Tomoe... Please die.
Um... What is it?
Yes, it was a strange incident.
Ultimately, there weren't any corpses.
Would an insane habitual burglar who robs vacant apartments go to a police station just to cook up a story?
That's what I thought too, so I looked into it.
What he said was too detailed to be just make-believe.
I went and talked to the neighbor, but I didn't find anything.
I was told that it was the same as usual.
That's all.
It's a strange story.
Why did the burglar enter that apartment?
He basically lives like a homeless person.
I heard that he would occasionally go to a nearby apartment complex and sleep in an unlocked apartment.
There are residents who don't lock their doors.
He usually takes some money while he's at it.
Um, is there something weird about this incident?
O-Oh, nothing. I'm just curious.
May I ask one more thing?
The only corpses he saw were of the couple, correct?
According to the family registry, they should have a son.
Yes.
I see.
Oh, no. I'm sorry to take up your time.
Very well then.
Yes, good bye.
What the hell?
What are you looking at?
Just a report about the robbery of a vacant apartment.
You sure are curious.
You're not even in charge of that.
What kind of an incident was it?
It's-
Hey, we found the second corpse!
Is it that leftover incident?
Yeah. Hurry up.
It's time to work.
Your personal interests can come later.
I know.
Enjou Tomoe, huh?
Daisuke!
I'm coming!
Stop!
He's always been quick at running away!
Move!
Are we strangers now that you quit school?
Huh, Tomoe-chan?!
What are you doing, dumbass?
Stop!
Enjou!
I'm gonna kill you!
Enjou!
You won't die 'cause of that.
Aren't you going a bit too far, Tomoe-chan?
You don't care about us?
We just asked if you could lend us some money.
You're fucking terrible.
We even woke you while you were sleeping out in the streets.
So why did you punch us and run?
Kill...
Hey, don't come over here.
Damn.
I'm telling you not to come over here.
Don't you have ears?
Damn, a hardheaded guy who literally has a hard head.
That's yours, right?
Wait.
Wait a second, you...
What? You didn't drop anything else.
Oh, don't worry. Nobody's dead.
Or should I go get some help?
No.
Why not?
Look, can you take me somewhere that people won't see me?
You want me to hide you somewhere?
That's impossible.
There's no place in this town that's out of sight.
Your own home is probably the only place where people won't discover you.
I'm asking you because I can't go back there!
Can't you just hide me in your house or something, idiot?!
All right.
That's easy.
I... killed someone.
Tomoe... Please die.
Hey...
You don't look like you did.
It's true!
I killed someone just now!
I used a kitchen knife and stabbed her stomach until it was a pile of goo!
I'll be famous tomorrow!
So that's why you're dressed like that.
I thought that was the fashion nowadays.
T-This is because I got splattered with blood...
Aren't you scared?
Why?
I'm really a murderer.
It's nothing.
I'm the same.
The same?
All right. Follow me.
H-Hey!
Why did I say that?
They still haven't found the corpses?
A key...
Tomoe... Please die.
Oh, you're here again today?
Do you want this?
I don't like cold stuff.
Why did you help me?
You don't have a place to sleep, right?
You can use my place for a bit.
Mikiya won't be coming for a while anyway.
Are you serious?
Are you a dangerous person?
You're weird.
Dangerous?
That's a good way to put it.
But you're a murderer too, right?
Then it shouldn't matter.
Hey now! I'm a guy and you're a girl!
Letting me stay over implies you're looking for that!
Huh?
Don't guys go other places if they want to have sex?
Well, um...
I'm going to be sleeping here.
That's okay with you, right?!
Yeah. I'll say something if it annoys me.
Oh yeah.
This.
You said last night that you don't have a lock, right?
I swapped it with a new one.
How?
I used to work at a moving company.
I snuck in and stole it.
I told you that I don't need it.
A house without a lock...
...isn't a house.
What's your name?
Ryougi Shiki.
I'm Enjou Tomoe.
That concludes the evening news for October 16th.
Tomoe... Please die.
Dammit!
Ryougi, you're back?
You won't do either.
I was out to kill someone.
But I couldn't find the person to kill.
I thought that you might do, but I couldn't.
It's meaningless.
I really thought that you were going to kill me.
I want to feel like I'm alive.
I'll eventually kill someone meaninglessly.
What's wrong, Ryougi?
Get a grip.
I am.
I had this feeling during the summer too.
At that time...
Hey, Ryougi.
Do you have any friends?
I do.
Friends?!
You?
T-Then that simplifies matters.
Go see one of them and shove all your problems onto that person.
You'd be better off.
He's not here now.
He went far away.
First of all, he's selfish.
He'll come marching into my place whenever he pleases,
yet all he'll give me is his phone number.
And this summer, he stayed in bed for a month.
Why do I have to be irritated about this crap?
So I'm not good enough, huh?
Did you say something?
Nothing.
Hey, is that friend someone you know from high school?
Yeah, he's like a poet.
Is he the reason why you walk around at night?
No, I...
Well, it's probably because I like killing people.
You idiot!
You're not like that.
That concludes the evening news for October 18th.
Could it be that the corpses haven't been found yet?
Ryougi...
Who is he?
I was being followed?
I see.
Don't you have an idea?
I don't know any weirdo like that.
It's full.
Could you throw them out tomorrow?
Hey now.
Can't you see that I'm worried about you?
Why are you worried about me?
Why...?
I don't want to see you in any danger.
Why?
I-I...
