Boogiepop and Others
Habara-san. Habara-san!
Dengeki Bunko
Are you all right, Habara-san?
Y-Yeah, I'm fine...
Seems like the earthquake's stopped.
What happened to me?
You started shouting out of nowhere, and then collapsed.
I see...
Is something wrong?
No...
Well, anyway, Habara-san...
I found another entrance.
It's right below here.
Hey, wake up!
Isn't she the girl from earlier? The one you laughed at.
Hey, you awake?
Who are you guys?
I'm Habara Kentarou. This is Tanaka Shirou.
Michimoto Sakiko...
Did you meet the King of Distortion too, Michimoto-san?
The King of Distortion...
Were you the ones who woke me up?
Hey, what did he seem like?
Did you happen to see his true identity or get any hints?
Why are you asking me that?
We're gonna defeat him! And to do that, we need some clues.
Defeat him?
What did the King of Distortion say to you?
Probably something similar to what he said to you.
And yet...
Habara-san, this hatch opens. It's not locked.
Great.
Well, you don't have to believe us, but just wait here for a bit.
How's it look inside?
It doesn't look like anything is here, just like earlier.
Let's head back.
Yes.
I won't let you interfere.
No matter your reason,
I won't let you stop the King of Distortion!
Hold on!
I'm... I'm going back over there!
Damn it. It's not opening.
What the hell is her deal?
Hey, you.
You should step back. It's dangerous over there.
Hey, what is that?
Wh-What the...
Ladies and gentlemen... Were you able to figure everything out?
No... If you're hearing this music,
it means you still haven't reached me yet.
I don't know how many are currently inside the Moon Temple,
but to those who are outside...
There is no way inside the Moon Temple.
Don't try anything futile.
That's Teratsuki Kyouichirou's voice.
I knew it. He must be the King of Distortion.
Next, to those who are inside...
I imagine that you might be concerned about the noise before the music.
That was the noise of the air ducts in this building locking.
Yes, this means that your oxygen supply has been cut off.
I don't know how much time you have,
but if you don't do something soon, you're going to die of asphyxiation.
What?!
Now, then... I wish you all luck.
Do your best.
Shit! You can't be serious!
Is he trying to kill us all?
Please calm down, Habara-san.
It's not as simple as he made it sound.
But—
Just because he shut off the air ducts
doesn't mean he can completely shut off the air supply in here.
This is just a bluff.
And what's he doing that for?
Think about what someone who panicked in this situation would do.
They'd run.
But the exits are...
Yes, they're blocked off.
Which means... up above!
Yes.
Those who want to survive will naturally head up.
He's probably doing this to lead people to him.
This is seriously like some game.
I guess the first thing we gotta do is get out of here.
Yes. Let's go.
I guess she had pretty good taste, though.
What do you mean?
That girl who was in love with you.
She had good taste.
Oh... You think so?
What's going on?
Is your end goal to kill everyone in this building? Is that all?
Who knows? What do you think?
I don't know! That's why I'm asking you!
It's not like you to worry,
Miss President.
This is how it should be. You were brave back then, too.
You were there, Saotome Masami was there...
Now, if only Tanaka Shirou were here, it'd be just like back then.
What are you getting at?
Kirima Nagi might come save you again.
I'm not counting on it.
Is something the matter, President?
I get it now, Saotome-kun.
What do you mean?
What I left with you.
The reason why the King of Distortion appeared as Saotome Masami before me.
I know why now.
Miyashita...
You called?
M-Miyashita?
Wh-What are you doing here?
Senpai, how much time are you going to waste out here?
Aren't you going to go inside?
Y-You're... the King of Distortion?
If you want to go in, follow me.
H-Hey!
What the hell is going on?
This is a dream world, with just the two of us.
Everyone else's realities are being shifted just a bit.
Shifted?
Hey, what are you doing?
What the hell?
It's just a staff entrance.
Say, Senpai.
Come and get me.
W-Wait!
Habara-san.
Here?
Yes. The sound is different just in this one spot.
Which must mean there's a hatch somewhere used for inspections...
Let's hurry.
Yeah.
I can't go back...
Can't I go back there anymore, Hinako?
Everything should just fall apart.
Boogiepop...
You... saved me?
I'm not sure.
U-Um... You're, uh...
Precisely. My name is Boogiepop.
You seem to already know that.
Are you the real Boogiepop?
Who knows? Is there anything that's really real in this world?
That's not what I'm saying...
What I'm saying is... Do you actually... um...
Do I actually kill people?
Yes, I do. Isn't that why all of you call me a reaper?
Why do you kill people?
Because that's my job.
The ones I kill tend to be enemies of this world.
