Original subtitles

If ever there are devilish acts committed in this world,

this incident would definitely be one of them.

The devil, huh?

We, State Alchemists, are human weapons in the service of the military.

Whenever something comes up, we are called upon.

And if ordered to, we will stain our hands with blood.

No matter how you look at it,

we're no different from Tucker and his actions.

That is the reasoning of an adult, but those children are still so...

Brother, brother, the Lt. Colonel...

It's a waste of time.

It's not possible to reconstruct a living creature

once its life has been lost.

Even an alchemist can't do such a thing.

Who would even want to revive a defective Chimera?

There will be even greater suffering and anguish compared to this.

It will be waiting for you further down the road you chose.

That's why you have to move forward even if you have to force yourselves.

So should we just forget about this?

There is something you want to accomplish, right?

Don't you think you're wasting your time here?

For crying out loud.

I won't be able to get in a good bath for my daughter at this rate.

- Here? - Yes.

This is a job for the Investigations Department.

Step aside.

How awful.

Is this the work of that serial killer?

The guy who specializes in young ladies.

But this one wasn't carved up.

It's almost as if...

By the looks of it, they blew up or something.

Man cannot obtain anything without first sacrificing something.

In order to obtain anything, something of equal value is required.

That is alchemy's Law of Equivalent Exchange.

At the time, we believed that to be the true way of the world.

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

That's a pretty serious look on your face.

For some reason, it feels like I'm going to go crazy.

And here I thought I wouldn't be able to do anything worthwhile.

So, what do you want me to do?

This.

Sort out the materials here and organize them.

Familiarize yourself with the results of Tucker's research.

Are you telling me to take over Tucker-san's research?

He went about it the wrong way,

but there were portions of Tucker's research that the military can use.

Then why don't you let Tucker take care of it?

He's dead.

Apparently, his guilt was undeniable, so at the discretion of the higher-ups,

he was executed.

You mean they covered it up? How could they...?

Pledge your loyalty to the military.

That's the main principle governing the State Alchemists.

Say, it looks like Tucker-san was also doing research

on the Philosopher's Stone.

Oh? That's nice.

How long are you going to sulk like this, Brother?

The Philosopher's Stone is the ultimate secret to us alchemists, you know?

It can amplify your abilities

and allows you to bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange.

In other words, the things we weren't able to do could be--

That thing is just a legend!

It's a fairy tale!

But if Tucker-san, a State Alchemist, was doing research on it, then--

Who gives a damn about his research?

Al, have you forgotten about Nina?

- I cannot permit it. - Why not?

Nina might have fallen victim to that serial killer, right?

I'll help with the search!

What about the work we assigned to you?

What about analyzing Tucker's research?

I don't want to do that. I'll investigate on my own, then.

Oh? In that case, leave that here.

That's what I intend to do.

Brother!

Hey, wait!

You're not the only one upset

for not being able to do anything for Nina, Brother!

We're alchemists, right?

Catching criminals isn't something we do.

We do research

so that if ever another girl like Nina comes along, we can save...

You are...

You? You're the guy from the library.

If you are able to come and go as you please at the first branch,

does that mean you are a State Alchemist?

- I was, but not anymore. - Is that right?

You're better off that way.

Yes, you're better off that way.

If you don't want to be destroyed by this arm.

Ed and Al will surely be surprised.

They'd never expect me, Winry-chan, to come here and congratulate them!

All right!

Excuse me, Lt. Hawkeye?

That's all right.

But I don't know much about the Philosopher's Stone, either.

At least, I've never heard of it actually existing.

I thought it was just a legend.

I see...

However, I think you'd be better off not going after such a thing.

I heard that nothing good happens to anything that gets close

to the Philosopher's Stone.

Oh? You're interested in the Philosopher's Stone, are you?

- Who is this? - This gentleman is...

So you want to obtain the Philosopher's Stone?

Yes.

For what reason?

For human--

I mean, I want to recover something my brother lost.

Oh, you must think highly of your brother, right?

I don't know the particulars myself,

but there are a lot of people who believe in the Philosopher's Stone.

What's more, once in a while, I hear stories about alchemists

who have succeeded in creating a Philosopher's Stone.

Such rumors naturally have a way of going around the military.

There should be a number of records about it

in the first branch of the Central Library.

Really?

But only State Alchemists are allowed to make use of them.

So a State Alchemist can verify whether the rumors are true or not?

Führer, why would you eavesdrop on something like that?

It's good for youngsters to pursue their dreams.

Don't you think so, Lieutenant?

Sure.

Well? What do you think? Don't you think she's cute?

Yeah, I guess...

What do you think?

She looks just like me, right?

What can I say? Everyone says so!

Don't bother me, Pops!

There's no need for that kind of tone.

Not when I've been showing you classified files

regarding the serial killer.

You owe me two favors.

One for the train, and one for your wife's delivery.

Oh, yeah? Well, in any case, we're stuck.

The crimes happen within the city, but there are no witnesses.

The bodies are outright sliced up

but nobody believes he could do it in such a short time.

Could he have killed them first and then took the bodies somewhere?

How much time has passed from the time of death?

Not even the investigators are clear on that.

But between the military and police,

we've opened up and checked the trunk of every car...

...coming into the city.

