CODE:AW
EPISODEⅡ
The Lost Messiah
– Synopsis –
Former FBI agent Asami Himemiya chases after her vanished partner, Hisamune Kamikura, and is reassigned to the Japan Branch of the mysterious organization, UCIA.
A series of bizarre ”skeletalization incidents” occur secretly across the globe. Lurking behind these incidents is the shadow of an urban legend known as ”Yume-mi-sama.”
”Yume-mi-sama” is said to appear in women’s dreams, bestowing upon them a magical accessory that grants their wishes.
However, its true identity was the modern wizards known as the ”AW (Asphaltic Wizards),” who wield absolute power to maintain the balance of good and evil in this world.
In an era of extreme chaos spiraling towards collapse, Himemiya is invited to ”become an AW and rectify the world together” by an AW calling herself ”Judgement.” Amidst a desperate crisis where her comrades fall one after another, a woman hailed as the ”Messiah” of the Alsard Church, Mayu Asagiri, appears.
Though she barely escapes with her life, Himemiya’s own sense of justice begins to waver at the words of Judgement…
Alongside the Alsard Church and Public Security Section 7, the situation unfolds in an entirely new direction…
Foreword
In this modern age, where technology achieves further development and AI evolves day by day. No matter how much material wealth humanity acquires, the human heart remains unevolved, continuing to repeat the same mistakes.
The Book of Genesis, the sacred scripture of the Holy Alsard Church. Its opening passage reads:
We must change.
We must forgive.
We must save.
May the blessing of the Goddess of Light (Alsard)
be upon us. May all life shine brilliantly.
PROLOGUE
September 25, 2026. Friday. 06:32.
UCIA Japan Branch Investigation Base: Ground Base.
Residential Area, Private Room.
”Yeah, I’m doing fine here. It sounds like you and Dad are as busy as ever.”
A conversation over the smartphone. It was from my mother. Both my father and mother work at Sandia National Laboratories back in the States. It is a national laboratory overseen by the Department of Energy. Because they conduct important research related to state secrets, I only get rare calls from them a few times a year. Perhaps due to their busy schedules, they are slow to answer my calls, and text messages are rarely read right away.
<How is Japan after such a long time? Are you going to visit Grandma?>
”I’m not sure… I’m busy too, and with my job, I don’t have much freedom…”
After that incident, I moved my residence from the hotel to the residential area of Ground Base. There are security reasons, but it seems Chris and Hayama also live here, and Kamikura and the Chief spend most of their time at the base as well. If anything happens, we can respond immediately from here. More than anything, it was reassuring to have my comrades close by rather than being alone.
”I have to get ready for work soon. Take care of yourself.”
With those words, I hung up the phone. My parents started working at Sandia National Laboratories right before I entered middle school. At the same time, I was left in the care of my grandmother in Japan, where I spent the next six years through middle and high school.
It has been about a month since I came back to Japan. Since being assigned here to the UCIA Japan Branch, I have encountered various situations beyond my imagination, and the way I look at this world has taken a 180-degree turn…
AW—the modern wizards known as ”Asphaltic Wizards”. Entities who bestow magical accessories that grant wishes in dreams, judge good and evil, and pluck out evil to convert it into their own power… It is said they have maintained the balance of good and evil with their absolute power.
However, the distortion of this chaotic world has already reached its limit. That is what the AW, ”Judgement”, said. Therefore, with a new power, they must rectify this world.
”…………”
That night. I saw it. Myself, transformed into an AW, reflected in the mirror… Was it a mental attack by Judgement… or an illusion born from my own fears…?
Upon seeing the thing in the mirror, I screamed in terror, and I barely remember what happened after. It seems Hayama, hearing my scream, rushed over and treated me in the infirmary while I was unconscious. I’ve truly been saved by him. About a week has passed since then. Although I’ve become afraid to look in mirrors, fortunately, nothing else has happened so far.
The AW that killed Yuna Hamano hasn’t shown even a trace of itself yet. According to Judgement, it was something that failed to become an AW… but even if it’s not on Judgement’s level, there’s no doubt it possesses formidable power.
I don’t yet have the power to fight an AW. Should I have to confront one, spiritual combat ability is required. Of course, a tough physical body and mental fortitude are also necessary.
The ”Messiah” of Alsard. That is what Asagiri was called. Her power was tremendous, but Hojo of ”AMGE” also displayed spiritual abilities surpassing Kamikura’s, which was undoubtedly astonishing. Given she’s still a high school senior, her future growth must be remarkable.
I can’t afford to lose either. I can’t just be protected forever. I felt my own inadequacies in various ways during the last incident. Even though such feelings will probably continue as long as I live, I am still a Special Agent of the UCIA. I must fulfill my duties to live up to the title.
(I will never… be yours. Judgement.)
Staring into the full-length mirror in my room, I firmly made that resolve.
US Special Investigation Agency UCIA. Japan Branch Special Agent—Asami Himemiya. That is my name.