"The Divine Comedy of Ayashi" "Inferno Four" " Earthly Paradise" "Ryudo..." "Ryudo..." "Abi..." "Edogen..." "Boss..." "Saizo, come out from there!" "Boss, I intend to accompany Master Takano!" "What has gotten into you, Saizo?" "There's no way that scruffy old man suits your tastes!" "I have done wrong, yet again." "Yeah, that's right!" "The Red Cat!" "It was this woman who was in control of that Youi." "You put her up to it, didn't you?" "But thanks to that, Shiroyama, you were able to escape from prison." "Supposedly dead to begin with, you needn't fear being pursued anymore!" "Isn't that right, Torii?" "All of this was so that you would be freed from prison!" "Not me." "Though I did fear that it might be a bit of a waste to let this mind of mine rot in prison." "So you have confessed." "That you committed arson yourself to escape prison." "The arsonist is the Ayashi woman." "It's a simple matter." "I suppose it is." "We will drag Saizo out of there." "Lord Torii, I assume you are fine with that?" "Saizo!" "Hanai!" "It's over!" "Saizo is separate from the Youi now!" "But that woman is a felon!" "Yes, she certainly is." "But that was never of any concern to us to begin with." "Fox fire!" "But why are there so many of them?" "Saizo!" "Are you all right?" "It seems they made it in time." "They say foxes from all across Edo gather at the Inari Shrine in Oji." "They sensed the aura and hastened here." "So he is in complete control of the Youi..." "You Ayashi..." "Shiroyama, you are not my enemies." "It is Torii over there!" "He forbids us to associate with foreign countries and despises those who study anything having to do with them." "You think human lives can be put on a balance with the country?" "!" "Of course they can!" "I'll open those eyes of yours." "Mister painter!" "Ouma is..." "Kyousai Ouma is..." "What's this?" "Where are you taking Ouma?" "Out of my way." "So Torii's up to something strange again, isn't he?" "But just how long do you think..." "Kyousai." "Yukiatsu ordered this." "Yukiatsu did?" "!" "How incredibly precise!" "Could this be the map by Tadataka Inou?" "In all likelihood, there is no map of the Japanese coastline more detailed than this." "And also working with Inou was a man who explored the Ezo region on numerous occasions." "Rinzo Mamiya..." "Mamiya confirmed that Sakhalin was not a peninsula, but an island, and thoroughly investigated the western coast of Ezo." "And they say that he saw something in the far reaches of the north." "What's this "something"?" "We do not know." "But Mamiya changed from that point forward." "He became morose, unsociable, obstinate, and cantankerous, and snitched on masters and friends alike without a second thought." "As if he had given up on this world." "Is that not the nature of man to begin with?" "We do not know what Mamiya saw, but early this year, with death at his door, for some reason, he left a letter for the imprisoned Choei Takano." "In it, there was an account of the geography around this area." "They say that vagrants, Mountain People, and the like have lived here since ancient times." "You believe Master Takano is headed here?" "His home is originally in Mizusawa of Oushuu." "He will make a pretense of going to see his mother, but in fact, cross over into Ezo." "And you expect us to go after him, right?" "You don't even need to tell us." "We're as good as your pets now anyway." "The crime Saizo committed normally means being burned alive." "However, I am offering to dismiss those charges if you capture Takano." "I have brought them." "Atl..." "As I mentioned before," "Honjo and Hanai will take excellent care of this girl." "Atl is one of us at this point." "Leaving her alone would be too cruel." "Yukiwa..." "Takano seeks the Other World." "We have no guarantee that you will not join forces with Takano and disappear together into the Other World." "A hostage?" "!" "That's not all, is it?" "If the worst should happen, you could turn me over and say that it was all plotted by a foreign sorceress." "Hmm, very perceptive of you." "What shall we do, Yukiatsu?" "There's no real need for us to quietly submit to this." "True." "It would be a fine thing for us to raise a little ruckus..." "But if we did that, there would no longer be a place for us to stay in Edo." "We're wanted as it is, anyway." "But even so, we have decided to live here." "That we would fight Youi and protect the people." "That we would return to those duties." "That's what we decided, right?" "I will be waiting." "Because I want to be here with all of you, too." "It will be September by the time you arrive in Ezo." "I envy the cool weather you'll be enjoying." "I just hope Torii's neck is still intact by then." "As well as Abe's and Atobe's." "Who knows which side will survive?" "What is wrong?" "Where did Yukiwa go?" "This is..." "An interrogation shed..." "What is it, Yukiwa?" "It smells of Saizo." "Honjo, who is this boy?" "A vagrant." "We caught him wearing the work clothes of a prison compound worker." "The work clothes were labeled "Eizo"." "Saizo gave her work clothes to this boy?" "We do not know the circumstances." "But if Saizo and Takano are not successfully apprehended, this boy will be burned alive instead for the crime of arson." "What are you saying?" "!" "It can't be helped." "Someone has to pay for the crime." "Don't tell Atl about this." "Is there..." "Is there nothing we can do, Boss?" "!" "Even if we capture Takano and bring Saizo back..." "The crime of setting fire to the prison compound will not go away." "Either that boy or Saizo will have to pay for it." "Why did Saizo give her clothes to a child like that?" "!" "She was probably told to do so by Choei." "To give her work clothes to someone else to throw off the pursuit." "Why would she go to such lengths to follow Takano?" "!" "Takano needs Saizo." "Did you have a need for Saizo?" "This isn't about being a man or a woman, is it?" "You claimed you would continue to be Ayashi, and yet, all you did was evade being detected by officials and