You came after all.
Amber...
Thanks, Yin.
Everyone died, didn't they?
Sorry, I don't have much time left.
There's no doubt that something's going on in there.
What are we supposed to do? It would be pretty pathetic to launch a two-man attack.
It's Ohtsuka.
What's going on?
What kind of question is that? There's nobody from the division here, and...
Open
What in the world is going on?
Open
To be honest, I'm scared.
The solar maximum will enter its final stage soon.
Will Tokyo continue to...
This is insane! It's practically a war!
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Hurry up! If we're going to force our way in, we have to do it while they're distracted.
You understand what this means, don't you?
We're up against more than contractors.
Hey! Wait!
We're now approaching the maximum activity period of the solar maximum, its final stage.
Maximum level of the Gullfinger wave acknowledged.
The anti-gate particle generation level within the accelerator ring is at maximum.
Collect all the energy from the Saturn Ring and direct it to Hope, the auxiliary convergency unit!
This is a race, people.
A race between the E.P.R. and human beings. There can only be one victor!
Activate all internal surveillance cameras.
Locate BK201 at once.
Not even BK201 will be able to reach the core without the aid of a doll.
It's merely a precautionary measure.
I thought a large hole would have formed here,
but there isn't anything at all. What a desolate place.
We can't move in any further.
This is good enough.
We couldn't even get this close in South America.
It doesn't look like they're angry anymore.
It's probably because of that kitty cat and that child.
They relayed the information well.
I wasn't interested in the purpose of your resistance until I arrived here.
Did you have a change of heart?
Have you been doing this since South America?
Were you fighting against the syndicate since that time?
We didn't have as many members back then.
Besides, we didn't even realize their intentions until much later,
after we fought Heaven's War several times.
Many more stars fell back then compared to now.
Why we were ordered to continue spying, why we were ordered to kill,
it never crossed our minds at all.
We blindly followed the orders we were given.
We're contractors. All we had to do was act rationally.
One day, things started to change.
It wasn't a result of somebody taking the initiative. It just happened gradually.
We were referring to each other as partners before we even realized it.
We started sharing information.
Your sister was one of them.
Pai?
She was the one who initially discovered the syndicate's plans.
I'm not surprised you didn't know.
She didn't want to drag you, of all people, into it.
Unlike us, you've always been a human being, Hei.
Wouldn't it have been difficult to choose between the life of a human and a contractor?
That's why she...
Since when?
Since when did Pai...
I don't know.
Little by little,
she began to accept the fact that she had become a contractor.
Every time you followed the syndicate's orders,
she gradually became more sad and hurt.
That eventually led to a change within her.
Why would I know about her feelings?
It's because I felt the same way. That child does, too.
They may not have realized it yet,
but they are gradually changing.
I don't know who created this gate or why they did it.
All I know is that the contract we signed simply represented the beginning of something.
The beginning of something that might happen a hundred, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand years from now.
Why didn't you tell me earlier?
Why did you hide it from me?
You wouldn't have believed me unless I told you under these circumstances, would you?
You would have tried to escape the syndicate if I said anything, Hei.
If that happened, you wouldn't be alive today.
It's coming soon.
It?
The arrival of the existence that will completely erase contractors and the gate.
It's what we want to stop.
Hei,
do you want to see Pai?
The convergence beam unit is ready.
Executing final adjustments for core emission of anti-gate particles.
Presence of a chain reaction confirmed.
One hundred and eighty seconds until emission.
The Saturn System is about to enter its final stage.
At last, after all that time...
Isn't it strange?
I broke it and gave a piece to everyone before I came here,
but it reverted back to its original shape.
What are you trying to do?
I'm going to do the same thing I did in South America.
I'm going to release Pai's powers before it arrives.
When I do, no one will be able to approach this area,
just like Heaven's Gate.
Go ahead, Hei.
What are you asking me to do?
Come on. You should have realized it by now.
Pai has always been within you, Hei.
She's been with you ever since the day you thought she died.
The ability to conduct electricity was only one of Pai's abilities.
You should know the source of your powers better than anyone else.
Come on, Hei. Let's go meet Pai.
What will become of this city?
If I use my powers for the sake of meeting Pai,
what will become of the contractors, humans... everyone who lives here?
Will they disappear like they did in South America?
I can't do it.
Contractors as a whole will disappear if you don't.
Yin, me... Every single contractor on this planet.
Everyone except you, Hei.
Convergent energy will soon reach critical levels.
Core point at hold.
Focus and tolerance revisions for the lens are complete.
Begin the countdown.
Wait a second! Let me do the honors!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Here we go!
20, 19, 18, 17,
We have a live feed of the core area.
16, 15, 14,
Did they back off?
13, 12,
Wait!
11, 10, 9,
BK201 won't cause the explosion!
8, 7, 6,
He's not sure about what he's doing!
5, 4,
Please wait!
3, 2, 1,
0!
No... No!
I never wanted to do this!
I didn't want everything to disappear!
What's wrong?
Nothing.
You're lying.
I'm not.
Liar.
I said I wasn't lying!
Why are you crying, Onii-chan?
I had known all along.
I knew you never wanted to kill anyone, Onii-chan.
In order to accept me as a contractor,
you've been doing things against your will, Onii-chan.
Wrong. I'm the Grim Reaper.
No, you're not.
You're my brother,
so don't push yourself too much.
Geez, you're always screwing around.
Don't bite off more than you can chew!
Huang?
Do you realize how many times you've pissed me off because of your indecisive nature?
