Original subtitles

A fallbeast descends upon the divine palace.

The Fire Hunter

The Fire Hunter

The Fire Hunter

Lady Goddess

Lady Goddess

But what is a fallbeast doing here?

Oh. Maybe it's because so much skyfire burned here.

It came to see what was happening.

What's going on?

I can't help her anymore.

But fallbeasts live in the mountains. Why would one appear in the capital now?

Why isn't the fallbeast moving?

It's almost like...

it's waiting for Touko to hunt it.

My father mentioned that.

Fallbeasts grow docile in front of fire hunters, like they're asking to be hunted.

Yeah. In front of true fire hunters.

I get it now. This fallbeast must have come to put an end to everything itself.

Everything.

Temari!

No fire hunter's hound would ever turn its back on a fallbeast.

They're trained, maybe even destined, to act that way.

Mizore!

Touko.

Touko.

I knew it. She...

Will you hunt me?

The Flickering Flame.

Will you hunt me now? With that sickle?

Sister!

Not now.

I can't hunt you unless you leave that girl's body.

I can't leave on my own.

But if you hunt this, that will be the end.

Kira.

Kira, is that you?

I was a fool.

This country under divine rule survived even after the world fell apart.

I believed it was a good place.

But I was wrong.

There's... There's an enormous flame here.

Somehow, I know how to use it, too.

Because there's someone else inside me.

This flame belongs to her.

She longs to be free, but no one wants her to be.

Not even she knows what choice will avoid a second devastation.

If nothing changes, I'll end up using this flame to bring it all to an end.

Even though I know it's wrong to think such things.

To wish that everyone... that everyone would just disappear.

It's Touko, isn't it?

Follow me. Tayurahime summons you.

Wait a minute. Yuoshichi grabbed the Lady Goddess and...

That was a substitute. A mere pitiable shadow.

The Lady Goddess resides within the palace shrine.

Then, Yuoshichi...

Yes. He died without achieving any of his ambitions.

Touko.

Are you all ready to go to the capital?

Grandmother asked you a question. Speak up.

And explain why that dog's here.

Huh?

You'd better not have brought a hunting hound home again.

Temari?

Temari.

Kanata?

What about Mizore?

That hound went to join its fire hunter.

Or so a human might put it.

Mr. Hibari?

That sickle looks newly made.

Like Tokohanahime only just forged it.

What about Mr. Koushi and Ms. Akira?

Where are Hinako and Kun?

You have more important things to worry about.

Rest easy. No doubt Ruri-Matsuri did something for them.

Are they alive?

Alive and dreaming.

Dreaming?

They dream of slitting open their bellies and planting bits of nature inside.

Of becoming trees and water and stones.

They dream of becoming part of this planet.

No one here has a spine.

They couldn't stop the old world's ruin,

and they failed to revitalize it.

Many such gods chose to dwell in dreams of the old world they yearn for.

While they gorge themselves on peace and dreams here,

Tayurahime focuses the divine clans' power.

Even now, she serves as the pillar propping up this world.

Tayurahime?

Tayurahime is the elder sister of the Flickering Flame.

Tayurahime desires words to console the Flickering Flame,

and as such, she wishes to learn more about the outside world.

What does that have to do with me?

She says that she wishes to question you.

Tayurahime knows you well through the Flickering Flame.

You have been chosen.

Lady!

Touko!

So you hunted a fallbeast.

You're a full-fledged fire hunter now.

Ms. Kiri!

You're alive, too.

Yeah. That goddess, Ruri-Matsuri, brought me here.

She even patched up my wounds.

That god called Hibari decided to heal me once before, too.

One moment, they seem all-powerful, then blood makes them recoil in fear the next.

Are they strong or weak? I can't tell anymore.

True.

And Hinako?

She's sleeping.

Touko just hunted her fourth fiend. A fallbeast this time.

And she used all three hounds to do it: Kanata, Temari, and Mizore.

What is this?

A failed experiment from the past, when the gods implanted fire.

They've been hiding it here.

An experiment?

What do you mean, they "implanted" fire?

One of the treefolk, Yanagi, told us about it when we visited the forbidden quarter.

Oh.

She said the beasts held fire in their bodies

so that it would never come near the gods again.

Yes. And so, the flame fiends were born.

They failed back then and...

It's just like how they locked failed treefolk like Yanagi, Kunugi, and me underground.

Did the goddess who brought us her, Ruri-Matsuri, want to show us this?

I bet she's enjoying your reactions.

These tubes look different.

Touko, don't touch them.

What is it? What's in there?

A human.

A human?

You're right. They're all human babies.

But what does this mean?

Did they try to put fire inside humans, too?

They're failed treefolk.

No, that's not it.

They look like they're meant to become something.

Become something?

You mean, like...

...gods?

Enough of this crazy talk, mole.

What would baby gods be doing stashed away with these prototype fiends?

My dad told me the divine clans aren't really what they look like.

They're not real, so why should they act like gods and boss humans around?

The divine clans are hiding something huge.

Maybe the entities we call "gods" are made by altering humans.

They could be artificial beings that humans created.

Like the treefolk and the people the Water Clan injected.

I'm certain the divine clans can't be a completely different species from us.

That's...

That's why the pathogen that causes human combustion affects them, too.

The legend of Tokohanahime is true.

She forged the hunters' sickles while she herself burned.

Seriously, humans, spiders, and gods are all birds of a feather.

That goddess, Ruri-Matsuri, might've gotten fed up with what they've been doing.

But it's a little late for regrets.

Akira?

Akira?

Kiri, where's Akira?

The fire hunter left.

Ms. Akira went off all alone?

Why didn't you say something?

Why do I have to tell you every little thing?

Though I don't mind giving you advice.

Why don't you go chasing after her?

You came all this way but you're leaving the rest to her?

That hardheaded hunter doesn't care if she dies.

Just like the Flickering Flame.

I'll keep an eye on the kid and the sick girl.

You've got business with the Lady Goddess and the vessel girl, right?

How long are you going to drag your feet for, mole?

You're using your brain for all the wrong things.

But where...

See those pipes with the glowing fish?

Akira reckoned she could follow them to the real palace where Tayurahime is.

Kiri's right. I need to go.

The Flickering Flame... Kira must be near the Lady Goddess.

Touko, come on.

Right.

That guy and the small lady left.

Without saying a word to you or that sick girl.

Those moles plan on coming back here, no matter what.

In that case...

I've gotta keep us safe until they do.

Kanata...

After all, she's family.

How will this world end? And what kind of world will follow it?

You'll never get another chance to see.

Me and the others from the forbidden quarter never got to witness anything.

But you still have a chance.

You know that goddess, Ruri-Matsuri?

I wonder if she wants to see...

what humans who know the truth will do.

I see now. The divine clans can't sustain themselves without humans.

They aren't ruling to preserve the world.

It's all to ensure their own survival.

Those fish—or what look like fish—are organic machines.

After factories use fiendfire, they carry the purified residue to the palace basement.

Burning that purified fire lets the Lady Goddess exceed her natural lifespan.

The factory district really exists to purify fiendfire.

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Lamplight

Lamplight