Kaito?!
Raetsel!
So she’s Raetsel?
What are you up to?
Rook! Freecell!
It’s freaking rare to see those two team up!
Sure is... Hey, this isn’t the time for mindless chitchat!
Kaito, where exactly are you at the moment?
Inside of a Mayan pyramid.
In order to solve a puzzle, we’re currently in a pyramid in Egypt.
You’re in a pyramid, too?
Two pyramids... two puzzles...
Figured it out?
That’s right. I contrived this whole thing.
If It Were The Us of Then
The Mayan pyramid and the Egyptian pyramid...
These two puzzles are interlinked.
Rook, when I heard that you were going to investigate that Egyptian pyramid,
a light bulb went on.
First I needed to lure Kaito Daimon here, to this Mayan pyramid.
Then I could trap all of you inside of the two pyramids...
...for all eternity!
So I remade the puzzles.
The ruins had been completely empty--devoid of any prizes!
But I cranked up the difficulty level and made Kaito Daimon the prize!
They were empty?
I can’t believe you pulled that Jin wannabe card on us!
That was a low!
You’ve rounded up all of the Phi-Brain children using these puzzles?
How splendid!
Raetsel, I was right to sign that contract with you after all.
Rook and Freecell... Their natural strengths lie as Givers.
I wonder how long they will last in Raetsel’s puzzle as Solvers.
You think this pyramid is empty?
Raetsel, you don’t know anything.
Not about us or this puzzle!
We will solve this puzzle,
free Kaito and his friends and obtain the hidden prize!
Allow us to show you what the Phi-Brain children are truly made of!
Rook!
He can talk the talk!
Are you ready, Mr. Freecell?
Whenever you are, Mr. Rook!
“Hidden treasure”? What’s he talking about?
I’m going to explain the rules.
You two must simultaneously solve this maze,
which runs through those ruins.
Notice how there are emblems of gods engraved on the walls?
This?
Amun, Atum, Geb, Horus, Osiris, Ra and Shu.
If you touch an emblem,
it will make a wall with another emblem move.
This will allow you to move forward.
Take turns raising the walls to proceed.
If you manage to reach the center of the maze, you win!
I see...
That’s why we’re at different starting points.
You have a total of 10 minutes.
If you exceed the allotted time, all of the doors will seal shut.
You’ll never get to see the light of day... ever again.
I went all out when I made this puzzle.
So you had better brace yourselves!
Mr. Freecell, let’s start by looking for the emblems.
Sounds good. We need to identify the principles
behind the emblems and their layout.
Horus!
The key to lifting Geb is Shu!
Got it!
I’m going to touch Osiris.
Horus just went up!
The emblems are connected in order of Atum, Shu, Geb,
Osiris, Horus, Amun and Ra!
If we get stuck,
we simply need to search for whatever emblem raises that wall.
We only have so much time!
Let’s take the shortest route possible!
Sounds good!
Most impressive!
They managed to quickly identify the correlation between the emblems.
Next up is Atum!
This one should be connected with part of the upcoming maze.
So I should hit this one!
I swear I will free this puzzle!
I will save Kaito, obtain the prize and release Jin’s memories!
As expected from Mr. Rook, he’s fast!
Are you there yet, Mr. Freecell?
If Mr. Rook ups the speed another notch, I won’t be able to keep up!
Next I need an Amun!
Is Amun here?!
Amun isn’t here either!
Is Amun over here?!
What an odd place to put an Osiris emblem...
Is there a problem, Mr. Freecell?
No, it’s nothing.
Next I need a Shu!
Mr. Freecell!
B-believe it or not, I can’t find a Shu emblem anywhere!
What?
What’s going on?
Why can’t we move forward?
It doesn’t matter how hard you think.
You’ll never be able to solve this puzzle.
It can’t be...! There isn’t an answer?!
Didn’t I warn you?
This puzzle is meant to keep you trapped for all eternity.
This is for the best, isn’t it, Jin?
What should I do?
How can I...? How should I tackle this puzzle?
This could be it for us...
Mr. Freecell, how could you...?!
As Solvers, we’ve made it as far as we can in this puzzle.
But as Givers, we might be able to keep at it.
What?
I have personally created a puzzle that was meant to trap someone
so he could never, ever leave.
If it were the us of back then...
We could understand this puzzle and find a way to solve it.
You’re amazing, Mr. Freecell.
Let’s do it!
Let’s remember what we were like back then!
They’re retracing their steps?!
There ain’t time for that!
What are they up to?
What would I do if I wanted to trap my opponents in this puzzle?
What would I do to keep them from ever leaving?
I should be able to understand this puzzle!
I put my heart into a puzzle and tried to become immortal to Kaito.
I put my heart into a puzzle and tried to spend all of eternity with Kaito.
I’m confident we can understand this puzzle because of who we are!
Isn’t this...?
It stood out to me earlier...
There were two walls with Amun near each other that felt strange...
If it were me, I would make the other Amun lead to a dead end
to catch Kaito.
In order to keep Kaito from escaping, I would do the same.
This is where we made our mistake!
This is where we’ll start over!
