Hell Teacher Nube 98

There are some beings that exist in another culture, but that doesn't mean that Japan is immune! When Miki suspects one of the most famous of monsters is running wild in Japan, the truth could be closer...and further...than she realizes!

#98: The Vampire Dracula

47.
Caption: Vampire – a youkai that is said to fly in the air with the wings of a bat and sucks the lifeblood of beautiful women. Famous ones are Count Dracula and Miss Carmilla.
(TN: A few things:
-The word “vampire” is in Japanese “Kyuuketsuki” (“Blood-sucking demon”), but it is referred here as “vampire”.
-While Dracula is rather well known [and the namesake of this chapter, thus probably adding a bit more to it], Carmilla isn’t quite as known even if she was introduced first. Created by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in a novel written in 1872, 25 years before Dracula, it is a depiction of a female vampire and, to some, a tale regarding a lesbian love affair of two women, even if it’s monster and human.
-It’s rather hard to say whether or not vampires literally have bat wings considering the difference of vampire lore, but there’s probably a bit more on this later on.)
SFX: Basa basa basa
SFX: Suu…
SFX: Goki goki | Nyu—

48.
SFX: Zuzuzuzuzu

49.
SFX: Beko beko beko
SFX: Basa basa
“Voice”: Dracula did exist. He was Vlad Tepes, king of the Duchy of Wallachia in 15th Century Romania.
“Voice”: So he could protect his country, he massively killed tens of thousands of soldiers of his enemy nation of Turkey, changed into a youkai through his actions in his former life, and has been said to have become a monster who sip the living blood of human and has lived for hundreds of years.
(TN: There’s a bit here regarding both the truth and myth on Vlad Tepes, also known as “Vlad III, the Impaler”, so I’ll just give a bit of a history lesson on the real man who inspired or even became the character known as Dracula. (a name given to him due to being the son of “Vlad Dracul”, also known as “Vlad the Dragon”.) Born in 1431 the son of Vlad II (the aforementioned Vlad Dracul) and a Moldavian princess in Transylvania, he ruled Wallachia (an area that is currently in southern Romania) twice: the first time placed as a puppet of the Ottoman Empire, then, after a period of exile in Moldavia and Hungary, returned to protect his homeland from the same Ottomans who infiltrated into Europe after conquering Turkey. Ultimately he died in combat with the Ottomans in December, 1476 in Bucharest, where the forces, knowing of his infamy and to humiliate and prevent him from ever coming back, chopped off his head. While known as a secure leader who was harsh but protective of his people in Eastern Europe, it was only the gruesome aspects of his reign that were over-exaggerated and made their way to Western Europe, ultimately evolving into the concepts used for many modern vampire tales including Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”)

50.
Kyouko: So then…you’re saying that the criminal of this incident was Dracula?
Hiroshi: That seems dumb.
Miki: It absolutely seems so. It’s the vampire legend revived in the present.
Sign: No Trespassing
Miki: The room was closed off with a window that can only open a mere few centimeters. And yet the criminal entered from the outside and the victim had become like a mummy. It’s true because I recklessly asked that to a person in the neighborhood.
(TN: “Closed off” here is “Misshitsu”, which is Japanese for a “secret room” or can also be used for an expression of “Misshitsu de”, which is “behind closed doors”)
SFX: Pera pera pera pera
Miki: So then if it was to suck her blood, a vampire can become mist or a bat and get in to any narrow area.
(TN: A silly thought to just get out here: the whole concept of vampires becoming bats seems to have been a more recent phenomenon added to their lore, mostly because of the discovery of “vampire bats” in South America…which would mean it wouldn’t have been known to Europe when inventing their concepts of vampires in the 15th and 16th century)
Nube: Here we go.
SFX: Nu
Miki: Wa—
Hiroshi: Nube!?

51.
Nube: Well, there was this 100 yen that had been dropped in the opening of that building.
Hiroshi: In that narrow place?
Kyouko: That guy’s a youkai after all…
Miki: But the fact that Nube’s here means this was a youkai act after all…
SFX: Giku!
Nube: So my appearance is for what? So, a person appearing like a ghost is what?
Nube: I was just casually passing by; this has no relation to a youkai. So, you’ll be late if you don’t hurry.
SFX: Kuru!
Caption: Back
Hiroshi: This resolvingly is exorcism preparation.
Miki: He’s a poor-lying man—
Miki: Enough~in spite of vampire extermination being interesting, he plans to exorcise it alone again.
Kyouko & Hiroshi: Yeah.
Miki: Right--! It’ll be done by just us!

