Hell's Hot Paradise Episode 2 Part 1

Picking up from last time, Sarutahiko has led the party to Hell's Hot Spring Town, a much more peaceful area compared to how harsh the area outside was. Here, the oni and spirits of hell walk around everywhere. You either ask if this place is safe, express surprise at there being a paradise in hell, or thank Sarutahiko. In A and B, Sarutahiko confirms as much and says he'll go ask if the hot spring inn he's staying at will take you guys in too. In C, Sarutahiko says it's fine and says the same thing as above about asking if you guys can stay at the same place he's staying at.

Either way, Sarutahiko says he doubts you guys will be turned away since the guy putting him up is a nice guy. Zhurong says he wants to check the town out before that since a hot spring town in hell isn't the kind of place people would visit in their lives that much. He looks around with his eyes shining in wonder, and there are music players sitting by the roads playing music that Zhurong is strangely familiar with. Kamui and Xolotl are cautious, and Mineaki is looking around fascinated. You look around too, and you soon see people you recognize.

Surtr is hawking something he calls soul tempura, fried crispy in the fires of hell. Shino is next to him enticing people to buy saying there's a 20% off discount if they buy now. Zhurong is curious and decides to order one to see how they taste. You either are shocked at seeing Surtr, tell Zhurong to stop, or ask for one too. In any case Sarutahiko stops him (and maybe you too), standing in his way saying that it'll give you guys the runs if you eat it. But anyways, there are other stores of interest in the area as chimimouryou, evil earthbound spirits, bustle around. You can check out either something labeled the Poison Pond Hell, the Blood Pond Hell, or the Antlion Hell. You must pick at least one of these choices before you can move things along.

If you choose to check out the Poison Pond Hell, Mineaki notices and asks if you're interested in seeing what it's like too. Since poison could be turned into medicine, he's got a professional interest in seeing what's there. The two of you push the shop curtains out of the way and enter the place, and there Shennong greets you guys. He welcomes you guys to a secret hot spring that will instantly kill you if you get in and says even the dwellers of hell run away in terror from it. He asks if you guys coming in through the door means you're ready to melt from the poison, so you are shocked to find it's just a regular hell, note Shennong seems to be acting weird, or try to claim you walked into the wrong place.

Shennong continues approaching like he'll push you guys in, but Mineaki steps forward. He talks about being interested in checking the water later and asks Shennong for an explanation of what effects it has. Shennong is pleasantly surprised to find someone in hell interested in their health, so he agrees but says it'll take a while. The two of them start getting into a medical discussion that's a bit above your head, and Mineaki whispers to you to slip out while he stalls for time, assuring you he'll be okay.

If you choose to check out the Blood Pond Hell, Kamui expresses an interest in the place too. He's heard of something similar, a hot spring so hot that the water has turned red. Kamui mentions liking hot places a bit, and he wants to check it out since he might be able to go in later on. The two of you then go through the curtains and look inside.

Ellie and Tanetomo are inside, and Ellie welcomes you guys to what she calls a special hot spring filled with the fresh boiled blood of sinners. Tanetomo says they offer a bloodsucking course and a kaishaku course, asking which one you guys would like. Kamui is confused and asks for an explanation, so Ellie says it's really simple. The bloodsucking course is her sucking out all of your sin-stained blood. Tanetomo says the kaishaku course is suicide assistance where he frees you from the pain of wandering through hell by cutting you with his sword.

You either protest that the courses are too dangerous, question what kind of service it is they're supposed to be offering, or show some hesitation. Ellie says she doesn't really want to work hard, but oni have to work down here. She then notes that Kamui's blood seems cool and smooth to the throat, so she decides for him and tries to lead him further in for the bloodsucking course. Kamui attempts to politely decline, but the second he turns back Ellie zips forward, grabs him, and tosses him into the next room. She says he shouldn't let his guard down since she's an oni too, then walks inside to get to biting him.

Tanetomo doesn't prompt you to choose your death as he instead offers to talk to you over some tea. He says Ellie won't stop for a while once she gets into her work. You reluctantly take up his offer, be alarmed at how calm Tanetomo is, or say you have to save Kamui. Tanetomo that this sort of thing is commonplace in hell before prompting you to drink your tea and not worry over Kamui. Ellie doesn't have much of a work ethic, and honestly that really bugs him.

Tanetomo sits down to sip his tea. You guys can hear the sounds of Kamui doing his best to fight Ellie off, and there's enough noise that it's surprising the building hasn't been collapsed yet. Tanetomo however doesn't look concerned at all, but once some debris of stuff broken in the room over flies over and bonks Tanetomo dully on the head, he looks about ready to murder someone. You either freak out about there being an oni around, attempt to ask if he's okay, or immediately look away and pretend you didn't see anything.

