What's going on? It stopped moving.
Is it dead?
Benio Positive
Benio...
The way... I feel about you...
Ohagi Man
Residents of all cities and towns in the alert area, please evacuate immediately
Well... I'm broadcasting from within Kyoto.
Can you see what's going on behind me?
Evacuation order issued for all of Kyoto
Just what is the giant object in the distance?
Benio-sama? Are you feeling better?
It could be said to be humanoid in shape.
Cumulonimbus clouds seem to be forming in the sky above it,
A really big Kegare has appeared in Kyoto.
and while it seems to be inactive,
Giant Unidentified Creature Appears in Kyoto City
it's still considered dangerous, and utmost caution is advised.
There's an evacuation order... Things are really bad.
It's not a Kegare.
That's... Rokuro.
What did you say?!
That's... It can't be...
That's Rokuro?
I'm certain of it.
Benio-sama!
Adashino-san!
Kinako, please!
What're you gonna do, Benio-sama?
Not now! Just hurry!
Y-You got it!
Adashino-san!
You don't mean to go to Kyoto, do you?!
You can't do that in your condition!
We will return.
Together.
You know it's futile, but still feel the need to do something.
I suppose, considering your position, it's inevitable.
My position has nothing to do with it.
For a millennium, my fellow exorcists have dedicated their lives to our task.
I don't want that to be wasted.
It's that simple.
Performing a ritual to sacrifice yourself
will not even give the Cataclysm King pause.
Now that he has defeated Ijika Yuto,
the spell power that he had assimilated from Kuranashi and the Twelve Guardians
now dwells within the Cataclysm King.
That power is far beyond anything you could affect, even at the cost of your life.
You are one of the chosen.
Please, do not waste your life.
Benio-sama, isn't this where we faced that huge Kegare before?
Yes.
There was a bulb containing an enormous amount of spell power down here.
Because of that, the space here is still distorted.
We can use that to travel beneath the exorcists' base,
to the fifth layer of existence.
All right! Let's get going!
You've gotta be kidding me...
Urgent Disaster Alert Evacuations Ordered Rail Traffic Halted
That's... Rokuro?
Adashino-san said she was certain.
Benio-sama has fought at his side all this time.
We needn't doubt her.
Granny...
Kinu-san!
Jissama!
I won't let it end like this.
But why?
Fate's just too cruel!
Why must all of this happen to Benio-sama?!
This is...
Everyone here's wiped out, too!
Right...
How... How is this...
The baby is fine.
But why?
Benio-sama! The baby!
It couldn't be...
To leave only people with strong spell power intact,
it's thinning the population?
What the heck?!
So the normal folks with weak spell power just get to die?!
No way... That can't be the imp!
No.
Sadly, that is Rokuro-kun.
Are you really serious?
Why? How'd it happen?!
We were played.
Everything has turned out as Abe no Seimei planned.
There were more than a few irregularities in his plan,
and both Rokuro-kun and I tried to resist.
But every single time, the course was adjusted...
By this man.
Mikage-san?
Yes. You could call him a double of Abe no Seimei.
He's a shikigami.
All of this is the process by which the actual body of Abe no Seimei will be revived.
And with my powers depleted, there's nothing I can do to stop it.
Benio-kun, I need your hel—
Kinako!
Benio-sama!
Benio-kun!
Benio-sama!
Kinako, I need you to possess this!
Th-This train?!
Just gotta do it!
Boys and girls, don't try this at home!
Give Rokuro back!
I bid you welcome.
I had intended to spare you the trouble and retrieve you myself, but...
What is all this?
Why turn Rokuro into that thing?
It's the reverse, actually.
Reverse?
As I see it, the question should be why that thing is considered one of the Twin Stars.
That seems far more abnormal.
Being called Enmado Rokuro, having feelings like those of a human,
and sharing his feelings with another... None of that should have happened.
What are you talking about?
All of Enmado Rokuro's 16 years have been an unplanned anomaly.
A complete waste, in other words.
A complete waste?
My meeting him, the time we spent together,
the things we felt, the strength that was born from it...
You call all of that a waste?!
If it had changed the nature of humankind,
perhaps I might've seen its value.
However, it did not.
And as unfortunate as it may be, the millennium-old preparations
for the Grand Cleansing ritual have been activated.
The Grand Cleansing?
As I'm sure you've surmised,
the light that you see is absorbing spell power from people.
Those with weak spell power are turned to stone from a single exposure.
This purifying light will shine forth several times.
As a result, only those worthy of shaping the future,
those with strong spell power, will be unaffected.
You can rest at ease.
You and, most likely, several of your friends will survive.
The light will absorb spell power from as far as the other side of Earth,
then it will return to the Cataclysm King.
The spell power taken from billions of people
will then be stored within the Cataclysm King,
so that my true body, Abe no Seimei, may be resurrected.
Even if anyone survives in such a world,
their rage and sorrow will ensure that no one will follow you!
Everything you're doing now is the true waste!
You needn't worry about that.
Once I have returned,
I will remove all yin from those who have survived.
There will be no rage or sorrow,
and human existence will become a sublimely peaceful thing.
What are you talking about?
