We meet again.
I am Xiaomei, the narrator of this story.
The Demon King's Four Shining Stars are needed to restore Edens Zero's powers.
Witch, the stewardess who oversees the ship's defenses,
and Sister, the foulmouthed but talented healer,
were found with relative ease.
The third member, Hermit, was also found.
But I wonder if Shiki and the others will be able to bring her back safely.
Allow me to apologize in advance.
You see, this part of the story will be particularly cruel.
I'm very sorry.
THE SUPER VIRTUAL PLANET
That's Hermit?
Wow! I can't believe we found her so fast!
Correct me if I'm wrong,
but are all four of the Shining Stars women?
Moscoy.
To be precise, they are female model androids.
I'm a cat model!
She's always liked this place.
Since we were passing by, I thought we should check…
Something's odd about her. Get her inside now!
Moscoy!
Is Hermit all right?
She's not moving or talking.
What happened to her?
I don't see any external damage, but there are tons of system errors.
As it currently stands, I can't heal her.
Hermit…
Weisz, can't you fix her?
Don't be ridiculous.
This little girl is one of the Four Shining Stars?
She's an android.
Her looks don't really mean anything.
Moscoy!
Her Ether Reactor and all of her drive systems check out.
Her monitoring and sound functions are also normal.
No viruses were detected either.
This is an abnormal sleep mode.
So what's going on?
In human terms, it means her heart's been damaged.
Her heart?
Do you think something scary happened to her?
Something that made her shut herself off.
Isn't there some way to save her?
We don't have a complete understanding of the concept of a heart.
We don't have a clue on
how to repair an android in this condition.
I've got an idea.
We'll go inside Hermit!
Then we'll repair her broken heart!
Let's see. Where do we even start?
How do we even get inside her?
What? Can't you build a machine to do that, Weisz?
No, I can't!
Does the heart refer to an actual physical object?
Since she's a machine, that could be possible.
-It could be obvious, like a heart shape. -No. It doesn't exist.
-Jeez. Quit it with your hare-brained-- -But I want to save her!
Her heart's broken! How awful!
Are you going to cry?
No, I'm not!
Shiki cries easier than you'd expect.
I am not crying!
Go inside?
An idea worthy of the Great Demon King!
There may be a way to save Hermit.
You mean dive mode?
Are you saying Hermit's heart is…
Planet Digitalis.
It is very likely that her heart is over there.
Digitalis?
You mean her heart's somewhere else?
This is what we call "dive mode."
Herself or her consciousness has entered a digital world.
-What? -You mean she's been dreaming?
Something like that.
Digitalis is a virtual dimension as well as a real planet.
That planet makes no sense.
It's a planet where the physical body plays no part.
Digitalis is a super virtual planet.
If that's where Hermit's heart is, then let's go save her!
You cannot enter Digitalis in your physical form.
You all must dive as well and take digital forms.
Sounds like an online game.
Digitalis was originally
one of the servers for an MMORPG called Rogue Fantasia.
I heard something happened a few decades ago
and the game was shut down.
That's right. There are always risks in digitizing one's personality.
But in this case, the game's NPCs developed minds of their own.
The NPCs have their own minds?
As a result, the game's balance was destroyed.
It became impossible to manage and was later abandoned.
Later, the NPCs rewrote the programming
and continued to thrive as if they're actually alive.
So it's a planet of digitized humans.
Why do you think Hermit is there?
She always loved that game.
It's still possible to log in to Digitalis.
Also, I guess you could say that I trust the Great Demon King's instincts.
Right.
I swear we'll save her!
Wow!
Since Digitalis is a virtual world,
the ship doesn't need to travel there in order to visit it.
However, we cannot provide you with any support whatsoever.
You will be able to use your abilities just as you can in the real world,
but nothing more.
Lastly, I must give you one final warning.
Any damage you take in Digitalis will affect your physical bodies.
If you die in Digitalis…
We know the risks!
Let's go and find Hermit!
Logging in to Digitalis.
You will now dive into the digital world.
We're counting on you.
I wish I could have gone too.
Please customize your avatar.
Who's there?
Please customize your avatar.
Oh, it's just a machine.
Anyway, what's an "avatar"?
What the heck is this?
