The Phoenix
423, 424...
425...
426, 427, 428...
429, 430, 431...
Listen all! We need five hundred heads!
According to tradition, we must offer five hundred heads to the god of war!
Not one more, not one less!
We have exactly five hundred!
General!
We have just captured a suspicious man.
What?
Consider yourself fortunate.
If you weren't the five hundred and first man...
...your head would've been sitting right over there.
Wait a minute, you look awfully familiar...
Hey, show me his arm.
Yes, sir!
No! Let go! Let go of me!
Be still!
General!
Just as I thought, you're a member of the royal family of Kudara.
Harima is your name, isn't it?
Hey, bring the animals we took in the hunt.
Yes, sir!
All right, this wolf will do.
Wait! What are you going to do?
Now that I know you're a member of the royal family...
...I can't let you die a common death.
W-Water...
I need water...
It's a pond! Water!
The Sun Chapter 1
Who's there?
M-M-Monster!
Skin his face and replace it with the head of the wolf.
Yes, sir!
No!
That's right...
Yes, I'm human...
I'm human!
I'm not a wolf!
Damn...
I'm a human...
I won't die like an animal.
I won't!
How strange...
Live long enough, and you'll see everything, I guess.
This tattoo...
Obaba, what are you doing here?
I'm gathering herbs.
Did you see anything unusual around here?
What sort of unusual?
Something that looks like a wolf, but human too.
Huh?
Forget it if you haven't seen him.
Let's keep looking.
All right. Let's keep looking.
It's not poison. Go on, eat.
Who are you?
I am the one who carried you out from the forest and treated you, Dogface.
No need to thank me.
Let me just...
As one would expect from a royal, you have good manners.
Anyway, I have to tend to that wound.
Show me your back.
I may not look like it, but I am a hermit, and I also practice medicine.
They say the more bitter the medicine, the better it works.
Obaba, why did you save me?
A bad star shines on you.
A bad star?
You're cursed.
Look down there.
They're your people. They are the soldiers of Wah.
I read your future while you were asleep.
You may be cursed, but if you make your way to the east...
...that bad star will turn into a light that shines in the darkness...
...and give you great power.
A light in the darkness?
And if I come with you, your future will become even brighter.
There he is! The monster!
Get ready, Dogface. We're getting out of here.
The villagers will be here soon.
Oh, my back.
Is this small boat going to be safe?
Don't worry. I foresaw smooth seas.
But you don't have to run with me, Obaba.
I've decided that...
...I am going to bet everything on the great power you're destined for.
Dogface, push off.
What's the matter?
I smell blood...
Hey, where are you going?
We've got to get going, it's almost dawn.
W-What's that?
He's still breathing, we might be able to save him.
Why did you have to get involved? We should've just left him there.
How could I? He was alive.
We don't have time to save some stranger's life right now.
Don't be so cruel.
He might survive if you give him your medicine.
I'm already on it!
Just shut up and keep rowing.
See? I told you! I knew he'd bring us bad luck.
We're gonna die!
Obaba!
Don't worry, I'm alive.
Looks like we've drifted pretty far...
Where are we? Which way to Wah from here?
I have no clue.
It's all because of this jinx!
I apologize.
He's come to...
You saved me.
I didn't save you. It was him, Dogface.
You look surprised.
But don't worry, he isn't a monster.
He may look like that now, but he used to be a member of the royal family.
It was the Toh army that did that to him.
I suppose you two share the same fate.
The Toh army...
I apologize. If only I had been able to do more...
What do you mean?
I am the General of Daikage, Azumi-no-muraji Saruta.
I once led an army of 27,000 men.
A general? This blister-faced bum?
I wouldn't have saved you if I'd known.
Dogface...
Because of your failure, the army of Kudara was...
It's your fault that I'm wearing this wolf's head.
I am sorry, I'm not going to beg for my life.
You can do whatever you want with me.
Dogface...
No, I'm going to let you live and bring you to Wah with me.
Until the day I look human again, you shall be my servant.
I give you my word.
I will help you, as long as I can.
Birds...
We must be close to shore.
The birds are heading to Wah.
This cursed prince, living under a bad star, crossed the sea.
What is the great power he is destined to possess?
What awaits him?
Is this really the land of Wah?
What's that?
What on earth was that just now?
It looked like a bird, but...
W-W-Wolves!
No, they are not wolves.
You understand us?
You can speak!
It is our thoughts you are hearing.
Who are you?
We are the Ku tribe.
We are the gods of this land!
We have been living in this forest since ancient times.
We are of the 8,000,000 gods of the earth.
Gods...
We are chasing the Phoenix.
Have you seen a light flying in the sky?
A light?
Did you see it? Which way did the light go?
It quickly flew beyond the ocean.
What was it anyway?
It's the Phoenix.
Phoenix?
It's an immortal bird with the power to grant eternal life.
But why do you want it?
To save my daughter.
She is badly injured and in great pain.
I need the blood of the Phoenix to cure her.
Obaba!
W-What is it?
Why?
Why do we have to help the wolves?
You've come to.
An ill wind blows from the northeast...
I must do something!
You have helped us greatly.
We cannot repay you for what you've done.
There is no need for that.
If you are looking for a human village...
Do you know of one?
I will lead you there myself.
Oh, thank you.
We've crossed the mountains.
It's a village!
That wolf disappeared.
Monster!
A monster is coming!
Looks prosperous, doesn't it?
We need to know if this is really the land of Wah first.
What's that?
What's going on?
Go back!
We don't want any monsters in our village.
That's right!
Just hold on for a second. Everyone just calm down!
Y-You are...
Please forgive us, Lord Azumi-no-muraji!
Oguma, long time no see.
Lord Azumi-no-muraji?
He is a General, isn't he?
He once stayed in this village on his way to fight in the North.
So that jinx really was a General, huh?
I suppose.
And this IS the land of Wah. Maybe our luck is starting to change.
Oguma, please take good care of them.
They saved my life.
Yes, sir, we are taking great care of them.
A messenger has arrived.
A messenger?
Ooh, that was a lot of food!
I'm so full!
B-But...
You must do it, it's a direct order from Houben.
Y-Yes, sir...
I can't eat anymore...
W-What's is it?
Obaba, it's a fire!
What? Obaba, it's a fire!
Damn it, we're trapped.
What are we going to do, Dogface?
Grilled old woman tastes awful, I'm sure!
Watch out!
Dog spirits!
Dogface!
Don't give up!
The Ku tribe!
Dog spirits!
Dogface...
Dogface, are you all right?
The Ku tribe saved us.
Mayor!
Lord Muraji...
How could you!
Don't kill him.
But...
Please forgive me.
Lord Houben ordered me to do this...
...and I had no idea they were watched by the dog spirits.
Please forgive me!
Did you say Houben?
Who is he?
He is a Buddhist monk at the Imperial Court.
The bad star that crossed the sea, the cursed one...
...now shines its light on the capital of Wah, Ohtsu-kyou.
What destiny awaits this cursed man?
Someone whispers
In a faint voice
To the sparking stars
A promise I once heard
Ah, when the scars of the soul hurt
They long for their mother
Fading intermittently
I can hear the prayers in the voice
I am not alone in the darkness
It’s alright
The will to love is eternal
Next Episode
The country is rapidly changing.
The emperor thought that changing the people's beliefs was the best thing for the country.
The new god speaks...
Those who wish to take over the country...
Go back to the depths of the darkness!