"Tenpo Year 15 (1844) First Month Tsukudashima" "Up we go!" "Go ahead!" "Another great haul today, Teizan!" "Yeah!" "Hey, these are Tsukudashima's fishing grounds!" "You should know that, boatman!" "But..." "Don't be so insolent!" "Insolent?" "Tsukudashima is a respectable village with a long history, granted the right to fish whitebait by the Lord Ieyasu." "And we are vassals, who serve to protect the same Tokugawa." "Fishing for whitebait cannot even be called real fishing." "Fishing grounds are of no concern to us!" "What did you do that for?" "!" "Today, I will fish up some large gobies!" "But even if you fish up some gobies now, it is too late for New Year's soup." "We should aim for the first of the spring whitings." "You have a point." "Damn it..." "Are you all right?" "Pop..." "I know." "The mark on the brow of whitebait resembles the mitsuba-aoi crest, and they are specially recognized as goods fit for the Shogun." "We are..." "That's..." "What are you saying?" "Come." "Time to fish!" "Or we will only have pickled radish for breakfast." "What in the world was..." "Incredible..." "Hey!" "The Divine Comedy of Ayashi" "Inferno One" " The River of Wailing" "If a fisherman were to be eaten by the fish, that would be a topsy-turvy tale." "You saved me?" "I was just fishing, is all." "And then I fished you up." "I hear vassals have been encouraged to take up fishing lately..." "Yeah." "Because there are fewer pleasures to be had due to the Reform." "But a great number of them have disappeared." "Ultimately, fishing is but a sport." "To lose one's life in its pursuit is shameful to a warrior household, so the families seek desperately to hide it." "Have you seen a monster?" "A monster that eats vassals?" "Such a thing couldn't possibly exist!" "Besides, what would you even do if you knew?" "Eat it." "Are you an agent of the town magistrate?" "I'm just a vagrant." "So, fish touched by a vagrant isn't fit to eat, eh?" "Hey, Teizan!" "We've been looking for you." "To think the current had taken you this far..." "Pop..." "That's a leader." "To tie on to the main line." "It's called silkworm gut." "It's a thin line that can only be gotten overseas." "All the vassals use this." "Hold it!" "Let go!" "Damn it all!" "I swear!" "How many times do you have to get caught before you get tired of this?" "!" "Hah!" "We have a new senior councilor now and the Reform is over, isn't it?" "!" "Even so, the ban on unlicensed red-light districts is still in full force..." "Wha..." "Ink?" "!" "In other words..." "Nothing changes in the end, no matter who is in charge?" "Chief Horses'" "Eyes." "You're..." "Some can only support their families by doing what they do." "Are you Ayashi still chasing after monsters?" "Well, it isn't as if we receive any wages for it." "Say, what's going on?" "With Lord Mizuno no longer a senior councilor," "I thought everything would change." "But there are as many bans as ever and Lord Torii is still the South Magistrate." "That is the way of the world." "Hey, hold it!" "Hey!" "Academia Universalis" "Academia Universalis Pardon me for not even coming to pay my respects after that." "Pardon me for not even coming to pay my respects after that." "I hear all of you have enjoyed ever-greater advancement." "Congratulations." "So you were in Edo, as I had expected." "My father in Nagasaki has pronounced that I am disowned, so I am living here, availing myself upon Master Uchida's hospitality." "Disowned..." "So you cannot complain, even if you are treated as a ronin..." "Well, fine." "Are you still involved in that Ayashi business?" "By the looks of things, you seem to have hit some hard times." "The case of people disappearing near Okawa River." "You know of it?" "I have followed it since last year, but I still cannot determine if it is the work of Youi or not." "There is someone who saw what appears to be a Youi in Tsukudashima." "Lord Atobe..." "No, Lord Magistrate..." "We cannot have more vassals disappearing." "If things go well," "I shall also propose to Lord Doi to reconsider backing the Ayashi." "Lord Doi is now the head senior councilor." "The world is ours." "There." "Upon the Lord Ieyasu's settling in Edo, your ancestors from Tsukuda Village in Mikawa were summoned to Edo, but it was not