It's because I'm in love with you, you idiot!
It's not possible for you to fall in love with me.
Did that man in a red coat hypnotize you?
N-No. I'm serious.
When I saw you, it was the first time I found someone to be beautiful.
And I thought I had found someone similar to me.
You're the real thing.
I'll do anything for you.
Then...
Can you die for me?
Please die.
All right.
I'll die for you.
After all, I'm...
Parricide?
I have a dream.
Every night.
It's scary. I get killed in the dream.
I hear my dad and mom arguing.
The door opens.
My mom is standing there.
I'm sorry.
They were bad parents.
Every day was terrible.
It wasn't going to be long before that dream became reality.
That's why on that night...
I stabbed my mom on reflex when she opened the door.
Did you know? Human organs are warm.
That's why you killed?
You're stupid.
You made that painful choice yourself.
When I first met you,
you had lost your future and were empty so you wanted to die?
Like how you wanted to just now?
At worst, I'd receive the death penalty.
Dying for you would be more worthwhile.
I refuse.
I don't want your life.
Hey, Enjou.
Where's your home?
Why do you want to know?
It's apartment 405 in some ordinary apartment complex.
That's not what I'm asking.
I'm asking where do you want to go back to?
It's fine if you don't understand.
Enjou.
You should've protected your daily life.
Bye.
You can use this place again if you feel like it.
I can't stay here any longer.
That concludes the evening news for November 9th.
It's already been a week.
Enjou? It's been a while.
Do you like waiting with the lights off?
Ryougi...
I...
Hold on.
I'm gonna put it together.
All right.
You wanna talk, yeah?
Am I going crazy?
I swear I killed her.
Basically, your mom is alive, right?
It wasn't on the news, so it's natural to think that.
No way!
I did kill her!
The living one is a mistake!
Why don't you go check?
At apartment 405 of that ordinary apartment complex you were talking about.
That'll clear things up, right?
I'll go with you.
This is the place.
What is this?
Hey, are we really going in?
We won't learn anything if we don't go.
It goes in a spiral...
My apartment is at the end of the hall.
How many days has it been since you last came to my place?
About eight days or so.
The timing's too perfect.
It's too good to be mere chance.
Give me the key.
Please ring the doorbell.
If she doesn't answer, then the one I saw before was a mistake.
We can just go home in that case.
Let's not ring the doorbell and go inside.
I won't see the gimmick otherwise.
Hey, Tomoe's not home yet?!
It's eight already!
His work was over an hour ago!
Today's his payday.
He better come back with money to put in the house.
Where's he screwing around at?
I don't know.
If the kid has money to pay back his loan, he should be giving his parents money.
But he doesn't even give me a penny.
It's all because you spoil him!
Who does he think pays his living expenses?!
I don't know.
What is this?!
We didn't ring the doorbell, so they act as if there's no visitor.
Tomoe, you're late.
Come here.
Hey, go get Tomoe.
Why don't you go get him?
I'm tired.
Is this a dream?
This is reality.
Are you talking back to me?!
I've had enough.
It's all because of your accident.
Are you blaming me?!
It's because of your meaningless pride.
We moved every time people started spreading rumors about us.
What?!
Do you know how hard I've tried?
Tomoe turned out like this because you don't work.
He doesn't put any money in the house!
He paid for his own tuition.
But he quit going to school!
I never told him to stop going.
You basically made him quit.
Isn't dinner ready yet?
Don't...
Please don't do it.
Don't do it!
Shut up and watch.
Tomoe... Please die.
Let's go.
We have no more business here.
Hey?
What do you mean by that?
I-I'm...
I'm dead!
He'll wake up once it's morning.
There wasn't even a drop of blood.
It's a cycle where they're born in the morning and die at night.
That wasn't you. The one alive is you.
W-Why?
I don't know. Let's go to the next place.
Next place?
Where else are we going?
To your real home.
There's something trivial that I found strange.
You said that you live in apartment 405, but Mikiya said your name last.
That organized guy wouldn't change the order without reason.
So the Enjou family has to live in the last apartment on the fourth floor, 410.
I don't understand.
I live in another apartment?
Enjou.
Your behavior causes you to think that your apartment is at the end of the hall after you get off the elevator, right?
Y-Yeah.
The number plate is switched, and the exit is displaced.
Everything began when that elevator was activated.
It's all a gimmick to reverse everything.
The loud sound serves as a distraction.
It's used so the people riding on the elevator won't realize they've been rotated 180 degrees.
The stairs in here go in a spiral, right?
S-So?
The stairs must be displaced to match the elevator.
T-Then you're saying that we were living there without realizing that the exit is on the opposite side?
You're lying!
You'd notice normally.
And...
This place isn't normal.
The scenery is full of similar rectangular apartment complexes, so it doesn't look out of place.
You're surrounded by walls inside and strange patterns are inscribed all over the place, adding to your mental stress.
It's a barrier.
There aren't any small abnormalities, so you don't notice the large abnormality.
So you're saying this is my real home?
To be accurate, this is the place you stayed in from when you moved in up until the elevator started working a month later.
You lived in that other apartment after that.
Something like that happened?
But why?
Who did it, and for what reason?
And why do you know this?!
Who knows?
But I do know the person who designed this place.
I'm opening the door, Enjou.
You're going to see your home for the first time in half a year.
The light is... here.
Enjou...
Enjou, face reality.
I'd say it's been about half a year since their deaths.
Look closely.
Did you really...
Enjou.
Dodge!
