I don't know what you're up to,
but why don't you do that for the living instead?
You'd save more people that way.
It's not that easy to save people.
Still, what you're doing is a waste.
You're never getting anywhere with that.
What are you...
A ghoul?
Help me... Why not you...?
I'm sorry, but I don't know either.
Hyakkimaru...
You... You're so...
How terrifying you are.
Betrayed this world
And it simmers within
Rupturing my innards
Swelling a reddish black
Until the sun burnt skin ruptures
There is a light in the depths of the seething darkness
Confirming each other's voices in the distance
As if to stroke with wet fingertips
I'd like to touch you one day
There is a light in the depths of the darkness
Confirming each other's voices in the distance
As if to stroke with wet fingertips
I'd like to touch you one day
#17 The story of questions and answers
It's real human skin.
You can smile now?
Can you hear my voice?
Yes, I can.
You can speak. What a miracle.
Your eyes, I see they're still blind.
But I feel.
I've always felt.
Yes, I know.
I am your...
Your...
What am I to you?
I met you, gave you a body, and named you.
But did I do the right thing?
As you defeated it, it was almost like...
This.
I see, it's broken.
I use it to fight.
I want another. The same.
I want.
You must be hungry.
This. I want this.
First, I'll fix you something to eat.
There, it's done. Hold on a second.
It's okay. I can feel heat now.
Cold, too. I feel it all.
Yes, you're right.
Old habits die hard. Here.
The string has become brittle.
Let me change it for you.
It's your only key to finding your family.
Daigo Kagemitsu.
Daigo...
You met the man of this family crest? The man that is your...
He fed me to the demons.
They're still eating.
What do you mean?
Hyakkimaru, tell me what you know.
What did the man of this crest tell you?
Hyakkimaru!
You're awake, my lady. I will call for the doctor right away.
How naive I am.
Young Master, your mother has awoken.
What great news! Young Master.
I am in a hurry. I will see her when I get back.
He could've visited his mother before we left.
A ghoul was sighted in our territory. He had no choice.
Young Master has changed.
Hyogo.
But he's right. Young Master has changed.
You mean, a whole domain is weighing on your shoulders.
How heavy the load...
I found and raised you, only to make you live in hell.
I need that.
I want.
No, I cannot give you a new leg.
Why?
You will go fight demons again.
You will defeat them and regain your body.
And the domain you bear on your shoulders...
No, that responsibility is for your father, the lord, to bear.
You may look more human than before.
But have you not become less human on the inside?
From what I saw, I assume that ghouls are not the only things you've killed.
I can tell.
A new prosthetic leg would only take you closer to hell.
I cannot do that.
I want it.
I'm sorry.
Why?
I cannot save you.
I cannot.
I cannot save you!
The doctor said you should be fine now.
Never do such a foolish thing again.
Yes, how truly foolish I was.
I offered my life, but what worth does my life have?
My lord.
Do you remember the headless Goddess of Mercy?
Yes, the one you always prayed to.
It lost its head when Hyakkimaru was born.
I thought it was a gift, a token of faith.
I kept praying to it for my son.
When I heard that he was alive, I thought my prayers had been answered.
How vain I was.
Hyakkimaru survived,
only because the Goddess offered its head to the demons.
Why else would his head still be intact when all else was taken from him?
I felt it, plain as day, when the Goddess's head was smashed.
That among the 12 demons, there was one that failed to eat my son.
Now that the Goddess of Mercy is cracked, your deal has been broken off.
Hyakkimaru shall surely regain his body.
And the prosperity of this land shall cease, my lord.
You are overthinking it.
Rest up and get well.
Are you there?
Keep close watch over the Hall of Hell.
About Hyakkimaru's whereabouts...
There has been a sighting of the kid he was with.
Have Tahomaru go.
Actually, my lord...
Nobody seems to be home.
A merchant family and some servants live here.
But nobody's seen them for a while.
Not since the ghoul was first sighted.
Young Master.
There it is.
There's no rush.
There are openings for air and enough supplies for a while.
Hyakkimaru, you asked me why.
Let me ask you the same thing.
Why is it that you fight?
If you leave this cave, you'll go back to a world of evil.
Do you still wish to go?
I do.
-Do you want a body? -I do.
You have something other people don't.
A human body may only become a burden to you.
-And you still want one? -I do.
Why?
-Why? -You've never thought about why?
Because it's mine.
So every last demon...
I will kill!
-Young Master! -A ghoul rat. Be careful!
Hyogo! You little...
-It's quick. -I've maimed it. Stay alert.
Hyakkimaru.
You're right. Your body is yours.
You don't need a reason to want to get it back.
But demons won't be the only things you'll have to kill.
Your father, mother, and your younger brother.
The people of Daigo, too. They'll all try to stop you.
When that happens, the body you regain will be stained with human blood.
It will weigh heavy on you, heavier than any prosthetic limb.
Will you still be human then?
All that's left beside you will be lifeless corpses.
You will be all alone in this world.
-Alone? -Yes, alone.
-I fear that... -No. There is somebody.
What? Who?
Right now...
Not here.
There it is.
-It killed humans to raise its children. -What?
Foul creature, prepare to die!
Is that...
I thought I'd saved that poor little baby, but all I did
was make it float down the river of hell again.
Hyakkimaru.
I may be just another demon to you.
-Young Master. -We'll kill it. Hyogo!
I won't let you flee.
What shall we do now?
-I shall slay it. -Wait.
Burn the place.
If we keep the parent alive, the babies will stay.
Ghoul or not, I can't agree with the way you're handling this, sir.
-Hyogo. -Let's go.
Mutsu. Hyogo. Never again will I let my feelings blunt my sword.
I will do anything to protect this land and its people.
Young Master.
Sir.
There.
You said there was somebody who will stay by your side.
No, you don't have to tell me. It is enough that you understand.
If there is somebody in your life that is not your enemy...
that person may be able to keep you human.
Hyakkimaru.
You want to know my name?
You're right, you never used it when you lived with me.
My name is... No, you needn't know.
I am nobody.
I know what you are.
You're "Mama."
Silly you. That's not what I am.
I see. I wasn't alive in your eyes until now.
I guess I still have the right to die.
I can't believe our lord is making Young Master go kill Hyakkimaru.
It is for the good of the land.
I know, I've made up my mind.
I will not let my feelings guide me any longer.
Hyakkimaru has been sighted around Sodegahama.
We will go there and kill him.
March!
Dororo.
Born into this world
There is no salvation
The distorted shape of the heart
Yet it beats courageously
There is no turning back
Even from the path of evil
Witnessing the withering seasons
We search for the truth
In our ugliness
We don't even recognize the pain
As we peel back the skin
We are forever tormented by our stupidity
But if the dawn never comes
Through the painful night
You who distrusts nothing
You will be able to love this accursed world
Now that we carry the world on our shoulders
It's time to take it back
"Ayakashigi"