I want to shine on you, and always like that dazzling sun.
I will defend you from all the darkness.
This is the truth from my heart.
If only our hearts could connect, I could get you to believe me.
Even if you can't see it now, don't lose it.
Your kindness won't be in vain.
You'll be carried aloft by the wind to somewhere that isn't here.
You'll cross the sea and cross time, and I know you'll blossom one day.
Whatever the day, I'll be there for you.
I hope I can watch over you like the sun for all time.
This is the truth from my heart.
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit This is the truth from my heart.
It's still here!
Chagum?
Chagum!
Episode 24 The Last Hope
What happened to Chagum?
Balsa!
I'm coming with you!
Come on then!
Calm yourselves!
Remain calm!
Regroup into your teams!
Squads one and two, accompany me in pursuit of the prince...
Hold on there.
Don't be so hasty!
If this place is the land of feasting, the boy will come back eventually.
After all, the egg is supposed to hatch at dawn tomorrow.
Perhaps, but...
Leave the pursuit to that bunch.
You'll never be able to catch up with them.
What the two of us ought to be doing is exchanging information.
Am I right?
Yes...yes, of course.
Perhaps you're right.
Men! Set up bonfires along the pond's periphery!
We mustn't allow the Rarunga to attack again when the prince returns!
Make your preparations at once!
Yes, sir!
Mistress Torogai, the epitaphs hidden beneath the palace...
...say much the same thing that you told us in Toumi village.
It says the guardian of the spirit will be ripped apart by the egg-eater.
However, we had the good fortune...
...to learn that Rarunga could be kept at bay with fire.
Could you tell me exactly what it said?
On this day 200 years ago, our founding father used fire...
...to rescue a Yakoo child named Sigul from the Rarunga.
However, the egg exists between Nayug and Sagu...
...not within the child itself.
Apparently, the Nyunga Ro Chaga has no means to deliver the egg himself.
As I thought, the only way for the egg to come out is if it's eaten by a Rarunga?
Master Star Reader Nanai seems to...
...have observed the events in minute detail.
He and a Yakooan magic weaver who had accompanied them...
...tried desperately to extract the egg.
And then, just when their spell was on the verge of success...
...the child was torn apart by a Rarunga...
...which had come once again from Nayug.
What became of the egg after that?
Moments after the Rarunga tore the child apart and swallowed it...
...they witnessed an orb glowing with a blue light shoot from its mouth.
After that, something called a" nahjil" carried it away.
However, this term " nahjil" does not exist in our language.
Do you have any idea what this nahjil might be?
Yes.
It means a nahji, I expect.
The birds in the Yakoo rice-planting song.
Oh, I see...
Damn it all...
I had hoped that the answers you brought would answer everything...
...but they've left us with more difficult problems than ever.
Then you do not know any spells to extract the egg, either?
No. I won't have any idea what I might try until it actually happens.
And even assuming that I manage to extract the egg...
...who's to say that a nahji will come to us?
That's true...
This isn't good...
Damn. I can't even find any footprints.
It's possible that Chagum is moving from tree to tree.
Tree to tree?
Right. You saw him do it too, didn't you?
Chagum ran on top of the water.
The egg intends to lead the Rarunga on a chase until dawn to protect itself.
That's probably also the reason why Chagum ate that shigu salua flower.
The scent of flowers attracts creatures of Nayug.
Also...
You lost sight of the prince too?
Meaning that you didn't have any luck, either?
No.
We chased after the Rarunga, but it suddenly disappeared.
And as you said, Prince Chagum fled by leaping from tree to tree.
He moved so quickly that not even we could keep up with him.
You there. Where do you believe the prince is headed?
I don't know for sure, but if Aoike really is the land of feasting...
...he might return by daybreak.
At any rate, Chagum is under the control of the egg right now.
Wandering around the forest isn't going to accomplish anything.
Commander, should we return to Aoike for the time being?
We mustn't ! Even if His Highness really is being controlled by the egg...
...what if he is attacked by a Rarunga?
I'm also against returning to Aoike.
If that's the Land of Feasting...
...and he's running from the Rarunga until sunrise, why would he do that?
He deliberately fled into the forest. Don't you think there's a reason?
Indeed. I agree with what the spear-wielder says.
According to Master Shuga's deductions...
...the Rarunga would not attack until dawn.
There must have been some sort of miscalculation.
In which case, our only option is to locate Chagum ourselves.
So it would seem.
Where do you intend to go?
You're going to follow that riverbed farther upstream?
The Rarunga will come again...
It's a good thing that we don't have to fight those people.
It's clear even to me just how skilled they are.
You think so?
Spear-wielder.
There's one question I had been meaning to ask if we ever met again.
That first time we crossed swords, our team of four failed to kill you.
I do not believe it we were overly confident in our superior numbers.
