Original subtitles

They're all victims in the Spirited Away Case.

Later, a statement claiming responsibility was posted online.

"I am a pillar of the gods. I am called Hiruko."

Hiruko exists!

I'm telling the truth!

We promptly uncovered the source of the mass faintings.

It's Fox Possession.

- Kon. - You've been quite active lately.

You'll attract attention.

I've just been so godlike.

Let's play! Let's play over there.

Wait!

Quickly!

Okay, this is it.

Ready? Go!

Hey!

A shoe?

That's dangerous.

There's something inside.

I knew it was sugar butter.

So Hiruko might be hiding around here?

Chief Inspector, it's AARO.

Who gave you permission?

Hiruko published a statement, so we're investigating.

Sorry, we received permission from Chief Hikawa.

Ms. Amano, please fill them in.

- What? - Why should we get it from you?

We're returning the favor since we're always on the receiving end.

The part that fell was the left foot.

It's likely been some years since death.

There was an ID card among the items that fell alongside the foot.

Tetsu Manabe,

a researcher from the National Advanced Technology Industry Agency.

Four years ago, he flew a light aircraft towards Iwate Hanamaki Airport.

He went missing midway, along with the plane.

After that…

The materials that fell alongside the foot belong to a light aircraft.

Hold on there. Are you say...

The plane and a part of the body from four years ago just fell from the sky?

That's utterly ridiculous.

I know, right?

Someone must've dropped it from the building.

It might be a Time Hole.

A Time Hole?

I see you still haven't studied up.

It's an interdimensional device

that connects the past and future by distorting space-time.

Dr. Tetsu Manabe was a world-class authority on gravitational theory,

and was well-known as a leading expert on Time Hole research.

It's possible that he entered a Time Hole mid-air using the light aircraft,

crossing space-time to emerge four years later,

and then came falling down from the sky.

Doesn't that sound marvelous?

A Time Hole would also explain how Hiruko's victims were spirited away.

The people that were spirited away have gone…

beyond space and time.

Enough of your nonsense.

My apologies.

One of the victims was an old friend, wasn't she?

- Let's go. - Yes.

WHAT! A FOOT FROM THE SKY?

Analysts say the number of people with a favorable view of Hiruko has increased.

LORD HIRUKO, GOD…

Every era has had people with inclinations for cults and radical ideologies,

but it's reached a peak with the advent of social media.

It's because foolish humans

were given a tool to freely transmit their foolishness.

My apologies.

I didn't mean to denigrate humans.

Prime Minister Tsuruoka is concerned

that AARO keeps getting mobilized since the Hiruko case began.

Please be direct with what you wish to say.

Well, that is…

Hiruko's appearance

happened right as AARO was on the chopping block to reduce expenditures.

It suddenly made AARO's existence much more significant.

Implying that AARO is conspiring with Hiruko to cause these cases?

It goes without saying that I believe in you.

I would never think to doubt any of you.

It would be sinful.

Your trust is most reassuring, Deputy Commissioner Naobi.

We shall hurry and pin down Hiruko.

DNA results confirm that the left foot belongs to Tetsu Manabe.

The aircraft parts also match those of the one that disappeared four years ago.

Considering the building's location and the point of impact,

it could only have been dropped

from the 10th floor or above on the west side.

We investigated the flats that fit the criteria

as well as the surrounding ones,

but we found nothing connected to the body or the aircraft.

Then, did they really just fall from the sky?

Did you look into the hoax allegations?

You knew?

You'd doubt the Time Hole theory if I mentioned it.

What's this about?

Four years ago, NAIA announced that they had succeeded in space-time control,

a necessary step for a Time Hole.

They made waves around the world.

The ones who did the press conference were the team leader, Tetsu Manabe,

and the head researcher, Maki Tsunemi.

In other words, we incorporated negative mass

and negative energy into a Time Hole.

However, a month later, it was discovered that Tsunemi had faked the research data.

Manabe dismissed Tsunemi from the research team

and discontinued the Time Hole research.

Tsunemi was forced to apologize publicly, but she denied falsifying the data.

