It’s unbelievable...
Yet another Master Brain failed to defeat Kaito Daimon.
What the heck is wrong with them?!
I’m sorry! I only have my own shortcomings to blame...
Would you happen to have any good game plans?
Didn’t you mention that Rook
has been sniffing around Pythagoras’ Ruins lately?
Yeah. What of it?
I just came up with something sweet.
By now, Kaito Daimon and his pals should
have a good idea what this journey’s really about.
I can’t rely on Enigma anymore!
I’ll have to deal with them with my own two hands...!
You’ve made yet another halfhearted puzzle.
Do you truly believe you can
defeat Kaito Daimon off of such a pathetic puzzle?
Listen to me: Do whatever it takes to realize your goal.
If you’re going to do something, do it thoroughly.
Jin?
Isn’t it about time you stopped and had some tea?
Y-yeah...
That sounds good.
Do it thoroughly...!
She’s Too Shallow
Cough! Cough!
Sure enough, Herbert’s information... led us to a trap!
But we found out where we’re supposed to go next!
I’m ready to go home!
Iwashimizu wants to go home!
All we’re gonna find is another Master Brain waiting for us, right?
I, Ana, think we will have failed to solve Rae-Rae’s puzzle if we quit!
Doesn’t it mean we’ve lost the puzzle if we don’t obtain the prize, Jin?
It equals defeat.
Well, sure it does.
Let’s go! Let’s hit the next puzzle.
That’s clearly Raetsel’s trap. And you still wanna go?
I don’t care if it’s a trap or not.
It’s the only way to find any clues that will bring me closer to Jin.
Let’s go along with this game of hers.
If she’s going to throw a thousand puzzles at me,
then I’m going to solve every single one of them!
It looks like we don’t have any other options.
We have no other choice.
Just you wait, Raetsel!
I swear that I will catch up to you!
All right, Jin. I’m heading out now.
Please hold down the fort, okay?
Sure.
Please don’t go anywhere. Promise me you won’t!
I know.
I’m sorry. I’m constantly telling you what to do...
It’s fine. I want to make you and Kaito happy by recovering
my memories as soon as possible.
I’m the one who should be apologizing to you.
Jin...
I’m sorry I can’t remember anything, Raetsel.
I don’t care if your memories don’t come back!
I’ll always be with you, even if your memories never come back.
Jin, I’m going to do a thorough job.
I’ve decided to go through with it.
So...
...could you do one more thing for me?
This is the next puzzle, eh?
All right! Let’s go!
Stop!
I’m against this after all.
There’s no point in continuing these dangerous puzzles!
Nonoha, this is--
Even if everyone...!
Even if everyone is able to continue solving puzzles,
will this journey ever come to an end?
Don’t you worry!
Your journey will come to an end.
It ends right here--today!
Raetsel!
Welcome! This will be your last stop.
You’ve finally shown yourself!
You’ve shown yourself!
What do you mean by “last stop”?
I’m going to show you the extent of my determination!
Jin!
Hey! It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Kaito?
Don’t be duped, Kaito!
That could be the imposter, Jin Masaka.
I, Ana, think that Jin-Jin is for eal-ray.
Jin, where are you?!
Jin-Jin vanished...
Jin is currently inside of this pyramid.
If you can free my puzzle, the prize, Jin, is yours for the taking.
But if you fail, you’ll never see Jin ever again.
Let’s get started!
This is a puzzle between you and me that has Jin on the line!
The rules are simple!
Make your way through this maze and reach the goal in the center alive!
This maze...? But I don’t see a maze anywhere!
Now there are pathways!
You want us to go for the goal when we can’t see the overall picture?
I’ve got electric currents flowing across the top of the walls.
So don’t think you can climb to the top and study the maze.
Do your very best as you try to reach the prize, Jin!
Brat! Have you completely lost your mind?!
He’s right!
Don’t you care for Jin more than anyone else in the world?!
Jin told me that I’m missing something!
I’m sure that must have been determination!
Determination...?
And this is what you call “determination”?
