Nanoka, did you just use my sword?
I was trying to cut the silk.
That is a sword only I am able to wield.
What?
This sword, like me,
carries the Byoki's curse.
NANOKA KIBA
Curse?
NANOKA KIBA
What do you mean?
This is...
MAO the Sword of Hagunsei.
MAO
I used it long ago when I fought the Byoki.
During the battle,
it was bathed in the Byoki's blood...
and became a cursed sword.
Bathed in blood, and it gets cursed?!
Time and again,
bandits or yokai have tried to steal this sword.
Bandits?
Anyone who wields the Sword of Hagunsei,
without exception,
has ended up spewing blood from head to toe and dying.
The moment they try to swing the sword,
the Byoki's poisonous blood floods their body.
And this sword...
always finds its way back to me,
even if it's stolen from me or I let it go.
Sounds like a curse all right...
So what you're saying is...
Since I was fine after using
the Sword of Hagunsei...
Nanoka...
You might also be cursed by the Byoki.
Uh...
OTOYA
I know you have much more to talk about...
And that it's all very important, but...
- Huh? - Huh?
THE ACCURSED
Otoya! What happened to you?!
Uh... this is...
what happened while you were fighting...
I got caught in the crossfire.
That means...
it's my fault?!
Sorry about that, Otoya.
I won't ever let Nanoka hold the sword again.
Please make sure she never does.
I...did that...
to you?
Sayoko... You've come to?
SAYOKO
Dr. Mao...
SAYOKO
What just happened?
Sayoko...
I want you to summon the police after we've left.
They'll question you,
but I want you to tell them you fainted and don't know anything.
But...
You won't be in trouble.
It will be immediately obvious
that a human being was not responsible.
Let us go, Nanoka.
She's fainted.
Wake up.
Eek...
Did I...kill him?
I did, didn't I?
Are you all right, Otoya?
Otoya?
You're split in half!
I see...
The original doll has a crack in it too...
Here you go, Otoya.
What the?!
The calamity has been transferred to the talisman.
Oh... the crack is gone.
All fixed up.
Good.
Uh...
Otoya, what are you exactly?
I'm what is called a shikigami.
A shikigami?
Weren't you paying attention?
Master Mao infused this doll with his spiritual power
to give me life.
That would mean...
Your original form was...
this?
Yes.
I don't really get it...
But I'm glad you're alive.
I was actually in serious danger, you know?
Huh?
More importantly,
let's talk about you, Nanoka.
If you were cursed by the Byoki,
that would mean you've encountered it before.
The monster you saw as a child...
Are you saying...
that was the Byoki?
After I saw it,
I was told they found me covered in blood.
I always assumed the blood was my own, but...
Are you telling me I was bathed in the Byoki's blood?
Don't you remember?
No...
I wonder why?
Oh!
But there was a fire!
The town was ablaze...
Master Mao, we must be right
about this town being connected to the Byoki.
The Byoki that Nanoka encountered as a child...
Where could it be?
This barrier...
A barrier only Nanoka can pass through...
I'll go back home and do some research.
Nanoka...
Take this with you.
What is this?
It's an antidote.
Take it when you can't get your powers to work and you're in trouble.
Hmm...
In the modern world, it's more of a problem
when my powers actually do show up...
It's nighttime?!
It was morning when I left the other side.
Nanoka!
NANOKA'S GRANDPA
Where have you been this entire week?!
A week?!
I was only on the other side for one night...
I don't understand how the flow of time works.
Miss Nanoka.
Your grandfather was so worried
FUNA UOZUMI
that he collapsed.
What?!
I'm so sorry, Grandpa!
Grandpa didn't give me a hard time about it.
Morning.
You're acting like nothing happened, Nanoka!
HITOMI HARUKA YUI NAKAGAWA
I heard you were in the hospital?
You really are frail, aren't you?
Are you alright now?
Oh... yeah... I'm fine now.
- Thank goodness! - We were all so worried.
- Thanks. - Don’t overdo it, okay?
She must have told that to the school.
Thanks, Uozumi.
But more importantly...
SINKHOLE ACCIDENT AT FIFTH STREET ARCADE
I have to research that accident!
SINKHOLE ACCIDENT AT FIFTH STREET ARCADE
"Around noon on September 1, 2011,
there was a sinkhole accident on Fifth Street."
"A family of three driving by got caught in it,
killing a husband and his wife."
"Their seven-year-old daughter was thrown from the vehicle,
and miraculously survived..."
This isn't helping.
It's all information I already know.
What're you looking at, Nanoka?
Just doing a little research.
That's unusual...
You researching something.
I'm not good at this, though.