It's lamentable that I have to leave this research.

Tsunemi left the scene after that declaration.

Manabe's accident…

happened a month later.

And Ms. Tsunemi's whereabouts?

Unknown.

She hasn't contacted her family for the last four years.

She might have entered a Time Hole just like Dr. Manabe.

Maybe she'll fall out of the sky.

Like hell she will.

Manabe was simply murdered.

The forensics team found

trace amounts of potassium nitrate among the fallen objects.

- Potassium nitrate? - It's used to make gunpowder.

This opens up a new possibility.

The accident could have been a premeditated murder using explosives.

So the plane was blown up?

And fell into the ocean.

The ocean?

Seawater and components of seaweed were found in the fallen objects.

It was probably in the ocean at some point.

How would something get from the ocean to the sky?

Hell if I know.

So that's what's going on.

What?

That's all we've got. What about you?

- Us? - Didn't you use CIRO to find stuff out?

So you did!

Dr. Manabe received funding from several corporations,

including an overseas investment consulting firm.

Considering their ties to a certain country's top brass,

they were likely conducting espionage to steal Japan's latest technology.

The research was canceled due to the falsification,

wasting all the investment, and so they resented Manabe.

So there's also a chance that Manabe was murdered by them.

This incident really took me by surprise.

To think that after all this time, they would find his foot.

What kind of research has the lab done since you took over Dr. Manabe's post?

We adapted the computer simulations for gravitational theory

in order to conduct macroeconomic analysis.

It's a much more grounded field of research.

Do you believe a Time Hole is involved in this case, Dr. Katagiri?

There's no such thing as Time Holes.

Please, have a drink.

Were you a part of the Time Hole research too, Ms. Furushou?

- Unfortunately, yes. - Unfortunately?

I had to go through a lot because of Ms. Tsunemi's falsification.

She was close to Dr. Tsunemi,

so the news media wouldn't leave her alone.

Did you have any contact with her afterward?

None.

She's just a stranger to us now.

The police asked us the same question, but none of us know her whereabouts.

Dr. Katagiri, it's for you.

Tell them I have visitors. I'll call them back later.

The thing is, she says she's…

Maki Tsunemi.

Can you put it on speaker mode?

Okay.

Katagiri speaking.

The police must be looking for me, so tell them the following address.

7-22-2, #403, Honmachi, Chuo Ward.

TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA, CHUO WARD

Please come with only the two currently present there.

Wait. How do you know we're here?

It's easy to predict using a Time Hole.

A question for you, Dr. Katagiri. Is Ms. Furushou still a researcher?

Yes. What about it?

Be wary of her.

It was her who leaked the falsified data story to the media.

What?

That's ridiculous.

It's not true!

- Isn't this address… - Indeed.

It's the apartment complex where the foot fell.

I'm Amano from the MPD...

- What are you doing? - Placing an order with Mr. Serita.

- Coffee again? - Yes.

It's one of the lower floors,

and on the opposite side of where the foot fell.

That's why the police didn't discover her during their questioning.

What are you doing now?

Please come in.

Excuse us.

Excuse me, where's Ms. Tsunemi?

She wanted you to wait here a moment.

If you don't mind me asking…

I am a housemaid assigned to this residence.

The mistress will call for you shortly.

I'll take my leave, then.

Where is Ms. Tsunemi?

Most likely inside the room over there.

"Most likely"?

She stays inside all the time. I've never actually met her.

Well then, if you'll excuse me.

It can't be a coincidence that she lives in this building.

She has to be involved in this case somehow.

Hey, what are you doing?

It's illegal to do a search without a warrant!

I'm not the police.

TOYOTAMA SHRINE CHARM

Nice to meet you. I'm Amano from the MPD.

- And he's... - I'm Okitama.

I called you here to ask you something.

Were there traces of explosives among the plane parts that fell?

Sorry, we can't share...

I'll tell you if you show us your lab.

- Her lab? - It's in that room over there.

You're still researching Time Holes, aren't you?

A lab inside a flat?