Ryougi, you...
They aren't human.
They're just puppets that want to die.
I feel sick to my stomach.
Let's go.
H-Hey!
What's going on?!
You stay there!
A-Amazing.
Ryougi, in front of you!
When did he appear?
He's...
I can't see it.
I know you.
Yes.
It's been about two years since we last met.
Can you kill if I'm your opponent?
You're...
Magus, Araya Souren.
The one to kill Shiki.
How ironic.
Normally, I would have done this after completing the experiment.
Why did you make this apartment complex?
This is merely an experiment.
So that means the repetition is a hobby of yours?
Repetition?
Enjou, this complex probably repeats the last day of all its residents.
The day of their death.
I told you, right?
They're born in the morning and die at night.
This side is the storage for their corpses, and that other side is where their daily lives occur.
I don't know what kind of sorcery he's using though.
I've made a world that concludes in a day.
I was curious to see if humans could reach a different death.
I believe that a deviation will occur in the spiral if I repeat the same death thousands of times.
But so far, the results have been the same.
I see.
So Enjou isn't the only one repeating death.
That won't be enough for an experiment.
They were people who had everything destroyed.
Within a mere month, everyone killed each other and died.
It's because of this apartment complex you set up.
You pushed them into doing it.
Then you shifted all the residents into puppets.
Puppets?
Shifted?
T-Then I'm...
Why do you want to kill me?
Fujyou Kirie and Asagami Fujino were not effective.
Being close to death, she chose death while you chose life.
Putting an end to lives, she enjoyed murder while you respected killing.
You should've realized...
They're similar to you, yet at the same time, they're murderers who conflict with Ryougi Shiki.
They were sacrifices who were prepared just for you.
You're...
Enjou Tomoe was a fortunate find.
He made things easy for me.
Ryougi Shiki.
Nothingness is your chaotic impulse and your origin.
See that darkness, and recall your name.
...the culprit!
Fugu, kongou, dakatsu.
I, Araya Souren, shall take that body.
Taiten!
You are inexperienced. Sarira are embedded in my left hand.
Not even the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception would be able to see the parts prone to death.
I see...
Your face is not needed...
Those eyes are a nuisance...
It seems my priority should have been to crush those eyes.
No.
You should've realized the outcome earlier.
Barriers are mere boundaries.
So there's nothing that I can't cut.
But there are two more.
Again, slow.
You don't know when to give up, do you?
You'll lose your way in the nether world due to that, Shiki.
Why?
My origin is stillness.
You can't kill the time of over two hundred years that I've been alive.
Dammit.
What is this?
Huh?
Shiki has a lock?
Full name, Kokutou Mikiya.
What kind of qualification is a driver's license?
A qualification that has been reduced to a confirmation is the same as a contract.
You're terrible.
This is what I got after training for a month in the suburbs.
I never went to a driving school.
So you tested without practice?
Well, I can't imagine you attending a driving school...
Aren't you rude?
I was still a student back then.
Oh, right. You were a teenager once too...
They're my old acquaintances.
I couldn't recall what they looked like, so I took that out of my albums.
There's an academy in London.
That man, from what I hear, used to be a Taimitsu monk.
His ability was full of holes, but his confidence was stronger than anyone else's.
I liked that clumsy guy.
I used puppets while he used the soul to reach the origin of humans.
I gave up, but I'm sure he's still working on it.
I heard that he was excommunicated by his master because he saw the origin of people.
Listen, Kokutou.
Don't go near that man no matter what.
Hello, Aozaki.
It's been a while.
How are you?
Cornelius Alba.
What business does the director-elect of the Sponheim Monastery have here?
If you're here to chat, please leave.
But you came into my world without my permission too.
I didn't greet you since you had someone with you.
Oh, that apartment complex is your workshop?
Then I should form a different opinion of you.
Don't value me so cheaply.
My only skill is putting a brain into a puppet body, allowing the brain to continue living.
That apartment complex is the ultimate barrier set up so that the magical experiment doesn't leak outside.
As far as I know, there's only one person who can do such a thing.
Touko-san, when did you come back?
Just now.
The art exhibition seems to be popular.
Do you have the customers list?
Yes.
Azaka.
I told you not to use sorcery in front of people.
I'm sorry.
Is it bad if others find out about it?
Yeah, your sorcery will lose its bite.
Magi even go as far as to not reveal their research achievements to anyone.
So they study for their own sake?
That's the same as zero.
Shiki...
They do have a goal.
The final goal of magi is...
...the spiral of origin.
To reach what is also called the Akashic Records, the source of every phenomenon, the cause of every event, the truth.
According to one theory, it contains the past, the present, and the future of everything in this world.
I'm not interested in something like that.
It's nonsense to pursue something if you don't even know if it exists.
It's not even funny.
Even if it does exist, who in this world can reach it?
There are ones who have reached it.
That's why we know what it is.
But the ones who went over there haven't returned.
All the past magi who have reached it disappeared.
Either way, it's an endless goal.
A group that will never be recompensed...
Those are people the world call magi.
Is Shiki a man or a woman?
Shiki!
Azaka, what was that?
What?
It's because you two aren't making it clear.
I don't know if you're treating her like a man or a woman.
That's what you call petty suspicion.
It's not something to talk about.
Besides, my feelings won't change either way.
Are you saying that you'd like her regardless of her gender?!
Well...
Yeah, probably.
How gross!
Touko-san... Please, you could've stopped her.
You're really something else.
