Original subtitles

Hey, are you guys free tonight?

Hmm? Tonight?

Mm-hmm!

Let's see... I guess it depends on how things go with my club.

But it should be fine.

Oh, I know! If we're getting together today,

there's an area I want to go check out. You in?

Fine by me! What about you, eri?

Sorry, I have cram school today.

I think I could meet up after 10:00, though.

Sweet, that's what I like to hear!

It's settled, then.

Oof!

We'll gather in Mac anu tonight at 10:00!

Anyone who comes late will be prey for the enemy.

Excuse me?

What are you, a little kid?

Dammit...

Hey!

Help me!

You're good!

Geez, what a pain.

More of them?!

Smoke screen!

Wait for Mel

that's my Tobias, always great in a pinch! It's good to have friends, huh?

Flattery will get you nowhere.

Aw, you're so shy!

Thank you too, Mary!

Honestly, how did you get lost on a straight path?

It's not like you're some newbie.

Hey, even monkeys fall from trees... Even homer sometimes nods, you know?

Trust me, you're no homer.

Give her a break. You know what they say: "Even death won't cure a fool."

Miss sakuya here is a member of that elevated class.

Hey! That hurt my pride, you know!

"Pride," she says.

Did you hear that?! That was a problematical statement, right there!

Wow, I didn't know you could get through this way!

Yep. The place has a bit of a history to it, though.

Huh, is there something special here?

It's an occult spot. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

If we take this secret route, the treasure chest prize changes.

Plus, we can avoid the boss fight!

We're not going to fight? Wouldn't it be better to get the experience points...

Hey!

Found an item!

Sakuya!

Whoopsies.

There you go picking up lame items again...

This is why you're... Everyone take your positions!

What's going on?!

Wow, one of the guilds is going to fight this boss.

It's a dragon!

The one sin.

It's the world's legendary unbeatable monster.

In terms of power, it's unmatchable.

The first players in history to defeat it were lauded as

the "descendants of fianna."

Is she high on this?

Yes, she is.

It has reflect.

Target the elemental hits, just like we planned.

Healing team, stand by out of the line of fire.

They're actually going to attack it head on!

That's so hard-core! I gotta get a screenshot!

Don't get lost!

It's going to breathe fire! Don't all gather in one place!

Uh-oh!

Healing team, get moving the moment it runs out of breath!

Whoa, its breath is lasting crazy long!

What is that?

I kind of stepped on something! What should I do?!

Honestly, can't you stand still for two seconds?

It stopped?

Check for static!

None detected.

Is it just an event?

No way.

Tobi?

It's gonna breathe again! Get outside!

This boss fight has a surprise instant-kill trap, eh?

Hey, look at those guys! They got us.

Tobias the information broker?

I don't think it'll chase us all the way here.

You're kidding me!

Cc corp. Takes its work way too seriously!

Mary!

We're all done for if it breathes fire here!

She puts on a good show.

Don't be stupid!

Sakuya, you idiot!

Why would you come after it when I'm leading it away from you?!

But if we run away, how will you escape?!

Get over here! We'll make a break for it!

Make it snappy!

Oh man, I thought we were goners!

And whose fault was that?

And we didn't even get the rare item.

We went to all that trouble for nothing.

Not true.

Even if it was in-game, what happened here today was real.

To me, the memories are the greatest treasures.

Tobias...

When did you pick up that rare mantle?

Huh? Hey, you're right!

Tobias is always on the ball!

I was stupid to feel moved.

Today was a real blast, wasn't it?

Yeah... the world is a blast!

Asumi? Asumi! Wake up already!

I'm waking up right now...

Eri's already here!

No way!

Hey! You turned off my alarm clock, didn't you?!

Hey kid, since you're going out after school, buy some tissues.

What? How'd you know I...

Hey, I told you to quit going through my stuff!

Sheesh... I'm off!

Sorry. Let's go!

Sheesh, why do you sleep in every single morning?!

What I want to know is, how come you don't? We go to bed at the same time!

Ever heard of alarms?

Mine won't ring before noon.

Idiot.

Ah, wait!

Stop! Stop that bus!

We want to get on!

I did it, eri! Hurry up, come on!

"Aomori prefectural lzumiyama high school”

we made it...

Wasting your sweat and youth. Very nice.

Dammit...

Hey, how can you dress like that?! That is not cool!

Don't worry about me. This may surprise you, but I'm all about utility.

In the real world, anyway.

Geh, why would you wear that?

You value looks above everything else in-game!

Why are you so disappointing in real life, Lori?!

