Myriad Colors Phantom World (無彩限のファントム・ワールド)

This is the famous Rubin's vase.

Depending on how you see it, it could either be a vase,

or two opposing faces.

The Müller-Lyer illusion.

The two lines are the same length,

but the top one looks longer.

And the checker shadow illusion.

Tiles A and B appear to be different colors,

but when extended so that they overlap,

you see they're actually the same color.

The human brain's cognitive ability

is surprisingly fickle and unreliable, easy to distract.

If, for whatever reason, our brains were to become

permanently altered somehow, then the way we perceive

the world would be vastly different.

Like an alternate universe.

In other words, entities that were previously thought

to be imaginary could appear before us in our reality,

thus blending fact and fiction.

For example, me!

Ever since a large-scale event

over a decade ago, the human brain has undergone

a drastic change.

Reality and fantasy intertwined, and a myriad

of phantasmal beings were released into the world.

There's not enough time for all the details now,

but this is the story of those of us living in such an age.

-- Wake... up... now! -- Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!

-- Wake... up... now! --That hurts! Augh!

Are you crazy? Stop it!

Get your butt out of bed, Haruhiko!

Look!

No way!

Whoa-ah!

Ah-ha--!

Damn it...

There!

Crap, crap, crap! Mai's gonna kill me if I'm late again!

You're so slow, Haruhiko.

Put the books down and maybe play a sport once in a while!

That's none of your business!

It's here!

I'm coming, wait!

I did it! Wait-- No, I didn't!

You're late, Haruhiko!

I'm sorry!

Come on, man! Aren't you done yet?

Hard to draw when he won't stop moving!

Hold on. Why are you dressed like that?

I didn't have time to change.

Yeah, go get him, Mai!

Maybe I'm wrong, but...

...I think that's the same phantom that's

been terrorizing phys ed

and destroying the school flower gardens.

Yeah, it's been super annoying, right?

Come on, Ruru. Why don't you go help them out?

Not a chance! I'd much rather watch than play.

Hey, you guys sure you can handle this?

Maybe you should ask a better team for backup--

you're choking!

No way. I was just getting warmed up.

Now I'm really gonna show you what I'm made of.

Ha-yaah!

Haruhiko, move!

Ugh, why are you so uncoordinated?!

Ah! You know I don't have good reflexes! I can't help it!

Good morning.

Good morning, Kurumi.

Are you over your cold now?

Mm-hmm! What are you guys looking at?

Some high schoolers are fighting a Phantom,

and it's not going very well.

I'm getting nowhere. What else can I try?

That's it!

-- --

Hey, wait! Mai! What are you--?

Run for it!

Got him!

Yeah, way to go, Mai!

Now's your chance, Haruhiko!

Okay!

Hear me, Thrashing Phantom!

Reveal your secrets to the Book of Thoth!

All right!

Haruhiko and Mai are victorious!

So whadaya think now? Not too shabby, huh?

Lame, actually.

Your failures are usually more entertaining.

Well, at least we killed a little time.

Kurumi, we're gonna go. You coming with us?

Wow... That was cool, Albrecht. Don't you think so?

Well, there they go.

Haruhiko, let's finish this stupid thing.

Oh, okay!

Judging by its color, this Phantom's attribute

seems to be fire.

Natural law says water quenches fire, so that's its weakness.

Of the five elements, the power of water extinguishes fire...

How does she do all that with such big boobies?

Hey! Stop it!

Haah!

I have to buy a new sketchbook again.

Congratulations. You get nothing!

Why not? Did we do something wrong?

Well, you severely damaged school property.

And you only earned enough to pay for it.

I don't believe it! How am I supposed to get by now?

Just be patient. I'll find you some more work.

All right, everyone, that's it for today!

See you all back here tomorrow. Bye-bye!

Mai, nice work today.

Better luck next time.

Don't get down on yourself, Haruhiko.

Like they always say, you win some, you lose some.

Thanks for the advice, Shosuke.

Quit being such a sad sack.

Sighing lets out all of your happiness.

Such a hypocrite. You did it, too.

Hmph.

Hosea Academy Neural Error Corrections Room.

It's like a club for Phantom hunters.

However, Team E, Mai and me, has the worst performance record.

This is bad. Really bad.

I was counting on today's reward.

Are you that strapped for cash this month?

This month, next month, and pretty much every month

that comes after that. It's not exactly easy

for a high school student to live on their own, ya' know?

I think we might need a few more people on our team to get ahead.

There's gotta be a way to recruit new members.

Hosea. Go!

Hosea Academy is a prestigious private school.

I, Haruhiko Ichijo, entered its high school division this April.

My hobby is reading.

I've read all the books in the school library,

so I mainly go to the public one now.

Hey, don't they have anything better to read here?

Like something smutty, or maybe smutty?

I think you're in the wrong place for that.

Hosea Academy covers grade school to high school,

but some students enter high school from

other middle schools.

A few of them might have special abilities like ours,

so we have to try and find them.

I suppose there might be some hidden talent

in some of the surrounding areas.

Like Zhuge Liang or Pang Tong from

Records of the Three Kingdoms.

I don't remember that at all; you must be making it up.

Man, your stories always go off on stupid tangents.

What the--?

Hey, has there always been a cemetery here?

You must've taken a wrong turn somewhere.

No, this is the way I always go, so I couldn't have.

There's a phenomenon called " jamais vu ."

When something feels recognizable in some way,

but is still unfamiliar.

Maybe that's what we're experiencing right now.

Haruhiko, look!

Phantoms!

That girl, she needs my help!

Please don't stare, it makes me very uncomfortable, okay?

Whoa, she's a Phantom Eater! A special ability user!

Ah! That was delicious.

So cool!

Hang on!

Have you ever heard of Gaius Plinius Secundus?!

Gai-- What?

He was an ancient Roman naturalist!

AKA "Pliny the Elder."

In his book, he wrote about an animal called a Manticore!

It was a scary, ferocious beast!

It would eat anything and everything in its path.

Not even an army could stop the carnage.

Just now, that's exactly what you looked like!

Not much of a compliment.

Even Aristotle wrote about this magical,

demonic creature--

See?! You're on a tangent again!

Oh, wait a second.

That looks like a Hosea Academy uniform.

Please, tell me your name.

Uh, it's Reina Izumi.

It's nice to meet you. I'm Haruhiko Ichijo.

So have you chosen your club yet?!

How would you feel about joining the Phantom Hunting Club?

Sorry. I, uh-- I have to go.

Bye now!