Narumi.
This is the last of the Aqua Vitae.
The first symbol of alchemy.
Rise like a phoenix with this supreme medicine.
And give me your assistance.
Before dawn, when the stars paint the sky
I am searching for the thing I lost
With a restless heart Under the sun yet in the dark
I patch together little prayers to light my path
I don't need anything, as my hands are full
My hands are full of emptiness
Please, just once, nod for me
Just once, reach out to me like the mirror
I will live for that single moment, that single second
All the rest can just burn away
What's right for me is for me alone
Whatever the path, I'll follow it to you
This feeling grows and grows, deep inside my heart
For one single reason
I continue to climb up on the stage
#6 Hell
Why? Why am I fighting?
I woke up from a long sleep one month ago.
While asleep, I kept seeing the same dream.
A crying girl.
And a kid with a great smile.
But I couldn't tell who they were.
Nor who I was.
I had lost my memory.
You're finally awake.
How do you feel?
You were hurt pretty badly,
so I guess you don't feel so great yet.
Where am I?
A hospital in Illinois in the US.
The US?
A hospital...
Why?
But more than that...
who in the world am I?
It seems like you've lost your memory.
Along with your arm.
According to your driver's license, your name is Narumi Kato.
Narumi... Kato?
I can't remember anything.
Don't worry.
It's not unusual to have temporary memory loss after a big accident.
Let me introduce myself.
I'm a descendant of French aristocracy
and connoisseur of all that's beautiful. My name is Guy Christophe Rech.
That old lady who looks like a witch out of a fairytale is Lucille Verneuil.
That analogy was unnecessary.
Why did I lose my arm?
Because of this "big accident"?
Oh, good. You've come around.
-I'll go get Dr. Banhart... -Miss Helen.
How beautiful you are, any time of the day.
Like a bouquet of roses.
But we just met...
Guy, was it?
Don't go around hitting on girls when I'm talking to you.
Quite lively for a man who's just awakened.
Maman, a brute from Japan is bullying me.
Who are you calling a brute!
Calm down, I'll explain everything.
When I found you...
Wait, we'll talk later.
Hey, wait!
I'm not...
I just...
What the heck am I doing?
It's like my body has a mind of its own.
Why am I doing martial arts in front of these kids?
Martial arts?
That's it, I remember.
I've learned martial arts in China before.
-That's so cool! -Wow.
What was that?
Show us again!
That's... No!
Are you okay, Mark? I'm so happy you're here with us.
ZONAPHA syndrome?
Don't be so reckless.
You've just recovered from injuries that almost took your life.
I don't know the details, but you were in an explosion at a mansion in Japan.
By the time I arrived, you'd almost lost too much blood.
So I brought you to this state-of-the-art hospital to save you.
That kid.
Yes, Mark.
He has ZONAPHA syndrome, right?
I remembered that I have the same illness.
That's right.
Around 2,000 children with ZONAPHA syndrome are cared for at this center.
It's the world's leading ZONAPHA research and treatment facility.
2,000 kids...
He's sufficiently recovered.
He can go to some other hospital now.
Why don't you all leave already, Mr. Guy and Ms. Lucille?
-Why? -You're asking us why?
You know why. We don't exactly like you.
The disease is spreading because you're taking too long to stop it.
Then why don't you hurry up and find a way to cure it?
-Who are you to say that! -Stop it, Peter.
Ms. Lucille is here to gather information from the children.
But I am with you in hoping she hurries up and finishes her job here.
There's still a lot I don't get.
But thanks. You saved my life.
Why though? Why bring me all the way to the US to save me?
Did I know you?
No, we'd never met.
I was in Japan to scout you.
Scout? What for?
You'll see in time.
For now, focus on regaining your strength.
Still clueless about what was going on, my life at the hospital began.
My job was to sleep well, eat well...
and play with the kids.
This prosthetic arm is incredible.
It moves like the real thing.
I'd lost my memory, but not my feelings.
I loved the kids, and they became attached to me.
Here Beth, an elephant.
That doesn't look like an elephant.
Can I have that, Narumi? I'm collecting everyone's pictures.
You sure? It's a pretty crummy drawing.
Pictures remind me of the people who drew them.
So I can remember those people forever.
Narumi.
Draw me a gorilla.
A gorilla? One that looks like this?
Phew, I'm pooped. Those little scamps are bundles of energy.
That sweet Mark, holding onto my drawing like that.
Tom is usually quiet, but he gets fired up when it comes to soccer.
And Beth likes dressing up.
Nurse Helen?
What the... Vitamins or something?
Hey! All your doctors and nurses are getting high on drugs.
They can't treat ZONAPHA patients like that!
So what? It's necessary for them to do their jobs.
That's how it is. Now get out.
So you saw it, didn't you?
The Midnight Circus.
Tom! Hey, what's going on?
Treating kids like criminals!