I didn't ask for your opinion.

Okay, next we'll talk about "implants":

"Social studies” okay, next we'll talk about "implants":

"Social studies"

"social studies” the microchips you all have inside you.

The microchips you all have inside you.

Let's examine what made this technology necessary,

and why it's called "the form of new man-machine interface."

Er a tet eee the sess Nai ss somes cant ee een enema sst te ne see ee

se to ccci sr ii sassas er eee ee oo iititirreiilnas set cee rreey sei leesan een esd ed ite nn eet z j ttt et ll fp eee se seliii ieee ree sista - sissies iieeee 5 es ta mens eir

the price of materials has been plummeting for days... and why it's called "the form of new man-machine interface."

Info on a complete-item drop in the new mission next month, eh? And why it's called "the form of new man-machine interface."

Info on a complete-item drop in the new mission next month, eh? The pluto's kiss incident of 2005

info on a complete-item drop in the new mission next month, eh? Brought the vulnerability of the old information systems to light.

Guess I'd better sell off my stuff before demand dries up... Brought the vulnerability of the old information systems to light.

With a single program, a ten-year-old elementary school student proved

that the more sophisticated things become,

the harder it is to spot their weaknesses.

We can say the same thing about their reliability.

Before, we identified ourselves via things like passwords and card keys.

"Check this out. 300,000 gp bounty"

ew ee tw erasers eeu aan I reason xsan re ra oes a xs

a 300,000 gp bounty?

"Charged with malicious interference

and the consequent interruption of a mission and deaths of 16 guild members.

Contact the yata-no-kagami guild with information."

I'm done for...

Congrats! You just became famous.

This isn't funny!

They're after all of us, you know!

How am I supposed to live in the world after this?

Listen, asumi, why don't you take this opportunity

to lay off the gaming a little?

Finals are coming up, you know.

Eri, you sound like my mom.

I can learn everything in a one-night cram session, so I'm good.

Oh, then I'll do that too! So all I have to do is learn it then, huh?

Be serious! You don't have good grades like Lori.

You do realize we have to study for college exams next year, right?

You're seriously giving me a hard time today.

I'm not going to play the world until finals are over.

We have to think about where we'll be a year from now.

I hope we'll all still be playing the world together!

Asumil

the thing is, a year ago I thought I'd just go to school and graduate

like everybody else.

But since I started the world,

my life's not just trips from home to school and back anymore.

It's really fun!

It's like, wow, there's a world outside of school.

Sure, bad things happen, like the thing with that guild,

but only once in a while...

The big thing is, I made friends with Lori because of the world,

so I want to keep playing.

And it's fun to get to play with you again like when we were kids, eri.

But I guess if I keep causing you problems

you'll eventually get sick of me.

So guess what? I want to go to the same college as eri,

so I thought about what I need to do to make it happen!

Really?!

Yep.

Once I thought it over, the solution was so simple!

Okay!

We'll meet at the usual spot at 8:00, then.

Wait, what about your "solution"?!

You'll see when you get there!

Honestly... I wonder if she's really thinking.

Maybe she'll say, "we'll study in the world!"

Attention players: This field is about to be shut down for server main...

Stop right there!

You've got the wrong person!

It's all because of this...

And Mary and Tobias said they won't come today... I'm so depressed.

I wanted to study in the world!

I wonder if they'd forgive me if I apologized?

Whoa, I got something!

It's super-heavy! Wow!

Did you find her?

No.

Maybe she's warped already?

I have somebody watching the gate.

There has to be someplace we haven't searched yet. Get going!

Aye-aye. Sure.

Ugh, what are these?

The world is more realistic than it has to be lately, huh?

It's like, what's the point?

There, all done.

Thanks.

You're welcome. My name's as... er, sakuya! Nice to meet you!

I'm hermit.

"Hermit"? Like the tarot card?

Something like that... You have a bounty on you, huh?

Yup!

Don't tell me you're with the guild?!

No. But I was there yesterday.

Did you happen to pick up anything strange there?

"Strange"?

Well, I pick up anything I see lying around, so it's hard to say...

Was it a rare item or something?

Nah. If you haven't seen it, don't worry about it.

One last thing.

Are those other two who were with you coming today?

Oh, Tobias and Mary?

Not today, but I'll definitely introduce you sometime!

They're the friends I always game with.

"Friends"...

There she is!

Exactly who posted that in the guild's name?

I don't recall authorizing this kind of harassment!

Ma'am, it was one of the non-members who joined the quest.