Why didn't you kill us that night?
I believe you could have killed all of us had you wished to.
No reason in particular.
I had just agreed to save someone, so I thought it would defeat the purpose...
...if I killed someone else in the process.
I see.
If it had been because you were looking down on us...
...I had planned to settle the matter here and now to redeem our honor.
But it would seem we were outmatched all along.
Soon, when we find ourselves in a cataclysmic battle...
...we will follow you without hesitation.
Stop that. You're embarrassing me.
My magic allows me to see the egg inside the boy.
However, I've never been able to touch it.
Even so, if we can find some other way to interact with Nayug, maybe I...
What was that?
What's that commotion?
Master Shuga! Is Master Shuga here?
Master Shuga, I have a message from Master Gakai.
Aoike is not the land of feasting!
Saanan, the land of feasting, is located somewhere else entirely!
What? What do you mean?
He says that Saanan's precise location is recorded on these tablets.
If this isn't the land of feasting, we're in trouble...
Indeed.
I'd say that it's about three bells before dawn.
I can't believe it. How could we have missed something so important?
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit
Incredible!
Written here is a scene that is identical to what we witnessed not long ago.
Two hundred years ago, another child ate a flower...
...and disappeared into the forest, leading the Rarunga after him.
Also, it would seem that in Nayug, this location is the Rarunga's lair.
The child ate the flower to get the Rarunga to follow it, then?
Yes.
Also, it says that Saanan is some twenty nan to the north of here.
Twenty nan? We'll be lucky to cover that distance by daybreak.
I will gather my forces, and we will leave at once.
Right, but first we should tell those who went on ahead about this.
But we--
Calm down.
Luck is still on our side, since that nitwit Tanda wouldn't leave her.
If this pond is a location that overlaps with Nayug, this ought to work.
Commander.
Seems to be no doubt about it.
No, sir.
They lead up that riverbed.
If he's come back down to the ground...
...he might be planning to attract the egg-eater again.
Let's try following the river.
Right.
All right, it worked...
Now we have to pray that Tanda spots it.
If those young pups of yours have joined forces with Balsa...
...they'll probably turn up too.
They'll be a lot more useful than this bunch here.
It'll be a lucky break for us if they reach Saanan before we do.
You know how to ride a horse? We'll ride on ahead on that.
Tell your troops to follow after us.
We can't let that egg hatch without us!
Right!
Who said that?
Hey, Balsa!
Come look at this!
Did he find something?
Let's go check it out.
What's the matter? Did you find something?
Someone is calling me.
...Tanda...
Y-Yes, that's right. My name is Tanda.
...Torogai...
...Chagum...
The land of feasting is twenty nan to the north.
Chagum is headed there too.
Is that all?
What in the world are you doing?
I just got a message from the Mistress.
I know where Chagum is headed.
Chagum is headed for a place called Saanan...
...one of the Aoyumi's headwaters.
Apparently, that's the real land of feasting.
Your hunch was right, Balsa.
Which means we have to reach it before dawn!
It's less than three bells to sunrise!
They're following on our heels, right?
Yes. They are an elite, handpicked force.
I am certain that they will catch up with us.
If we get there, and it's just us two...
Certainly not an ideal scenario...
...but if that should be the case, I shall protect the prince myself!
Look at this.
Yes, it's Chagum's .
It hasn't been long since he passed through here.
Out of the way!
It's those two creatures from before.
Are they looking for the prince?
Looks that way.
They're much more visible than they were this afternoon, though.
Did they catch his scent?
We can see them... why can't we hit them?
Damn!
It's no use! It won't work unless the Rarunga is trying to interact with Sagu!
Tanda!
What did you do? How could you touch it?
These.
When the Rarunga appeared at Aoike...
...the only things it affected were the roots and blossoms of these flowers.
I thought I should bring some along just in case.
Looks like it was the right call.
If we eat these like Chagum did, we'll be able to touch the Rarunga too.
The downside is that we'll also be at risk of being killed by those things.
You're hurt!
Balsa, these flowers are our last hope.
Can you use these to save Chagum?
Yes.
As I sat huddled and alone, holding back the tears on those nights...
When it felt like I was about to succumb to my doubts...
...there you were, at my side before I knew it.
It was none other than you who was there for me.
I keep wishing, "I want to be strong." I stumble and hurt myself again.
But because I have you to believe in, I can get back to my feet.
I simply want to tell my dear one, "Thank you."
At the top of my lungs, again and again.
I call out to my precious loved one.
Is my voice reaching you?
In this world that always changes, human warmth never does.
I'm certain I sensed the presence of the one that I hold dear.
After the passage of a hundred years, the promised day dawns.
Saanan is a place of celebration where living things go to kindle new life.
Next time, "Celebration."
Father, child, and mother will celebrate together there.