There is a land where dragons dwell.
While it may seem unfathomable to even consider a sacred pact between man and dragon,
it is undeniably true that even in this age of great scientific progress,
these dragons, and the dragon dentists who devote their lives to protecting them,
do indeed exist.
Lookout to bridge! We have visual on flagship Daboia Russellii flying her battle colors!
Confirming visuals on the Lagarto doing the same!
Flash signal from the Lagarto in the Fourth Flotilla.
"Crossing turn-point."
Fourth Flotilla Veer five degrees starboard and ready the torpedoes!
Fourth Flotilla maintaining single file formation and increasing speed!
Signal incoming from the flagship!
"Still no visual on enemy fleet."
All ships hold battle formation and keep alert for all communications!
Rogen
Order a response to the flagship. Send a relay to all ships.
Signal the flagship! Relay to all ships!
Muzzle blast sighted! 40 degrees dead ahead!
Nonsense. You're just seeing that storm.
They're still too far away to be of any concern.
Captain, our lookouts report they still haven't spotted any ship masts on the horizon.
Sir, I've never heard of ships engaging from a distance like this before.
Do you think the Fourth Flotilla could have been intercepted?
There's always the possibility...
But, this is the perfect opportunity!
Judging by the scale of that cannon fire, this is a powerful fleet that also includes some battleships.
It must be the enemy's main force!
Indeed.
And it would appear they have yet to pinpoint our exact location.
We should hold course for the original plan.
The Fourth Flotilla should continue to block their port side.
That will buy us the time we need to cut them off.
And give us the chance we need to deal a decisive blow.
Signal incoming from the flagship!
"Follow our lead. Full speed. Hold rudder.
Ready right cannons!"
There's the opening we need.
Victory may smile upon us yet.
We've lost the flagship Daboia Russellii!
They've been hit?! So it WAS cannon fire!
There's no way they could have a lock on our location!
Evade hard starboard! Evade hard starboard!
How can they hit us from so far away?
Are they psychic or something?
We need to return fire!
We don't have their position! We'll be wasting our ammunition!
So be it!
Prepare all cannons! Launch a barrage portside at the unidentified target!
Estimated thirty thousand!
Ready cannons!
Barrage fire portside at unidentified target!
Estimated thirty thousand!
What's going on? Why are our shells exploding mid-air?
There's something hiding up there.
Move move move! Abandon ship! Get off before you sink with it!
Someone get a stretcher over here!
Captain?
Captain!
This is... the power of a dragon...
Kokorogawari wa nanika no sei?
Anmari noriki ja nakatta no ni
Tokyo Tower kara tsuzuiteku michi
Kimi wa kanzen ni hashaideru no sa
Hitoke no nai aki no nagisa
Bokura dake ni hirakeru sora
Genki de ite to gyutto dakishimete
Kuko e saki o isogu no sa
Tooku made tabi suru koibito ni
Afureru shiawase o inoru yo
Bokura no sumu kono sekai de wa taiyou ga itsumo nobori
Yorokobi to kanashimi ga toki ni tazuneru
TENGU MUQHI!
What's a Night Howler mushi doing out here this close to dawn?
You're sure up early, Nonoko.
Shibana...
Good morning.
What brings you out here?
I couldn't sleep.
You noticed too, didn't you?
Hm?
Sure enough, even those Cavity mushi who were out running around last night are asleep right now.
You've gotten the hang of this, huh?
Of course. I'm a dragon dentist, just like you.
You might want to wash your face before you start work, though.
Glow mushi?
Why are there so many?
Nonoko!
Stop! Nonoko!
What?
That boy's a revenant!
It would seem we have a visitor.
Oh, great...
His hair is beautiful...
Yikes.
So this fella here is a revenant, is he?
Indeed.
What's a revenant, exactly?
A sign that something bad is going to happen.
They say that right before some great calamity,
the dead brought back to life by the dragon will emerge like this from beyond its teeth.
So this kid died somewhere out there?
We would have all been fine if she had just let him be.
I think our boy here's an enemy officer.
Probably just some rich kid who bought his way to the top.
Probably the pride and joy of some snooty family.
What the...? Where am I?
Welcome to Hanagaki, Yazuka-Oh, Petwamsa.
You're on top of a dragon!
"Dragon"...?
This place... is a dragon?
That must mean...
you're the dragon dentists, aren't you?!