Then go get the post pulled! Right now, before it causes us trouble!

Um...

What?!

I'm very sorry to say this, but his sympathizers have already...

Ow, that... doesn't hurt...

Give it up. Those restraints are cheat items. You can't get free.

If you log out with them on, your account is forfeit.

If you want me to let you go, call the players you were with yesterday here.

No! I told you, I'm the one who activated the trap!

Plus, I just made friends with hermit a little while ago!

So please, don't drag him into this!

Are you kidding me? How long do you think it took to prepare for that quest?

You don't really think I'll let you off with an apology, do you?

I-1 did think that...

You're mean.

Now, now! You're making us sound like bad guys.

You're the one who started this, you know.

Are you somehow thinking that if you let us take you out, you won't have to call them?

Well, whatever.

I'm sure your old friends

must be way more important to you than this guy you just met!

You coward!

Don't drag my friends into this!

Dammit, she's taking the offense!

Sakuya!

Lyoten!

Hey, hold up! I can't see anything through the smoke!

Lyoten, are you okay?!

Find that girl, dammit! I'm gonna pk her ass right now!

Huh? How did you...?

It's my special technique.

Here they are!

I'll save you, sakuya!

Stop!

Hey, you look like you're doing fine.

Tobias!

What are you two doing here? You said you weren't coming today!

Heh, "we swoop in wherever we're needed!”

There was a post on the forum

saying a wanted girl was being chased through town.

Sheesh, at least restrain yourself at times like this!

Lyoten?

The free agent who joined the battle against the one sin, eh?

Yes. I looked into him and discovered he's got a record of things like this.

So, I extracted the address and reported it before we came.

Wow, I'm impressed!

Piece of cake.

Sorry for getting you mixed up in our troubles, hermit.

Th-that's okay.

Hey hermit, thanks for saving me back there.

Herel

it's a thank-you gift...

But don't be too disappointed with it, okay?

There they are! Over there!

Ugh, they found us already.

So just stunning them won't cut it, eh?

Those fools... come onl!

Roger!

Ouch! Ah, sorry!

A smoke screen...

Go around!

Jeez, they're stubborn!

You there! I need to speak with you!

Get down here this instant!

Uh-oh.

Ignore her!

That girl seems like the boss!

Ignore her!

You ain't getting away!

Dammit!

I surrender!

I'm sorry...

Astal

you got it!

Sakuya!

Sakuya!

Hermit!

I'll pk you first.

Nol

stop!

Hermit!

What's this?!

Where are we...?

It's certainly not an official field.

Whoa, boss girl!

Where did the others go?

What are those? Are they people?

What?!

Sophia...?

Sakuya!

Sakuya! Log out right now! This place is bad news!

Mary! Tobias!

Where's hermit?

No idea! If he was just pked, he'll return to town!

More importantly...

Mary, forget about him!

Smith!

What happened?

I was unprepared. The entire area is currently a pariah folder.

What do you mean?!

Mary.

Ow...

What was that?

I don't know, but finding out can wait. Let's just get offline, pronto.

Okay...

I'll email you later.

Right.

Sakuya!

Take that!

Mary!

What's going on?!

Eril

You've slumbered within a joyous passion day after day

when you wake up, what vision will make your heart dance?

Where did you promise to return to?

You can't go back to all those distant memories

o wish, paint eternity in a momentary pleasure

if the drowning cry out "there is no salvation”

remember a warmth that isn't false

Comas. The lost ones.

The past. The present.

Legends. Facts.

Personal information. Ghosts.

Password cracking. Implant chips.

Investigations. Cover-ups.

Destruction.

Look forward to the next episode of .hack//quantum.

Is eri still asleep?

Yeah...

What do the doctors say?

They called it photo-sensi-something-or-other.

They talked like it was from gaming too much.

Huh. Well, people get over this photo-whatsit in no time, right?

Yeah, but they said it usually only takes a few hours...

Then it should be fine. She'll wake right up before you know it.

Yeah...

Not this one. Or this.

It's no good. Without the list, I can't see their data.

I just hope sakuya didn't get pked...

Hey, I wonder what the real-world sakuya is like.

I kind of want to meet her.

She better not be a dude playing a girl...

Cat-boy fell from here, and a black hole opened up...

Which means either there's something down that hole,

or cat-boy's got a secret.

Guess I'll try process of elimination.

No communications devices in the hospital, please.

Y es, ma'am!

Thank you.

Well?

My hand's still a little numb, but they said it's fine.

And they told me I can't game for a while.

Oh. Well... shall we go?