to present whitebait." "In truth, your ancestors were secret agents, known as the Tsukuda Group." "We are fishermen." "They settled in Tsukudashima under that pretense, for the reason that this is the edge of Edo Bay, and none other." "In other words, it is your duty to serve as guards, watching for any and all evil that would attempt to enter Edo Bay." "Oh, no need to hide it." "It is written as so in the old records." "That may have been true of our ancestors, but..." "Even now, we have kept our skills honed." "In the belief that someday, we would surely be given orders!" "We are the Tsukuda Group!" "We believed that a time would come when the Shogun would need us!" "Senior Councilor Lord Abe of Ise has orders for you." "The Shogunate did not establish the Barbarian Knowledge Enforcement out of charity or for their amusement." "I know." "Lord Abe and Lord Atobe needed pawns of their own in order to unseat Lord Mizuno." "Organizations do not show lenience towards those of no value to them." "If you prove to be of no value, the Ayashi will surely become unnecessary again." "However, slaying Youi is something that serves the good of the people." "If Lord Atobe has also realized that now..." "I am an Ayashi." "I have no need for swords." "Are you really sure about this?" "Yes!" "My!" "There goes a somewhat handsome fellow!" "My..." "There goes a rather disappointing fellow..." "Are there no exceedingly handsome fellows out there?" "Boss!" "My!" "A handsome fellow!" "He has not had any Youi flesh to eat, so..." "Did you not force him to at least eat something?" "He claims not eating gives him greater strength to slay Youi." "That is absurd..." "There is nothing else left for us, Boss." "Ayashi!" "Ayashi who slay Youi!" "That is all we desire." "If even that is lost to us..." "We will no longer know what we are living for!" "Saizo..." "Lately, I cannot help but think..." "With Lord Doi the head senior councilor," "I had thought the world might become somewhat better, but nothing has changed." "We valiantly declared we would continue as Ayashi, but we cannot even make enough for a living." "So we are happy." "The Boss came to see us for the first time in a while." "And it reaffirms that we are Ayashi, after all." "Is Ryudo in Yoshiwara?" "First bonito of the season?" "That's a May thing." "I know that." "But the first bonito..." "Your hands are idle." "They have ships they use to transport the first bonito of the season, right?" "Yeah." "The faster they reach Edo, the more they sell for." "So they need fast ships." "Is there any way I could borrow one of those ships?" "What?" "Yukiatsu." "Ogasawara is here." "Things will have to be settled soon, after all..." "The River of Wailing, is it?" "What is that?" "In the West, a man named Dante wrote a book called "The Divine Comedy"." "According to it, those who go to Hell for the gravest of sins are sent to suffer in a place called the River of Wailing." "It just suddenly came to mind." "The gravest of sins?" "What's that?" "Betrayal." "I hear only people who have received special permission live here." "Doesn't matter." "First, we'll have to find this person who supposedly saw the Youi." "Get back!" "A harpoon?" "!" "You have good instincts." "That makes you even more suspicious." "Prepare yourself!" "Who are you people?" "You came to the island without permission!" "You should be the first to identify yourselves!" "We are called Ayashi." "We have come here on the word of Lord Atobe, the Finance Magistrate." "As we thought." "How dare you have the audacity to come here?" "!" "We heard that the Ayashi are a group who would harm the Shogunate." "Mountain People, heretical priests, theatre folk, vagrants, ronin..." "We have heard they are all people who have no place in this world." "So, they went with "heretical priest"..." "Ronin?" "Is that me?" "So it seems." "Are these people truly..." "You can tell by the way they look!" "These men are definitely not normal!" "Don't!" "We fight monsters." "Ordinary humans are not our enemies." "We were placed here in order to protect Edo!" "Secret agents, if you will." "I recall hearing such rumors." "That there are people who pretend to be whitebait fishermen, who actually guard Edo Bay." "But that is an old story." "We have