The mood chills as Tanetomo puts a smile on his face and excuses himself. He puts on a mom-voice equivalent as he asks Ellie to come over so he can start talking (re: lecturing) about being more careful with her work. Ellie is intimidated into stopping, sighing as she resigns herself to whatever he's going to say. She also tells you that you can come visit whenever you feel like getting your blood sucked. Tanetomo also politely invites you to come back if you ever tire of living in hell. He then starts getting on Ellie's case about nagging her repeatedly about how work isn't something she does only when she feels like it. Ellie covers her ears as Tanetomo goes on, and you and Kamui slip out while they're at it. Once outside, Kamui sighs about how awful that was and asks if everyone in hell is like that. He apologizes and says he needs to rest, so if you want to keep looking around you should be careful, he says as he sits down on a bench.

If you decide to check out the Antlion Hell, Seth and Gouryou are there. Seth welcomes you  to the sand bath of hell no one can crawl out of once they get in, and Gouryou calls you cute as he tries to invite you on a date. And while they describe the place as a sand bath it frankly looks more like a desert. Someone else's voice starts crying out at this point, and that turns out to be Xolotl as he calls to you for help as he sinks into the sand.

You react in shock at seeing Xolotl here, tell him to wait as you go to save him, or be taken aback that it really is something of an antlion pit inside the place. But anyways you grab Xolotl's hand and start pulling as hard as you can. Another pair of arms wraps themselves around you as they help pull Xolotl up too, and this turns out to be Gouryou. Gouryou is taken aback by what you guys have done, saying that struggling there just makes it harder to stand.

You are surprised that Gouryou helped you out and/or ask if he actually remembers you. He doesn't actually, as he says he just didn't want to see anyone cute sink into the sands in front of him. If you don't know how to actually get into the sand bath here, you'll get buried in no time flat. Xolotl spits sand out of his mouth as he tearfully protests, saying Gouryou should have said something earlier since he had no idea. Gouryou sighs about someone else here slacking off on the job of explaining things, so he asks Xolotl to let it go while he goes to complain later. Gouryou also says you guys can come back for free whenever as an apology, and he's especially interested in seeing you again. Xolotl says you guys won't ever come again and pulls you along with him. Outside, Xolotl wonders if everywhere in hell is like this, saying there just isn't enough lives to survive everything. He crouches off to the side of the road with his ears drooping, saying he'll wait quietly until everyone gets back.

Once you're ready to move on the party regroups, though Zhurong is still bright-eyed and interested in everything around. Sarutahiko briefly checks asking if everyone is okay, then leads you guys forward. He says the place he's staying at is pretty swanky, and Zhurong says it must be amazing if Sarutahiko is saying so. He excitedly hurries everyone else to come along, and the two of them jockey for the lead as they head off. Sarutahiko has a wry smile on his face, yet he still seems happy about things. Xolotl comments that they look like actual brothers when they act like that, which both makes him smile and remember the past. Kamui says he's heard they haven't known each other that long, but he figures it comes from Sarutahiko's patience and care. The rest of the party then follows along after them.

Title card pops up, and this episode is called Welcome! Hell's Hot Spring Town

We then tune in at what looks like a bathhouse as Zhurong comments that it looks a lot like the place Sarutahiko works at in Tokyo. Xolotl is relieved that the place looks safe, saying he didn't know what he was going to do with himself it was dangerous here too. Sarutahiko calls out for someone named Onamuji-no-Mikoto, announcing his return with some customers.

You wonder who Onamuji could be and if he's the owner of the place. Someone walks out from the back on cue, and Onamuji (who looks like a younger Daikoku) genially welcomes Sarutahiko back and notes that he's brought guests with him. He turns to welcome the party and introduce himself, describing himself as the one entrusted with this rental boat and bath/bathtub/I'm not entirely sure what he means Yubune since it's part of another old name for Onamuji. But once he catches sight of you he goes into shock, asking why you're here, and why you look so young for that matter. You either ask Onamuji what he's talking about, coo over how great he looks, or ask the same thing and call him Daikoku. B gets an extra bit of Onamuji being confused and asks what you're up to this time. C gets a different extra bit of Onamuji being confused over not knowing who Daikoku is.

Anyways, Onamuji pushes past that and refers to you as Susanoo, asking about when you came back to hell. He says he's been working at this establishment like you've told him to, and he worries that you're dissatisfied about something. Sarutahiko is shocked to hear about all this and actually starts referring to you in a more polite way as he asks if you really are that legendary soldier of fortune. Even the elite celestial deities have outrageous stories to tell about you, and Sarutahiko freaks out a bit calling you a walking newspaper article or something.

While Onamuji and Sarutahiko are in the middle of emotional chaos, Mineaki is looking at Onamuji and starts thinking about things. He's sure he's Daikoku, though he's confused about him looking so young. Since it doesn't look to be a surprise, he wonders if it's something the Lucky Mallet did. He then remembers it doesn't work right now just like his own eye, so he reasons it must be some external cause.

