Help me! I beg of you!
Please, listen to me!
Help me, please!
It's this woman! Boss!
Wait, please!
I... I haven't done anything!
Take her to the Point!
No!
Investigate me! Investigate my story!
Wanting you to just be near, (to feel your breath upon my ear)
Wishing you would call my name, ('Cause only you can light the flame)
Constantly searching, still can't find
Ever illusive peace of mind
Sometimes it's near, but slips away
And I'm faced with another day
Of wanting you... (to feel your breath upon my ear)
...to just be near ('Cause only you can light the flame)
Of wishing you... (to feel your breath upon my ear)
...would call my name, to feel your breath upon my ear
Of wanting you...wishing you... (to feel your breath upon my ear)
Call my name, 'cause only you can light the flame
Is this clear?! The kidnappers which infest this castle town...
must be spies bent on overthrowing this fief!
Anyone found hiding or aiding them...
will under no circumstances be shown any mercy!
We will hunt them down to the last man...
and sever this evil from the roots!
Hey! Look!
We're burning seven people!
Seven people! Seven!
It's the curse!
The curse of Seven Man Point!
If we can see the ocean...
we must be near the domain of Kitabayashi.
Ogin!
Mr. Author isn't coming with us this time.
I know.
You and we don't live in the same world.
Then let me join you--
No!
There are boundaries people cannot cross.
Mr. Author...
Never.
Never seen them before.
Perhaps...
They're here to silence us.
You think Mr. Author's in danger, too?
That man has gazed upon the spirit of death as well.
Once you do that, it's up to your luck if you survive.
Are you implying there's a death spirit in Kitabayashi?
Kyogokutei, what are you up to?
That gray area.
No matter where I go, I'm still living in that gray area.
Dear! The guest on the second floor! I'm sure he's gonna hang himself!
You think so, too?
How long have do you think we've been doing this job?!
Well, the truth is I guessed it as soon as I met him--
Well, hurry up and get rid of him before he does it!
Tell him he's free to kill himself, but to do it somewhere else!
What, me? Why do I have to do it?
Pardon me.
Aren't you...?
Forgive my mishap in Sanuki.
My name is Ukon Shinonome...
once a retainer to the house of Kitabayashi.
Kitabayashi?
You know something about it?
No, only about the curse of Seven Man Point.
How?
What I know is only a legend...
but I've heard that Seven Man Point was originally a monster from Tosa.
If you encounter one, you're sure to die.
It's a type of death spirit, and there are seven in all.
Each one kills seven, then seven times seven more will die.
If those forty-nine then kill seven people each...
the number of total dead is almost limitless.
It progresses exponentially.
Indeed. And that's what's happening in Kitabayashi.
The year it started, seven people suddenly vanished from the castle town.
The next year it was fourteen people, then twenty-eight the year after that.
By now, countless people have vanished.
The citizens' fear has gone beyond reason.
They're completely paranoid now, convinced it's all the work...
of spies that have snuck into their domain.
And they're convinced there were people who helped them.
It's gotten that bad?
But with so many people vanishing, weren't there any clues left behind?
People from the castle searched thoroughly...
and a strict watch was posted.
No clues were found, and even more people vanished.
Even I'm starting to wonder if it isn't a real curse.
The curse of Seven Man Point.
Assuming for argument's sake that this is all a plot...
to take over the fief, it's all ended up the same.
As much as it pained me...
I snuck away from that accursed domain.
You're a lordless samurai. You mean...?!
I had no choice. My wife vanished as well!
She was three months pregnant.
Pregnant.
During the investigation, I learned something from the spies' activities.
What?
Master Yamaoka, l, too, have seen that terrible weapon!
Their movements now worry me.
You mean, they're going to use the flame lance again?!
Master Yamaoka, you've been marked for death.
Death? Me?!
Because you know too much!
I'm going out for a while.
Well, that's a rare thing.
What about that ronin?
He's still in my room.
Come back soon!
He's not coming back! What a load off my mind this is!
Please, accept your death gracefully.
Well, actually, I was relieved about it first.
Hold it! Dear, did you get the money he owes us?!
Got his deposit right here.
Somewhere among these people, one of them is trying to kill me.
Strange. I'm not scared at all.
Does my heart already long for death?
When one longs to die, does that bring him to death 's door?
Momosuke? Momosuke!
Heihachi!
It is you!
Sorry, Heihachi. I'm in a hurry.
Huh? Hold it, what's going on? Why are you in such a rush?
It'd be better if you stayed away from me.
What are you talking about?
Meeting you here is a terrific twist of fate.
Have you heard about the castle town in Kitabayashi?
Kitabayashi?!
Man, that's the first time I've ever been in such danger!
That must be what it feels like to walk in the middle of a pack of wolves.
When you're summoned to a castle personally...
you don't know if you're gonna come home in one piece!
God! Never again!
You were summoned personally?
Here's what was for sale.
Even places that seem to lie at the ends of the earth...
have curious people in them.
They call it an "atrocity print."
A pregnant...
