Am I going to die?
You're already dead.
Yes, long dead.
Who are you?
Yuuko...
The second we start, our bodies dive into the pool.
All sound disappears.
The gentle light shining through leaves me warm inside.
If only I could stay like this, submerged for an eternity.
-Causality-
Inspired by Ango Sakaguchi's Meiji-era Detective Stories: "The Wonders of Evil Teachings" and "The Demobilized Killer Affair"
I don't like introducing myself.
Even if I were to do so,
it would just end up being about them, and the monster known as Inga.
Our fates are entwined beyond a shadow of doubt.
I lost my family when I was a child.
I grew up in the care of many people.
They all said that so long as I grow up and help others,
it would be payment enough.
Whenever I did well in swimming competitions,
my number of fans increased.
That's when I realized that gold medals were beyond my limits.
I turned away from swimming and never looked back.
It wouldn't help anyone after all.
Then, a sudden realization came to me.
It's so simple.
I can help someone like this.
I couldn't stop yet.
I still haven't even helped anyone.
It's a harsh reality we live in.
That's why I wanted to give people hope through the fantasies that films beget.
That's what I believed.
In time, I ran out of money.
Excuse me.
Oono Myoushin
Yamaga Tatsuya
Members of N.P.O. Singing on the Battlefield
You're from Japan, right?
Kurata Yuuko
I could use a hand.
Is the bill for gasoline separate?
Saburi Yasuo
Member of N.P.O. Singing on the Battlefield
Well, wouldn't that be nice?
Whoa, that car's ancient!
Yasuda Kumi
Member of N.P.O. Singing on the Battlefield
No way, it's you!
Serada Makiro
Travel Agency Local Guide
Everyone back home was worried sick, and you've been hiding out here?
Huh? The two of you know each other? How?
I was on the same team as this punk in middle and high school.
I hadn't seen Serada Makiro since our high school graduation.
After his university graduation, he joined a travel agency.
He worked alongside Singing on the Battlefield,
a volunteer group that operated in troubled areas.
It's such a relief to find someone familiar with the area.
I'm Kurata Yuuko.
Of course, they won't say it to my face.
But relatives, as well as others, believe Yuuko's group caused us to be forced into a war.
Before the war, everyone called the four of them protective spirits of Japan.
Wait.
Didn't Singing on the Battlefield have five members?
Yuuko,
the leader, Saburi,
Yamaga,
Yasuda Kumi,
and Oono.
Oono Myoushin was fine.
What?
I... I wanted to see Hell!
Government Troops Target Japanese Volunteers -The Whole Story- Oono Myoushin Sole Survivor
Due to the killing of NPO volunteers,
the SDF have been ordered to dispatch.
They said to avenge the civilians,
and that the government was in a weak position.
Oh, that's horrible.
Do I really look like that?
Oh, he's here, Izzy.
Koyama Izumi
Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office Special Investigations Dept.
Madam Koyama, who are they?
Hayami Seigen
Metropolitan Police Public Safety Dept.
They were recommended by Chairman Kaishou to assist in this investigation.
This is Hayami from the Metropolitan Police Department. He'll provide you with the details.
A religious organization... called Bettenou?
It's been said that in this organization, established by Oono Myoushin,
there have been people dying, one after another.
Once a month, a ritual occurs in the main shrine called the Dark Summoning.
The believers fall into a trance
while the Bettenou and self-proclaimed Leader Oono Myoushin judge their sins.
Oono Myoushin
Sect Leader
Bettenou
Sect Founder
Today, the sinners shall receive the judgment of the Dark Summoning.
What is it?! Get me a clearer view!
The deceased were believers whose families harbored doubts regarding the cult,
but the beast couldn't be found, so the police didn't have a case for murder.
Did the undercover agent really see the beast?
He left the force and became a real believer.
Oh, Great Leader!
Are the police are investigating the successive deaths?
The deceased's families are accusing you of being a scam cult!
That's the leader, Oono Myoushin.