"Toshiko kidachi" "misato aho" "eri eto" "sawako narumi" "toshiko kudo" "miho atomura"

hey, she's gone.

Maybe she got released?

Excuse me, where is the girl who used to be in this bed?

Oh, she was transferred to a different hospital this morning.

"Amanai hospital"

I knew it.

Huh?

Look here... the cc corp. Is a major investor.

See, there's a rumor that players who collapse in the world

get put in cc corp. Hospitals.

They say it might be some kind of cover-up.

Cover-up?

Yeah, of the connection between the world and the comas.

Take you: Didn't you say that before you passed out,

you touched eri and your real body got flung backward?

Yeah...

And I bet you touched her with this hand, right?

There's an urban legend about the world:

About people's souls getting trapped in the game,

and their characters walking around even though the players are unconscious.

Hey, stop it, I don't want to hear that! It must just be ID thieves.

I don't know. But the phenomena happening now

are disturbingly synchronized with game events.

And that hospital transfer... don't you think it's strange

to transfer her out of the city when her first hospital was newer?

Cc corp. Has to be...

I don't get it!

If I can do something to make eri better, I want to.

But I just don't get this occult-type stuff...

An online game?

Everyone says it's super-fun!

Play with me, eri!

No way, that sounds dorky.

What?!

Hello.

Wow, you picked the blackrose type, huh? We're partners!

And who might he be?

Oh, this is Tobias! We made friends when I first started playing the world.

It's a pleasure.

Sakuya, make sure you've got the right attributes!

I'm going to send him to you with a knockback move,

so make a skill attack!

Say that in Japanese, please!

Sakuya, behind you!

Huh?

Hey, wa...

Asumi?

Hey, Lori...

Do you think... eri's in the world?

I don't know. But I hope she's not.

Because frankly, if she is, I've got no clue what we should do.

Want a ride?

It's okay. I feel bad always making you drive me.

Hey Lori, can I come over after school tomorrow?

What you told me... frankly, I can't believe it, and it's really scary.

But if there's something I can do, I want to do it.

Because we're the only ones who know what happened right before eri went down.

Yo, good customer.

I brought that list you wanted.

It's pretty much the same as last time. Users with microchips.

Plus I added the new users who weren't around before.

But password analysis on 200,000 people's worth of data...

I'm leavin' that to you again.

Takes way too long for somethin' so boring, man.

Thanks.

What the heck are you gonna use it for?

That's a secret.

Hey, just don't get caught, okay? I don't wanna go down with you.

Thanks for the warning.

This should do it for the analysis...

I guess I can just forget about the list I lost.

It's not something that'd get me in trouble if someone saw it anyway.

I'll go ahead and add the ones that got pked.

I thought we'd do more detective-type stuff.

That's precisely what we're doing, Watson.

Sakuya, your right hand...

Huh?!

What's going on?

It's got to have something to do with the numbness.

Let's check that out later, too.

Okay.

Right, then! We'll start here!

Now jump!

Here goes sakuya!

No good after all, eh?

Looks like it's not a warp hole.

Which means that cat PC must be involved, I think.

What's happening?!

What d'you figure this is?

A scroll? Where did you pick it up?

Dunno.

Wh-what? This is... People's personal information?

Lori, look!

Hey, that's...!

What the hell is going on here?

Eri...

Masaya asanuma. 059-18fd-obc2.

Got it.

Koichi matsubara. 046-7d9a-bc1a.

Got it.

Kana sugimoto. 098-da12-bdcc.

Hey...

Do you think all these people are in comas?

Good question... I guess it's time to start checking.

What are you gonna do?

Pump people for info, natch.

"Asanuma... > Kanonji general hospital" "hatsumoto... > Kanazawa emergency hospital" "mukai" "Yamada... > Amagasaki municipal hospital"

"asanuma... > Kanonji general hospital" "hatsumoto... > Kanazawa emergency hospital" "mukai" "Yamada... > Amagasaki municipal hospital" gah, they're all hospitalized...

Gah, they're all hospitalized...

What's more, these are all cc corp. Hospitals.

Even I didn't expect something this far-reaching.

I wonder if it's okay...

If what's okay?

I mean, aren't we getting involved in something major here?

We should call the police and...

Blocked number.

Jeez, they're stubborn.

"Blocked number"

it's probably from one of the families I just called.

No way...

Hello, ikuta residence.

Just a moment, please.

Sis, phone!

That moron.

Hello, may I help you?

Lori ikuta, I presume?

May I ask who's calling?

