MIZUHO
TEMPLE
Welcome back, Tsuchiura.
How did it go?
My apologies, Master.
I'm afraid that Naotsugu Miura escaped from me.
There is no excuse for my failure.
I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit.
Come now, Tsuchiura. I have never doubted your loyalty to me.
A single failed mission does nothing to shake that faith.
Just make up for it when the next opportunity arises.
Yessir. Thank you very much.
Naotsugu Miura won't escape alive next time.
You can forget about him.
I need you to go to Kyoto instead.
Kyoto?
The situation there is tumultuous.
My lord has been using the Shinsengumi
to police Kyoto and keep the imperialist at bay,
but the tides are shifting against them.
And that's where you come in.
I've already sent about 100 demons to Kyoto.
WOVEN BY A SINGLE THREAD
They are only lesser demons,
but I want you to take command of them to strike down the enemy.
Yessir.
But if I may, how did you get 100 demons on your side?
Easily enough. Thanks to a certain mystical sake.
Although, it's become impossible to obtain now.
Understood.
Master Yasuhide. May I ask you just one thing?
Go ahead.
Why was it necessary for me to attack Naotsugu Miura in front of that man
at the cost of exposing my true form?
Because necessity demanded it.
Or is that answer not satisfying enough for you?
No, sir.
Then go fulfill your duty, Tsuchiura.
Yessir.
I will see to it that everyone who stands against you is dead and buried, Master.
Look! It's the demon kid!
Stop that!
You don't know what he'll do if you get too close!
Neener, neener! Freaky creature!
Enough! Do as I say, young man!
Now let's go!
But, Mom, just look at him!
No more! You're going to worry me sick!
Nomari...
Yet another thing I've lost.
Winter daphnes?
I've been looking all over.
You just vanished without a word.
So, this is where you've been?
I'm surprised you knew where to find me.
I had no idea, actually.
I just went around to every place that I imagined you might go.
Are you okay?
I'm not flimsy enough to die from a few hits.
That's not what I meant.
What are you going to do now?
Kill Tsuchiura. The demon from earlier.
That's absurd.
You couldn't even leave a mark on him when you two fought, remember?
Even so, I can't afford to back down in pursuit of my goal.
Jinya-kun...
I've always wanted to ask.
Why are you so driven to fight demons?
It all goes back twenty some years ago...
when I lived in a blacksmithing village known as Kadono.
I had no talent for forging swords, but I was good at wielding them.
So I was assigned to guard the village shrine maiden.
Her name was Byakuya.
You loved her, I'm guessing?
Yeah.
She gave up her own happiness for the sake of Kadono.
And became the shrine maiden.
Her actions struck a chord with me,
so I wished for nothing other than to keep her safe.
Until one day, Kadono came under attack by demons.
Even though I was supposed to be her sentinel,
I couldn't save her from death.
That was the day I lost everything.
It left me full of rage.
I hated the demon who did it.
A century from now,
that same one is destined to become an evil deity who rules over demonkind
and will return to Kadono before laying waste to the world.
I must stop that demon god.
It's the sole reason for my existence.
That's why I hunted demons to consume them and steal their power.
I wanted to become a force to be reckoned with.
The name of the demon who killed Byakuya is Suzune.
She's my little sister.
So, you're saying the reason you wanted so much power was to kill your own sister?
Who knows.
You're not going to answer me, huh?
I'm sorry.
I'm not trying to deflect.
I honestly don't know what to say.
Then let me ask you a different question.
I understand you fight to gain power.
As part of the larger goal of stopping your sister.
But why exactly do you feel the need to stop Suzune?
You might be forced to kill her.
And I can't understand why you would choose
to follow this path in spite of that.
Well, I...
Are you fighting to protect other people?
Or to satisfy your hatred?
Is it revenge that you ultimately want from all this?
No.
I'm not doing it for righteousness or revenge.
Even now, Suzune holds a very special place in my heart.
But the rage won't let me go.
I'm still consumed by hatred for her, enough to make me bloodthirsty.
Yet at the same time, a part of me hesitates to kill her.
Despite all the decades that I've been alive,
I can't even figure out what my heart truly want from me.
But I swore to stop her, regardless.
And I'm certain
that desire didn't come from a savior complex or my hatred of Suzune.
I merely wanted to put a satisfying period on my way of life.
What I truly wanted to kill...
was that flawed part of me.
I'm so pathetic.
The reality is while I wanted to kill her from hatred on one hand,
I wanted save her through forgiveness on the other.
But in the end,
those were just excuses I made to avoid dealing with my own spinelessness.
I can already tell this rage will never subside
and will lead me to the worst possible outcome.
My way of life was a mistake.
I'm glad.
You're still the same Jinya-kun who I've always known.
You're a good person who can admit when they're wrong.
But tell me, is being in the right really so important?
Remember my dad?
He literally abandoned everything he had just for me.
Looking back at it now,
I think that was the wrong choice for any normal person to make.
But it's because...
No.
It doesn't matter what his reasons were. They don't justify his choice.
Since there are still people out there who suffered as a result.
Still, he did save me.
You have to realize that doing the right thing in the right way
doesn't always lead to a perfect outcome.
At the very least,
I'm able to be here today because that's where his mistake led me.
Waging a war to kill your sister.
Consuming demons for their power.
You do all of that in service to yourself.
So, you're right.
