The police report stated the criminal was arrested
for attempted trafficking of bacteriological weapons to third-world countries,
as well as the leaking of government secrets.
He boasted that it was all to fund his research, completely unremorseful.
His IQ was too high to measure.
On top of being an all-around genius,
he lacked any sense of morality, or any shred of religious belief.
According to the request from the Vatican, he was a demonic man with no hope for rehabilitation,
even if he underwent religious counseling.
That was what the police reports said, but...
Nice to meet you. I'm Joseph Ko Hiraga.
Lauren.
Lauren Di Luca.
That was you, Lauren.
That was the first moment we met.
There are those who would examine claims of holy miracles from around the world,
and verify a miracle has indeed occurred.
Please show them the way, O Lord, the Vatican Miracle Examiners!
Ikeru mono tsumibukaki kakugo de The living reach out their hands
Ataerareta fukashigi ni te wo nobasu yo With sinful resolve to the mysteries they've been given
Itami ga yobu negai wo tokiakashite The pain calls for resolution of their wish
Hikari yo ashiki tamashii sukuitamae to For the light to save their sinful souls
Koe dake ja tarinainda My voice isn't enough
Kiseki no nai jinsei iranai I don't need a life without miracles
Abunai jounetsu ga miseta akenai yoru no naka de A dangerous passion showed me a vision in an endless night
Dare no yume ga hiraku darou Whose dream will be opened?
Yami to boku wa niteru kai Do I resemble the darkness?
Abunai jounetsu o kaketa kore ga key ad mysterium I took the risk with that dangerous passion for this key ad mysterium
Ima wa semete shinjitetai I want to at least believe now
Dakedo nanimo wakaranai But I don't know anything
So the Miracle Examiners' mission ended with another swing and a miss.
Yes, but I still believe.
One day, we will see a real miracle.
That reminds me, the first time we met, you talked about miracles.
You remember that?
Ever since then, I've stopped caring about this.
I don't see the point in fearing death,
but threatening my power is another thing entirely.
Lauren...
Why me?
I've only just joined the intelligence division, and I am still lacking as a servant of our Lord.
It's been decided that I will speak with a priest once a week.
I merely chose the person who would make those talks the least painful.
And that person is me?
I looked into your data.
Your IQ score was a vital factor.
At the very least, you're someone who can have a conversation at my level.
Well, I'm honored.
But save all the religious trite.
I'm fed up with it.
Quite the amazing toy, isn't it?
If I travel three hundred meters from this spot,
it automatically injects me with poison, killing me.
This is reality.
As you can see, I'm a very important person to the government.
The patents I own contribute money to my vast wealth on daily basis.
The Vatican's only keeping me as its pet because they value me so highly.
So don't give me that "God loves you" bull.
You don't believe in God?
There's no proof for me to believe in Him.
Is there any proof showing it wouldn't be worth believing in God?
Doesn't matter whether God exists or not.
Are you happy that way?
"Happy"?
Happiness is just an illusion created by the release of hormones in the brain.
Human emotions are all just chemical reactions.
If believing in something will make me happy,
then it doesn't matter what I believe in, be it the Devil, money, power, whatever.
Then why don't you give believing in God a try?
Oh?
Alright, Lauren, why don't we play a game?
A game?
If I win, you start believing in God.
If you win, you can do however you like.
Huh? I've never heard a priest say something like that before.
It's called the Game of Angels and Demons. It's something I came up with.
This game will take a long while to play to finish.
Let's talk about something in the meanwhile.
Nothing about God.
Then let's talk about miracles.
Miracles?
Yes, in particular, the story of one man's strange case that is still unsolved.
What is this all about?
I met this man... let's call him John Brickett, back in high school,
after I won a chemical invention contest Mr. Brickett sponsored and was invited to his estate.
Hiraga, right?
A boy of incredible talent.
Thank you very much, Sir.
I've brought you some tea.
This is my wife Marlene.
Nice to meet you.
You're welcome to stay as long as you like.
Oh, thank you...
So, do you believe in the existence of God?
Of course I do.
Then are you confident that you will not betray God in anything you do?
I think so.
Why are you asking me these things, Sir?
I want you to hear my confession.
Then I want you to answer my question.
A kid like me, Sir?
Yes, this is a question that can only be answered by a pure-hearted youth like yourself.
You said you believe in God.
Well, then, do you believe in the Devil?
Huh?
The Devil? That was sudden.
Though I suppose believing in him is easier than believing in God.
That was when Mr. Brickett confessed something shocking to me.