Every number you just called belonged to a lost one.

Eri eto has only been lost for a week. How did you figure it out this fast?

Who are you? How do you know about eri?

I'm investigating for my job. I mean you no harm.

I'm sending two tickets. I want you to come to Tokyo with your other friend.

I'll email you the details and the exact location.

"You have one new message."

Whoa, whoa, what the heck?

I wonder who made this...

Sakuya!

Hermit! You're okay, then.

I've been looking for you!

Oh, sorry about that.

Is something wrong?

A lost one?

Yeah. My friend got pked.

Mary, the girl who was with us before.

I got a call from a place called nab. They say it's happening lots lately.

Well, I gotta go to sleep.

What? Well, you'll come again tomorrow, won't you?

I'm sorry. I have to be somewhere.

See youl

We don't have any other clues! We have to go.

I'm just saying we should be a little more cautious.

If you don't want to, that's okay.

I can go by myself.

Idiot! I never said I wouldn't go!

I wonder if there's a festival going on or something.

That way. Let's go.

The u.N. Building is over there, you know.

"Nab investigator"? Give me a break.

Yes?

Log in, please.

Come to the far door.

Loril

those are players who fell into comas due to problems endemic to the world.

If you know that much, then why...?!

The statement that current medical science can't prove a link

between the game and players' comas is only the official position.

Welcome to my base of operations.

You're...

Sorry about the whole "wanted" thing.

It's all right. I'm sorry too!

Did you call us all the way here to show us that?

Don't be cross.

The cause of the comas lies within the world.

And so does the means to wake up the victims.

You'd better not be telling us pretty lies just to get information.

I'm not lying.

You see, I was party to the incident five years ago.

In the 2017 incident, a certain strong consciousness was at work,

and the lost ones could not return until it was eliminated.

But they did come back, then!

Yes... with some exceptions.

Now, about the current lost ones... How did the two of you investigate?

Net slum.

I was honest with you. Let's be straight with each other.

What's "honest" about doing this in character?!

If we're going to be straight with each other,

how about showing us who you really are?

I thought it would be easier this way, but very well.

Take off your fmds.

Pleased to meet you.

Just so we're clear,

that character doesn't reflect my tastes.

I'm only using it because it's convenient

to my search for an unrelated missing person.

I see.

Now will you tell me?

Oh, thank you.

You still haven't said anything about this incident.

If I do, then will you tell me?

If your story is believable.

What if I tell you the truth, and it turns out to be unbelievable?

Well...

If it's true, we'll believe it!

Hey!

She seemed sketchy in the email, too, but we ended up coming here anyway.

Let's believe her.

Cc corp. Has had grave problems ever since it released the world.

Those problems have been exploited in various ways,

which in the end come down to one researcher's ideals.

His dream was to free people from racism

by turning all of humanity into lost ones.

That dream drove his every action, spiraling out of control.

But the fire at cc corp. In 2015 and his lapse into a coma

closed the curtain on the matter for the time being.

However, an organization exists which has carried on his research.

Their immediate objective is to control the lost ones.

But with people who never have to come back to reality,

they've already entered the practical application stage...

Using people whose disappearances won't cause problems.

Astounding. This is literally a record of the crimes!

Where did you get this?

Um, I'm always picking stuff up without looking inside...

I see. All right, I'm taking charge of this list for now.

If we look at the data, we may be able to identify who made the list

through quirks in his programming.

Leave the rest to us, and stay far away from the world, both of you.

He'll facilitate further communications.

Stay away? But we're just as...

You may already have had a near miss with the culprit!

Restrain yourselves until we've eliminated the possibility

that you're being targeted.

It's like somebody just proved to me that I'm a tiny fish in a giant pond.

"The season finally opens on 12/25/2022!" It's like somebody just proved to me that I'm a tiny fish in a giant pond.

It's like somebody just proved to me that I'm a tiny fish in a giant pond.

It's okay, you know all kinds of stuff I don't!

That's not saying much...

I'm kidding. Thanks.

Well, I'll be damned!

I want to cut them out of the system and set them free.

Dude, do you understand what this is?

No.

Look here.

Each one of these is 14 billion superposed qubits.

Smart money says the brains' synapses are bein' used for qubit interactions.

Quantum computers are amazin' things.

Think you can do it?

Easy as pie with the ones on the ground. Destroy it and they'll disconnect.

The brains are parts now, though, so they may not make it...

Ah, don't you worry. I'll get 'em out nice and clean!

Can't wait to show my stuff!

How has your friend been doing?

The same.

I see...

