From the New World (新世界より)

See ya.

See you tomorrow.

We really have to go home now.

Let's call it a draw then.

That's not fair!

We were just about to win!

You guys should surrender.

Yeah! We were way better.

Surrender? What are you talking about?

We were better, right?

You don't even have the flag. Why on Earth would we surrender?

A draw, I'd say.

Satoru! Why are you siding with them now?

Rules, I tell you. Rules.

Gotta follow them.

Time's up when the sun goes down.

But it's still right there!

Only because we're up on a hill.

Let's go home, Maria-chan.

We have to go home once we hear Going Home...

We could go home right now if you surrender.

You guys...

Hey, referee!

Yeah?

Take this seriously.

The referee wasn't even paying attention.

Tell them it's a draw.

Come on.

You're right.

It's a draw.

Hey, Shun!

We're going home!

Wait for us!

We weren't done!

I'm going now! The Copycats will come.

Saki, let's go!

Can you see that?

See what?

A minoshiro.

Yeah.

So? What's so special about it?

I am Mushin, the head priest of this ravaged temple.

I'm Watanabe Saki.

Um... Where... Where am I?

This temple is called the Temple of Purity.

Um, is this outside the Holy Barrier?

It is.

You have ventured outside the Holy Barrier for the first time in your life.

Now then, let us kindle cedar sticks for your passage to adulthood.

Let us burn away the last of your worldly desires.

Look at the flames.

Try controlling them.

I can't.

Fear not. You can.

Make the flames tremble.

Sway them from left to right.

Saki!

Everything is okay now!

What is this?!

A Spirit of Blessing.

It has come to you too!

This?

It means you're an adult now.

You've graduated from Harmony School!

You'll be in Sage Academy now!

I'm so happy!

We don't have to worry anymore!

Stop! That's enough!

The last worldly desire left within you is your Cantus itself.

Cast away your worldly attachments.

You must cast all of them into the purging flames to reach enlightenment.

Let us give the power that the heavens granted you back to the gods.

We shall seal your Cantus in this human emblem.

Control the emblem and make it stand.

Put all your feelings, everything, into this emblem.

Watanabe Saki!

Your Cantus has been sealed here!

All your worldly desires have been burned away, and the ash will return to the ravaged earth.

Your Cantus has been eradicated.

Look at the flames.

You can no longer control the flames.

You have shown great devotion and abandoned your Cantus.

Now I shall teach you a pure mantra, summon a new spirit and bestow Cantus upon you once more.

Mantra...

This is Watanabe Saki-san, your new classmate.

We're all in Group I.

Mamoru's from Friendship School.

Hello.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too!

Took you a while.

Sorry I took so long.

You bet!

We got tired of waiting.

I'm a late bloomer.

It's not like it's necessarily a good thing if the spirit comes to you quickly.

So you say, and still you're the last one.

Say what you want, but you sure took your time.

Oh come on, Satoru! You weren't much faster!

Wait, the last?

But the class that I left still has a lot of kids.

May you be cleansed within.

Well...

In Sage Academy, we practice our abilities on top of covering the normal subjects.

Did anyone tell you?

I'm top of the class in Surface Water Manipulation.

And you're a complete failure when it comes to Force Exchange.

The teacher said I should focus on the imaging part of it for the time being!

The Lotus Farms.

This place is similar.

To where?

Don't you remember? We went on a field trip in Harmony School.

Wow.

Hey, aren't those pouch cows?

You're right!

They've got pouches!

This place is similar?

What are you on about?

The atmosphere just reminded me of it.

No idea what you're talking about.

Hey, Saki.

Next period is Fiends and Karma Demons.

What? We still have that?

I don't like that subject.

Unlike back in Harmony School, we're reading the unabridged version!

Very well, Akizuki-san will read today.

Yes, sir.

It was about five hundred years ago.

A young man was wandering the mountains, picking herbs.

Completely absorbed in his herb-picking, he reached the Holy Barrier.

He glanced outside the cordon and saw a large field of herbs.

He had been reminded many times by adults that crossing the Holy Barrier was forbidden.

If the need arose for whatever reason, he was supposed to be accompanied by an adult.

He saw a fiend coming for him.

He was about to lead the fiend back to his village.

If he followed the path to the village, the spirit would obliterate it.

What should he do?

"My life matters not."

"The fiend should never find the village."

And so, no fiend has ever found our village so far.

Well done, thank you.

Now, everyone.

Go back to the first page and read...

Look at it carefully.

Picture the fine details too.

Try to see the artist's own mental projection.

Here.

That's amazing, Shun.

Here.

You're so fast!

I can beat that!

Here, Mamoru!

Okay.

Done. Here, Maria.

Okay, here I go.

All right! That's good work.

You're up last, Reiko.

Okay.

We're counting on you, Reiko.

I'll do my best.

I'm sorry!

Don't worry. Let's just try again.

I'm sorry.

I'm not going to lose to you.

You're mighty slow.

You're not much faster!

I'm not going to lose to you anyway, so don't worry.

You idiot. Racing amongst ourselves isn't going to earn us anything.

Look at Group V.

They work really well together.

Our ace is in perfect shape, though.

But well...

We also have people dragging us down.

We'll never win anything with Reiko here.

Reiko's a nice girl!

She's just a little below par today.

Are you stupid?

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Oops, my bad.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Hey, why didn't you invite Reiko?

I'm trying to be considerate here. Considerate.

You saw what happened today.

Walking home with us would only hurt her more.

But man, she was apologizing too much.

It was embarrassing.

Don't say that!

Well, that's how it is.

We're all pretty talented.

We've got Shun too.

Right, Shun?

I'm not that great.

You are.

It's always Reiko who screws up.

We're never going to win.

I know you all agree with me.

Hey, I heard there are people who never graduate from Harmony School and just disappear.

That's just a rumor, Saki.

But, I mean...

Doesn't it bother you?