[♪ epic choral music playing]
[narrator] The True Demon King has died.
The enemy of the world that filled the horizon with fear,
was defeated by somebody.
To this very day,
that lone Hero remains unknown, both in name and existence.
Now the age of fear has come to an end,
that person has to be chosen.
[♪ theme music playing]
ISHURA
Episode 4
Nihilo the Vortical Stampede and Kia the World Word
Aureatia Central Detention Center
- [approaching footsteps] - [gasps]
Lord Hidow, we've received a report from headquarters in Mage City.
Jeez. Do New Principality issues fall under my jurisdiction already?
Yes, sir.
The Third Minister sent notification this morning.
Jelki, huh?
So he's still working at breakneck speed then.
All right, what was the report?
Regular communication from 10 members of our secret service has stopped.
In a matter of one day…
Their base must have been surrounded.
What about survivors? Did nobody escape?
[guard] No, sir, not a single person.
All were elite agents commanded by the Seventeenth Minister.
[Hidow] Hmm…
How many will you need?
For this tactical squad,
I'd want the 64 members of Squad 16.
I'd probably need a sniper team too.
Does Miss Elea know about this?
Miss Elea?
The Seventeenth Minister.
Elea the Red Tag.
- [grunts] - [Hidow] She leads the tactical squads.
You should probably report to her first, not me.
Although I heard she's currently undercover on a different operation.
Yes, sir.
She appears to be in a remote region where radzio communication isn't possible.
So I thought I'd report to you first, as you're the person in charge.
The person in charge?
Come on.
I haven't been officially appointed yet.
That may be true, but…
[keys jangling]
[lock clicks]
Man, everyone around here just does as they please.
[guard] Shall we send in new undercover agents?
We'd only be sending them to their deaths.
We need to try something else.
[Hidow] To the east of Mage City Headquarters,
there's sunken ground that's been carved out by a stream.
Have your men set up camp there.
I know of that sunken ground,
but it's extremely far out from headquarters.
[guard] It's not a particularly useful position for defense.
[Hidow] We'll use it to attack.
Those pesky wyverns won't spot us there.
I'll send over a few fortification experts tomorrow.
[guard] Understood.
Incidentally,
about the release of the Vortical Stampede…
Lord Hidow,
will you be in control of this?
- Sure, move out of the way. - [surprised grunt]
[Hidow] I know you're awake, Nihilo.
[Nihilo grunts]
[Nihilo] Don't worry,
I'm awake now.
Apparently, 10 secret service members based in the New Principality
were all killed in a single day.
[Nihilo] Interesting…
How many would you need?
One.
- [♪ uneasy music playing] - [Hidow] Nihilo the Vortical Stampede.
This girl single-handedly annihilated a whole regional army in Aureatia.
[fire blazing]
[Nihilo] Or should I say,
one being and one body.
[Hidow] According to all current records,
she's the most horrific bioweapon there is.
Eta Sylvan Province
[water lapping]
Minia Seventeenth Minister: Elea the Red Tag
[Elea] My great-grandmother used to say
that beauty is a talent given to us by an angel when we're born.
But…
I don't think that's true.
Beauty appears with talent and hard work.
It requires continuous and meticulous maintenance.
Yawika?
Oh.
Ms. Elea!
[Yawika] But why?
I thought you'd gone back to Aureatia.
[exclaims]
Your body is so beautiful!
- [Yawika giggles] - Y-You think so?
Thank you.
[♪ calm music playing]
[Elea exhales softly]
Lessons are over now,
but I'll be in this village until tomorrow.
I thought I'd take a bath before I go.
Right!
Will Kia be here until tomorrow too?
Of course.
She'll come and say bye to everyone when we leave.
Ms. Elea,
teach me something.
A private lesson for me!
I guess I have no choice.
Okay, but Words Arts systems only.
I don't want you getting dizzy.
Yay!
[Elea] In Word Arts, there are four main systems.
Though elves don't really differentiate between them.
But in the Central…
In minian education, that's not the case.
I know!
There's Thermal Arts, Craft Arts,
and…
What else was there?
Oh, well done!
You already knew two of them.
Did you study this by yourself?
[giggles] Nope! Muya from next door told me.
I did know three but I forgot.
Let's see…
Thermal Arts, Craft Arts,
Force Arts, and Life Arts.
These are the four systems.
Huh? [soft chuckle]
Now I remember!
[giggles]
What a good student you are.
[giggling]
[Elea] You understand Thermal Arts, don't you?
It's the thing your mother uses all the time in the kitchen.
[Yawika] I can use it too!
[Elea] Oh!
Then next time I come, I'll have you cook something for me.
Yay! Just leave it to me.
[Elea] Now, as for Force Arts…
From Elea to the waters of Eta.
[echoing] Wingless bug,
swollen leaf, tender spine. Fly!
[gasps, grunts]
Oh, sorry about that!
