I thought I was done for.
But now I know that skills learned eventually come in handy.
I ran away, crying "It hurts! It hurts!" in their tongue.
I made it.
But then my consciousness faded and I collapsed.
Someone helped me when I had almost passed out.
I opened my eyes, relieved I'd finally found a human,
but the one staring down on me was clearly a queerat.
I thought I was done for.
I couldn't use my Cantus anymore, either.
But he took me all the way here.
What?
It was Kiroumaru.
So he's alive!
Where is he now?
I don't know. I wonder what happened to him.
I'd just come to when Jakujou-san told me you had arrived here, and I asked to see you.
I had completely forgotten about Kiroumaru.
Excuse me.
Watanabe Saki-san, this is what your parents left in my care for you.
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To Saki
Thank you.
Inui-san told us that Kiroumaru brought him here.
Where did he go after that?
Oh, the exospecies member?
It is being held at this temple.
Can we see him?
I wonder.
My Dear Saki-chan,
I write this letter, confident that you have made it safely to the Temple of Purity.
A fiend has descended upon the villages, and many have already died.
We must do all in our power to stop the fiend.
Do not follow us.
There is something I want you to do.
What I will now write about falls under class four knowledge, "catastrophe."
As such, please burn this letter after you have read it.
Do not let personal feelings hold you back.
Keep the best interest of the villages in mind.
Do not forget that you were chosen by Tomiko-sama.
Do you remember what I said about ancient weapons of mass destruction at the Security Council meeting?
There was a time when weapons that could annihilate mankind many times over filled the Earth.
Most of them have been destroyed, and time has rendered the rest useless.
However, one single weapon of mass destruction that would survive even a thousand years into our time exists.
Ironically, it is a weapon designed by people without Cantus to eliminate those with Cantus.
It had the disgusting nickname "Psychobuster."
It is incapable of killing large numbers of people, and it hardly feels like murder at all.
Attack inhibition most likely will not prevent you from using it, and death feedback can probably be avoided as well.
Normally there would be no means to navigate to the point marked by this ancient address.
Tokyo Minato Ward Roppongi
However, if the object in this box could somehow be activated, it should be able to lead you there.
If the Psychobuster still exists, I am sure you will be the one to find it.
Please use it to defeat the fiend and save the villages!
Saki-chan, you have a rare and valuable quality.
In a single word, I would describe it as strength.
Though you cry and are discouraged,
you never lose heart entirely.
Solar-Powered Autonomous Mobile Archive
Manual
We have always seen that in you, and Tomiko-sama agreed with us.
Attention — Notes:
tivation, allow charge in sunlig
ed periods of dormancy, even under the summer
quire at least six hours. Continuous use in unlit
Attention — Notes:
tivation, allow charge in sunlig
ed periods of dormancy, even under the summer
quire at least six hours. Continuous use in unlit
e battery run out.
rn it to dormancy, issue a verbal command
irming that the activation lamp has gone out, store
We will always love you from the bottom of our hearts and watch over you and your journey at every moment.
From your mother, Mizuho.
This way.
Why here?
It is an exospecies member.
We cannot allow it into our quarters.
Least of all now, when the queerat rebellion has claimed so many lives.
But he's the general of the Giant Hornet colony and loyal to humans.
He saved Inui-san's life and took him here.
We received orders from the Ethics Committee to exterminate any and all queerats, regardless of their colonies.
These beasts are more than happy to turn traitor when they see the tides of battle turning.
But...
Look, Kiroumaru!
You have guests, and they've come a long way.
Thank you for coming.
It shames me that you had to come to such a foul place.
I'm Watanabe Saki.
Do you remember me?
This is Asahina Satoru.
This treatment is uncalled for!
At least unchain him!
We need the permission of the head priest for that.
They're in the middle of a ritual!
We'll ask for permission later.
You should not have done that!
I remember you two well.
I know Watanabe Saki-sama from the Department of Exospecies Control.
But Asahina Satoru-sama was still an innocent boy when we last met.
You have grown into a fine man.
I apologize for how you were treated.
Thank you for saving Inui-san.
Please, what I did was only natural.
So what do you intend to do about the fiend?
An exospecies member has no business with human affairs! Know your place!
A single child caused the destruction of my most elite troops.
Our arrows were stopped mid-flight and Cantus tore our weapons from us. We were helpless.
How did you survive?
I should almost call it a miracle.
