Not yet...
Now...
Now that there is hardly anyone with PK left...
Five hundred and seventy years later
Kanto
We can change...
...history!
Spare all but the Emperor of Merciful Light!
UTW presents From The New World
False Minoshiro
Episode Three
Saki, help me with the rowing!
I'm doing all I can!
You need to stick to my rhythm!
Man, how are those two doing it so much better?
One thousand years later
Ibaraki
Tone River
It's so pretty!
Look at them.
Mamoru's pacing himself to row like Maria.
The front rower has to keep their eyes forward.
You have to stick to my rhythm.
The difference is that Maria's rowing properly!
You're just staring at the scenery instead of rowing!
What are you doing?
Rivers are so nice...
The river spray's not salty like ocean water.
Weren't you telling us all to row as far as possible without using our Canti?
Have you given up already?
Get real.
We're going upstream. We can't make it just by rowing.
Are you sure it's not just a haythatcher nest?
It's the real thing.
The shape of the nest gives it away.
This one would be a haythatcher's.
Demon's Hand
Hey, don't eat it yet!
Cooking it like this will...
You're good at drawing, Mamoru.
It'll taste the same anyway!
I can do better!
Blowdogs?
They aren't real. Don't be ridiculous.
I'm serious.
Someone's seen one recently.
Who's that someone?
I don't know the name...
See, he's fibbing, as usual.
He always claims there are witnesses, but when you ask who it is, this is all you get.
I'm pretty sure I can get his name if I just ask.
He saw a blowdog when he went up Mount Tsukuba.
Mount Tsukuba? Why did he go there?
He was looking into something for the Board of Education.
They won't tell children anything specific.
So, at the foot of the mountain, a blowdog came out of a big cave.
What does a blowdog look like?
It's about as big as a normal dog, but pitch black.
Its trunk is pretty bulky, but its head is about half the size of a dog's,
and its legs are so short its belly almost touches the ground.
Is it really a dog?
Who knows? It probably isn't.
It doesn't sound very dangerous.
Yeah, but it swells up like a balloon if you provoke it.
If you back off, you're good,
but if you make it really angry...
Let me guess. It keeps swelling up until it explodes, right?
Does this really not sound dumb to you?
See, that's the catch!
Doesn't this completely defy common sense?
Wouldn't you come up with a more believable story if you wanted to scare everyone?
But it still sounds unrealistic.
Why?
Well, its own self-defense mechanism would kill itself first.
Blowdogs would be extinct in no time.
Back to the story!
After seeing the blowdog, this person also encountered an evil minoshiro.
"Back to the story"? Seriously?
What about the blowdog?
He came across it on the way up Mount Tsukuba.
An evil minoshiro? You mean a false minoshiro?
Yeah. At first sight it looks just like a minoshiro,
but upon closer inspection, it's quite different.
Why the "evil" part?
Because all who've met one have died soon after!
So has this witness died too? I bet he hasn't.
He's probably going to die soon.
Want to make that our topic for the trip?
What do you mean?
You mean the evil minoshiro?
Yeah. That and other creatures like blowdogs.
I'd like to investigate if those stories are true now that we're here.
Sounds interesting!
Wait a moment!
You're forgetting something important.
You might wind up dead if you see an evil minoshiro.
No way that's true.
So how are you going to catch one?
Oh, I forgot to mention this, but apparently your Cantus won't work on an evil minoshiro.
What do you mean?
I'm not sure how your Cantus could be ineffective against something.
How would that work?
Elaborate!
Hey, want to go night rowing?
That sounds good! Let's do it!
Isn't that a bit dangerous?
Where has all your usual courage gone?
Are you scared?
I'm not!
What are you talking about?
That's not even what I meant.
We should be fine if we're careful.
What do you think, Saki?
Huh?
I agree.
It's decided, then.
Let's draw lots.
I don't wanna watch the fire!
We drew lots! You have to accept the results.
Watching the fire is a big responsibility.
The hell it is!
Have fun!
Don't look at the fire.
Not like the fire will go out if we're gone anyway!
Why?
It's a basic tenet of night rowing.
What if it does? It'd be really scary!
This is bull! You could see all the markings if you looked into the can!
Nobody looked, silly.
Those who stay behind are blessed, they say...
Oh man...
Now that it's dark, it's hard to know how fast we're going.
You can tell if you put your hand into the water.
It feels so good.
We're going quite fast.
What's wrong?
The rowing puts ripples in the water.
Ready? I'm going to flatten the surface.
Wow...
It's so pretty...
I feel like I'm in space.
Yeah.
Want to head back?
Ancient literature contains hardly any mention of the minoshiro.
Much of the literature from a thousand years ago is censored,
but even so, mention of the minoshiro is practically absent.
Therefore, it must have come into existence in the last few centuries at most.
The idea of a new species emerging so quickly is unthinkable.
This applies to not only the minoshiro.
Since the fall of ancient civilization a thousand years ago, the fauna has changed dramatically.
Hundreds of species, including the minoshiro, seemingly materialized out of thin air.
A different theory has gained wider approval in recent years.
All these species, including the minoshiro, are the result of evolution accelerated by the unconscious of human beings.
Ouch, it's hot! It's hot!
Hey!
Let's row faster!
Why?
Don't you want to look at what's around here?
I've seen enough.
There's probably nothing interesting.
But we're nearly at the campsite indicated on the plans we turned in.
Oh, please.
Have you forgotten the real reason we're here?
We're here to find evil minoshiros and blowdogs!
Come on, let's leave Lake Kasumigaura behind and make landfall somewhere.
Um... But the teachers told us not to go too far in.