Huh?
Let me go!
The Third Peace Treaty strictly forbids the use of force against unarmed POWs!
This fella sure sounds like a pain.
Now he's in for some hard learnin'.
Lucky him, eh?
Right?
Let me go!
No!
This is for your own good.
I don't know how you met your end down there, but your war ended with it.
Honestly... I could do without the dire omens.
She's right. Whaddya wanna do with this guy?
Ouch!
Sir, are you hurt?
Goh, here comes that Ozawa guy.
A real working-man, that one.
I will be taking that boy off your hands from here!
Well, good morning, boys.
We've received a report of the appearance of an enemy officer down in the teeth at sunup.
Saves me the trouble of explaining, then.
All those who emerge from the teeth are dragon dentists.
We cannot hand him over to you.
You really gonna take this fella in?
He literally came out of the dragon's teeth!
That means he's a dragon dentist, right?
Right?
Godo, just give me two hours.
No, one hour would be fine.
He'll be released to you as soon as we're finished questioning him.
I don't think you have that sort of jurisdiction down here.
Let's let the dentists handle what happens down here in the teeth, yeah?
The dragon might have helped us out at sea in Unashiri,
but half of the southern province is still in enemy hands.
We need any intel we can get on the enemy's movements.
He's just a kid.
It's not like I'm going to beat him half to death.
Not gonna happen. Us dentists aren't quite like you in the service.
I'm begging you.
You know how the Dragon's Commandments work.
Do you truly have no desire to save your fellow countrymen?!
At the cost of even more lives of our enemies, you mean?
Sir, are you just going to let this be?
The Dragon's Commandments are law.
Nonoko, you found the kid.
Now you can teach him the works.
You're putting me in charge of him?
Okay!
I'll make him the best dentist you've ever seen!
Alright, that's our cue.
We've got another busy day ahead of us!
You still haven't eaten yet?
I bet you can't even get your hands on rice this good back in your coun...
Godo told me, you know.
He said revenants are those who have no place left to live.
You aren't back here by your own choice, right? The dragon decided as much for you.
Shibana!
But just think about it.
It's not like any of us chose to be born into this world.
It just happens.
One day we're here and we just have to keep living.
See? You ARE hungry. Just eat.
A reserve officer at your age...
Your parents must have really been something.
Must have been a nice life.
They were both medics... in the military.
"Were"?
They both died when I was little.
You're just like me, then.
You're no draft conscript, though.
You did as you were told, entering the academy for the sake of the family name,
and have drifted along ever since.
How can you tell all that?
He doesn't have the look of a soldier to him.
That's the face of someone who's never made a choice for himself.
He can't even decide whether to eat or not to eat by himself.
Being alive means you always have to make a choice.
Do you eat or do you starve?
Do you fight or do you die?
Wha-?!
Pretty good, right?
First my own men double crossed me...
Now here I am, prisoner to the enemy's dragon dentists...
Mind telling me your name?
Bell...
I'm Nonoko!
You can just call me "Big Sis."
And that's Shibana, your other Big Sis!
Nonoko?
Alright.
EVEN IN VICTDEV, ONE MU§T £7349 EE§OLUTE Bell, once you're done, it's straight to work for you!
Wh-what?!
We have to purify ourselves. Get undressed.
Not just anybody gets to be a dragon dentist, you know?!
But if there's one thing you should remember, it's this...
Dragons speak to us through their teeth!
Here he is!
Come on. Are we really gonna let him do this?
You bet we are! Right?
Huh?
All sorts of stuff comes out from the dragon's teeth.
This morning, you popped out from one of them,
but usually we just deal with these Cavity mushi here.
The tiny ones there are Froth mushi.
The bigger, pointier ones are Prickle mushi.
These little guys are more like wild spirits than wild animals.
They usually don't bother humans or anything.
But as the war gets more hectic, they start to pop up, eating away at the teeth.
Our "invincible" dragon's ultimate weakness lies right here.
It can't use its powers if it gets a cavity.
One, two...!
The dragon dentists work to keep the teeth cavity-free.
We gather up the small but lively little Cavity mushi.
It's just another part of the job.
We gather them up in bags, they solidify, and then we use that as...
Here, hold this for a second.
And we use that as a sort of anti-cavity medicine.
Just be careful though, cause sometimes there are these red, shiny ones mixed in.
We call those red ones antidents, and they're super dangerous to us dentists, too.
