That one... is the same...
I have to help her!
That girl is me!
Mao!
Something flew out...
Mao...
MAO
NANOKA KIBA
He's back to normal...
NANOKA KIBA
Mao!
Mao...
Oh dear! He's naked...
What should I do?
Miss Nanoka, we need to take Master Mao somewhere safe.
OTOYA Miss Nanoka, we need to take Master Mao somewhere safe.
R-Right...
He's unconscious.
Yes...
But... how?
He's naked...
What should I do?
- Dr. Mao! - Dr. Mao!
THE NEW VESSEL
Well, you see...
The evil energy emanating from the giant cat's head was so terrifying
that we couldn't go anywhere near Fifth Street.
Is Dr. Mao alright?
I don't know.
He's pretty devastated after letting
the Byoki he'd been chasing for years get away...
Otoya...
Master Mao, you're awake?
Where's Nanoka?
At the moment, Nanoka is...
Is that the Imperial Capital in the distance?
Yeah, it's horrible... It's a sea of flames.
This area and Fifth Street were devastated.
What happened to the keystone, though?
It vanished, leaving behind a gaping hole.
The keystone...
The Byoki that had been hiding beneath the keystone...
escaped because of the earthquake.
We thought the Byoki's barrier had disappeared...
but the force of the earthquake erupted out of the gate...
...causing the sinkhole accident.
And I was dragged into the Taisho era.
But why? Was it just a coincidence?
Give me your body...
and become one with me.
Mao...
You are a vessel found only once in a thousand years.
A vessel found only once in a thousand years?
How is it that you, like Mao,
also carry the blood of the Byoki?
You, too, are worthy of becoming my vessel.
Was I chosen to be its new vessel?
A vessel found only once in a thousand years?
I'm not quite sure...
Maybe it means they are a good match. A good fit.
It wants me...
as its vessel to replace Mao?!
Nanoka.
Oh... Mao.
Are you feeling better now?
Mao?
Did I hear you say that you are that young child?
Huh?
Yes.
It feels like the sequence of time is all jumbled up though.
In that moment,
the best I could do was to send a guardian shikigami.
The Byoki escaped into your world beyond the barrier...
and is targeting you.
The gate of the barrier is still intact...
even though the town has been reduced to ashes.
If I go through it...
can I return to the present?
Miss Nanoka.
Otoya...
What will you do now?
That's a good question... What should I do?
Where's Mao?
He seems pretty down...
Oh... because he let the Byoki get away?
That's partly the reason, of course,
but when he's in that beast form,
he's barely conscious of what's happening...
So afterwards, he tends to get very worried about what happened.
Like a drunk person regretting what they've done?
Kind of...
He asked for a detailed account of what happened
while he was in beast form.
He looks deep in thought...
What are those?
They are the katashiro for shikigami.
Oh...
Come to think of it...
Mao said he sent a guardian shikigami.
Oh, Nanoka...
What will you do from now?
Yes... About that...
I'm afraid...
The Byoki escaped into your world.
Unfortunately, I can't pass through that barrier...
And I feel uneasy about sending you home alone.
Oh right...
There's that, too...
Was there something else?
Ever since my parents died in the accident,
I was raised by my grandfather.
He was so kind.
He was always by my side.
But... I remembered something...
The day my parents died...
and I was pulled into the Taisho era...
NANOKA'S GRANDPA
Grandpa was...
NANOKA'S GRANDPA on his deathbed.
A dying man's lifespan was extended!?
Nanoka...
As I've told you,
the Byoki can manipulate a person's lifespan.
The Byoki extended Grandpa's life?
For what purpose...?
But that would mean...
that Grandpa is under the Byoki's control.
He may have been keeping an eye on you as he raised you.
Huh?
Grandpa was...?
It's going to be alright, Nanoka.
Grandpa's going to be with you.
Nanoka! My word, what happened?
Are you feeling unwell?
Your injury from yesterday... Are you all right now?
You've always been frail,
so you need to be careful.
He's... keeping me under watch?
Nanoka...
If you go back now,
the Byoki might turn you into its vessel.
So...
If you're afraid, stay here...
With me.
What?
Did he just...
ask me to stay with him forever?
You're...
physically strong, of course,
but you also have a good heart.
You're honest and brave.
What?! He's suddenly praising me.
You...
would be more than capable of working under me.
What?!
Also, if you're not on the other side,
the Byoki will eventually return here.
BYOKI the Byoki will eventually return here.
BYOKI
You can work as my assistant until then
and learn how to fight the Byoki.
No way! Why would I want to be your underling?!
Oh!
Give me a protective amulet, a weapon...
or something like that!
Miss Nanoka.
Are you going back?
Yes.
I have to find out the truth
about my Grandpa.
Nanoka.
Mao...
W-What're you doing?
What is that?
They're protective stones.
They will repel any evil that comes near you.
They will protect you...
like a barrier.
Okay. Thank you.
And on the other side...
the guardian shikigami I sent should be there...
I don't know what form it has taken to help you though.
You're saying I have an ally there?
Yes!
I don't know what the future holds...
but I'm not facing it alone.
Is something the matter?
No... I'll be going, then.
Be careful, Miss Nanoka.
Who could my ally be?
Someone who's close by and always helping me...
SHIRAHA
Nanoka...
Shiraha...
Uh... Are you feeling well?
Huh?
I heard they let you out from the hospital during summer break,
but you didn't come to school after classes resumed.
Oh, right... Second semester already started...
