Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. Volume. 17.
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‘Chapter 1:- CASUALLY COMPARING ANSWERS.’
Sub-chapter 1.
—First came the unstoppable impact that rocked his brain to its core.
“”
His heart pounded like it was pumping confusion through his entire body. He wheezed painfully, forgetting how to even breathe. Convulsions racked his chest, and a heavy sheen of sweat coated his back.
The urge to throw up wouldn’t go away. All he could hear was an incessant ringing and the cacophony of his own racing pulse. His vision flickered between black and red, as if his fragmented mind was sea-foam rocking on the surface of the water.
He had no idea where he was or what he was doing—
“—ru.”
For a moment, he heard an unknown sound pierce the veil of hazy oblivion clouding his senses.
He blindly searched for the source like someone swimming in the ocean at night, groping around in the murk. Ever so slowly, his thoughts broke the surface of his consciousness, and—
“—Subaru!”
The voice sounded like a silver bell. It called out to him again and pulled the loose pieces of his being back to reality.
“—Ah.”
After his consciousness returned, Subaru Natsuki rebooted.
As he gradually recovered from his blue screen and his eyes turned back on, the first thing he noticed was two dazzling violet jewels—or rather, violet eyes—staring at him. He saw the concern in Emilia’s face as she gazed at him.
She gently stroked his cheek with her hand.
“”
The light touch of her slender fingers urged Subaru’s senses to recall their purpose.
He could see the garden overflowing with green, smell the hint of flowers on the soft breeze, and hear the playful babbling of the nearby fountain. With these details coloring in the blanks, he finally regained a firm grip on reality.
This was the moment that Subaru noticed he had been holding on to someone’s hand the whole time.
It was small, warm, and familiar. When he turned to his side, he was met with a pair of round eyes.
“Bea…trice…”
“Have you managed to calm down, I wonder? You were worrying me.”
Beatrice let out a soft breath of relief as she continued holding Subaru’s hand. Seeing that she was sitting on the grass, Subaru belatedly realized he was on the ground as well.
This was also the moment that he realized there were two others present besides Emilia and Beatrice.
“Pheeew, you gave us a real scare, Master Subaru. For a moment there, I was worried I wouldn’t make it. Your humble Liliana still has not learned many funeral hymns, you see…”
Liliana the Songstress was expressing her delight at Subaru’s apparent recovery with a rather peculiar choice of words. With one hand, she braced her beloved lyulyre against her hip as if to visibly illustrate her incredibly unique concern.
Standing beside her was Priscilla, who was wearing an expression that didn’t show a single shred of acknowledgment regarding Subaru’s poor state. She casually fanned herself with the idle composure of someone who was wholly unconcerned. That was so in character for her that it ironically set him at ease.
“”
After taking stock of everyone around him, Subaru slowly rose to his feet.
His head felt leaden. It was almost like his eyes, ears, nose, and skin were trying to keep up with someone suddenly changing the channel while only his soul stayed behind, still tuned to the old one.
That sensation lingered as Subaru took in a deep breath. There was something he had to confirm for himself.
“Subaru, are you sure you don’t want to rest a bit more? You really don’t look well…”
“I’m all right. Just a little dizzy from standing up. More importantly, Emilia-tan…weren’t you going to have Liliana sing another song right about now?”
“Wha?! Why is that the first thing you want to know?! Not only did you have no reaction to what I said, but now I’m also being utterly ignored! You wound me, sir! I demand restitution! Restitution for my heart!!”
When Liliana grasped his sleeve with the force of someone determined to drag him off to court, Subaru immediately brushed her aside. The Songstress cried with a “Gaaah!” as she was flung away, but Subaru paid her no heed and looked straight at Emilia.
Picking up on the intensity of Subaru’s gaze, Emilia nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. Just now, we were talking about asking Liliana to sing the song we haven’t had a chance to hear yet. That’s when you and Liliana started whispering about something, and…”
“Which brings us to the present. Got it. Tha…”
Thank you, and sorry.
Right as he was about to thank Emilia for her explanation, something echoed in the back of Subaru’s mind.
“”
It was the verbal tic of the bandaged maniac who appeared at the time tower—Sirius Romanée-Conti.
In most cases, those magic words were used to convey gratitude and show consideration for others. But for the moment, Subaru couldn’t think of them as anything other than the sinister incantation of some dark sorcery.
When he recalled what that basket case had done while reciting those magic words, all he could think of was—
“…Oh. That’s right; I…”
Subaru stumbled upon a sudden realization.
One moment, he was trapped in Wrath’s crazed delusions, and in the next, he was back with Emilia and the others. It wasn’t because he had miraculously managed to escape in one piece. No, quite the opposite.
At some point in the madness and the chaos, Subaru Natsuki had shuffled off this mortal coil. He had died again.
And in death, Subaru Natsuki had returned, so that he might challenge fate once more.
“Shit…”
Coming to terms with that fact, Subaru’s breast burned with relief—and nigh-unendurable anger.
Over a year ago, Subaru refused to willfully hurl himself into the jaws of death, instead resolving to challenge whatever hardship or ordeal that barred his path with every iota of strength he could muster. That was the answer he had reached during the Witch’s Trial in the Sanctuary.
Despite his big talk, he had failed spectacularly. Never mind resisting death; he’d actually run straight into its waiting embrace without even realizing what he was doing.
