Freeze!
Put your hands up and slowly turn this way!
Damn! A contractor, huh?
The suspect is moving northeast.
He's a contractor.
Report from headquarters:
GR544 activity acknowledged.
His alias is Louis, a French agent.
Affirmative, direction of the wind confirmed.
Move the police to the east to circumvent him.
Roger.
Notice to all personnel: the suspect is a contractor by the name of Louis.
He has the ability to create a gravity block, therefore the use of automatic weapons is permitted.
Once confirmed, fire without hesitation.
So that's the price of your contract, huh?
Pretty troublesome.
Observer apparition... A Doll?
Where is it?
I... I don't know.
I'm telling the truth... a woman has the stash.
Where is she?
Which syndicate are you from?
Depending on the terms, I can retrieve the goods from the woman and have it delivered to you.
A practical decision indeed, typical of a contractor.
Tell me more about it.
Yin, where are the police?
You have three minutes.
They're passing through Point A.
It's about time.
Let's pull out.
Wait...
If I don't come with you, the woman won't hand over the goods...
Hei, no!
We can still use him.
People like you make me sick.
Hei!
Boss, a star just passed by.
I know.
Ten years have passed since its appearance...
It's getting difficult to remember how the scenery looked before the wall was there.
What took place that day...
and what lies beyond it...
No one knows.
The only thing mankind could do was build a tall wall and conceal everything.
It was referred to as "Hell's Gate".
Beings with unique abilities, called "contractors",
and the existence of passive mediums called "Dolls"
were said to have been identified one week after the appearance of the gate.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Hatsudai Provisional Office
Goes by the alias of Louis, his actual name is unknown.
An agent contractor who's said to have connections with the French Foreign Security Secretariat.
His Messier code is GR554.
He has the ability to create a gravity block.
At this moment in time, French authorities are denying any involvement.
Cause of death?
Unknown. There were no traces of asphyxiation or reactions to chemicals.
Do you think it's the act of a contractor?
According to reports from the Division of Astronomy,
the stellar number of the prime suspect who was most active during that time was...
BK201, an unidentified number.
Unidentified?
Yes, every case he's been involved in has been left unsolved.
The victim's cause of death and details of his abilities... We don't know anything.
Don't tell me it's that rumored "cursed" contractor.
Rumors are merely rumors.
Why are you guys, of all people, getting caught up in them?
Right...
What were the goods?
Confidential information obtained via illegal access to the central system of Pandora from the National Research Institute.
As for the contents, we aren't authorized to know the details.
What about the woman?
Shinoda Chiaki, twenty-six years old.
She received her master's degree by writing a dissertation about the physical properties within the gate.
After graduating, she was employed by the National Research Institute.
She has been AWOL from work for the past two weeks. Her present status is unknown.
There are reports of her involvement with contractor-associated cases...
Has her memory ever been erased by the M.E.?
Regarding her parents?
At the time, it was concluded that she wasn't in contact with them.
A leak of gate-related information is a direct threat to national security.
We must prevent the witness from falling into the hands of the enemy.
Do you understand, Kirihara?
Yes.
Ordinary people who come into contact with contractors have their memories erased.
All information regarding contractors is to remain top secret.
Even so, the rumors never stop.
Monsters... Killing machines...
Public sentiment towards them is that of fright and suspicion.
My name is Kirihara Misaki.
This case marks the first time the contractor, known as BK201,
and my Department of Intelligence's Fourth Division of External Affairs cross paths.
Yeah?
What? Deliveries?
N-No.
Cult solicitation? Not interested.
No... um...
Oh, you're the gravestone salesman who keeps calling all the time.
Stop bugging me! I told you I didn't need one yet!
It's not that... The real estate agency in front of the station...
Oh, the electronics shop next to the realty agency!
I've been waiting for you! Hurry in!
It's been acting like this for a while.
Right...
Um...
Hey, old man!
The reception's horrible when you stand there!
You're the one who told me that if I switched to the digital whatever, there wouldn't be any static.
No, I'm just...
This ain't a TV from the old days... You think you can fix it by doing that?
You're right.
They haven't disclosed it.
It's fixed.
And because it's enclosed under a thick veil...
You're kidding!
If I recall correctly, you're Li...