You moron!
One drop of the stuff and you'll lose your whole arm.
We don't let little kids like you anywhere near that stuff.
Woah!
Ouch!
Nonoko! Why I oughta...!
Shut up, you old fart!
We've got a Cap mushi here!
It's a 2.5, no, maybe a 3! It's huge!
Get outta there! Run!
Bell! This way! Hurry! Get outta there! Run!
Bell! This way! Hurry!
Cap mushi get all worked up at the smell of human flesh!
Bell!
That idiot!
You're a feisty one, aren't you?!
You're up next, Arisugawa!
Past our prime, are we, Gramps?
Who you callin' "Gramps"?!
Bell! You okay?
Hey, newbie, quit slackin'!
At least get over here and help pick up some of this junk!
I swear... You're friggin' useless!
This is...
This stuff is from back home...
It's beautiful.
I guess it's kind of weird that we find all this stuff here every day, huh?
Who does this all belong to?
Even I couldn't tell you that.
But...
Look here.
What is all that?
Tartar mushi.
These little guys are rock hard, so we remove them bit by bit each day.
Go ahead, touch them.
They're not gonna bite?
You'll be fine.
I don't know why, but these little things really make me laugh.
C'mon, gimme your hand!
Well? What do you think?
Pretty lively, aren't they?
When you touch these little guys, you hear all these happy voices deep inside the teeth.
Huh? This is weird...
What's wrong? Why are you crying?
These are all voices of people who have died, aren't they?
Huh?
The voices of all the dead are passing through the dragon's teeth...
All those things we just picked up, those probably belonged to the dead, too.
You can tell all of that?
It's not just people from your country, either, but people from mine, too.
As all these people pass through on their way to the afterlife, they just...
Maybe it's because it's too much of a burden, or they just don't need it anymore, but...
I guess they leave behind everything they can't take with them.
That's incredible, Bell.
What really is this dragon, anyway?
Are there still traces of my parents left wandering somewhere inside here?
I wonder if there's any meaning to all of this.
Or to the fact that I'm here at all.
Ikiru koto
Anmari muitenai
Kamisama mo danmari
Shiwakucha na sentakumono sura
Tatamenai mama
Futon e to
SALON SHIBANA
Kakureru
Koko wa nagare nagare nagaretsuku basho
Daremo umare umare umare nagara ni
Dokoka shikataga nai to akirameteiru
Mabuta o tojitara
Kinou ga shiranai
Ashita ga hora kakurenbo
Boku wa sa
Kage 0 sagasu
Soshite nonde nomarete
ltsumo yoru no aida nukegara
Boku wa sa
Nofice Soap, singing, and loud voices prohibiied in bafh area Managemeni Aiseta nara
Mou kono sekai o nikumanakutemo iinda
Kitto kitto
Dareka no sei ni nante
Shinakute sumun datte
Yatto yume o mireru ne
Eating on the job again?
Everyone's on break! What's the big deal?!
You look like some kinda animal, eating on your feet like that!
Fine! I'll sit down then!
Oomph...
New orders from up top. The dragon is heading south.
The Southern Province, the fallen lands of Nagamanago.
Right on the front lines.
Ozawa and the others are all on edge.
They're even mobilizing their precious cavalry garrison.
Guess this means word of a counteroffensive was spot on.
With the cavities around tooth 60 in the first left row as bad as they are?
We're running pretty low on people up here.
That's why, as of today, I'm putting Bell out there in charge of his own teeth.
You're up for it, right?
Inn:
I just want to help the souls that are passing through the teeth.
Good. Because that's exactly the kind of work we do.
Good job, Bell! Keep leading it that way!
Okay!
Just keep running, you idiot!
That was cutting it close.
But you did good.
What's going on over here?!
Godo!
Get back, quick!
What the heck is that?
Whatever it is, it doesn't look friendly!
Uh-oh. This is bad...
That's a Tengu mushi!
"Tengu mushi"?!
Work's been so busy lately, I almost forgot about this.
Look out!
That thing feeds on human flesh!
Last time one showed up, we lost almost all our dentists!
Where did a monster like that come from?
My bet is it's all that revenant's fault.
No way!
The heck's going on here?!
That thing can warp through the dragon's teeth!
This has gone from bad to worse!
Where'd this thing come from?!
It's way too fast!
Where is it now?!
After it!