Ruthlessly interrogating children whose parents were killed
is part of hunting the automata.
That is their job.
You have no time to be scared. You're about to die.
Don't you want to be of help before you do?
Guy, you bastard!
You heartless wretch. Think about the kids' feelings!
Dear me. The brute has quite a temper.
You too! High on drugs, and you call yourselves doctors?
Narumi.
You think the kids here don't have so many attacks because we treat them?
That's not it.
ZONAPHA is full of mysteries.
There's only one thing we can do.
It's to smile for the children.
To do that, the entire staff here force ourselves to smile.
We relax the parasympathetic nervous system.
With drugs?
You force yourselves to smile?
The only way to ease an attack is to make someone smile.
So what else can we do but smile?
The research isn't going so well, and it makes us anxious.
But we can't let our negative feelings show.
We just can't...
However painful...
No...
It seems like you need to know the truth.
May I, Dr. Banhart?
Narumi, this hospital,
it's hell.
Nice weather today, Anselmus.
Yes, Paulmann. Perfect weather for killing a shirogane.
Guy, a legendary European shirogane.
Let's present to Lady Francine his head on a stick.
I'm thirsty for human blood, too.
The Intensive Care Unit?
There are 3 stages to ZONAPHA syndrome.
The first is breathing difficulties and pain all over.
The second is complications due to immune deficiencies.
Most don't make it past this stage.
Mark!
Hang in there, Mark!
Why? You were fine just a while ago.
Don't, we're treating him now.
But those who die might be the lucky ones.
What do you mean by that?
The true horror of ZONAPHA lies in the final stage.
Simply put...
they can't die anymore.
Do you think this is cruel?
Their body temperatures have dropped and their muscles are rigid.
Beds are useless.
Do you get it now?
Why this hospital is a living hell.
Tell me one thing.
What did you do to me?
My hand healed itself.
Come to think of it,
I went through an accident that cost me an arm.
I shouldn't be this healed in just 2 months.
So you finally realized.
I used Aqua Vitae.
To save you.
Aqua Vitae?
It's an elixir that can cure anything.
Then maybe...
Yes, ZONAPHA too.
Indeed, it's the only way to cure ZONAPHA syndrome.
Then why...?
It's all gone. We used it up on you.
An ancient alchemist made the Aqua Vitae.
We cannot recreate it.
I don't get it. Why?
If what you're saying is true, why did you use it on me?
You could've saved the kids.
There was only a small quantity left. Far from enough to save them all.
But you could've saved at least a few.
I told you I was in Japan to scout you.
Narumi, assist me in my work.
To defeat the automata.
Automata?
ZONAPHA syndrome is cloaked in mystery.
But we know where it comes from.
It's being spread by the automata.
And the group commanding them is the Midnight Circus.
Our mission is to crush them.
Narumi, I need you to become a shirogane.
Shi-Shirogane?
What's wrong?
I... Nothing.
They're here.
They've come for our lives and human blood.
It's Paulmann and Anselmus.
The humans have learned nothing, have they Paulmann?
Seems not, Anselmus.
Weapons are no use against us.
Take them somewhere safe!
-Narumi, I'm scared. -Don't worry, I'm here.
You must be Guy.
You're mine.
Nice to meet you. And goodbye.
Olympia.
That's what Guy can do.
All the shirogane use puppets to defeat the automata.
Those are the automata?
Lucille, is it true that they're the ones spreading the disease?
Yes. Which is why we must defeat them.
Beth, is it an attack? Hold on! I'll take you to the treatment room.
Narumi, will you do something for me?
What?
Your gorilla face...
it was really funny.
Will you do it again for me?
Damn it...
I'm the one that's supposed to laugh for her...
Not the other way around.
Why, Guy?
Why did you use the Aqua Vitae on me?
You heard Guy.
Saving a couple of children with what was left of it would solve nothing.
Instead, if you become a shirogane and defeat the automata,
we'll be able to save a far greater number.
Yeah...
Yeah but...
Would you like to wear this?
A mask?
An alchemist once wore it long ago.
He had gone through bitter times.
This is what I believe.
When reality is too harsh, we need to hide something in order to face it.
A mask will hide one's broken heart.
You're just a measly human!
That's it, Narumi!
That's why I scouted you.
When hit with spiritual force,
automata's fluids oscillate to the point of explosion.
Let me do the rest, Guy.
Fly up high, Marionette
Turn to ash, gracefully
My only purpose in life was to fight
Why am I so angry even I dump my humanity
Without you, I can't smile anymore
I assume that I am to be blamed
Like a puppet that can't smile naturally
I feel like someone is pulling my strings
What am I even living for?
I was hurt, and thought that nobody would understand
But you came along, and took me in your arms
I felt my tangled arms and legs
become free
Fly up high, Marionette
I think now I can reach you
Before I met you, I was empty
Now I have something I'd give my all to protect
You taught me how to feel, the feeling of sorrow too