Shulato OAV #5

"Demon's Binding"

synopsis by Arcadia

Lakshu reenters her altar room. Her attendants beg her to stop what she's doing, but their pleas fall on deaf ears. She must tell Shulato what she's learned, and to do that, she must go to the human world herself. It's dangerous, but it's the only way to save Tenkuukai and Earth. She reassures the attendants and her little Nagas that she'll be all right, and enters the room, closing the door behind her. She gets on her altar and starts chanting.

Shulato runs through the wreckage of the army machines, angrily yelling for Scrimil. A light appears in the sky overhead. A green ball of light lands next to him. Expecting a fight, Shulato readies his weapon. But when the light clears, it's not Scrimil but Lakshu!

Reiga is still trying to fight free of the horde of children. He's reluctant to attack them directly. Enemy or not, they're still just children. He sees a ball of light shoot across the sky. Lakshu has arrived on Earth.

Lakshu almost falls over and Shulato runs to catch her. The trip to Earth has tired her out. But there are more important things to worry about now. If they don't hurry, not only Tenkuukai and Earth, but the whole universe could disappear.

Lakshu and Shulato ride off on his valuda as Lakshu explains. The strange Sohma was that of a Harmony God. Everyone thought Lakshu was the only Harmony God, but Scrimil is one, too. The primary duty of a Harmony God is to find a Creator God and together create a new universe. A Harmony God alone can't create a universe, so he had to find a Creator God- namely Gai. However, Gai by himself can't become a Creator God. That only happened when he and Shulato merged. Scrimil likely knows this, so why would he separate them? In any case, if Scrimil succeeds in creating his new universe, the old one will disappear. They must stop him before the universe is destroyed.

Gai sits in a chair outside. Mina brings some tea. She assures him that she'll always be with him. She pours some tea for both of them. Gai watches her, but seems to be distracted by something.

Reiga realizes that if Lakshu has come to Earth, something serious must have happened. Children or not, he can't let the enemy defeat him here, or coming to Earth will have been in vain. He lets loose a blast of Sohma, throwing the children in all directions. The children fade away and disappear into the ground.

After all the children have vanished, the ground shakes and a serpent made of mud appears from underground. Now that the enemy has shown its true form, Reiga has no more reason to hold back. He transforms.

Reiga slices at the mud monster with his rings, but it reforms into a giant humanoid shape. It tries to stomp Reiga, but Reiga dodges and flies into the air. Reiga cuts off the monster's arms. It grows a new arm from its stomach and grabs him. Reiga breaks free and casts a Karula Hanefubuki. The feather shred the monster until there's nothing left.

With the monster gone, Reiga decides to go find the others. The enemy apparently planned to split them up and pick them off one by one, and he's worried that they might be under attack, too. As he walks away, one of the feathers he dropped floats into the air and stabs him. Scrimil appears behind him, holding a rose in his mouth. As Reiga falls, he throws the rose to the ground. Reiga disappears and the petals blow away. Now he has five...

Gai picks up one of Mina's roses and absentmindedly starts breaking off the thorns. He pricks his finger on a thorn and it starts to bleed. The red color of the blood reminds him of when he was separated from Shulato. The Sohma that pulled him away was red, too... When he looks up, Mina is standing over him. It seems he's figured it out. But it's too late now. Mina takes his hand and they both vanish.

Shulato and Mina fly through the city. Lakshu knows where the source of the strange Sohma is, and she directs Shulato to it. It turns out to be a junkyard in Shulato's home neighborhood!

Lakshu collapses from exhaustion. It seems she's run out of time. She couldn't physically leave Tenkuukai, so the best she could do was send a double of herself to Earth. She can't hold the double there much longer. But there's still one more thing she can do before she runs out of time. She drags herself to her feet and teleports Shulato into the temple. Shulato begs her to stop, but she doesn't listen. After Shulato is gone, Lakshu falls over and disappears. Back in Tenkuukai, the real Lakshu lies unconscious on her altar.

Inside the temple, Renge and the fake Renge are still fighting. They're evenly matched, and neither can gain the upper hand. There is a flash of light and Reiga appears in the ceiling with the others. Now Renge is the only one left. The fake Renge gloats. Renge, however, refuses to give up. Even if she is the only one left, she won't be beatn until she has avenged her friends.

The fake is surprised that she still has so much Sohma left. She thought she's learned everything about her already. Renge is enraged. How can a mere fake, who knows nothing of friendship or love or betrayal, who has never experienced fighting alongside her comrades, know anything about the real Renge? They're not exactly the same, after all. Renge has something the fake doesn't. Renge has friends she has to protect. The fake can hardluy say the same.

The fight begins anew. Renge calls on her comrades to give her strength, and casts a Nahra Musouka. The fake does the same.

Shulato flies onto the scene just as the spells hit their targets. Renge manages to deflect the fake's spell, but the fake Renge is disintegrated. Renge has won. However, her victory is short-lived. She's used all her Sohma, ans she collapses. Shulato runs to catch her, but she disappears before he can. In another flash of light, Renge joins the rest of the Hachibushu.

Seeing that all his friends have been defeated, Shulato screams. A feather falls on the floor in front him. Scrimil has appeared. Shulato gets up, ready to fight. Scrimil says that he only did what a Harmony God was supposed to do- find a Creator God and create a new universe. Everything was part of his plan. He lured the Hachibushu to Earth with the strange Sohma, then used them to build his altar. The altar was necessary to awaken a Creator God, since he couldn't do it by himself. He also needed Gai for his plan, but as long as Shulato was in Tenkuukai, he couldn't get to him. However, it wasn't Scrimil who separated Shulato and Gai. Scrimil says he'll tell him who really separated them, and throws his feather at the door. Mina is standing there. It was her!

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