Original subtitles

I am a housemaid assigned to this residence.

I remembered it.

In the Shadowman case,

space seemed to distort around the woman that passed by me.

She was the maid we saw at the flat.

At the Shadowman case crime scene.

In the CCTV at the school in the Fox Possession case.

We have her on footage in both cases.

She is Hiruko.

Please don't act so openly.

They'll catch on to you soon.

So it's finally time for a showdown

with the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.

President?

What's wrong? Hey!

There's a new victim in the suicide cases in Otemachi's business district--

There are now four victims as of this month.

Hiruko has claimed responsibility.

Hiruko claims that the successive suicides

are divine retribution towards corrupt businessmen,

and that a yokai called Itsuki possessed them and pushed them to suicide.

The police are investigating any links between Hiruko and the serial suicides.

Diavola pizza.

I've made the salami extra spicy.

Who's he?

I don't know him either.

He's the head of the National Security Secretariat,

Deputy Commissioner Naobi.

He wanted to be present at the briefing for this case.

Sorry for coming unannounced.

This isn't a briefing.

My superiors keep pressuring me, so I'm reluctantly sharing info with AARO.

Well, let's talk as we eat.

Thanks for the meal.

-Thanks for the meal. -Please dig in.

-Is it good? -What do you mean? I haven't even started.

Spicy.

The reason I'm participating this time is because the country

has placed a higher risk rating on Hiruko.

As you all know, Hiruko is involved with the disappearance of five citizens,

in the so-called Spirited Away Case.

Hiruko has declared a desire to change the world using supernatural means.

Afterwards,

Hiruko agitated the public by alluding to being involved in inexplicable cases.

Hiruko's slogan that signifies a reformation of the world,

"New Genesis,"

is seeing wider usage, especially with the youth.

Hiruko's existence has become akin to a social phenomenon.

According to analysts, 96% of citizens are familiar with Hiruko,

these are numbers greater than the prime minister.

Quite popular then.

Could just be some kid that wants attention.

Could be.

But when it comes to the recent suicides in Otemachi,

Hiruko's aim is clear.

From a trading firm dealing in rare metals,

Atsunori Terai.

A senior engineer at a semiconductor company,

Takeru Hoshi.

From a big-name real estate firm

in charge of SEA development projects, Akihiko Akiba.

Lastly, a member of the METI advisory committee

and owner of a company focused on space development,

Yoshinobu Katori.

The victims were all engaged in businesses crucial to the country's advancement.

In the Cabinet, this is being perceived as an act of terrorism

targeting key businessmen in the country.

Terrorism?

It's believed that Hiruko is killing them and passing it off

as suicide by some unknown means.

This must be stopped.

Please have a bite while it's still hot.

Oh, I'm not really--

Mr. Ukino might get upset if you let it get cold.

No, I won't.

Go ahead.

It's good.

I'm glad you like it.

Hiruko claims the four suicides are because of this Itsuki.

Mind sharing your opinion as the expert on this stuff?

As you're all aware,

Itsuki is a yokai that is mentioned in both Chinese and Japanese ancient records.

It possesses people and drives them mad to the point of suicide.

It has been feared since ancient times.

If Hiruko really is a mysterious god,

it wouldn't be strange if it was able to manipulate Itsuki.

A god killing people using yokai? Get real.

What are the chances of them being regular suicides?

They all had happy homes and fulfilling work lives.

Weren't in trouble either.

No motive for suicide.

Results of the autopsies?

Can't just do a forensic autopsy for suicides.

We need family permission to conduct one, but they've all declined.

They all went to the same university.

TEITO UNIVERSITY

Did they know each other?

There were frequent alumni reunions, and they intermingled across departments.

They had each other's contact details,

but there were no signs of any correspondence.

They all have the same point card.

Where's it from?

We're looking into it, but we don't know yet.

It doesn't have the shop's name on it, but maybe it's somewhere in Otemachi?

It says the most recently deceased Yoshinobu Katori had a bruise on his leg.

So none of the others had one?

Probably bumped into something.

Moving on, about the woman that Amano found.

We know anything about her?

Unfortunately not.

The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office is on the lookout,

but there's nothing yet.

And the police?

She might be the one to make the first move.

As long as we pursue the Itsuki case.

People from the police already checked several times, but here you go.

Well, I'm not from the police.

Sorry, we'll make it quick.