That's what makes Hei so interesting, though.
Mao?
Who would have thought you'd be uncertain about your own identity?
No wonder you didn't act like a contractor.
Got it? You're human. You're only making things more complicated by masquerading as a contractor.
If you can't choose between the two, choose both!
A decision befitting a human being and a contractor.
That's right.
Is that really okay with you?
Is that your answer, Hei?
By choosing to assume both identities, you'll only make life more difficult on yourself.
The syndicate will do whatever it takes to capture you.
You'll have to kill again if you choose to walk that path.
Didn't you tell me you were sick of it?
You're only going to lose everything you've managed to gain again.
You won't be able to see the real stars or your beloved sister anymore.
Will you still...
Why?
Isn't this what you've always wanted?
That's why I...
Aren't you the one who's afraid of letting him choose?
Amber, I...
I don't want to hear another word.
Good-bye, Onii-chan.
Good-bye, Qing.
Good-bye, everyone.
Good-bye, Amber.
Hei.
Yin!
Hei, come back.
Yin!
Don't leave me alone!
Hei.
Where's Amber?
She used her ability one last time,
which is what she planned on doing from the start.
Let's go.
Convergent energy will soon reach critical levels.
Core point at hold.
Focus and tolerance revisions for the lens are complete.
Begin the countdown.
Wait a second! Let me do the honors!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Here we go!
20, 19, 18, 17,
We have a live feed of the core area.
16, 15, 14,
Did they back off?
13, 12,
Wait!
11, 10, 9,
BK201 isn't at the core!
There won't be an explosion!
8, 7, 6,
The threat has been eliminated!
5, 4,
Please wait!
3, 2, 1,
0!
What happened?
I don't know.
A Lancer Black reaction has been detected within the Saturn Ring!
It's growing by the second!
Find out what's causing it!
This is...
BK201!
Take him down! Shoot him now!
Prepare for the second emission immediately!
Hurry up!
It's useless.
Useless? Why?
The anti-gate particles within the system have been completely altered
by the special particle light emitted from BK201's electric current.
His electric current isn't one made up of mere electromagnetic waves.
It's capable of altering substances at a quantum level.
Granting the abilities of a contractor to an ordinary human being is an example of what BK201 is capable of.
I thought the same incident that took place in South America would happen again,
where the altered substance would saturate the gate and create a neutral territory.
Who would have thought he'd attack the Saturn Ring with pinpoint accuracy?
He really outdid us this time!
Somebody take this man away!
Manager!
How could the syndicate terminate me?
We've been conducting undercover investigations on a suspect, namely Eric Nishijima,
on charges of conspiracy and violation of United Nation laws.
The perfect scapegoat, isn't he?
Is this your... the syndicate's method of handling things?
I need not remind you about how Intelligence is supposed to act.
Manager Hourai, you and Eric Nishijima, who you just killed, attempted to eliminate all contractors
despite the fact that the threat of an explosion didn't exist.
Weren't you the ones who instigated all this, not the E.P.R.,
in an effort to eradicate them?
Do you have any evidence?
Eventually, the time will come when the truth is disclosed. History will be the judge of your actions.
Don't think you can get away with it at that time.
The existence of the syndicate or the relationship I maintained with it,
you can't prove either.
You have no idea how influential the syndicate is.
However, due to this disturbance,
knowledge about the existence of contractors will inevitably become known to the public.
We should have eliminated information about them before it came to that,
while they were still a nameless cluster of stars.
That will be enough.
Enough?
I've recorded this conversation. Please come with me.
So you opted for a third route, huh?
Why don't you understand?
The path you've chosen is one of massive conflict.
The human race will abhor contractors all the more,
and contractors will act in kind.
What do you think will be the end result of that?
You advocate peace,
so there isn't any reason why you shouldn't understand what I'm trying to say.
No!
Wait!
Wait, Li-kun!
The man you once knew as Li no longer exists.
Boss!
Are you all right?
Yes.
This is awful. What the hell happened?
Manager?
Saitou, arrest the manager
on charges of homicide.
Roger!
He might try to commit suicide, so be alert.
Understood!
In any case, let's get out of here.
Okay.
Our lives returned to normal shortly after that incident.
As the manager had predicted,
contractor-related incidents were on the rise.
Freeze! Slowly raise your hands and turn toward me!
2048 hours, suspect detained.
Roger.
There wasn't a single trace of the syndicate.
However, it was only a matter of time until the existence of contractors became known to the public.
One day, in the near future, our moment of truth will come.
That's it,
take them with you.
The stars that have fallen,
the stars that are falling,
every single one of them...
Yes. Far, far,
far, far away, to a future nobody has ever seen.
Yeah, it was really sudden.
Why would they deport such a nice man?
There are so many Japanese who are much worse than he was.
Would we have chosen the same path,
a path of coexistence?
Wait!
I wanted to hear his answer with my own ears.
What is it?
Understood. I'll be there soon.
Episode Twenty-Five
Does the Reaper Dream of Darkness, Darker Than Black?
Ah, hello there. Matsumoto, Public Security Bureau, Foreign Affairs Section 4.
I was sure that this was the last episode,
but actually, there appears to be one more.
Now, in the spring comes flower-viewing.
The other day, even Section 4 went out to see them.
There, a young lady of ours, named Otsuka-kun,
started going on about what she liked. She says,
"I prefer men, like you, Matsumoto-san, rather than younger men."
What was I saying? Oh yes, the preview.
Episode Twenty-Six
Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom...
Huh? Time's up? Well, if you'll excuse me...