So that's Priestess Shoko.
Why is she trembling?
Yoriko.
Come with me.
Yes, Master Sogen.
She's the daughter of the man who was cursed to death?
NANOKA KIBA I need to look into this...
NANOKA KIBA I agree.
Otoya?!
OTOYA Master Mao was worried about you handling this alone.
Oh! I'm so glad you came!!
So what's he up to?
We found a cursed doll
buried by the gate of the man who died,
so he's performing some sort of ritual.
MAO
Binding all demons!
Priestess Shoko, I have brought Yoriko.
Yoriko...
Why are you trembling?
I...uh...
Are you afraid of me, Yoriko?
YORIKO
No, not at all... I would never...
SHOKO
I merely had a vision...
of how much time your father had left.
Live with us here at the Order, Yoriko.
SOGEN
There is nothing to worry about.
Thank you very much.
Apparently, this isn't the first time this has happened.
Do you mean about a follower's parent dying?
Yes. After losing their only family,
they donate the property they inherited to the Order.
Isn't that a land grab?
To put it bluntly, yes.
Yoriko... You should rest.
Thank you very much, Master Sogen.
Tomorrow, we'll carry out the formal procedures
to transfer the rights of your father's dojo to the Order.
- Understood? - Yes.
THE SHORINKYO INCIDENT
I find it strange...
When I asked the demon god,
it told me that it didn't curse your father to death.
Wh-Who are you?!
What do you want?
Your father called Priestess Shoko a fraud, didn't he?
Yes, he did.
That's why he got divine retribution.
I did everything I could to convince my father.
I wanted to save his life!
You wanted to save him...
From the prophecy of death?
So, what exactly happened?
Huh?
Who are you?
Halt!
Stop them.
Master Sogen, what was that demon?
Nothing! It's just some sort of illusion.
I'm more worried about Yoriko... We have a problem.
A moment, Miss Nanoka.
What is that thing, Otoya?
Master Mao commanded it to assist us.
It's a fragment of the demon god
that was sealed in the cursed doll.
So it's like a cordless handset?
The fact that a demon god emerged means the curse is real.
It's not the work of some amateur copycat.
I wonder what the source of the spell is...
What is this?
A secret cellar?
What is that?
I'm guessing...
a hand-copied manuscript.
There are a lot of spells... in here.
So Priestess Shoko cast the curse by using this book?
Well, it does look like she was following it exactly.
Wait... lifespans!
They said Priestess Shoko can manipulate lifespans at will!
Does it say anything about manipulating lifespans?
I don't see that here... I only see spells.
We've been locked in!
MILK HALL
Sorry for barging in, Tenko.
It's alright.
But may I ask who she is, Dr. Mao?
TENKO But may I ask who she is, Dr. Mao?
TENKO
She's the daughter of the man who was cursed to death.
Her name is Yoriko.
Please keep her safe.
Of course.
That medicine...
He said it would exorcise the evil from my father
and repel the curse.
So when I returned home...
I mixed it in with Father's sake
and had him drink it.
But... it still didn't save him.
Open this door!
Why are you doing this?!
Open it right now!
Come on!
It's no use, it's too heavy.
Otoya, is there any other way out?
Miss Nanoka, look at this...
Another door?
Yes.
Leading even further down?
I hope it leads somewhere.
Yeah...
Is that dirt?
What is that foul smell?
You're going down there?!
I'll borrow this.
Why is there a shovel?
I found this, Nanoka.
A human skull?!
What's going on?!
Bring Yoriko back!
Post some men at the dojo!
Search this area with a fine-toothed comb!
Yes, Master Sogen.
Sogen...
What happened to Yoriko?
Priestess Shoko...
There is nothing to worry about.
Please return to your room.
You won't tell me anything, will you?
When I was a child, I could see so much more clearly.
Where a lost purse was,
the tragic end of a chronic drunkard,
the whereabouts of a young girl who ran away with a lover.