“—Ah.”
And now another revelation dawned on him. He didn’t even have time to feel self-loathing as an eruption of shame consumed him.
It had taken him this long to notice. His grasp on the flow of events, his situational awareness, his thoughts—all of them had been lacking and superficial.
Liliana’s second song, the tension that hung over Emilia and Priscilla, Subaru running off to buy them snacks—all those things immediately preceded his encounter with the cryptic stranger, at which point he lost his life and promptly Returned by Death.
Coming back to this moment in time could only mean one thing.
Barely fifteen minutes remained until that eccentric’s nightmarish speech would begin again.
“This can’t be real…”
Still in shock, Subaru didn’t know how to even begin dealing with his new reality.
As soon as he realized what situation he’d landed in, he was so overwhelmed by sheer urgency that it felt like his eyes were swimming. His reaction was completely understandable. Never before had his return point been so close to his demise.
To date, Subaru had been given loop times ranging from several hours to several days. It had been Subaru Natsuki’s fight to make the most of that time limit and change any dead-end futures.
For this go-around, that time limit was short—extremely, painfully short.
What in the world could Subaru accomplish with a mere fifteen minutes?
“…Am I an idiot? No, of course I am. There’s no time to screw around. I gotta be the one to put a stop to it.”
As he bemoaned the incredibly harsh limitations he’d been saddled with, Subaru reprimanded himself to force his thoughts back on track.
This was an opportunity that no one except Subaru was granted more than once to begin with. It was too much to ask for his second chances to be tailored for his convenience.
He had to do his best according to the conditions granted to him. He could complain all he wanted after his life was snuffed out if it came to that point.
“Beatrice! Come with me and…”
“…And what, I wonder?”
Subaru impetuously turned around, ready to charge ahead when his words caught in his throat. Beatrice cocked her head in confusion.
The enemy was an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins. Asking Beatrice for help and fighting together with her was the right choice—without her, Subaru’s options dwindled, and his combat strength wouldn’t even amount to half of what it could be.
Even though he knew this full well, Subaru hesitated to seek Beatrice’s cooperation.
It wasn’t because he was afraid of exposing Beatrice to danger or because of other sentimental reasons. His relationship with Beatrice had crossed that line of resolve long ago.
Then what was causing Subaru to waver?
It was Emilia. She was there.
“”
That eccentric had called herself Sirius Romanée-Conti, the Witch Cult’s Archbishop of Wrath.
Petelgeuse, also an Archbishop, had doggedly targeted Emilia. Wasn’t it safer to assume that Emilia would also be in Sirius’s sights as well? That worry had a stranglehold on Subaru’s heart.
He was afraid of leaving Emilia by herself.
It terrified him to even think about letting someone precious to him out of his sight. The tragedy of never-ending sleep that had befallen Rem had struck Subaru with a strain of cowardice that he could not shake off.
That’s why—
“Beatrice, are you…”
“Am I…?”
“…fine with getting the same sweets as everyone else?”
Subaru was still wearing a deadly serious expression when he posed that trivial question. Of course, that didn’t sit well with Beatrice as Subaru drew closer to her suspicious face.
“—Could you stay with Emilia? I’ll rest easier if I know you’re with her.”
“…I suppose there is yet another thing you cannot share even with Betty.”
“Sorry, but when something comes up, you’re the first person I count on.”
Though he knew it was low of him, Subaru was relying on Beatrice while withholding details about what was going on. She sighed at his reply as Subaru turned toward Emilia.
“I’m gonna go for a little run and buy some drinks while getting some air. You can just chill here and listen to the dangerous Songstress’s song while looking graceful as always, all right?”
Somehow managing to flash a smile, Subaru spoke in a laid-back tone as he tried to take his leave.
But then—
“Wait.”
—right before he was about to break into a run, he felt someone tugging at his clothes and stopped. When he checked to see who it was, Subaru found Emilia grasping the sleeve of his jacket, gazing at Subaru as if she wanted to say something.
He’d been incredibly sloppy. Of course Emilia was suspicious.
Therefore—
“Subaru, please, please be careful. Don’t do anything rash.”
Emilia swallowed her doubts and only asked that he keep his wits about him. Her thoughtfulness made him happy.
“Yeah, of course. Just sit tight and trust me. I’ll protect you?”
“Okay. Take care.”
With that final comment, she let go of his sleeve, blushing a little.
“I have it. Please listen: Show me your mettle.”
“All right, I’m off! I’ll be right back…or at least, it’ll feel like I’ll be right back!”
Ignoring the Songstress taking inspiration from the scene to fuel her creative juices, Subaru properly broke into a run.
Approximately ten minutes remained until the nightmarish speech began—a time limit short enough to make him cry.
Sub-chapter 2.
It didn’t even take five minutes to sprint to the square that contained the time tower where everything would go down.
Since it had taken him some time to confirm the situation after Returning by Death, he had left the park later than his previous time going there. Skipping the shopping trip let him make up some of the lost time, but—
“With a limit of fifteen minutes, there’s no telling how fatal it might be to show up a few seconds late.”
That was even truer because he currently had an overwhelming lack of information. The worst of it was that Subaru didn’t know what caused Return by Death—in other words, he hadn’t isolated what killed him.
The circumstances surrounding his latest death were simply that bizarre.
An Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins had appeared atop a time tower and somehow convinced the audience—Subaru included—to joyfully listen to her mad speech. In the end, even when Sirius hurled an innocent boy from the top of the tower, Subaru and the others only reacted with eager applause as they watched the young child’s head shatter against the ground.
That was when his consciousness cut out, followed by Return by Death immediately after, so all he could gather from that was…
“Do I know anything other than the fact that I basically lost my mind?”
Sirius had created an anomaly, but everyone present had accepted it like nothing was out of the ordinary. Many would find it tempting to consider it a type of madness or perhaps some sort of mental corruption.
What memories Subaru was able to retain after coming back were heavily influenced by his state during the instant he died. Considering his mental condition at the time, he felt compelled to question the reliability of his memories.
“Man, I already made it.”
Arriving at the square with labored breaths, Subaru surveyed his surroundings.
The familiar time tower was deeper inside the square, and lots of foot traffic flowed by its base. This area was part of the most prosperous district in the city. There were far more people than Subaru remembered, and they were streaming around the place without pause.
Fortunately, he couldn’t spot any groups or even a single individual clad in a telltale black outfit among them. He hadn’t seen any Witch Cultists around Sirius during the speech, either. Perhaps Sirius was acting alone.
Even if that was true, it didn’t mean that the threat posed by the Archbishop was diminished in the slightest.
“Now, what should I do? Evacuating the square…would be tough. I’d need way more help to go around convincing people. Besides, doing something like that might tip off Sirius.”
For an instant, he considered causing a commotion to forestall the tragedy that was about to take place, but he quickly decided that was probably a really bad idea.
To begin with, Sirius’s heinous actions had not targeted anyone in particular. It was indiscriminate terrorism if anything. If he let her get away, she’d eventually just do the same thing somewhere else. That would be a hollow victory.
The Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins were creatures of pure evil that had to be rooted out at the source.
“If only I had time to head back to that Japanese-style inn and get one or two people to help… Damn it all!”
After griping about some wishful thinking, Subaru slapped his cheeks with both hands. Then he gazed forward with a firm look of resolve, glaring at the ominous time tower.
In a few more minutes, Sirius would appear at the top of that white tower and raise the curtain on her wicked performance.
That meant she must already be lurking inside it at this very moment. Of course, Lusbel, her young captive, would be in there as well.
“The hell? It’s unlocked…”
He noticed that the entrance was an old iron door set unobtrusively in the rear of the time tower. When he tentatively put a hand on it, the unlocked door swung open with ease. Hesitating for only a second, Subaru quietly stepped into the belly of the yawning structure.
“”
The interior was dark. The putrid air was cold and reeked of dust.
Though they functioned much like a clock tower, time towers were magic crystal timekeepers and did not have any clockwork mechanisms whatsoever. The tower’s interior contained only a support pillar at its center and a spiraling staircase, which climbed upward along the walls. Thanks to that, the inside of the tower was quiet and still. Subaru winced at how audible his footsteps were here.
“…Nnngh, mmm, hngh.”
Then a faint, crying voice abruptly broke through the veil of silence.
Subaru craned his neck to look higher. The noises of distress were coming from the upper part of the tower. He was sure it sounded like the voice of a child crying while being dragged along—
“—Don’t cry, don’t wail, and don’t make a fuss. You truly are a good child. A strong child who protected someone precious to you. Surely your family, and even your younger brothers and sisters you have never set eyes upon, will always think of you with pride.”
He could hear a sinister voice.
Those words were undoubtedly directed at the sobbing child. They sounded like both a blessing and a curse overflowing with resentment, an intense mix of love and hate.
This was twisted. That one utterance was enough for Subaru to tell that the speaker did not possess a sound mind.
“”
They were above him. The moment he knew that for certain, Subaru let out a heavy breath, then went still.
Putting a hand over his racing heart, Subaru stepped onto the spiral stairs. Fortunately, walking silently was one of the skills that his mentor, Clind, had instilled in him over this past year. Leading with his heels before slowly shifting his body weight forward, Subaru inched toward the top of the tower with stealthy steps.
At the topmost floor, there was a window that allowed for inspection of the magic crystal timepiece and was accessed via a loft that served as a maintenance space. Cautiously, he peered into that room from midway up the stairs, managing to catch sight of some silhouettes wriggling in the darkness.
There was no sign of anyone else in the vicinity. He was almost certain that these figures were Sirius and the hostage.
“”
Seeing his chance, Subaru moved a hand behind his hip and slowly drew his weapon—a whip—from its holster.
It shared a deep resemblance with the bullwhip that was favored by a certain archaeologist who often raided old ruins in a world-famous series of films. The main difference was that Subaru’s whip was longer, which naturally made it more difficult to use.
However, under Clind’s strict tutelage, Subaru had somehow managed to rise to an acceptable level of mastery over the last year. The whip that Subaru held now was a custom gift he’d received from his mentor as a sort of graduation present.
Taking inspiration from the name of the demon beast that had provided the materials, Subaru had dubbed it the Guilty Whip.
It was perfect for tricks and feints—and that was precisely why Subaru had chosen the whip from among numerous other weapons. Subaru had laid eyes upon many swordsmen since his arrival. The world of martial arts was not so forgiving that he could match a professional overnight.
Furthermore, if he had anything to be proud of, it was his cunning. And thanks to his mentor’s tutelage, now even Subaru had cards he could play in a situation like this.
