My, my...
Master Tanehiko...
You've gone and done it again.
It's quite the talk of the town.
Even despite all the chaos of the big earthquake.
Oh, don't worry about it.
I make sure to choose girls with no family ties.
That girl said it was the first time
she filled her belly with white rice.
She looked so happy.
I'm sure she died completely satisfied.
And besides, Kuchinawa...
I can rest easy knowing you'll clean everything up for me.
Yes, Master Tanehiko.
Before the big earthquake,
this was a splendid greenhouse.
I'm sorry...
You deserve a more beautiful resting place.
Young lady,
it's dangerous to be walking around alone in a place like this.
Why don't you hop in?
No, thank you.
I'm looking for someone.
A fellow waitress went to check on
relatives living nearby...
and she never returned.
There have been rumors that
several young women have disappeared in this area,
so I became worried.
Is that so?
Well now, what a fine-looking woman.
Guess the trip out here was worth it, after all.
We'll be leaving now, Dr. Mao.
We'll come back tomorrow to help clean up again.
MAO
Thank you.
NANOKA KIBA
Wow, people really look up to him.
OTOYA
Hm? Oh...
Oh... It's so cute!
Master Mao... look.
Let's go, Otoya. Nanoka.
Huh?
TANEHIKO IBARAKI
Ah, good.
You're still alive.
TENKO
I hate messing up my room, you know.
Now then... Let's have some fun among the flowers, shall we?
Even wounded that badly...
you're quite the woman.
That hurts!
What are you?!
Seiryu, Byakko, Suzaku, Genbu,
Kochin, Teidai, Bunno, Santai, Gyokujo.
Banish!
Master Tanehiko, you really can't control yourself, can you?
KUCHINAWA
Now you're even fooling around with ayakashi...
K-Kuchinawa!
Hmm...
An animal ayakashi, eh?
I feel sorry for you, but I'll have to exterminate you.
It'd be troublesome if Young Master got torn to pieces.
Banish!
This man...
KAMON
Tenko!
Are you alright?
You're badly hurt!
Nanoka!
Your eyes...!
Ahh, I thought I was done for...
Tenko, you were an ayakashi?
What exactly happened?
That man ran into me with his car
and brought me here.
A number of young women have gone missing.
I'm positive that man is the one responsible.
Kuchinawa...
Shut that monster up.
And the rest of them, too.
Kuchinawa?
Your name is Kuchinawa?
The name is different,
but I know someone who looks a lot like you.
Huh? You know him...?
Oh, come now...
I don't know any male ayakashi.
You think I'm an ayakashi?
That young lady over there is one too, isn't she?
Huh? Wh-Who is this man?
He can tell?
Well, technically, that's not quite right.
Whether they're ayakashi or human,
we have to kill them.
Isn't that right, Kuchinawa?
Indeed.
If word gets out,
it'll tarnish your family's honorable name, won't it?
This man is...
Well then, I won't hold back.
Allow me to clean up this mess.
That Kuchinawa guy is a henchman for the bad guys?
He intends to kill us.
What're you waiting for, Kuchinawa?
Hurry up and kill them!
Oh, it's already begun, Master Tanehiko.
What?!
Oh, I forgot to mention...
I have a new employer now.
What?!
You abduct young women, rape them,
and aren't satisfied until you strangle them to death.
The family's managed to cover it all up with their influence until now,
but they've finally reached their limit.
Your father's decided to name a more capable son
as his heir instead...
So I've been ordered to dispose of you, Young Master.
It's your father's wish.
What?
Do not worry.
Your family still has its reputation to protect.
They'll want you to have a proper funeral...
so I'll make sure your body looks presentable.
His heart was squeezed out...
Now then...
All of you...
are free to go home.
What?! You're letting us go?
Kamon...
You are Kamon, are you not?
Huh? That sword...
I didn't recognize it because the ornamentation has changed but...
Is that the Sword of Hagunsei?
Just as I thought... he is Kamon.
That would mean...
Wait, is that you, Mao?
Could you not tell?
What?
Don't tell me he's another senior apprentice?!
KUCHINAWA
Well, uh... Did you look like that before?
KAMON
The Mao I remember...
had the eyes of a rescued puppy.
But now...
you look more like a cat.
Kamon was alive.
Hyakka wasn't the only one.
Were you summoned to the Goshikido as well?
Uh... yes...
Curse Mao to death...
If you lack the resolve to do that...
then die right here.
You know about the Goshikido...
So that would mean...
you're here to kill me?
I knew you'd be coming to kill me!
That's the same thing Hyakka said.
I don't understand...
why we must kill one another.
But I just want to know...
What happened that day
when the compound burned down?
Please tell me what you saw—
Sorry.
I don't know anything.
I was outside the compound on a rendezvous with a woman.
Oh my...
Is this guy for real?
Then you don't know who killed Lady Sana?
Beats me.
Although some people were saying you killed her.
Did you...
do it?
I don't remember.
Well, it hardly matters now. It happened ages ago.
I only believe what I've seen with my own eyes.
Now then...
I need to have Young Master's family take his body out of here.
So long, Mao.
It's medicine.
For the wounded animal ayakashi.
Kamon...
why are you still alive?
I'd like to know...
the answer to that myself.
Hyakka, where were you all this time?
I thought you quit the troupe.
I changed my mind.
HYAKKA
The Imperial Capital is too dangerous.
If Mao is still alive,
the other senior apprentices must be, as well.
Oh!
We're leaving the Capital,
but some people are headed toward it.
They probably came to check on their family and loved ones.
Sorry! I quit, after all!
Hey! Hyakka!
They're coming...
from the west!
Ahh... I slept well!
So many things have been happening lately...