Thank you.

There's no one around.

It's undoubtedly a suicide.

The office before the suicide?

He was just working so normally.

To lose her husband so suddenly, Ms. Tsuge must be distressed.

Ms. Tsuge?

Mr. Katori's wife, Ms. Asahi Tsuge. You don't know?

No.

So there's things even you don't know?

Maybe you should study up more.

You sound quite informed.

I'll give you the rundown since you're so uninformed.

Ms. Asahi Tsuge is a former model and a well-known TV commentator nowadays.

They both wanted to keep their surnames so they're not registered,

but some call them closer than spouses, and many people admire their lifestyle.

They both ran their own companies on the same building floor.

They'd get lunch together

and were overall just a really happy couple.

I expect they had haters that didn't like them making money off their private lives.

Yes, they did.

Why are some people so narrow-minded?

This is after he already jumped off.

I know. I'm interested in what happened after.

Ms. Tsuge.

I'm Amano from the MPD. I contacted you earlier.

And you're from the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office?

I am Miyabi Okitama.

Specialist on supernatural events, was it? How unique.

We apologize for disturbing you in your time of loss.

It gets depressing being alone at home.

It's comforting to have people around.

I only realized after he was gone.

My job and social status didn't matter one bit.

Why couldn't I save him?

It's so incredibly agonizing that I can't recover if I stay still.

Your husband…

My apologies. Your partner, was it?

You can refer to him as my husband.

This footage is of your husband just before he jumped.

After opening a drawer, he stumbled down the hallway.

It's difficult to watch, so I'd rather not…

I want you to see what comes after this.

After your husband left, someone came to his desk.

It's you, Ms. Tsuge.

This was a minute after he jumped. What were you doing?

I heard that someone had jumped off, so I was worried and went to check on him.

So you were aware of signs that he was considering suicide?

No, that's not the case.

I was just…

-It was a vague concern. -Vague?

Things like that happen, don't they?

I believe they do.

Let me change my question.

Do you recognize this card?

Mr. Katori had this.

So did the other victims.

I think it's from a bakery.

A bakery?

In Otemachi?

There's a place where food trucks assemble during lunchtime.

I think it belongs to a bakery there.

I understand.

We'll try to verify it.

One last thing.

Hiruko released an online statement.

Was there anything different about your husband?

I don't believe in gods or the occult.

I'm a realist, quite unlike the Hiruko cult fanatics.

I will state only the facts.

A few days before he died, he said to me…

"I ran into Itsuki."

Why did you not say this during the police questioning?

I kept quiet because

saying something so ludicrous would affect my husband's honor.

However, I don't want any more victims.

And it felt like it was okay to tell you.

I'm honored to have earned your trust.

After Tsuge's testimony,

we went and asked the other families again.

As a result, it turns out that Akihiko Akiba,

Atsunori Terai, and Takeru Hoshi,

all told their families they saw Itsuki before their suicides.

All of them?

For Akiba, it was in an underground parking lot.

For Terai, it was in the toilet at work.

For Hoshi, it was at a shopping center.

Could it be that they all really were possessed by Itsuki?

You've sunk to being an occult investigator now?

No, that's not what I meant.

I just wasn't sure how to explain all four of them seeing Itsuki.

This one's gotta be the real deal, right?

-Hey! -Ouch!

My bad.

There's probably something we're missing.

Surely.

They all certainly admitted it quite suddenly.

They all kept quiet to protect the reputation of the deceased.

They reconsidered after hearing Ms. Asahi Tsuge's testimony.

So Ms. Tsuge was the catalyst.

Welcome.

Here you go. Thank you.

Hello.

-Two beef curries. -Two?

Understood.

Thank you for your order.

Please wait just a little.

I'll have a butter roll.

What will you have?

A cream roll.

-And a cream roll, please. -Got it.

That'll be 300 yen.

Thank you.

This is our point card.

Please come again.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Thank you.

The card really is from that shop, then.

Yum, that's so good.

For regular old-fashioned bread.

The taste of the wheat really comes through.

Women these days

are so susceptible to terms like "organic" and "additive-free."

This used to be the norm back then.

Back then? How far back do you even know of?

Thanks for the order!

Mr. Serita.

Here you go.

Your usual coffee and documents.

What kind of documents?

I had CIRO investigate her.

Why go that far? It's just a regular bakery.

Maika Berner.