There must be some sort of trick to it.

A car that can hide the bodies or something.

Or maybe it's the work of an alchemist.

Alchemists are not murderers!

- Excuse me, are you Edward Elric-san? - Yes.

There's a visitor waiting for you at the Headquarters' reception desk.

A visitor?

- Howdy! - Hey!

- Thanks for the help, as usual! - It's my pleasure.

They just held the state certification exams again, right?

Yeah.

Oh, did you hear?

This time, there was a 12-year-old who passed the test.

I hear he just does this with his hand, and just like that, he can transmute.

- Is that for real? - There. The blond one.

And he's just a child too.

Oh, come to think of it, watch out for that killer.

They say he only cuts up pretty ladies.

- Oh, my, are you worried about me? - Yup.

- I sure hope they catch him soon. - I know, right?

So, about these incidents...

have you heard anything else?

How long is Ed going to keep me waiting?

That's a refrigeration unit!

Central sure does have the latest cars. How nice!

I would really love to dismantle it.

I'm afraid having it dismantled would put me out of business.

I'm sorry! Is this your truck?

That's right. This is my food shop's delivery truck.

Is something the matter?

You can take a look inside if you want to.

Really? Thank you very much!

What the...?

I told her to wait here.

Seriously.

Elric-san?

This is...?

- Winry? - Who?

Was there a car parked here?

Yeah, there are always refrigerated trucks stopping here,

the caterers who serve the military's cafe.

Refrigerated truck?

Something that could hide a body? Don't tell me...

Elric-san?

Hey, are you all right?

Were you kidnapped too?

- There's another one over there. - Is that so?

Okay, let's save them first. Then we can get out of here quickly!

I'll protect you, so don't worry--

Rise and shine, boy.

Why, you...

I heard that you perform alchemy without using transmutation circles.

So just to be safe...

Let me introduce myself. I'm Barry, the shop's owner.

A man?

As a reward for making it this far,

let me show you something you'll definitely like.

Winry!

I'm about to make a work of art out of this little girl.

Be sure to watch closely, State Alchemist-san.

Stop it! Why are you doing this?

Why? I guess I enjoy it, I suppose.

The first person I killed was my wife.

We were having some petty argument, you see.

Then, by accident, I killed her.

But you know, it was a joy to cut her up so nicely.

After that, I started wanting to cut people up even more neatly.

I wanted everyone to see.

Why would anyone kill people for something like that?

Why not?

Given just the slightest opportunity, one person can kill another.

Stay back!

If they go off to war, it's even easier for people to kill each other.

- Why do you suppose that is? - I don't know.

It's because people yearn to kill each other.

On the battlefield,

I saw a State Alchemist just like you who killed people like they were nothing.

- Splat! Just like that. - No!

No!

Why, you!

What?

Damn it!

Don't!

It will take more than that to kill me.

They're here!

Don't move!

Al...

Brother, are you hurt?

I thought I was going to get killed.

I really thought I was going to die.

I was scared.

Terribly, terribly scared...

Thanks to Hughes-san, who recognized the truck

from previous inspections,

we somehow managed to get there in time.

Afterwards, the case of Barry the Chopper became famous,

and it would go down as Brother's first distinguished achievement.

Brother...

The Philosopher's Stone might really exist.

But in order to search for it,

you have to be certified as a State Alchemist.

Since I don't have a body, I can't really feel the terror you felt.

Thinking you were going to be killed,

I'm sure it must have been lonely and painful.

Sure, I want my old body back, to be human again.

We will find the Philosopher's Stone.

Even if it means going against the world. Even if it seems impossible.

After almost getting killed, I realized something.

All I could do was scream.

My mind just went completely blank.

I didn't even think that someone would save me.

In spite of our abilities,

we'll have our hands full just trying to get our bodies back.

To that end, whether it means being a dog of the military

or being cursed as the devil, I don't care anymore.

But we're not devils, much less gods.

We're only human!

Tiny, insignificant humans,

who couldn't even save Nina.

A condition, you say?

I will fulfill my duties to the military.

In return, I want information about the Philosopher's Stone.

When I have no other duties,

allow me to search for the Philosopher's Stone.

Are you sure you want to be revealed

as someone who committed the sin of human transmutation?

Your brother will be sent to a laboratory

as an extraordinary example of human transmutation.

At least, that's how I would pressure you to keep you in check.

Very well.

But you will report to me everything you find out

about the Philosopher's Stone.

The Führer gave you an official title.

It's quite an ironic one, actually.

"We give the name "Fullmetal" to thee..."

"...Edward Elric, in the name of Führer King Bradley..."

Fullmetal?

State Alchemists are given a silver watch, as well as a second name.

The second name that you will bear is "Fullmetal."

The Fullmetal Alchemist.

I like it. There's a certain edginess to it.

Sure, I'll take up that name.

To celebrate, you're going to treat me to all kinds of delicious things!

Don't you have it backwards?

I fixed your arm, didn't I?

Brother, I heard that the serial killer didn't have anything to do with Nina.

Yes, he seems to have an alibi for that.

Then, I wonder who killed Nina like that.

Fullmetal Alchemist...

EPISODE 9: "Be Thou for the People."

I knew what it would mean to become a State Alchemist

from the very beginning, Al.