How do you choose those people?
I don't actually get to choose.
Much of the time,
the ones who are to be killed automatically appear in front of me.
Does that mean they appear in front of you, asking you to kill them?
I think I get that.
I'm not so sure.
No human actually wants to be killed.
That's not true!
There have to be people who are sick of living and truly want to be killed!
That just means they have a choice.
If they live any longer, then what they've lived for all along will die.
What do you mean?
In order to have the right to ask to be killed,
you have to actually live first.
Do you really...
have that right?
But I'm really awful! I'm a really terrible, horrible human being!
Does being bad make it okay to kill you?
Of course it does!
The world would be a little better off with fewer bad people!
So a world where only good people live?
Yes... Not someone like me...
But where someone like Hina-chan is living peacefully...
She was...
She was a much, much better person than I was...
And yet, I'm still here...
Was your King of Distortion nice to you?
Yes... She said I had to change all this pain into gold...
What does that mean?
I-I don't really understand, either...
But I thought I had to do it.
I'd do anything to live with Hina-chan there...
She is a part of you.
If she was kind, that's actually your own kindness.
Apparently the King of Distortion is like me and doesn't have a body.
The distortion within your heart took form and came outside.
Which means that you've been distorting your own kindness this whole time.
That's in no way an easy thing.
I'm sure that distortion has been causing you pain for a very long time.
But at the same time, the amount of pain you felt
just shows how kind you actually are.
She appeared to show you that.
I believe that you've already achieved it.
If your feelings aren't already gold,
then I'm pretty sure nothing in this world actually glitters.
Good grief...
It appears that this isn't going to end easily.
Was he controlling the Moon Temple from here?
Nah. If that were the case, there'd be no reason to make this huge-ass building.
Which means...
Anyway, I'm gonna see if I can undo the locks on this building.
Hello. Great job making it this far.
You... Or a few of you... I don't know if there's only one of you or many,
but I wanted to congratulate you on making it to this point.
Teratsuki Kyouichirou...
As you may have figured out, this Moon Temple was built
simply just to lure you here right now.
Ah, yes. I should probably explain a few things.
Have you ever thought that there was something like a flow to this world?
Such as fate or a trend.
Have you ever thought about what that might actually be?
That's a question that humans have considered since their creation.
And that continues, even now.
Evolution is an idea born from that.
With evolution, there's somewhat of a directionality or a flow.
So it's only natural to think...
Is that flow still flowing even now?
If that's the case, is there any way to know what lies ahead,
or at least know the way to get there?
But that's God's territory.
At the same time, there's no point in time that some person with power
didn't try to enter that territory in the history of humanity.
But currently, there are no obvious people with authority or rulers.
What the hell is he talking about?
All that exists is a system.
This system happens to be called the Towa Organization,
and is where I'm employed. They are also responsible for my creation.
Yes, I am a synthetic human created by the Towa Organization
to manipulate the economy however the Towa Organization wanted it to move.
But my role is about to come to an end.
I became a little too powerful, so they will probably dispose of me soon.
That's why I thought I'd play with the Towa Organization a little bit.
That's why I built this Moon Temple.
I am sure that after my death, the Moon Temple will become some kind of spectacle.
Perhaps you are one of the people who came to see it.
Or maybe you're one of the event staff.
Regardless, I'm sure you never dreamed that you'd
get caught up in something like this.
But you are here, and you were meant to come here.
You were trapped within this building and put to sleep with sleeping gas.
But what's important is the fact that you awakened
and came all the way here.
There are those in this world who can understand things that should not be understood,
those who go to places they should not be able to go.
Those are the ones the Towa Organization is wary of.
You understand now, don't you?
You are someone who can become an enemy to the Towa Organization.
That's what I wanted to tell you.
That's the sole reason that I built this Moon Temple,
using every last bit of Teratsuki Kyouichirou's remaining fortune.
Just to tell you to be careful.
To undo the current lockdown upon the Moon Temple...
Stairway to Heaven.
I'll just leave it at that.
If you type that in, everything will unlock.
At the same time, all these records will be erased.
Listen carefully. You are a possibility.
I cannot even begin to fathom to what extent that may be,
and I'm sure you don't know yourself at this time.
So, what's important is what you do with that possibility
and how much you grow.
I wish you the best.
Ah, it's you, Eugene.
I'm sure you'll have no problem making me disappear.
What... the hell is this?
I see.
That's what's going on.
Uh, what are you talking about, Shirou?
This is so messed up.
What do you mean?
What? That didn't explain anything!
The only things that made sense are that we're trapped in here and were put to sleep.
Why... Why didn't he mention anything about the King of Distortion?