When the hell’re you gonna let us out?

Yeah, yeah, you said that already! I’m askin’ when that’s gonna happen!

What? You wanna say that again?

Quit yappin’ like a dog and shut your cake hole.

Huh? Who the hell said--

......! K-Kaido...? I-I’m sorry, man!

...Hmph.

Kaido...? Like, Kaido of the Shibuya Daemons...?

You know him, Atsuro...? Ugh... more ”daemons”...

That’s the absolute last thing I want to hear about now...

C’mon, Yoohoo. They’re not quite the same thing. A daemon is a guardian spirit.

The Shibuya Daemons are one of the more charismatic punk gangs. Kaido’s their leader.

They’re really famous in Shibuya.

Hey, good idea! You’re really on the ball, Nickname!

I get it... Even if he doesn’t know, maybe one of his flunkies will!

Kaido IS known for treating his people well... Yeah, let’s go talk to him!

Huh? Who’re you guys?

Cool. I’m Kaido. You guys need somethin’?

That all you wanted?

(Wh-What? Me?)

Look, you’re the ones who stopped me.

Quit freakin’ out over every little thing. It gets on my nerves...

Oh, sorry! Well... We have something to ask you...

Yeah? It better be simple.

Yeah, of course! Um... do you know any hidden exits from the Yamanote circle area?

If I did, I’da used it already. We’re havin’ trouble gettin’ through the central ward.

*sigh* I had a feeling you’d say that...

Everyone’s in the same boat here... If that’s all, I’m gonna get going.

Huh...? No need to be so formal, man.

Alright, be seein’ ya.

How’d it go, Nickname? Were you able to see what the death clock said about Kaido?

Six days? I-It was that short? That means he has less than a week, right...?

Don’t be ridiculous, it was just a coincidence. Six days is better than our time...

Y-Yeah, but...

Look... I know it really sucks to be told you’re going to die today.

But you gotta try harder. We’re counting on you, okay?

Sorry... Didn’t mean to bring you down like that.

C’mon, let’s get going! We’ll find a way out and change our fate!

Y-Yeah...! Let’s go, Nickname!

Huh? Naoya? Who’s he?

He’s Nickname’s cousin. We don’t know where he is...

Well... Things are pretty bad around here, so I’ll help you look. Got a photo or anything?

This is the guy, huh...? Send me the pic over IR.

Cool, got it. Alright, once the cells come back on, I’ll spread it around my crew.

Hey Atsuro, how do you know so much about tech stuff?

Hm? Didn’t I tell you before?

Both my parents are engineers. They work in Silicon Valley.

They always ask me if I want to come along, but I never do... My English is too bad.

But I’ve played with computers since I was little. It’s like I grew up in the net.

My parents weren’t around and my friends had cram school, so net friends were all I had...

Nah, when I actually met them, most of ’em turned out to be college students or adults.

They didn’t know online that I was a grade school kid, you know?

They were always surprised I didn’t know stuff... They’d call me Mr. Noob, haha.

But there was one good thing about it...

I could chat with adults and they’d treat me as an equal. Anonymity had its upside.

Fun or not, it’s all I had. Though... it was fun...

Even a grade school kid like me was on equal footing with the adults, you know?

I guess that’s the upside of being anonymous... Most of the people I knew were adults.

It was great back then... Not as convenient as now, sure, but nothing bad happened.

Hey, Yoohoo! How come we never talk about boring stuff? Tell us about your family...

Hey moron, try calling my family ”boring” one more time...

Uh--I--Sorry! It was just a slip of the tongue!

Eh, it’s fine... It’s not like it really matters all that much.

It’s just an ordinary family. But my parents never got along at all...

So they got divorced last year. I’ve been living with my mom.

But even after leaving my dad, my mom seems a lot touchier... She fusses over nothing!

I know it’s tough to take care of me by herself, but she’s getting on my nerves.

...She and I hardly ever talk anymore.

A jerk who supported us or the tense freedom we have now... it’s hard to say.

Don’t talk like I’m running from it all! I’m trying to avoid a bad situation!

Though... I guess that’s the same thing as running away...

...... I’ll think about it some more. Thanks, Nickname.

Oh, morning Nickname. Did you get some sleep...?

That girl was right. Some demon-looking things passed by, but they didn’t notice us.

Yeah... I saw ’em too. B-But now that the sun’s out, we can get out of here, right?

Ugh... Why do you have to go and say stuff like that, you idiot?

Cool! I’m glad I didn’t have to spend the night alone, though. It was pretty freaky.

Hahaha, yeah. I hope that’s the last time I ever have to sleep in a cemetery!

But the lights never came back on... Hard to tell in daylight, but there’s still a blackout.

Yeah... I still don’t have any cell reception. So... none of that was a dream...

Huh, that was the COMP’s email beep. Wonder who it’s from...

G-Guess we should read it...

A-A death clock...? What’s up with that? So we can see how long people have left to live?

Hey, Nickname... Didn’t you say before that you could see a number over our heads...?

Who cares about the email? Don’t dodge the question! You saw the number, right?

Well...? What was it? Hey! How many days do I have?

...It’s 0, isn’t it?

Yesterday, you said... The number was 1.

Which means... our number right now... it’s 0, isn’t it?

Ha... Haha... Oh man... I’m gonna die today?

...Why won’t you tell us? Ha... Haha... Oh man... I’m gonna die today?

That’s it. I’ve had enough! This stupid conversation is over!

