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Episode 4

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Dororo: The Mio Chronicle Episode 4: On the night the orphans vanish, eight heads bare their fangs at the temple hall

The temple was quieter than usual that morning. Hyakkimaru sat at the entrance, polishing the hidden blade in his prosthetic arm. The only sound was the slow grind of whetstone against steel, echoing through the thin, mist-laden air. The children's voices were absent. Normally, this was the hour when Dororo and Take would be chasing each other around. But today, no one came outside. Hyakkimaru shifted his artificial eyes. The deep brown irises, devoid of light, swept slowly across the temple grounds. His spirit sense was picking up something wrong in the air. —Something was approaching. "Aniki!" Dororo burst out of the temple. Her amber eyes looked suspiciously wet. "Aniki, it's bad! Take says he saw something weird last night!" Hyakkimaru looked at her. "A man in black robes was lurking around the temple! And one of the village kids has been missing since yesterday!" Hyakkimaru's prosthetic hand stopped dead. A child had vanished. "...Two people have gone missing from the village these past few days. It's Kagemitsu's men, snatching them at night. I know it is." Hyakkimaru stood. "Aniki, let's keep watch tonight. We'll take turns, just the two of us. That black-robed bastard—I'll knock him flat with my slingshot." Hyakkimaru gave a small nod. Dororo grinned. "Alright, it's settled! No sleep tonight, aniki!" Just then, an old man appeared on the path before the temple. It was Tetsuzou, the village chief. He stood before the temple with the look of a man chewing on bitter worms. "...Is Mio here?" Mio emerged from inside. "Chief, what's wrong? It's so early." Tetsuzou let out a deep breath before speaking, his words heavy. "A messenger from Lord Kagemitsu came to the village. He demands we hand over the orphans. If we refuse, the whole village burns." The blood drained from Mio's face. "...No." "I tried to hold them off. But they're the lord's samurai. The villagers are terrified. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before someone gets handed over." Mio bit her lip. "Absolutely not. I will not give these children up." "I know. I know... but protecting the village is my duty too. Mio, forgive me." Tetsuzou bowed deeply. Hyakkimaru stepped silently in front of him. His prosthetic hand closed quietly around the hilt of his hidden blade. Tetsuzou looked up at Hyakkimaru's face. "...You planning to fight samurai again? Don't be reckless. This time it won't be just one or two." Hyakkimaru shook his head. Reckless or not, he would do it. To protect. "...Hyakkimaru." Mio placed her hand gently on his back. "Thank you. But I can't let you carry this alone. Let's protect them together—me, the children, all of us." Hyakkimaru turned to look at her. Her light brown eyes gazed straight into his. And deep in his chest, that warm ache trembled again. —He would protect this girl. No matter what. Hyakkimaru gave a small nod. Night fell. Hyakkimaru and Dororo split up—one at the front of the temple, one at the back. The moon hid behind thin clouds, and darkness swallowed the surroundings. Dororo climbed a large tree behind the temple and strained her eyes. "...Too quiet." No insects. No wind. Nothing. It was as if this place alone had been cut away from the world. Hyakkimaru stood before the temple, blade in his arms. He pushed his spirit sense to its limit, searching for presences around him. —They were there. Multiple human presences in the forest surrounding the temple. And not ordinary humans. Trained killers, radiating bloodlust. Hyakkimaru tightened his grip on his prosthetic arm. Then it happened. Dororo's shout shattered the silence of the night. "Aniki! Over here! Something's at the back!" Hyakkimaru kicked off the ground. He rounded to the rear of the temple. Dororo was hurling stones from the treetops. "Damn it, I can't hit him! He's too fast!" Hyakkimaru peered into the darkness. A figure in black robes was weaving between the trees. Not alone. Two, three... five. The black-robed figures spread out, encircling the temple. "...So you found us." A low voice echoed from the depths of the dark. Hyakkimaru pointed his blade toward the sound. One of the black-robed men stepped slowly forward. His face was covered by black cloth. But in his hand, he gripped a talisman of strange design. That talisman, carved with the seal of Jigokudou. "By order of Lord Kagemitsu, this temple is designated an altar of demon-sealing. Do not interfere, boy." Hyakkimaru readied his blade. The man in black drove the talisman into the ground. Instantly, black mist erupted from the earth. "W-what the hell is this?!" The black mist twisted and reformed, taking the shape of a giant serpent. No—not a serpent. A grotesque, eight-headed serpent. A remnant of Yamata no Orochi. Hyakkimaru's spirit sense registered the demonic energy pouring from its entire body. —It was strong. A different order of magnitude from any demon he had faced before. All eight heads lunged at Hyakkimaru at once. He cut down the head that came straight at him with his prosthetic blade. Thunk. Solid resistance. One head fell to the ground. But. From the severed stump, new heads sprouted, writhing upward. "...!" Hyakkimaru leaped back. It regenerated. No matter how many times he cut, it regenerated. "Aniki! Cutting it's useless! Fire! Burn it with fire!" Dororo pulled a flint from the pouch at her waist. Hyakkimaru opened the armor on his prosthetic leg. The scalding water dispenser. Hiss! Boiling water sprayed across the remnant's body. The creature writhed in agony. It was working. But only for a moment. The eight heads surged toward Hyakkimaru once more. He swung his blade. Three heads flew off in a single stroke. But no sooner had they been cut than they grew back. Endless. "Damn it! Aniki, get