01x03 - The Cursed Youngling

[bunniefuu]

Luna, the black witch.

She was my destiny.

Dearer to me than anyone.

Someone I will never forget.

My beloved.

EPISODE 3: THE CURSED YOUNGLING

Luna, somebody washed up here.

He looks hurt.

He's bleeding a whole lot.

I wonder what happened.

Maybe he fell off the cliff over there.

People do fall sometimes.

But if he did, he might be dead.

Oh, look! Somebody stabbed
him with a knife!

Huh? Then you think him falling
in the river wasn't an accident?

But he's still breathing...

I think he's a boy, at least.

What are you gonna do, Luna?

Luna?

When she later told me about this day,

the witch said that I looked
as beautiful as a doll to her.

She worried that if she touched me,

her poison might instantly
melt that beauty away

or turn it inside out and transform
it into something else entirely.

She said that when the thought entered
her mind, she was unable to move.

"Hey! Been a while, yeah?"

Hmm. But then what do we talk about?

"Figured I'd pay that sorry mug
of yours a visit for once."

Nah. That doesn't come off right, either.

I need something, I don't know,
more natural? Oh, got it.

"You know any mushrooms
good for glossy feathers?"

Yeah. I'll go with that.

Hey.

What the heck are you guys doing?

Claude!

Perfect timing, Claude.

We need to carry this boy home with us.

Wait. Is that...

Kinopio floats in the water
and can't stand upright.

Come on, help us! Luna
can't touch him, either.

That face... I'm sure
I've seen it somewhere.

But we've gotta help him soon, or else!

If we don't hurry up, he's gonna die.

Claude!

Please.

Huh? Why do I have to carry him?

I keep telling you to stay out of trouble.

I've been meaning to
give something to you.

I found some lovely stones in the river.

Huh?

Luna sure put a lot of
work into finding those.

Huh? You really think
I would... fall for...

a deal like that?

Thank you, Claude.

Crows go for glitter like
cats go for catnip, see?

Shaddap, bull! I'll make
roast beef out of you!

Yikes!

So, what next?

He's already lost too much blood. I doubt
there's much you can do for him...

now.

He's smelled like poison
ever since we found him.

Poison?

Huh?

What does that mean?

I'm not sure, but maybe
the knife is laced with poison.

Anyway, I need to try to take it out.

It's a cursed mushroom!

Is that what the knife was cursed with?

No, wait.

There's more to it.

Huh?

Hey. Luna. What is happening?

What the hell is that?

It stifles and fouls
the air in an instant,

like an unspeakable omen.

I know it.

I know what this mushroom really is.

Get back!

Luna!

Luna!

Luna!

Are you all right?!

Don't get too close... to me!

You okay?

That stuff all over you...
what is it? Miasma?

Did that thing get...

Luna? Luna!

Well.

Hello, Luna.

Master.

Look at you. Did you perhaps absorb
a poison you cannot contain?

I see.

So you have finally encountered

the one destined to become
The End to All Things,

the cursed youngling.

The cursed youngling!

Step closer, Luna. Leave all of
your overflowing poison with me.

Even for you, the poison from The End
of All Things is too heavy to bear.

The boy was very beautiful.

I could sense it in the
mushroom I drew from him.

It was as if his soul was crystal clear.

And that may be exactly what makes
him become The End of All Things.

And Luna,

as he is, so are you.

Regarding that child, you
may do with him as you wish.

I will remain here, watching over
you both until I wither and decay.

Luna!

Damn it. Where the hell is she?

Luna!

I can't find her anywhere.

Do you think she's okay?

Oh!

Luna!

Luna! Where did you go?
We were so worried!

Oh! All the black stuff is gone!

I'm sorry.

Moo! I had to keep Claude company
all by myself. It was hard work!

More like you kept hassling
me and wouldn't shut up!

Stop, you brute of a crow!

Oh yeah, bull?! Keep it up and
you really will be roast beef!

Claude was watching over the boy.

