I think I'll go to the countryside and fish all day.
Fish?
I used to do that a lot. Crucians were my game of choice.
Well, you do look like a crucian carp.
Shut up.
It's easy to lose track of time just from watching the flow of the water.
After all, our lives are like leaves flowing down a stream.
Hey, I was in the middle of a good soliloquy.
Oh, sorry.
What's this? Are you going to light it for me?
What the hell are you doing?
Smoking isn't good for you.
You should watch how much you eat, too.
H-Hey...
See you around.
The target is heading east on Koshu Boulevard.
He saw us. Apprehend him at once!
You better keep following me.
At last, it's about to begin.
The beginning, the beginning... the beginning of the end.
I'm Kirihara from the Fourth Section of External Affairs, Division of Intelligence.
I'd like to speak with Dr. Robert Schroeder.
Do you have an appointment?
No, I don't.
Please wait here.
He'll see you now.
That, too?
Security precautions.
Excuse me.
Welcome, Lieutenant Kirihara.
I thought I requested a meeting with Dr. Schroeder.
I'd prefer if we were alone,
but he really wanted to come along.
I've always wanted to speak with you.
Unfortunately, we're short on time. Let me give you a quick explanation.
Please have a seat.
Due to the emergence of the neutral territory in South America five years ago,
mankind lost a means of accessing Heaven's Gate
as well as a vast area of land and millions of its inhabitants.
The one responsible for this was BK201.
Why did he cause that tragedy?
He? You're mistaken.
At that time, Messier Code BK201 was designated to another woman.
What did you say?
Let's try to stick with the facts of the present instead of details from the past.
The E.P.R. is attempting to repeat the South American phenomenon here in Tokyo.
Where did you get that information?
We've been fighting them ever since that incident.
It'd be difficult not to know.
It's what we refer to as the "Tokyo Explosion".
If an explosion of the same magnitude as that of South America occurs here,
the entire nation of Japan will become nothing more than neutral territory.
Everything in existence will vanish into thin air.
Rest assured. We won't let something like that happen.
How do you plan to prevent it?
All we have to do is destroy Hell's Gate.
Is that even possible?
Of course. The wall that surrounds Hell's Gate wasn't constructed just to ward off trespassers.
It was put in place to protect something, much like a sturdy fortress.
That's...
The Saturn System.
I hope the boss isn't getting herself into trouble.
I have faith in our boss!
Yeah, right. You've been following her all day.
Yes? Oh, Matsumoto-san.
Yes, I'm with Kouno.
Yes.
What did you say?
Kouno, we're going to PANDORA!
Why?
The boss is down there!
I'll leave the money here!
Sure, thanks!
Shit. What the hell is going on?
On the forty-fifth day of the solar maximum,
the gate will reach its final stage and its maximum capacity.
It will maintain this state for about thirty minutes.
If the cultured, accelerated anti-gate particles are released into the core by the Saturn Ring during that period of time,
the gate will disappear.
Just to let you know, BK201 can only initiate the Tokyo Explosion during the final stage.
It's one of the invaluable pieces of information we acquired from South America.
Intriguing, isn't it? Warfare between humans and contractors first began within this thirty minute time frame.
Five hours and twenty-seven minutes until the moment of truth.
What is it?
Special forces have engaged in combat at Honcho 2-chome, Kita Ward.
Understood.
Oh, it's already begun!
This is...
Restless stars,
shimmering, crying, falling from the sky...
We've detected numerous contractor-related responses within the Kita and Itabashi Wards.
Numerous isn't specific enough. Give me an actual number.
Well, there are multitudes of them.
What?
What's going on?
Not only has the data from the Division of Astronomy been leaked,
it's being accessed in real time.
I see. I've heard about it.
Something about the unofficial existence of a subway.
Due to the turmoil resulting from the emergence of the gate,
every document related to this subway was lost.
It isn't even under surveillance now.
Hey, do we really have to walk?
There's no electricity in here.
On the other hand, the police's observer apparitions can't access it, either.
Yin.
Geez.
It's no use. Intelligence or not, they won't let us in.
I see.
Saitou-san, isn't it better if we return to headquarters?
It's a contractor-related matter, no matter how you look at it.
We're to stay here.
I just received a call with those instructions.
We've been ordered to stand back.
If we return to headquarters, we won't be allowed to leave the room.
What's the meaning of this?
How should I know? We received idiotic orders at an important time.
What the hell are our superiors thinking?
The stars that are shining and shimmering,
glistening between the bands of space,
where are you going?
A dark hole no one knows about.
It looks like it's begun.
Yes.
Everything is going according to schedule.
Amber...
Would you like some eggs?
Sure.
This is right beneath the wall, isn't it?
It doesn't look like we'll be able to pass through easily.
What are you going to do?
This is what I'll do.
What's the meaning of this?
I promised Amber I'd guide you here,
as long as I was able to do that I could do whatever I wanted after that.
I joined Amber just to fight you again.
I knew we'd cross paths if I joined the E.P.R.
Ever since I received this ability, losing to another contractor was an inconceivable thought.
Do you understand how humiliated I felt?
No.
I expected as much.
Did he say humiliated? That's an interesting way for a contractor to put it.
Episode Twenty-Four
Meteor Shower...
Hell's Gate and Heaven's Gate are inverses of each other, making both integral existences.
