"So many kinds of weapons!" "All made from the bones and hides of demons!" "With these arms, the people of this village slew demons." "So there are strong humans, too." "That's why demons despised this village." "And Naraku took advantage of that hatred..." "Precisely, he set the demons upon this village." "On our journey in search of Sacred Jewel fragments... we came upon a village of Demon Slayers... said to be the birthplace of the Sacred Jewel." "Naraku's treachery had reached this spot as well... and the entire village had been annihilated." "Every Slayer except Sango was killed." "The Sacred Jewel which Kikyo had tried to hide from the world..." "The Sacred Jewel which eons later burst forth from my body..." "In this village, everything would become clear." "Damn it!" "What's going on anyway?" "!" "Hey, Miroku!" "Is that Sango still in bed?" "I believe so." "Well, get her up!" "She knows Naraku's whereabouts!" "She says she can't remember the castle where Naraku is staying!" "But if we keep looking, she's bound to remember!" "It's probably Naraku's doing." "He probably put a spell on her... which made her forget everything..." "So what?" "!" "We've been waiting now for ten days!" "A wound like that..." "I'd be up and around in three days!" "I would probably take to bed for a month." "Besides, Sango suffers not only from physical injuries." "She lost her entire family... the wound to her heart goes deep." "A wounded heart, huh?" "The best cure for that is vengeance!" "And for that, we have to find the castle where Naraku is staying!" "Awright!" "I'll go and ask her!" "Owwee!" "What're you doing?" "!" "Let her be for a while." "That's the best medicine." "Huh?" "She's gone." "Sango!" "Should you be up?" "You still need to rest." "The graves..." "Huh?" "You buried everyone and marked their graves." "Uh-huh..." "Umm..." "Uh..." "I can't tell her to cheer up." "In one short day, she became all alone in the world." "When your wound heals, won't you come with us?" "Inuyasha and Miroku are basically good people." "What do you think?" "You... had a fragment of the Sacred Jewel." "Huh?" "The fragment of the Sacred Jewel energizes the power of evil..." "It's far from its original shape." "Naraku will come after it." "All right, I'll come with you." "You intend to avenge your family and village?" "I guess..." "Plus the Sacred Jewel was..." "Born in this region." "We came to this village wanting to know more about that." "Everyone who comes in contact with the Sacred Jewel fragment... becomes unhappy." "Just what is the Sacred Jewel?" "What is it, Kirara?" "Call your friends." "You helped bury the dead." "I'll tell you... how the Sacred Jewel came to be." "At last, we'll be able to enter this limestone cave... where the Sacred Jewel came to be." "So Sango... just how do we get rid of this barrier?" "Precisely..." "We must say the age-old incantation... and the barrier will be broken..." "There's no such incantation." "Huh?" "Then how?" "!" "Myoga..." "This is a graveyard." "Graveyard?" "It's useless to just look for ways in." "At first, we all thought that the demons had placed a curse... to keep anyone from entering." "But it seems that she is the one who keeps intruders out." "She?" "The person from whom the Sacred Jewel was born." "Her sadness and regret keep people from entering." "That's what I sense." "It'll be easier to understand if we go in." "Go ahead, enter." "Ahh..." "Are you sure?" "Until now, countless people have become victims of the Sacred Jewel." "You sympathize with them... so I'm sure she will allow you to enter." "She's right." "We got through." "We did it!" "Now we can meet this person... who gave birth to the Sacred Jewel!" "Enter Myoga!" "W-why?" "!" "What IS this?" "!" "Demons, dragons and spiders all merged into one to wage a battle... against one single human." "There's a mummy inside the stalagmite!" "The demon has her in its jaws..." "An ancient armor..." "A warrior of long ago?" "It's a woman." "A priestess from several centuries ago." "A priestess?" "But look at the number of demons surrounding her." "This priestess must have had immense spiritual power." "The court nobles controlled power at that time." "Wars and famine dragged on and on... and countless people perished." "By devouring the dead and the near-dead... demons grew in number." "Many priests and warriors set out to slay them... but one priestess known as Midoriko... was able to purify demons' souls and render them harmless." "She ranked the strongest of them all." "She was able to purify the souls and weaken the demons?" "Yes..." "In this world... humans, animals, trees, and stones alike... all are created through four souls." "Four souls?" "Shikon?" "I've come across it in my readings." "The four souls are namely:" "Aramitama, Nigimitama..." "Kushimitama and Sakimitama." "Combined they become the soul of one person... housed inside the heart." "Aramitama governs courage." "Nigimitama governs friendship." "Kushimitama governs wisdom." "Sakimitama governs love." "When the four souls work properly in harmony... it is called Naobi... and the human heart is filled with good." "Inuyasha, do you follow me?" "W-what?" "!" "I don't understand at all!" "When one does bad deeds... the four spirits energize evil... and the human loses his way." "In other words, with both humans and demons... the soul can turn good or bad." "Midoriko must've been a formidable foe to the demons." "She was able to purify the souls of demons and make them powerless." "She fought off an army of demons, but her power didn't last." "Just means that this Midoriko wasn't much of a priestess." "She hasn't lost the