And we really shouldn't land on the other side.
Don't worry.
We'll just land, take a quick look, and come right back.
What do you think, Shun?
It's true that we'd be in trouble if anyone found out.
But, you know, I kind of want to take a look.
I think this is the only chance we'll get.
All right, decision made!
All right!
Here we are!
We made it.
Yup!
All right!
What is?!
I'm back in business!
Why the glasses?
Don't they look cool?
The light flickering off the water kind of dazzled me.
Only cuz you were staring like an idiot.
Shut up!
I suggest we carry only light equipment and climb the mountainside.
Hell, yeah! Let's go!
Let's eat somewhere with a nice view.
Food...
Ouch!
It was a mosquito!
There are so many of them!
I've had enough...
What's this?
It looks like... a shrine.
A shrine?
I think this shrine has a history of about two or three thousand years.
Want to eat here?
What's wrong?
An evil... minoshiro...
Quick!
Satoru, Shun! Catch it!
It's going to get away!
Hey... Hey!
Are we going to die?
I don't think that part of the story is true.
Why couldn't I move?
I couldn't either.
What do you think, Satoru?
Beats me.
When I saw the light, my mind went completely blank.
I couldn't use my Cantus either.
That feeling...
Remember? The feeling when you looked into the flames at the Temple of Purity...
I see... I get it now.
We were hypnotized just now.
What's that?
It's an ancient way of controlling someone else's mind.
Through suggestions, you can make someone sleep, tell the truth, or do whatever else you want.
But Saki was fine, wasn't she?
She even shouted at us to catch it.
She must be really thick-headed.
No, I'm not!
That's enough, Satoru.
What?!
Let it rest.
Don't you think it's because of the sunglasses?
It had no effect on her!
These?
That might be it.
Perhaps the red glasses shield you somehow.
Can I see them?
Okay.
Catching it might be a bit tough if Saki's the only one who can use her Cantus on it.
Yeah.
It seems to hide in those holes a lot.
Shouldn't we head back?
Let's go back to the canoes then.
We can do it! We can catch it!
Huh?
Hurry up, Maria!
I know, I know!
And... caught!
They sure seem to eat anything.
They'll probably attack once they see it.
What if they eat it before we can catch it?
Don't say that!
Anyway, I like this idea.
Shun.
You take Saki's side a lot, don't you?
Do I?
Would you be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate here!
You're unbelievable...
They've got something!
Looks like something big!
Then pull them out.
Help us!
You can do it yourself.
Just pull the ropes using your Cantus.
But this is so creepy!
Then I'll do it.
Look, they've got it.
Shun! Satoru! Catch it!
Please cease your destructive activity.
You are damaging public library property.
Who's this?
Please cease your destructive activity at once.
Huh?
Please cease your destructive activity.
Th-Th-Then you stop using your weird hypnosis!
The use of light hypnosis by terminal machines for self-defense
is sanctioned by ordinance 488722, clause 5.
Please cease your destructive activity at once.
You stop first! Then I'll stop ripping them out!
I repeat my warning.
Please cease your destructive activity at once.
I'm warning you too!
If you don't stop, neither will I!
I'll tear all those glowing things off you!
Are you guys okay?
It stopped.
You're amazing, Saki.
You don't have to praise her...
Who are you? What are you?
I am the Tsukuba branch of the National Assembly Library.
A library?
Aren't you just a false minoshiro?
If you are inquiring my model and version,
I am an automotive archive of the SE778H Lambda autonomous evolution version.
Hey, slow down.
What are you talking about?
Where are the books?
All paper-based printed interfaces have either chemically decomposed
or have been lost to war and other destructive activities.
None are confirmed to remain.
Then you're an empty library?
All archived information has been stored as 890 petabytes of holographic memory.
Are you using difficult words just to confuse us?
Maybe I should tear them all off, after all.
The files of all writings are recorded on a storage device inside me
and can be accessed at any time.
Does that mean we can read them anytime we want?
Correct.
So, for example...
Nakisou na aoringo kakaeteru mune no oku
泣きそうな 青リンゴ 抱えてる 胸の奥
In my chest, I carry a green apple that wets my eyes
Korogatte tsuyogatte
転がって 強がって
I fall over yet pretend to be strong
Kyuukutsu na sora niramu
窮屈な空睨む
I glower at the sky and it seems to suffocate me
Unmei ni juujun ni
運命に 従順に
Do I look like I'd wait quietly
Jukusu no wo matsu mon ka
熟すのを 待つもんか
For destiny to ripen it?
Sen no kaze
千の風
The winds
Agaite sakende
足掻いて 叫んで
I struggle and scream
Fuke fuke
吹け吹け
Blow and blow
Watashi wa shabondama
私はシャボン玉
I'm a soap bubble
Soredemo shinjiteru
それでも信じてる
And still I have faith
Yokisenu arashi ni
よきせぬ 嵐に
In a sudden storm
Joushou shite kakou shite
上昇して 下降して
I rise and fall
Aragau shabondama
抗うシャボン玉
I fight, soap bubble that I am
Soredemo ikiteku
それでも生きてく
And still I live on
Hajikeru shunkan niji hanate
はじける瞬間 虹放て
I make a rainbow when I burst
The word "Fiend" was first used...
While their existence today cannot be confirmed,
that they once existed is undisputed,
Users of PK only had...
Even so, their destructive potential was sufficient to disrupt contemporary social order.
and it is likely that they may emerge once again in the near future.
The political, philosophical, and ethical conflicts resulting thereof...
Humanity started to awaken to their latent potential.
Bloodstained History