This isn't normal...
None of this is.
Does it hurt?
Something is really wrong here.
Why would slugs evolve like that?
It's sort of similar to what happens at the Holy Barrier.
Cantus constantly leaks through our consciousness.
It's directed outside the Holy Barrier, so—
What?
Huh? What was I saying?
Are you okay? Should we rest for a bit?
Let's take a break.
Cantus leakage...
No, it wasn't me.
Then who was it?
UTW
Presents
ＳＨＩＮＳＥＫＡＩ
ＹＯＲＩ
UTW
Presents
ＳＨＩＮＳＥＫＡＩ
ＹＯＲＩ
Episode 23
The Face of the Boy
The people living in Japan imagine Tokyo as Hell on Earth.
Whenever someone thinks of Tokyo, their Cantus leakage produces the hell they expect.
Huh? Crickets?
What you hear are cockroaches.
Horsechaser cockroaches, bellringer cockroaches, and...
Okay, stop! Sorry for asking!
Saki, what if it runs out of power?
Sorry...
What's wrong?
Nothing. Just my imagination.
The shadow!
Fire! Scare it away with fire!
What is this?
We should run.
I think we are far enough now.
It does not move particularly quickly.
What was that?
I do not know,
but during my previous expedition here, that shadow claimed the most lives.
None escaped its hold.
Tell us what that shadow was.
Black widow mites.
A carnivorous species of mites. They hunt in swarms.
They possess a lethal neurotoxin and prey upon most lifeforms in the caves,
devouring the soft tissue of their victims.
Anyway, we must move on.
It must have been eaten by the shadow.
Nothing but skin and bones remained of my soldiers as well.
The enemy appears to have split into two parties underground.
They communicate using those sounds while searching for us.
There are also troops on the surface.
Do you understand their signals?
Not entirely.
But it seems they do not know our position yet.
Look at this!
We need to travel upstream to reach our goal.
Impossible.
We can't build a raft here either.
Swimming would be far too risky.
Why don't we cut our losses and return to the surface?
I find that unwise.
They are using birds.
They would discover us immediately.
We might also run into the fiend or get ambushed.
What should we do, then?
Let us split into two groups as well.
Two of us will return to the caves and lead our pursuers away with our scent, then return here.
In the meantime, the other two will descend to a lower level and go back the way we came.
Go back?
What do you mean?
We are bringing the submarine here.
We need it to travel up this river.
No way...
How are we going to get it here?
This underground river must flow into the sea.
However, we saw no river mouth.
Consequently, it must be underwater.
Taking the submarine here would be relatively safe.
Are you all right?
I could do without the water...
At least the mites are gone, thanks to it.
We'll be fine, right?
To be honest, I don't know.
Everything here was beyond my imagination.
I see...
But I'll make sure you survive no matter what happens, Watanabe-san.
I will do my utmost to that end.
Thank you.
It's reassuring to hear that from you, Inui-san.
You're the only survivor of our fierce Wildlife Protection officers, after all.
Survivor?
I'm sorry!
I didn't mean to...
That's not what I meant.
I just never considered myself a survivor.
To me it seems more like I escaped death.
But...
That's how it is.
The comrades I lost were closer to me than my family.
Surviving them was mere chance.
I'm like a ghost.
I want to avenge my comrades.
That's all that keeps me bound to this life.
The fiend will pay for this.
Yes...
Please promise me.
Promise me you will stop the fiend even if I fall before completing our mission.
I promise.
Kiroumaru?
I'm not sure how much we can trust him.
It's already suspicious how he's been here before.
What did he come here for?
A single loss of life would normally prompt Kiroumaru to retreat immediately.
Something very important must have motivated him to keep exploring at the cost of a third of his force.
He would've explained his reasons if he had nothing to hide.
There's something else, too.
What is it?
We will soon know.
Soon?
We will know once we arrive on the shore.
Bats.
Excellent!
Their birds can't see us now!
Please wait.
But they'll find us if we don't hurry!
Don't you remember he said the shore is dangerous at night?
That's right. Kiroumaru said that.
What's the most dangerous creature around here?
Huh? It's acting strange.
—ous creature is considered to be the giant Bobbit worm.
They are a species of ragworms that live on—
nocturnal—
During the mating season, they—
particularly dangerous—
Oh no, it's broken!
It must be out of power.
Let's recharge it later.
But how will we find the river without it?
Let's think about that later.
We should board the submarine now and look out for the ragworm.
Ragworm?
It will probably look like a giant centipede.
Why didn't Kiroumaru—
Hence my suspicion.
He knew we'd arrive on the beach after sundown, yet he didn't warn us.
Will Satoru be all right?
Perhaps Kiroumaru simply had more pressing matters on his mind.
Let's go.
It seems like the monster is still—
Inui-san!
Are you okay?
There might be more of them!
We need to get away from here.
Okay...
Saki...
Saki.
Who are you?
It's me, Saki.
Who?
I see you still can't remember my name.
But don't worry. I'm always with you.
I live in your heart.
In my heart?
That's right.
Cantus is the power that etches our thoughts into the outside world.
Our souls are, in the end, our thoughts.
A part of my soul is etched deep within your heart.
What happened to you?
Did you forget?
That's fine.
You'll remember eventually.
At least tell me your name!
You know my name.
Somebody's left a barrier in your mind that prevents you from remembering.
Watanabe-san, are you okay?
Yes, I'm fine.
Saki...
Saki.
You don't have to worry.
That's all I wanted to tell you.
But can I really defeat that fiend?
Fiend? You misunderstand.
That's no fiend.
Watanabe-san! Come on!
Are you all right?
Y-Yes, sorry about that.
I was just nodding off.
Let's surface.
Now?
Yes.
The flow has slowed and I can see what I believe to be the surface.
I think we are in a rather spacious tunnel.
What a vast cavern.
It almost seems man-made.
Stars?
Glowworms.
A perfect moment in a perfect world.
The one who showed it to me was...
What's wrong?
Nothing... Never mind.
I remembered.
I was certain it was the faceless boy who showed it to me.
It will be fully charged soon.
Thank you.
You can do some amazing things.
I'd be helpless by myself.
It's nothing special from a technical perspective.
I just feed it electricity with my Cantus directly.
Let's go.
We have no more time to waste.
We can't just leave the others behind!
We'll have to trust that they're safe.
They might be hiding somewhere, unable to move about.
We have an important mission.
There isn't enough room to enter with the submarine.
Can we use Cantus to open a hole?
We're done for if the cave collapses.
The target is close by, right?
Less than a hundred meters in linear distance.
The stairs of exit A19 in front of us lead directly to the building.
Are you waterproof?
I am completely waterproof
and operational until 13 bar pressure or 120 meters depth.
I'll go first.
Let's not split up. Otherwise we're helpless.
Shun!
Wait!
Wait, Shun!
Why?
Shun...
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
Something is wrong.
Don't you think so?
Run, Saki!
You can hear it, right?
We've been played!
Watch out!
I'll put an end to it with this!
No! Stop!