So, Kokutou.
Yes?
Would you really not care if Shiki was a guy?
Well, if I'm allowed to be greedy, I think it'd be better if she was a girl.
Oh, then there's no problem at all.
No problem?
Right. Shiki is definitely a girl.
Then her way of speaking is...
It's unconscious behavior to make up for the man who died.
At the very least, she wants you to remember him.
Geez, she's pretty cute.
Kokutou, do you know of Taijitu?
Taijitu.
The intertwined white and black semicircles symbolize yin and yang,
light and darkness,
positive and negative,
man and woman.
The small hole in both of them is a spiral of rivalry with contradictions.
In the teachings of yin and yang, they call this Ryougi.
Everyone has a little of the opposite sex in them.
The state where the original is split into two.
The Ogawa apartment complex is the embodiment of the Taijitu.
Kokutou, do you know of the Ogawa apartment complex in Kayamihama?
You mean that apartment complex zone built on the landfill?
Yeah, I took part in its construction.
I heard a strange story from my cop friend.
So you want me to investigate it, right?
No, let's go to the actual site together.
Please get a list of all the residents and where they used to live, to the best of your ability.
It's unprofitable work, so you can take it slow.
Okay.
So, Kokutou...
Yes?
You really don't care if Shiki's a guy?
What the...
There's no underground parking lot.
Let's go.
Hey. Good morning, Shiki.
Lovely day, isn't it?
I hear it'll be sunny for a while.
Mikiya, whose is that?
Oh, Akitaka-san.
Shiki, you weren't home last night, were you?
I dropped by last night and bumped into Akitaka-san.
He entrusted me with this.
He said something about Kanesada and whatnot.
Kanesada... You mean Kuji?
What is that, Shiki?
You wanna see it?
It's a great sword, a type you don't get to see often.
Shiki, that's an old sword, isn't it?
Don't take it out here.
You'd cut the whole barrier.
Damn. All right.
So, Kokutou. It seems you're late today.
I'm sorry.
I actually...
The Ogawa apartment complex is a very high-end building even for the Kayamihama district.
You'll have to see it to understand,
but this apartment complex is two ten-story semicircular buildings standing next to each other.
It's strange.
They wanted to build a company dormitory
so the first and second floors consist of relaxation facilities.
But currently, they aren't being used.
There are ten apartments on each floor when you combine the east and west apartments.
There are parking lots underground and on the premise.
The owner eventually changed his mind and made the apartment complex available to the public.
The residents moved in this year.
But it seems that the elevator wasn't functional until May.
Kokutou, that's just your imagination.
Let's go.
The only thing connecting the two buildings is the lobby in the middle.
On the second floor and up, you can't directly move between the east and west towers.
You have to pass through the lobby.
It's an unpleasant building.
Small tweaks to the design can throw people off mental balance.
Using the color of the walls and the location of the stairs.
It's worse for the residents using them every day.
Once you get off the elevator, you have apartments 406 through 410 up front.
Huh? That's strange.
It's 401 through 405.
Is there a mistake in the blueprint?
How do you go to the west tower?
You walk in a circle and go behind the elevator.
It's strangely constructed.
They should just connect them outside.
So what business do you have on the fourth floor?
Are you going to see the supposedly dead family?
Chief, where did you hear about that?
From my cop friend.
You too, right?
Go and check.
I want to try using the elevator by myself.
Let's meet one story up.
Use the stairs to come up.
It's better if you close your eyes.
Bye.
The east tower has apartments 1 through 5.
The west tower has apartments 6 through 10.
The residents of the third floor are:
Sonoda, vacant, Watanabe, vacant, Itsuki, Takemoto, vacant, Haimon, vacant, Touenji.
The residents of the fourth floor are:
Vacant, vacant, Sasaya, Mochizuki, Shintani, vacant, vacant, Tsujinomiya, Kamiyama,
Enjou.
Touko, let me see that list.
Right.
There aren't any other people who have such a rare name.
I'm going home.
Touko, do you have something I can take?
There's the 200cc motorcycle.
Make sure you don't use the Harley.
I haven't taken off the sidecar yet.
Okay.
Mikiya, I'm taking the sword.
Shiki!
What is it, Mikiya?
Um, no, it's nothing.
I'll drop by tonight, so I'll see you then.
You're weird.
I'll be home at that time.
Bye.
Huh?
Shiki has a lock?
Oh, Akitaka-san.
What's wrong?
I can tell by the look on your face that you're worried about something.
No, it's nothing.
Don't tell me it's love troubles.
The lock.
Her home is open except when she sleeps, during which it's locked, right?
Aren't you worried?
Actually, I feel relieved.
She may be strong, but she's still a girl.
It's because she's a girl, right?
She might have met someone in the month you were gone.
According to Akitaka-san, nothing like that seemed to have happened.
I heard that she did her own laundry for once.
Surprisingly, her new man may be on this list.
You're pretty dense.
But you got this much in one night?
Have you ever seriously considered being a detective?
You'd be well received.
It's no good.
I could only investigate 30 households out of the 50.
Um, is this...
Yes, this is Enjou.
Who are you?
No, I have the wrong apartment.
I can't wait.
You're here.
Then let's go down.
Kokutou, keep looking down.
It's a little quiz.
Okay, so I just need to keep looking down?
Here's a question.
What floor are we on?
Huh?
We're still on the fifth floor.
I see, so we were actually on the sixth floor.
Correct.
You thought you went up one floor, but you actually went up two floors.
