Original subtitles

Make the fire, nightfall is coming

Light the fires, darkness is coming

Hide the fires, or fire born of corpses will mix in.

"Mushi-shi"

That fire...

That fire...

Everyone... don't use that fire to warm yourselves!

So this is my punishment...

Was I wrong?

Should I have done as that man had said?

"The Journey To The Field Of Fire" Should I have done as that man had said?

"The Journey To The Field Of Fire"

It looks like it's around here.

Hey.

I heard there's a mushi-shi in this village.

A mushi-shi?

Isn't he talking about Yahagi?

She's with daddy and the others in the plains.

A lot of weeds we've never seen before have been growing

and are withering the trees on the mountain.

Then it's decided.

We've got to split up and cut down the trees surrounding the village.

Yeah.

Yahagi!

You two! Haven't I told you not to come here?

Ah! You've gotten hurt again?

We've brought a visitor.

A visitor?

Ah! Don't touch that weed!

I see... It would be easy to overlook if it was just this one growing,

but with this many, it would be hard not to notice these are mushi.

Are you... a mushi-shi?

My name is Ginko.

I've heard that a new species had appeared around here so I thought I'd investigate.

I'm sorry, but the investigation has already come to an end.

Ow!

Don't move.

Ow! It's fine now.

I thought the name Yahagi sounded familiar.

I've read some transcripts of your research.

I'm surprised... I never thought you'd be such a young woman.

Thank you.

Then your report on that mushi must be quite impressive, too.

Could you show it to me?

It's incomplete, but...

Incomplete? You just said earlier that it had come to an end...

There isn't any need to investigate anymore...

since we're going to burn the entire mountain tomorrow.

What?!

You're going to burn the mountain?

Yes.

Why? Isn't it only that weed that's no good?

This is all we can do.

Are the animals on the mountain going to die?

I've asked everyone to try their best to shoo them out.

But...

If we leave that weed alone any longer,

the mountain and even your lives will be endangered.

Try to understand.

This is our last chance for survival.

Is there really no other way?

We're already out of time.

There may be something I can do to help.

Could you tell me what's been going on?

I suppose...

It happened two months ago.

We were digging up the soil to clear that plain for farmland.

A large black boulder then surfaced.

Since we're near a volcano, there are a lot of volcanic rocks in the area.

We dug it up and left it in a corner of the plain as we usually do.

The next day, I noticed a weed was growing out from a crack in the boulder.

But at the time, I gave no heed to it.

Three days later, the rain had cleared

and we found that the plain was overrun with those weeds.

It seemed that their roots were connected.

No matter how much we cut and pulled at them,

they'd grow back immediately.

By the time I realized it was something unnatural, it was too late.

Their blossoms released a poison

and started withering the surrounding plants.

Their vigour never wanes.

We tried to exterminate them in many different ways,

but we have yet to find anything that works.

The weed has spread throughout the mountain

and is even spreading towards our village.

Even so, the price for burning the entire mountain is too big.

Furthermore, it's an unknown mushi.

You don't know what kind of consequences there will be.

You should try to gather as many people as possible and pull them out...

no matter how much time it takes.

If we just let our crops wither,

this village won't be able to survive the winter.

Everyone's lives are at stake.

Then even more so... It's not good to be hasty.

Are you saying we should ignore some casualties?

I'm saying that if you're going to take a gamble, don't risk others' lives.

A fair argument.

But the frightened villagers won't understand.

Therefore, there is no meaning to that reasoning.

It's the same with you.

I can understand that you're vexed

about not having identified that mushi immediately,

but what good will it do if you become fearful?

Isn't it natural to want to protect the people of your hometown?

I'm willing to use any means for that purpose.

I'll give you that report.

I hope it will be useful to you in your future investigations.

Please leave us already.

Aww... they cut the big camphor.

The cherry tree is gone too.

Hey!

Please stop cutting.

Hm?

Who are you?

How much do you plan to sacrifice for the sake of your village?

I'm begging you. Please think about it carefully.

It's hard for us to destroy the forest, too.

But it's a life-or-death situation for us and our families.

You're a mushi-shi from elsewhere, aren't you?

We have a great mushi-shi in this village as well.

What would an outsider know about us?

From an outsider's perspective, you look like a frightened tribe of monkeys.

You lose all sight of your surroundings out of fear and blindly attack.

What did you say?! You son of a...

If you're not monkeys, why don't you try to face your fears?

Didn't people begin to use fire in order to do just that?

I'm saying conquer your fear with intelligence.

It was also intelligence that allowed people to approach fire.

It's shallow intelligence. That's not what I'm talking about.

Haven't I already told you to leave us alone?

Don't interfere!

Come with us!

Everyone, calm down and listen.

I found that weed at the edge of our village.

Let's hurry with the deforestation and set the mountain on fire tonight.

Ugh... ow.

I guess I went a bit too far...

It's well researched, as expected.

