Rengoku no Ashe

Rengoku no Ashe (煉獄のアーシェ) is a one-shot manga created by Tatsuya Endo.

The one-shot was originally published in the July 2014 issue of Jump SQ on June 4, 2014. The one-shot was later reprinted in Shōnen Jump+ on August 24, 2020, in place of a normal SPY x FAMILY chapter, with extra content describing its connection to the manga series.

Synopsis
In the age where the Church is the law and witch hunting is rampant, Bel, a sword toting monk, visits a town called Brokken Brook. There, he meets a nurse in-training named Ashe who helps him treat his wound, but little does he know—just when he starts to get to know her better—who she really is.

Summary
The chapter opens onto Ashe standing in front of a judge in a court, the crowds and officials around her screaming at the judge to kill her before he announces that she has done a deed with assistance from the black magical arts and is to be executed by burning.

It then cuts to Bel, who's just fended off a number of bandits along with some of his fellow monks, asking a group of elderly female pilgrims if they're okay after the attack. One comments that the number of people ambushing them during journeys has risen, and Bel smiles and tells them not to worry as he'll assure they reach Brokken Brook safe and sound. As they enter the town of Brokken Brook, the residents express disgust at their dirtiness and stay away from them. One of the pilgrims scoffs at them and calls them plebians. His fellow knight tell Bel they're going to the inn and training ground, reminding Bel to go shopping for their food.

While walking around buying groceries, Bel notices the presence of inquisition guards and wonders if witch hunts are happening in this town as well. He hears yelling as several men chase someone into an alley. Worried, he follows them and sees then men surrounding a young woman. The leader of the men threaten Ashe to pay all her taxes if she want to remain free but she remains silent. Angered by her silence, he shoves her into a standing brazier and her hair catches fire. Bel quickly jumps to the rescue, asking her to stand still and cuts her hair. He makes eye contact with her and is momentarily stunned by her calm expression before the falling flames cause his arm to catch fire. He flaps his arm around to put out the fire as the men demand his identity and one of them points out his knight garb. Bel stabs his sword into the wall beside the man and warns him to go home and leave it be and the men run away as they curse him.

Bel examines Ashe, surprised at her earlier calmness. Before he can say anything, Ashe thanks him curtly and walks away. Bel assumes her aloofness is due to his clothes and apologizes to Ashe for cutting her hair. As he waves goodbye to her, Ashe notices the burn on his hand and quickly stops him from walking away. She brings him to a clinic and he tries to assure her he will be fine just getting treatment at the training grounds since he doesn't have money but she just tells him to sit down. The clinic's doctor Johan enters and welcomes Ashe back, wondering what happened to her hair. When Bel explains the situation, the doctor thanks him profusely and offers to give a token of their thanks but Bel refuses.

Johan comments that the medicine Ashe make works exceedingly well, attracting the pilgrims who are injured and sick, and as a result the Church is unhappy and sends people to harrass and attack Ashe. As Ashe treats Bel's burn, she points out a patient asking for help from Johan, calling him teacher. Bel asks if they're not family and Ashe explains she's his foster daughter. She tells him to come back if the festering doesn't improve, surprising Bel. He asks if she's really okay with him coming back to the clinic, glancing at the patients outside the room who are fearful of his reputation as a killer. She tells him it doesn't bother her. Smiling widely, Bel introduces himself as a sacred knight of St. Bénézet and thanks her. On his way back, he expresses amazement at her treatment as he doesn't feel any pain and is assured that she's a good person despite being a little strange.

The next day, Bel attempts to buy an apple from a stall but the stallowner glares at him, asking if he has enough money. Ashe cuts in and asks to buy all the apples. The stallowner smiles, expressing that anyone from the clinic is welcome. Bel helps Ashe to carry the basket of apples to her home, suggesting he bring all the pilgrims to her clinic from now on. On their way back, the residents stay away from the two of them with wary looks. Bel apologizes, thinking it would be better for them not to go together but Ashe assures him that it doesn't bother her. They are greeted by the local children, who thank Ashe for giving them free medicine. Ashe reminds them not to tell Johan and gives them an apple. The kids wave goodbye and call her 'Sister Expressionless'. Bel parts ways with Ashe and teasing calls her 'Sister Expressionless' as well, causing her to blush intensely with a flustered expression.