back! I'll set it on fire!" Dororo struck her flint against dry grass. Whoosh. Flames leaped up. She bundled the burning grass and hurled it at the remnant. "Take that! My flame attack!" The blazing bundle struck one of the remnant's heads. Sssss. The head convulsed with a shriek-like motion, shriveling and shrinking as black smoke rose from it. It did not regenerate. Fire worked. "It worked! Fire works! Aniki, more fire!" Hyakkimaru sprayed the scalding water from his prosthetic leg at the remnant's body in rapid succession. Hiss, hiss, hiss. The remnant's body shrank, steam rising from it. But the creature did not falter. The eight heads, mad with rage, began ramming the temple walls. Thoom. The walls shook violently. "This is bad! It's trying to destroy the temple!" The remnant's tail swept through the temple's pillars. Crack. A pillar snapped, and part of the roof caved in. "Everyone, run!" Mio's voice rang out from inside the temple. The children came screaming out into the open. Hyakkimaru spotted a small figure beneath the falling debris. Take. Take was pinned under the collapsed wall. Hyakkimaru rushed to him instantly. He shoved the rubble aside with his prosthetic arm, putting all his strength into it. "Take! Take, are you all right?!" Mio gripped Take's hand. Take was clutching his leg, moaning in pain. "Mio-nee... my leg... it hurts..." Hyakkimaru lifted Take into his arms. So light. The bone might be broken. He had to get him somewhere safe, fast. "Aniki! Behind you!" He spun around—a remnant's head was closing in on his back. Hyakkimaru leaped sideways, still holding Take. The creature's fangs gouged the ground where he had stood. "Damn it, this thing won't quit!" Dororo hurled burning grass again and again. But the remnant no longer feared the fire. Mad with rage, it was single-mindedly bent on destroying the temple and everyone in it. Then it happened. Mio stood before the temple. "...I'll sing." "Sis, what are you saying?! Singing won't work on a monster like that!" "It will. My song reaches the souls of demons. ...I have to do this." Mio drew a deep breath. And she began to sing. The wind stopped. The remnant's movements ceased entirely. All eight heads turned toward Mio at once. Her voice trembled through the darkness of the night. Her body glowed faintly. The call of the soul. It resonated directly into the depths of Hyakkimaru's chest. The remnant's eight heads slowly drooped toward the ground. The thrashing tail went still. The song was calming the demon. "...Incredible." Dororo whispered, dumbstruck. Hyakkimaru simply stood and listened to Mio's song. This song should have been audible only to him. And yet now, the demon could hear it too. No—it was reaching the demon's soul directly. Mio's song slowly dissolved the remnant's grudge. Before long, the remnant's body turned to black mist and scattered. Gone. "We did it! Sis, you're amazing! The monster's gone!" Dororo jumped for joy. But. The moment Mio finished singing, she crumpled to her knees. "...Mio!" Hyakkimaru set Take on the ground and rushed to her. Mio's body was burning hot. "...I'm fine... just a little tired..." And with that, she lost consciousness in Hyakkimaru's arms. She was burning with fever. Her forehead was so hot it nearly scorched his touch. "Sis! Sis, stay with me!" Dororo grabbed Mio's hand and shouted. Hyakkimaru lifted Mio into his arms. Too light. Had this tiny body really wielded that kind of power? Hyakkimaru's chest constricted with a sharp ache. That night, Hyakkimaru never left Mio's side. She was delirious. "...Mother... I'm sorry... I, I..." She was talking in her sleep. Hyakkimaru held her hand. The cold fingers of his prosthetic wrapped around her burning hand. "Aniki... will sis be okay?" Dororo sat beside him, looking worried. Hyakkimaru did not answer. He couldn't. He just kept holding Mio's hand. —I will protect her. —I will protect her, no matter what. Hyakkimaru repeated it over and over in his heart. Just before dawn. Dororo found something strange behind the temple. "Aniki... look at this." What she held out to him was a single talisman. The seal of Jigokudou was carved deep into it. The talisman the man in black had driven into the ground last night. Hyakkimaru took it in his hand. Instantly, his spirit sense registered the violent grudge pouring from it. —This was no ordinary talisman. —This talisman was transforming the temple into an altar for the demon-sealing rite. And then Hyakkimaru realized something else. Mio's song. That song had the power to calm demons. The demon-sealing rite was an art that controlled a demon's power using a human sacrifice's soul as a medium. If Mio's song could serve as a substitute for a sacrifice's soul— Kagemitsu was trying to use Mio's song as the key to the ritual. Deep in Hyakkimaru's chest, a dark, seething anger ignited. —I will never hand her over. —I will never let them take Mio. "Aniki, what do we do? Want me to smash this talisman?" Hyakkimaru shook his head. Destroy it, and they would only plant another. What mattered was protecting Mio. Hyakkimaru clenched the talisman in his fist. "...Aniki, I've made up my mind." Dororo looked up at him, straight and steady. "I'm going to protect sis. Together with you, I'll protect her no matter what. All I can do is throw stones and shout real loud. But that's enough to slow them down." Hyakkimaru placed his prosthetic hand on Dororo's head. "...Aniki?" He gently stroked her head. Thank you. That feeling reached Dororo through telepathy. She turned her face away, embarrassed. "...Stop it, that tickles." Then it happened. The sound of many footsteps approached along the path before the temple. Hyakkimaru stood. Dororo stood beside him, her face tense. Out of the morning mist, armored samurai appeared. Ten. Twenty. No—more. At the head of them stood Gorouza. "People of the temple. By order of the lord, hand over the singing girl." Hyakkimaru stepped forward, one pace ahead of the s