It happened the day before my thirteenth birthday.
John, it's time for dinner!
Okay!
Okay, see you later!
Merry Christmas!
Welcome home, Papa!
I'm back.
I have something important to discuss with you before dinner.
What is it?
It's about a present for John.
A present?!
Well, you can discuss that after dinner-
No.
It has to be now,
because I'm leaving the human world today.
Huh?
Thirteen years ago, I won a game against the angel Samyaza, earning the right to test humanity.
Test humanity?
Yes. My duty was to determine if humanity deserves to exist.
John, I've prepared a special present for you.
It's a blessing from a father to his son.
You will be able to grant one thousand wishes from here on.
The ones you speak aloud, of course, but also the wishes you hold strongly in your heart.
However...
There is one wish you cannot grant.
That wish is to rid yourself of this blessing.
My name is Azazel, an Earl of Hell.
My beloved son, grant one thousand wishes, and sing the praises of life.
Prove to your father that human life deserves to exist!
Oh, God...
God, was what he said all true?
Is my father really...
No!
Stay away!
Get away from me!
They say he killed everyone in that house with an axe.
How horrible!
They caught the man who did it; apparently he was wearing a Santa Claus costume!
John, go back inside right now.
See you later!
Merry Christmas!
No...
Is it because I told it to get away from me?
It's my fault...
I've heard of that incident before.
They called it the "Bloody Christmas."
Yes.
Mr. Brickett's first wish caused this horrific tragedy.
Still, a thousand wishes? That's pretty generous on the Devil's part.
He gave him not ten, not a hundred, but a thousand wishes, to truly test the human soul.
Why?
To plunge John Brickett into incredible misfortune,
and also because of his incredible faith in God.
Promise me, John!
Promise me you won't make any more wishes!
We have no way of knowing what your wishes will bring about!
I swear, Mama, I won't make any wishes!
I promise...
After that, Mr. Brickett shut away all his wishes and worked hard
to keep the promise he'd made to his mother.
But every time his efforts bore success, his mother would ask,
"Did you really not make any wishes?"
She never praised him for his hard work.
The blessing of the Devil's one thousand wishes trapped Mr. Brickett in their prison.
Finally... his heart, stretched so thin, met its breaking point.
Great news, Mom!
I got the letter that says I got into college!
John, did you really not make any wishes?
Huh? I wouldn't do that.
You wished for this, didn't you?
I didn't!
You did, didn't you?!
That's enough.
I don't need you. I don't need you, Mom! I don't want to see you ever again!
Mom!
No! I didn't mean...
Why are you so surprised, my son?
Your wish was granted.
No, I just...
No, you wished for this.
You said you didn't want to see her ever again.
That's why she's dead.
Your wish was granted exactly as wished.
Go away!
Even if I disappear, your power of one thousand wishes will not.
What will you get rid of next, my son?
God...
I don't know what to do...
Mom... Mom!
Mom?
Congratulations, John!
I'm so proud of you.
Alright, I'll make a feast for you tonight!
Well, that's good.
His mom was a lot nicer after being resurrected.
No, his wish only made things worse for him.
His revived mother finally gave Mr. Brickett words of praise, but she was a completely different person.
She abandoned her faith and began to desire comforts and luxuries.
But most of all, she insistently demanded her son's devotion.
No one knew where this change came from.
Perhaps it was the demon, or the knowledge that he had sinned against his mother,
or a result of his own desire to be punished for it.
Hmm?
So? Did he use his wishes to fulfill his mother's lavish desires?
No. He never used his powers.
He worked even harder.
What about money?
He did what you did, Lauren.
He invested the money he made from his many patents to build his vast fortune.
Huh?
He lived like that, never marrying, until he was forty-three years old,
and his elderly mother fell ill and passed away.
Relieved that his duties were over,
Mr. Brickett used the funds he'd built to start a volunteer organization,
and decided to live out the rest of his life in quiet solitude.
But he had a wife when you met him, right?
Yes, that's right.
That is his miracle.
"Miracle"?
Papa, Mama, hurry, hurry!
It was at an aquarium in a seaside town.
There, Mr. Brickett's fate lead him to meet someone,
and he fell in love for the first time in his life.
After that, he visited that aquarium every day.
Okay, the dolphins are going to give you all a present today!
Raise your hand if you want one!
Okay, the girl in the red skirt, you in the striped shirt, and...
you, looking handsome in the hat!
Huh? Me?
Come on up to the stage!
Come on!