In the forest, Ashe is picking medicinal herbs. Bel appears behind her and offers to help by pulling the basket of herbs off her, surprising her. She remarks that he must have a lot of free time. Bel notices several whitethorns growing nearby and explains about a festival in the South known as May's Queen where a girl is given a crown of flowers to wear. Ashe says she knowns as a village she used to live in celebrated that festival, gazing with a far away expression. Saddened by her expression, Bel places a whitethorn flower on her head, complimenting he and calling her 'Queen Ashe'. Bel hopes he'll stay in town long enough to celebrate the festival but Ashe explains that Brokken Brook doesn't celebrate it. One of his fellow knights calls Bel away to act as a guard for the witch hunting.

At the witch hunt, a young woman is trapped in a cage hanging over a fire and pleads her innocence as the villagers cheer raucously and curse her. The Church deems her guilty of using black magic and the Bishop of Brokken Brook sentences her to be executed by fire, pounding his gavel. The executioner drops her cage into the fire as the woman screams for them to stop. Bel flinches and looks away from her death. In the crowd, Ashe watches with an inscrutable expression. Afterwards, the Bishop greedily expresses that he won't be able to get enough money from the current executions. He sends an order to the inquisiton guards to be more aggresive in their arrests.

At the clinic, a patient chats with Johan about the witch hunt last night with glee, with Johan relunctantly agreeing. As Ashe treats Bel's burn, Bel apologizes and explains the pain returned when he saw the fire. Ashe is surprised that he isn't used to it, with the frequency of witch hunts in all of the cities. Bel tells Ashe about how he was an orphan and joined the knight order as he didn't have any other abilities besides swinging a sword, but still feels pain at the witch hunts. She advises him that the pain he feels isn't curable with medicine and apologizes. Bel tell Ashe that the pilgrims are leaving the town tomorrow and that he's leaving with them as their escort, and asks if he can see her again. Ashe looks away shyly and says he doesn't bother her. Before Bel can thank her, several inquisiton guards enter the clinic.

The knights are talking to each other, saying the Church is asking for more guards. Bel is already at the witch hunt and this time, Ashe is in the cage. The Bishop declares the start of her trial and Bel and Johan attempt to defend her. The Church state that her medicines are actually poisons, as Bel is confused at them making decisions with false evidence. The townspeople don't fight the decision, stating that she was suspicious from the start. Bel is incredulous at their treatment of Ashe despite her good deeds and his fellow knight warns him not to endanger himself. The Church also raises the accusation at Johan for working with her. Bel tries to argue but is subdued by an inquisitor guard. Ashe is distraught, looking at Johan and Bel being restrained and black bruises begin to appear on her face. Black shadows fly out of her cage, revealed to be small leaf-like demons. They merge together to form a large demon. Fearful, the Bishop sentences Ashe to death and her cage is dropped into the fire.

Three years later, Bel, now messier and with a brand of a star on his cheek, wanders the streets aimlessly. He recalls the events after the trial, with Johan being executed by hanging a few days after and Bel being branded as a renegade and exile for speaking against the Church as well as excommunicated from the knights order. Afterwards, a plague spread in Brokken Brook and without any doctors, the people died one after another and the Bishop continued to execute even more people for riches. Bel is apathetic towards these incidents and expresses frustration at himself for being unable to save Ashe. He hears rumors of a genuine witch in the cities he travels to, with stories of a charred smell and a black demon, though the villagers don't remember much. He recalls an incident when he waiting in the clinic before Ashe's death where he comes across a book detailing the pathology of witches and a parasite called Tarantera that releases neurotoxins when the host is agitated. Ashe comes in and notices the book, snatching it from him with a fearful expression. He wonders what her expression back then meant but dismisses it as Ashe is no longer alive.