52.
SFX: Kyuuu~~
Miki: Ow!!
SFX: Chiku
Miki: ?
Sign: Doumori Library
Voice: Understood…this incident occurs every year in Doumori. Mysterious weakening deaths…the corpse was like a mummy.
Paper: Mysterious Weakening Death

53.
Nube: Since when, exactly? Five years ago…ten…I have to go back further…
Sign: Newspaper Pocket Editions
Nube: Five years ago…this has been in Doumori town since back then…this is the first time I’ve come across this youkai but…
Nube: This is dangerous. I can’t let this approach the students.
Miki: Wooden stakes, garlic, crosses… (Fufufu…)
Nube: What are you doing! That’s a dangerous religion~~
(TN: Nube literally does say “dangerous religion”, which is “abunai shuukyou”)
Kyouko: No~~we were socializing……
Miki Of—course, this is vampire extermination. We’re investigating that.
Nube: !!

54.
Nube: Mi…Miki!!
SFX: Gaba! | Zawa!!
Miki: Nooo, stop it; even is my body is adult, I’m still in grade school…
Nube: That…neck bruise?
Miki: Eh?
Nube: The criminal always places marks on the neck on humans who it will attack next. It sucks energy by just touching with its fingers and reach them later.
Kyouko: But vampires are Western youkai; why is it in Japan…
Nube: No, they’re in Japan as well…

55.
Nube: The youkai called Yamadzichi attacks sleeping people, sucks their breath…that is, their energy, and kills them. Surprisingly, they possess similar characteristics as Western vampires: they fly like bats and enter into rooms as smoke. I too clearly don’t know about this youkai but…
(TN: There isn’t much out here about the Yamadzichi (which is also known to “Yamachichi”) but there are some notable aspects that are known about them. For one thing, while they have bat wings, there are many who state they actually have the body of a monkey and are similar to the yeti in its build. The other note is that “Yamadzichi” literally translates into “Mammal of the Mountain Region”, with the last “chi” being “breast/milk” which are typically tied to mammalian beings)
Miki: Nube, that’s my composition…
Kyouko: Then, well, Miki is it’s next!?
Miki: It is! Vampires do love beautiful women.
Nube: Dummy! It’s a dreadful being!
SFX: Sasa…

56.
SFX: Ba
SFX: Basa basa basa
Nube: !! What is that energy…!? It’s an extremely strong enemy! What is this part-human being…
Nube: It’s coming!

57.
SFX: Voo
SFX: Boto boto boto boto
Miki: Kyaaaaa!!
“Vampire”: …I feel a strong energy…is this a spiritually-powered being…!?
Kyouko: Nube! Quickly exorcise it!
Miki: Use the Oni no Te on the youkai
Nube: N…no, hold on. It is

58.
Nube: A human!
SFX: Za za za
Kyouko: Eeh!?
“Vampire”: Of course, I am a human. Same as you…huh?
SFX: Nyari…
“Vampire”: There’s nothing different about me! I’m an ordinary citizen!
SFX: Bako
Nube: Watch out!
SFX: Boro…boro…
Nube: Where are you ordinary…monster…!
Hiroshi: You—

59.
SFX: Pita
SFX: Gu | Nya
Nube: Hold on, monster…guwa
SFX: Dosu
Nube: Gu…gu…
“Vampire”: I will take this girl.
Miki: Gya—let me go~~~!!
Nube: Miki—
SFX: Bari—n

60.
SFX: Basa basa basa
“Vampire”: Fuhahahahaha; Hi~~hihihihi
Kyouko: Nube
Nube: It’ll be fine; if it’s emitting this strong energy then we’ll immediately know it’s whereabouts!!
Sign: Chinese Qi-Gong Institute
(TN: “Qi-gong” is in Japanese “kikou” and refers to a specific kind of breathing exercise used by the Chinese for spiritual and mental health and usually used as part of Chinese medicine)
Nube: !!