We've gotten some results.

I'll explain things in order.

This list has been made into a database of user haplotypes.

"Haplotypes"?

Put in simple terms, genetic types.

Evidently the owner of the list was searching the world for a donor

to treat a certain patient.

Why look for a donor in the world?

It was more convenient to exploit the vulnerabilities of the game.

Highly private data like haplotype information

is protected by extremely tight security.

But if you use social security numbers...

Hold on! The government oversees our real-world ids.

Can you even get real-world data from the game?

Allow me to demonstrate.

The list!

Now, as to the culprit's motive, we found the recipient's ID in the list too.

He's an American citizen, so it took some time to track him down.

That's why you went to America?

Yes. The recipient's name is toha tanagami. He's Japanese.

He was in a hospital in San Francisco until 2015.

"Was"? So he's been released now?

No.

He died. In 2015.

Someone's been searching for donors for a dead guy?

So it would seem.

In any case, it's for tanagami's sake

that the culprit has been scheming in the world.

Dead? For seven years...?

He forcibly extracts biological data from the owners of these ids.

As a result, they become lost ones.

All right, sakuya, tell me your password.

Huh?!

What was that for?! I was almost done!

All that work for nothing!

Long dead! I can't believe it!

What the heck?

Implant chip security is nothing

to a hacker with an fmd and a certain amount of skill.

How could that be?! There's nothing more private than internal microchips!

Still, you saw the reality.

What?

"Compatible"?

Yes?

"The season finally opens on 12/25/2022!"

Master!

Attention players:

This area is about to be shut down for server maintenance.

What is this?! This area is about to be shut down for server maintenance.

Please log out immediately.

They're eating people!

No way...

Master, the area is being hacked.

Can you take care of it?

I'll try.

Eril

what?

Wait!

Eril

that hurt!

It hurt?

Log out now!

This isn't Mac anu anymore!

Damn, it's not working!

What did you do to eri?

A data drain. But she's recovering too quickly!

This is bad. Go offline now, all of you.

If you're pked by one of them, you'll be a lost one!

No! I'm taking eri back home with us!

How?!

Sakuya!

There's no help for it. Forgive me.

Eril

Ukareta netsu no naka ni ikudo to sugiru hi no nemuri

mezameta toki ni mune wa hahi wo mite odoru no ka

doko e modoru to yakusoku shita no?

Kurikaeshita tooi kioku ni wa kaerenai

negai yo hitotoki no yorokobi ni towa wo egaite

sukui wa Nai to shizumiyuku mono ga naita nara

mayakashi ja Nai nukumori wo omoidashite

Territory war. Loneliness.

Dark clouds. Underground.

Freeze. Rampage.

Karma. Chaos.

Donor. Recipient.

Despair. Rebirth.

Dénouement.

Look forward to the next episode of .hack//quantum.

You're what we might call a "partial lost one."

The program is displaying you, but part of your data is actually lost.

It was probably taken when you tried to help your friend.

I imagine that's why you feel pins and needles in real life, too.

Speaking of which, I'm told there's been a change in your friend's condition.

Yes. On the night of the eleventh, she responded for just a moment.

So, she really was the one who appeared in Mac an...

If the culprit is in a hurry,

he'll probably target this territory war.

But tens of thousands of people from the various servers will participate,

and we can't stop an event that big on mere suspicion.

"Apologies and notice of restored service" and we can't stop an event that big on mere suspicion.

"Apologies and notice of restored service"

"this post has been deleted for violating the rules." "This post has been deleted for violating the rules." "This post has been deleted for violating the rules." "This post has been deleted for violating the rules." "Huh? Why did they get deleted?" "There the admins go, suppressing free speech again."

"This post has been deleted for violating the rules." "This post has been deleted for violating the rules.” "this post has been deleted for violating the rules.” "this post has been deleted for violating the rules.” "huh? Why did they get deleted?" "There the admins go, suppressing free speech again." And as you can see, the admins are playing this the usual way.

And as you can see, the admins are playing this the usual way.

But it was such a major incident!

The commotion was localized, though, and it didn't last long.

Don't log in again until we've come up with countermeasures against the enemy.

Especially you, sakuya.

What?!

If he catches you, we lose our trump card.

I urge you to exercise restraint.

The boy at the root of all this died seven years ago, at the age of ten.

The culprit is looking for a donor.

He's been in the world turning players into lost ones,

looking for someone compatible.

I spy an enemy!

Say your prayers! But who knows why he's searching for a donor for a dead boy...

What the...?