Stop it! Put me down!

Would you rather be a steak? How about
I grind you into a juicy hamburger?

Claude.

Moo!

Thank you.

He is definitely still alive.

But something's kind of strange.

His body's gotten smaller.

See? Strange, right?

When we found him,
he looked around fifteen.

And now he looks about six.

It happened after you took that
scary mushroom out of him.

I'm not sure when.

Luna, when you pulled the mushroom
out, did you use a youth spell on him?

She didn't have time for that, though.

Hey.

From how he's dressed, I have
an idea about where he's from.

If I'm right, getting involved
with this kid might—

Claude!

Please, don't tell anybody about him.

Huh?

Or about that mushroom we saw today.

What are you talking about?
I can't keep this a secret!

Please!

Out with it, then! You're acting
strange all of a sudden. What happened?

The truth is...

Champignon Witch.

Starting immediately,

we shall commence an emergency meeting
of the black witches and wizards

to determine your sentence for the grave
transgression you have just committed.

You understand exactly what
transgression that is, do you not, Luna?

They found out!

Due to the fact that you chose now
to commit such a serious violation,

we decided to hold an emergency
assembly of the Black Witch Council.

The Black Witch Council?
You've got to be kidding!

When black witches and wizards need
to make a very important decision,

they assemble a handful of top-ranking
members to hold a meeting like this.

But why come after a
witch as minor as Luna?

Whoa.

Luna.

No, Champignon Witch.

Surely you must be aware of how
severely the world would be threatened

if you were to harbor that being.

Did you think you would
be able to deceive us?

Figures. That brat's
the root of all of this.

I've seen a portrait of him before.

In this country, only royalty
gets painted portraits.

Dressed like that, I bet he's high-ranked
nobility of white witch lineage.

And most likely heir
apparent to the throne.

If you release him to us at once,
we will forgive your treason,

and overlook it as a mere
lapse in judgment.

The Water Witch is strongly advocating
for that. You should be grateful.

Oh, my. Could you just not,
like, spoil the whole thing?

Huh?

Listen to me, Luna.

Anyone can have a lapse in judgment.
This may be hard, but you should—

I used a mushroom to draw all
of the poison out of his body,

and it's already been neutralized.

Huh?

At this point, the boy poses no
threat whatsoever to the world.

So, please!

Threat to the world?

Wait a minute.

Is she saying

that she completely neutralized
the poison from that inconceivable,

heart-stopping monstrosity
of a mushroom that quickly?

I know she's a poison witch,
but is it really that easy to do?

And how was he able to carry such
a terrible poison inside him, anyway?

What's all this mean?

For real?

I was watching her when she
removed the mushroom, but...

It's already purified?

Perhaps this is all a desperate lie.

Oh, wow. You're all so quick to doubt.

It's obvious that you have
a very low opinion of Luna.

I, on the other hand, have always
known she's a very talented girl.

Wow, your bragging makes me
feel oh so very unenvious.

Yeah, this council doesn't seem all that
formal. Mostly thanks to that fish.

But that's beside the point.
The black witches' bodies look real,

but these are all just
spiritual projections, right?

That skill alone means their magical
powers must be through the roof.

What now, Luna? You're not going to
be able to get out of this easily.

I don't care about the bragging, but
maybe you shouldn't go so easy on her.

Is it wrong to show some mercy when
she still has her whole future ahead?

You're all going a little too hard on her.

No, you're going too easy.
And you aren't taking this seriously.

What? Yes, I am!

Then what's with that mask?

You're really gonna go there?

They wear masks to block white witch
magic so I don't know their faces,

What?

but my master once told me
who the council members are.

What's with your taste?

I'm assuming that is the Flame Magician.

You're messing with us, right?

FLAME MAGICIAN

It's distracting us from business.

Yes, it is certainly a little
irritating to look at.

Why don't you go back to your old mask?

The one that's friendly with
Luna would be the Water Witch.

