch and kicked butt imperially.

Spoiler:

It was a relief that the people at the destroyed Lab 5 survived amidst the sea of flames and piled up rubble. Unfortunately, however, there were beyond help the people who were killed by the Lv 3 and those turned into Skulls.

They perish and those left behind must carry their wills to move towards the future.

I sobbed for Tapp's death, because in spite of that cursed, Skull form he recalled his human memories back to Johnny, and then turned into ashes before the astonished look of Johnny, Reever, Lenalee, and the other science guys.

Komui again showed a respectful regret at his inability to protect those lives by gently bowing his head before Tapps' remains, as he did way back in episode 39 for the deaths of Yeegar and the exorcists that were killed by Tykki.

Tears and mourns was what echoed through the hallways of the Order even if the battle was won. Sadness coming from Lenalee, Allen, the survivors, and many others.
The cruel reality of war has not ended because it seems that those lives sacrificed and others before them will be wasted in vain....

Spoiler:

Because the Earl commented at the ballroom that he's setting up the construction of a new Egg.

How that bastard is he.

The thing is that the episode pictured and captured very well the drama and anguish of the characters' sorrow and sense of insecurity.

Another war is under way, and according to the Earl's plan he intends to profit from the devastation and emptiness produced by it to create more Akuma in the flesh.

Changing topic, for the astute manga readers who had observed in detail the last anime episode took creative but minor liberties with the pacing and dialogue of the events that happened for chapters 156 to 158 of the manga.

Spoiler:

For starters they omitted one piece of dialogue during Level 4's final moments in the anime.
1. In the manga he cynically warned Cross that the Order should not feel optimistic for having defeated him, because he was a weakling after all.

This particular line foreshadows the fatalistic truth that either there are more than one Level 4 somewhere or the Earl is underway at creating a Level 5.

Allen's line about that the Earl's message wanting to destroy the Order at anytime to the latter's whim was delivered by Bookman to Lavi in the manga.

The same goes about the Earl's declaration about the atrocities which war brings as well, also delivered by Bookman in the manga.

I do have an answer as to why the Earl is allowing to let live the Order for now, however, I won't post it because that's spoiler. In fact, in the manga, in that same ballroom scene, the Earl did mention his reasons to let the Order roam scot-free, but this last anime episode intentionally omitted that line of dialogue in order to keep the audience in suspense at the moment.

Last and most important is the evolution of Lenalee's Innocence.

Spoiler:

It's uncertain whether the same phenomenon might happen to other equipment-types, but the likelihood is given.

This again is another forewarning to the battles ahead that will take place in the future. Fights even more vicious and inhuman than the last one against the Level 4.

So, the exorcists will have to do some serious powering-up and leveling-up in experience in order to match up against future encounters with new Level 4 akumas and, of course, the Noah.