It’s puzzle time... Let’s start!
Rook...
Freecell...
When we went all out and
made our own perfect puzzles that had no answers,
Kaito was able to solve them.
I’m sure this must have one!
Somewhere, Raetsel put a tear in her puzzle!
There isn’t an Atum!
Hit a dead end?
But it doesn’t match prior placement patterns!
This just might be...
...Raetsel’s tear!
I found it!
Are you all set, Mr. Rook?
Whenever you are, Mr. Freecell.
Let’s do it!
Now!
They’re taking advantage of
the split second when both walls are going up?!
Go!
We solved it...!
Way to go, Rook and Freecell!
I had no idea they could solve it like that...
This was an incredible puzzle!
It was a strong, strict and fair puzzle.
It reminds me of Kaito.
Even though it was meant to trap us for all eternity,
this puzzle still had an answer.
It may have been done subconsciously,
but you made sure that this puzzle could be solved.
As a result, we were able to understand this puzzle as Givers and solve it.
What the heck are they talking about?!
They’re saying that you’ve lost.
You should pull back.
A mere teen could not hope to mend the situation as things stand.
But... I’m not gonna give up!
Wait, Raetsel! Where is Jin?!
It’s just as I had feared.
Despite her talk of “determination,” Raetsel’s subconscious kindness kicked in...
To think that would get in the way.
Damn those Phi-Brain children!
Wh-what?!
Crap! It’s gonna collapse!
Found it!
Mr. Rook, what is that?
Supposedly the hidden prize will only appear if
the two switches are pressed simultaneously.
But I only see one!
Wait, Mr. Rook! There are two switches...
And two pyramids...
And two puzzles!
Kaito!
Please search that room for anything that could pass as a switch!
A switch?
I, Ana, think this is it!
I found it, Rook!
I’m counting down from five! Push it when I do!
Sure thing!
Here I go!
Five...
Four...
Three...
Two...
One...
Zero!
It’s...!
It’s the Pythagoras Document!
It contains the secrets regarding the Puzzle of God
left behind by the philosopher Pythagoras.
So these two puzzles were connected in order to seal off these prizes?
Let’s get out of here!
Thanks a bunch, Rook! Freecell!
I swear I’ll get this to the POG’s headquarters.
Right!
Hurry!
Nonoha, fight!
I’m stuck being the mule again?!
We made it out in one piece!
Thank you, Mr. Freecell.
Thanks to you, we were able to get the Pythagoras Document.
No, it was all thanks to you, Mr. Rook.
Rook...
It’s okay. You may call me Rook.
Then you’re welcome to call me Freecell.
Hey!
Freecell!
Master Rook!
Director Rook did a
splendid job retrieving the Pythagoras Document, didn’t he?
You’ve done well. I never expected you
to get your hands on this classified information.
It was nothing!
The apple pie in the Republic of Amgine was delicious.
President Johan Sigmund Enigma...
How could someone bent on wiping puzzlers off the face of the planet
know so much about Jin Makata’s past and the Puzzle of God?
Not to mention the ancient Philosopher’s Puzzle.
Even Director Rook didn’t know the scale of the puzzle, so how did he?
If he used to serve as that puzzle’s administrator,
it would explain a great deal.
All of the pieces are coming together now.
So it was you...?
Jin...
Jin, I just got back!
What’s the matter, Jin?
I don’t have a can opener...
How can I open this without one...?
It’s a challenging puzzle...
Jin! Hey! Hang in there!
Man, that was a close call!
Sheesh! You’re so stupid!
Couldn’t you have gone out and bought a can opener?
I don’t know anything about this town.
Plus you specifically asked me to stay here and hold down the fort.
So you stayed here this whole time and waited for me?
Thank you, Jin.
Eat all you want!
They solved the best puzzle I could think up.
At this rate, it’s just a matter of time...
It’s okay! I haven’t lost yet.
We’ll hang low in this town for a while.
Are you sure that’s wise?
Huh?
I’ve been debating.
You or Kaito?
Between the two of you, who do I truly need?
What are you talking about, Jin?
Enigma!
What do you want at this hour?
We’ve got an emergency, Raetsel!
It looks like the POG have sniffed out your hideout!
They should be there at any minute!
If you don’t want them to steal your beloved Jin,
get out of there this instant!
Well then, I might as well inform the POG...
...where their hideout is.
Raetsel, you will never find a moment’s respite.
A cat becomes fierce, even vicious, after it
has been chased, hunted, and driven into a corner.
You must grow stronger if you are to defeat the Phi-Brain children.
Isn’t that right, Lovushka?
I don’t have any other choice...
I’ll have to risk my life in a battle with Kaito Daimon...!
You’re the culprit, aren’t you? Well, Upperclassman Jikukawa?
No, it wasn’t me!
Can you still say that after seeing this?
That’s my apple juice!
I found it at the scene of the crime.
It... was me.
Next time, “I Want to Make a World with Full Bellies.”
I Want to Make a World with Full Bellies
I ate all of the apple pies that I bought as souvenirs!
Aren’t you getting carried away? But they’re so good!
Fin Art: Akeru Otsuki