It's a complex structure.
By the way, aren't apartment complexes strange?
The higher you go up, the harder it gets to sense from inside the elevator.
If you change the buttons and the numbers around, you can't tell for sure if you're on the fourth or the fifth floor.
The only way to confirm the floor you're living on is those small numbers in the lobby.
Your home, room, and the life you're used to are easily turned into the unordinary.
Let's go to the lobby in the east tower.
Both towers have a lobby on the first floor.
It has a vaulted ceiling...
Wait, you're the one who designed the east tower.
What are you doing?
I'm being cautious.
I guess this is a good place to set up.
By the way, didn't you notice?
The stairway was moved.
Not the pillar, just the stairs.
There were scratches on the wall, right?
But moving the stairs is impossible.
It's like a pop-a-point pencil.
What's a pop-a-point pencil?
You don't know what a pop-a-point pencil is?
I don't.
Maybe they don't sell them anymore.
It's like gelidium jelly.
Are you saying that it was pushed up, using a piston or something?
Probably.
It's to displace the exit of the spiral.
By doing so, the north and the south get reversed.
Who did it, and why?
Let's go back.
You really don't know what a pop-a-point pencil is?
It was popular when I was a student.
She said she'd be back at night.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
You're late.
That concludes the evening news for November 9th.
Let's go.
Let's continue yesterday's conversation.
I investigated it after that.
Okay.
You said that you could only find info on 30 of the 50 residents, but that completes the investigation.
The remaining 20 residents are made-up families.
Family registries of people who died years ago were reused and forged.
Okay.
The made-up families are all in the east tower.
Do you know what this means...
Hey, are you listening to me?
Sure.
More importantly, didn't you have to turn back there?
Geez, we accidentally wasted time.
What's wrong?
Kokutou.
Hold onto this.
There's someone inside, but ignore him and don't say anything.
The visitor will leave without noticing you.
Aozaki, I've taken the Taiji.
You put the Taiji in a Taiji?
But the counter force would take action.
We humans and the planet's united awareness.
The wish for the survival of the world converges and appears in many forms.
That's the counter called the counter force.
Those blessed souls who appear during various eras, heroes, are a form of it.
Many magi in the past tried to get to the origin and were killed by the counter force.
Counter force?
That hindrance won't come up this time.
I'm not opening a new path, but merely tracing a path that is already open.
Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
It seems Araya died to capture Ryougi Shiki.
Shiki...
What did you do with Shiki?
You must be the boy from yesterday.
So you do have an apprentice, Aozaki.
Now I have more things to look forward to.
That's wrong...
Well, I guess saying that is meaningless.
Maybe back when we were students...
But we're both away from school now.
Can I take it as a declaration of hostility?
Let us settle the long-lasting rivalry.
I'm looking forward to the time when we'll meet again.
I shall see you again.
Welcome to my Gehenna.
I welcome you, top-level puppet user.
Congratulations, Alba.
Right, you're always like that.
You always cut me down like that.
You won't be able to find something as simple as "worth" here.
What do you mean by that?
Oh, you must mean how Shiki has been abducted and captured.
Where?
She must be on the tenth floor in the west tower.
Shiki is the yin, a woman.
What kind of meaning is there to that?
During the accident two years ago, Shiki awakened her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
And at the same time, she understood what the lines of death do.
Aozaki.
Just bring out Araya.
Lines of death are seams of objects.
Seeing them means learning the truth about them.
In other words, it's...
The spiral of origin?
Right.
Shiki's body is connected to the spiral of origin through her Mystic Eyes.
Their goal is, without a doubt, the spiral of origin.
But it seems to be different for Alba.
Them?
I've done so much because I was told that I could kill you, Aozaki!
Touko-san, is this it?
What fate.
I'm involved in this now.
No, I did see this coming when I chose to concern myself with Shiki.
I'm entrusting this to you.
It's a pack of bad-tasting cigarettes made by a Taiwanese craftsman.
That's the last of them.
Dream.
The origin has records of everything.
Maybe Shiki's dreaming inside the Taiji.
A dream called the history of this world.
Records of us, right now.
Well, you can rest assured.
Magi are kind to their disciples and friends.
I'll bring Shiki back tonight.
Just wait.
I can't wait any longer.
Who are you?
I can't save anyone.
If I can't save them, I shall at least clearly record their deaths.
I shall collect deaths.
A dream?
I had a dream?
Araya!
Souren and Cornelius Alba, huh?
Does it hurt somewhere?
It's nothing.
Anyway, I don't really get it, but it seems we're both involved in the same incident.
It's a terrible thing.
So, what are you going to do?
I'm indebted to Ryougi.
I have to save her.
No, I'm talking about your parents.
Apartment 405 or 410...
Which one do you think is the real one?
That doesn't have to do with us right now.
It does.
I guess that apartment complex is made so that it's easier to go insane.
So the one who made it is responsible.
You said that you killed your parents because you're scared of the dream where you're killed.
But was that out of your own will?
Did you really kill your parents?
First of all, maybe your parents were already dead.
I did kill them.
I can still recall the sensation of when I killed my mom.
What about your dad? Maybe you only killed your mom.
You're so persistent!
I can't be mistaken because I saw their corpse-
It doesn't matter.
I'm just going to go save Ryougi.
Shiki's important, but you have to value your life too.
Shut up!
You don't understand how I feel!
You want to die while trying to save Shiki, right?
I have nothing.
Nobody protected me, and I couldn't protect anyone!