I'm not very good at Force Arts.
Don't worry, I'm fine! [giggles]
But it worked, didn't it?
Moving things, sending them flying.
That's what Force Arts is all about.
For example,
have you ever seen an arrow fired from a bow change direction mid-flight?
I have!
I think…
Once you master Force Arts,
you can even fly in the sky,
even if only for a brief moment.
That's amazing!
Then what about Craft Arts?
Okay, please watch.
From Elea to the waters of Eta.
[echoing] Twelve bones, ocean's floor,
ashes of the end. Halt.
[gasps]
Wow!
Ice?
[soft chuckle] But is it really?
[gasps]
It's warm. So it's not ice. But how?
Craft Arts are used to change the shape of things.
Just like how we give a tree a new shape in the form of furniture,
we can give shape to hot water like this.
That's amazing!
[Yawika exclaiming]
- [yelps] - [chuckles]
Just one left.
Life Arts.
To put it simply, this is what doctors use.
There are people who mend your wounds or heal your colds, right?
Granny Micch does it for me.
But recently,
I don't get hurt at all.
[Elea] I see.
But no matter how amazing Granny Micch is, she wouldn't be able to heal my wounds.
The wounds of an outsider.
Do you know why that is?
Um…
If you haven't spent a long time together with a person,
you won't understand the words to convey with Word Arts.
The same goes for the wind, water,
trees and iron.
Wouldn't it work between us?
[Elea] No.
However, water is obedient, different from living things.
It's been just under six months since I came here,
but even I can use Word Arts with it.
Let me teach you something else that Life Arts can be used for.
From Elea to the waters of Eta.
[echoing] Hollow of the folding tree.
Mound of dark sinews, reflecting shell. Dissolve.
Give it a lick.
[surprised grunt] It's sweet!
Unlike Craft Arts,
which change the shape of things,
Life Arts change the property of things.
You can even change water to wine.
Really?
When I asked Granny Micch why she can heal wounds,
she said, "I just can."
Elves are very good at Life Arts,
so that would make sense.
Life Arts are what I'm best at too.
Really!
Then heal me if I ever get injured.
Of course.
Yay! [laughs]
[Elea] But…
my true talent lies in something else…
[ominous ringing]
That's the end of this lesson.
Let's pick up where we finished
- when I come back here. - Okay!
Can I tell you something?
Of course, what is it?
- [giggles] - [Elea gasps]
- [Elea] Hey! - [giggles]
[Yawika] I love you!
Even if you go back to Aureatia.
[soft gasp]
Yes, and I love you too, Yawika.
You have such big boobs too! [giggling]
That has nothing to do with anything.
[laughing]
What are you like?
[Elea] If only for a little while,
I was able to forget the reason why I came to this village.
I can never tell Yawika
the true reason.
Ishura This World Has No Common Language
[water lapping]
[sighs]
[child] Who knew that minians took such long baths?
[Elea] Kia?
And to think you made Yawika stay in the bath with you the whole time.
Professor Viper.
You mustn't call people such things, Kia.
[Kia] But it's true.
You're a slob at home,
but outside, you act all sophisticated.
[sighs]
Never mind that.
What are you doing up there?
I was going to take a bath once you got out.
But you took forever.
[soft grunt]
Using Word Arts to peep isn't very nice either.
[gasps] Who do you think I am? That's obscene.
I can relax up here
because there aren't as many bugs, that's all.
[Elea] Were you hoping to take my lesson too?
[Kia] No! I hate studying.
Yawika is the weird one.
[soft chuckle]
[sighs]
Drop me off next to the professor.
[creaking]
[♪ mystical music playing]
Now go back.
You can have this back.
[Kia] Thanks.
[squelches]
[Elea] Words Arts require both an understanding of the target object
and a special incantation
to weave words into the soul of the object.
However,
an exception to these rules exists.
Just one exception.
Kia's Word Arts alone, defy every fundamental rule.
- [Elea] Kia? - Hmm?
You mustn't use Word Arts for every little whim you have.
Your power…
Is a talent for bringing happiness to others, right?
You're always saying that.
Your power is special.
So it would be boring if you just used it in a normal way.
[Kia] Hmph.
As long as I enjoy my life, then normal is fine by me.
What's normal here isn't normal outside of Eta.
[Elea] You'll be enrolling in a school in Aureatia straight away.
But aren't we about to set off for Lithia, not Aureatia?
The same goes for Lithia.
Not only are there elves,
there are even dwarves and leprechauns there.
What! There are races like that there?
Yes.
So you must think about how other people perceive you.
People might talk badly of you.
[chuckles]
I wouldn't care at all!
I could deal with them.
All I'd have to do is say the word "die."
[chuckles] And they'd all die!
[birds chirping]
[Elea] Kia!
[birds chirping]
[happy gasp]
Ms. Elea!
Ms. Elea.