The energy meter showed preposterous readings.

There's most likely a lab here

that's very out of place for a residential flat.

Isn't that so?

Were there traces of explosives?

Potassium nitrate was detected on the plane parts.

- Mr. Okitama! - So it's just as I thought.

Please follow me.

So cold!

Four years ago, you created a Time Hole through an application

of gravitational theory. Am I right?

Yes.

There's no engineering equipment for implementing one here.

Instead, you have a large number of high-spec gaming consoles

combined into a homemade supercomputer, I see.

The cost of developing a physical Time Hole would be enormous.

There's only so much I can do alone.

So I shifted focus to Time Holes that can send only data.

Only data?

Being able to send text and audio

to people in the past and future, you mean?

Exactly.

Physical contact is impossible,

but you can receive information from the past and future.

If you could predict the future with that,

you could make bank through stocks and gambling.

All I want is to ask Dr. Manabe a question through time and space.

Why did he force me to take the blame for a lie and quit my research back then?

That is the question I want answered most.

Ms. Tsunemi,

do you believe Dr. Manabe is still alive somewhere?

It's not impossible.

The research back then stated that an instantaneous burst

of energy and velocity was required to create a Time Hole.

Meaning that Dr. Manabe wasn't murdered,

but he conducted an experiment using the potassium nitrate for an explosion

and the light aircraft's velocity during its fall to create a Time Hole.

If he had succeeded,

I believe there's a chance he could still be alive in the future.

Did you snitch on us?

You can't just keep us out of the loop!

- Making contact with a suspect before us? - I'm sorry.

And you should travel to us if you want information!

Why do we have to come here...

Has it been established that Dr. Manabe and Ms. Tsunemi were dating?

How did you know?

Their rings.

Ms. Tsunemi had the same ring that Dr. Manabe was wearing.

There used to be gossip in the lab that the two of them were dating.

She readily admitted it when we asked her for confirmation.

Perhaps romantic feelings got in the way of work,

which is why Dr. Manabe removed Ms. Tsunemi from the research.

Maybe Ms. Tsunemi resented him and planted explosives on the aircraft.

Yes.

Understood. I'll head over.

What was that about?

Part of a corpse was found in Minato City.

A right hand this time.

Wait. This hand is…

It's a woman's.

Wait.

I've seen those nails before.

She poured us coffee yesterday.

It's Ms. Furushou from the lab.

It's definitely her.

Fingerprints match.

The coroner said it was severed sometime late last night.

It was wet from seawater and had seaweed clinging to it.

What does that mean?

Did only the hand come out of the ocean?

No idea.

We did a search of the lab

and found potassium nitrate in Furushou's locker.

Does that mean she created the explosive?

One more thing.

Her colleagues say they received a message from Furushou last night.

Only one sentence,

"I found a Time Hole."

She found a Time Hole?

We checked her home computer,

and it looks like she emailed Tsunemi's address to someone yesterday evening.

To whom?

There was no name, but we're looking into the account now.

Let's go.

What's wrong?

The email's recipients are likely spy agents.

Ms. Tsunemi might be a target.

Doctor?

Dr. Manabe?

Please answer if you can hear me.

Dr. Manabe?

Dr. Manabe?

Thank you.

That car.

It was here when we last came.

Stay put.

Ms. Tsunemi?

You must be the spy agents...

Shut it.

It would be prudent to obey.

Mr. Katagiri?

Four years ago, Tsunemi's falsification came to light,

ending the Time Hole research project,

and our clients lost huge sums of investment money.

But in truth, this woman did not falsify the data.

You're wrong!

- She's just a liar. - Then why did you come?

We told you to come if you didn't want Tsunemi to die.

If you chose to come,

it means she's worth enough for you to risk your life.

Which means this woman really can create Time Holes.

Isn't that right?

Answer!

You're right.

Please don't hurt her.

So that's how it is.

Time Holes really do exist.

It was you who murdered Dr. Manabe with the explosives, wasn't it?

The fact that Dr. Manabe fired Ms.Tsunemi and made her take the blame for a lie

was something you could not stomach.

