Original subtitles

The countless gods still continue to live in today's world.

Some of them possess superhuman powers.

Strange cases occur when gods use their peculiar powers.

Resolving such cases without letting humans catch on to them

was the original role of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.

"Was"?

Everything changed when Hiruko appeared.

Right now, we are in a state of all-out war

with the mysterious god, Hiruko.

Wait a minute.

You said there are countless gods that live normally in today's world.

So then, was the woman who came to help us a god?

She is a pillar of the gods, named Toyotamabime-no-Mikoto.

Her name as a human is Himeka Toyotama.

Toyotamabime-no-Mikoto is the daughter

of the sea god Owatatsumi and the inspiration for Otohime,

the famous princess in The Tale of Taro Urashima.

Why did her face look distorted? And the sudden bursts of pain?

Toyotamabime-no-Mikoto has the power to freely manipulate water.

She can control the moisture in the air to make space appear distorted.

She can also manipulate the blood in human bodies.

Wait, forget all that. She's not Hiruko?

- Indeed. - And you didn't tell me?

Would you have believed it if I had told you she wasn't Hiruko

but a different god?

Wait, are the others also…

Mr. Ukino is Ukanomitama-no-Kami,

more commonly known as Lord Inari.

As a god of agriculture and food, he's quite popular with humans.

Mr. Serita, the delivery worker, is Sarutabiko-no-Kami.

When Amaterasu's grandson, Ninigi, descended to Earth

with his group from Takamanohara, the one who showed them the way

was Sarutabiko-no-Kami.

He's known as the god of safe travels,

which is why he looks over the city as he does his delivery work.

His special power is that of guidance.

Even if he doesn't know the destination,

he can lead his clients to wherever it is they need to go.

Does that mean…

I too am a god.

"I too am a god"?

I am Okitama-no-Kami.

I am the deification of the boulder where Sarutabiko-no-Kami dwelled.

Sarutabiko-no-Kami is Mr. Serita, right?

Indeed.

Let's just say… we have a long history.

Do you have any special powers?

Discerning good and evil.

I can see the virtue and malice that leaks out of humans.

Then did you already know who the culprits were in all the cases?

I can't do that.

All humans have some amount of malice in them,

and even a murderer can have some virtue in them.

Wait a second.

Can you see malice on me?

Rest assured. I've been seeing it on people since ancient times.

Ancient times?

Have you been alive for that long?

The thing that stayed alive was my soul.

The souls of gods reside inside the human body,

but those bodies can die in many ways, such as illness.

But the soul of a god does not perish.

It finds a newborn to dwell inside,

and their memories as a god return in early childhood.

Gods are constantly reborn and live as different people,

retaining their memories and watching over the world.

But it is possible for a god

to lose their memories, which are equivalent to their soul.

This is done by performing the Separation Ritual.

It's what we did to Hiruko's underlings.

By placing your hand on their forehead and chanting the word, "Forget,"

they lose all memories related to gods.

This works not just on humans, but on gods as well.

When their body dies without retaining memories of themselves as gods,

that god disappears for all eternity, both body and soul.

That is the truth behind the so-called Spirited Away Case.

Spirited Away…

All this time, Hiruko has been erasing actual gods?

The first five that were erased were all important gods.

They will never come back.

For gods to be erased…

is an unprecedented occurrence, even in our long history.

What happens when a god is erased?

Each of the many gods has their own role.

They produce nigi-mitama, which brings peace and the blessings of nature.

As we lose gods, the world will fall into disarray.

Humans will be the ones to determine what comes next,

but it will lead to ruin.

That is why the mysterious god Hiruko has to be identified

and their rebellion stopped.

Humans find it hard to accept things outside of their common sense.

I hope you can be comfortable knowing there's much you don't know.

Yes.

I know all too little.

But I know one thing for certain.

We must stop Hiruko.

My instinct tells me as much.

Strangely,

I feel like capturing Hiruko is my duty.

She choked to death.

Hiruko's claimed responsibility as usual, calling it "the Inugami curse."

And? Was she also a beauty influencer?

She had over two million followers. Some even called her a goddess of beauty.

A goddess of beauty?

Chief Inspector, I found it.

Sir?

Sorry.

What is this?

She said it was a skincare supplement.

Damn it.

Again?

There's been another victim in the Inugami Curse Case.

All the victims so far have been beauty influencers.

This marks the fifth victim in the case.

Hiruko claims their asphyxiation due to extreme overeating

is a result of the Inugami curse.

I hear the woman suspected to be Hiruko has been found.

Why didn't you tell me?

I'm very sorry.

But there's no way to know who's under Hiruko's influence.

Quite cautious, I see.

Gods, that is.

With age comes wisdom, as they say.

The police have been told that she turned out not to be Hiruko.

Thank you.

And?

Who exactly is Hiruko, the mysterious god?