I never seem to get to the answers I want.
Well, in that case...
- Right? - Right?
- Hey, Shiraha! - Hey, Shiraha!
SHIRAHA
- Got a minute? - Got a minute?
W-What're you doing?
Nanoka says...
she needs your help.
To do some research.
Sure. What're you looking for?
It's uh...
about the sinkhole accident on Fifth Street.
Huh?
Oh, I see.
I thought that accident was strange, as well.
Strange? In what way?
For one...
They never found out
what caused the Fifth Street sinkhole, right?
It wasn't an ordinary sinkhole...
Here, take a look at this.
SINKHOLE ACCIDENT AT FIFTH STREET ARCADE Right here
SINKHOLE ACCIDENT AT FIFTH STREET ARCADE It's almost as if it was gouged out
by a powerful force from the side.
From the side?
Could it have come from the deserted shopping street?!
Now that I think about it...
That side...
was on fire.
Something must've happened.
But what could it have been?
What else did you find, Shiraha?
Huh? Well...
Oh, there's this.
It's a post from a passerby on the day it happened.
It says...
"As they were trying to rescue the young girl,
the first responder's glove melted.
Was it acid?"
His glove melted when it came in contact
with the blood on my body?
Could it have been from the venom in the Byoki's blood?
I also found...
some follow-up articles from weekly magazines.
But they're...
What do they say? Tell me!
Uh...
This one, for example.
"A seven-year-old girl was rescued."
"But all of the windows of the damaged car were closed,
so it remains a mystery why the girl was found outside the car."
Stuff like that.
Right... When it happened...
I remember feeling like I was being yanked
by some powerful force.
Why can't I remember what happened back then?
Thank you, Shiraha.
I wish I could've helped more...
But I'm curious...
Why were you looking into that accident?
Well, you know...
The girl that was rescued...
That was you, wasn't it?
Uh...
I'm sorry if that sounded weird.
It wasn't because I was being nosy or doing it for kicks...
It's just that I couldn't stop thinking about it.
About what?
Uh, well, you know...
Like, you’re really strong, Nanoka.
Strong?
Me?!
Not at all.
I'm weak and terrible at sports.
What I'm trying to say is...
You went through so much with that accident and everything...
but you never show it.
You're always so cheerful.
You're mentally strong...
He's praising me... I think...
You're like... I think you're so...
Shiraha!
Thank you.
N-No, don't thank me!
Well, I'll see you again... at school...!
Bye!
- Whoa! - Oh, Sorry!
So, Nanoka...
How did it go yesterday...
with Shiraha?
Well, he knew a lot more than I did.
That figures.
He couldn't stop looking into it.
What're you trying to say?
Don't you get it?
Shiraha isn't interested in the accident.
He likes you.
Huh?!
See? He was staring at you just now.
He's always staring at you.
He's so obvious, isn't he?
So that's what this is about?
Pardon me, where can I find Dr. Mao?
Oh, right this way.
Next patient.
What's all this about?
Oh, welcome back, Miss Nanoka.
We found this vacant property,
so we opened a clinic here.
Opened a clinic?
Ouch...
You've got intestinal worms.
I'll give you medicine to get rid of it.
Thank you very much.
Next.
Oh...
So he's not trying to exterminate all the yokai.
There are yokai that are peaceful,
and there are ones that are vicious man-eaters.
Just as with humans.
Besides...
It seems Master Mao has always been...
better at fixing things than at breaking them.
Is that so?
Better at fixing than breaking...?
So, Nanoka...
Where were you these past ten days?
Ten days?!
But I was only in the present for two days...
While you were away,
we did some investigating on our end.
Our patients are mostly yokai from the neighborhood.
So you've been asking questions as you treat them?
Nanoka, you said you came here as a child
and saw the town in flames.
Yes.
No one has ever heard of such a fire.
What?
That can't be!
How could there not have been a fire?
But that town and the deserted shopping street
are definitely connected somehow.
What's going on?
SHOKO
Priestess Shoko!
Please bless us!
Where are you, Yoriko?!
She's a charlatan!
Yoriko! We're going home!
- No! - Stop it!
YORIKO - No! - Stop it!
YORIKO Let's go, Yoriko!
YORIKO Don't do this, Father!
You'll be punished by the heavens!
Nonsense!!
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.
MILK HALL
Then, three days later...
that man really did...
TENKO end up dead.
TENKO
What was the cause of death?
A heart attack...
Is that what they call it?
He was apparently fine just the day before.
But...
the town was abuzz with rumors
that Priestess Shoko cursed him to death.
Cursed...?
Shall we look into it, Master Mao?