Is it hard to imagine?
What the...
This is a world where there is no conflict, and no wanting...
A world where the established order is followed.
As a result, everyone is at peace.
People serve each other in the capacity they are best suited to.
No one will be dissatisfied with this.
In fact, all will consider it to be extremely fulfilling.
As a result, no Kegare will be born ever again.
But...
At the moment people are born, they are pure.
Their smiles have not been corrupted by anything.
However, as they grow, their hearts become twisted,
and that gives birth to Kegare.
We must now say goodbye to such a pitiful history.
We must create what you see here...
A world where everyone can become an adult, yet still smile like they did at birth.
Is what you just showed me truly your ideal world?!
Everyone looking the same, flashing the exact same kind of smile...
To me, it looked more eerie and dreadful than beautiful.
What a shame.
That must mean you have grown accustomed to this corrupt world.
You may be right...
But... I...
I don't want that!
With Rokuro, I would get angry, cry, or at times, feel jealous...
And we'd also smile together...
I experienced many emotions thanks to him.
And now all of those things are precious memories to me!
Even if they're impure, I still want to cherish them!
Give Rokuro back!
Change him back to the way he was. Make him human again!
I don't want Rokuro to be a part of this Grand Cleansing!
Do not be mistaken.
The Cataclysm King's duty is to consume the spell power
of those who do not deserve to live.
I told you, didn't I?
The spell power accumulated within him is for the resurrection
of my true body, Abe no Seimei.
Once I have returned, he will have fulfilled his purpose.
If it's what you want, I can return him to human form.
Really?
Yes.
However, you would not be able to meet him once he is changed back.
Why?
The complete Grand Cleansing ritual will be performed
by my true body, Abe no Seimei.
There are two things necessary for that:
the Ame-no-mihashira, as well as...
you, Adashino Benio-san.
I'm needed for the Grand Cleansing?
Much like plants consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen,
the Ame-no-mihashira, over a long thousand years,
has been emitting yang energy
while draining the yin energy from humanity.
That energy was intended to be sent into my true body,
but the yang energy flowed into reality.
Its destination was the Adashino clan, in Kyoto.
That's right.
The yang energy the Ame-no-mihashira has generated accumulated within you.
You are actually a collection of yang energy.
I'm a collection of yang energy?
But because of that, yin-natured phenomena were drawn to you,
and have followed you through life.
That is why, despite an onslaught of human misery, you have made it this far.
I can only imagine how painful it must've been...
However, there is no longer any need to worry.
From now on, you will shine on eternally as the incarnation of yang.
Hey, you Seimei wannabe!
You keep running your mouth with this half-baked exposition,
but what does it boil down to?!
If you're gonna do anything bad to Benio-sama,
the professional shikigami Kinako-sama here
is gonna break every bone you've got!
I will not persecute you in any way.
Ignoring me?
While I slept inside the Ame-no-mihashira,
my yin nature has grown stronger,
so I simply need your energy.
And how do I give it to you?
You must join together with my true body, Abe no Seimei.
J-Join together?!
Yes.
To use an older term, "copulation"... where we are joined together.
Who are you kidding, you wannabe?!
You want her to be Abe no Seimei's wife, is that it?!
The only one Benio-sama is marrying...
Well, I hate to admit it, but it's gonna be that imp up there, dumbass!
Copulation?! What're you, some kinda perv?!
If I join with your true body, Abe no Seimei,
Rokuro can return to normal?
Wha... Benio-sama?
I promise.
What the heck are you saying?!
That's totally crazy! You can't even—
Give me some time, please.
Time to think it over...
Very well.
It will be some time yet before the Cataclysm King
completes its judgment of humanity.
I will wait until then.
Thank you.
Man, what the heck? What the heck is all this?!
Benio-sama said not to come in, but...
What am I supposed to do?!
I was made by Benio-sama, for Benio-sama.
I'm her personal shikigami!
And now...
I wanted to hear the words from your lips...
I wanted to profess to you from my own...
How we truly felt...
Oh, enough!
I can't take it anymore! Benio-sama!
Benio-sama?
Kinako, I've made my decision.
Decided to whoop that guy so bad he cries for mercy, right?!
Hell yeah!
I will join with Abe no Seimei.
W-Well, that's odd...
I know you said you'd fight him, but I heard it funny...
I said I would join with him.
Why?
Are you stupid?! You are stupid, you stupid idiot!
Why would you say that?!
Even if you do that, you don't get to see the imp! No one ends up happy!
I've made up my mind.
I thought you were better than this, Benio-sama!
Choosing to be with Abe no Seimei without fighting at all...
How could you make that decision so easily?!
What's wrong with taking the imp back by force?!
If that's what you wanna do, I'll do everything I can to help!
I'll follow you, even if it costs my life!
It wasn't... easy...
It could never... be easy...
I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...
Benio-sama...
I'm sorry!
Thank you, Kinako.
Kinako... I...
Next Episode
Gandhi apparently once said,
"I firmly believe that all just actions
will bear fruit in the end."
Jissama... I believe, too!
Unity Solidarity
Right! We all feel the same way. Let's have faith and wait!