Ichinose!
Why did you abandon Mizuma?
One day,
I'll have to learn the truth.
The truth of how my brother died...
A bomb...?
"Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit"
We've received credible information that "B" has planted bombs in office buildings in Shinagawa. "Metropolitan Police Department, 7:30 AM"
We've received credible information that "B" has planted bombs in office buildings in Shinagawa.
Um, who's "B"?
"B" stands for "bomb."
They're a bomber Public Safety's been after for years.
He or she has perpetrated four bombings that we're sure of.
According to tips we've received, "B" has actually been behind 11.
Their statements suggest links to Nine.
And Public Safety?
They're ignoring it.
It seems they got a tip about a different location from another informant.
Public Safety claims that one is genuine and our tip is disinformation.
The really don't like us, huh?
I wonder why we're on such bad terms.
One more thing.
This isn't credible information,
but it's said that the bombs "B" uses aren't ordinary explosives,
but employ technology called magic.
"Magic"? As in, magic?
One of the legacies of the dragons.
Otherworldly laws capable of brushing the laws of physics aside with ease.
Flying through the air, turning invisible, levitating rocks,
healing injuries, halting aging, et cetera, et cetera.
Oh, if you want to know about magic, ask me.
I was created using magic, after all.
Only certain government agencies are allowed to use it.
After all, an ordinary human using magic
has the power to bring down an airplane.
Oh, it's not such a big deal.
If you want to bring down an airplane, you can just use a missile.
In any case, if magic is involved,
Nine, which seeks the miracles of the dragons, may be as well.
It at least means we don't have to worry about Public Safety complaining after the fact.
Let's hurry.
All right, let's handle this case ourselves.
Special 7, move out.
According to our info, there are four bombs set in the Shinagawa office building district. "Shinagawa Office Building District, 9:15 AM"
According to our info, there are four bombs set in the Shinagawa office building district.
Do you think it's true?
If Nijo says so, we should assume it is.
So... why is everyone in disguise?
If there are bombs, we need to evacuate people.
No evidence. All we've got is a tip from an informant.
What if we call an evacuation, cause a huge panic,
and then it turns out there are no bombs?
Disciplinary dismissal?
That'd be the least of our worries.
There!
Got one.
Bomb detected.
I found one.
What's this thing?
Hi there, everyone. How are you doing?
It talks?!
This is Boss's chatty drone.
It moves! It speaks!
It even breathes fire.
As for why it's a lizard, I don't know that either!
This form has a tradition behind it, you know.
I don't know what's traditional about it,
but just try not to get in our way.
Oh, I won't.
Now, Rookie, would you explain the situation?
"Shinagawa No. 1 Common Building, 10:58 AM"
We've confirmed that four bombs have been set in these three buildings.
One each in the No. 1 Common Building and the Iyasaka Center Building,
and two in Nakagawa City Plaza, one on a high floor and one in the basement.
We've already contacted the Bomb Disposal Squad.
We've mobilized the local police and evacuation is proceeding according to schedule.
We have the others, excluding Belle, keeping an eye on the bombs.
I see.
So, we have nothing left to do but leave it to the Bomb Disposal Squad?
Is Public Safety doing anything, Boss?
They won't tell me anything.
They don't like us very much.
They won't overlook bombs just because they don't like us, will they?
Bad news.
What?
"Nishi-Shinjuku Multi-Tenant Building, 11:05 AM" Public Safety received a proclamation from a terrorist group
"Nishi-Shinjuku Multi-Tenant Building, 11:05 AM" that claims to have planted bombs in Nishi-Shinjuku.
Most of the Bomb Squad has been sent there.
Hang on!
There are bombs here, too!
Sending a proclamation to Public Safety
basically amounts to a written challenge.
They won't leave us with nothing.
How many teams are they going to send us?
One Bomb Disposal Squad team will be coming here.
They're supposed to arrive in five minutes, but...
Requesting emergency backup...
We can't make it to Shinagawa.
It's done.
Great job. Will it work? Did it work?
Well?
No issues.
"City Park, 11:23 AM" How shall I handle Special 7?
"City Park, 11:23 AM" Hm... Want to kill them?
If you wish it.
It doesn't really matter.
This is the time for careful preparation, after all.
Oh, but make sure to set the bombs off at the right time!
Understood.
Okay!
Well, it's time for Johnny's walk.
The rest is up to you.
The Bomb Disposal Squad will be seriously delayed?