We started as a small fortune-telling practice.
Priestess Shoko, she comes seeking guidance...
Then...
as I grew older, the visions stopped.
But our followers increased and the Order grew...
Now, the only thing I can see is...
the end of the world.
Under the storehouse, you say?
It's finally open!
Noisy, aren't you?
Master Mao...
The demon god led me here.
Should I have come sooner?
Darn right! You're late!
Something's off about this cult...
We found the remains of at least three people.
I dug them up.
I'll be right back, Master Mao.
In the cellar, I also found this manuscript...
So this is how...
the curse was leaked out into the world.
Hey you!
What are you people doing here?
Young lady... You were among yesterday's initiates.
This man is the cult's number two or something.
Number... what?
Yeah. We met earlier.
This manuscript...
How did you get your hands on it?
In my younger days, I trained in the secret arts.
So? Are you claiming that this was entrusted to you?
You stole it, didn't you?
Priestess Shoko!
That is the type of person you are, Sogen.
Please stay back, Priestess Shoko.
I will take care of these intruders.
Let me ask you...
Priestess Shoko, have you encountered the Byoki?
Byoki?
They say you can manipulate people's lifespans at will.
Is that...?
I have no such powers.
Priestess Shoko!
Whoa! She just admitted it!
What are you saying?
Yoriko's father died just as you predicted!
That was because you were the one
who put a curse on him.
What?! That was Master Sogen?!
He probably learned it from the manuscript.
Was it to make Priestess Shoko's prediction come true?
As I told you...
I underwent training.
Please stop this madness.
No. I cannot let these people go.
Does that include me and Otoya?
We've both learned some very incriminating secrets.
I will curse you to death with my spells!
You have no clue about the horrors of a real curse.
Sogen, was it?
You cursed Yoriko's father to make good on
Priestess Shoko's prediction, is that correct?
I did.
Let's go, Yoriko!
Don't do this, Father!
If that woman is truly a psychic
who can manipulate people's lifespans at will,
then let's see her kill me with her supernatural powers!
Three days...
Your life will expire in three days.
I put an end to his life...
with the Enmi curse.
Enmi?
It's here in this manuscript.
It's a technique that uses a cursed effigy of the victim.
Like pounding a nail into a straw doll?
You're well-versed.
In this instance,
a cursed doll was buried at the gate of the intended victim.
Any family member who steps on it is cursed.
Exactly.
You were so close... so close...
Huh?
You should have focused more energy on the spell.
W-What's happening?!
It's the demon god of the curse.
You can control demon gods, too?!
I won't be tricked!
You can't fool me with that illusion!
Don't you see?
This is the cursed doll you buried.
It's your demon god.
My demon god...?
The curse I cast actually succeeded?!
Why does he look so happy?
You trained in the secret arts
and obtained a forbidden book of curses...
All you needed to do
was feed more of your energy into the curse.
I gave birth to that demon god...
If I channel my focus, I can control it...
In that case...
I call on you, my demon god!
Curse these intruders to death!
Sogen...
He believed me.
You're too late.
I have bound the demon god
and it is now under my command.
But I will return it to you!
Through a counterspell,
I unleash the demon god and its curse, back upon you.
What just happened?!
Master... Sogen...
- Help me... - I won't tell anyone...
Wretched spirits!
Have you all gone mad?!
Vile wraiths!
Who's he speaking to?
I don't see anyone.
He's probably seeing the spirits of the people who were buried.
Some of our most devout followers suddenly disappeared...
After their parents died,
they donated the land and fortune they inherited to the Order.
I didn't want to believe it, but...
Did you kill them?
Did you kill our followers and their parents?!
Did he kill them himself when the curses didn't work?
That's probably what happened.
It wasn't me.
They're the murderers. They poisoned their own parents!
But you handed them the poison, didn't you?
Walking through these grounds,
I found yew, lily of the valley,
oleander, and wolfsbane...
A veritable garden...
of poisonous plants.