Came to Japan as a student

to research alternatives to the environmentally damaging palm oil.

Her handmade organic bread is all the rage

with health-conscious businessmen in Otemachi, is what it says.

You read them without permission?

I may not be employed full-time, but I am still a proud member of AARO.

Sounds like she's a good girl full of hopes and dreams.

She's unrelated to the case.

Hello, I need an ambulance.

I'm at the south side of the Otemachi Building.

Yes, a man just fell down.

Consciousness is a 300 on the JCS.

MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE

Mr. Shigeru Totsuka's cause of death was his fall from the building.

The deceased was Shigeru Totsuka,

head of the loan department at Mitsuba Bank.

Finally got to do an autopsy, I see.

Chief Inspector Aranami did his best to convince the family.

Seems like the autopsy results uncovered something unexpected.

There were drugs in his system.

Cocaine, apparently.

And what else?

What else? Like what?

Anything besides illegal drugs.

Nothing so far.

The coroner still has to do a thorough examination.

Were there drugs among his possessions?

The Organized Crime Division is conducting a search of his workplace and home.

Could it be that the reason he jumped off was…

There's a good chance

that drug poisoning affected his mental state, leading to suicide.

What did he have in common with the other four victims?

Same university as the rest.

We'll have to readjust our understanding of the case so far.

Yeah.

All the suicide victims could've been addicts,

and out of fear of being found out,

they might have played along with Hiruko's talk about that Itsuki yokai.

PERSONAL BELONGINGS

After investigating the victims so far,

drugs were detected in the bags and lockers of everyone

besides Yoshinobu Katori.

It's suspected that illicit drugs were circulating

among the businessmen around Otemachi.

OC Division got anything?

Criminal groups based somewhere around Ueno and Yushima

have expanded their drug business to the area around Otemachi.

We've had this intel for some time and were investigating in secret.

The food consulting company that they use as a front

operates a members-only club in Marunouchi.

We suspect this is where the drug trades took place.

Wait, this place--

The alumni of the victims' alma mater hold their alumni reunions at this place.

The OC Division and Division One will team up and seize evidence from the club.

As you all know, Hiruko is involved in this case.

There could be a link between Hiruko and the drug traffickers.

This organization might very well be involved in treason.

Good morning.

What is it now?

The police raided Veritas, a members-only club in Marunouchi.

It was a meeting place for Teito University's alumni

and a suspected hotspot for drug trafficking.

And what about it?

The police came to investigate,

but there were no drugs found in Katori's belongings, were there?

Yes, because you hid them.

You went to his desk back then

in order to retrieve his stash of drugs, didn't you?

Mr. Okitama, you're crossing a line.

In addition, you told the other families about the drug usage of their relatives

and got them to cooperate.

You convinced them to tell the story

that the victims had a run-in with Itsuki before their suicides.

You did it all

to hide your husband's connection to drug trafficking, did you not?

I have nothing to say to you.

Thank you.

About the search at the members-only club, they didn't find any illicit drugs.

It was a total miss.

I expected as much.

There you go acting like you understand everything.

Where do the deals take place, then?

Thanks for your patronage.

Why do you have to order from him every time? You could just buy it here.

I like this coffee.

Plus, I wanted to make an order in person.

Here you go.

I'll deliver just about anything.

Go buy illegal drugs in Otemachi.

What?

This says where and how to get them.

Roger.

Where are they sold?

At the 100% organic bakery.

You don't mean Ms. Maika's shop?

Digital transactions are very common in the Otemachi area.

Most people only carry their smartphones during lunchtime instead of wallets.

That shop also operated mostly on cashless transactions.

And yet there was a cash box with lots of 10,000 yen bills in it.

After paying with their smartphones, the customers

handed over the point card filled with the 10,000 yen bills.

She probably hands over packets containing the drugs by putting them inside the card.

Going by her facial expression,

she's likely being forced into it by some organization.

I'll tell Chief Inspector Aranami to question her--

You're going to snitch again?

-Snitch? I'm a police officer! -Never mind that.

It should be starting soon.

Starting? What is?

The morning news program in which Ms. Tsuge is scheduled to appear.

You'll be on soon.

Do you feel ready?

Yes.

Cut in!

The enigmatic serial suicides in Otemachi have yet to stop.

Everyone's curious as to how they connect to the self-proclaimed god Hiruko.