C’mon, let’s go. This is all some big hoax... Let’s hurry back home!

Um... you’re assuming the trains are working...

......! Wh-What do you mean?

......! Wh-What do you mean?

Calm down, Yoohoo. I checked the other email. Don’t you remember what it said?

”All stations are locked down.” If that’s true, we won’t be able to use the trains.

B-But...! How can we know for sure unless we go? The email might be wrong about that!

Yeah, I’m with you. No sense in griping about it here. Let’s check the nearest station!

God, please let Shibuya Station be open...!

Hey, you guys! Look...!

What the hell...? What happened here?

What a mess... Did all this happen just because we had a blackout for one night?

Sorry, guys... I don’t think this is because of the blackout.

Huh? What do you mean?

Huh? What do you mean?

Headlights aren’t hooked up to the power grid. Accidents this bad wouldn’t have happened...

Then... It really is because demons are in Tokyo...?

There’s no proof, but that’d be my guess.

Let’s hurry... We’re almost to Shibuya.

All the rail lines...? Then how are we supposed to get outside the Yamanote circle?

Hey, what’s going on here? I demand a full explanation for this!

Damn... not only aren’t the trains working, we can’t even get near the station...!

Was that stuff about the gas leak true? You think this is because of the demons, too...?

I don’t know... Seemed to me like the Self-Defense Force guys were just lying.

I agree...

Huh?

You think they put up all these barricades and blocked in the entire area overnight?

No... It looks to me like all this was prepared way in advance...

W-Wait, you mean...?

Yeah... There’s something else going on here that we don’t know about.

Damn... Everything that email said is coming true. At this rate, we’re gonna...!

A way out...? Hey... Yeah, that might work!

The Laplace Mail and the death clock both work on what’s most likely to happen, right?

Naoya’s email said the number changes based on what we do!

So let’s do something! We’ll prove both the email and the death clock wrong!

Haha... I’m surprised to hear that coming from you, Yoohoo.

You mean change how long we have on the death clock...? Good idea, Nickname!

Naoya’s email said the number changes based on what we do!

So let’s do something about all this!

That Laplace Mail stuff about not escaping the Yamanote area and us going to die today...

Let’s prove it wrong!

Haha... I’m surprised to hear that from you, Nickname.

The death clock and the Laplace Mails do run on the same predictive algorithm...

Which means the death clock uses what the Laplace Mail says to calculate a number.

Its probability ratio is pretty high... The underlying process must be real complicated.

H-Hey, slow down, whiz kid. You’re getting a little ahead of us non-eggheads...

Oh, sorry. It’s an important point, though, so listen...

With an algorithm this complex, one mistake could cause a very large error.

Which means... if we make sure the things the Laplace Mail predicts don’t come true...

Its predictions become useless, affecting the death clock’s readout!

......!

Does that mean... We don’t have to die today?

So we have a chance!

It’s not certain that the results will be thrown off, mind you...

But it’s probably safe to assume that we can change the outcome.

Whaaaat?

Pretty sharp, Nickname! It’s true that in rare cases, the outcome will be the same.

But the likelihood of that is low. It’s safe to assume we can change the outcome.

Uh... Is this really possible?

Haha, what’s the matter, Yoohoo? This was your idea.

Huh? But... I didn’t know all that stuff you were talking about...!

Haha, there’s the Yoohoo we know. Don’t sweat it, okay?

Alright! Let’s do whatever we can to find a way out of this lockdown!

As long as we prevent what’s predicted in those emails, we can beat the death clock!

Yeah! C’mon, let’s go!

Even if the area inside the Yamanote line is locked down, there must be a secret exit!

Right! But we’ll have to be careful of the police and the Self-Defense Force...

Huh? Why...?

He’s right. The SDF guy at the station said they were looking into the explosion.

If they happen to detain us, they might take away our COMPs...

Nickname is right.

If they get suspicious and interrogate us, they’ll take away our COMPs.

There’s a lot of strange stuff going on... I’m sure the police are questioning people.

Remember how the SDF guy at the station said they were looking into the explosion?

Oh yeah... Okay, then. We’ll be extra careful.

*sigh* This place is no good either. There were SDF guards all the way to Ikebukuro...

I’m exhausted from all this walking... I can feel the sweat pooling in my shoes.

Better sweaty than dead.

What the...? You don’t have to say it like that!

...Sorry. I’m getting a little nervous...

It’s okay. I’m sorry I snapped back. Let’s decide what we’re going to do from here.

Yeah, good idea.

Hey... Are we really trapped in the Yamanote circle area?

Are we going to die just like that email said...?

Yeah... The west side might be sealed, but there’s still the east. Let’s keep at it!

Just like that, huh? We’re going to die today! We can’t sit around and wait that long!

Yeah... The west side might be sealed, but there’s still the east. Let’s keep at it!

Hey... Did you notice we’re fighting stronger demons than we did yesterday?

If this keeps up, I’m worried we’ll get in over our heads before long...

You might be right...

Nickname, why don’t we try that auction Naoya wrote us about when we get a chance?

Incoming email... Let’s have a look.

*sigh* I really don’t get what Naoya’s up to.

He got us into this mess, but he’s still doing everything he can to help us...

You got that right...

If he cares that much, he shoulda made sure we weren’t in the lockdown to begin with.

I guess no one expects the city to be locked down when they wake up in the morning...

Maybe not even Naoya saw it coming.

It seems like he was in a hurry to make this new function, too...