WATER WITCH

Really? But I was so proud
of what I did with this.

And yeah, what the hell is that mask?

Behind her is most likely
the Beast Magician.

BEAST MAGICIAN

Hey, Flame. Watch your language.

That must be the Insect Magician.

INSECT MAGICIAN

I heard he's a huge guy who always
sides with the Beast Magician.

And that would be the Fiore Magician.

FIORE MAGICIAN

But she's never gonna listen unless
we give it to her straight.

There's the Crystal Witch
and the Eastern Witch.

EASTERN WITCH | CRYSTAL WITCH

And finally...

my own master, the Bird Magician.

BIRD MAGICIAN

Claude. I assume you showed up
today just to keep an eye on Luna?

It is appreciated.

Master Bird.

He is clearly the worthy leader
of the Witch's Council.

Would you mind sharing your
knowledge of this situation with us?

So this crow is, in fact, your familiar?

You. Does the Champignon
Witch speak the truth?

Sure.

How the hell would I know?

Claude...

Tch.

Regardless, I absolutely cannot
allow you to harbor that individual.

Man, this guy.
Why the hell even ask, then?

I will give you one last warning.

Peacefully release that
cursed youngling to us.

Refuse, and you will be
apprehended for treason,

and sentencing deliberations will begin.

He is the seed of The End of All Things.

It is an ironclad rule that he
must be ex*cuted when found.

If we wait until he grows into The End
of All Things, it will be too late.

So discard your frivolous sentimentality.

Did he say cursed youngling?

Luna.

I understand how you feel,
but you must also understand

the suffering that The End of All
Things would unleash upon the world.

If we are to stave off disaster,

even if this cursed youngling is innocent,

we cannot allow our personal emotional
distress to dictate our actions.

Please try to understand, Luna.

Water Witch...

You picked that moment
to change your mask?

The cursed youngling is the
seed of The End of All Things?

Born from the pollution of this world,
it is a diabolically poisonous monster.

All the ugliness, terror,
and wickedness of this world

compressed and concentrated into
a single, walking, poisonous blob.

When it makes contact with living
beings, they suffer horrible deaths,

rotting and dissolving
in unimaginable pain,

and all land in its wake is rendered
completely barren for years.

When it first started appearing,
how it got that name,

and how it's born, nobody
ever seemed to know.

It appears with no rhyme or reason
but with nation-crushing force,

then vanishes as abruptly as it arrived.

Being attacked and rotting to death may
still be better than the alternative,

as people have also been absorbed
into it. And with each body it claims,

The End of All Things grows even larger.

With no way to escape,
nations fell into despair,

and surrendered to it as they
would to a natural disaster.

The only beings able to purge those
poisons from the land and air,

to shed light on the pollution of this
world and to slay The End of All Things

with their own powerful magic, were
those known as the Poison Magicians.

You said "seed." Does that mean this
guy you call the cursed youngling

will eventually become
The End of All Things?

Huh?

You mean The End of All Things
actually grows out of a human being?

Claude.

I had absolutely no idea.

It's a well-kept secret
known only to magicians.

Were it to be made public, it may lead
to unnecessary turmoil and confusion.

Luna, I swear, don't tell me you already
knew this kid was the cursed youngling.

You knew and you still
talked me into saving him?

Unbelievable!

Claude?

Just hand the kid over!

If you let him live, he could turn into
The End of All Things at any time!

Damn it!

What the hell were you thinking?

That's the brood of a monster
that can destroy the world!

Why try to protect him?!

You don't...

They're not gonna let you
off the hook, either!

Fine! Screw it! I don't get you at all!

You little...

You're not just gonna hide
inside some mushroom fort!

I see. Perhaps the girl was completely
untrustworthy to begin with.

Oh, I wouldn't say that.

Well, we should have known.

After all, it's not hard
to understand why

she'd refuse to let the boy go.

Huh? What do you mean?

She calls herself the Champignon
Witch now, but that girl was once

a cursed youngling herself.