Well, that's why very few major publishers...
would put out dangerous material like this.
They come out with seven serialized books a year...
for a grand total of twenty-eight volumes.
Did you say twenty-eight?!
Momosuke, what's wrong with you?
Heihachi, who did you sell these to?!
I told you, I was summoned directly to the castle!
Someone in the castle?
Wait! Momosuke!
Ukon!
Could it be? Could the curse of Seven Man Point be...
If it is, then Mataichi and the others are in danger!
Wait, please! I'll never tell anyone about that thing!
I... I...
I can't die! I can't die yet!
I... I don't regret my life. Please!
Master Yamaoka!
You're faster than I expected. Sorry I didn't come sooner.
I recognize these lackeys from Sanuki. It must be related to the flame lance!
Ukon...
What's happening at Seven Man Point isn't a curse.
People are behind what's going on there.
What do you mean?
I think the criminals are the people in Kitabayashi Castle!
That's not nearly enough!
Listen up, everyone!
There are a lot more enemy dogs hiding in our domain!
Show no mercy! Hunt them down to the last person!
These guys are making hell on earth.
Oh? What are they building over there?
Whoa! Master Yamaoka!
Y- Yes?
We can't go on horseback past here.
We'll have to go through a choke point.
D- Don't worry about me!
Me and my big mouth!
It's in sight, Master Yamaoka!
That's Kitabayashi Castle?
It all seems like a bad dream.
Lady Kaede, the wife of our previous lord...
threw herself from that tower.
The misfortunes in the castle town began after that.
It's what started everything.
We should wait till sundown before we enter the town.
Who's that?
Lord Danjou, the lord of the castle.
Tora-no-Shin!
Tora-no-Shin, what are you doing to your mother?!
Denzou...
Milord?
When will it be finished?
In another month.
You have half a month! We cannot wait any longer.
Milord!
What are you planning to do, Mata?
Sneak into the castle!
What?!
Oh, crap!
Looks like some travelers have wandered into this domain.
Not good.
Well, sir, it took us longer to cross the mountains than I expected.
We only just arrived here in the castle town.
I see. It sounds like you've had a rough journey!
Hey! What do we do with this girl?
Shiragiku!
To the next world, we commit Thee!
MATAlCHl!
For me, the Shiragiku I am now... I shall shine on in the shadows!
Figures she'd be connected to all this.
Bring her along, Kaburagi.
Yes, ma'am!
Is it possible the curse of Seven Man Point is...
This is certainly going to be a pain.
Master Yamaoka.
Yes?
My wife, Suzu...
was she really killed like it's shown in that atrocity print?
This may all just be my imagination.
It's just that the person buying...
those seven-part books comes from the castle, so...
Seven parts? So it's connected to Seven Man Point?!
Ukon?
What's that?
Don't tell me they're going to kill that little girl like in the pictures!
Kaburagi! You! It was you!
Heh! So you've returned, Ukon!
Was that a good idea, seeing how your wife still lives?
What?!
She lives so long as the moon is full!
Then you people really are...
Draw your swords!
That was the stupidest samurai I've ever seen.
Ogin! Mataichi!
Your luck remains amazingly strong, Mr. Author.
Uh-oh, here come reinforcements.
For now, we withdraw.
I see. They made a selection. The scream we heard before...
Then they'll eventually kill that girl, too.
Aside from that, Mr. Author...
that's certainly an awful idea you've come up with.
Well...
But if we don't save Ukon, he'll be...
Oh, I'm getting sick of this. Mind telling us how we do that?
No, l...
You involve others and then get us involved, too!
For heaven's sake.
Mr. Author...
Mr. Author, I don't mean to rob you of hope...
but that samurai was looking for a place to die.
A place to die?
Well, shall we get this plan moving?
Ogin.
Time to take the stage.
Wh- What's...
I am the Lady of the Point.
My enmity knows no end.
If you wish to quiet the curse, raise a shrine to me!
Pray for me!
What's with this castle?
What's with all the hidey-holes and secret passages?
Well, thanks to them, we could sneak in.
There's something definitely shady about this place.
Do you hear something?
That's the flame lance!
We've found him.
He's the death spirit haunting this place.
Which makes him the enemy we face.
The lord of this castle... Danjou Kitabayashi!
Wind chimes whisper soft and sweet
Though there's not a hint of a breeze
Moonlight dancing on the garden walk
As it gently drifts through the trees
Romance takes flight on this perfect night
While all of the world lays sleeping
Find us here as we feel the moment of love
Draw near
Dream, sleep, with your hand in mine
Underneath a blanket of stars
Song birds singing in a distant glade
As we share the warmth of the dawn
Evil and ambition scatter in the darkness...
Ieaving behind dubious rumors to fly in public.
Monsters. The darkness in people's hearts.
Apparitions as numerous as sadnesses.
That's why I continue to write...
of the sad darkness these specters inhabit.
Next time, on Natsuhiko Kyogoku's "Requiem from the Darkness."
The final episode.
"The Death Spirits of Seven Man Point, Part 2."
To the next world, we commit Thee.