Who are you?
Who, me?
Let me think...
I am time.
Time that has been building up like sediment since days long past...
...in this world that is like the bottom of a valley.
That is me.
I feel like it'll disappear...
...the instant I look away.
I just kept counting...
...all the many traces of loneliness...
...that I'd vomited up.
In this time that seems so dry,
...my heart is thrashing around and drowning.
It takes those lies that make my head spin...
...and tears them to pieces.
And the place I lose my way in...
...is a dim, hazy world.
It's the emblem of a Witch, all right.
You know what it is?
The Salem Witch trials... You've heard of them, I assume?
As I recall, that's where many women were put to death...
...in the eastern United States after being accused of witchcraft, right?
That happened almost 400 years ago, right?
It happened in the 17th Century.
This emblem was carved into their bodies to mark them as Witches.
Whatever it is, somebody's been sending it into the office computer since late last night.
We started looking into it, and found it was coming from Robin's terminal.
Robin's?
Yes. Michael is doing a detailed examination right now,
...but for now, there doesn't seem to be any real damage to the system.
Where is Robin?
You don't know either, Amon?
I just got a call from Touko a while ago.
Apparently, Robin didn't come home last night.
A Salem Witch...
So, you finally figured it out.
You're lying. That can't be true.
A lie?
The Salem Witches were executed 400 years ago...
So how could...
How could one of those Witches still be alive?
The thing about time is that it doesn't always flow the same way.
It can sometimes be like a deep, stagnant pool...
For certain people, that is.
Don't you think she's just skipping work?
She's not you. She wouldn't do something like that.
Just as I thought, Robin isn't answering.
The Master says she hasn't been to Harry's, either.
Then she ran away.
Like I said, she's not you!
No offense, but if you've got all this time to shoot the breeze,
...maybe you could go out and find Robin.
Even if that emblem didn't come from Robin, there has to be some connection.
Sheesh, Michael is sure in a bad mood.
Can you blame him?
Somebody breached that little security system that he's so proud of.
So what you're saying is, this message wasn't from her?
Robin's terminal is merely a relay point.
I believe that someone from the outside is using Robin's terminal...
...as a foothold to hack into the STN-J's system.
Why? Just to send this Scarlet Letter to us like some kind of riddle?
We still don't know what the intruder's intentions are.
By the way, when did the intrusions start?
The first trace of an intrusion was a week ago.
A week ago...
That means something?
That was the day we hunted Narumi, wasn't it?
Yes, but Narumi ought to be in Factory custody.
Yes, but what if other Witches were involved in that case?
I hear that Narumi hadn't shown much in the way of powers until just recently.
At the very least, he hadn't been flagged by the STN.
Which leaves us with a Witch who channels someone else's powers, or a...
In any case, continue trying to pinpoint the intruder.
I have some ideas along those Salem lines, so I'll do some checking of my own.
You're getting involved personally, Administrator?
There's something about this that bothers me.
You say that I am not real.
However, can you say that you yourself are real?
You, who gives aid to the Confraria even though you are a Witch.
No, l...
If you are not, how do you explain that power of yours?
Are you saying that it isn't Witchcraft?
In the end, are you, too, nothing but an offspring of Saturn?
Saturn?
Go to the Walled City and wait, huh?
What's the point?
Is he saying that Robin's over there?
Beats me. I'm sure Amon has something in mind, though.
Anyway, let's get over there and stand by.
Yeah, but my point is... Stand by for what?
Do you know when the last Witch hunts were held?
England, 1717...
France, 1745...
Germany, 1775...
And Poland, 1793.
How may innocents were put to death during those hunts?
Some put the figure at several hundred thousand.
No, there are even some who say that nine million Witches were burned.
Nine million...!
However, the tragedy did not end there.
Those that envied the Witches' power continued their Witch hunt...
...by sinking into the darkest depths of society like pockets of water hidden underground.
That's not true! We only hunt Witches whose hearts have turned to evil!
For more than 300 years, I have been watching.
And for more than 300 years, I have heard those same words.
You still don't seem to believe me.
very well.
I will show you what your kind has been doing all this time.
Your true guise.
Our true guise...
In the name of the mages...
...I call on you, O Loki.
Hey, what's the deal? What's going on here?!
Michael!
Dammit!
How are they getting past my security?!
Hi, Amon.
What's wrong? My communicator isn't working.
We can't use our terminal lines right now.
The terminals are down?
It's that letter again! They hacked in about five minutes ago!