Do you still not know?

Regretfully, gods are not omniscient.

Yum! That's good!

Ukinocchi, you've gotten better.

I'd like to open a shop within this lifetime.

Make it your next one, please.

Wait, what's that one?

- It's delicious. - Thanks.

You're telling me these are all gods?

It must've been a shock, right?

Being told that gods exist all of a sudden.

Is that Mr. Naobi person also a god?

He is a human.

Even in the government, only the Prime Minister, Chief Cabinet Secretary,

and Deputy Commissioner Naobi know about gods.

And their memories are erased when they are replaced.

- Using that Separation Ritual? - Oh, you did your research, Koyumecchi?

Also, why were you messing around with me, Ms. Toyotama?

- You made my vision blurry, right? - Sorry, just teasing you.

Teasing me?

Let's calm down.

We all want to catch Hiruko here.

Well? Have we learned anything about Hiruko?

I started investigating during the Shadowman case.

I looked into the guy who said he could see Hiruko.

I figured out he was faking it,

so I decided to show him a bit of a blurry illusion.

Why did you do that?

I tried to lure out the real Hiruko by turning it into a bigger case.

The mass faintings in the Fox Possession case were also bait.

I put them to sleep by condensing some air containing methane.

Then Hiruko put out a statement claiming responsibility.

Wait.

So that means you were the one who caused the case,

and Hiruko took advantage of that by claiming responsibility for it?

Yup. Hiruko fell for my bait, hook, line and sinker!

But in the end, Hiruko didn't show themselves.

But isn't it kind of messed up to make the students faint?

But it helped in solving the secret murder case in that school, didn't it?

Wasn't that purely a coincidence?

So you'd think.

You remember the teacher with the Kesaran Pasaran?

He prayed to me asking me to save his student who had killed a teacher.

Gods can hear the prayers of people who visit their shrines.

Ms. Toyotama occasionally grants some of those prayers.

That's why I caused a stir at the school and exposed the murder.

It also served as bait for Hiruko.

So you knew everything right from the start, Mr. Okitama?

No, I was acting separately from her, so I knew nothing.

For the Time Hole case, that woman prayed to be able to meet the missing researcher.

So, I made the foot fall at that place.

That was also to lure out Hiruko.

Did you also cause the serial suicides in Otemachi?

No.

That's when things changed.

The girl from the bakery had prayed for my help.

All I wanted to do was make those businessmen sick to teach them a lesson

by adding ergot alkaloids to their bread.

But then they started dropping like flies.

It had to be Hiruko's doing.

I think Hiruko caught on to my existence and declared war.

So,

if this Inugami case is also Hiruko's doing,

do you know of any gods who could do something like that?

Unfortunately, we don't know of every single god.

There's also a chance

that Hiruko has someone from the Inugami bloodline on their side.

An Inugami is a dog spirit that possesses people,

turning them into gluttons.

The Inugami bloodline refers to a family that could control them through sorcery.

They were capable of having an Inugami possess a target by implanting dog hair

with a curse.

Which means the one causing the chocking deaths might not be a god,

but someone from the Inugami bloodline.

All the victims had this supplement?

Where's it from?

Why should we help you when you keep going off on your own?

I wasn't particularly counting on your assistance.

But I believe Commissioner General Hikawa

instructed you to cooperate and share all information.

I'm so sorry.

We don't know where it's from, but one of the victims

told a close friend about an anti-aging supplement.

Anti-aging, you say?

Don't open it!

- What's it composed of? - Nothing harmful to humans, at least.

Do the victims have anything else in common?

There were a few shared beauty parlors and beauticians,

but none with any obvious links to Hiruko.

What about the Inugami?

People used to use dog hair to make an Inugami possess a person.

Did you find any dog hair?

Since when do you believe that stuff?

Well, I don't.

You're not the type to have occult beliefs.

Please keep up that persona.

I'm sorry.

Also, you noticed something back there, didn't you?

- Was it something only a god would know? - Yes.

- Hello again. - Mr. Serita.

Give this to Koby.

A supplement?

You stole it?

Figure out its composition.

Got it.

Can't you cooperate with the police a bit more?

The bombing case made it clear.

Hiruko has collaborators in the police.

We can't trust humans.

That's just…

We've experienced it again and again.

The history of gods is one of betrayal by humans.

Do you… loathe humans?

It's our duty to protect them.

Say hello to a new you.

We create beauty…

…and give you a unique charm.

To beauty and beyond.

Why Okuma Beauty Clinic?

All five victims visited this place.

There were other places they all visited.

I'm here to see him.

Dr. Okuma?

He's a shrewd businessman with his hands in other industries

such as restaurants and cosmetics.

He partnered up with the beautician Masumi Inuzuka a few years ago,

and greatly grew his businesses.

You're very informed.