“Looks like it’s about a dozen or so feet.”
Eyeballing the distance between the end of the stairs and the shifting silhouettes, he could see that his target was right at the edge of his whip’s range. He needed a step or at least half a step closer to guarantee a hit.
Either way, a whip didn’t pack enough punch to land a one-hit knockout. If he was going to use a whiplash as his opening gambit, he couldn’t rely on brute force—so instead, he’d make use of height.
He took a shallow breath, then held it.
He decided to attack from a range where he could hit for certain. Surging forward, he wound up his right hand to ready his whip as he cleared the stairs. The silhouettes still weren’t looking in his direction. The initiative was his for the taking.
“!”
Taking half a step forward, he swung his right arm like he was circling it overhead. That sidearm motion emphasized speed over force.
As it took flight, the whip was too fast to track with the naked eye. This was another reason Subaru had chosen the weapon: It gave him the ability to quickly land a blow against opponents far stronger than he.
At this rate, the whip would reach the defenseless back of his target, wrapping around her neck and giving him a chance to hurl her down the—
“—Why are you so angry?”
Right as he thought his attack would connect, his target suddenly posed a question, back still facing him.
Almost simultaneously, the silhouette swung her hand without even turning around. With incredible speed and accuracy, the chain that was wrapped around that hand collided with Subaru’s whip, robbing it of all momentum and knocking it down.
Subaru’s eyes shot open, but the moment he felt his whip make contact with the chain, he yanked his arm back hard.
“Oh my.”
The hook hanging from the chain’s end had gotten tangled with Subaru’s whip, giving him a chance to throw Sirius off-balance. Subaru followed up quickly with a ferocious charge, ramming her with his shoulder.
“Uraaaaah!” “Wah!”
Raising a delicate cry, Sirius’s unexpectedly light body went over the railing, turning halfway before vanishing from sight. Just as he’d planned, she fell from the landing and was hurtling straight down to ground level. It was more than a sixty-foot drop from the top floor, tall enough to crack open a child’s head like it was an overly ripe fruit.
“You okay, Lusbel?!”
Not staying to watch the strange woman twist and fall to her death, Subaru raced over to the other person still on the landing. It was Lusbel, the pitiable boy who was fated to be hurled from the tower.
His body was already wrapped in a set of chains, which tightly bound his lower half. He looked like he was in pain, but the most repulsive detail was how the boy was gripping the end of the chain that was wrapped around his own body.
There was only one thing that could mean.
“She made him chain himself…?!”
Subaru seethed as he realized the demented events that must have led to this moment.
This young boy had been forced to sign his own death warrant. Just how much fear and horror had Lusbel endured while doing this? Simply imagining it made Subaru sick to his stomach.
“It’s all right! You’ve done enough! You don’t need to put up with this anymo…”
“B-but…if I don’t keep my promise, Tina will… Tina will…!”
When Subaru tried to undo the chain, Lusbel resisted with tears in his eyes. The name on his lips—the name of the boy’s childhood friend whom Sirius had mentioned previously—made Subaru draw a sharp breath.
This boy had accepted a deal with the devil to spare his childhood friend from a terrible fate. Even while enduring such a harrowing ordeal—legs shaking, teeth chattering, and tears coursing from his eyes—his main concern was still his friend.
“It’s…all right. There’s…lots of dependable people in this city, so…!”
Subaru did his best to console him.
He wanted to be as emphatic as possible to reassure the young boy. At the moment, the Sword Saint, the Sword Devil, and the Finest of Knights were all in the same city. The kingdom’s greatest healer was also present. Losing didn’t seem possible with all of them a stone’s throw away.
That’s why there was no need to be afraid. Evil would not triumph here. It was true. It had to be true.
There was absolutely no need to be afraid. None whatsoever.
“That’s why…my legs need to quit shaking already!!”
Subaru raised a frantic yell as he fell to his knees in front of Lusbel, whose eyes had shot open in fear.
Subaru’s voice cracked, carrying notes of grief and terror. It almost felt as if some alien revulsion was coiling around his entire body and refusing to let go.
“—Urhkgh!”
Before his eyes, Lusbel writhed, then bent over and vomited, spewing yellow stomach fluids. Convulsing like he was having a seizure, the boy collapsed onto a pool of his own sick. When Subaru tried to brace him, Subaru was suddenly assailed by the sensation of something clawing at his own insides and he also threw up on the spot.
Subaru promptly pitched forward just like Lusbel had—
“—That you are so afraid is proof of your kind heart.”
“Ngh, gaaaah!!”
The same moment he heard that voice, Subaru screamed from the searing pain that struck his left shoulder. With a powerful yank, he was dragged backward until he collided with a railing and flipped over it.
He went into a tailspin and was hurtling to his death—only to suddenly stop halfway, suspended in midair.
“Wha…?!!”
“Thank you. And I’m sorry.”
Having cleared the railing and fallen, Subaru had no way to answer.
The reason was physical rather than emotional. After all, a chain was wrapped around his neck, while the hook on its end dug deep into his left shoulder.
When Sirius twisted and fell earlier, she had apparently thrown her chain to drag Subaru down and used the resulting force to propel herself back up. Now she was the one looking down with a smile at Subaru, who was suspended by the chain around his neck.