This is so fun!
Dang! But this isn't the time to fool around!
This is so much fun, I could do this forever!
SUPER VIRTUAL PLANET DIGITALIS
Wow! This is more fantasy-like than I expected!
This place resembles Granbell.
Anyway, what's taking everyone so long?
I bet they can't decide on their avatar customization.
They don't have to be perfect.
Something's coming this way!
Some weirdo is here!
I hope the others get here soon.
Excuse me. May I ask who you are?
Quit bobbling your face!
It's no surprise you do not recognize me.
I am an exiled prince
and a swordsman leading my people in order to restore our homeland.
That is the backstory of I, Homura.
Oops! I said it!
Homura? Why did you choose a male avatar?
Because I could.
So what's this?
I thought I selected "white horse" as my mount,
but it's purple.
It sure looks purple.
It's not even a horse, anyway.
No. According to its description, it's a horse.
It's the great steed that once carried the hero of the holy gems,
Turn-to-Timonium!
That's one crazy name!
And who are you?
It's me, Weisz.
I mean, I'm Weisz, dear.
Why did you choose a female avatar?
Because I could.
I mean, look!
I can feel them all I want!
What a creep.
And I can take baths with other women!
You're still a guy inside!
We're in a virtual world,
so live out some of your dreams. You're such a bore.
Agreed.
I have dreams too!
It's me, Pino.
Pino?
You're human!
So cute!
Do I look all right?
Yes! You look great!
Hey! Looks like everyone's here!
After much thought,
-I ended up going with my usual look! -How is that "usual"?
I wanted to look a little stronger.
That's hardly a little!
He does seem strong.
Got it!
This place resembles Granbell,
so I gave myself the hair I had back then.
How nostalgic.
I hope they've all gone back to normal…
Quit crying!
This world was originally a video game.
Since they wanted it as real as possible, there's hardly any HUD.
A head-up display.
It's the stuff that's always on the screen when playing video games.
You usually see it in RPG games.
They don't even show our HP and other stats.
It's hard to get into it.
Maybe I'll fix that.
Don't!
On this planet, we can use our real-world abilities.
Oh, you're right!
However, it's prohibited to rewrite this planet's program!
That means Machina Maker and my EMP are against the rules too.
Understood.
Do you realize there's no point in us being here?
What if we break the rules?
You'll receive a "ban."
You get kicked out of this world and can never come back.
Hey, look!
There's a town nearby!
I bet that's where our adventure begins!
We'll become heroes that'll save Hermit!
But you're the Demon King.
Wow!
It's like a real town!
Right, this is pretty real.
Look!
There's another Turn-to-Timonium over there.
They're apparently called Tantimo for short.
You must be travelers.
Welcome to Drimille, the town of greenery.
-Hey! -He must be an NPC.
They did say the NPCs here are self-aware.
I'm so glad to see that we're getting more players these days.
Players?
People like you.
People who dive here from the outside world are called players.
People like us who live on the planet are called NPCs.
I see.
Of course, we're a little different from your traditional NPCs.
Traditional?
We used to be programmed to always say the exact same thing.
That was a nightmare.
I can only say something else when players have completed achievements.
I'm sorry to hear that.
We're looking for someone.
Do you know anyone named Hermit?
Can't say I do.
But this is a big town. Someone around here might know them.
Why not ask around?
Everyone here loves to talk!
It's like he really is alive.
It's hard to believe that he's made of data.
I bet they've all got hearts too.
What is the matter, Ms. Homura?
If they're that real,
we won't be able to tell the difference between players and NPCs.
It would be easy for one to pretend to be the other.
He said there have been more players lately.
I looked into it and found out there are still a lot of players.
In other words, we may find some players with bad intentions.
We must remain vigilant.
At any rate, let's get info on Hermit.
We'll split up and ask around!
So what did we find out?
Someone may have seen her in a town to the north.
That's all.
That's all we got from all the walking around?
The info doesn't sound reliable.
At any rate, we head north tomorrow!
I'm going to sleep now.
What? We're not logging out?
One night should be fine.
Oh, Rebecca!
How about taking a bath together?
You're creeping me out.
THE TOWN OF CRYSTA
Welcome to the Traveler's Inn! Will you be staying the night?