Most of the system is offline!
An attack on the STN-J?
This is the figure of a god, reverentially carved by man at the dawn of time.
Do you understand, o maiden Witch?
The Devil?
No, that's no god!
That's... That's a...
Not a god?
So, you mean to say that it isn't a god, but rather the Devil?
But this IS a god.
In its oldest form.
The first that man knew.
The first god.
Amon, it looks like I'll be able to catch the person who's doing this.
You figured out their point of entry?
Yeah, there was a hole.
I think they're probably getting in through our comm system.
What?!
If you input the right access code, you can access the terminals directly.
That's why the firewall didn't kick in.
Have you found Robin's location?
I've been looking for a while now, but it looks like they've set up traps,
...so it's pretty tough to figure it out.
Try the Walled City.
You have a lead?
I'll explain later. Put a rush on it.
All right.
Yes... Robin's scooter is here.
Looks like she's here, all right.
I see... I'll meet up with you.
Don't go inside. Wait right there.
Roger.
The Devil!
No! The Devil fell from Heaven because he let his desires consume him.
That's why God...
How can you say for certain that it was the Devil who fell?
On the contrary, it was the one called "God"...
...who committed the atrocities that are recorded in history.
He had to, to save humanity from their misguided ways...
For our salvation? That's not true.
It wasn't out of such a simple sentiment.
What really moved the gods to act was jealousy.
Jealousy and terror towards their fellow gods who wield great power.
Those two emotions spurred the gods onwards,
...leading them to annihilate those who were once their own kind.
Yes, all the while calling those who shared their blood "fallen gods"...Witches.
That can't be!
Then, why did they take advantage of mankind's mistrust?
Why did they sow feelings of suspicion...
...and send completely innocent people to the stake?
I think you know why.
I do?
Because you, too, carry the blood of the countless people who died at the stake.
That's right. You carry the same Witch's blood.
Yes, sir. I believe the intruder lured Robin out,
...and used her terminal's personal code to hack into the STN-J's system.
I see.
I've been doing some digging on Salem since you left.
Fairly accurate information about those events...
...is still extant in Witch circles.
You've heard of the Methuselah Witch, I assume?
The immortal clan, you mean?
That's right.
They may actually exist.
Knowledge that dates back a few centuries alone...
...can become a powerful weapon.
A weapon?
Even if they don't have powers of their own,
...it's possible that they use their vast knowledge to control other Witches.
What's wrong?
It's just that I remember Sakaki telling me...
...that Narumi suddenly lost his powers during that last hunt.
Find Robin as quickly as possible.
She may find the truth there.
Understood.
This is the final prayer of a girl who is about to be condemned to the stake.
Those who hunt their own shadow...
...will be eventually destroyed by that same shadow.
I've been...
...hunting my...
...own shadow?
The truth always has two faces.
Amon?!
Witches must be hunted.
No! I'm not a Witch!
No? What makes you different?
My Craft is used to hunt Witches...
That is why you have burned Witches alive? In the flames of the stake?
No... That can't be true...
It's the same as it was 400 years ago.
This history of suffering has yet to end.
It continues even now.
No, your people MAKE it continue.
You carry the same Witches' blood...
Witches must be hunted.
Amon...
Amon!
I can now put an end to it at last.
So long... So very long...
400 years of knowledge...
All one needs to probe the arcana of the Craft...
What?
That's...
This is the Craft's...
Methuselah.
A Witch given the task of living eternally.
The only thing that can bring death to its immortal soul...
...is a fire that will completely burn away its body.
That's why she used me?
To put an end to eternity?
It may be that the act of burning Witches at the stake...
...is somehow tied in with distant memories of the Methuselah.
Memories like that are too sad...
Hey.
Have you figured out what the Witch was after?
No sign of it at all.
It looks like she used the system just to get a message to Robin.
To Robin?
Yeah.
Information about Robin's own powers, at that.
Saturn, huh...?
What's that?
Greek mythology.
He was obsessed with the thought that one of his children would overthrow him one day.
As the myth goes, in the end, he killed his children and ate their flesh.
His own children?
Those were apparently the Witch's last words to Robin.
The Witch said that?
Recovered a relic that is possibly related to the secret of the Craft.
Standing by for further instructions.
Just how far back do I need to go?
Tell me.
It's all so vivid that it hurts.
The truth is, nothing can be shared,
...so I never looked back.
...all those promises...
...inside me eventually...
...gave up on that light from some other time,
...like the light of a morning you can't return to.