In the streets, a man announces the Bishop's trial by fire in the capital Guligorli. Recognizing the Bishop, Bel rushes towards him in a rage, demanding he return Ashe. The inquisitors restrain him and an order is given for Bel to be executed later. The Pope reads out the charges of the Bishop. The Bishop attempts to pass the blame unto the other Church members. The Pope tells them they cannot escape their punishment and sentences them to death by the holy flame as the Bishop realizes the Pope plans to take their stolen wares. As the Bishop is being burnt in the flames, he pleads for Bel to save him as a knight. Bel scoffs at this as he was excommunicated due to the incident and doesn't consider himself a knight, due to his failure in saving Ashe. As he cries in despair, the burn scar on his arm begins to hurt again. Ashe steps up beside him, pleading for them to stop and surrounded by the small leaf-like demons.

As Bel calls out her name, they're suddenly back in Brokken Brook, with Bel still young and without the brand, and Johan still alive. In the cage, Ashe explains that that will be their future if they execute her. In truth, the vision they saw was simply an illusion bought about by her parasites, Tarantera, as a self-defense mechanism, but is resigned to being known as a fearsome witch. Expecting Bel to also be fearful of her, she is instead surprised to see Bel becoming teary-eyed and smiling hopefully at her. He quickly escapes the guards and runs towards her. The executioner is shocked and accidentally drops the cage. Bel takes out his sword, becoming determined to save her this time, and slashes her cage into pieces. He holds her in his arms, with flames on his clothes and his hair, relieved that she is still alive as she passes out.

Ashe wakes up at the clinic with Johan still asleep. Ashe sees that Bel is not around and wonders if him rescuing her was an illusion. Knowing that their fear of her now will increase their persecution of her and witches, Ashe prepares to leave the city again and bows to clinic as a farewell. As she leaves, she is stopped in her tracks by Bel who is waiting by the front of the clinic, offering his services as a knight to escort her. Ashe angrily reminds Bel of the future he saw if he gets involved with her, but Bel tells her he doesn't need a future where she dies and that he still needs treatment for his burn.

With a smile, Bel says Ashe has chosen to be around people despite her experiences and she's looking for a cure as well. He vows to help her look for a cure and protect if her disease flares up. Ashe becomes teary-eyed as the Tarantera begins to emerge. Frantically, Bel apologizes as he think he is the cause of her stress. However, a beautiful field of flowers and stars bloom instead. The two admire the illusion and Bel remarks that if witches can't be all bad if there's magic like this. Bel suggests they go to the North if they want to go to a medical facility, but Ashe says she wants to go to the South as beautiful flowers bloom there. Bel agrees, calling her the May's Queen.

Bel Teinburen (ベル・ティンブレン)
A member of the Knights of the Hospital of St. Bénézet, a group of sword-wielding monks who provide aid and medical care to sick or injured pilgrims. He was an orphan raised by the monastery and chose to become part of the knights due to his only ability to wield a sword. Many of the villagers are disgusted and wary of his appearance due to the obvious bloodstains on his white clothing. He is rather kind, showing pain when the ladies are executed painfully as witches.

Bel is a young man with short messy black hair. He bears a burn scar on his right arm from when he cuts Ashe's hair to help her. In the illusion caused by the Tarantera, his face is greatly aged and branded with a 5-pointed star on his left cheek as a mark of a renegade and exile. His hair has grown wilder and he has a light stubble on his face.

Ashe Talton (アーシェ・タルトン)
A young woman who works at the clinic in Brokken Brook, assisting the local doctor Johan Talton in treating patients and making medicine, and is treated as his foster daughter. She previously used to live in another village in the South but she was persecuted there as well and eventually left. She is rather stoic and rarely shows emotion despite her loneliness, even being nicknamed 'Sister Emotionless' by the local children. In truth, she carries the parasites Tarantera within her body that cause illusions of despair with the host is stressed, causing her to be known as a fearsome witch when she is eventually persecuted.