Oono...
This is a holy place!
Oono Myoushin has shed blood for Japan's sake!
He is a living god defending our country!
Isn't that the Self-Defense Force?
Public Security unit.
They're a legalized private security organization from a security firm, created as a part of the antiterrorism plan.
They worship Oono like he's a god of war.
What do you plan to do?
You said you wanted me to solve this case, right?
That's not Oono.
Oono Myoushin is...
dead.
What's this say?
Let me guess.
"Dreams will always come true," right?
Don't remember.
It's a great job isn't it?
The Traveling Cinema.
You engage and excite children who've never seen a film before.
Nowadays, no matter where you go, you're connected by games.
That is, unless your government bans it.
What a waste...
Singing on the Battlefield, huh?
I know what you want to say.
I've heard it enough times back home.
They call it a publicity stunt, a death wish.
What could you possibly achieve by singing in strife-ridden lands?
Sure, we can't really sing on the battlefield...
but we can bring a smile to the faces of children worn out by the fighting.
So, that feeling of satisfaction is your reward.
The children laugh because you're ridiculous.
The candy probably helps.
After all, even you don't really think this makes anything better.
You guys just don't want to admit how insignificant your existence is.
Pot calling the kettle black?
My family runs a shrine, so if you have any troubles, come to me.
It's ok.
Go on, Yuuko.
The anti-government rebels have already started moving.
Do you really intend to guide them around?
We have a lot of catching up to do.
So let's not talk about that.
Still swimming?
Against the raging tides of life, or something like that?
Just 'cause we were on the swim team.
You can't live off just swimming.
If it were up to me, I'd swim even for horrible pay.
Ah, why do I have to grow up?
It's about time you ended your soul-searching trip, isn't it?
Don't summarize my life with such cheap words.
But those cheap words sum it up exactly.
I...
still haven't done it.
Aren't you afraid to be alone?
No need to watch me.
I'm not going anywhere.
Ouch.
Can I have this?
The next day we entered an area where the battle against anti-government rebels aided by the UN intensified.
Are you sure you'll be fine with one hand?
Hey, I just washed that.
Oh yeah, that's why we're here.
What's that sound?
Sounds like a QW.
An RPG?
No way!
Did you see that?!
Are they trying to kill us?!
Everyone out! Now!
Yuuko...
There aren't enough souls!
That's strange.
Oono Myoushin said that apart from us, no one could enter,
and he's right.
Oh, you were the inside man, right?
Unfortunately, yes.
Now, I do not have the slightest doubt about Bettenou.
I know where you're coming from.
That Hayami sure is weird.
I don't really like him.
I was in the same department.
By the way, what were you doing with those two earlier?
Getting those calls and stuff...
The leader's words will definitely come true.
Bettenou is a living god.
Makita
Bettenou Member
It's been a while.
I didn't think you were still alive.
How long are you going to keep up this farce,
Serada?!
Serada, help us!
There's something wrong with this guy!
Serada, where are you?
Oh shit. Oh, holy shit!
Serada?
You think I'm that travel agent?
The only possible survivor was Serada.
I am Oono Myoushin.
Oono.
The leader is only covering his scars. How dare you?!
This x-ray is of Oono Myoushin before he left Japan,
and this is him after he returned.
We couldn't be sure it was him by his facial structure, so he suggested this comparison.
You think they're the same? These two shots?
It's as it seems.
Oono Myoushin released this video after returning.
As you can see,
the Singing on the Battlefield members are captured by government troops and tortured.
The scene changes to those four getting executed.
Izzy, was it?
Koyama!
You can see that video?
Yes.
The government banned the video,
but through online distribution systems like the JJ Systems, the video spread,
and public opinion for the dispatch of the SDF solidified.
But people who returned after the war, as well as a number of foreigners,
pointed out that this video shows no such scenes.
That the video is only of the sky and noise.
It is the sky though, isn't it?
Yep, it's the sky.
But we can see it clearly!