The path you've taken and the events that put you on it,
those were all mistakes.
But even so, there are people who were saved by your actions.
Why are you here?
Please forgive me.
We've been eavesdropping for awhile now.
Miura-sama has been helping me look for you with Nomari-chan.
Because he wanted to apologize.
I'll be frank.
Your demonic form terrifies me.
The fear of facing something drastically more powerful than any mere man
caused me to run away.
As you can see, I'm a monster.
It's not wrong for you to feel that way.
No!
I've seen you agonize over doing what is right,
yet still brave mortal danger to stay true to your path in life.
You and I are the same in that respect.
Although you may be a demon, you have never been a monster!
Jin-dono!
You are my good friend.
I know I ran away once.
But I never want to do it again.
I would like...
to stay your friend until the very end!
Daddy!
Nomari...
don't I scare you?
I'm not scared! Because you're my daddy!
So please don't disappear again!
Always the doting dad, aren't you?
That's for sure.
All it takes is the word "daddy" for him to go all soft and schmaltzy.
This little scene is what all your mistakes gave birth to.
See? Not so bad after all, is it?
Yeah, you're right.
It really is.
I'll admit it.
Justifying everything about myself with hatred as an excuse...
that lifestyle was a mistake from the beginning.
However,
accepting that won't change the fact the demon god is coming in the future.
In all likelihood, hatred will continue to consume me
until Suzune and I face off in a battle to the death.
Considering that...
is it truly all right for me
to reach out with this hand once more and dream of being a guardian?
You've already kept many people and things safe from harm.
You just refused to believe it.
I see.
Well, I should get going.
I'm sorry.
I always have to rely on you in the end.
Don't worry about it.
Fight fire with fire, as they say.
Best to let a demon to hunt the demons.
Please forgive-
Never mind.
Thank you!
I am going to fulfill my purpose.
You should do the same.
Uphold your duty both as a human and a samurai.
Daddy!
Ofuu.
Watch after Nomari for me.
You're not going to disappear again, right?
Yeah.
No more playing hide and seek.
So be a good girl and wait for me, okay?
'Kay, Daddy!
Good luck! Please come back safe!
We'll be waiting!
Yo, Tsuchiura! Glad you made it.
As taciturn as ever, I see.
This is the second one.
I played a little with the temper pattern this time.
I made it a mix of waves and streaks.
It's stylish and sleek, just like a fine woman.
You better leave it at that, Kaneomi.
You're making your pupil uncomfortable.
Aw, come on, Yato! Just look at it!
This is the sexiest blade I've made.
And you wonder why people call you a weirdo.
What are you giving me the stink eye for?
You're my wife, aren'tcha?
Not you, too, buddy!
Sorry, I didn't mean to...
Oh! Your little lady friend is here.
Yeesh. Always gotta flaunt your stuff, don'tcha?
All right.
Guess you can head out a little early today, once we finish cleaning up.
But sir...
You heard me.
There's no need to feel bad.
We could all use a break once in a while.
All right.
Then, if you insist...
Great!
But just one thing.
Why do you always listen to what she says?
I'm supposed to be in charge, y'know!
Took you long enough.
You again.
I've been waiting.
Not long ago, I had a little chat with a group of demons.
Seems you're heading for Kyoto, eh?
You defeated them?
It took longer than expected, but they made for a good warm up.
Why?
Why would you kill your own brethren just to get in the way of Master Yasuhide?
Now that you've been publicly exposed as a demon,
you should have no reason to fight on behalf of the humans.
I don't understand your objective.
Ideology isn't my thing.
Kick the foreigners out or don't. It matters little to me.
At least, that's what I thought...
but it turns out that I really hate how Yasuhide Hatakeyama conducts his business.
The strife happening in Kyoto is between humans.
They're fighting to decide this country's future.
We monsters have no place in that.
And that's why you're doing this?
No.
I'm not that much of a whimsical meddler.
My reason is far more simple.
I have a friend on the battlefield of Kyoto.
So I can't let you pass.
Are you serious?
I thought I had no right to take a stand.
I'm a monster of hatred out to kill his own sister, after all.
The idea seemed so ridiculous I couldn't even say it aloud.
But someone helped me realize there are lives that can be saved
even in the face of my mistakes.
So...
I am going to stay the course with a little show of grit.
And in the name of all that I wish to protect...
I shall wield this blade once more!
Very well.
So, you have a set of tenets that you believe in, too?
Yeah.
I'm not going to be the one who backs down.
Well, neither am I.
I'll crush you!
I'll kill you!
Try all you like, it's pointless!
That's what you think.
I know your power can make your body harder than steel.
But you sacrifice all of your mobility while using it.
And so what?
Even if that's true, it doesn't change the fact that you can't hurt me!
Like I said, it's pointless.
You have absolute confidence in your indomitability,
which is why you took my attack head on.
Sure, I may not have any tricks up my sleeve that can breach your defense.
But luckily, I don't need to.
Because I have the ability to absorb your power instead!
Assimilation.
People are saying the Imperial Regent passed away.
So it seems like the reign of Toyotomi is now at an end.
The world will get violent again.
Soon enough, I'm sure a war will break out to shape the next era.
Which means the smithery will get busy, too.
What's wrong?
Nothing. I'm fine.
I'm here to listen if you need to get something off your chest.
All right.
Then, hear me out...