Ashe is a young woman with pink hair that reaches about shoulder-length, with the ends curled into rolls. Some her hair is tied to the sides into horn-shaped hair ornaments. The back of her hair is adorned with a ribbon and a flower-shaped ornament. Previously, her hair was much longer and tied at the end with a large ribbon before a villager shoved her into a torch, causing her hair to catch fire and Bel to cut her hair to prevent injury. She wears earrings in the shape of spikes.

Roots of SPY x FAMILY Vol. 1
{{Template:Scroll Box| Part 1 In the July 2014 issue of JUMP SQ., we published the one-shot Rengoku no Āshe, an ambitious work of dark fantasy that depicts a witch trial! In conjunction with this reprint, we asked Endo-sensei to take another look back at the work with his editor, Shihei Lin. There are also elements of SPY×FAMILY in it...!?

The inspiration for Rengoku no Āshe
Endo: At that time, my draft for a series in Jump SQ. had just been rejected and I didn’t have any material, so I came up with the idea of drawing a story about witches, which I had always wanted to do. I was interested in the existence of "witches", not so-called "magical girls", but more realistic and primitive religious ones.

The meeting at the time
Endo: I don't remember most of it because I was so busy. The draft in Jump SQ. was rejected, but I was able to publish a one-shot instead, and that's when I decided to write a new work...

Lin: Since my schedule was very urgent, I asked Endo-sensei what he wanted to draw, and I remember saying, "Let's take a good classic story (*see the second part of the commentary) and draw it in an interesting way that only manga can do”.

Memories from the time of writing
Endo: Kazue Kato (Blue Exorcist), Yuji Kaku (Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku), and Sai Yamagishi (Moon Land) came as assistants. In addition, Kato-sensei met Lin-san, who is also the editor in charge of Blue Exorcist, which made things awkward.

Lin: Now that I think about it, it was a splendid group! Kato-sensei was just taking a break from Blue Exorcist, and I wondered why she was working as an assistant (laugh). It's a funny story now, but at the time it was really awkward. However, I believe it was because Kato-sensei and the others worked with us that the manuscript turned out to be so exciting.

Endo: Kato-sensei was a very bold assistant, drawing the demon with a thick felt-tip pen (laugh). The preliminary sketch also left an impression on me. I couldn't decide on the story until the deadline for the sketch, so I drew a sketch of a ninja (laugh).

Part 2

Works that have influenced your writing
Endo: When I said "I want to draw a witch who uses illusions and the like at the meeting, Lin-san, the editor in charge, recommended Akutagawa Ryunosuke's Majutsu''.

Lin: I feel that Endo-sensei was able to incorporate the inspiration he got from Ryunosuke Akutagawa in his own manga.

Visual
Endo: Bel is the image of a Templar Knight. I also looked at the art book for Bravely Default: Flying Fairy at the time, and used that style of clothing as a reference. Ashe is a witch, so I went with a tricorn and a gothic style. There was a character in some anime who had two witch hats on her head, and it left an impression on me, so I used it as a reference. All of the characters were designed to be lively, while still retaining a realistic atmosphere.

Characterization
Endo: I came up with the idea of a girl in a difficult situation (Ashe) and a lively young man (Bel) who helps her. I tried my best to create a male protagonist, but people thought that Ashe was the main character.

Lin: Was it the title that pulled you in?

Endo: It's not that I was consciously avoiding it, but I found it hard to draw a male protagonist for some reason. I didn't really care for Bel either, and I thought, "I don't really like this guy" (laugh).

Lin: I was enthusiastically saying, "Please make this character a good guy!"

Endo: I think it's because I made him too much of a good guy, that I couldn't get into him, or that I didn't like him...

Lin: He's too much of a “good guy”, and that's what makes him interesting! The panel at the end of the story where he's getting all teary-eyed is a good look. It shows his personality.

Endo: That's the part that Lin-san reminded me to draw (laugh).

