You'll be fine, Nanoka.
I will be at your side.
Promise?!
No!!
I can't do it!! I'm scared!
They're gross!
Nanoka.
You can do it. Try it again.
No!
NANOKA KIBA MAO
Keep your eyes on him.
Focus your energy and aim for the tanden.
Thrust!
He turned back into a human.
Water? Where's it going?!
Mao!
Okay, another one.
Okay!
That's it, Nanoka. Keep going like that.
Got it! Mao, stay by my side, okay?
Don't leave me!
Where'd he go?!
The water he coughed up is running away.
Where is it going?
It's them! Those shikigami are the source of all this!
HYAKKA
They're getting away!
Huh?! They didn't change back!
Why?! So creepy!
Okay... that's enough.
What's up with that girl?
OTOYA
Miss Nanoka is actually a pretty good fighter.
Eww! What're you doing?
Thanks to you,
the shikigami coughed out its cursed talisman.
What's it say?
I bet it's an order to hunt us down and kill us, right?
Can I see?
"If Mao is alive,
capture him alive and bring him to me."
That's what it says.
What? Only Mao?
What about me?!
It's a good thing they didn't want you.
You're not suited to fighting Water spells.
D-Damn!
Who could it be?
Otoya. A brush.
Yes.
Mao?
Swallow this.
Return to your master.
H-Hey!
So you're just letting them go?
Even if we destroy the shikigami here,
I have a feeling more will simply keep coming.
We can't continue with this.
What is this place?
My lower belly hurts...
That's why...
I've set a trap.
TAIZANFUKUN
Before the big earthquake happened,
the Byoki was hiding in this hole.
Those shikigami...
were ordered to capture me alive.
Not to kill me.
It means that someone wants to see you.
But that was...
a pretty rough invitation.
It doesn't seem like they wanted to have a peaceful chat.
Whoever controls those shikigami wasn't targeting me,
but most likely the Byoki.
What?
More specifically,
they're after a spell from the secret scrolls that the Byoki devoured.
BYOKI
The secret spell of Taizanfukun?
Taiza... what?
A spell for manipulating human lifespans.
The ultimate secret art of Onmyodo.
That is Taizanfukun.
Oh... so that's what it's called?
Hyakka, you believed I was working with the Byoki, didn't you?
Right.
And I haven't forgotten!
He completely forgot.
And he came to us for help.
It means others are thinking the same thing.
Including whoever is behind this attack.
That is why we're luring them to us.
I get it, so this is a trap...
That's why you fed the shikigami a new command?
That's right.
What did you write?
"We found Mao, but he resisted capture.
The most we could do was confine him to a single location.
Master, we need you to go there yourself."
Huh?
What's the matter?
What is that?
Was that a whale?!
No... it looked way stranger!
How're you feeling today, Nanoka?
Here are the notes from the classes you missed.
HARUKA HITOMI YUI NAKAGAWA
I took notes for you, just in case.
Thank you! That's so helpful!
Good thing we're an integrated middle and high school.
No entrance exams to study for.
They're all so sweet!
By the way, Nanoka, that part is going to be on the test.
SHIRAHA
TAISHO DEMOCRACY
The Taisho period shows us...
Compared to them, Mao is so...
It'll take a few days before the shikigami's master gets here.
I don't mind you going back home,
but I want you to come back here as soon as you can.
Are you...
telling me to fight alongside you?
Of course. You need to gain experience.
That guy has absolutely no intention
of protecting a frail girl like me.
That kinda hurts my feelings...
That settles it. I'll take some time off for a few days.
Oh, I know...
I'll have Shiraha look up that Taizan something or other spell...
that Mao was talking about!
So what's the story about
that girl Nanoka ?
It's hard to explain...
She's like me. We were both cursed by the Byoki.
Cursed, huh?
The Byoki possesses human bodies as vessels,
moving from one host to another.
Nanoka is being targeted as its new vessel after me.
The Byoki escaped to Nanoka's world.