Today, we have Ms. Asahi Tsuge as a guest commentator through a remote link.

EMERGENCY APPEARANCE

Good morning, Ms. Tsuge.

Good morning.

ASAHI TSUGE

Today,

I've decided to come on because I have something important

to tell you all.

The truth is,

the police are investigating potential drug trafficking

in the Otemachi area.

There is a chance…

that my husband was involved with those dealings.

Which means?

The recent suicides are not the work of a yokai called Itsuki.

Businessmen who had laid hands on drugs…

lost their senses due to hallucinations and committed suicide.

Including my husband.

I sincerely apologize in my husband's stead!

Humans never change.

Ms. Maika might be in danger now.

What?

Ms. Maika might be in danger now.

What?

-Did you get it? -No.

I couldn't.

Some men just came in a car and took Maika Berner with them.

Follow the car.

But they're already gone.

You should be able to do it.

I want you to guide me to that car's location.

Got it.

We'll follow Mr. Serita.

-Can he find them? -Yes, he'll be sure to guide us to them.

There they are.

Hey. Someone's tailing us.

What?

Who the hell are you?

Oh, I'm…

I'm just a delivery guy.

We know you were following us!

Who ordered you?

Oh, no, I just got a regular order from a customer.

-Huh? -You serious?

Hello, I'm the one who employed him.

I told him to go buy illicit drugs,

but the shop owner got abducted, so I told him to follow--

You wanna go, punk?

Please leave!

Cocky bastard!

Ms. Maika!

Ms. Amano!

Get off me!

Ms. Amano!

Ms. Amano.

-Are you hurt? -I'm fine.

-Are you all right? -Yes.

Good thing my backpack is so big.

-Thank you. -No problem.

I'm just glad you're safe.

Went off on your own again, you AARO folk?

She can't see you.

It was an emergency, so we didn't have time to report--

Like you would have otherwise.

What about Ms. Maika?

Two years ago, Maika used to work at a bar.

She was saving up to open a bakery.

That's where she met the banker, Totsuka.

Totsuka took a liking to her dreams,

and gave her funds to start a food truck along with his juniors from university.

The group they formed were the five from the serial suicides.

Maika received the funds and opened her shop.

Totsuka and the rest prepared a spot for her to sell from,

and even helped with sales.

But that was all part of their trap.

Originally, Totsuka and his buddies were in league

with a criminal group that wanted to expand their drug sales

using the Veritas Club in Marunouchi.

But the Organized Crime Division caught on to them,

so they were looking for a new spot to sell from.

The spot they chose was Maika's shop.

Do come again.

Maika refused to sell the packets,

but Totsuka's group had already sold them from the shop,

implicating her in the crime.

It must have been conflicting

to sell artificial chemical products like cocaine alongside 100% organic bread.

It must've been tough.

There's one thing I'm still unsure of.

The people who committed suicide in Otemachi were bonafide junkies,

given that their lockers and bags tested positive for drugs.

But only in Mr. Yoshinobu Katori's case, there were no traces of any drugs.

Why exactly might that be?

I hear you tested negative for drugs,

and were proven to be uninvolved with the drug trafficking.

Yes.

I'm going to be back on TV soon too, thankfully.

It must be tough

for the people working so dutifully in a business-driven place.

They're all struggling with their own demons.

What a very human city it is.

What do you need?

I had the wrong idea.

I thought you were desperate to hide your husband's relation to illicit drugs.

I considered that to be the key to solving this case,

and tried to make you crack.

But then you easily admitted it on TV.

There is a chance…

that my husband was involved with those dealings.

That's when it hit me.

The thing you wanted to hide wasn't the matter with the illicit drugs,

but something more important.

What do you mean?

Ms. Maika gave her testimony.

Mr. Katori did not use illegal drugs.

Mr. Katori was worried about me and tried to help me.

Then he wasn't involved with illicit drugs and was just a good Samaritan, yes?

I'm glad.

Just a good Samaritan?

Do you really believe that?

Would a man of his social standing, having a fulfilling romantic life,

really risk throwing all of that away to help a woman

involved in illegal drug trafficking?

He was a paragon of virtue.

It was affection, not virtue.

Mr. Katori was in love with Ms. Maika.

You gave Mr. Katori the bruise on his leg, didn't you?

He was afraid to go home because of your domestic abuse.

He said so to Ms. Maika.