battle yet." "Not yet?" "What's that...?" "After battling for seven days and seven nights... a demon got its fangs into Midoriko." "With the last ounce of her energy..." "Midoriko seized the demon's soul... took it into her own soul, and forced it out of her body." "The spot where she forced out her soul... is that the hole in her chest?" "What she forced out... was the Sacred Jewel." "She wasn't able to purify the demon's soul." "All she could manage was to seize the demon's soul." "Although the flesh is gone... inside the Sacred Jewel... a battle still wages between the souls of Midoriko and the demons." "That is why this fight isn't over yet." "Inside the Sacred Jewel..." "a war still rages on?" "Hah!" "In any case... it's all because Naraku came for the fragments... that the story's become so complicated." "I'm gonna take possession of the Sacred Jewel... and use it to become a full-fledged demon!" "Then Midoriko can rest in peace!" "W-what...!" "What's going on?" "!" "People who think like that... will be thrown out of the cave..." "like that." "It's Midoriko's version of "sit!"" "It's gotten so late." "A priestess inside a stalagmite?" "Tell me in detail, Shippo." "The priestess thrust the Sacred Jewel from her body... the demon had her in its jaws... and they are set in stone." "Hmm..." "Covered in stalagmite..." "Then as Sango mentioned, several hundred years have passed." "I believe it has something to do with Midoriko... but the villagers worked as Slayers for generations." "Over the centuries, the Sacred Jewel passed through... the hands of various humans and demons." "And it returned here, during my grandfather's time." "It came out of a demon that he slew." "But his life and many others were sacrificed in the fight." "The Sacred Jewel which was removed from the demon... was horribly defiled... and beyond the abilities of the Slayers to handle." "So they put in Kikyo's care..." "Kikyo..." "I heard of a priestess so named... who was able to purify the Jewel." "Naraku learned about her and killed her." "When demons and evil men possess it, the Jewel becomes defiled." "When a pure-hearted human possesses it... the Jewel becomes pure." "It's very complicated." "A Sacred Jewel has the power for good or evil." "However, I've never heard of an instance... where the Jewel has been used for good." "As long as Naraku is after it... there will be more and more bloodshed." "This karma of the Sacred Jewel." "We must put an end to it." "Inuyasha!" "Do not think about using the Sacred Jewel... to become a great demon!" "Hah!" "First, I'll kill that Naraku!" "That's first and foremost." "Good!" "Kirara... my thanks." "We made good time coming here." "Midoriko... I, too, feel compassion for humans." "However, when one lives long and sees so much death... one becomes accustomed to it." "Forgive me." "This afternoon, I was too eager in my pursuit of truth." "Since you've allowed me past the barrier..." "I guess you understand." "Oh, sorry, sorry!" "I will be finished here soon." "Namu amida butsu..." "So many demons..." "A single priestess took on this many demons?" "Unbelievable." "Many of the demons merged with others into huge ones." "So that's the hole in the chest... where the Sacred Jewel was thrust out." "Judging from the size... it's quite possible that the Jewel was thrust out from that spot." "W-what...?" "!" "I have this ominous feeling..." "Damn!" "It's the power of the Sacred Jewel!" "Demons who were not completely subdued... are trying to revive!" "Damn!" "It's the power of the Sacred Jewel!" "Demons who were not completely subdued... are trying to revive!" "What was that tremor?" "!" "Inuyasha!" "The Sacred Jewel is gone!" "Something's happening in Midoriko's cave!" "Old Myoga is missing." "Kagome, where's he, you know?" "Maybe he went with Inuyasha?" "No way!" "The old one wouldn't stick his nose into danger!" "Old Myoga, where are you?" "!" "Kirara?" "Kirara!" "Run!" "Call Inuyasha and Miroku!" "What's the matter, Kirara?" "I see!" "We must get the Jewel fragment back!" "Kirara!" "Demon spirits!" "They're transforming into fierce ones!" "Hang on, Kirara!" "Just won't do at all!" "T-that's...!" "Midoriko...!" "Hurry, Miroku!" "Found it!" "I cannot linger here with the Jewel fragment!" " I'm going out of the cave!" " Go!" "Now then..." "I know of only one creature who would do something so stupid..." "Oh, Master Inuyasha!" "Oh dear..." "Thank goodness nothing happened." "Cut it out, will ya!" "Why'd you bring the Jewel fragment into a place like this?" "!" "Well, Kirara wanted to..." "look inside the cave again..." "Lying again?" "!" "Err... no..." "The souls which still lingered... reacted to the light from the Sacred Jewel... and tried to revive." "I kind of expected it." "How can you brush it off so lightly when you almost died?" "You're so smooth with your talk!" "I shouldn't have saved you." "W-what?" "When was I saved by you?" "Wake up!" "And don't act dumb!" "I'm not acting dumb!" "I was saved by Priestess Midoriko!" "You can sleep talk in your sleep!" "Old Myoga who investigated the story of the Sacred Jewel feels... it was impossible for one priestess to battle so many demons... no matter how strong her spiritual power." "Perhaps, Midoriko had a brilliant vassal at her side..." "The Demon Slayer Sango has decided to join us!" "Is it me, or does Miroku look happy?" "A village suffers from flood... and their Water God demands a sacrifice." "What kind of god would say... he'd prevent disaster only if the village people gave up their children?" "This could be a demon with a Sacred Jewel fragment." "Next, "The Lake of the Evil Water God"." "Don't miss it!"