According to Public Safety's theory,
these bombs are decoys.
Our info was accurate.
They say bombs of this class
will at worst cause small fires.
Is that true?
Bellemer, please confirm.
Hm... It looks like S Squad was right.
The most they could do is blow up a car.
It doesn't make sense. Something's bugging me.
Should we head to the scene too?
It looks like it.
"Nakagawa City Plaza, 27th floor, 1:14 PM" Here it is.
What is it?
Doesn't something feel strange to you?
This is... a magic spell!
Be careful.
I don't know what it does, but it looks like it's active.
Bellemer, requesting analysis!
The spell here has activated too.
Here too.
Data analysis complete!
The spells amplify power.
It looks like they're for increasing the bombs' destructive power!
Do you know by how much?
Um...
Enough to collapse all three office buildings!
What?!
"Nakagawa City Plaza, 3:26 PM"
Wh-What's going on?
The timer says...
...30 minutes?!
This is Shikisai.
The countdown on my bomb has gone from six hours to 30 minutes.
The Bomb Disposal Squad won't make it in time.
Old Man Endo, head back to where Belle is.
What for?
To guard us.
Keep watch for interference from outside.
Roger.
Take Gramps' place. Go.
Understood.
Rookie, we're short-handed.
You handle things here. I'll disarm the last one.
Y-You want me to disarm it on my own?
Of course not.
You stay here and keep an eye on the bomb.
Got it?
"22 minutes, 12 seconds remaining"
Let me see...
Who here has experience dismantling bombs?
I've done it in a VR simulation.
I was present for it once.
I'm something of a veteran.
You're really supposed to wear protective suits for this,
but to be honest, they're useless,
so get to it!
I just sent you bomb-dismantling tools by drone, okay?
Use the liquid nitrogen in them
and start by freezing the detonators.
Which one is the detonator?
The things sticking out the side are fuses.
See the thing like a metal tube next to it?
Spray around that.
Not too fast!
Okay.
Now I'm pretty sure they won't go "boom" the moment you touch them.
I want to check the wiring, so use your screwdrivers to open the lids.
I'm going to move the camera a little closer.
What's wrong?
What's the matter, Belle?
Generally speaking, bombers are particular about how they make their bombs.
They tend to stick to the same materials and detonation methods.
It's the experience of success and its repetition.
Especially since making bombs is delicate work.
But is that a problem?
If they're made the same way, they should also be the same to disarm.
That's right. Isn't it easier that way?
Those four bombs
can all be disarmed in the same way,
but it has to be done in order.
What do you mean?
They're set so that if you disarm them in the wrong order,
they'll all immediately explode in a chain reaction.
Then, if I tried to disarm mine first,
and that was wrong...?
Everybody dies!
Don't you know the right order?
I'm working on it!
Oh, you're absolutely right.
Dismantling bombs without waiting for the Bomb Disposal Squad?
What in the world were we thinking?
This is no laughing matter!
On your own initiative, you...
Oh, but the Bomb Squad wouldn't come.
You brought this on by refusing to believe our information
and chasing the prize that was right in front of you, isn't that right?
That's...
I don't mind withdrawing.
Although in that case, the responsibility will assuredly fall to you.
I-If they explode, then...
I'll assume responsibility. You won't mind, will you?
Do as you please!
The human world is so full of obstacles. It's exhausting. Honestly.
Okay, time to think.
You're not going to run?
I considered it.
If we run, three buildings go up in smoke.
And we'll all probably be unemployed.
I say no thanks to unemployment or blown-up buildings!
There are really no clues to the right order, Belle?
It doesn't look like the bombs can be differentiated by appearance.
They don't have identification numbers or anything, either.
If it's a psychological problem, then I guess it's a job for Ichinose.
Don't ask the impossible, Shikisai.
Still, I feel like something's not quite right.
I have no intention of wagering on long odds.
I guess you wouldn't want to die.
Of course not.
You'll probably lose your job. You okay with that?
Yes. I don't mind.
What about you, Rookie?
Huh? Me?
If we fail to disarm these bombs, we die.
Doesn't running away sound like a better option?
Well, I guess that's true, but...
"But"?
...protecting the future is a police officer's job!
So, let's keep trying until the last moment!
That was a nice little speech, Nanatsuki.
You're a good boy. Yes you are.
Please stop treating me like a child!
Let's think about "B."
If you were our bomber, "B," how would you pick the order?
You can ask, but I don't know how a mad bomber thinks.