Li Shun Sheng.
Li-san, right?
That's right. I heard from the realty agency.
Are you from China?
Yes, I'm an exchange student.
Well, I know it must be difficult coping with the cultural differences and such, but...
Get along with your neighbors and don't cause any trouble!
Yes.
Ah, Haraguchi-san!
He'll be moving into this room from today...
I'm Li Shun Sheng.
Li-san, you got that?
You don't need to force yourself to be too friendly.
O-Okay.
I've confirmed the target.
Show me what you're made of...
The so-called black Grim Reaper.
Episode One The Fallen Star of a Contract... (Part One)
Say, say, say, say.
I bet you're still in your teens, Ayame-chan.
Come on, I'm already twenty-two!
Oh, next week's my birthday, so come over and celebrate!
That goes for the customer over there as well!
I got it, I got it.
What do you two do for a living?
What do you think?
Financial business? Loan sharks?
No way.
Land sharks?
Why do you think that? It's a more respectable business.
No way! I bet you're one of those folks.
W-We're civil servants, you know, civil servants.
Come on! The only civil servants with such rugged faces are detectives.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
It's time for the next rotation.
Bye-bye. Make sure to call for me next time.
Next week... Promise!
Sure, sure.
I thought that girl looked like her.
A completely different impression, though.
Women sure can masquerade themselves well with make-up.
Isn't it risky to be in this kind of place anyway?
Don't worry. We can write it off as a business expense.
No, not about that! If the boss hears about this...
Welcome!
Hey!
Sir, it would be most problematic...
if you were to act as a stalker toward our girls.
Wrong!
This is the police! Clear the way!
Halt!
Are you being chased?
Huh?
This way.
No, I have to run away!
Quiet!
But...
E-Excuse me!
Were you gazing at the stars?
Yes.
In the middle of the city?
Yes.
Even when you know the stars in the sky are all fake?
Have we met before?
Haraguchi-san?
Huh?
As I thought, right?
From Room 202?
I'm Li. I moved in next door just today.
I-I have to go.
Thanks.
Um...
Chiaki, it's me, Jean.
Jean!
I'm glad you're okay.
Jean, what's going on? Where's Louis?
Quiet.
Louis was tied up with some complications.
Who are they?
It looks like they're cops.
They suddenly came into the club.
They're already on to us.
Is there anyone else who came into contact with you?
No... What happened to Louis?
I can't tell you much right now.
All I can say is that he's taking refuge somewhere safe.
You still have it with you, right?
Where is it now?
Louis told me not to tell anyone else.
Not even a partner.
Take me to Louis!
I know it's dangerous!
You...
Are you okay?
No, get away from here now!
But...
Run!
Lancernopt synchrotron radiation?
Contractor...
Are you going to be okay with this kind of team?
Any changes to the plan can result in unexpected setbacks.
We have to act carefully.
Just like this.
Doesn't it look beautiful when they're aligned like this?
It's pretty difficult, you know.
Then again, I have no idea why the hell I'm doing this.
This is the price I have to pay for my contract.
Good.
Louis is dead.
You're lying...
It isn't a lie. Louis is dead.
He was murdered.
It wasn't expected...
for a contractor as formidable as Louis to appear.
Contractor?
Louis was a contractor, too?
That's right. You weren't supposed to know.
Who was that man?
Huh?
The man who hit me on the head.
He's probably not alive anymore, but he seemed like someone you knew.
I-I don't know.
I met him for the first time today.
Really?
Not that it matters. We don't have any time.
I'll use the quickest way.
How insulting. I may not look it, but I'm pretty sensitive.
Even us contractors can be equipped with a personality, depending on the program,
unlike Dolls.
What's the matter?
I sensed something.
It can't be.
There's nothing there...
An observer apparition?
Huh?
Only contractors must be able to see it.
Wait!
That's strange. The security system for the electronic lock had a triple fail-safe.
You're right.
It's too much to be a coincidence.
The rain has stopped, but the starry skies that appear beyond the clouds are fake.
Gentle words reach out to a closed heart, and the woman steps out...
into the dark chasms of a bottomless marsh.
What the man sees in the fake sky is the shimmer of life that burns blue.
And a star falls.
Episode Two The Fallen Star of a Contract... (Part Two)