Sorry to make you wait.

You're from the police?

I'm afraid Okuma isn't available right now,

so I will be attending to you.

We're here to meet Mr. Okuma.

Tell him we're from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution office.

All-domain Anomaly? What is that supposed to be?

We assist the police.

I came here personally because I heard the police were here.

- Please leave... - No, we will be meeting Mr. Okuma.

- Like I said, he's... - Excuse me.

Okuma says to let them through.

- Huh? - I'm sorry.

He says he will meet them.

Nice to see you, Ms. Michiko.

You know her?

Dr. Okuma's a friend.

This is his secretary, and his former partner, Michiko Yashiro.

- It's a bit complicated. - Oh, it's fine.

But you came at a good time, Mr. Okitama.

Please come in.

The doctors said he doesn't have long.

You look good.

Why didn't you tell me?

I figured you'd be busy.

Is he also…

Ookuninushi-no-Kami.

He's a famous god who created the Izumo Province.

His power is to cure wounds and illnesses.

But he can't cure his own illness?

I see.

So it was true.

Excuse me?

It's nothing. Don't worry about it.

Does that mean Hiruko's target this time is Mr. Ookuninushi?

That's what I thought, but to think he's in this state…

What's that about?

Five beauty influencers have died of asphyxiation due to overeating.

All five of them visited this beauty clinic.

Do you know anything?

No.

What about this?

All the victims took this supplement.

Its composition?

Sarutabiko is delivering it to Sukunabikona.

Sukunabikona?

Koby, who helped us out before.

He's a god of medicine, well-versed in medicinal herbs.

What is it?

It's from Mr. Serita.

It had something unexpected in it.

A mermaid?

A mermaid?

- The ones that are half fish? - What other kind is there?

Right. My bad.

So you do know something.

I made a critical mistake in this life.

I became infatuated with a woman and was tricked by her.

Ninety years ago.

It was during my past life.

I fell deeply in love with a certain woman.

But soon after our marriage,

I fell sick during an epidemic and died young.

We made a vow to each other, that we would reunite in our next lives.

Of course, she was just a human, not a god.

I knew it was a wish that would not come to pass.

In this life,

I swore never to marry.

I devoted myself to cosmetic surgery, a new field of medicine.

But then,

I witnessed the wretchedness of humans obsessed with beauty.

I fell into great despair at the ugliness of human greed.

It was Michiko who gave me solace during that period.

We became an unmarried couple,

and I planned to live out my life with her.

But then,

two years ago,

I met Masumi Inuzuka.

Inuzuka was the spitting image of the woman I swore to reunite with.

Being with her felt as if I was still living my past life.

I became completely infatuated with Masumi Inuzuka.

As for Michiko,

I left her and made it so upon my death,

she would receive all my assets as well as this clinic.

And thus, I started a new life with Masumi Inuzuka.

She had a hidden talent as a beautician and started many successful enterprises.

The two of us were truly happy.

However,

once it became obvious I was at death's door…

she changed all of a sudden.

After I die, the clinic will go to Michiko.

Before that happens, while she still has complete freedom,

she began obsessively researching a form of beauty treatment.

It was research into Yaobikuni.

Yaobikuni?

She's a nun who is said to have lived over 800 years by eating mermaid flesh.

Legends remain all over Japan about the flesh of a mermaid

bestowing immortality if consumed.

So it's not just gods, you're telling me mermaids are real too?

Inuzuka has been

gathering mermaid taxidermies from across the country.

Taxidermies?

There's still a number of mermaid taxidermies throughout Japan.

Some believe they bring good fortune, while others worship them as gods.

Many of them are fabricated, but some could very well be real.

Inuzuka mixed parts of those mermaid taxidermies into the supplements.

She may have been using the influencers

as test subjects for her experiment on achieving eternal youth.

Would someone go that far for beauty...

I wouldn't put it past her.

She is a monster obsessed with the desire for beauty.

That's why she approached me, to get her hands on my money and clinic.

Tell me.

Okitama.

Does it ever feel pointless to you?

We have protected humans all this time.

And every time, we are betrayed by them.

Maybe Hiruko isn't rebelling against the gods.

Maybe Hiruko just got sick of being a god.

I don't want to hear the complaints of a god!

Our priority is to stop Ms. Inuzuka immediately.

You're right. It's my responsibility too.

Bring Inuzuka in.

She just left, saying she had an urgent errand.

I WILL HAND OVER A NEW MERMAID

This is Ms. Inuzuka's workroom.

So this is a mermaid?

I wish it was cuter.

Wait, is that a real one?

It seems so.

In any case, gathering this many is no easy task.

Between digging for info and procuring all of these,

Hiruko might very well be involved in this.

Excuse me.

What is it?

I've known that Ms. Inuzuka has been buying these taxidermies all this time.

