WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 33 of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, "Mayonaka the Visitor," now streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Animelab, and Hulu.
In Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Episode 8, when Setsuna accompanies the Demon Slayers to Gokoku Village, she encounters an emotionally distraught demon god named Mayonaka. Upon realizing that Setsuna is a half-demon, Mayonaka shares his tragic story, believing Setsuna will understand his plight, as she's also caught between two different worlds. It turns out that this odd encounter is exactly what Setsuna needed to build up the courage to save her mother.
When the Demon Slayers arrive in Gokoku Village, Flame Bulls are terrorizing the villagers and threatening to burn down their crops and homes. Since Flame Bulls obey local deities, the Demon Slayers search for the village's local deity, Mayonaka. However, the slayers soon discover that Mayonaka is actually a demon god seeking the Blessing of the Five Grains, which the villagers have hidden away.
As the rest of the Demon Slayers rush to suppress the Flame Bulls and put out fires across the village, Setsuna confronts Mayonaka alone. Mayonaka simply asks whether she's a half-demon before she's attacked from behind by someone she met earlier in the day. While she's passed out, Setsuna hears the voice of a pleading woman, who's apparently tied to Mayonaka's destiny.
When she awakens, Setsuna's surprised that she's unharmed when her attackers had the perfect opportunity to kill her when she was unconscious. She asks Mayonaka what would happen to the village if she killed him, and he assures her that nothing would happen at all. Mayonaka finally reveals that he has no grudge against or interest in the village, but he's not able to leave the area. After realizing that the Blessing of the Five Grains is Mayonaka's divine treasure, Sestuna correctly deduces that he's the local deity the villagers call Lord Mahiruma.
While Mayonaka is considered a demon god, he doesn't believe he's a god or a demon. He offers to tell Setsuna his story because he believes she'll understand how he feels as a half-demon caught between two different worlds, but he believes humans and demons are both equally untrustworthy. His story delves into his past as Lord Mahiruma, a celebrated local deity who spoiled his villagers with bountiful harvests and happiness. Despite his overabundant blessings and fondness for his villagers, a greedy village headman came into power and oppressed the villagers. The headman's daughter, named Oharu, visited Mahiruma's shrine and convinced him to give her the Blessing of the Five Grains, which was ultimately stolen by her father.
After falling in love, Oharu asks Lord Mahiruma to run away with her to get away from the village. He agrees to her plan out of love, but Oharu never shows up and leaves him all alone in the world. When he returns to a prosperous Gokoku Village decades later, he becomes convinced that Oharu betrayed him. He suspects that she seduced him and ran him out of the village for personal gain, proving that her love was fake. However, he later discovers that Oharu and he have a son together named Goro, who's ultimately a half-god. Goro swears that his mother always searched for Lord Mahiruma and that her love was real.
When Mayonaka speculates that his fate is still tied to the Blessing of the Five Grains, which tethers him to the village, Setsuna's Yukari no Tachikiri senses a thread of fate nearby. Setsuna is soon able to see the golden thread wrapping around Mayonaka and follows it. When she touches the thread with her weapon, she's able to see visions of Mayonaka's past with Oharu. After viewing the key moments of his life, Setsuna is confident she must cut his thread of fate to release him.
Despite Setsuna's previous doubts about being strong enough to save her mother by cutting Rin's thread of fate tied to Zero, she manages to easily sever the thread tying Mayonaka to the Blessing of the Five Grains and Oharu. Afterward, Mayonaka and Oharu are finally able to reunite as their spirits journey to the afterlife together. This inspirational and heartwarming scene reinvigorates Setsuna's confidence and belief that she can successfully wield Yukari no Tachikiri to save her mother.