All bombers have at least a little vanity.
And...
They're intellectual.
The bombs thought to have been planted by "B"
were all designed to achieve maximum effect.
That's right, maximum effect.
Their bombs must not have hiccups, impurities, or irregularities.
That means there are necessities to the order.
Such as?
Nine's objectives
are mass murder and mass destruction.
To offer as much blood as possible to the dragons.
Belle, I need a calculation!
There are bombs in three buildings.
What order would you set them off to cause the most damage?
Got it!
That was fast!
Because I'm a ninja!
It would almost completely destroy the whole area...?
Me, Nijo, Shikisai, and finally Rookie, huh?
Let's pray we got this is right.
Belle, I need directions.
That wire...
Yes! Cut that one.
It looks like we got the order right.
I'm up next.
All right.
I'll head upstairs.
The elevator's stopped.
Will you be okay taking the stairs?
It's a bit discouraging, but I've got no choice.
Don't touch anything until I get there, Rookie!
Yes, sir!
Huh? Whoa!
The countdown is speeding up! Hurry!
Pitfalls are found where you least expect them.
Our schedule is a little tighter than expected.
"6 minutes, 25 seconds remaining"
I know it's your greatest masterpiece,
but I've taken the liberty of speeding things up a bit.
Now,
will it be annihilation,
or devastation?
Okay, cut that cord.
"5 minutes, 30 seconds remaining" Rookie, get out of here now!
No! I'll help disarm the bomb!
This is all Public Safety's fault!
Their mistake is the reason the Bomb Squad isn't here!
I won't run away!
I don't know why,
but I've got a feeling that I can't leave now.
We need to disarm the bomb as soon as possible.
That's...!
It's true that I've got a bad feeling too.
There's some other factor that we don't know about.
That's why the countdown sped up.
"4 minutes, 12 seconds remaining"
Police officers are the last line of defense.
The key to protecting the future.
That's why I won't run away!
Belle, tell Rookie what to do!
"3 minutes, 36 seconds remaining" G-Got it!
Belle, what's the next step?!
B-But there's only three minutes left!
Hurry!
Th-There are ten wires, right?
Cut five of them in order!
The first is yellow!
I saw it three times.
I remember!
"2 minutes, 27 seconds remaining" Ah! Stop that! Don't rush ahead!
Some of them are the same color!
I know!
Yellow, blue, red, green, black, right?!
Wrong!
You've got the order wrong, so wait for...!
All that promise you were showing vanished in an instant.
Calm down, Nanatsuki.
I mean it!
Sorry. I guess I got too worked up.
Please tell me the right order.
Next is green.
I'll leave this to you.
I'll stop you if you screw up.
Yes, sir!
The next one is the last.
It's not a choice, like, "either red or blue," right?
Of course not.
Real police work isn't that dramatic.
Well, it was plenty dramatic this time.
Success!
The bombs you were so proud of were disarmed.
Don't be angry.
This was the best you could do with your technology.
So, I'll use Nine's power for the rest.
Nine's power is the dragons' magic.
Its uses are limitless.
It can amplify the force of explosives,
and by making the spell run out of control,
it can also achieve the same effect as a bomb.
What the...?
What's going on?
This is bad.
I don't understand what's happening,
but it's definitely dangerous!
Rookie, let's get out of here!
I'd like you to find your own justice and live with pride.
Nine years ago,
something changed my destiny.
I'm sure that was
for times like this!
Rookie!
Magic...
I've got it.
At this distance...
I still can't hit anything.
Damn it!
Hey! Hang in there!
Are you hurt?!
Are you all right?
Oh, yes.
I'm fine.
Did I mess up disarming the bomb?
If you had, we'd be ash and dust by now.
Dummy.
All right!
Yay!
Dear me, that was a close one.
I failed.
It appears they knew enough to interfere with the spell.
However, the utility of magic has been demonstrated.
I'll try that spell next.
Yes.
I'm aware it requires a considerable number of sacrifices.
I've already identified several potential facilities.
I'll email them to you later.
Goodbye.
It's too late, Special 7.
The era of humans is coming to an end.
Man, I'm beat.
Well, all's well that ends well.
Good work, Rookie.
I guess that means I've grown a little.
That's a good joke.
I was being serious.
I see. Well...
it seems to me like you stopped growing a while ago.
What's that supposed to mean?!
Don't just laugh; say something!
I told you...
"File.03 The Threefold Trap"
Next time: "Family of Four."