And uh...
I think I saw you once at
this deserted shopping street, but then...
I lost sight of you.
It might have been my imagination, but...
when I saw you, you looked troubled.
That was the day I went to see Mao...
and the earthquake happened.
Listen, if there's anything I can do to help,
just ask.
Huh?!
And on the other side,
the guardian shikigami I sent should be there...
Could it be...?!
Could it be Shiraha?
Miss Nanoka.
Thank goodness you're back safely.
FUNA UOZUMI
I'm here to pick you up.
Uozumi...
Just a minute. I need to talk with Shiraha.
What?! I-I can't believe Nanoka...
wants to talk with me!
I'm sorry, Uozumi, would you mind going back without me?
Let's go, Shiraha.
Miss Nanoka.
You met Master Mao, didn't you?
What?!
Did you see that, Daddy!
I did it!
After Mom and Dad died...
I started living with Grandpa...
Soon after that,
Uozumi joined us as a live-in housekeeper.
Even as a child,
I thought she didn't seem entirely human...
So you're a shikigami?
Yes.
In the midst of the great earthquake,
I left my katashiro at Master Mao's command...
and followed the Byoki and you to this place.
I'm going to tell you what I saw at the time.
The moment you passed through the barrier,
you were covered in the poisoned blood
of the wounded Byoki.
An ordinary person would have died instantly.
The Byoki disappeared somewhere.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL CENTER You were taken to a hospital most likely the same one
your grandfather had been admitted to.
Nanoka...
Nanoka... Nanoka...
Nanoka...
Grandpa was supposed to be in critical condition...
The doctors said it was a miracle.
The Byoki extended his life?
But why?
I believe it needed someone to protect and raise you.
So once I grew up,
it planned to make me its vessel?
My duty was to keep you away from the Byoki
and protect you.
You survived exposure to the Byoki's blood...
and gained the yokai powers needed to become a suitable vessel.
That is why I took it upon myself...
to strip away your yokai powers completely...
and seal them away.
Now I get it!
Those smoothies that taste like rotten mud...
I blended a secret herbal mixture
to suppress your powers and mask your presence.
But... wasn't Grandpa connected to the Byoki?
That's something I don't understand either.
While you were away,
your grandfather barely moved,
or would be in a deep sleep.
It's almost as if...
he's living only for you, Nanoka.
We're home!
Nanoka...
Grandpa...
I've been worried sick...
Where on earth have you been?
The protective stones...
They will repel any evil that comes near you.
They will protect you...
like a barrier.
Is everything okay, Nanoka?
Grandpa...
Nanoka...
I'm so relieved...
Welcome back...
Nanoka.
Grandpa!
This is my dear, sweet Grandpa!
TENKO
Dr. Mao?
TENKO
May I come in?
I thought you might need supplies, so I put some things together.
Tenko.
I'm glad to see you're okay.
Yes.
Oh! Clothes.
How did you manage to get these?
How is Milk Hall?
There are cracks, but it managed to survive.
We'll be closed for a while, though.
I heard about what happened, Dr. Mao.
So you finally confronted the Byoki you've been
searching for all these years...
Indeed.
But in the end, I let it get away.
Nothing...
was resolved.
Mao, can it be that you don't know...
what truly happened back then?
What?
Do you not know who murdered your master...
burned down the Treasure House...
and shot you with arrows?
We were framed...
Both you and I...
What was the Byoki trying to tell me?
Dr. Mao, I suppose...
I shouldn't bring up the flaming heads.
Flaming heads?
A great many people died in the big earthquake.
In the burned ruins of the Imperial Capital,
there are still bodies that haven't been recovered.
Apparently at night...
we don't know if they are heads that have separated from the corpses,
but they fly about, enveloped in flames.
Excuse me... Master Mao.
What were those things that attacked Fifth Street...
on the day of the big earthquake?
I thought they might be ayakashi attracted to the Byoki's evil aura...
Yes, but they didn't appear to be connected to the Byoki.
Were they different from the flaming heads in the capital?
From what I saw...
They looked like very ancient heads.
Flaming heads...
It's a horse's head!
You imbecile!
MASTER OF THE GOKO CLAN
How could you allow a cursed object to escape the premises?!
What were you thinking?!
You moron!
He's in trouble again...
It's been ages since I last thought about...
my senior apprentice from 900 years ago.
My senior apprentice?
That’s impossible!
Is something the matter?
Master Mao?
It can't be!
The Asakusa Tower...
Boss, we won't be able to set up the show here for a while.
Yeah, I know.
We're going to Osaka.
Pack up, everybody!
FLAMING SKULLS
Are we all here?
FLAMING SKULLS
- Snake Girl. - Yes, Boss.
FLAMING SKULLS - Oni Man. - Here, Boss.
- Inch-High Samurai. - Here.
Master of Flaming Heads.
Master of Flaming Heads?
Master of Flaming Heads... you here?
He quit.
Quit?!
Yes. He said that his trained skulls all ran away...
Huh?!
B-But, aren't those...
just props?!
I swear... that Byoki put me out of business.
NEXT TIME Ryounkaku?
We passed by it when we arrived at the Imperial Capital.
It was a magnificent building.
It couldn't be...
Or so I thought, but you're...
That blade...
It's the Sword of Hagunsei, isn't it?
Oh no! He's dead?!
In order to inherit the many secret curses,
it is essential to know how to channel
the energy from dark emotions.
So that means Mao will become my husband.
Next time: Hyakka