61.
SFX: Ban
“Vampire”: Hoo…you understood well I am here. However, with this, I will come to must eat all of you.
Nube: You, are you really a human…? These abilities…
“Vampire”: Ku ku ku
“Vampire”: Do you want to know? Well, I don’t have a need to hide this.
“Vampire”: I was originally a qi-gong master. I help people with qi-gong medical treatment. I send my own energy to patients and heal them.
(TN: Strangely enough “energy” here, and the whole chapter, is “ki”, also known as “qi” as in the energy of “qi-gong”)

62.
“Vampire”: But then, one day…I suddenly had a thought. If I could send out energy…then couldn’t I conversely suck in energy?
Nube: What…is that…!?
“Vampire”: A satisfactory feeling that surpassed all pleasant feelings was presented to me with this. Power swelled up in my body and I had a feeling of fullness that I hadn’t personally experienced until now. And so, I attacked humans one after another, coming to suck their energy. Before long, I had changed physically with this overflowing energy in my body; I couldn’t age; I had been born again into a superman!
Nube: Superman? You’re mistaking it with a youkai…

63.
“Vampire”: However it is, I’m fine that I told you. All of you won’t surpass my dinner. So then, first I’ll be taking this girl’s energy.
SFX: Goki goki goki
Nube: Miki!
Nube: I won’t let that happen! Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan
SFX: Bari bari bari
“Vampire”: Muu!? What is that powerful energy!? Right…you have a power to manipulate energy similar to mine…
“Vampire”: With powerful energy of that extent, then certainly it will be a delicacy!!
Nube: !!
SFX: Nyuu!!
“Vampire”: I’ll suck it!!

64.
Kyouko: It sucked the Oni no Te!?
Hiroshi: Nube!!
“Vampire”: Amazing! This is the first I’ve had this strong energy!
SFX: Dokun dokun dokun
“Vampire”: This power is overflowing within my body! It’s seeming to burst open even now…
“Vampire”: Huh!?
SFX: Don! Don Don!
SFX: Bita boto don

65.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan; return, Oni.
SFX: Shuuuu…
Nube: The maliciousness of the Oni no Te is barely sealed by the power of the Byakue-Kannon Sutra. It can’t be suppressed by someone like you.
(TN: I don’t know if I mentioned it prior, but “ Byakue-Kannon Sutra” is the “Sutra of the White-Robed Goddess”)
Nube: The whimsy of the gods extremely rarely presents to humans the spiritual powers to freely manipulate energy. But there isn’t a limit for anyone to use it for a correct purpose. When spiritual power is used by an evil heart, the human becomes a youkai…that vampire may have been the form of I myself…

66.
RETURN OF THE GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

#30: Vampire Legends

If I say vampire, then the first thing that I’m reminded of is Count Dracula. That is a literary creation by Bram Stoker, an Irish author, but what became his model is said to be Vlad Tepes, the King of the Duchy of Wallachia in Romania. That nation couldn’t bear the wars by invaders of different races; due to this, the people of the Basarab family, who were the royalty, were said to change into youkai by the blood of their killed enemies. The family were said to have a personality of boundless cruelty starting with Vlad Tepes, who took the alias of “The Impaler” and took amusement by skewering not just enemies but even the people of Wallachia. Due to this, people included their resentment and hatred for the and his family and called him “Vlad Dracul” (Dracul had a meaning of “evil spirits or “devils”, which was synonymous with dragons) Afterwards, the dynasty was destroyed by the Turks (1658) and a man who was thought to be his descendant took the name of Vlad Dracul Basarab and bought up a huge plot of land in Transylvania. He was Count Dracula and afterwards crossed over to England and caused bizarre incidents one after another…

Well then, Dracula is a male vampire, but one who is famous as a female vampire is Carmilla. She was a character introduced in a novel by Le Fanu, but she was an unusual creation of a lesbian (lover of the fellow female sex) vampire. People who are interested in it please read about it yourself.