Was he in love with her?

It's nothing so shallow.

It's something he feels as a researcher that's much more pure and intense.

Respect.

Manabe…

secretly continued the research after kicking out Tsunemi.

Then one day, he told me he needed explosives.

That he'd use them to pass through a Time Hole.

Which meant it wasn't a hoax.

He cast aside the brilliant Ms. Tsunemi

and tried to steal the credit for one of humanity's greatest achievements.

He deserved retribution!

That's why I attached a detonator to the explosives on the plane,

and delivered divine justice upon him!

It was also you who killed Ms. Furushou, yes?

She had always been jealous of Ms. Tsunemi's talent.

But I didn't know.

It was her who leaked the falsified data story to the media.

Yes, I did leak it.

She deserved it for currying favor with Dr. Manabe by getting in his pants.

But it did surprise me that he went along with my lie

and kicked Ms. Tsunemi off the team.

Maybe she wasn't useful anymore.

Do you not understand just how grave of a mistake you've made?

You destroyed our dream of creating a Time Hole!

That was certainly a shame,

but it's better than her getting the credit.

And you call yourself a researcher?

You sure you want to get on your high horse?

I saw it, you know?

I saw you creating those explosives.

You killed Dr. Manabe with those, didn't you?

So you did.

The company that was funding Dr. Manabe hired me to sell information to them.

Maybe I'll tell them about what you did.

Deposit part of the research funds into my account if you want me to stay quiet.

I tore up the corpse and threw it in the ocean.

I planted potassium nitrate in her locker,

and sent an email saying, "I found a Time Hole."

I tried to make it look like she was the one behind the explosives

and that she disappeared inside a Time Hole.

I never imagined that her right hand would be found.

How could that have happened? Ms. Tsunemi?

Both Manabe's foot and Ms. Furushou's hand,

were your doing, right?

Tell me.

You used a Time Hole, didn't you?

That's an irrational hypothesis.

I have explosives and a detonator.

I press this button and 33.93kg of gunpowder will explode,

producing 141MJ of energy.

Now, please tell me the truth.

You created a Time Hole, didn't you?

I've been embezzling the research funds into your pockets to support you.

I have the right to be the first one to know.

There's no such priority order.

Tell me!

If you don't answer, I'll press the button.

In order to avoid death, you have no choice but to use a Time Hole.

Let's go beyond space-time together.

Your judgment is beyond clouded.

You should be ashamed to call yourself a researcher.

Wait, how?

Mr. Serita?

Ms. Amano!

I'm so sorry. I'll untie you immediately.

Are you injured anywhere?

- No. - Oh, thank the heavens.

- I'm sorry for frightening you. - It's fine.

We knocked you out with a herbal extract I personally made. It's harmless.

- Who... - I'm Kobiya Suguri.

Call me Koby.

I get employed by AARO every once in a while.

He's basically the same as me.

What's going on?

When we visited Ms. Tsunemi,

I saw a shady-looking group, so I contacted Mr. Serita and Mr. Koby,

asking them to protect Ms. Tsunemi.

As expected, they were hired by the company behind the espionage.

They were tipped off by Ms. Furushou

and tried to abduct Ms. Tsunemi, but the two of them saved her.

It was then that I proposed a plan.

What plan?

We put on an act in order to get a confession out of Mr. Katagiri.

I had you put to sleep in order to prevent you

from snitching to the police again.

As a result, I managed to get his confession as you just saw.

Now please call Chief Inspector Aranami.

What made you suspect Mr. Katagiri in the first place?

The first clue was when he received the call from Ms. Tsunemi.

Chuo Ward…

When she said Chuo Ward, he wrote Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

If he didn't know where she was,

Chuo Ward could also mean any of the ones in Sapporo, Osaka, Fukuoka, or Chiba.

That told me that he already knew where she lived.

Then there's Ms. Tsunemi's abundant research equipment.

How could someone isolated from society procure the funds for it?

It was easy to deduce that Mr. Katagiri was secretly supporting her.