The four youths are being shot in cold-blood.
Some can see the video, and some can't?
How is that even possible?!
Answer me! You must know something!
What do you know about me, Izzy?
I don't know anything...
but Chairman Kaishou said that you were together with Oono and the others.
Kaishou?
Chairman of JJ Systems,
and special advisor to the Public Prosecutors office.
You ate Oono.
Not only Oono,
but Kumi, Saburi, Yamaga...
and Yuuko.
Serada!
Shut up!
We're both being watched.
Where have you been the entire time?
I've been watching Oono Myoushin.
Is that really Oono?
I plan to speak to him tonight,
but he has a strange power.
I want you and your friend to accompany me.
All right.
I'll explain everything then.
Am I going to die?
You're already dead.
Did you do this?
What are you?
Inga.
You humans gave me that name.
It's been a while since I've eaten souls.
You're... alive?
Hey, you were stabbed through the neck, weren't you?
What the hell are you?!
Where's Serada?
He was here when we crashed, wasn't he?
Serada, help us!
Did Serada get caught in the explosion?
There's something wrong with this guy!
Souls!
Each and every one of you is so big!
You're disgusting!
What are you going to do?
I'm not scared at all!
I don't care when I die!
I know.
No one really listens to my songs.
Even if I sing here,
it won't bring anyone happiness.
I'll forget...
everything I didn't want to hear!
You can eat other stuff than souls?
Have you forgotten that I have a human body?
Is the soul the hidden truth in a person's heart?
It's their screams.
Screams?
Living organisms have their own unique traits.
For example, a certain kind of ant produces a honey-like substance in their bodies.
Camels store water in their humps too.
Actually, it's not water.
Really?
Well, humans store screams.
If I change myself, the world will change too.
My thoughts become the power to change the world.
That's nonsense.
I don't want to change!
I-I'm fine the way I am!
Don't change me!
Why is it only him that makes ridiculous amounts of money?
How long will I stay poor?
There's no reason for me not to be rich.
Pay more attention to me!
Listen to me more!
Praise me more!
Praise me!
Do I have screams inside of me as well?
Don't you understand?
Humans sure are absurd.
I thought I understood.
I wanted to be able to help others.
But it was just wishful thinking.
What did the real me want to do?
What did I wish for?
I'll tell you last.
Okay, then let's end it.
Wait a moment! You—
I... I wanted to see Hell.
I wanted to see people killing each other,
and the hell known as the battlefield.
I wanted to see proof that there is no God and no Buddha.
You police should fall back!
We know that the criminal who murdered Leader Oono Myoushin
is affiliated with the police!
You guys murdered him!
Oono's dead?
Serada...
Don't move! Raise your hands!
Why did you kill Oono, you bastard?!
It was already over by the time I arrived.
How could I have killed him?
I saw it with my own eyes!
You were even caught on camera!
There he is! The guy from this afternoon!
The police were hiding him, huh?!
That wasn't Oono.
Impossible!
Arrest him!
Over here!
Get him!
Why did it turn out like this?
You people are always lying to yourselves.
For every lie, your soul gets riper.
Please, let me sing for the sake of the children.
That's not what your soul says.
Let me show you.
Ah, why?
Why do I grow up?
Hey, that hurts.
If we can't figure it out by morning,
Chairman Kaishou will denounce you as the perpetrator.
This place is pretty rundown, huh?
This is the first area hit by terrorists when the SDF ramped up their operations in the troubled area.
I investigated Serada Makiro.
Oh?
The SDF?
He was an excellent officer candidate,
though this was when he was still in the SDF.
Was?
Before the war, he died in a traffic accident.
That's why he couldn't possibly be a travel agent overseas.
Suddenly bombers appear in the sky,
and artillery fire can be heard.
It's war. Another war has started.
This is impossible!
Yo.
Don't worry.
Until we're done talking, this place is safe.
This one here was in the same place as that boy.
It's the power of words, isn't it?
It turns your words...