What's a Cavity mushi doing all the way up here?
Prepare to fire! Avoid hitting the dragon at all costs!
Fire!
Hey! You alright?!
My leg! Oh God, my leg!
What is this monstrosity? My leg! Oh God, my leg!
Pull your men back! The dentists will handle this.
First you tell me off down below, and now this?!
They're working to save that tooth down below.
We need to put this thing down up here.
What the heck is going on down at the root?!
There's serious damage to the gums.
They're gonna give out under the weight at this rate!
Tie it to the other teeth to get some pressure off of it!
Shuzo!
I'm fine...
Hey, newbie! Get out here and help!
Right!
Are you out of your mind?!
You of all people know how dangerous that thing is!
Shibana!
Gem!
Forget about met Get that mush“.!
What a rush!
This is no time to laugh!
Sure it is! What a great time to be alive!
Yes! There! Get me that rope!
We don't have enough people up top!
Somebody drop us a rope!
We need another post! Somebody drop us a rope!
Don't let it hit that tooth!
Nonoko! Stay clear of there!
That thing could come back at any moment!
That thing'll kill you just so it can go eat your nice fresh soul again inside the teeth!
Tengu mushi...!
Nonoko!
What is this?
Dying never does get easy, does it?
Shuzo!
It's starting to falter!
Now's our chance! Get it!
Shuzo!
Antident?!
So that's what weakened it for us...
Today was Shuzo's time to face the Oncoming Verge.
Let's all gather to honor him.
Hey!
Leave them be.
He was a dragon dentist.
Let the Carrion mushi eat him so he can be one with the teeth.
Nonoko...?
Today, at the sixteenth hour, Shuzo Sato served his final duty as a dentist.
And so we gather here to celebrate him and his Oncoming Verge.
To his memory!
To his memory.
This just isn't right.
How can you celebrate what happened today?
Do you think he really wanted to die out there?
No one would choose to die like that!
The boy is brave.
What's it look like down there? Those props still up?
Might want to tie it a bit tighter.
Think we'll need a number four?
Do you even feel anything after losing him, Nonoko?
Of course I do. I'll miss him now that he's gone.
Right before it happened, I thought I saw some sort of apparition of him.
Oh, yeah.
I guess you wouldn't know about any of that, being a revenant and all.
All the rest of us dragon dentists, we have to take this sort of test.
Only those who are chosen by the dragon get to go on to become its dentists.
We call what you saw the Oncoming Verge, but it's really the day you die.
Does that mean you're gonna die, too?
Everyone dies, you know.
But every one of us dragon dentists, we all know exactly how it'll happen to us.
I saw it, too, down inside the dragon's teeth.
I saw the day my life comes to an end.
It was about half a year back now when I took my test.
Until then, I had just been working in the kitchen at this inn.
I never really thought much of it.
Everyone around me did pretty much the same.
But one day, I heard that the dragon dentists got to eat fresh rice every single day.
The very next evening I got up and left everything behind, just like that.
Calling it a test is all fine and good, but this "test" can get you killed.
Listen up!
Calling it a test is all fine and good, but this "test" can get you killed.
Last night, you all were given the rare treat of some rice and curry.
They made us all sign forms, and as for the other guys taking this test... Last night, you all were given the rare treat of some rice and curry.
They made us all sign forms, and as for the other guys taking this test... But that's it. Don't forget you all are still nothing out here.
Yeah, hardly your honest-looking types. But that's it. Don't forget you all are still nothing out here.
Yeah, hardly your honest-looking types. But that's fine! You're all here to change that by taking this test.
I still don't know how I was able to commit to this so easily. But that's fine! You're all here to change that by taking this test.
I still don't know how I was able to commit to this so easily.
So let me speak from experience and give you one piece of advice.
But... So let me speak from experience and give you one piece of advice.
Now listen up, you hear?
Dragons speak to us through their teeth!
Who's there?
Are you supposed to be the dragon?
Not quite. I'm the soldier here to put an end to you.
See?
Oh! But...
you're pretty handsome, at least!
You really must be shaken up pretty bad.
I'm pretty happy that I get to be the one to kill you.
I mean, the only way to take down the dragon is through its teeth, right?
With that thing chock full of cavities, we'll be able to kill so many more of your pals.
Does that mean you're a bad guy?
This is war.
Go on now, if you wanna run on home, this is your last chance.