survive." "If Saizo had not done what she did," "Lord Ogasawara would likely have died in prison." "And yet, we had no choice but to do as we did." "All we could do was survive each day and try to find a tomorrow from what we had." "When did we become like this?" "Magistrate, do you intend to ignore the summons by the supreme court of the Shogunate?" "That damn Mizuno." "Having determined that he cannot pursue the matters of embezzlement at the gold mint or the Ayashi, he has finally dug up the incident regarding the framing of Yabe, the former South Magistrate." "I will let him cool his heels for a while." "But if you leave at a time like this..." "I have sent a notice of illness to the Shogun." "All is going according to my plan, but I doubt even Takano or the Ayashi know that." "She looked like a normal person." "In here, it says people were made in their image." "If so, it wouldn't be surprising if they look the same as humans." "We're going after her." "Yes, sir." "Tenpo Y ear 1 5, September Somewhere in Ezo Yes, sir." "Tenpo Y ear 1 5, September Somewhere in Ezo" "A shrine in such a remote region of Ezo..." "Was it here even before the time of the Matsumae Clan?" "I don't know since when..." "At any rate, this man you spoke of..." "Mamiya." "Right, it was this shrine that I showed the man called Mamiya." "A man and a young woman should have come this way in search of this." "I don't know about that." "If you want to find out, ask the divine maiden." "Who is this divine maiden?" "She lives here, at this Hakusan Shrine." "Hakusan?" "This is a Hakusan Shrine?" "What is it?" "Divine Maiden..." "This lady is...?" "Hey, you..." "You mustn't touch her!" "What do you mean by that?" "The divine maiden will be sullied!" "Whatever happens, don't look at me!" "She is beautiful." "Yeah, but what's a divine maiden doing in a place like this?" "Do you know what a Hakusan Shrine is?" "I hear the name a lot." "As I recall, the enshrined deities are Izanagi and Izanami." "The gods who are said to have given birth to humans and the other gods." "And one more." "Divine Maiden Kikuri." "Divine Maiden Kikuri?" "I tried reading a bit of the Kojiki, records of ancient matters." "When Izanami died and Izanagi was unable to bear it, he went to the world of the dead, and the goddess he met there was Divine Maiden Kikuri." "She is a goddess who stands between the world of the dead, as in Hell, and our world on this side." "But her role is..." "So they keep a divine maiden at the shrine to match the legend." "Are you awake?" "Don't be scared!" "I'm Abi." "Over there is Genbatsu." "What is your name?" "I do not know." "All who come here address me as Divine Maiden." "What about your home?" "Is there anyone you know nearby?" "There is no one." "I have long lived here alone." "What exactly for?" "Since when?" "I do not know." "I do not remember anything." "What to make of this?" "You smell good!" "The smell of gunpowder, I'm sure." "You used to live in a very nice place." "Maejima Temple?" "It is a very comfortable place." "That is what I smell." "I'm sorry to make you go to such lengths." "It cannot be helped." "It may be an animal trail, but it's still impassable for a large body like yours." "This aura..." "They're near." "Shall we do this?" "It's been a while." "There is no mistake." "Ah, how sweet it smells!" "It smells that good?" "As good as the Other World, possibly even better." "It is the smell we have sought after all this time!" "Is that woman the real thing?" "Yes, and there's something that woman is guarding." "Mamiya saw it, just once." "Ah, an Ayagami-user, are you?" "Choei Takano!" "It was a long journey to get here." "But I will not let you escape into the Other World!" "The Other World, you say?" "You have found that your studies will not be permitted in this country." "And that is why you want to go to the Other World!" "No." "I am staying here!" "Saizo, I am going in search of the woman." "You dispose of them!" "Dispose of them, is it?" "He says it so simply." "You're not getting away!" "Saizo!" "Ryudo, do not interfere with what he does." "Why not?" "!" "For us to be saved, we have no choice but to follow him." "If we do not, Torii and the Shogunate will crush us someday." "Are you trying to say you fled for our sakes?" "!" "No!" "You only wanted a new boss, who would give you orders to follow!" "Is that so wrong?" "!" "I am never certain if I am right or not." "People make mistakes, and with each mistake, they are devoured by Youi." "Am I wrong, Ryudo?" "!" "In which case, wanting to cling to someone else's words in search of the correct answer..." "Is that so wrong?" "That man is incredible." "And there is something even more incredible behind him." "Something even more incredible?" "Ryudo, do you wish to know the truth about this world?" "Saizo!" "She is a mysterious girl." "Perhaps she was common property of the village." "It happens occasionally in villages with no women." "Locking away an abducted girl in a shed, the young men come nightly..." "It does not look like that." "Perhaps she was abandoned due to illness or something?" "For that, her attire and speech are too proper." "Strangest of all, you and I both instantly felt fear, reverence, and love for that girl." "As if we had been put under a spell." "Divine Maiden, you will die!" "For without your death, the way cannot be cleared!" "I... am..." "Damn!" "Divine Maiden!" "Divine Maiden!" "What was I..." "Why?" "!" "What is this?" "Choei Takano, what is this?" "!" "You Ayashi, behold!" "That's..." "Ayakashi mukashi Mystic days of old" "Hana wa saiteta Flowers were blooming" "Yume no naka e hairi-komu Finding their way into dreams" "Tamashii no iro yo The colors of souls" "Akaku Turning red" "Aoku Turning blue" "Preview" "The tale of a man who goes to Hell to revive the woman he loves." "A common myth that can be found the world over." "The Divine Comedy of Ayashi." "Inferno Five." "Next Time Inferno Five" " Myth The Divine Comedy of Ayashi." "Inferno Five." "Next Time Inferno Five" " Myth"