He was prepared to throw away his current life full of abuse,

and had plans to run away with Ms. Maika to her home country.

That's impossible.

You can't trust a woman who sells drugs!

Mr. Okitama.

With the way you're acting,

you must've been aware of his true feelings.

If it were true,

I wouldn't speak of my husband being an addict on TV.

Not ordinarily, no.

But what about a person capitalizing on her image

of being in a special relationship?

You would do anything to prevent

people knowing you lost your husband to a foreign worker.

That's why you deliberately gave a false account

of your husband's suicide being a result of his drug trafficking and addiction.

The organization behind the drug trafficking

would then try to prevent Ms. Maika from talking.

You hoped for that to happen, did you not?

You have an active imagination.

Then why did my husband commit suicide?

When Mr. Katori opened the drawer, he prepared himself for death.

If not illicit drugs, what else could have been in there?

This is where my active imagination comes in.

Inside the drawer was a message from you, was it not?

WE NEED TO TALK

I have nothing…

more to say to you.

Is that so?

It's a bad habit of humans to try to understand everything.

Goodbye, then.

ANOTHER PERSON ARRESTED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE

Another person has been arrested.

The police will continue their investigation…

It's turned into such a big deal.

The Hiruko fanatics are still making a fuss online.

They say it's weird for successive suicides to happen due to drug use.

That their Lord Hiruko must have delivered punishment onto the corrupt elite.

Ergot alkaloids are the likely cause behind that.

Ergot alkaloids?

The hell is that?

It's a toxin in wheat that's infected by ergot fungi.

When ingested, it causes hallucinations and delirium.

It damages the circulatory system, even causing necrosis of the hands and feet.

In Europe in the Middle Ages, there were many cases of mass poisoning.

Some historians believe that werewolves and witches subjected to the witch trials

were patients suffering from the delirious effects of ergotism.

I suspected the possibility when I heard about the organic bread.

I became certain upon seeing the specks on Mr. Totsuka's fingers.

Ergotism due to the alkaloids

overlapped with the hallucinations due to the illegal drugs,

leading to the baffling series of suicides.

That concludes the findings of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.

Busting out your fancy words again, I see.

Some specks on Totsuka don't confirm anything.

That's right.

This is just speculation, right?

Yes, but do you have any other explanation?

Or does the police think that Hiruko used a yokai

called Itsuki to curse them all to death?

We got the autopsy results for Shigeru Totsuka.

Found anything?

They found a toxin called ergot alkaloid.

-When ingested, it causes halluci-- -Enough.

That's enough. I just heard. I got the idea.

Based on the facts,

we've concluded that the ergot alkaloids present in the bread caused the suicides--

Ergot alkaloids weren't confirmed in anyone except Totsuka.

But there's no other satisfactory explanation.

Our role is to calm things down.

I'm glad we could be of help.

About that woman suspected to be Hiruko, did she appear again?

We haven't confirmed her appearance as of yet.

I see.

Another all-nighter?

Sleep deprivation will disrupt your functioning.

This is Ms. Maika's testimony.

She was thorough in inspecting the wheat,

and claims it was impossible for ergot alkaloids to be in the bread.

If the cause really was her shop's bread,

the only way it could have been mixed in was through the woman she hired part-time.

I checked and the information she gave is full of lies.

And no picture.

I checked the food truck's CCTV camera and got this.

Only the area around her is distorted.

She's Hiruko.

But her identity is still shrouded in mystery, I take it?

Yes.

TOYOTAMA SHRINE

It's in Ningyocho.

It's the Toyotama Shrine.

SPECIALTY NINGYOYAKI

NINGYOYAKI

Excuse me?

-It's nothing. I'm sorry. -I'll be going, then.

Are you…

Oh, well.

Are you…

Hiruko?

Do you believe gods exist?

What?

I'll change my question.

Would you believe it if I said that a god stands before you?

What are you saying?

I am a god.

The only thing I want to know

is whether you are the culprit behind the serial murders, Hiruko.

I'll hear your story at the station.

It's true.

I'm…

Ms. Amano.

There's a bomb threat from Hiruko!

I have the power of clairvoyance.

Hiruko will get rid of you.

There's a bomb here! Please take shelter!

I'm requesting the dispatch of armed combatants.

-Four minutes to detonation! -Please stay quiet!

What do you know about Hiruko?

Subtitle translation by: Saim Ul Hassan