I guess I really am gonna die someday too...
Not just you. A whole lot of people are going to die.
But I...
I couldn't exactly tell you why or how, but I feel like I get it.
I know what I have to do.
You're the only one who made it back out here this round.
What about everyone else who was with me?
They're all one with the teeth now.
They probably couldn't face their fates. They probably tried to fight back.
That takes bravery.
But this dragon here doesn't care much for dissent.
Now then, from this moment on, you're a dragon dentist!
It's an honor to work with you, sir!
Well, until our Oncoming Verge, at least.
Okay! Time for work!
Oh, right...
What's your name?
My name is...
It's freezing.
Let's get one thing straight though. I'm never going to tell you about what I saw in there.
You don't really want to die though, right?
Why don't you make more of an effort to live?
I'd like to live a long life eating delicious food, but...
that's not gonna happen.
I'm just gonna do what I have to do and enjoy every meal I get until the day comes.
That's a sad excuse for a life.
How is just waiting around for the day you'll die any different than plain suicide?
Is living long really the only reason to live?
Yeah, that's good. Don't pull it any tighter.
Do you think maybe they can just handle the rest up top?
Nice work. Good job.
Did Shuzo ever tell you about today?
No.
No dragon dentist would ever tell anyone.
Not me. Not you.
Not even Takemoto.
His Oncoming Verge was twelve years ago, when that Tengu mushi first showed up.
I've never known anyone as calm and collected as that man.
We still didn't even know about antident back then.
It was only thanks to him that we just barely managed to take that thing down.
But there's no one left to tell that story now except for you and me, huh?
He never spoke a word of it to me, and I was like a brother to him.
And it wasn't only him, either.
We lost 25 dentists that day, but not a single one of them ever said a word about it.
They might have all known the day would come, but they weren't living in fear of it.
What's wrong?
Were you guys planning on getting hitched or something?
Wasn't hard to tell you were pretty fond of him.
That's all in the past. I don't miss him anymore.
Goh, what's this all about?
There was an explosion out there right before that Tengu mushi appeared today.
I had thought maybe it was from when the thing came bursting out, but...
Are you trying to say she did this?
There's also evidence that she was hiding a mushi.
She kept it locked away.
She made sure to feed it just enough to keep it alive, but locked up to keep it small.
It's been twelve years since we last faced that Tengu mushi.
The only ones here who even still know about it are you and me.
And you're the one who took care of the larva we found inside of it, Shibana!
Hang on just a minute!
Shibana might be young,
but she's a veteran dragon dentist who's been doing this even longer than me!
Why would she try and pull something like that all of a sudden?
Seriously!
Come on, Shibana, go ahead and set him straight!
We've been out there working hard every single day!
Why would you do anything to harm the dragon's teeth?!
What point is there in simply waiting to accept your death?
You're a dentist!
What more of a reason do any of us need for the work we do?
The Shibana that the dragon chose is... no more!
That's the Tengu mushi larva!
Sh-Sh-Sh...
Shibana?!
So you hid away a dragon tooth fragment in your mouth, huh?!
It's just perfect for hiding this darling away and letting it out to play here and there.
Also, these dragon teeth fit perfectly in our human mouths.
You've been suckling that thing for twelve whole years?
You took the very monster that took Takemoto from you, and raised it like your own child?
Maybe you might have noticed if you'd been more careful with that tongue of yours.
That's all in the past too, right?
You want to know what's left a worse taste in my mouth?
The ridiculous way you and all these dentists live your pathetic lives!
Enough!
Just close that mouth of yours and let's get that thing treated.
There's still time!
I'm afraid not.
I am already one with the mushi!
I've had enough of this dragon and its "destiny" nonsense.
Welcome to MY war!
Dragon's teeth truly are...
so sweet!
Are you alright?!
Shibana!
Godo!
You've gotten the hang of this, huh?
I'm a dragon dentist!
I've had about enough of that nonsense!
These supports aren't gonna hold out much longer. They need to be tied back up!
Nonoko!
Bell!
Nonoko! Bell!
Nonoko!
Wha-?!
Crap, has anything like this ever happened before?!
What even happens if that tooth falls to the surface?!
Well, whatever happens will happen. And that's all that'll happen.
We'll leave those two to the soldiers.
We've got teeth that need care up here!
All according to plan.
Time to get ourselves a dragon's tooth.
To BE CONTINUED