Aragami (荒神)

SubText: NoRMITA.326

So you're awake?

Fix something to eat.

I hope you like it. Help yourself.

Thank you. I will.

Very good.

Where's the guy?

The man who brought you? I did what I could...

but his wounds were too deep.

I see.

I have no family. He was like a brother to me.

I'm sorry.

War is cruel to everyone.

Where is he?

I cleaned his body...

changed his kimono...

and laid him in another room.

You did?

That's one more thing I must thank you for.

Don't let it concern you.

This is a very unusual temple.

Are you it's priest?

No.

It was derelict.

Not many come this deep into the mountains.

I don't get along with people very well.

I've been living here for years.

I see.

And the lady?

Well, it's a bit complicated. She's been here for years.

Anyway, what are you going to do?

Now?

Yes.

I'll take...

his body back to his home.

I have no home, but he does.

That's the only way I can mourn him.

Thank you for everything. I'll take my leave.

What's your hurry?

The enemy will be looking for you on the road you came.

To the west is a sheer cliff.

You could go down it, but in this rain...

it might collapse.

I say this for your own good.

Rest the night here.

I have few guests.

I dislike society, so I've retired to this temple.

I'm glad to have someone to drink with after so long.

I know, considering your friend, that this is not an auspicious encounter...

but perhaps this, too, is some kind of destiny.

Well?

Let's drink the night away...

and sit vigil for him.

I'll take you up on that, then.

You have my thanks.

No, you have mine.

We'll make a night of it.

This is a drink called "wine", from a land called "France".

It's made from grapes.

A strange taste...

but a good one.

Isn't it?

Drink up!

This liquor, and this temple...

It's all new to me. Is all of this from foreign lands?

Yes.

I traveled far before I chanced upon this temple.

And that Buddha, is it foreign, too?

The face is strange.

I carved it.

You?

Yes. Living here, I have lots and lots of time.

It's quite something!

It's not so much Buddha as a carving of me.

Do you see?

Perhaps a little, now you mention it.

Speak your mind.

It's a very heavy rain.

Well, it should stop by tomorrow.

The mountain roads are dangerous.

And there is a legend they tell of this mountain.

Do you know it?

No.

They say the long-nosed goblin haunts this mountain.

"Tengu"?

Who haunts this forest, who seizes men to eat?

The very same.

"Tengu" rules this mountain.

He hears the drop of a pin.

He sees a thousand leagues.

He scents the difference between a man's blood and a beast's...

and he eats only flesh.

But "Tengu" is just the name...

that people give him.

He's really "Aragami"...

a fury of wild violence, the Raging God of Battle.

You seem to know this well.

But isn't something as dangerous as that...

a threat to this temple?

Not really.

Because this "Aragami"...

is me.

You had me there!

Sorry, sorry.

But "Tengu" legend is real.

Even if he did appear, you look like a strong man with a sword.

You could handle him.

What about you?

To survive that battle, and those wounds...

I'm sure more than a few men have fallen before you.

Tell me...

how many have you killed?

To count them would be in very bad taste.

Oh?

So you kill men in uncounted numbers...

and forget?

Shouldn't you remember the lives you take?

I've killed 794.

I remember...

their shape, their voice...

the last look on their face...

everything.

May I see my friend?

He scents the difference between a man's blood and a beast's.

I smell it...

You reek of blood!

Enough!

You're drunk.

I'll be on my way.

I'll come back and thank you properly.

Oh?

No, I'd like you to do that now.

I want you...

to kill me.

Are you mad?

I told you...I am Aragami.

But I've lived far too long.

I've been waiting for the one who will grant me death.

But it is not easy for Aragami...

to have himself killed.

Only a man worthy of the deed can cut me down.

This is crazy!

Why would I kill the man who saved my life?

That's why I ask.

You're in my dept.

Stop, will you?

You look like a man to me. Not "Tengu" or "Aragami".

Not all is what it seems.

Not even a man.

One with a saintly face may betray you.

One with an innocent face may be prostitute.

One with an evil face may be good.

Alright, let's say you really are Aragami.

Why should I kill you?

Take me to my friend, damn it!

You're a samurai. You have a duty to accept my challenge.

Why do I have a duty to fight the man who saved my life?

You are no longer who you were when you came.

Think about it.

Isn't it strange? You came here two days ago...

with 13 sword cuts and four arrows stuck in you.

Your wounds had festered, and you had a high fever.

And now?

Once a crazed lord kidnapped large numbers of small babies.

He believed he needed them to concoct a potion of immortality.

He thought newborns held untold possibility...

as nourishment...

in the treatment of wounds of disease and old age.

Now, while this lord...

was simply a lunatic...

his idea was not completely wrong.

There is a mysterious power...

in human flesh.

My friend...

Where is he?

To take your body...

past its limits...

the human liver is best.

Yes.

You ate the flesh of your friend.

He became part of you, and gave you strength...

otherwise, you were dead by now.

You bastard!

I understand how you feel. How about another drink first.

What are you?

Hey, hey, hey! Will you look at this sword!

It's about ready to snap.

This looks like it could be fun.

The night's still young. Let's take our time.

Shut up!

Huh?

You go too far!

Stop looking like you're dying. It's just a scratch.

Hey...hey.

Give it a rest.

See?

But you aren't immortal, you know.

The head...

or the heart kills you.

Anyway, let's have another drink.