been waiting all this time!" "To serve our true purpose!" "We are the ones who will truly protect Edo!" "Abi." "Right." "Abi." "Right." "Tell us!" "Who gave you this idea about us?" "!" "Please let my son go." "No." "We still have questions we want to ask." "Who told you that we were the enemy?" "Who was it?" "Was it Torii?" "It was the senior councilor Lord Abe." "Abe?" "The Lord of Ise?" "Yes." "You lie!" "Yes." "You lie!" "We were also informed by Lord Abe and his people..." "So he tried to set us against the Tsukuda Group?" "Damn it!" "Wha..." "Stop this!" "Let go!" "Saizo..." "Pop!" "Pop!" "People commit evil deeds with good intentions." "Never forget about those you cut down until the day you die." "I won't." "Everyone, pull out!" "Talk about pulling out all you want." "It looks like our boat is gone." "It doesn't appear as if they'll just let us go home." "Our opponents are humans." "We cannot fight further..." "Then do you want to die?" "I don't!" "Saizo!" "I'm sorry!" "Here it comes!" "Die!" "I'll be damned if I die." "Now, come on out." "Your food for today is them!" "Devour them!" "What is that?" "So this is the one." "The Youi that's been eating the vassals." "A gigantic whitebait, is that it?" "No, this is silkworm gut." "They say they cut into the gut of live moth larvae and take out the freshly made thread." "Millions of live insects have this thread drawn out from them." "This is the materialized form of their bitter grudge." "No..." "A secret technique known to the Tsukuda Group gave life to her." "Our power!" "She devours the vassals who spend all their time amusing themselves!" "And that equates to protecting Edo and the Shogunate!" "All is ready!" "Now, devour them!" "Stop this!" "That thing is a Youi!" "If only you had been earnest and begged for your lives!" "Go!" "What are you doing?" "!" "I mean those men down there!" "Thanks." "You're not getting away!" "Be careful!" "It's getting away!" "But we have no way to go after it." "As I thought." "It is often used for fishing these days." "Yukiatsu!" "We have what you requested!" "This thing is fast." "Bear with it." "We will have Youi to eat soon." "It's coming into view!" "Stay back!" "I will finish it!" "Where did it go?" "Ahead!" "Since it has come to this, I will do it!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" "No use!" "It's going to take it!" "We can do no more!" "Ryudo!" "Where am I?" "Inside the Youi's stomach?" "Help..." "So, this Youi is what is in your heart, after all." "Even your desire to protect Edo was probably not wholly untrue." "There's nothing I can do now." "You beg for your life from this Youi." "Having fallen in love with a Youi, that's how you chose to live, isn't it?" "!" "How is it, Abi?" "Is it ready?" "!" "It's ready." "I'm taking one." "The first taste in half a year." "Is it that irresistible?" "Apparently." "It smells so good!" "What?" "!" "Hey, that was my share!" "Here's the last one." "That's small!" "Ryudo!" "When he came after us, as the senior councilor had told him to, he ceased to be that Youi's master." "Betrayal..." "He betrayed himself." "This is fine." "Lord Ogasawara..." "There is no knowing what Lord Atobe and Lord Abe are thinking." "We must lie low for now..." "Go quickly!" "Are you Hozaburo Ogasawara?" "!" "Go quickly!" "Are you Hozaburo Ogasawara?" "!" "Engaging in a private battle with the fishermen of Tsukudashima, you took their lives in cold blood!" "It is unpardonable!" "You will be arrested and this matter will be closely examined!" "They attacked us first!" "Run, Saizo!" "Edogen!" "But Lord Ogasawara..." "Go!" "So you are Hozaburo Ogasawara?" "None other." "Kumoshichi." "You brought some unusual cargo." "Lawmen will be arriving here shortly." "What?" "Atobe and Abe have decided to apprehend the Ayashi and pass judgment upon them." "To erase all evidence that they were ever involved with Ayashi." "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" "It is where sinners and angels alike are burned by hellfire." "A Hell that continues to burn eternally." "Its name is the fortified City of Dis." "The Divine Comedy of Ayashi." "Inferno Two." "Next Time Inferno Two" " The City of Dis The Divine Comedy of Ayashi." "Inferno Two." "Next Time Inferno Two" " The City of Dis"