To allow for my escape, my elite troops advanced in close formation,
but they had no weapons, having been disarmed.
They fought with their claws and fangs.
I saw them being butchered in the corner of my eyes.
I ran right past the fiend and dived into a ditch.
I must have had Heaven's protection.
The fiend attacked the villages as well.
We will avenge your soldiers.
But gods—humans cannot use their Cantus against each other, is that not so?
How do you know that?!
It is common knowledge among my kin.
Naturally, Yakomaru must know this too.
His strategy likely hinges on it.
Kiroumaru, how would you defeat the fiend?
If the use of Cantus is out of the question, we can only rely on the traditional weapons of my kind.
Guns, poison arrows and traps.
Oh, one more thing.
We're going to Tokyo after this.
Do you know anything that might help us?
That cursed land?
Neither gods nor my kind venture there.
I believe there are no colonies whatsoever in the area.
We heard that the land and water were contaminated in ancient wars,
and that deadly radiation and noxious fumes still remain,
enough to kill you on arrival.
I believe that is just a rumor.
I do not think the area is contaminated enough to endanger life.
How would you know?
Because I have been there once before.
I experienced no problems with my health.
However, about a third of the soldiers that accompanied me died or were injured.
I beg you to allow me to lead the way.
We should dive.
I smell many of my kind ahead.
How long should we stay underwater?
Let's resurface.
They might still be nearby.
We need to ventilate the air whenever we can.
I agree.
Dive immediately.
There are many of my kind ahead.
I can't see a thing.
What should we do?
Follow the current for now.
Huh? Look, there's some light ahead.
Shh! Quiet!
They're lighting the river with torches.
Will they see us?
I don't think so.
You need not worry.
The sentinels are only watching the river surface.
I would have expected as much from a paranoid coward.
It seems not even the great strategist could predict that we would escape underwater.
Now it won't be much farther to the estuary.
We can travel on the surface now, I believe.
Kiroumaru, can you smell your species nearby?
I am unsure.
The wind has turned around.
I cannot hear anything at present.
We should likewise strive to be as silent as possible.
There's a boat!
What now?
Let's dive.
I think we can make it to the ocean without resurfacing.
Run! Quick!
It is him!
I am certain!
I can smell the fiend!
But the wind is...
Should we dive?
We won't make it in time.
Let's break through!
Shut your eyes, Saki!
Did we shake the fiend off?
For now.
But he will soon be back on our trail.
Yakomaru may have seen through our plan.
We have to hurry.
This is...
Tokyo.
Episode Twenty-Two
Tokyo
Approaching the shore in the middle of the night is quite dangerous.
Let us wait for sunrise.
Why?
When I last went into Tokyo, nothing seemed out of the ordinary during the day.
But once night had fallen, all my soldiers that had wandered near the shore were eaten by some sort of monster.
By a monster?
By a monster.
What now?
We won't get anywhere probing around aimlessly.
Let's continue powering up this guy here.
It moved. It's powered up again.
I am the Tsukuba branch of the National Assembly Library, mirror terminal number 008.
It's alive!
We did it!
Comparison with map data complete.
Geomagnetic positioning by electronic compass complete.
Target coordinates have been identified.
Please go 29 degrees northwest from your current position.
Gotcha.
Damn!
What is it?
That bird.
Unbelievable.
They're so fast.
We must have been careless.
They found us so quickly.
They probably saw us while we were anchoring in the bay.
What now?
We should escape while we can, but there is no place to hide in the desert.
Could we go underground?
It is Hell on Earth down there.
Most of my party's casualties came from exploring the tunnels.
But I suppose we do not have much choice.
It's perfect.
Our main objective is finding the Psychobuster before they catch up to us.
If they come after us, that saves us a good deal of trouble.
We shall lead them to the depths of Hell.
Why is it so hot?
Because of the bats.
It will get even hotter.
Hey, what exactly is the Psychobuster?
"Psychobuster" is the nickname for a bacteriological weapon
developed in America during the final years of ancient civilization in an effort to eradicate all psychics.
Its true name is strong toxicity Bacillus anthracis.
Anthrax is a variety of the bacilli found in the soil.
Once it enters the human body, it causes cutaneous, pulmonary or gastrointestinal anthrax, all serious conditions.
As its contagiousness was drastically improved,
containing outbreaks through conventional epidemiological means is exceedingly difficult.
When subjected to adverse environmental conditions, it survives by forming spores that lie dormant.