I was thinking... maybe he doesn't know the boy died?

What?! That makes no sense!

He's looking for a donor because he does know the boy's situation, right?!

The kid's been dead seven years; There's no way he wouldn't know!

Let's call it a day. Eat, take a bath, and go to bed.

"What are these black ball things showing up all over the place?"

Balls?

Great catch, noticing this post.

What do you think? Could it be like the one we saw?

There's not enough info to say for sure...

Here again, huh?

Dead for seven whole years, and it still hurts.

Aw man, these pks seriously suck.

We should've joined in after all. We could've mowed down 100 people easy.

Right, because killing 100 people in a fake world is so impressive.

Excuse me? You talking to me, kid?

What if I am? Going to pk me or something?

Hey, don't get cocky.

If you think you won't get pked on board, you're gonna learn a hard lesson.

Big talk for someone who can't even join a game war.

Sounds like you won't get it till you die for real!

Die? Are you stupid?

I'll pk you right now and...

What did you do?

You like pking that much?

Then I'll give you a heart-stoppingly real experience.

I guess there aren't any traces left...

Fog?

It hurts...

Whoa, hey... you're over-acting, man.

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

What is this? Hey!

Owl

say your prayers!

Shit!

These are. I

Pick up, Lori!

It's started, then.

A fine mess you've caused. Your customer is really something.

Who ordered that list?

Can't tell you that. I've got a code of honor, you... ow!

Hey, wait...!

Dammit, that's just mean!

Don't get the wrong idea: We're not playing a game here.

Why can't we log out?

You're a man, aren't you? Quit whining!

Here they come!

Tobias!

Hey, I saw eri! She's here!

Sakuya?!

Look out!

Sakuya!

Stop! I'm sorry! That didn't happen! Pretend that didn't happen!

Now's our chance! Everybody run!

Sakuya!

Why did you come here?!

Because you wouldn't answer the phone, Lori!

What?

The one sin, eh?

Did the bad guy do this, too?

He's sure not holding back.

We'd better get going.

After all, sakuya's waiting for us.

What is that?!

Huh?

Looks like he's got no intention of settling things quietly at this point.

Unless we destroy that thing, we can't even log out.

How?! We don't even know where it is!

We'll drag him out.

Huh?

Look. He's pulled out quite an impressive toy.

Why would someone with such ability bother rampaging around like this?

If this childish display is indicative of the enemy's personality,

he's sure to show himself when things stop going his way.

We'll use the crest gun.

Get to work immediately.

What?!

Hurry up and let us in!

We have to go see the guild master.

Right!

I can't fully analyze the converted mnemonics.

Change disassemblers and convert again.

Can you really use the crest gun?

If we can get control back.

I said nol!

But we really need to see her!

Hey!

You idiot! Why did you come back?!

Because eri...

I thought I told you to restrain yourself! Why...

So that's how it is...

I see.

Given the ability you just displayed,

it's safe to assume your right hand has access rights to the pariah folder.

Try accessing it.

And be sure not to erase it, do you understand?

I'll rewrite the data through sakuya's fmd and address.

A door... l

I've taken the data out of the pariah folder.

Aw, everybody's stopped the war game?

This sucks. Why does it have to be boring at the end?

I wish I could've played with sakuya one more time...

Why is this happening to us?!

Why aren't we warping?!

Looks like it's not working.

I'm opening the gate! We'll move all survivors to the crest gun!

"Scuse me? So you were the ones holdin' 'em back?!

The average player would never obey a stranger.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Start guiding them here at once!

Everyone who can move, get to the chaos gate!

We're asking all of you to help us crack this!

All right, we're going too.

Let's go.

Right...

Loril

it's a message from hermit! He says eri is in megin fi!

Huh?!

I have to go!

Stop her! Don't let sakuya go alone!

Wait!

I'm ss o rry!

Why are you doing this?! I'm going to eri!

Be quiet! We'll have Tobias go to the inverted city.

Listen: Even if you find eri, you can't do anything as you are now.

So what you're going to focus on is drawing out the culprit

by attacking mag mell's heart.

I'm fairly certain finding a donor is no longer our enemy's goal.

If we interfere with his plan to die and take the world with him,

he's sure to stop us.

I'll open whisper mode. We'll use it as a communicator.

We don't have much time. Let's go.

Lori, take me with you!

I'll go to megin fi myself.

It's okay. I promise to find eri.

Loril

was that wise?

Our goals are different, but we're all after the same end to this.

I'll use every pawn I have on the board.

When you get out of the chaos gate, just start going down.