Subaru flailed as he kicked his legs in the air and vomit trickled from his constricted throat. As she watched Subaru struggle for his life, Sirius nodded several times with visible delight.
“People can understand one another. People have the ability to become one. Kindness is not for our own sake. It is for the sake of others. Kindness shines brightest when it is offered freely. To be kind to oneself is mere selfishness. A far cry from true kindness! As such, your concern for others makes your kindness bright as the sun! Ahh, ahh, ahh! In other words, it is love!”
“Ugh, agh, bngh…”
“Please savor the feeling. Please show me your love, the chains of your limitless kindness, your noble desire to save young Lusbel!”
As blood and vomit continued to spill from Subaru, Sirius embraced the filth-covered Lusbel before him. She rubbed her cheek against Lusbel’s, marring her white bandages with the boy’s yellow stomach fluids in the process.
“Your gentle soul felt Lusbel’s fear. Through you, young Lusbel experienced your fears that had been born from his. And then that additional fear that young Lusbel felt flowed back into you. In this manner, you shall feel the same joy, sadness, terror, and even the pain of being wrung by the neck, until by the loving embrace of death do you part—”
Those rambling words rained down on Subaru from above. In that moment, he was far too preoccupied to dismiss her words as delusional and nonsense. The reason was that everything, from voices to the very air itself, had become an object of fear for Subaru. The entire world scared him. If everything that he laid eyes on was scary, then he should have just closed his eyes, but when he realized that darkness itself was terrifying, this thought combined with the worry that he might never see light again if he closed his eyes, making his entire body freeze stiff, because comprehending that fear made him afraid that he couldn’t comprehend fear anymore, which was a terrifying thought in and of itself, because if the whole world was made up of terrifying things and fear was the only truth of the world, then fear gave way to fear that would make fear fear’s— “Oh my. It would seem you are at your limit. Compassionate people who love and feel deeply are beautiful but at times fragile… Ahh, people love, and so they suffer. But it is because of love that people’s lives have meaning. What a very complicated thing. Well then, I shall borrow little Tina’s strength next. Young Lusbel, young man, you two have earned your rest.” —reason that dulls the value of life which allows creatures to defy their natural instincts and functions meaning fear is necessary so it’s only natural for people to feel fear so it’s nothing to be ashamed of and if anything it’d be pointless to not be afraid but it would probably be through thought experiments like this that he’d challenge the fear that gripped his entire body because otherwise why was subaru even scared scared scary scared scary scary i dont feel so goobebebebababababababaabararadagaddagagadaradadada—
Sub-chapter 3.
“After the song, we’ll have a pleasant chat, so could you prepare some snacks, Master Natsuki? Do you not think that sweets will make everyone happy and bring us all closer together?”
The moment he blinked, the world changed before his eyes. Subaru immediately lost his balance, smashing his head into the girl who was winking and holding out an expectant hand toward him.
“Waaaghaaa?!” “Agh!!”
A hard thunk echoed as Subaru saw stars in his eyes.
The sharp pain sent Subaru reeling, leaving him wondering what happened as he took a step back. Something crashed onto the grass in front of him, but Subaru paid it no heed as he rubbed his own head.
“Wh-what just…?”
“What are you muttering about, Subaru?! You just headbutted Liliana out of nowhere! You can’t do that. Even if you’re upset, you need to at least warn them beforehand.”
“That’s right. Before you resorted to violence, should you not have admonished her right around the time she made that clumsy wink, I wonder?”
“Was it really that bad?!”
Offended, Liliana leaped back to her feet. Emilia and Beatrice traded looks, seemingly pondering how to reply to her question as she recovered from her fall.
Struck by shock at the silent pause, Liliana flopped down and splayed out once more.
“What a ridiculous farce. Do not infringe upon my little bird, peasant. I will not overlook it a second time.”
Unexpectedly, Priscilla actually sided with Liliana. She had apparently taken quite a liking to the Songstress, if the sharp look in her eyes was anything to judge by.
But Priscilla’s warning did not elicit a single word from Subaru as he checked the state of his own body.
“…Makes me sick.”
That was all Subaru could gloomily muster after his second run-in with that walking enigma, who hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Sub-chapter 4.
Upon his second Return by Death, unprecedented fatigue ate away at Subaru’s psyche.
Experiencing two deaths in a short time frame was undoubtedly a large burden, but the greatest source of his distress was the fact that he had lost his mind twice over. Though both episodes had their differences, he’d tasted mental collapse via mania and psychosis in rapid succession. During the second instance, he’d experienced his very sense of self break down. He never wanted to go through that again.
He wondered if the ultimate cause of his second death was cardiac arrest from extreme terror or simple suffocation from being strung up by his neck. Either way, he’d paid a high price for trying to save Lusbel by himself.
However, Subaru hadn’t died twice in a mere thirty minutes without getting anything out of it.
Sirius had been kind enough to explain what was happening to Subaru as his life came to an end, perhaps as a sort of morbid farewell gift.
“Fear heightening as it passes back and forth between people…like a kind of resonance, maybe?”
Subaru had felt Lusbel’s fear, and in turn, Lusbel had felt Subaru’s. With each subsequent pass, that sensation grew stronger and stronger, culminating in an absolute, all-consuming dread that ultimately led to death.
