Second Coming - Oneshot

[MangaDex]

 

[Echonic]

Wtf

 

[HerculeSSJ]

That's some typa From Software shit.

 

[PurpleSilky]

So Blacksmith's fiancée or wife got killed by the god because of that man, supposedly the chief of the village, while he was trying to sacrifice somebody to the god so that it would leave them alone? It's all good and all, but it's kinda hard to follow.
Edit: NVM it was his daughter.

 

[Kaarme]

All details considered, it seems like the mountain god appears every 22 or 40 years and is fed animal carcasses until it's full. Then it's attracted to the shrine (which is basically a warehouse). There the blacksmith, or someone else, chops off its head. The head is taken to the shrine warehouse. I reckon the head also resembles one of the things it was fed the previous time. So, despite getting beheaded, it's reborn every 22/40 years nonetheless as long as there are people who believe in it. However, modern times have no need for such beliefs, which is why, along with the village itself being replaced by a hydropower plant water reservoir, that was the last time the mountain god appeared.

Other than that, I reckon the village chief had a thing for Hisa, but since she was going to marry the blacksmith, he, and his goons, decided to murder her, as well as some others in their way, by arranging an "accident" where the mountain god reached humans. Since the shrine warehouse only seemed to have animal heads, it's reasonable to believe the mountain god doesn't normally get to eat any humans, so what the chieftain did with human sacrifices must have been abnormal.

 

[Kazekid]

That ending though haha

 

[darkomantis]

@Kaarme Thanks for this.

 

[Doomroar]

The god of the mountain didn't bother to eat the corrupt village chief, and in doing so it denied him his which to reunite with Hisa.

Pure poetic justice.

 

[Pentium_MMX]

Upon rereading this recently, I found I liked it even more. A good read. I couldn't help but notice the similarities with Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke, specifically w.r.t. the god-being -- multiple legs; rapidly crawling on the ground; getting its head cut off; the body rapidly decaying and leaving bones behind; the severed head as an important object; etc.

That film is my point of comparison to this oneshot, in this respect. However, I'm not Japanese, so it could be these details were already present in old Japanese folklore, and not inventions of Mr. Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I have no idea either way.