And also

that she was secretly distributing the pink supplements to her patients.

How do you know all that?

I'm ashamed to admit it,

but I hired a private detective to investigate her.

Where is she headed?

Most likely their usual trading spot.

Ms. Inuzuka!

On your knees.

What's going on?

So you're the ones that stole and gathered the mermaid taxidermies.

But didn't Ms. Inuzuka hire them?

All I did was buy from them.

I am the one who hired them.

Ms. Michiko.

- Why? - To expose your true colors.

I knew you'd start researching immortality if I handed you a mermaid.

Because you're a monster obsessed with the pursuit of beauty.

I let Okuma know that you were after his wealth from the start.

In his last moments, he will regret not staying by my side.

Then why did you lure us here?

Because that was Lord Hiruko's command.

Lord Hiruko was the one who proposed this plan in the first place.

I received an email from Lord Hiruko when Okuma's condition deteriorated,

saying that this woman would show her true colors if she had mermaid flesh.

I also received this dog hair.

Dog hair? Does that mean...

Inugami, was it?

Lord Hiruko told me to put this on the women who received the supplements.

That they would become vulgar gluttons if I did so.

But to think they'd eat themselves to death.

What's so funny?

Their ugliness.

All they care about is how they look.

I can't stand women like her who are filthy on the inside!

People who polish their outward beauty

are much cleaner on the inside than you are, if you ask me.

I will hand over this woman, as well as you two, to Lord Hiruko.

Hiruko wants you…

to hand over Ms. Inuzuka too?

What are you?

Like I said, she's a monster obsessed with eternal youth.

Police!

Hands up!

Get on your knees.

Arrest them!

Thought you didn't need our help.

Got anything to say?

Thank you for your assistance.

You contacted them?

I trust humans.

You didn't have to.

I was planning to have them take us to Hiruko, thus learning their identity.

Oh, really now?

You looked pretty worried back there.

We have some connections within the government, you see.

The police suspect a connection between you and Hiruko,

but you should be released soon.

How is Dr. Okuma?

I took a look…

at your family register.

It says you were born in 1937, making your current age 87.

You look young for your age.

In truth, even this family register was fabricated in the post-war chaos.

You've actually been alive for several centuries.

I'm sorry.

I believe asking a woman for her age is considered inappropriate nowadays.

You are Yaobikuni, aren't you?

Rest assured. Only us and a few people in the government know this information.

To prevent any issues,

a new family register more appropriate for you

has been given to the police.

But one thing still confuses me.

Why did you devote yourself to your research into mermaid supplements

when you've already obtained immortality by consuming a mermaid's flesh?

It wasn't for yourself,

but to save Mr. Okuma.

Why do you think that?

I regret to inform you that Dr. Okuma passed away last night.

Ninety years ago,

you met your soulmate and promised to reunite in a future life.

Of course, that was impossible.

He died, and you, Yaobikuni, continued to live.

But a miracle happened.

You reunited with your long-lost love.

His appearance may have been different, but he was the same inside, was he not?

How do you know that?

Even having lived for several centuries,

there are still things you do not know.

The truth is,

Dr. Okuma was a god.

- A god? - You just had to tell her, didn't you?

There are countless gods in this world, and Dr. Okuma was one of them.

The soul of a god does not perish.

It moves to a newborn baby.

When that child grows up,

they'll remember everything from their past lives.

They've repeated that process many times.

Then you're saying…

Dr. Okuma and the person you loved 90 years ago…

were the same person.

If you continue to live, I'm sure…

you'll meet him again.

I apologize, but there are rules.

I will erase your memories relating to gods.

Erase my memories?

I'll place my hand on your head and you'll forget what you just heard.

That's fine.

That's fine with me.

I promise…

I will meet him again.

See?

There's also such beautiful humans in the world.

Forget.

What about the Inugami curse?

We handled it by saying one of the ingredients in the supplement

caused an increase in appetite.

Michiko Yashiro and the other men didn't have any new info on Hiruko.

I wonder what Hiruko wanted to achieve.

I checked some old documents, and some said that the Inugami curse

was ineffective against people that had consumed mermaid flesh.

What's that mean?

They wanted to confirm if the women taking the supplements

had actually become immortal, using the Inugami curse.

My guess is that Hiruko used Ms. Inuzuka,

who was also Yaobikuni, to produce a supplement

that could impart immortality.

And? Did she finish it?

Ms. Inuzuka said she did receive the mummified remains of a real mermaid,

but it was too old to have any effect.

But why would a god like Hiruko be interested in immortality?

By the way, I have a question for you, Mr. Serita.

Ask away.

Are you still my husband?

So it's true, then.

Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto.

I'm a god too.

As I'd expect from our head.

An amusing line of thinking, as always.

Head?

I will share with you all that transpired.

Subtitle translation by: Saim Ul Hassan