Based on Sirius’s statements and his own mental collapse, Subaru deduced that this was his opponent’s Authority. He was also finally able to infer the cause of his manic episode during his first visit to the time-tower square.
That time, all the anger and disgust in the crowd had been overwritten with joy and delight. And inside the tower, the fear that Lusbel felt had passed back and forth between him and his would-be savior, shattering Subaru’s mind.
In other words, Sirius’s Authority of Wrath—
“It lets her toy with other people’s feelings however she likes. Shit, that’s bad news.”
Just like Petelgeuse’s Unseen Hands, it was an Authority, a special power not subject to the world’s normal rules of magic. Befitting the title of Wrath, that sinister ability was closely tied to human emotion.
In the end, that was all his second death allowed him to deduce with any confidence. The biggest issue was that he still had no idea what conditions were required for activating this Authority, and he didn’t have a single lead on how to resolve this situation.
It was fair to say that the strategy he employed against Petelgeuse had heavily depended upon luck.
Unseen Hands was the Authority of Sloth, and Petelgeuse himself was an evil spirit who had the powerful ability to possess the bodies of others. Subaru just happened to have ways of countering both.
However, setting his means of resisting possession aside, Subaru still didn’t know what let him see Unseen Hands. At some point since then, he’d learned a skill he called Invisible Providence, which greatly resembled Unseen Hands, but his suspicions remained just that.
“Since Return by Death seems to have something to do with the Witch, I’d hoped it meant the Witch Cult’s rule-breaking tricks wouldn’t work on me or something, but…”
He had no choice but to discard that line of thinking after Wrath’s power had affected him so deeply.
On top of that, based on what he could gather so far, the worst-case scenario was that Sirius’s Authority simply activated upon contact. It was a distinct possibility that hearing her voice or seeing her in person was enough for him to become ensnared.
In that case, the most reliable strategy against Sirius was to blow her up along with the entire building before she emerged from the top of the time tower. That way, she would have no chance to use her Authority. This plan was only possible because Subaru knew Sirius’s exact location due to the short time limit imposed by his Return by Death.
If he acted immediately, Sirius could be defeated for sure—so long as he turned a blind eye and accepted the sacrifice of one little boy.
“—As if I’d ever let that happen.”
There was no way he’d ever invoke phrases like necessary sacrifices.
For Subaru, even if it meant exchanging one life to save many, losing that one life was like giving up the entire world. If he had already made up his mind to not sacrifice himself, how could he reduce the lives of others to mere numbers? That was the act of a god or a devil, and Subaru had no intention of turning into either.
“I’ll save Lusbel and beat Sirius. Gotta make both happen somehow, huh? Man, being Emilia-tan’s knight is tough.”
And yet if he couldn’t do that, Subaru Natsuki had no value whatsoever. Naturally, he knew full well that the kind people around him would surely forgive such weakness.
That’s why he had to do it. Subaru wanted to stand proudly beside the people he cared about. If seeing this through was what it took to make that happen, then so be it. That was Subaru’s way.
“I challenged her alone and lost pathetically. It’s painfully obvious I don’t have enough combat power… I need to borrow someone’s strength.”
The ideal recruit was someone with so much pure combat power that they could overwhelm Sirius. It would have to be a person who’d believe Subaru’s words implicitly and agree to cooperate with him. On top of that, they had to be able to resist Sirius’s Authority.
He needed a powerful character who met all those conditions and who was close enough to reach the time tower in under ten minutes. Subaru almost laughed at himself for wanting such a convenient ally.
“Oh, right.”
He tried to laugh, but then it dawned on him. There was a certain memory.
His first time in the square, he’d come across a particular man. Since that person had also been influenced by Wrath’s Authority, he was far from the perfect counter against Sirius, but even so—
“—Reinhard!!”
Right as Subaru began to feel ridiculous for seeking out a wildly convenient answer to his problems, he was finally able to remember that a man who was the epitome of overpowered really did exist.
Sub-chapter 5.
He wasn’t trying to make excuses for himself, but Subaru’s two very quick deaths were a major part of why he had completely forgotten Reinhard’s existence—and the fact that Lachins, who had been present in the square, was connected to him.
—Subaru had experienced death right after experiencing death, and that made it twice that his psyche had collapsed.
It went without saying that going through this unprecedented experience in the short span of thirty minutes had left Subaru rattled. He felt nothing but astonishment at how little time this loop gave him and how it didn’t leave any breathing room to calmly figure things out.
Accordingly, Subaru had been forced to run ahead at full speed until he rammed into something barring his way forward. Desperately trying to come up with a way to persuade a certain man was no exception.
“I finally found you! You’re not getting away! Please call Reinhard over right now! It’s an emergency!”
“Like hell I am! I don’t wanna hear another damn word of complaint outta that redheaded bastard! Get lost!”
The shouting match that erupted in the middle of the street made passersby glance at one another as they wondered what was up.
The atmosphere resembled a sporting match as several curious onlookers hurled jeers at them. It annoyed Subaru, but he didn’t have the luxury of paying them any heed.
After recovering from the shock of Return by Death, Subaru was following up on his earlier conclusion with swift action.
Asking Beatrice to guard Emilia just like last time, Subaru left the park, ostensibly to go shopping—when in reality, he was looking for Lachins in the square to convey the imminent emergency.