Back to the conversation at hand, you deny knowing a Susanoo, giving a redacted explanation before asking Onamuji to treat you like a normal customer. Sarutahiko accepts this without a second thought as he goes back to being casual with you, though he notes you do have his vibes now that he thinks about it. Onamuji seems willing to believe you, though he still has difficulties accepting it since you look exactly like Susanoo to him. Sarutahiko encourages Onamuji to not sweat it if you deny being him yourself. Onamuji chides him to show you some more respect since he wouldn't be so flippant if he'd seen Susanoo's brand of crazy for himself. Kamui and Xolotl make an attempt to calm Onamuji down, though neither of them succeed. Xolotl then turns to you and asks what it is you did to him to make him so fearful of you, so you insist you don't know and that you just happen to resemble someone else.

At this point, Sarutahiko changes the subject since he's remembered something now, and he explains to Onamuji that you guys don't have anywhere to stay like he did earlier. He asks if Onamuji will take you guys in, pointing out he still has rooms available. Onamuji agrees somewhat frantically, saying you and your friends are welcome to stay as he leads you guys to a giant room more fitting for a banquet or a class trip. Zhurong is amazed at how big the room is, bringing up that you guys could have a pillow fight there. Xolotl attempts to tell him no since it'd bother Onamuji, but Onamuji says he doesn't mind and that you guys can use the room however you want. Xolotl is taken aback, telling him he can say no if he wants, even if it's weird coming from him of all people.

Zhurong gets super excited like he's off on some school club trip hearing he can have a pillow fight. Kamui asks Onamuji if it's really okay for the party to have such a large room, and he offers to help out with things around the inn if he needs it. Onamuji says it's fine, then admits that not many people actually come in. He's also aghast at the idea of leaving any work to you guys since this is some sort of trial Susanoo put him up to. Mineaki turns to you and asks what you think, briefly joking that you're Susanoo before bringing up your apparent resemblance to him.. You either say you should all help since it seems like a lot for just one person, or tell Mineaki to stop joking and help.

Onamuji is touched by your offer and says it'll be a big help. But that said, he figures you all must be tired, so he'll handle things himself for the day. Sarutahiko says he'll help out too since this is like his main job, and he thumps his chest to emphasize his point. Onamuji politely accepts, then excuses the two of them to get back to work. Sarutahiko mentions that the hot springs here will surprise you, and he suggests checking them out if you have time. Onamuji and Sarutahiko leave, and Mineaki has something on his mind as he watches them go. You notice that Mineaki is acting differently and try talking to him. Mineaki is preoccupied muttering something to himself as he follows the two out, and you decide to either follow after him or just leave to look around the inn.

Scene shifts to elsewhere to Daikoku talking to himself about how powers are unusable in this area for reasons he doesn't know. Setting aside as to whether this is a deliberately set up situation, he wonders what's going to happen next and decides to think on that. Daikoku starts talking about how powers are literally granted authorities that no one else is able to use. They are abilities permitted for use when it comes to a person's work that they're meant to do, their role in other words. There are powers like his mallet giving the power to drum up vast wealth or clairvoyance that can see through any shadow. And if someone who's lived their lives always using them, what would happen if those powers were taken away?

Daikoku says such a person would act differently, no matter how calm and steady they were before. They'd cling to the past and personally start looking for their role. They'd willingly tie themselves up in a chain of command. Having something and losing it instills far more fear than never having something to begin with. People who lose their power start wanting to go back to how they were before. Daikoku says he's familiar with how that goes himself since it's an important skill for a manipulative machinator like himself, and he starts plotting out his next course of action.

Scene shifts back to your side of things, where you find Mineaki and barely hear him talking with someone. Onamuji apologizes and denies knowing any Daikoku again, and you are curious about why they seem to be arguing. Mineaki assumes he's playing dumb, saying that while he hasn't been able to use his mystic eye, it's clear to anyone looking that Onamuji must be Daikoku. Mineaki thinks to how the Yoyogi students were attacked by Awakage-sama, and how Daikoku's shadow abilities and Awakage-sama have things in common. He also knows Daikoku's informed of a lot of things here from what he's heard from Kamui, and he suspects that what's happened is from a wish made on the Lucky Mallet.

Mineaki says he already told Daikoku that he'd be coming for him if anything ever happened to his students. Onamuji apologizes again and reiterates that he doesn't understand what Mineaki means, suggesting he might have the wrong person. Mineaki grabs Onamuji on both sides of his collar and shoves him against a wall, at which point you intervene by either trying to put a stop to things, asking Mineaki to calm down, or ask Onamuji if he's responsible. In A and B, Sarutahiko shows up from somewhere to agree with you, pointing out that Onamuji has been denying Mineaki's accusations. In C, Onamuji desperately denies it and says he's just been running the inn like he was told to.

Sarutahiko attempts to break things up by putting himself between the two, but Mineaki refuses to let go. Mineaki pleads for his students' safety, saying he can't bear to have anything happen to them even if nobody else gets saved. Nobody can bring themselves to say anything, but Onamuji tries pleading innocence one more time. Mineaki wipes his eyes before glaring at him, apologizing but saying he can't play nice anymore. If he intends on keeping silent, then Mineaki will force him to tell him what he knows. Onamuji is shocked by this, so Sarutahiko tells him to stand back and ask you for help. You agree, and so the episode battle begins.