Yeah, that’s for sure.

Either he can’t tell us or the time’s not right yet. No way for us to know...

Yeah...

Hey, those Skill things come in pretty handy, don’t they?

If that function can get us more of those, that’ll be a huge help!

It might even increase our chances of survival...!

That Skill Crack thing? Only someone who knew about demons could program that in...

I wonder just how much Naoya knows about demons.

Yeah, I guess that’d be the best way, huh?

Yeah... Let’s find Naoya. We need to get information straight from the source.

Put it on the list of things to ask him when we find him.

Though we have to do something about the number on the death clock first...

Yeah. We’ll have to use every trick in the book to survive that long...

Man... Omotesando...

I could never have imagined something like this when I came out here yesterday.

Hey, look...!

Hm...? Is that Yuzu? You used to go to Haru’s shows, didn’t you?

Yes, I’m Yuzu Tanikawa. I’m surprised you remember me, Gin!

Heh. A man in my line of work has to have a good memory for names and faces.

Ahaha! Sounds like a tough job! Oh, um...

Oh, you remember that street performance we saw earlier? That was Haru.

Gin’s kind of Haru’s guardian. I met him at a show, and we’ve spoken a couple times since.

Oh, there’s this indie singer I really like named Haru.

Gin’s kind of Haru’s guardian. I met him at a show, and we’ve spoken a couple times since.

Gin always watches out for people, so everyone tends to consider him a big brother.

You flatter me, Yuzu. So are these two your friends? We haven’t met, right?

Oh, sorry! Feel free to introduce yourselves, guys.

I’m Atsuro Kihara. Nice to meet you.

Wha...?

Cut that out! What’re you saying, Nickname? That’s not...!

U-Uhhh, Gin, this is Name Surname. Arrrrgh...!

Heh, don’t worry, I get it. Take it nice and easy, Yuzu.

The name’s Eiji, but everyone calls me Gin. I run a bar over that way.

I’m in a real fix. Everything from the ice to the fruits in the fridge are wiped out.

Well, no sense crying over spoiled milk. Just gotta wait for the power to come back.

You been here long? Bet you’ve been out since the blackout... Heh. What a sorry situation.

Hurry home and let your folks know you’re safe, okay?

Uh, about that...

What? The station’s locked down and no one’s getting through? Are you pulling my leg...?

Hm... the bar TV’s busted and my cell’s dead, too. Looks like we’re all in the dark...

Man... What’s going on?

Your cell doesn’t work either? That’s been a huge problem for us, too!

Well... sitting here won’t get us home, so we’re thinking of looking for a way out.

Sounds like a big deal. But if the government’s on the job, this should blow over soon.

I hope you’re right...

Just you watch, it’ll be over by nightfall. I’m going to go catch some Zs at the bar...

If you need help with anything, just give me a holler.

Okay! Thanks a ton, Gin!

Hey, Nickname... What did the death clock say about Gin?

6? Why? I-Is Gin going to die in six days...?

But this is... This is insane!

I see...

I hoped if we stayed close to people with high numbers, we’d have better odds of survival.

C’mon, Nickname, we’re counting on you. We can’t see what the death clock says...

If we stay close to people with high numbers, we might have better odds of survival.

I get it... People without a number are likely to live for a while. They might help us.

We can’t know for sure, but we should do everything we can to increase our odds of survival!

We can’t know for sure, but we should do everything we can to increase our odds of survival!

It’s so hot... wish the buses or taxis were working. I’m getting all sweaty...

Is Atsuro still not back yet?

No good. All the roads under the rail bridge have been blockaded by the SDF.

It’s just like they said. Everything inside the Yamanote line is locked down.

No argument here.

Haha, maybe so...

Huh...? Is that Keisuke?

What the... Atsuro?

I thought I recognized you, Keisuke! Long time no see!

Keisuke helped me out big time in middle school. I wouldn’t be here without this guy!

I-I wouldn’t go that far...

Atsuro...! No, all of you! Your number...

Huh? Did you just say--?

N-Never mind! I have to get going!

What’s up with him...?

Flaky? I guess... He didn’t used to be like that, though.

What? So that guy ran away because he saw the death clock said 0?

That’s horrible...!

Wh-What’re you talking about? Only people with COMPs have access to the death clock!

And Keisuke... Well, he’s not that kind of guy.

What makes you say that?

He always used to stand up for the weaker kids, so they really depended on him.

He saved me a bunch of times, too... If not for him, I’d have been a gofer for three years.

Weird... He seemed pretty shy himself just now.

Yeah, I have no idea.

I lost all contact with him after we got into high school...

By the way, Nickname... Did you remember to check his death clock readout?

1...? Damn it! Keisuke’s gonna die tomorrow, too!

C’mon, Nickname, get with the program!

Huh? Hey, I know that song...!

Sorry about the volume! I’m using a battery-powered amp. Blame it on the blackout!

Here’s hoping my songs get you all out of those Blackout Blues!

Omigosh, it’s Haru!

Awesome! This is just what I needed to cheer me up!

Looks like I’ve got a fan in the crowd! I’m about warmed up now--so here’s one for you!

This is so great! Haru is the best!

Of all the places to see a show from Haru...! That was so cool!

Her singing was pretty good, but is she that famous?

Yeah! Uh, in the indie scene. She’s the same Haru I told you about earlier.

Yeah! Uh, in the indie scene. Her name’s Haru!

She used to be in a band called D-Va, but now she’s gone solo.