If you follow the blood vessels, you'll get to the heart.

Got it.

Divide everyone into six teams and get ready to move out!

Fire up the power reactor!

I want this gun loaded pronto!

Everybody hurry! No idle hands, please!

C'mon, hurry it up!

Easy for you to say!

I'm in a kind of damp place now.

You're getting close. Don't let your guard down.

Roger.

This is the heart, eh?

Lori?!

What, did somethin' happen?

Hey, hold up!

Not yet.

No destroying it yet. Sakuya's coming.

So this was all your doing?

We've been cut off.

So, his goal really is sakuya...

The area keywords...

Does sakuya know the truth about me, too?

Sakuya never doubted you for a second!

Please, stop all this and give eri back!

Thank you. I guess hearing that is enough for me.

Wait, hermit! What are you going to do?!

Eril

huh?!

It's me.

Hermit!

Eri and the bad guy are below us. I'll lead you there.

Sakuya, you're going to defeat the enemy trying to wreck this world.

He's not an enemy.

I heard he's been searching for a donor for a long time

to save a sick boy.

I just know he's not a bad person.

That kid died a long time ago, you know.

It turns out I'm compatible.

So I have to tell him...!

No way...

Asumi! I dammit...

Awesomel

eri?!

Asumi! Get away from hermit! He's the one behind this!

What?

Good work. You made it to the finish line.

You heard her. I did it all.

Now if you just defeat me, you'll clear this quest.

What do you mean, "defeat you"?

I'm the one who's been turning people into lost ones,

and I'm the dead boy, too.

I only learned that I was dead a little while ago, though.

But see, I don't remember when I got here.

I just woke up here as this PC, holding this black twig.

It's let me do whatever I want in this world.

A little like a wizard, right?

I thought god must be telling me to use this twig to cure myself.

I decided not to think about what happened to the people I poked with it.

Because it was scary, and I didn't have any other options.

Correct the angle of elevation!

Our target is the digital bastille above mag mell!

Sakuya, erase me and end all this.

No! There's got to be some other way to fix this, right?!

Even if it's just a game to everyone else, this place has been reality to me.

It hurts when I get cut, and I've died over and over.

But it never ends.

To keep on living when I've got no future...

It's like a nightmare, don't you think?

Let's end this.

Crest gun, firel

You made me happy, sakuya. You're the only one to ever call me a friend.

Can I ask for one final favor?

Yeah.

Do you think you could give me a hug?

I know why I was drawn to you now.

I've been looking for you forever.

I'm sorry.

The incident during the Christmas territory war event

was forgotten in just a few weeks.

The world went back to being its usual lively self,

but we couldn't bring ourselves to go back there for a while.

Not until the guild master sent me that message...

Hmm? Hello?

Oh, did I get you? I don't have much time, so I'll make this short.

It's about hermit... he's alive.

Huh?!

His father's connections got his body preserved in cryonic suspension.

After some legal dealings, of course.

And he was also connected to the digital bastille.

"Digital bastille"?

A system to reduce life-sentence criminals to mere brains

and imprison them,

using a technology called "soul digitization."

Um...

The digitized brains are used as parts of a quantum computer.

The brains themselves are cryopreserved...

And the lab preserving hermit's player supplied that technology.

Really? So...

So rest easy. He does have a body.

He's not a criminal; There must be a string-puller behind the scenes

who took advantage of him and made him use the digital bastille.

It's no coincidence that you and hermit met.

A "string-puller”... not a god?

The term doesn't matter.

Come on, now, behave yourself.

I'll tell you the rest in aomori, all right?

See you later.

I haven't been to the baths at Lori's place in forever!

Me first!

What are you, a little kid?

When I turn eighteen, I'm joining the donor registry.

Then maybe I can see hermit after he's well.

Yeah, I think hermit's waiting for you, too.

He really liked you.

Sheesh, you talk like he's your brother!

I was with him the longest, after all.

And then the four of us can play the world!

After all we went through, you're not scared or anything?

Until soul digitization technology is gone from the world completely,

it'll keep being used, just in different forms.

Which is exactly why people like us have to keep tabs on it.

It's the world my brother loved,

so I won't let them have their way with it.

Don't throw your trash in the bath.

Right!

We'll get to see each other again someday, won't we?

You've slumbered within a joyous passion day after day

when you wake up, what vision will make your heart dance?

Where did you promise to return to?

You can't go back to all those distant memories

o wish, paint eternity in a momentary pleasure

if the drowning cry out "there is no salvation"

remember a warmth that isn't false