Even before that, the one who benefited the most

from Dr. Manabe's disappearance was his successor, Mr. Katagiri.

At first, I thought he just wanted to move up the ladder.

But seeing his support for Ms. Tsunemi,

it made me think he was staying true to his duty as a scientist.

None of that explains why the foot came flying down.

That was due to the Fafrotskies phenomenon.

- Fa…Fa…Faff... - Fafrotskies.

What even is that?

It refers to when things such as fish,

frogs, blood, coins,

and turtles come falling down from the sky.

The name Fafrotskies is an acronym for "falls from the skies."

In 1989, 800 fish fell in Australia.

In 1981, it was frogs in Greece.

In 1890, it rained blood in Italy.

In 2009, it happened in Japan when tadpoles fell in Ishikawa.

There's such a supernatural phenomenon?

It's not supernatural. It's very much a natural phenomenon.

It might be tornadoes sending things flying,

or things falling out of a cargo aircraft.

But Manabe's foot was in the ocean.

The plane crashed and sank to the seabed.

The foot started rotting and was eaten by small fish and crustaceans,

severing the ankle.

It must have floated to the surface due to the ocean currents in the area.

Then it was picked up by a tornado

and carried by winds until it ultimately fell.

But what are the chances it fell right in front of where Ms. Tsunemi lives?

It's not an impossibility.

- And Furushou's right hand? - Likely also a Fafrotskies phenomenon.

That's not very convincing.

You can't just use fancy words to make it sound plausible.

Do you have any other explanation?

You have no choice but to believe me unless you can offer one.

Or are you saying that the police admits the existence of Time Holes, perhaps?

Given the facts,

the cause behind Mr. Manabe's foot falling from the sky

has been concluded to be a Fafrotskies phenomenon.

It's actually become clear

that Maki Tsunemi did not use any of the money Katagiri sent her.

Then how did she get her research funds?

From investing.

She made enormous returns on a small amount of capital.

You think she used a Time Hole in order to receive information about the future?

What are your thoughts?

She had an eye for investing.

There's one more important detail.

CIRO's investigation revealed

that two months ago, Tsunemi received an email

from someone claiming to be Hiruko.

The contents?

"Do you want to become a new god? You have the qualifications."

Tsunemi ignored it and didn't reply.

A new god, you say?

How dare they!

Four years ago,

after your Time Hole research breakthrough,

the company behind the espionage wanted to monopolize it by abducting you.

Immediately after,

Dr. Manabe publicly announced your falsification and dismissed you.

This is my speculation.

Perhaps Dr. Manabe realized that you were being targeted.

And in order to protect you, he removed you from the team.

Meaning Dr. Manabe cared more about you…

than the Time Hole research.

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

I don't need speculation.

I will get the answer directly from Dr. Manabe.

On my own.

TETSU MANABE ONE UNREAD MESSAGE

THE CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED RIGHT ABOUT NOW

ARE YOU DR. MANABE?

First, let me congratulate you.

The Time Hole from your research was substantiated.

On November 3rd 2032,

the two of us will reunite.

When Katagiri tried to detonate the bomb,

the space around him seemed to distort.

What do you think that was?

I saw no such thing.

Then why did he suddenly gasp in pain?

During questioning, Katagiri claimed he suddenly became unable to breathe.

A result of his unhealthy lifestyle, perhaps?

At such a convenient time?

Then was it the work of Hiruko? Of a god?

It's okay to not understand everything.

Trying to understand everything is hubris, typical for humans.

I'm sorry. Are you two guests?

Oh, you're the housemaid?

There's more than one housemaid here?

What?

More than one?

It was a different woman last time.

That can't be.

I'm the only person assigned to this residence.

Staying up all night is bad for your health, you know?

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.

They happened to be the same person?

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's connected to all three cases.

She is Hiruko.

What a mess.

Want some?

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.

The suicide cases in Otemachi's business district...

A god killing people using yokai? Get real.

Did she appear again?

She might be the one to make the first move.

Are you…

Subtitle translation by: Saim Ul Hassan