That is why I want to teach her how to fight...
so she can protect herself even when she's alone.
Hmm...
I don't really get it...
You don't?
Will this do for a katashiro, Master Mao?
Mmhm.
Oh...
I'm setting up a decoy in my place.
This hole is still charged with the Byoki's yokai energy.
I see.
And when the enemy comes and peers into the hole...
Yes, once we confirm who they are and determine
if they have evil intentions...
we'll use your dynamite to cave the hole in
and trap them underground for the time being.
I can't wait to see who shows up.
I can think of several senior apprentices
who can cast Water spells.
But was there anyone who would resort to such aggressive tactics?
Looks like they're here.
Wasn't it a bit soon?
Let's take cover.
What is that sound?
What is that?
Good question.
Is that...?
Who the hell is that?
It's filled with fish.
Master Mao...
It knows my name?!
Hey Mao! You have an idea of who's controlling that monster?
Master Mao...
MOKUZU
You could have told me to get the water...
Mokuzu...
Master Mao...
All I ask for is one spell...
Pardon?
Won't you teach me just one spell?
We've already discussed this.
I'm in no position to teach you,
and the Master has strictly forbidden it.
I thought that if I served in an onmyoji compound,
I might learn at least one spell.
Do you want to become an onmyoji, Mokuzu?
Well, of course. It's something I've always dreamed of.
Don't you think the resemblance is striking?
Mokuzu, the servant?
Ahh, yeah.
That guy used to beg me to teach him spells too.
Not that I ever did.
Mokuzu wasn't a sorcerer.
Did someone teach him those spells?
Master Mao...
Whatever the case, this thing isn't human.
Let's do this!
Ignite!
Just as it was looking down into the hole,
the dynamite exploded...
Everything seems to be going according to plan.
Hmm...
Exactly as planned!
It's turning into a giant fish pond.
Master Mao...
Please teach me...
The secret spell of Taizanfukun ...
So that was his objective, just as I suspected.
But...
Are you Mokuzu?
The secret spell of Taizanfukun...
was known only to a select few at the compound.
Why do you know about it?
Secret spells are passed on to the rightful successor.
Huh?
Who the hell is the rightful successor?
Master Mao, you ought to know...
After all, you did become one with the Byoki.
The only reason you're still alive now,
is because the Byoki's power sustains you.
So please...
For my sake...
What the hell is this guy talking about?
The one who transformed
Lady Sana's cat, Haimaru, into the Byoki was...
me, Mokuzu!
Run, Otoya!
Hyakka...!
We're inside Mokuzu's body?
Master Mao...
I shall take you to Kyoto.
Master Mao!
I can't breathe...
Mao...
HAIMARU LADY SANA
I think it's best if you stay away from Mokuzu.
Lady Sana...
Has he done something wrong?
For some time now, Mokuzu has been
pestering various apprentices to teach him onmyo spells.
But ever since you were chosen as the successor,
he's been behaving strangely...
I would often notice him...
staring at me.
Staring at you?
I can't quite describe it,
but his eyes were...
It was...
as though...
someone else was watching me.
Someone is pulling Mokuzu's strings...
No one has ever escaped...
after being trapped inside my body.
That's... Mokuzu...
It would be pointless if you die here.
While you sleep in the belly of the shark,
I will take you to Kyoto.
What?!
Master Mao...
Mokuzu...
Who taught you these spells?
Master Hyakka...
Otoya...
How's Hyakka?
He drowned...
and he's dead.
I'm the one they're after,
and yet I dragged him into this.
Master Mao...
You haven't changed. You were always a kind person.
There's no need for you to blame yourself.
If others get involved,
I was ordered to kill them, as well.
Others...?!
Does he mean the senior apprentices who were summoned to the Goshikido?!
So I was collateral damage?!
He came back to life again...
Damn! I thought I was going to die.
No, you were actually dead.
Mokuzu...
You mentioned that you were the one...
who turned Lady Sana's cat, Haimaru, into the Byoki.