If you close one, the other will vanish.
What will happen to the contractors once the gate is gone?
They will all melt and disappear,
just like this sugar.
It can't be... Is that true?
It is. I've experimented with it myself.
That's outrageous! Who do you think you are?
They may be contractors, but they're also human beings!
Not all of them are criminals!
In that case, would it be acceptable to sacrifice millions of people for the sake of several thousand contractors?
It's easy to support humanism,
but to disregard reality and endanger the lives of people
is an unacceptable decision as far as the police is concerned. Don't you agree, Kirihara?
Manager...
I apologize for my subordinate's behavior, Mr. Nishijima.
No, we had an enjoyable conversation.
I'll leave the rest to you. I need to make preparations for the final stage.
See you later, young lady.
The decision to activate the Saturn Ring was a difficult one to make.
You were on their side the whole time, weren't you?
PANDORA is merely a research facility regulated by the United Nations.
They aren't authorized to conduct an operation involving the lives of millions at their own discretion.
Whatever's taking place here is clearly an abuse of authority, a felony.
Unless a force of colossal proportions is at work,
one that transcends the framework of a nation,
a decision of this magnitude couldn't have been kept a secret.
November 11 was looking for a syndicate with astronomical power.
You may not have realized it,
but you've been working for the syndicate all along.
Me? Absurd!
Intelligence agencies, governments, and authorities from all over the world are under the influence of the syndicate
and used to maintain world order.
BK201, too?
BK201. Code name: Hei.
He's also a member of the syndicate.
He's in hiding at the moment, though.
Hiding?
Why bother telling me the truth now?
You could have dealt with me as you did with November.
Killing you wouldn't be difficult at all.
However, we're always in need of people with talent,
such as yourself.
What's so funny?
It's come to this, as I thought.
What do you mean?
If I could have killed you,
she wouldn't have let me guide you in the first place.
Are you saying you never expected to win from the start?
I couldn't resist an opportunity to fight you, even if I already knew the outcome.
What an irrational decision, inappropriate of a contractor.
It's all your fault.
It's because I met you.
You're a strange one, too.
Go, BK201.
Sorry, you've only caught an old man.
Wait.
Don't do that in a place like this.
I can't help it. It's my remuneration.
I'm fine as I am.
I have a problem with that.
This is it.
This is what the old man was working on, huh?
As long as we destroy this...
Amber, huh?
Is something wrong?
No.
This is what the old man was working on, huh?
Let's hurry.
Good, the ring's been destroyed.
The anti-gate particle convergence unit has stopped!
What did you say?
What are you going to do about this? I risked everything in order to create that masterpiece!
Brita!
How's the ring?
It's been taken care of.
How are things?
Nearly every member who participated in the attack is dead.
Those who survived are trying to get away.
I see.
What about Amagiri?
What's going on?
The gate... Could it be within that wall?
There's a new anti-gate particle response.
The Saturn Ring is still functional.
It looks like we weren't the only ones who were trying to deceive our opponents.
Our hope now rests with Amber and these children.
I wasn't informed about that!
Yes, this would be the first time you've heard about it.
The destroyed ring was only a decoy.
The existence of a backup was never disclosed.
I see. There wasn't a backup of the Jupiter Ring to prevent that accident from happening in South America.
Marvelous! You're marvelous!
This is what the inside of the gate looks like, huh?
Observer apparition?
It's calling.
Wait, Yin! Don't move around so carelessly.
This way.
Yin!
H-Hey!
Well, here goes nothing!
What's this?
What's going on?
This is the gate, huh? Interesting, isn't it?
Quickly traverse the banks of Styx.
Do not lose your way, stars.
Do not lose sight of your leader.
There's an enormous amount of static interference.
Static interference?
The source is somewhere outside. Its level of power is equivalent to ours.
A certain system is activating the observer apparitions.
I see. They're using the dolls.
Ouch!
What's wrong?
I accessed PANDORA's server and was looking through some old files,
but they cut me off.
I did find something interesting.
Any medium used by a single doll
will transmit an immense amount of pain upon accessing the deepest part of the gate.
However, if a legion of dolls is linked and their abilities are enhanced with the meteor fragment,
it is theoretically possible for their observer apparitions to enter the gate's core without harming them.
The attack on the ring was a diversion after all.
BK201 has already entered the premises.
If we trace the source of this static...
I don't like dry food.
It was fun working with you guys.
Mao...
One day, if a cat who looks just like me visits you...
The lives that those stars represent will fade
until every last one of them falls and disappears.
Where are you going, fallen star?
Don't go without me.
Now they've lost their means of access.
They can't enter the core or leave the gate.
It's our victory.
Humans were born to err.
There's no justice that serves all.
Sacrifices must be made in order to determine the course of action with the lowest possibility of error.
I'm willing to stain my hands for that purpose.
Kirihara, grow up.
In the dark skies where nobody resides
lies a large hole
beyond the glow...
It's one thing after another.
What's wrong?
Yin?
Yin!
That way.
There was nothing there.
Hell's Gate. This is the gateway to hell.
What is heard from the crack in the earth's surface
are the temptations from the dead in the underworld.
The foxfire burning in his heart is the light of a hell darker than black.
Contractors do not dream.
All they do is make rational judgments.
Episode Twenty-Five Does the Reaper Dream of Darkness, Darker Than Black?
And then, there is no one.