The Great Kanto Earthquake,
houses collapsing,
the city engulfed in flames,
the sky covered in smoke...
And then... the Byoki appeared.
Give back...
my body!
Mao...
Mao turned into some sort of beast...
That's the monster I saw that day!
Eight years ago, that day...
I was pulled by some powerful force...
and ended up in that place...
And then...
I encountered the Byoki...
Mao!
But it's all so strange...
Ever since the Byoki appeared,
two of Mao's senior apprentices appeared one after the other.
Aren't you Mao the traitor?!
You're here to kill me?
It doesn't seem like they'd crossed paths until now.
Does it have anything to do with the return of the Byoki?
Why did you have to kill Lady Sana, too?
I can't remember anything.
Were the two of you...
a couple?
Miss Nanoka.
FUNA UOZUMI NANOKA'S GRANDPA
Your smoothie.
What?!
Please drink it while you're in the present day.
Come on, Uozumi...
is this really necessary?
You haven't learned how to fight the Byoki yet.
If it finds you, it will definitely take control you.
Drink it, Nanoka. It's for your health.
What?!
I don't understand what the deal is with Grandpa either...
Disgusting! Unimaginably awful!
YUI NAKAGAWA
Nanoka!
Ready!
Here!
It's alright, Nanoka.
HITOMI HARUKA
You just got out of the hospital, so it must've been rough.
The smoothie works too well!
FIFTH STREET SHOPPING
I'm worried about Tenko's injuries...
So many dragonflies...
It's sort of creepy...
Maybe there's going to be another big earthquake?
Ah yes, those red dragonflies...
There certainly have been a lot of them these past few days.
Don't you think it's too many?
I'm going to remove your bandages now, Tenko.
Okay.
Good. You're all healed.
Thank you very much, Dr. Mao.
That was fast.
You were hit by a car just the other day.
Well... I am an ayakashi, you know...
But why do I get the feeling we're being watched?
Could they be familiars under someone's control?
Yes... it's likely.
Hey Mao!
So this is where you've been hiding!
What?!
I suspected it might have been you, Hyakka.
Didn't you say you never wanted to see Mao's face again?
Shikigami are coming from the west.
They've already entered the Capital.
They might be searching for us.
You're a traitor.
If they find you, you'll be the first to be killed.
What?!
More senior apprentices?!
But why'd this guy come all the way here to warn us?
Is he actually a nice guy?
If they're shikigami,
we can take care of them without drawing attention...
Alright, Hyakka. I can lend you a hand.
Idiot! I'm ordering you to help me!
Oh, he came to ask for help.
You know...
Even if the other senior apprentices are still alive,
why do you all have to keep fighting now?
I mean, weren't you guys...
summoned to that Goshikido thing, like 900 years ago?
To inherit the secret arts
you must battle one another.
Hasn't the world moved on from things like Jugondo?
Don't ask me.
Nanoka...
Unfortunately,
in every era, there will be people who believe in curses
and seek to use them.
And the Goko Clan, the group of onmyoji who preserved Jugondo's secret arts...
has continued to exist alongside those curses.
But I still don't understand...
how the senior apprentices were able to remain alive.
Moths...?
They're telling us we're close.
Hyakka's using the moths as spies?
W-What was that?!
They're...!
I wasn't expecting so many!
Take that!
Nanoka, run!
Huh? We're running away?
Why?!
We can't kill them.
They're...
human!
Huh?!
Eww... Are they looking for us?
I've put up a barrier.
We won't be visible to them.
What's our next move, Mao?
Wouldn't it be quicker to just kill them and be done with it?
Are you sure those things are human?
The first turtle and frog shikigami I saw...
probably put a curse on the locals to control them.
Exactly.
So, if we break the curse,
we should be able to return them to their human form.
Nanoka, please come over here.
Why should I?
According to Onmyo Five Elements philosophy...
Huh?! What are you suddenly talking about?!
Everything in this world is influenced by...
the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
That frog and turtle belong to the Water Element.
WATER FIRE
Water extinguishes Fire.
In other words, Water overcomes Fire.
OVERCOMES
For that reason, because Hyakka uses fire,
he is weak against Onmyo spells of the Water Element.
Damn it!
On the other hand, Earth absorbs Water and stops it.
Earth overcomes Water.
Based on my observations, Nanoka,
you belong to the Earth Element.
Okay, I see...
So what?
I'm putting together a makeshift weapon...
I'm packing some dirt and a katashiro of you into this bamboo...
PURIFY THE SIX SENSES BY SACRED DECREE
and infusing it with spiritual energy.
A katashiro?
This allows you to become one with the weapon.
Then all you have to do is strike them at the tanden,
which is below the navel.
This should expel the curse from their body...
and restore them to human form without killing them.
No! Absolutely not!
Those giant frogs don't even have navels and the staff's too short!
I'm scared! They're gross!
I can't do it! No way!
Nanoka, you're the only person who can do this.
No! Don't come near me!
Shut up!
Ouch!
Here you go.
Some hair and...
some dirt...
This should do it.
You'll be fine, Nanoka.
I will be at your side.
Promise?! You'd better be!
I'm going to undo the barrier.
Miss Nanoka, good luck.
No!!
I can‘t do this! I'm scared!
They're gross!
Nanoka.
You can do it. Try it again.
Okay.
NEXT TIME
I can think of several senior apprentices who can cast Water spells,
but was there anyone who would resort to such aggressive tactics?
Master Mao...
All I ask for is one spell...
Won't you teach me... just one spell?
Are you telling me to fight alongside you?
TAIZANFUKUN
It is a spell written in the secret scrolls that the Byoki devoured.
The secret art of Taizanfukun.
Next time: Taizanfukun