You should go there, because...
they say Priestess Shoko can manipulate
people's lifespans.
That woman may have encountered the Byoki.
Huh? What do you mean?
The Byoki knows how to...
What?
...manipulate human lifespans.
Master!
Who could have done this?!
A cat?
The Treasure House stored...
secret scrolls passed down through generations.
It was a place only my master and his successors
were permitted to enter.
The Byoki got inside...
and devoured the secret scrolls.
Secret scrolls?
Scrolls that have spells to manipulate human life?
They were the ultimate secret arts of the Onmyodo.
Isn't that right, Master Mao?
That's right.
The Byoki gained those powers when it devoured the scrolls.
That's unbelievable.
You're saying it downloaded
the information in those scrolls by eating them?
Down...?
What could Miss Nanoka be talking about?
I haven't a clue.
Question...
How many years ago did that happen?
That would be... Let me see...
Quite a long time ago...
When you say "quite a while"...
I've been wondering for ages...
Just how old are you, anyway?
I stopped counting along the way, so...
But...
Since that day...
I think it's been around 900 years.
900 years?!
So, you're basically immortal?
Yes.
The Byoki failed to take my life,
so it inscribed a curse onto my body and escaped.
I don't really understand, but...
Does that mean my lifespan was somehow affected, too?
That is why...
we have to find the Byoki.
You and I must find it...
to lift the curse.
A woman cult leader who can manipulate lives at will...
Priestess Shoko may have learned that technique
from the Byoki.
Is that what you're saying?
Unless she's a fake psychic...
So, that's why...
You must go, Nanoka.
Huh?
What?!
Uh... I have to go in alone?
SHORINKYO
The Shorinkyo cult led by Priestess Shoko
preaches doomsday prophecies.
It's a common story...
She promises that if people follow her faithfully,
they will be able to survive the end of the world.
Her followers are mostly wealthy students or female students
who are young and naive.
Nanoka, you look just like a naive female student.
Someone who looks suspicious like me,
wouldn't be able to get in.
That might be true, but...
I don't feel good about this...
Newcomers can sit at the front.
Is it okay to take such a good seat?
Sure, have a wonderful experience.
So that's Priestess Shoko.
The Star of Doom,
the Five Yellow Earth Star,
has ascended to the center of the heavens.
I can see it.
Huge flames, people fleeing in panic...
And countless dead bodies.
- I don't want to die! - Priestess Shoko!
- What should we do? - Please tell us!
- Save us! - Priestess Shoko!
This is giving me the creeps.
Do not despair, everyone.
SOGEN As you know,
SOGEN Priestess Shoko has the power to control human lifespans.
Before you are protective stones
that have been blessed by Priestess Shoko.
They will protect you
- from all disasters... - Huh? Is this a sales pitch?
- and spare you from the coming end. - Please, give me one!
I beg you, Priestess Shoko!
My daughter is sick with an incurable illness!
Bring her here.
Please, I beg you to help her!
She's glowing!
She opened her eyes!
The thread of her life has been preserved.
- It's amazing! - Priestess Shoko did it again!
- Priestess Shoko! - It's a miracle!
She saved the baby!
Thank you... Thank you...
Mommy!
Something about it seems so fake...
Why is she trembling?
You're asking about this shabby dojo?
YAMAMOTO JUJUTSU
It was just the father and daughter living here.
YAMAMOTO JUJUTSU
The daughter, Yoriko.
got brainwashed by some new-fangled cult.
It's my understanding that the headmaster died suddenly.
That's right.
He dropped dead just three days...
after he tried to bring her home.
Rumor has it that the Priestess put a curse on him.
Gives me the creeps.
I found it, Master Mao!
It's a cursed doll.
It was buried by the entrance to curse him.
So... they know a thing or two about the dark arts.
SHORINKYO Give me a protective stone!
SHORINKYO Give me one, too!
- Me, too! - One for me, too!
No pushing!
Place your donations here.
Please form a line.
I'll take one!
- Me, too! - One for me, too!
All right. Here you go.
This will protect my life.
These stones have been blessed by Priestess Shoko!
Now I can survive the end of the world!
This smells like a scam...
A-Are you all right?!
You were shaking earlier.
Yoriko.
Come with me.
Yes, Master Sogen.
W-Wait...
Master Sogen?
He was there with Priestess Shoko earlier.
What's going on?
Poor Yoriko.
I heard her father passed away
just as Priestess Shoko prophesied.
That's what happens for calling the Priestess a fraud.
She's the daughter of the man who was cursed to death?
I need to look into this...
I must save them all.
Next time: The Shorinkyo Incident