Solo? What happened to D-Va?

I don’t really know much about when she was in the band...

I just heard they split up when Aya, one of their members, quit to study music.

Huh... So her name’s Haru? Well, I think you can count me as a fan too!

I know, right? Haru’s so awesome!

Whaaat? No way! You just have to open your ears, Nickname! Give her stuff a chance, okay?

Hahaha...

Well, we’ve rested long enough. We don’t have much time left...

Yeah, we should be focused on surviving. Hm? What’s the matter, Nickname?

That’s what the death clock readout on Haru was...? We have to tell her!

Wait a sec, Yoohoo!

What now?

What would you say? If you tell her straight up, she’ll think you’re crazy!

Ugh... You’re probably right.

Don’t forget, our number is 0 too. We might die today first.

If we don’t do something about that, how are we supposed to help anyone else?

Yeah... Good call.

There’s no use worrying about that until we have a solution to this whole mess.

Right. C’mon, guys. Let’s go...

Seriously, Nickname, what’s wrong?

It’s not nothing! Just spit it out already!

Hey, Nickname! Wasn’t that Naoya?

How can you be so calm? If we don’t hurry, we’re gonna lose him!

Gotcha!

Looks like we can’t get out this way either...

Just like Shibuya and Shinjuku. Has the entire Yamanote line been locked down?

Yeah. We’ve gotta at least find a charger, or we came all this way for nothing!

Yeah... If we give up now, we’ll just be waiting for our death clock to run out.

C’mon, we’ve come all the way here to Akihabara. Let’s find a charger!

Damn... All the stores are closed! At least one’s gotta be open somewhere...!

Wait a sec, is that... Keisuke?

A-Atsuro? Why are all of you here...?

We came looking for something...

Huh? What’s that you’ve got there...?

Hey, that’s a hand-powered charger! The high-capacity version, too!

Alright, out with it, Keisuke! Where can we get one?

...You’re looking for one that’s COMP-compatible, aren’t you?

Yep! We have to charge our COMPs or we’re sunk!

I see... All right. I’ll take you there. This way...

That’s... what you needed, right?

It’s not a problem. We have to help one another when we’re in trouble.

I’m glad I could help.

We sure owe you for this! Thanks, Keisuke!

You people are amazing... I’ve never seen anyone like you.

Huh...?

Your death clock... It used to say 0, but now it’s 2. You changed your fate...

Yes... I, too, have a COMP. It’s most likely the same modded version as yours...

......! The nerve of you, running away when you saw our death clocks!

Yuzu! Cut it out...!

No, it’s all right, Atsuro. It’s true... I ran away from you all...

Keisuke...

By way of apology, I’ll tell you this. Did you meet anyone on your way here...?

Huh? Well... Yeah, we ran into a couple of people...

As of now, no one within the Yamanote circle has more than 6 days to live.

At least no one that I’ve seen...

No one who’ll live longer than 6 days...? What’re you saying?

I’m saying that something is going to happen after those 6 days...

......! Wh-What does that mean? Like what, exactly?

......! Wh-What does that mean? Like what, exactly?

I don’t know for sure. All I can definitely say is this...

Some kind of catastrophe will occur after 6 days. Everyone in the lockdown... will die.

I... I can’t believe this...!

Believe it or don’t, but it’s not a malfunction in the death clock.

I know, because almost none of the SDF guards have any death clock readings at all.

Are you serious? Th-That’d mean...

That seems to be the case. Whatever’s coming will only affect the Yamanote circle.

Once it happens, those of us trapped in the lockdown... We’ll all be annihilated.

It seems so. Whatever’s coming in 6 days will only affect the Yamanote circle.

Once it happens... We’ll all be annihilated.

...Now do you understand? I’m sorry... I have to go.

Haha... You’re too nice. Did you forget how I ran when your death clock said 0?

Well, mine says 1 now, doesn’t it? If I stay with you, I may end up dragging you down.

I don’t know... I thought that since you three were able to change your own fate...

I thought you might be able to avert whatever catastrophe is coming in 6 days, too...

Even if we survive the next 2 days, we’ll all die if the coming disaster isn’t stopped.

And if we can’t... the only way to survive will be to get outside the Yamanote circle.

H-Hey...! Keisuke!

He’s gone... I feel kind of bad for making him say all that...

Nah... That’s how he is.

Something happened to change him, but he’s still looking out for the little guy.

Yeah... Although... I wonder if what he said was true...

How everyone has 6 days left? Given the situation, it’s hard to dismiss it out of hand...

But... What could happen that would kill everyone inside the Yamanote circle?

I dunno...

But it sounds like we’d better keep that in mind, too.

Yeah... If we do find a way out, let’s not keep it to ourselves, okay?

Another email? What now...

First the auction, and now ”fusion”? What’s this about changing to another demon?

I don’t get this! Everything that seemed like common sense is falling apart!

Looks like the ordinary rules just don’t apply when it comes to demons...

But without their powers, we’d have gotten iced by that snowman.

Sure, but it’s the same demons that might kill us, right?

I’m really not sure how I feel about that!

Is Naoya just toying with us?

I don’t think so. He’s been teaching us these things to help us survive...

He probably cooked up this fusion function because he was worried about us.

Yeah, me too. He’s been teaching us these things to help us survive...

He probably cooked up this fusion function because he was worried about us.

”You have to create strong demons, or you won’t be able to stay alive!”

...That’s what he means, right?