I’ll do whatever it takes to realize my goal!
I’d be willing to sell my soul to the devil if it’d help me defeat you!
I swear that I will get Jin back.
It’s puzzle time... Let’s start!
The philosopher Pythagoras had a puzzle here...?
The prize has yet to be found,
so people thought he abandoned it before completion.
But I recently learned that this is where he put it.
The truth behind the Puzzle of God is said to be recorded
in the Pythagoras Document.
We’ve finally found it!
I am terribly sorry, Master Rook.
I will not be able to assist you.
That’s fine.
For now, let’s wait for HIM to get here.
I was being naïve. I was way too soft.
Somewhere in my heart, a part of me was showing mercy to Kaito Daimon.
But I’m done hesitating!
After this, my journey with Jin will come to an end.
The same goes for them...
Q-taro, where’d Iwarin go?
He said that he hates dank places.
Kaito, this is our first fork. Which way should we go?
Let’s stick with the left-hand rule.
Huh? Isn’t that when you head for the goal while touching the wall?
But aren’t there some mazes where that doesn’t work?
Really?
Yeah, you’re right.
When the starting point is on the outside and the goal is in the center,
there are instances when hugging the wall won’t work.
So we’ll keep that in mind while hugging the wall...
If we find a dead end, we’ll skip that passageway.
Follow your chopsticks hand next!
Huh? Weren’t we following the left-hand rule?
No going left?
Going left leads to a dead end.
Huh? What makes you say that?
Think back on the routes we’ve taken thus far.
You don’t need to go left to know that it’s a dead end.
I get it!
The best way to solve this maze is to play it by ear as you go.
For such a grand prelude, this is stinking easy!
Yeah! This isn’t the least bit challenging, is it?
But something feels off.
I can’t hear any voices coming from this puzzle...
Thank you for joining us,
Mr. Pinochle and Mr. Freecell.
I’m sorry to have asked you to come out here.
No, it’s fine.
Let’s skip the formalities.
Where is the philosopher Pythagoras’ puzzle?
This is it.
It is...?
The prize sealed inside is the Pythagoras Document.
It is believed that the philosopher Pythagoras
recorded the truth pertaining to the Puzzle of God in this document.
I am confident that it
contains the hints we need to help Jin recover his memories!
We would like to request your assistance
in order to obtain this prize, Mr. Freecell.
But I wonder if I’m up to the task...
I’m sure you are!
You’re one of the Phi-Brain children, so surely...!
I’m not so sure about that.
Freecell stopped solving puzzles for a while.
Being a Phi-Brain child doesn’t compensate for that!
Rook, can’t you handle this on your own?
His assistance is essential if we are to free this puzzle.
Two Phi-Brain children must work together to release it.
But...!
Thank you, Pinochle.
But I’m doing this.
Freecell...
I’ve been searching for something that I could do to help Kaito.
Let’s work together to solve this puzzle, Freecell!
Thank you, Rook.
What’s wrong, Kaito?
Something’s off.
What is?
Don’t you think it’s strange?
This puzzle is way too shallow.
Huh? It’s shallow?
Yeah, for somethin’ meant to crush us, she’s got the
level cranked way too low!
What the hell does Raetsel have up her sleeve?
Did she predict how we’d move...?
Does that mean we’re doing exactly what she expected?
In that case, let’s check out some of the other routes!
Hey, Kaito! Where are you going?!
That sounds good to me!
Not you too, Gammon!
Now what do we have here?!
Are you okay, Kaito?
Yeah...
What’s taking you so long?
Are you serious about wanting to get Jin back?
In the end, it looks like we’re stuck takin’ the obvious route.
I wonder if that’s really the right thing to do...
I, Ana, think Rae-Rae is hiding something.
I knew it!
There aren’t any traps!
I sincerely doubt Raetsel put her heart into such an easy puzzle.
Just maybe, Raetsel wants us to solve it.
Despite what she said about her determination, deep down,
maybe she wants to bring this to an end.
Maybe she wants to give Jin back and make up with you, Kaito.
