Demon Pond

Yamazawa, returning from a summer field trip, enters a remote mountain village and meets Yuri Hagiwara. She asks him to tell a story, and he starts one that unsettles her. When his second story unsettles her even more, Akira arrives as an old friend and welcomes them.

Akira had gone out to gather stories but becomes the village bellringer for matins, vespers, and the night watch, taking the name Yatabei. He embraces the vow that binds him to the village and marries Yuri, choosing a life there over returning to Tokyo. He rejects Yamazawa's urging to leave and keeps faith with the town.

Yamazawa resolves to climb to Demon Pond, the source of the village water, and Akira accompanies him. Yuri remains behind to ring the bell and maintain the village rituals. Their journey hints at a larger mythic conflict connected to the pond and its guardians.

From Demon Pond, Kanigoro the giant crab and Koishichi the carp descend to tell the villagers that there will be no rain. Lady Myriad drives them to spread fear about the pond water and the possible flood. The tale links the bell's timing to the survival of the valley.

Black, the catfish priest representing the Serpent Pond prince, carries a letter but fears its contents. Kanigoro cuts open the small letter box and finds only water inside. The empty message heightens the tension around Shirayuki and the crossing of ponds.

Princess Shirayuki is bound by an ancestral vow that prevents her from leaving as long as the bell is rung at the prescribed times. She considers destroying the bell to escape, but Yuri's lullaby and the memory of Akira give her pause. The vow keeps the princess tied to the ritual life of the pond.

That night, villagers seize Yuri with the intent of sacrificing her for rain. Akira frees her and explains that Yamazawa decided to return to his family after hearing Yuri sing to her baby doll. The village notes of gratitude vanish as fear and superstition surge again.

Yamazawa arrives and condemns the villagers for clinging to outdated codes such as bushidō. He reveals that he is a Honganji priest and a Tokyo University professor, challenging their demand for Yuri. Akira counters by recounting Shirayuki's backstory as Yuki, a girl sacrificed to an ox, which fuels the villagers' fury.

A battle erupts between Denkichi and Akira, with Denkichi wielding a long knife and Akira using a scythe. Akira is wounded, and Hatsuo takes up the scythe to continue fighting. Yuri seizes the weapon and kills herself with it to protect the village and the men she loves.

Akira carries Yuri away as promised, and Yamazawa agrees to ring the bell, heading toward the bell tower. The dragon princess arrives, bringing a wave of destruction that follows the bell and the ancient duties. The scene marks the collapse of the ordinary order as the pond's powers surface.

Akira tells Yuri that she was right all along about the bells and vows. He then takes his own life with the scythe as the dragon princess arrives. The princess awakens Yuri to sing a lullaby with her before departing.

The lullaby continues as the dragon princess and Yuri part ways, leaving the village to reckon with the loss and the awakening of new power. The tale hints at a balance between myth and reality that the villagers must endure.

The final image shows Yamazawa as the village's new bellringer, standing at Yuri's home with Hatsuo and the baby doll Taro. He bears the responsibility of the bells as the village confronts its changed fate and the quiet after the storm.