But Subaru had gotten off to a bad start and wasn’t making any progress. It had taken him so long to find Lachins that Subaru had accidentally grabbed the man’s shoulder the moment he happened upon him. He’d apologized several times, but still.
“Anyway, I need you to calm down and listen to me. I’m not joking around. If you don’t want to die, get in touch with Reinhard right now.”
“Huh? You think a snivelin’ brat like you can do me in? I don’t need Reinhard for this. I can pay ya back right here, right now.”
“Damn it, you thick-skulled…”
Taking Subaru’s words as a taunt, Lachins let his anger grow even hotter.
It was difficult to call Subaru and Lachins’s relationship favorable to begin with. On top of that, Lachins seemed to dislike Reinhard a great deal, which apparently made him reluctant to rely upon the knight.
Of course, that stubbornness didn’t even compare with the threat that the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins posed, but Subaru had good reason to not reveal all the details about the current turn of events. That said, at the rate things were going, the situation would only deteriorate, which didn’t leave him much of a choice.
Suppressing his instinctual fear, Subaru touched his hand to his chest.
“Lachins, this isn’t a joke. I want you to call Reinhard because someone who neither of us can lay a hand on is up to no good.”
“What are you goin’ on about? Talk sense, man.”
Lachins snorted, treating Subaru’s plea like it was nonsense.
The look on his face made Subaru lower his eyes and breathe deeply— Stay away, he prayed privately as he opened his mouth.
“—The people coming…might be from the Witch Cult.”
There, I said it, thought Subaru as he let out his breath. Lachins’s expression stiffened almost instantly.
A moment after he spoke, Subaru looked down at his chest, but nothing had happened. Even though he’d divulged a piece of information gained via Return by Death, no penalty had occurred.
“Nothing this time, huh? …Well, shit, that’s bad for my heart in more than one way.”
Grasping his own collar, Subaru was flooded with relief as he cursed with minor irritation.
It had been a year since he’d experienced Return by Death, but Subaru continued to be regularly tormented by the various penalties that he incurred whenever he’d attempted to divulge the existence of his unusual power.
In one notable example, he’d decided to reveal everything to Beatrice once and for all, only to experience truly hellish suffering like never before.
It was a special present from the Witch of Jealousy—the culprit who stood behind those black hands. The penalty almost seemed to say, Forget about everything that transpired when we parted back at the Witch’s Tea Party in the Sanctuary.
Given the circumstances, Subaru still had yet to disclose the existence of Return by Death to Beatrice or anyone else.
Of course, so long as it didn’t call abject suffering down on himself, he fully intended to tell his partner Beatrice everything that he could. He’d spent a long time trying before reluctantly giving up.
Either way, the important part was that he’d been able to convey to Lachins the coming Witch Cult attack without activating the penalty—
“Hey, brat, how serious are you about what you just said? This ain’t some kinda ruse, right?”
“It’s Subaru Natsuki. Stop calling me ‘brat’ already, Lachins.”
Lachins, who had lowered his voice, clicked his tongue as he received Subaru’s reply.
In this world, invoking the names of the Witch of Jealousy and the Witch Cult was indescribably serious, enough that even Lachins had changed his expression as he instantly grasped the gravity of the impending situation.
“Subaru, you piece of shit, where the hell did you hear about somethin’ like…? Aww, crap. That’s right. You’re the one who killed the Witch Cult’s Sloth guy, huh? Guess you do have some credibility…”
Flicking his tongue piercing with a finger, Lachins tried to figure out how to treat Subaru’s statement. Lachins made some speculation that was a little at odds with the facts, but Subaru’s exploits were apparently enough to convince him to play along.
“Anyway, are ya saying those guys are gonna show up in this city? Or right here in this damned square?”
“So you believe me?”
“You’re the one who said ya ain’t playin’ around. Look, I hate that redheaded bastard’s lectures, but I like starin’ death in the face even less. If you get it, then watch what you say and how you say it.”
It wasn’t exactly trust or faith, but Lachins had made an unexpectedly logical decision. Subaru responded with a quick “Gotcha!” and a vigorous nod.
“All right, I’ll keep that mind. To properly explain, it’s the Witch Cult’s Archbishop of Wrath who’s coming. She’s gonna poke her face out at the top of the time tower in this square. There’s no particular target, so she’s gonna aim for everyone here.”
“That sounds just like the Witch Cult, don’t it? Shit, how much time do we got?”
“Probably less than five minutes. So I’d really like to call him now.”
“Five minutes?! The hell?! Why didn’t ya say that sooner?!”
“That’s why I’ve been asking you since five minutes ago!”
Lachins raised his voice as he suddenly realized how urgent the situation was, but the time limit was a curse that Subaru could not be more aware of. If he had any other choice, Subaru wouldn’t be relying on casting a net out like this, either.
“Hey! This ain’t a sideshow! Get lost, ya damn tourists!”
Lachins had judged that you couldn’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Rudely howling at the people crowding around his and Subaru’s argument at a distance, he thrust his right hand toward the sky.
“Lettin’ magic fly inside the city with nothing goin’ on is against city regs. Ya better be there with me to explain.”
“I’ll do that much any day. I’ll lick someone’s boots if I have to.”
“And you call yourself a knight?!”
An instant after Subaru’s reply left Lachins dumbfounded, Lachins unleashed a red light from his palm toward the sky. The flare spread in the middle of the sky, making the heavens glow and glimmer as if he’d launched some small, cheap fireworks.