You’re asking the wrong guy. But still, this is good for us, isn’t it?

*sigh* We’ll have to work on mastering our COMPs, huh...?

Yeah! Now that’s a plan I can get behind!

Yikes. I’m really not up for that. Let’s work even harder to find a way out!

Awww... How am I supposed to get back home nowww?

(Whoa! Check out the outfit on her! Is she cosplaying as something...?)

Heeeey... You were staring at me just now, weren’t you?

(Oops!)

Oh, you like my costume? I’m cosplaying to show it off, so stare alllll you want!

But the truth is, I’m wearing it ’cause I had an event to go to yesterday.

Heyyy, no need to get all shifty. I’m cosplaying to show it off! Stare all you want!

Though to be honest, I’m really wearing it because there was an event yesterday.

Even so... Didn’t you bring any clothes to change into afterwards?

That’s just ’cause I didn’t think I’d get stuck here like this!

Besides, I didn’t REALLY go all out. It just looks like extra-cool everyday clothes!

Uh... Haha... I guess.

ANYways, do you know how to get home from here? I walked all the way from Shinjuku...

You guys haven’t found a way out yet, have you?

Oh... Okey-doke...

Huhhhh? What’s that supposed to mean?

Ohhh well. If you happen to find a way out, let me know!

I’m Midori Komaki. Nice to meet you!

Man, that was some girl...

What, you didn’t realize...? I thought you of all people would figure it out, Atsuro.

Hey, what’s with the sarcasm?

Wasn’t she that famous camgirl? I think her name’s Dolly or something...

I heard she’s popular even among girls, ’cause she’s not all stuck up.

No way! R-Really? That girl was Dolly?

That went right over my head...! Damn, I should’ve asked for an autograph!

Ugh... I knew mentioning it around Otakuro would be a bad idea...

Otakuro? What’s with that all of a sudden...? What’s wrong with being an otaku!?

Are you sure? If you put your trust in Shomonkai, everything will be taken care of...

Learn when to quit already. I’m telling you, I’ll be fine. Are those ears for show...?

...I see. Well, I’ll leave you be for today.

But should you happen to run into trouble, don’t hesitate to rely on us.

My name is Azuma. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.

Who the hell’d rely on you...?

Hmm? You’re the kids who came to my street show this morning...

Whoa! Do you remember every fan who comes to see you?

Haha, nah, just a coincidence. Though I’ve seen you in the crowd pretty often, huh...?

You’re usually the only one cheering, but you had a couple others with you today.

Though one of them didn’t seem too into my songs... Hahaha!

Come on, Nickname! A chance to see a free Haru show doesn’t come every day!

It’s okay. Everyone has their own tastes, right...?

Trust me, it’s cool. I don’t mind at all.

Oh... By the way, Haru, wasn’t that man just now someone from the Shomonkai?

Who, him? Whatever... He came by and said, ”We’ll help you if you’re ever in trouble.”

If he wants to help, he’ll do something about this blackout. I can’t write like this...

Ahaha... I’m looking forward to hearing what you come up with!

Urrrgh... I’m going through withdrawal...

Atsuro? You sound like you’re about to keel over... What’s wrong?

It’s... Internet withdrawal... A really bad case... I haven’t logged on in days...!

What? How can you even think about that now? You’re such a shut-in!

Laugh all you want... *sigh*

Sheez...

Speaking of the net, a girl in the class next to ours had her bike stolen.

She made a pissed-off post about it on her blog, asking her readers for info...

And what do you know, some guy out there had seen the bike abandoned on the street!

Pretty amazing, huh? Even a stranger might be a friend on the Internet!

Totally. It’s not bad, knowing you have a network of people out there waiting to help.

How so? I guess you could see it that way, but...

If she hadn’t posted, she’d never have gotten it back. I dunno, I think it’s cool.

A bike, huh...? I could use a bike right now. We could just ”borrow” one here...

Think again, Atsuwrong!

Awwww...

Hm...? Oh, it’s you kids. Don’t scare me like that...

Why am I here? Oh, no real reason... Just taking a walk.

It didn’t look like Gin was here for no reason. Why was he staring at the Shomonkai place...?

Is this a theme park? Wow... That brings back memories. My family came here once...

...... No one’s here... It’s usually really crowded.

Hey, Nickname, what’s your favorite ride?

What...? It’s not scary for you? I always get this feeling I’m going to be thrown off...

Ooh, you’re just like me! I love that one!

Huh...? What’s so great about that?

Korakuen in Bunkyo-ku... It’s famous for the theme park and baseball field. Anyways...

Doesn’t it feel a little cooler here?

Yeah, now that you mention it. Is it air conditioned? Maybe it has its own generator...?

I guess, but why would they cool the outside air too? Seems weird...

You got a point... But you won’t hear me complain. At least it’s cool here.

Whew. Now that we beat the heat, I’m getting hungry...

Oh yeah, it’s already lunchtime.

The email? What about it?

What isn’t--

Oh, crap!

Atsuro? What’s wrong?

This is the place the email mentioned... And now is about the right time.

Uh... What?

Remember what the Laplace Mail said? Murder victims of an abominable snowman...

Oh, no... Three victims... And the death clock says 0 for us three...!

Hey, look!

These guys can’t go home either, huh?

But it looks like Shiba Park is one of the bigger refugee shelters around...

There sure are a lot of people here.

It’s placed well for it. Shiba Park was built to completely surround Zojoji...