I want a woman.
This isn't that kind of establishment!
You've got a new woman here, don't you?
Stop! Attacking NPCs is against the rules!
I can kill NPCs and never get banned.
I'm a chosen player.
Hermit…
What possibly could have happened to make you close off your heart?
Witch.
I found some strange data that crept into our circuits.
Are we being hacked?
Moscoy?
Edens Zero's security should be airtight.
It's only airtight when Hermit's around.
I don't know what they're after,
but this could hurt us.
It might even affect our comrades on Digitalis.
This kind of scenery is really pretty nice.
It totally feels like you're in a fantasy world!
I am surprised that taste and smell work in a virtual world.
That shows how real it is made to seem.
All we need now is some monster to block our path.
Oh, my god!
You jinxed us!
There it is!
We had these in Granbell too!
Although they were bots.
But there were no guests, so they were never put to use.
The ones in here must be really happy!
Wait. I can beat it up, right?
Sure, why not?
Here goes!
Wait-eth, good travelers!
It talked!
I am not a bad monster-eth!
"Eth"?
No, wait-eth a second.
I am an event boss, so I guess-eth I am considered a bad guy.
What?
In Crysta, the town north of here,
you can activate-eth a quest called "The Town's Great Treasure was Stolen."
Adventurers search for the treasure and enter the cave where I dwell-eth.
But in reality,
it's a touching story of how I had been using-eth the treasure
to protect the townsfolk!
Oh, no! I'm giving away spoilers!
It's okay. We couldn't care less.
Now he's sulking.
But I really don't care about it.
Then what is an event boss like you doing here?
Right! The town to the north, Crysta, is in huge-eth trouble!
I heard rumors, but didn't know-eth he really exists!
Who?
Jamilov, the Mass Murderer! He has appeared-eth in Crysta!
Mass Murderer?
What an ominous nickname.
He kills everyone, regardless of players or NPCs.
He's unbelievably evil-eth.
Is he a player too?
But since he attacks NPCs, shouldn't he be banned?
Yes, but for some reason, he doesn't get banned.
Because of him, Crysta is now-eth in a disastrous state.
All the players and NPCs have been killed
and the event flags are a mess.
I had to flee-eth for my life.
We're looking for a girl named Hermit in the town to the north.
Do you know her?
Hermit? Maybe that's the player who stares off into space.
You know her?
I've often seen her sitting-eth in a daze on a hill outside of town.
She never attempts-eth to complete any of the events either.
I knew it! Hermit really is here!
Thank you very much, Mr. Monster!
If there's some weirdo on the loose, we'd better hurry.
Aye!
You're going-eth to Crysta?
We're going to find our comrade!
It doesn't matter where they are!
This place is in bad shape.
I don't see anyone around here.
No.
There's someone over there.
Welcome to Crysta, the city of beautiful crystals.
Welcome
to Crysta, the city of beautiful crystals.
Welcome--
These NPCs are total crap.
Ultimately, you can still tell they're just programs!
They're crap!
Players are the only ones worth hunting.
Right…
My player friends?
Could this be that guy?
The Mass Murderer?
Would you believe this?
I heard there were some new players in Digitalis.
I thought I'd go say hello, but I went to the wrong town.
It totally sucked!
The inn I went to had a party of hulking, gorilla veteran players staying there.
I've got no interest in gorillas or dudes.
It was total crap.
So have a look over there.
Up there.
Look!
Help…
He's still alive!
Damn!
You can't save them.
My powers keep them from logging out.
Even if they could log out, they can't be saved in the real world.
Fiend!
If I let them log out, I won't be able to see their last moments!
That would be crap!
He died.
Now then, I haven't introduced myself.
I am Jamilov, a chosen player.
I'm a winner in real life too. I work with Drakken Joe.
Drakken Joe?
You know him?
He's one of the six members of the Oración Seis Galáctica,
warriors said to be capable of destroying planets.
You're kidding!
Scared? I bet you are!
I love it when a woman looks scared!
I don't care who you work with.
You won't get away with this!
Ziggy…
You're a liar.
Even if machines do have hearts,
humans don't.
THE GIRL ON THE HILL
Subtitle translation by: Brian Athey