The only thing remaining for me is to fulfill my promise to die for her!
You won't understand.
All right.
Let's go save Shiki.
But we have to go by someplace before that.
You have to come with me, Enjou Tomoe.
W-Why do you know my name?
That's why I told you to bring Araya from the start.
Ouken.
So you finally show up.
It's been a while, Aozaki.
Yeah. I'm sure we didn't want to see each other though.
It seems Alba did more than he should have.
It seems he can't let go of his hatred for you.
So?
Would the origin open here?
All the people I have gathered here are burdened with different deaths.
It's the world on a smaller scale, so to speak.
I thought that the door to the origin exists at the end of this repetitious world which ends in a day.
But I didn't find the door.
So that's why you took notice of Shiki?
Yes.
I used Fujyou Kirie and Asagami Fujino so that the counter force wouldn't notice,
and I made her realize that her body is connected to the origin.
But how will you open it?
I shall take that body.
Huh? Don't tell me that you intend to transplant your brain into Shiki's body.
What a sick guy you are.
Why do you go so far to open it?
There might not be anything.
The world may break down.
My reason is long forgotten.
My wish will come true with a few more steps.
Anything that stands in my way shall be regarded as the counter force.
Hah, so the only option is to fight.
Araya, what do you seek?
True wisdom.
Araya, where do you seek it?
Only within myself.
Go!
Damn, how many ribs did he break?
Your puppet is gone now.
A puppet user has lost the instant her puppet loses.
That's what you said back when we were students.
I still haven't changed my theory.
But this is amazing.
Being here is like being inside of your body, and you can crush any space at will.
So I've already walked into a large spell.
If you were so prepared, why were you cornered by Shiki?
I would've crushed her if I had gone full force.
Hah, just hope that doesn't turn out to be a bad choice.
Araya, there are three conditions to terrify someone.
Do you know what they are?
One, the monster can't speak.
Two, the monster has to be unidentifiable.
Three, it's meaningless if the monster can die.
If you're going to kill, do it in one shot.
That's how you pull off a surprise attack.
Kill in one shot, huh?
I see, that was a good lesson.
That was a puppet?
Of course. And you are real.
There's no mistake to your heart's rage.
This is unfortunate.
I accurately rated you.
We once competed to reach the origin.
To be honest, I liked you.
But you degenerated.
That may be true...
But I like my life right now.
This spiral called daily life accumulated from many miracles and chances.
So I merely tried to protect it.
Araya.
What do you wish for?
I do not wish for anything.
How pathetic.
I see.
So it was a projected monster.
A dream?
I had a dream?
Araya!
This isn't what you promised!
You told me that you'd let me kill Aozaki.
You failed.
It could not be helped that I killed her.
Kill?
Don't make me laugh.
She's still alive.
Don't be so soft.
We should kill her.
Aozaki is a fox who was even called a dirty red.
Fool.
You said something you shouldn't have, Cornelius.
What?
Take it.
I won't complain no matter what you do with it.
I'll certainly accept this.
This is mine now.
You don't mind what I do with it, right?
Do what you want.
Your fate is determined no matter what you do anyway.
Why... here?
When I investigated the Ogawa apartment complex, I also investigated the resident's previous addresses.
You moved a lot, but you lived here until you were eight.
In other words, this is the place you grew up in.
My real home.
Tomoe.
What?
I'm going to entrust something very important to you, so come over here.
Dad.
Dad, what is this?
It's the house key.
Don't lose it.
You're a boy. Protect mom with that.
I protect her with a key?
That's right.
If you have the key, you should be all right even when mom and dad aren't home.
You can protect your family.
The key is proof of the family.
Okay, I understand.
I'll cherish it.
I'll protect our home.
I see. You're a good boy, Tomoe.
They told me to quit today.
Why?
You said it seemed to be going well...
They told me I have to be able to drive.
Dammit.
If only my license wasn't taken away because of drunk driving.
I'll work too.
No, I'll figure something out.
I can't trouble you or Tomoe.
Honey...
Huh? Accident?
But my husband doesn't have a license.
And the other is...
They said I have to be able to drive, so...
Um, my family said that they'll pay for the punitive damages.
It's all right.
Let's start over.
Get out, murderer!
Dammit!
Why is everyone doing this?!
It must have leaked.
We have to move again.
It's the same no matter where we go.
They want the murderer to leave.
Tomoe quit the track club today.
He always comes home covered in wounds.
He must have been picked on.
It's not his fault, it's all mine.
He's putting money in the house with his part-time job.
He's a fast sprinter too.
Tomoe is reliable, unlike me.
So why...?
Why can't he even wish for a normal life?
I...
I was... so stupid...
I'm the one at fault.
It was painful for everyone.
But I had my hands full with myself.
Those two...
I had to help my family even if it was painful for me.
But I couldn't turn around to face them even once!
Where is your home?
So this is what you were talking about, Ryougi?
I have a home too, huh?
I'm sorry.
I know about your misfortune, but I can't say anything.
But if you say you have nothing left,
the most important thing for you right now is your own self and the daily life you once had.
Ryougi and you...
Everyone's so weird.
All right, I'll fight for my sake.
That's what I've always done.
Yeah, I thought you'd say that.
Shiki is on the tenth floor in the west tower.
I'll enter from the front and be the decoy, so you go save her in the meantime.
Enter the manhole nearby and go through the sewers. You should be able to get into the underground parking lot.
That's probably where their so-called workshop is.
Are you a detective?