Into reality.
Did you know them?
Not really.
Originally, my mission...
Oh, you do know it was a mission, don't you?
SDF...
Or rather, a faction of the SDF.
I was to take some NPO volunteers into a dangerous area and be attacked.
It would've been okay for the van to just be shot at, but to be completely wiped out...
And I met this by coincidence.
Actually, it was fate.
Did you know that this is a god?
A god?
Long, long ago, this country sent soldiers overseas.
Not only soldiers, but also gods to protect the soldiers.
Should they die,
the gods wouldn't be able to return home and were left where they lay...
forever.
You believe that?
Did you forget?
My words turn into reality.
It already is the truth.
You returned as Oono Myoushin.
If you say you're Oono,
then even the eyes of a doctor will be deceived.
If you say it's a video of four people being executed,
then even a mere scenic video becomes a shocking one.
Why did you impersonate Oono?
Because I didn't want this child taken away from me.
So you founded a religious sect to suck money from your believers,
and snuffed out any who wanted to leave?
All I did was say that unbelievers would be judged.
Why?
If you have the power of God, why squander it on acts like that?
Isn't there something else you could do?
Like help people?
And what would that entail?
To rid the world of war?
To give homes to people who've lost their own?
Those who did not receive a home would cry foul, and claim unfairness.
Is it god's duty to save these people?
I won't fancify it like you.
In the pool, I only wished for my own victory in this world.
If you stand, I will disappear.
Why did you make me the perpetrator?
The war has ended.
Inga, are you guys gods?
I forgot to tell you, but that one's a dud.
The soldiers that left this country in the past
fell in another land and left behind their regrets.
Their regrets amalgamated to form a demon.
The demon that Bettenou sealed is this boy.
To ye that awakened the demon, let God's judgment fall upon ye.
That's the beast from the Dark Summoning?!
It's useless.
You, who haven't even fully awakened, can't hope to touch Bettenou.
When will I grow up into an adult, I wonder?
What are you doing, Yuuko?
You did this to free me?
My soul, was it?
I just didn't want anyone to see it.
Which do you think it is?
Nobody ever truly says what they feel.
But that's not the only truth,
People have many sides to their heart.
They're all truths.
You will not decide mine!
Damn, I missed out on her soul.
Inga, is that you?
She's dead.
If she was only halfway there like you, I could've brought her back.
What if I were to do the same?
You'd rather die?
No way!
Why did you revive me and steal my body?
Why not kill me like the others?
Your blood...
So you're incomplete.
You revived me because you still need my blood.
Let's strike a deal.
A deal?
Never steal my body again.
If you eat someone's scream you won't take their life.
If you were able to revive me, then you should be able to do that much.
And in return?
Souls.
How many?
Any number of them.
I'll tell you where the best place would be to get them.
I know where there are many screams,
locked away in people's hearts,
taken to the grave.
What do you get out of this?
Tell me about my soul one day.
Tell me what I really wish for.
I accept.
And don't take that form.
What's this?
I can't do shit to this thing!
Fangs rip through the chest, fresh blood surging forth.
Inga.
How do you eat a soul without taking a life?
What are you saying?
Answer me!
A question!
If you can ask a question that opens their soul, then they'll honestly answer that single question.
Great.
Ask me what I see with my own two eyes!
That goes against the deal!
Didn't you want to know what you truly wanted?
I won't let the likes of you decide what's true for me.
Ask me, Inga!
Okay, but I'll turn into that form.
Demon.
Tell me,
What do you see with your own two eyes?
What do you see?
Rain,
and Yuuko.
Only you!
There aren't any bombers or tanks.
That beast does not exist.
He shouldn't be able to see me.
My words are reality.
That's the power of Bettenou.
It creates an illusion, making it seem as if your words were reality.
If you say so,
then you'll see what isn't actually there.
That's why among those that watched the video,
there were people who couldn't see the execution.
Like me, they did not hear your words.
What you see is reality.
My words change reality!