Favorite scenes
Endo: It’s the scene where the leaf-like little demons fly out of Ashe’s cage and then merge together to form a giant demon. I like Leaf-chan because it is cute. The giant demon was drawn by Kato-sensei, and it's as powerful as it looks! By the way, the panel that Kato-sensei gave me a hard time for is the scene where Bel breaks Ashe's cage and rescues her. She said, "I can't see the character's expression" (laugh). Other than that, I like Ashe's "jiwah" sound effect at the end of the manga, and the front cover. For the atmosphere of the front cover, I referred to a book of Aubrey Beardsley's paintings that I happened to find.

Challenges in writing
Endo: Unlike the current serialization in Shōnen Jump+, there was a limit to the number of pages, but because of the subject matter, I had to put together a tightly arranged composition. I remember that I couldn't get it right, so I had to cut a lot of stuff. I also drew the designs of all the characters in so much detail that it was hard to draw the manuscript (laugh). When I was designing, it was fun and I would get excited, but when it came to the manuscript.... I've learned from this and try to keep my designs simple for the series (laugh).

Thoughts after reading it now
Endo: It's my last fully analog manuscript, so I feel a sense of melancholy. Also…the screen is hard to see, I forgot to fill in some of the panels, and I forgot to draw Ashe's cape on the spread (laugh). I like the fantasy genre. I think it's a fun genre to draw.

Response to Rengoku no Āshe at the time of its release
Endo: I made the ending unusually cheerful, and I think it was fairly well received. The reaction to Bel's good-naturedness was not bad, and I thought, "I see...". I had thought that Bel was a failure. I didn't think he was the wrong choice for the story, but I simply didn't like him for my own reasons (laugh). Also, I'm secretly looking forward to the comments on Shōnen Jump+ since I didn't see that many responses on SNS when it was published in Jump SQ.

Ashe and Anya
Endo: I really just adapted the design without thinking about it, just because of the similarity of their "abilities" (laugh). The design of Anya is almost the same as that of Ashe, only simplified. The name is also just a combination of Misha from the next story I drew, Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi. I liked both Ashe and Misha, so I thought, "Let's combine the two names then" (laugh). By the way, the design of Ashe's earrings has been reused for Yor.

Lin: Sometimes it is said that "Anya's design is based on Ashe", and it is true that the design is one of the aspects. If you think about it, it's a valuable read, because you can see Anya in her teenage years, or she shows a tense expression that Anya would never do (laugh).

The legacy of SPY×FAMILY
Endo: The male protagonist (laugh). I went back to the manga to see if I could find anything else, but... there was nothing really inherited.

Changes in writing style
Endo: All the finishing touches and some of the backgrounds in SPY×FAMILY are digital. The characters are drawn in analog, but the minor corrections are done digitally. The coloring was done digitally from the beginning of Rengoku no Āshe. Another thing that has changed is the artistic balance of the manga. After studying the manga of other manga artists I was assisting, I realized that my manuscript was overdrawn and difficult to read. In terms of my state of mind, I went from a rigid mindset of "I have to make my work 100% perfect" to a more relaxed mindset of "I'll just draw what I can draw”.

Lin: SPY×FAMILY doesn't have a very heavy setting or atmosphere, and that's what makes the comedy so entertaining and dynamic.

Endo: I like to cram a lot of details into my work, but I know that's not a good idea. That's why I didn't decide on the details for SPY×FAMILY at all, but instead came up with the ideas as I went along.

Comments on the recently drawn color illustration
Endo: I was going to say that it was fun to draw Ashe after a long time, but I didn't think so, because it was almost the same design as Anya. }}

Trivia

 * The one-shot is referenced from Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Majutsu.
 * The clothing style for Bel is refenced from the artbook of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy.
 * The organization Bel is from is likely based off the real life Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, who has a similar role of providing protection and care for sick or injured Christian pilgrims.
 * Most of Ashe's design was reused for Anya.
 * Ashe and Misha from Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi's names were combined to form Anya.
 * Ashe's earrings were reused for Yor.