Do you think this puzzle is expressing Raetsel’s inner feelings?
Tch! Do you seriously think she’s that sweet?
I don’t know...
I don’t know, but even assuming that’s true, what gives?
What’s with this ominous feeling nagging at me?
That’s the goal.
In the end, we made it here safe and sound.
Is this really the puzzle she-
-Raetsel made to show her determination?
Now that I’ve come this far, I have to keep going!
Do you think Jin is in there?
Hey! It wont budge!
We freed the puzzle!
Now keep your end of the deal and give Jin back!
Fine. I’ll return Jin.
But, Kaito Daimon, are you prepared to accept the truth about Jin?
Upon regaining his memories, he could start to hate puzzles.
Could you welcome Jin with a smile if he hated them?
Let’s hear it!
Well, she may have a point.
Gammon?
We seriously have no idea what lies hidden within Jin’s memories.
But we’ve had some nasty shit thrown in our faces!
The annihilation of all puzzlers...
in accordance with a pledge I swore to Jin Makata.
I’ve come to learn that it is highly likely that
Jin Makata created these puzzles.
I, Ana, think that the truth hurts...
When Jin gets his memories back,
what if he really does want to annihilate all puzzlers?
Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!
That may be true, but...
See! You have no right to receive Jin!
It would be best for Jin if he stayed with me.
Yeah, you might be right.
But it looks like Kaito doesn’t feel that way!
I won’t turn away from the truth!
I’ll take any pain that life throws at me!
Yeah? So you wouldn’t care if Jin
rejected you once he regained his memories?
You wouldn’t care if he abandoned you?
Yeah, I wouldn’t care.
Because I’d be sticking to what Jin taught me!
Do you ever think of them? Of your mother and father?
I could never forget them!
And you don’t need to.
Even if you look away, it can’t undo the past.
Don’t turn away from the truth.
If you look away, you will never be able to solve your puzzle...
It’s the puzzle known as “life.”
“Don’t turn away from the truth.”
The one who taught that to me was none other than Jin!
Even if I look away, it can’t undo the past!
That’s why I solve puzzles!
And I will grab hold of the truth!
Now return Jin! Give Jin back to me!
There really is no beating you.
I’ll keep my promise. You can have Jin.
He’s in here!
Jin!
Aren’t you...? No way!
You’re Jin Masaka!
What the heck is an imposter like you doing in here?!
Where’s the Jin who talked to us earlier?!
I-I-I-I don’t know! She just told me to stay in here!
What’s this all about, Raetsel?!
Just as promised, I’ve returned Jin.
Why you...!
I never said that it would be Jin Makata.
Did you honestly think I’d be that quick to hand over the real Jin?
You should know better than that.
I’m going to transmit this to Kaito,
but please don’t tell him where you are.
Why not?
Please don’t...
Nice try. Also, my puzzle isn’t over yet.
Wha--?!
What?!
The exit--!
Didn’t I warn you?
I’ll do whatever it takes to realize my goal!
Now then, it’s time for the second stage to begin!
However, you won’t be the Solver.
Say what?!
Please be careful, Freecell.
Take care, Master Rook.
Don’t you think it’s about time you told me?
Told you what?
What exactly did he mean when he said that it
would take two Phi-Brain children?
Well...
Welcome to my puzzle!
I don’t care diddly squat about that philosopher Pythagoras.
I’ve taken the liberty to tweak this puzzle!
Now then, let’s see the extent of this kitten’s “determination.”
Kaito?!
Okay! With Kaito Daimon as your prize, let’s begin our puzzle time!
I shall rescue Kaito and the others.
What is your plan of action, Mr. Principal?
I’m glad I set this up in the event something like this should occur.
Come in!
Funga, Maze, Diceman, Mr. Urban Development!
POG Special Rescue Team, dispatch!
Next time, “ If It Were The Us of Then.”
If It Were The Us of Then
I just got a text from Kaito.
It says they’ll pull through on their own after all.
Fin Art: Akeru Otsuki
FORCED