(TN: A few things:
1. I mentioned a few things earlier about Vlad III “The Impaler”, but unfortunately there’s a lot of confusing factors here regarding the ruling factors in Wallachia during this period, let alone the whole concept of “Dracul”. First of all, Vlad III was of a specific clan known as the “Draculesti”, one of several clans who fought within Wallachia with other clans in attempting to control this area. Many of the Draculesti ran Wallachia alternating with other clans but the primary force in that area of modern Romania through Alexandru Coconul, the last known Draculesti who died in 1632 and is the last of the bloodline of Vlad II & III in Romania (though he also ruled for a period in Moldavia).
2. While the Draculesti fought with others over Wallachian control, they were part of another family: the “House of Basarab”, a dynasty with connections both in Romania and Moldavia. It was originally founded by Basarab I, who broke Wallachia from Hungary in 1310 and was the main house of the nation until splitting into two conflicting houses who both alternated rule in the area: the “Danesti” and the “Draculesti”. Thus the comment earlier was more likely talking about a curse on all Basarab, not just the line connected to Vlad the II and Vlad the III.
3. As I mentioned prior, Vlad the II was the real “Vlad Dracul”, with the III being “Vlad Dracula” due to “Dracula” being “Son of Dracul” in Romanian.
4. While mentioning the typical “evil” name behind the existence of the “Dracul”/”Dracula” name, there is more to it than meets the eye. Vlad Dracul received his name by being a member of the “Order of the Dragon”, an ordination created in Hungary in 1408 with a purpose of fighting the Ottoman Turks on their doorstep in the name of the Roman Catholic Church. As mentioned before, both Vlad the II and his son were vehemently fighting the Ottomans and thus were directly tied to this ordination, both being members of this organization. Strangely the order was mentioned by Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”, but due to the skewed view regarding Dracula in Western Europe, it was given a more evil and mysterious meaning.
5. Tied to the “evil beliefs” of dragons as mentioned is a weird translation moment that I had to go through: the “meanings” that were mentioned tied to dragons were “ryuu”, which obviously is Japanese for “dragon” as well as “akki”, which is “evil spirits” or “devils”. Since I couldn’t just say “dragon” means “dragon” or even “dragon” means “ryuu” in a proper English translation, I used two “akki” meanings to emphasize the difference of meanings of dragons in Europe compared to Eastern beliefs in dragons.
6. The note of the Ottomans destroying the “legacy of Dracula” in 1658 isn’t necessarily about the House of Barasab, but more referring to the last true remnant of Wallachian leaders being crushed by the forces of Ottoman leader Mehmed IV, which fully forced the land into the control of the Turks.
7. Finishing up this whole mess of notes that seems less about vampires and more about Romanian history: it really is unknown if there really any other “Vlad Dracul Basarab” that bought a Transylvanian estate considering it’s probably just a reference to Bram Stoker’s novel. But strangely enough, while there were various periods where Wallachians were living in/around Transylvania as a protective measure, it was never actually any part of Wallachia even when Vlad Tepes ruled (although he was born there). However, the Barthory family did settle and rule in Transylvania, including the infamous Elizabeth Barthory who was also seen as an inspiration for many vampire tales that we’ve talked about in vol. 1…so I guess we’re back to square one on this whole vampire thing.)

TN: Vampires...it always has to be vampires...yeah, with the whole focus of those blood-suckers everywhere in the West (heck I even saw a couple movies myself recently...but they were old Hammer films, not any of the recent...stuff), the fact that they do exist in the East is sort of lesser known. Honestly I sort of knew a bit of the Chinese vampires going into this (having seen that episode of Jackie Chan Adventures...yeah maybe not the most reliable source but it was a cool episode) and sort of know of Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei, but sort of didn't expect...well, that thing in this chapter. Honestly I'm a tad confused about how the qi-manipulator suddenly mutated into the Yamadzichi-like being by just absorbing energy from his victims, but it was still cool regardless and worked rather well for the context of the chapter. Heck, in some ways seeing humans mutate into youkai like this guy or "A" or the curse woman from Vol. 5 are perhaps some of the freakier and scarier enemies in the series and it always turns into hell whenever Nube faces one of those. (due to his own creed) But then again...the mere fact that the Oni no Te destroyed the vampire after being absorbed...well, let's say this is the beginning of what could be a major factor that will emerge as we approach the later phases of the series. Remember: while Nube has been rather successful at holding it back, the Oni that became his left hand is still somehow active and alive...and the fact that it may start emerging or even consuming Nube is just a scary thought...one I really hope Nube doesn't have to face in the near future. Sure so far it's been rather obedient but...

BTW: If there’s a moral to all the notes and such I wrote in the final TN in this section, it’s this: all blame to Western-based male vampires should be attributed to Bram Stoker, pure and simple. Real vampires in the West should all be female. However, “qi-sucking” Eastern Vampires…yeah, they can be either sex