I have all the tools prepared.
You give her that sword.
We'll start at 10:30.
I need to thank you.
Oh yeah, I don't know your name yet.
Kokutou Mikiya.
I see.
Your last name does sound like a certain poet.
You can have this.
What is this?
Just keep it.
You have to protect her from now on.
We shouldn't see each other again after all of this is over.
Don't even look for each other.
We'd have a guilty conscience if one of us died because of what the other guy did.
She doesn't need me.
A person like you suits people like me and her.
Good bye.
That's right. I'll start over again after this.
Hey there, nice timing.
I was thinking of going to see you just now.
The sound of steam?
I... came back?
Isn't it good?
I like it too.
This head is still alive.
See, it can still cry and she can still hear us.
Aozaki, what are you going to do?
I'm going to kill your cute little boy.
How troubling.
How distressing.
Because you can't use your hands or legs anymore!
I see.
So that's what it is.
It's connected to the apartments from here, huh?
Oh how terrible you are.
That hurts!
It has to be here.
It has to be here somewhere.
It's dangerous to stab someone.
Dangerous...
Dangerous!
That's right. It's always like that!
Even when I was at the academy, all the honors belonged to me.
But the higher ups were deceived by your attitude!
Your arrogance to treat me as an inferior led them to believe that I'm inferior, Aozaki!
Man, that hurt.
If you want to know how much it hurt, it hurt so much that I was about to cry.
It seems Aozaki wasn't a good teacher.
Do you know?
Out of the title of the three colors, the highest title the academy gives, Aozaki was given the title of red.
She wanted blue as her name states, but she was given a vulgar color.
It's because she's a faulty person who entered the academy to get revenge on her sister who stole the right of their family's succession!
I see.
I knew I was a fake,
but I'm really artificial, huh?
Araya let me go because I'm a fake who can't do anything.
A mere fake puppet.
I left you alone because your body was going to eventually rot away,
but why did you return?
You're...
You...
Don't say something like "You should be dead", Cornelius.
You should be dead!
Why are you here?!
I thought I rushed here, but I didn't make it.
It's obvious, right?
I'm Aozaki Touko's replacement.
Replacement? Are you a puppet?
No, you're real.
No, the one I killed must be...
That's a contradiction.
What's going on?
Hey, Cornelius.
A few years ago, I created a puppet that was exactly like myself.
Not a puppet superior to me, nor a puppet inferior to me.
It was a puppet that had the same exact ability as I do.
I saw it and thought...
With this, maybe there's no need for me.
I see.
You returned to save Ryougi Shiki.
How foolish.
That emotion is all programmed.
Why do you not understand?
What...?
You did escape out of the spiral.
But remember:
When did you wake up?
Why were you attracted to Ryougi Shiki?
Why did you ask a woman you didn't know for help?
No.
I...
You have nothing that is real.
There was only one truth I added to you after you ran away.
It's to feel interest in Ryougi Shiki.
It's an unconscious imprinting.
Don't be ridiculous!
E-Even if we assume what you're saying is true...
Even if we could do something like that, we'll always try to aim higher.
If the puppet is exactly like me, then it will go on to the next step like I did even without me.
See, the result doesn't change.
I see.
Araya kept you alive because the switch in your next body won't activate as long as you're alive.
That hurt, Cornelius.
The you I knew until now...
No...
Are you real?
Hey now, does that question hold a meaning when I'm the one you're asking?
I know that I'm a fake.
I don't have a past, but I have a strong conviction!
I love Ryougi!
Even if I'm a fake, this heart is real.
I enjoyed being with her.
If you say you gave me that opportunity, I'll at least thank you.
Am I a fake, Araya?
There's no further need to talk.
Come if you want to.
I won't go anywhere.
Araya... I'll...
I'll kill you.
To be honest, ever since our time at the academy, I haven't found your hatred to be a bad thing.
Because it's proof that Aozaki Touko exists.
Oh, I wish this spiral was a paradox.
But you called me by that name.
This is good enough for me now.
It's a rule I have from before.
I kill anyone who calls me a dirty red.
I'm not going to kill you for Ryougi's sake.
I'm going to kill you for my own sake!
My family wasn't bad enough to deserve dying like that.
They weren't sinful enough to die like that!
Fool.
You won't accomplish anything.
Because your origin is worthlessness.
I was here.
So you were defeated, Alba.
So it turned out just like how I expected it to.
Araya, peeping is in poor taste.
That impudent talk...
So it really is you.
Then would you like to fight me again?
No.
I have no chance of winning inside of this apartment complex.
Are you sure?
That monster in there can defeat me.
I lost when I was killed.
If anything's going to stop you, it won't be me.
Are you relying on the counter force?
But that won't take effect.
That's why I have the barrier.
Barrier?
Hey, Araya.
The original purpose of this apartment complex is to represent the Taiji in order to take in the Taiji, right?
Correct.
I created this alien world to completely shut off Ryougi Shiki from the outside world.
Araya, you made a terrible mistake.
I committed no mistake.
Sure, you didn't commit any mistake....
...as a magus.
You threw Shiki into a barrier by secluding her from space.
That's certainly perfect.
But something like that is useless against her.
We're a threat against common sense, but Shiki is the Death for the uncommon.
You should've already experienced that.
Araya Souren, if you wanted to confine Shiki, you should've trapped her in a box made of concrete.
She can easily cut through a barrier that closes her off from space.
Enjou? Don't you have a girlfriend?