The park has schools, hotels, and even libraries, so it’s a natural gathering place.

Huh. I guess it doesn’t hurt that it’s easily accessible from Tokyo Tower...

Look at all those people...

There’s nothing any one person can do, so they just hope for the lockdown to lift.

Guess we’re not the only ones having a hard time of things...

Yeah... I hope we can find a way out of the Yamanote circle soon.

Do you all know the story of the Tower of Babel?

Man once attempted to create a gargantuan tower in order to become closer to God...

Their arrogance was punished with an ordeal by which their language was divided.

But through knowledge and technology, man has overcome these linguistic barriers.

The Internet we have today is the embodiment of this triumph!

But now... Man has once again become arrogant, and God has sent us another ordeal!

To withstand this ordeal, man must join hands with one another and stand united!

I implore you all... Stand with the Shomonkai and withstand God’s ordeal!

That’s the Shomonkai founder making a speech over there.

Cross-cultural communication is proof we’ve overcome the Tower of Babel, huh...?

But another ordeal’s coming down the pike? It wasn’t those demons at Aoyama, was it...?

You think so too? I mean, the timing was just too perfect...

Oh. I hope I’m just overthinking this...

Hm? Look... That girl...

This misfortune has struck all the people equally. Everyone here is undergoing hardship.

Let us stay calm and wait. Give generously of your effort and assistance...

That’s the girl from last night! She seemed weird then, but she’s kinda cute, huh?

Thought you’d say that... She seems to be your type.

Whoa, you had me fooled... I could’ve sworn she was your type!

C’mon, you guys... what’s all the whispering about? You two are such goons...

Hello. I’m with the order known as the Shomonkai. Can you spare me a moment?

As you know, advances in technology have created new forms of mass communication.

As these forms take hold, it is vital that we not lose sight of human contact.

We of the Shomonkai aim to reaffirm the miracle of human contact in the modern day.

How good that you agree! Come forth and hear our Founder’s words, I insist!

I see. That is a shame... Please reconsider, if you would. Our Shomonkai is...

You mustn’t be too forceful with your invitations.

Oh! Lady Amane...!

We met yesterday. Allow me to introduce myself formally.

I am Amane Kuzuryu, a maiden of the Shomonkai.

Yes... As a maiden, I am she through whom divine voices both good and evil speak.

Are you not interested? The gods do exist, and it falls to me to hear their words.

Man has, of old, distinguished between supportive gods and rapacious demons...

However, the distinction is academic. At root, gods and demons are both otherworldly.

You can hear their voices... Behold their presences... Can’t you?

Just as I’d expect from one who has mastered a COMP. You can feel them...

You wield a COMP, yet you do not sense their existences...?

I have a question for you three. Where did you acquire those COMPs?

Naoya? He gave these to you? I see... I had thought that may have been the case.

It was we in the Shomonkai who requested that he create that program...

...A certain individual within the Shomonkai commissioned those COMPs.

It isn’t especially difficult to deduce who could have given them to you.

The author of the program loaded onto those COMPs, perhaps...?

In any event, I believe we will see one another again.

If you’ll excuse me, Name Surname... Farewell for now.

You hear that, Nickname?

Yep. Question is, why would they commission something like that?

Why would the Shomonkai want a demon-summoning device?

I wondered that myself. Why would the Shomonkai want a demon-summoning device?

They want to use a demon- summoning program to summon... a god?

It might make sense if that girl’s right, and demons and gods aren’t that different...

But once they summon a god... What then?

Huh...? How should I know?

That stuff the Shomonkai says? How we have to band together, ’cause God’s ordeal is coming?

So they’re going to make sure their own teachings come true? I can’t believe them...!

Hell... Maybe so. If demons pour in at this rate, Tokyo might as well be hell...

But what would be in it for the Shomonkai?

Are you asking me?

Haru! You’re safe!

Yeah... Thanks to you guys. So you can summon demons, too?

U-Um, yeah... But that’s not as surprising as seeing you here!

You were surrounded by all those demons and never so much as screamed...

I’d have been fine by myself if my sequencer hadn’t run out of batteries.

A sequencer’s a device that plays back instrumental data. It’s like a composition tool.

You guys are demon tamers, but not like me... You use a different method.

I summon my demons by singing in sync with the sequencer.

Huh...? You can summon demons too, Haru?

So that’s why you took out that sequencer a second ago...

Did Naoya make your sequencer too, then?

Naoya? Who? No, I borrowed this from someone over six months ago.

Yeah. Aya, the old leader of D-Va, lent it to me...

The batteries are dead, so for now it’s just a useless hunk of junk.

But I still like to have it close by...

Haha! Guess we’re on the same page, then.

But it’d be better if it was working, right? Let’s charge the batteries back up!

Oh... Do you mind if I take a look at the sequencer’s terminal?

Well, I’d like to, but they’re all sold out of that kind at the convenience stores.

Oh... C-Can I have a look at the sequencer’s terminal?

Hm? Uh, sure...?

Damn... It’s no good.

I thought we might’ve been able to use the hand charger to juice it back up.

Well, thanks anyway... Were you worried about me?

Don’t worry. Even if it’s not working, this is still like a security blanket for me...

......? A security blanket...?

Haha! Don’t overthink it.

Oh... Okay...

So you first summoned a demon over six months ago? Man, you’re way ahead of us!

No, the first time it happened was about a month and a half back.

Still, that’s more experience than ours! We just started yesterday!