These properties make it the ideal biological weapon.
Are we really going to get this thing?
We need it to defeat the fiend.
We have no choice.
To facilitate post-war cleanup, the strain's toxicity was designed to fall in one or two years...
I suppose that means it will not cause us problems down the road.
Additionally, it is highly praised as a biological weapon that hardly affects the environment.
Excellent.
It should not be difficult to infect the fiend without his noticing it.
The problem is getting him to inhale the powder.
It stinks!
Watch your steps carefully.
The ground is covered in guano and filled with worms!
I can't walk through that!
We have to, Saki.
No...
I can't.
They won't hurt you.
They're harmless.
But...
We have no time.
We need to go.
Now I know what Hell is.
No. This is still Heaven.
You said you've been to Tokyo before, right?
Yes.
Why did nobody ever try to set up a colony here?
There are huge caves here.
My species sent many to tackle this land, but none attempted to live here.
There are simply too many unpleasant occupants already here.
Where now?
27 degrees northwest.
Your route has been largely correct so far.
What is it?
Our pursuers.
I can smell them.
I see how it is.
Hey, we need to escape.
Do not worry.
The enemy is still quite far away.
I also believe they are following a different tunnel.
I understand their formation now.
Their formation?
There are seven of them.
It is less than I thought, but perhaps that makes them more mobile down here.
The smell of five of them is new to me.
They are most likely rank and file.
I recognize the other two, however.
One is the fiend.
The other is Yakomaru.
Yakomaru? The general is pursuing us himself?
He's been hiding himself until now!
It is nothing surprising.
They need the fiend in order to stand a chance in a battle with you three.
Furthermore, the fiend is their trump card.
Losing him would spell defeat.
Taking personal command to ensure success is the logical decision.
Do you think they know our number as well?
It is possible.
The smell we leave behind is carried on the breeze.
Determining our number and composition from that smell is but child's play.
Hey, Satoru.
Why did that kid turn into a fiend?
I don't know.
I haven't the faintest idea how he was brought up.
They use drugs, don't they?
But does that turn an ordinary child into a fiend so easily?
They say the change happens really suddenly.
It also has nothing to do with the parents' personalities, apparently.
But isn't that incredibly unlikely?
Anyway, we must stop the fiend.
We need the Psychobuster for that.
Yeah, but...
Well...
Is that really a fiend?
What? Are you kidding me?
You know what the kid did!
Do you know how many he has killed?!
Quick! Remove it!
Do not try to pull it off.
Set fire to it.
Make it flee.
Unbelievable.
I've never heard of slugs that attack humans.
Are you okay?
Be careful.
There are more above.
I'll handle this.
Does it hurt?
What the hell are these?!
They are bloodsucker slugs.
They cling to the cave ceiling and drop on unsuspecting prey
to inflict extensive skin damage with their arched fangs before sucking their prey's blood.
The wound may not appear grave, but the bleeding becomes worse if left untreated.
You should stop the bleeding.
Do you want painkillers?
No.
I need to be able to use my Cantus.
This really is Hell.
This is only the beginning.
Nani mo iranai
何もいらない
I need nothing else
Anata ga ireba ii
あなたがいればいい
When you are by my side
Sotto yokogao iki wo korosu
そっと横顔 息を殺す
I look at you in profile and hold my breath
Mabataki sureba kieteshimaisou de
まばたきすれば消えてしまいそうで
I'm afraid it might vanish like an illusion if I blink now
Mitsumesasete suki da yo
凝視めさせて好きだよ
Let me look at you, I love you
Ah kigi ga furue furidashita yuki
ああ 木々が震え 降り出した雪
The trees shake in the wind and snow gathers on the ground
Ashiato futatsu shiroku
足跡 ふたつ 白く
Two lines of white footprints show
Toki yo tsumore
時よ 積もれ
Snowflakes of time, gather
Kami ni mune ni futari dake no yume ni
髪に 胸に ふたりだけの夢に
In our hair, our hearts, our dream
Sakenai hana no
咲けない花の
This flower cannot bloom
Tane wa yuki ni dakare
種は雪に抱かれ
And the snow embraces its seeds
Yorisou no
寄り添うの
As they huddle together
Shizuka ni wasureraretai
静かに忘れられたい
Quietly they wish to be able to forget
FROM THE NEW WORLD
Promise me.
Promise me you will stop the fiend even if I fall before completing our mission.
I promise.
Saki...
Saki?
No need to worry.