Even if you were to delude the brain,
my soul sees the truth.
The illusion of a beast caused your believers to rend their own flesh.
Now, your illusion won't last.
Is this an illusion, too?
Don't move!
I said don't move!
Oono Myoushin, you're the suspect for the murders of your believers.
Your perpetrator is right here.
The true perpetrator is shot and killed by the police!
Impossible!
Why?
Bettenou.
You said so yourself.
"The true perpetrator is shot and killed."
I thought I had God in my hands.
Did you know that love is the same as God?
It was as you said.
The DNA analysis of the corpse assumed to be Oono Myoushin
came back positive for former undercover agent, Makita.
He made Makita pretend to be Oono, then killed him.
And you are?
I have Chairman Kaishou on the phone for you.
Kaishou Rinroku here.
What do you want?
As planned, it will be reported with you as the main perpetrator.
What? Wai—What do y—
Serada Makiro has already been pronounced dead.
You, who have just returned, committed the crimes.
That is my reasoning.
What reasoning?
That's a load of bullshit!
Would you rather I laid everything out for the world to see?
Want me to tell them how Oono Myoushin, Kurata Yuuko, and the others died?
What do you know?
About what?
Serada said that he received a mission from some faction to lead the NPO volunteers in a troubled area.
It was to pull this country into war.
My, my. You're a bit childish to pull out such a conspiracy theory.
I will not forgive those that use Yuuko and the others' deaths for their own gains.
They're not some fine sacrifice.
This is your new name.
You were shot and killed as an accused murderer.
Having no identity would be a problem, right?
You wouldn't even be able to rent videos.
Is that so?
Your real identity,
which has been involved in terrorism,
will disappear with Chairman Kaishou's efforts.
You should be thankful.
Where are you going? I can give you a ride.
I'm going to live here.
It's off limits and no one would ever live here, right?
What happened to the girl?
The girl?
The god.
She's your acquaintance, right?
She went off somewhere, and she's not an acquaintance.
Would you have preferred her over me?
I whisper my prayers
I'd rather choose a demon over a god who's nothing but words.
to the haze of dawn
Now you'll never know what you truly want.
With our fingers
Even so, you won't be able to get away from me.
we trace a twisted landscape
I know.
I'll keep feeding you souls.
We look for truth,
This world is crawling with liars.
so we'd never settle for lies
To know each other perfectly, eventually,
Yuuki Shinjurou, huh?
we walk this road
I try to surpass words
and fail like falling feathers
I try to find something
so that we can be together here
I try to find something to put my days in order
like scattered clouds
I try to find something
so that we can be together here
Together we look for a reason,
yet tell our stories alone
I keep peeling off my scabs,
unable to heal
Saying that false beauty is good enough
is not acceptable
To forgive each other
we walk this road
I try to find hands held out to me
like waves upon the shore
I try to find something
so that we can be together here
I hold my head and curse the present
I suffer in this world so full of everything and wish to flee from it
Steadily time passes like sand in an hourglass
Nothing ever improved
in the bleak tomorrows I gazed at
Yesterday I was full of doubts
But if I say good-bye to that then now I can reach out with both hands
Countless times I cry and am born anew
What am I hesitating about in this desolation?
I'll walk towards the future I imagined
All I can do is lay open my cards
Where are you? Who are you?
You stare at the darkness I struggle in
Maybe I know nothing, but still I will walk
towards the place strewn with light where you are waiting
Episode
Causality
Inspired by Ango Sakaguchi's Meiji-era Detective Stories: "The Wonders of Evil Teachings" and "The Demobilized Killer Affair"
A phone call this early in the morning?
Ah. Thanks, Rie.
Pulling an all-nighter is tough.
It's 'cause everyone keeps only asking you for advice.
Who's this?
Kaishou Rie
Daughter of Kaishou Rinroku, student
Kaishou Rinroku
Chairman of Japan Justice Network System Holdings
Oh, interested?
Not at all! He's not my type.