So what of it?
That doesn't prove a thing.
The mouth of the demon god has possessed you.
It is charged with the power of your cursed words.
And that mouth can speak nothing but the truth.
Everything you have done will come to light.
If you dare to curse someone,
be ready to face the consequences.
Because once you are exposed,
your own curse will turn on you many times over.
Curses are not meant for the uninitiated.
Father... It's over...
What? They're father and daughter?
Turn yourself in.
I shall do the same.
Besides...
your life is coming to an end soon.
SHORINKYO
We found human remains!
SHORINKYO
It matches the report exactly.
SHORINKYO
Priestess Shoko...
Keep moving!
Priestess Shoko!
Why're they taking Priestess Shoko, too?
So...
Priestess Shoko was a fraud, after all, huh?
Everyone! Leave the Imperial Capital now!
This world will soon come to an end!
The earth will split apart,
and tornadoes of fire will ravage the Imperial Capital!
Shut up!
Stop poisoning people's minds with your lies!
What? Could it be...?
MILK HALL
They let you go free, Yoriko?
Yes.
I gave my father the poison from the Order
believing it was medicine,
so I turned myself in to the police, but...
The medicine I gave Yoriko was a sedative.
After she put her father to sleep,
I snuck in and injected him with poison to kill him.
Why would he go to such lengths?
Before, a follower who had given their parent the poison
panicked at the sight of their suffering,
and it almost exposed everything, so it was a precaution.
And they probably wanted to make it seem like
Yoriko was the one who poisoned her father,
so they could silence her with guilt.
Even so, those who couldn't bear it
and tried to tell the truth were killed
and buried.
Was Priestess Shoko really a fraud?
Do you still believe in her?
I saw her heal a sick baby as her body glowed!
Yes, Miss Nanoka mentioned it, as well.
What sort of trick could she have used?
She said something about a tokkuri sake bottle?
Miss Nanoka said the room was thick with smoke
and the heavy scent of incense.
Perhaps she really created a veil of smoke.
Then, by uncovering a lamp at the right moment,
she created the effect of a mystical glow.
But when it happened,
Priestess Shoko was holding the baby in both arms.
Maybe the mother and child were accomplices.
The mother could have removed the cover.
Priestess Shoko was probably
going along with Master Sogen's scheme.
How could I have been so blind?
The good news is that you didn't poison your father.
And also, that Sogen didn't kill you.
Thank you for everything.
- Oh! - Huh?
You mustn't fall for Dr. Mao.
What? Why not?
He's very picky.
Stop it.
FIFTH STREET SHOPPING ST.
I wonder how many days have passed
since I went to the other side...
Oh.
Yes!
Only one hour passed!
Time is still a complete mystery...
Great Kanto Earthquake...
Search.
"On September 1, 1923,
11:58 a.m."
"A massive earthquake occurred."
"Since it was lunchtime,
fires broke out immediately afterward at over a hundred locations."
"Fanned by strong winds,
the flames spread, creating fire tornadoes,
and 43 percent of old Tokyo City was destroyed."
Fire tornadoes...
Tornadoes of fire will ravage the Imperial Capital!
It happened exactly as Priestess Shoko prophesied...
This is terrifying.
September 1st, 1923...
MAY 8, 1923
That's the exact same year in the Taisho era on the other side.
MAY 8, 1923
It's about to happen...
The Great Kanto Earthquake.
NEXT TIME The Great Kanto Earthquake occurred at 11:58 a.m. on September 1.
GREAT KANTO EARTHQUAKE FIFTH STREET MYSTERIES The Great Kanto Earthquake occurred at 11:58 a.m. on September 1.
The sinkhole accident I was involved in was on the same day...
An odd western-style structure stood at the location
where the locals enshrined the keystone.
Mao... We have waited an eternity for you.
You're asking me to be a decoy?!
Nanoka, you're the only one I can rely on.
I hate you, Mao!
Next time: The Keystone