Do you like dolphins?
Oh, no, well...
I'm Marlene Vincent.
Thank you for always coming to watch.
U-umm...
I was born and raised in this town.
I love the ocean too much to move away from it.
Marlene was, in many ways, Mr. Brickett's ideal woman.
She was positive, friendly, honest, and above all, was so happy to be alive in this world.
God, will you allow me, the son of a demon,
to love a human and start a family with her?
Even if you do not allow it of me, I still...
So you've finally decided, huh?
You're gonna propose to her, right?
Yes, but I still haven't visited her parents yet...
Whoa, that ain't good!
What are they like?
Huh?
Marlene said she came to this place with her parents a lot.
H-huh, that's right. Hmm...
You don't know where they live?
I'm sorry, but I can't.
She's your girlfriend, right?
Why don't you already know that stuff?
What's wrong, John?
Why do you look so down on Christmas of all days?
Marlene... there's something I want to ask you.
What is it?
Who are you?
Huh?!
Where is your house? Where are your parents?
What school did you go to, where were you raised?
John?
Why were you working at the aquarium?
What do you do after work? What do you do when I'm not with you?
I...
I don't know why, but I don't know...
You don't know, do you?
Yes, why is it?
Why don't I know these things about myself?
This is so strange... why?
Why?
Marlene, it's because you're something I created.
You were born because I wished for you.
You were born of the wish I had to love, to be loved.
You don't exist, and you never should have existed.
John, what are you...
I swore I wouldn't wish again, but I did!
You were created of the demon's power!
I'm so sorry, but you're,
you're...
John...
...you're...!
Wh-why? I loved you...
I didn't mean for it to be this way.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry, Marlene...
I won't love anyone ever again.
Never again!
Marlene... Marlene!
You may be gone, but...
I can never replace you...
I will keep loving you for the rest of my life.
I don't care if that means I'm going to Hell!
John?
You wished for me, didn't you?
Yes, that's right, that's right, Marlene!
Marlene, Marlene, Marlene...
Here is my question:
Did I lose to the Devil?
Mr. Brickett, are you happy?
Do you love and trust your wife?
Yes. I couldn't love and trust her more.
Even if she hated me, I would love her, and keep on loving her.
Then I believe you won against the Devil.
God created Man.
Then, He gave us, His lowly creations, the gift of His true love.
When we realize the truth of His love, that is when we learn true freedom.
Marlene was made of your creation, and you loved her dearly.
Mr. Brickett, you are very much like God.
If that is so, there can be no mistake of it.
God would never stop loving someone who still sought Him.
Thank you.
That's hard to believe.
You sure he wasn't tricking you?
No, it was a true story.
I looked into it, and the Christmas incident and everything else all aligned with his story.
And keep this between you and I, but Mr. Brickett is a famous man.
If you doubt his story, why don't you look it up?
Also, I win.
Huh? What...
That's not fair!
I get it, you planned on distracting me with that weird story!
Well then, see you next week!
Hey, wait!
Even now, that story's still an unsolved mystery.
I've looked into everything I can find on it, but I can't find any contradictions.
Then was it truly a miracle?
I don't acknowledge miracles.
By the way, how's your examination partner?
You mean Roberto?
Yeah, Roberto Nicolas.
I heard he's quite the talented man-
"Talented" doesn't begin to describe how amazing Roberto is!
He's very dependable, and oh, that's right, Roberto's very good at ironing as well.
Oh, how can I do it like he does, with not a wrinkle left on anything?
He made dinner for me not too long ago, and it was such a surprise!
In no time at all, he whipped up an antipasto, a primo, a secondo, a salad...
Musuu no kiseki o nazotte Following countless miracles
Maigo no astrum ga yoru o tadoru The lost astrum pursue the night
Subetega mukuwareru hosho nante nai None have proof they'll be rewarded,
Sukuwarenai inochi mo atte Lives that cannot be saved
Sore ga historia Is this historia?
Kono sekai ni mebukinagara mada kashikasarenai Still just a budding seed, still invisible to this world
Shukufuku no hikari ga kitto dokoka ni aru kara Blessings' light is somewhere out there
Nee sagashi ni ikou? Shall we go look for it?
Kono monogatari no owari de matsu sacrament no hana o The flower of sacrement that waits at the end of this story
Aren't you forgetting something, Hiraga?
No, Roberto.
I would never forget anything about you.
Leaving the iron plugged in.
Don't forget to unplug it.
If your room catches first, your collection will turn to ashes.
Ah... right.