For that reason alone, she must regret that her only option is to burn it.

It's no good coming from me.

Only you can put a stop to this.

Could it be?!

I've got a bad feeling about this.

That mushi was inside a volcanic rock.

I get the feeling that we shouldn't set it on fire.

Let's set the fires.

Now, we can survive.

Yeah.

But we sure burned everything...

What... is this noise?

Hey, what's that?

Those are...

kagebi.

Everyone! Quickly! Back to the village!

Don't let that fire get near your homes!

Hey! Turn over all of your containers!

Go out and tell your neighbours!

If you don't hurry, those fireballs will nest!

Do as he says! Quickly!

Everyone, listen well.

That thing looks like fire, but it's something called kagebi.

It appears on rainy and cold days

and gradually steals body heat from those who approach it,

mistaking it to be fire.

On warm days,

it will lurk in narrow spaces, like in pots or hollows in trees.

Some of them probably have nested already.

From now on, be careful when you approach fire.

You may end up freezing to death if you unwittingly stay near it too long.

How exactly are we supposed to be careful?

If a fire feels lukewarm, assume it is kagebi.

Within the kagebi is a mushi called the Hidane.

That mushi is the kagebi's true form.

It thrives by absorbing humans' heat.

But it's all right.

If you just be careful, you won't be harmed.

Things have gotten troublesome, haven't they?

Who would have thought that those weeds were Hidane larvae?

But we can deal with Hidane. I've read about them before.

How unfortunate for you that it wasn't a new species.

But you must be happy that you learned its larva's ecology.

Don't take your frustration out on me.

Kagebi are persistent.

You're the only one in the village who can deal with them, aren't you?

If things get beyond your control, send a letter here. I'll help.

It's in return for the report.

Don't take on too much by yourself.

Ugh... crap. It's cold. I guess I'll light a fire.

Damn... it won't light.

Hmm? A left-over fire? That's a blessing.

Today is sure cold. The room won't warm at all.

It seems the weeds have been exterminated.

They probably won't sprout up anymore.

There's just the kagebi left to take care of.

Hmm?

Yahagi-chan! My child has become so cold!

Our old man, too!

The folks next door are...

Yahagi-chan?

So then what?

Seven people died.

And many have suffered frostbite in their guts by food cooked by kagebi.

I thought I had warned them enough.

How are things now?

Those with a sore gut should recover soon with rest.

Everyone is now being very cautious, so casualties have fallen.

What about the ridding of the kagebi?

By crushing the Hidane, they soon disappeared.

We should be rid of most of them.

If the mushi gets killed, so does the fire.

It's as the writings say.

But I've discovered the ecology not in the writings.

Those weeds sprout from the corpses of those mushi

that lived their natural life span

by sapping humans' heat.

Is that what you want me to help with?

I can do that by myself.

What are you going to do?

I just have to go to somewhere desolate.

When we burned the mountain, I inhaled a kagebi.

A person's body can also serve as a container, can't it?

It's been lurking there, slowly sapping away my body heat.

My body felt like it was freezing for a while,

but now that has stopped.

Instead, I've begun to cough up weeds.

This is my punishment, isn't it?

The Hidane have sprouted in my gut.

And it also began to spit poison.

I've already told the rest of the village that there's not much time left for me.

I'm thinking of leaving the village to find a place

to die before my body is taken over.

Therefore, I wish to leave the village in your care.

Such a mistake would never happen again with you in charge.

I decline.

I don't know if I would have said the same thing in your position.

This is a battle that you all started, which will continue from here on.

It would be a problem to just end it with you.

There's something I've long been thinking about.

Please let me try it out.

You're going to catch a kagebi?

Is that going to make Yahagi better?

Who knows?

Here's one!

What are you planning to do?

Don't you think the Hidane are well made?

The behaviour of spitting poison was likely by chance,

but it can make people set them on fire.

Gaining fire, they mature and use it to lure people in to steal their body heat.

As a result, man, the only animal that uses fire, is used by this fire.

But in the end, Hidane are just imitation fire.

Do you think that the larvae will mature if we set this imitation fire upon them?

Then, you mean...

In order to get rid of that weed, why not just burn them with kagebi?

Food which has been heated by kagebi also likely has the same effect.

While burning my gut?

Yeah, I ate that too, and my gut hurt as if it were on fire.

What do you want to do?

Yahagi!

It burned the weeds. More, please.

Don't rush. Your body won't hold up if you rush.

Get better gradually. Slowly and surely.

Even after that... coughing up weeds and burning her gut...

I hear that she continues to live protecting the village

from the unnatural beings...

Say, we don't see many kagebi anymore, do we?

I wonder if it's because it's gotten warmer?

It could be. But we don't know where they lurk. Don't let your guard...

Oh!

It's flying towards the valley.

It might be searching for the coldest place it can find.

And holding its breath, it patiently waits for winter to come.

"The Journey To The Field Of Fire"

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