- H-Hello. - [♪ light music playing]
Oh. Good morning, Yawika.
You too, Thien.
Since you're both leaving today,
Thien said he wanted to come and say bye too.
W-Well, I just…
Is that true?
I'm very happy you came too, Thien.
[Thien] Y-Yes…
M-Ms.
I know Kia acts this way, but all the kids,
and the adults of the village,
are all… grateful to you.
Me too.
I'm hugely grateful.
[Thien] Thanks to you,
we're all smarter now.
It's true.
If that's true,
then I'm incredibly happy.
- Oh. - [Elea] I'm sure I told you once in class.
Knowledge is like a seed.
So long as you water it with learning,
it will grow all by itself.
[Elea] Mm.
The person who first planted that seed,
is you, Ms. Elea.
And yet I can't offer anything in return.
- [surprised grunt] - [Elea] Come now.
Finding such cute students as yourselves is all I could ever ask for.
Isn't that right, Yawika?
[Yawika] Right!
I love you!
[irritated sigh]
Such a barefaced lie.
This is what you call being a bad adult.
K-Kia, you just don't want to go and study in Aureatia.
[Kia] Kids who like studying are the weird ones.
Oh, Kia.
[Elea] Why don't you be honest with yourself for once?
[soft grunt]
[soft chuckle]
[♪ pensive music playing]
[Elea] I assumed a false identity
and secured a study abroad program in Aureatia for Kia.
That was all for a single purpose.
[crowd cheering]
The Imperial Competition to determine the Hero.
Kia is capable of beating any opponent.
She could even face off against Aureatia itself.
If she wins,
then even I, the child of a concubine,
will no longer be looked down upon by anyone.
Kia! Let's go to our favorite place.
I won't see you for a while.
What? Why do we have to go to that place?
What place might that be?
Is it a favorite place of yours, Kia?
No, it's not, Yawika likes it.
I just went with her, that's all.
Take me there!
Okay, fine.
[Kia] You don't need to come, Professor Viper.
It's not that great of a place.
[Yawika giggles]
Uh… Wait!
That's fine.
- Or maybe I will tag along! - [Kia yelps]
[in annoyed voice] You really don't need to come!
[laughs]
[footsteps thudding]
[rustling]
I never knew that hill had a hidden path in the bushes.
Right!
It leads to a place where you can see the tip of the village watchtower.
Wild boars or deer might use this path.
Wild boars are no problem.
I can get rid of them with my Force Arts.
You're amazing, Thien!
I could hook the whole pack on the top of a big tree.
[Yawika] You're amazing too, Kia!
Don't leave your professor behind!
[Elea] An adult minia can advance in single file
without any real problems.
This direction should bring us out at the Fourth Mountain.
[♪ uneasy music playing]
At the harvest festival,
I recorded the defensive measures that were taken,
while being mesmerized by the fervor and beauty of it all.
While teaching the uses of forest plants,
I sent detailed records of certain medicinal herbs to Aureatia by bird.
I investigated this secluded region where dense fog hinders human passage.
Eventually, the army of Aureatia
will probably take everything from this village.
A rumor from the era of the True Demon King talks of a village,
where a certain individual has almighty Word Arts.
I found the village's location from a captured Lithia soldier.
That soldier is no longer in this world.
All that's left,
is to deal with anyone who knows about my relationship
with the World Word.
Look, we're here.
That was tiring, huh?
[Yawika] Are you tired too, Ms. Elea?
Oh, yes.
Is this really the place?
[wind howling]
See? It's nothing special.
This is why I told you not to come.
[Thien] It's because of the clouds.
Kia, why don't you just clear them away?
[chuckles] Good idea!
I'm glad we have Kia here.
[sighs]
Clear them away?
How would that work?
- [Kia] Stop already. - Hmm?
You both make it sound so easy.
Still,
I wouldn't want this to be my last memory of this village.
It's not like I'm doing this just to prove I can.
Hmm?
Clear away.
[gasps]
- [both gasp] - [♪ soft music playing]
[amazed gasp]
[♪ grand music playing]
[Elea] She's invincible.
This power makes her invincible.
No matter who stands in her way,
Kia will win.
See? The view isn't that great.
[surprised grunt]
[breathes shakily]
Ms.?
Is something wrong?
Ms.?
[Yawika] Are you crying?
I'm not crying.
I'm not.
I'm not crying.
[narrator] She is the one who ignores all laws of nature,
possessing the power to warp anything in existence.
The one who surpasses all nature,
dominating the entire world with a single word.
The one who rejects all analyses
and predictions, a singularity beyond all else.
At present,
the limits of this almighty savant
are yet to be measured.
She is a Wizard. She is an elf. She is Kia the World Word.
[♪ closing theme music playing]
Translated by Zacarias Hicks
Next: Episode 5
Higuare the Pelagic and Nastique the Quiet Singer