A 1996 Japanese supernatural horror film and a direct prequel to Wizard of Darkness, Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard shifts the focus from a school-bound slasher to a chase-driven urban fantasy. The story begins in Meiji-era Japan, where a village of witches and wizards has been mysteriously slaughtered. Decades later, in the present day, an archaeologist unearths a mummy from that village. Unaware that the corpse is possessed by a malevolent spirit, he leaves his assistant alone with the find. The mummy revives, kills the assistant, and the ancient entity, named Kirie, takes over her body to walk the earth once more.

The narrative follows Misa Kuroi, a 15-year-old high school student who is initially a far cry from the powerful witch she will become. Living alone in an apartment while her parents work abroad, she is a lonely and somewhat melancholic teenager unaware of her latent magical heritage. Her world shatters when she invites classmates over for a party; after she steps out to buy more beer, a man in a lab coat possessed by Kirie arrives and brutally murders all her friends. Misa returns to the carnage and is nearly killed herself but is rescued by a mysterious, stoic man in a black trenchcoat named Saiga.

Saiga, revealed to be a survivor of the original Meiji-era massacre and a warrior from a family of magicians, has been sent from the past to protect Misa. He explains that Kirie is hunting her to possess her body and claim her enormous dormant powers. What follows is a relentless chase across the city as the shape-shifting Kirie jumps from one host body to another, including a gun-toting zombie, in pursuit of Misa. As Misa flees, she must learn to trust her enigmatic protector and begin to awaken the abilities within herself, symbolized by a magical pendant, to confront the evil witch and fulfill her destiny before Kirie can steal her body and unleash true darkness upon the world.