Was that someone else's order too?!
Yes.
I asked the apprentices at the compound to teach me spells,
but all of them turned me down.
Except that person...
You'll teach me?
Thank you very much!
Yes, of course!
If you teach me...
I will do anything you ask!
I did as I was told.
I secretly took Haimaru away...
and tossed him into the kodoku pit that had been dug there.
The pit was filled with venomous insects,
snakes, wild dogs and boar, but...
Haimaru killed and devoured them all.
That's how he became the deadliest kodoku...
The Byoki.
For what purpose?
So that's it...
Someone is using the Byoki
to curse us to death.
Mao?! Your eyes...
I will explain later, Hyakka.
But then, the Byoki
devoured the secret scrolls of Taizanfukun...
and became one with you, Master Mao.
When that happened,
I worried that I would not be taught any spells,
but as you can see...
I have become a fine onmyoji.
No, Mokuzu.
You're already...
It appears he was dead from the beginning.
Mokuzu had no ulterior motives...
He was simply a man obsessed with learning spells.
So someone took advantage of that and turned him into a pawn.
Yes. Most likely.
But...
Haimaru hates being touched by anyone but me...
Haimaru never took to anyone besides Lady Sana and me.
So why would Haimaru go along quietly
instead of running away?
Something doesn't add up.
I found it in one try.
Taizanfukun.
What?!
This is what you're looking for, right, Nanoka?
Taizanfukun...
Wow...
A spell for manipulating human lifespans.
The ultimate secret art of Onmyodo.
The way he said it,
I thought it would be a secret shrouded in mystery.
Since you asked me to look into it, I summarized the main points.
Shiraha, you're the best!
To begin with, Taizan is a sacred mountain in China.
Taizanfukun is a Taoist deity that predates even Jugondo.
It's said that Taizanfukun governs human lifespans and souls.
Governs human lifespans?
In Japan, Taizanfukun was especially revered within Onmyodo,
and the Taizanfukun Rite was one of its central rituals.
It was a secret rite performed only within the Imperial Court,
reserved exclusively for the nobility.
Okay, so... According to this source...
There is only a single recorded instance that
the secret technique of Taizanfukun was actually used.
When a high priest fell gravely ill,
his grief-stricken disciples tried every prayer they could,
but he didn't recover.
So, they summoned Abe no Seimei,
the leading master of Onmyodo at the time.
Abe no Seimei?!
So he's real?
He actually existed.
Oh...
I only know him as a character in games and stuff.
In preparation for the Taizanfukun Rite,
Seimei asked if any disciple would offer their own life
in exchange for their master's.
While others hesitated,
one monk stepped forward.
Seimei wrote the monk's name onto a prayer text
that was dedicated to Taizanfukun,
and offered it in the rite.
Then suddenly, the master's illness began to improve.
Did the monk who offered his life die—
No, he didn't.
Huh?
Both the master and the disciple lived long lives.
I wonder why?
Perhaps Taizanfukun, the deity himself,
took pity on the monk who offered up his life for his master...
and spared him.
I see...
The monk was praised, and later rose to prominence.
It kind of has a happy ending.
Yeah.
Halfway through, it starts sounding like a Buddhist sermon.
TAIZANFUKUN
So Taizanfukun is a life-substitution spell,
and exchanges one life for another.
It seems to require another person's life.
The Byoki manipulates human lifespans...
Using someone else's life?
Please eat, Nanoka.
With all that's happened,
it's a good thing Miss Nanoka wasn't here.
Yes...
Oh, Mr. Kuchinawa...
Will you be leaving us already?
Yes.
Thank you for the stay.
Things never slow down, do they?
And here I am in Kyoto for the first time in ages...
Beniko, did you find anything?
KAMON BENIKO
Yes, I did, Master Kamon.
There's a daughter of an aristocratic family...
An aristocrat's daughter...
Very good.
She was critically ill, but the family called a spiritual healer.
She is completely recovered now.
Next time: Blood Bond