Yesterday? You’ve come a long way in two days, then... Amazing.

That reminds me... Hey. You there.

Yeah... I thought so. You got this dangerous smell to you.

*chuckle* But I kind of like that about you.

Well, thanks again. I’m gonna get going, but I hope we run into each other again.

Of all people... Who’d have thought she could summon demons, too?

Guess demons have been around Tokyo way before we knew about them.

Yeah... looks like. The guys in Shomonkai seem to have been using demons from way back.

Wait, Nickname! Did you check Haru’s death clock? It said 0 last time, right?

Woo-ha! We really did it! We saved Haru’s life!

Aha! That proves we can change other people’s death clocks too! Isn’t that great?

Of course it is! Right, Nickname?

Hey, yeah! We might be able to up the readout for everyone who’s trapped!

Yeah... Hope at last!

Yeah... So now that we know we can increase the time on the death clock for others...

Let’s keep at it and do the same for everyone trapped in the Yamanote circle!

But I wonder how Haru summons demons using that sequencer instead of a COMP...

What’s the underlying mechanism there?

What do COMPs and the sequencer have in common that lets them summon demons...?

There you go, overthinking things again! Who cares about that right now?

We just saved Haru’s life! That’s good enough for me!

Even so... I’m a little worried that she didn’t seem too thrilled about it.

I hope it’s just part of that cool, disaffected rock star attitude they all have...

...Yeah.

By the way, Nickname... What did Haru say to you?

Ohhh... So it’s a secret? Reaaallllly now...

A dangerous smell...? You? Ohh, reaaallllly now...?

What’s wrong, Nickname? Is something going on over at Bugeikan?

I thought I heard something too... Is that... singing?

Hey... That’s one of Haru’s songs! Let’s go check it out!

Hey... Something’s funny here.

Yeah... I can sense a bunch of ’em nearby.

Demons, huh? What should we do...?

Dunno, but it’s too late now. They’re behind us, too. We’ve got no choice but to fight...

The sun’s already gone down... And we’re no closer to a way out than this morning.

Yeah. It doesn’t seem like the lockdown’s lifting soon, and night’s a bad time to fight.

Let’s hurry and find shelter. You guys have any friends in the Yamanote circle?

Same here. All my best friends live outside the area.

If I could just use my cell, I bet one of my friends could hook us up...

I know what you mean. If I could log on, I could find a place in no time...

Considering the situation, I’d assume nearby schools are in use as evacuation zones.

If we don’t hurry and find one, we’ll have to camp out again... Is that all right?

Well... I’m pretty tired from walking, so I really don’t care where we crash.

I just want to get away from the demons for a while and wipe off all this sweat...

No need to worry about rain, so how about the park? There’ll be people and water there.

Whatever we decide, I’m starving...

We only had bread for lunch... If nothing’s coming in, does that mean we’ll go hungry?

Cool, I’ll help.

Thanks, guys.

It’ll work out...? I didn’t know you were the optimistic type, Nickname...

Man, a lot happened today. Yesterday was a handful, but today was even more packed...

The Laplace Mail, the auction, the Cathedral of Shadows... Whew.

Yeah, those emails aren’t a joke or a threat. They really do describe future events.

No use wondering about that now...

More importantly for us, they’ve all come true.

That’s true... Our death clock did go up after we beat that snowman...

Yeah. If we get another one tomorrow, let’s use it as a guide for what to do.

It seems like demons have been around for quite a while--we just never knew it...

We’re fighting against the demons that appeared, right?

But the only way to beat them is to summon other demons... I dunno, I don’t like it.

I know what you mean, Yoohoo, but you don’t want to die, do you?

I think we’ll have to make do with what we have until we find a better way.

Yeah...

It fuses demons together to make a new demon, right? Sheez, that’s weird...

Yeah... Like, if Yuzu and Nickname merged together and became me...

Wh-What? Joined together? Leave us out of your nightmare fantasies, okay?

Calm down! It’s just an example.

If that happened, would the consciousness inside be mine, Yuzu’s, or Nickname’s...?

Well, they inherit abilities, so it sounds like they have the previous demons’ minds...

So you think I’d have both your memories and Nickname’s?

Weird... Even though it was my idea, I can’t picture at all what that’d be like.

Haha! I guess only a demon would know for sure.

I guess we’ll have to get better with our COMPs... but how long will this go on?

Naoya seemed to think this won’t end anytime soon...

If you’ve noticed, the COMPs have way more functions than they did when we got them.

It’s easier on the user to get used to all the different functions little by little...

Did Naoya think so too? Is that why he’s doing things this way?

That’s usually how they do it in games, too. Start the player off easy, and then...

That’s what I’m saying! Why did he drag us into this? There’s no reason for that!

Huh... You’re right It does seem that way, doesn’t it?

Not cool! There’s no reason for him to drag us into this!

Mmm... I’m sure there’s SOME reason...

Oh yeah? Like what?

Alright, alright... We don’t have to talk about this now.

We’ll ask Naoya himself when we meet up with him.

You’re right... Sorry. Yeah, let’s do that.

Right... These COMPs are our lifelines... We have to be ready for anything.

And we should take turns sleeping, right...?

Yeah, good plan. It’d suck if we got attacked by demons in the middle of the night.

Don’t forget to charge your COMPs while you’re at it. They’re our lifelines.

...I wanna go home...

*sigh* We lost him. Back to square one for us...

Why’d the demons start showing up? What’s with that crazy auction?