I wouldn't be here if I had one.
Really? You look like you'd be popular with women.
Being praised in an emotionless voice doesn't make me happy.
All right, Touko.
I'll be going out.
Okay.
Mikiya, I'm taking the sword.
Shiki!
What, Mikiya?
No, it's nothing.
I'm going home.
Touko, do you have something I can take?
There's the 200cc motorcycle.
Make sure you don't use the Harley.
I haven't taken off the sidecar yet.
Am I going crazy?
Huh?
Shiki has a lock?
Kokutou, do you know of the Ogawa apartment complex in Kayamihama?
Who knows? But I do know the person who designed this place.
Mikiya, I'm taking the sword.
Shiki!
I'm gonna put it together.
He's not here right now.
He went far away.
First of all, he's selfish.
You're terrible.
This is what I got after training for a month in the suburbs.
It must hurt, Araya.
This building is your body.
And it's been cut!
Impossible.
I don't understand.
How can you move in that body of yours?
Why did you wake up even though you had that wound?
Why weren't you unconscious for a few more minutes, Ryougi Shiki?!
Enjou Tomoe, huh?
I didn't get any help from anyone.
I woke up by myself.
There was no reason for Enjou to come here.
But Enjou is the one who brought you your ruin.
Why is it?
I know we could have a close match and try to kill each other, but I can't laugh.
Oh, I get it.
It's because I don't want to kill you.
I just can't stand your existence.
Shuku!
You...
I see.
Self-suggestion.
You can change yourself by holding a weapon.
I have been deceived.
You weren't fighting with your full potential against Asagami Fujino.
We finally meet, Ryougi!
Shuku!
Fool!
That wasn't enough to stop you?
I'll never let you get away.
To stop her, I'll need to crush her along with the building.
This is bad.
Ryougi...
Shiki!
You look like a girl of your age like that.
Shiki was saved because of your barrier.
You failed again.
Why do you corner yourself like that?
Why do you go so far to reach the spiral of origin?
You can't save all humans.
This is a story from a long time ago.
You can't save every human being, so how can you save the ones who weren't saved?
There is no answer.
But if I can open the origin and end the world...
If I can record and observe all deaths until the end of the world...
If I can observe the ones who aren't recompensed for, who aren't saved, from the very start...
The ones who died meaninglessly would obtain a meaning.
I shall be able to distinguish happiness.
What are you?
I'm nobody.
I just want a conclusion.
These ugly, dirty, filthy, ignorant humans.
If that's all that'll be left in history after they die off,
I would be relieved to know that the value of humans is in their ugliness.
You want to eliminate all ugly humans for your sake.
But I was stopped when I was on the verge of discovery again.
They just don't know when to give up.
It was unexpected that Enjou Tomoe escaped from this spiral, right?
You created a technological barrier so the counter force wouldn't notice, but it was full of holes at that point.
You lost against only one person, Tomoe's love for his family.
Let me tell you something interesting.
There's this thing called the group unconscious that a famous psychologist defined.
It's a way of thinking that the pool deep inside everybody's mind is the same.
It's the storage of all the selfishness in this world.
In Buddhism, they call this Arayashiki.
What?
What a wicked inconsistency of the world.
You were born into this world with the same name as the thing you detest.
This body is at its limits.
Are you going to start over again?
I didn't make any spare bodies.
Araya, what do you seek?
True wisdom.
Araya, where do you seek it?
Only within myself.
Araya, where are you trying to reach?
That's obvious. To the end of this paradox spiral of a world.
Now what? That wimp.
I met you.
I had a dream that wouldn't come true.
It's an eternity that's surpassed in a mere second.
I'm calling. I want to protect you.
My outstretched fingers are trembling, yet I still embrace you.
The only thing we can do is helplessly scream that we're alive until we run out of strength.
Does it reach you?
Do I reach you?
Smash the sweetness of despair and start sprinting right now
to the end of the spiral.
I'm calling. If my song that struggles in the distance
makes you turn a side of your face up towards the sky,
then I'm not alone...
From within my clockwork mind, the tightly packed naked truth overflowed.
Waving my hand to the yesterday that disappears at the speed of light
in a desert that's forever bright.
Now we reject time and sprint.
I'm heading into the wind, waving a torn flag.
I'm traveling for my own sake on a road without you
to the end of the spiral...
I want to see you.
I miss you.
I want to see you.
I love you.
I'm calling. The proof that I was here is probably still in your eyes.
I'm calling. Defying the closing spiral, crying and screaming as we disappear.
We're alive...
We're here...
I'm coming in....
Oh, you're awake.
Don't be so greedy. I'm not giving it to you.
What's this, you trespasser.
I don't want any of that boil-in-a-pouch food even if you ask me to have some.
Good.
Um...
What?
I heard from Touko-san that they're starting the demolition of that apartment complex today.
I also heard that Touko-san had the corpses removed beforehand.
It's all over.
Hey, Kokutou.
The key.
I don't have the key to your place.
That's not fair.
Do you remember my request?
Detection and elimination of the magus using fairies to spread anxiety among the students at Reien Academy.
That's right.
Since you can't see the fairies, you'll need the eyes.
This is terrible.
I'm definitely the victim this time.
I can already tell there'll be problems.
It's not that they're similar, but rather...
Rather?
Who are you?
What's the magus trying to do?
I won't forgive you even if you cry and apologize!
I don't know where the magus is from, but I'm going to beat them silly.
It's work time.
I have a confession.
I like special things.