The questions keep piling up. We have to find him...

I’d like to give him a piece of my mind, too! It’s his fault we’re in trouble!

Oh, but we shouldn’t forget to look for a way out while we’re at it!

Oh yeah... That might be a better plan.

I agree. If we don’t make it out alive, I’ll be missing out on all my favorite net forums!

*sigh* I guess everyone lives for something...

D-Don’t give me that look...

Hey Nickname, does the death clock still say 0? It hasn’t gone up, has it...?

I had a feeling you’d say that...

We can’t find a way out, the death clock’s stuck on 0, and the hours march on...

Damn it! What’re we supposed to do?

Hm? We’ve got mail...

Who knows? Let’s check it out!

Oh yeah... Something like that came up on the COMP, didn’t it?

So something called a Skill Set Bonus has been added on top of the Macca Bonus...

It’s more to worry about in battle, but if we play our cards right, it could pay off.

You get more Macca if you act effectively according to the situation in battle.

But if you just flail around, you’ll find yourself getting less.

After the total is adjusted at the end of battle, we could strike it rich!

It’s just like Macca Bonus. The amount of Magnetite we get depends on how we fight.

With enough Magnetite, we can teach our demons the skills we’re using...

Basically, it’ll help our demons get stronger, so we gotta try for it!

This is such a guy thing... You better not do anything risky going after this stuff!

Y’know, it just occurred to me... Who’s sending these emails?

You think so? It sounds like someone completely different to me...

Yeah, me neither... It doesn’t sound at all like Naoya.

Naoya might not have written them, but the wording and such should be based on his.

Like robots with AI person- alities... Their code is still written by humans.

These advice emails might be generated by a program that Naoya created.

Like, when you write software for general use, you gotta leave documentation.

The emails are so impersonal because they’re general documentation...

Which means this Demon Summoning Program was always meant for third-party use.

As long as Naoya didn’t program the manual with false info, we can trust what it says.

Hmm... I wonder. You think it was meant for us three...?

Whoooo! We did it! We really did it! We’re still alive...!

Yeah! We kicked that snowman’s tail! We’ll be okay now, right...?

I mean, we were the ones mentioned in the email... But we cheated death!

Hey, yeah! Quick, Nickname! What does the death clock say now?

Huh? Well, it’s 2, but...

W-Wait... It’s up to 2 now?

2 days, huh...? At least we bought some more time.

Let’s use those 2 days to find a way out of the Yamanote circle!

Right! In the next 2 days, we’ll find an exit or die trying!

Right! Two days should be all we need to find a way out!

Yeah! We changed our fate, so finding a way out should be cake!

Oh, one thing, though... I forgot to tell you guys!

Wh-What...? Quit scaring me like that!

Sorry, but I only realized it a moment ago. We’ve got a problem...

Wh-What do you mean, a problem...?

We’re forgetting something important. We absolutely need these COMPs to fight, right?

Huh? Uh, yeah...?

The COMPs run on rechargeable batteries. But there’s a blackout right now...

The battery has to run out sometime... When it does, the COMPs will be useless.

Right. At this rate, it won’t be long before our COMPs are out of juice.

What’re we gonna do? Hey, Nickname!

I know THAT!

Why don’t we try Akihabara? We might be able to find a hand-powered charger there.

And it’s out east, so we can look for a way out of the lockdown while we’re at it.

Why don’t we try going to Akihabara?

We can look for a hand-powered charger and a way out of the lockdown at the same time!

Phew... All done!

Now how could demons have come out of a COMP on their own...?

What I want to know is, why’s there a COMP on the ground here?

Yeah, probably so.

Someone got their hands on an altered COMP and fired it up... Then the demons came.

Huh... So whoever it was...

I’m... guessing they’re not with us anymore.

......

Oh... I guess the demons we summon come from somewhere, huh?

You think there’s a world of demons on the other side of the COMP?

There’s no telling what’s on the other side, but anything’s possible.

This COMP might come in handy later... We should take it with us.

Yeah... You’re right.

By the way, what’s in those COMPs that lets them summon demons?

Oh, I figured that out... It turns out the Demon Summoning Program is a client.

Client...? Can you explain this in regular-people words?

Haha, same ol’ Yoohoo! Okay, let me explain this briefly...

Programs come in two types: Standalone software and networked software.

The networked kind are made up of a host and a client.

The host is just like it sounds. It’s a program that runs on a server.

The client, on the other hand, accesses the server to perform its functions.

Urgh, I still don’t get it... You’re gonna have to explain this to me some more.

Sure, sure.

All the client does is send a request to the server and receive the results.

The server does the actual processing, so even a low-end machine can handle the client.

So... Basically... These COMPs don’t actually do much...

All the real work is done on the server, and the COMP just uses the results from there?

Whoa, you got it! That’s pretty much the gist of it.

It’s a way to let a simple handheld device access very complex functions.

The COMP has good networking routines, so it can let the server handle the load.

Okay... I’m kind of getting it now. So where’s this server thing?

No idea. And there’s no way to look for it now, either.

If I could trace the packets, I might get a fix on it, but not with a normal PC...

If we CAN get to the server, though, we can monkey with the demon program all we want.

In theory, we could summon and dismiss demons at will.

It does, doesn’t it? It’d be a blast!

Uh... I think it’s more important to find a way out first!

C’mon, why do you have to be so boring...?

I think it’s more important that we find a way out first!

Yeah, yeah... I know. Let’s go, Nickname!