To be blunt, it was hard to expect much from something so puny, but it was surely enough to summon that hero.
“Gotta say, though, never thought I’d be working together with Larry toward the same goal like this…”
Subaru wanted to believe that such deep sentiment was a sign he’d made the right decision. If this brought Reinhard running, then surely it would drastically change the situation.
—That vague sense of relief had caused Subaru to forget a natural concern.
That moment, he had a thought that would have never occurred to him fifteen minutes ago—back during the second go-around.
“”
The people in the square looked up at the light in the sky, raising voices of surprise and wonder.
Accordingly—
“—My. A ball of fire off in the distance. It glows so prettily. Thank you.”
Naturally, when she heard the fuss outside, the bandaged enigma came out into the open.
Sub-chapter 6.
Leaning her body forward from the top of the white tower, Sirius seemed to be in a very good mood. Even if the bandages kept her expression hidden, her voice overflowed with emotion.
Sirius savored the red, magical glow floating in the blue sky before clapping.
“Yes! Now then, everyone, so sorry to interrupt. Good day to you all!”
The thundering sound of her clap echoed loudly, and the audience, which had been focusing on the Goa spell that Lachins had unleashed, reflexively turned toward Sirius.
“No, don’t look!!”
Worried that this was the condition for her Authority activating, Subaru yelled out in warning. However, no one heeded his words and averted their gazes. Of course not—Subaru himself had done the exact same thing that they did upon coming into contact with Sirius for the first time.
The eccentric was instinctually provocative. Her words and actions made you unable to look away.
“My. You have gone quiet far sooner than I thought. It is surely because these two drew everyone’s attention before I came out. Thank you. Applause, please!”
Clapping as she spoke, Sirius indicated Subaru and Lachins with her chain-wrapped hands.
Amid sparse applause, Subaru endured the terrible chill running up his back as he desperately turned his head away in the hopes of escaping from the effects of her Authority. However, it was probably too late for that.
After all, Subaru already found himself unable to cover his ears.
Subaru had deduced that the condition for Sirius activating her Authority was for a potential victim to see her or hear her voice. Therefore, at first, he thought that maybe averting his eyes or plugging his ears might be enough—but what did he need to cover his ears for anyway? After all, Sirius’s voice was so soothing.
“—Ah.”
Before he realized it, Subaru had turned back around, staring right at Sirius.
For Sirius’s part, she swayed her body with delight when she noticed Subaru was gazing up at her. The hooks at the tips of her chains clattered as they scraped along the floor, and this metallic sound pierced Subaru’s mind.
“Yes! It took nineteen seconds until all of you looked in my direction. I’m so sorry, but this is joyous indeed. Also, it would appear there is a child here thinking of me with much more intensity than I expected. Now, I should introduce myself.”
As the massive audience gazed up at her in silence, Sirius politely bowed her head. As she did so, she peered down upon the square with only one eye uncovered.
“I am the Witch Cult’s Archbishop of Wrath—my name is Sirius Romanée-Conti.”
Normally, the repulsive being invoking that terrifying name would be regarded as an object of fear and hatred.
And yet the throng of people accepted it as if it were the name of a neighbor whom everyone knew. Sirius gently acknowledged this mild reaction, smiling and nodding like a benevolent mother.
“Tee-hee, thank you. I am so sorry to make all of you spare time for me like this. But rest easy, for it will be over in short order.”
Gently, like that of a mother reading a picture book in her child’s bedroom, Sirius’s voice had a lulling effect.
All they wanted was to hear her voice more. That impulse was so strong that—
“—Oh, really now? In that case, I should finish this sooner rather than later.”
This new voice was deeper and more caring than Sirius’s hollow affections. The emotions that had been sinking deep into the bodies and minds of Subaru and the others in the square were shaken.
“”
Sirius opened her eye wide while Subaru and the rest of the audience joined her in turning toward the edge of the square as one.
Their gazes fell on a waterway flowing behind the square. The normally gentle stream of water was flowing backward as something was moving through it with incredible force, kicking up a spray of water in its wake.
His vivid red hair blazed like a beautiful, flickering flame.
He had eyes that seemed like a polished cut of a magnificent blue sky.
He was built so handsomely that any manner of being might fall for him.
—This man was the epitome of what all people pictured in their hearts when they heard the word hero.
“Looking for the shortest route took some time. I’m sorry I’m late.”
The hero apologized for running over in thirty seconds rather than five.
The Sword Saint stood in the square after taking a path that no one else could as his so-called shortcut—or, more specifically, having accomplished the superhuman feat of running upstream. Then when he caught sight of Wrath, who was standing atop the time tower, he took a breath.
As he hardened his blue eyes, a short “I see…” was all that emerged from the Sword Saint—Reinhard.
“I understand why you called me here. You made the right decision, Lachins. Or was it you who summoned me, Subaru?”
Slowly, Reinhard walked over and patted Subaru and Lachins both on the shoulder. Instantly, strength returned to their totally immobilized bodies.
“R-Reinhard…?”
“Yes, it is I. This seems to be quite a predicament. That’s an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins, isn’t it?”
As Subaru called out to him in an unsteady voice, Reinhard nodded firmly. The palpable wariness visible in his serene blue eyes showed that Reinhard had instantly realized the danger that Sirius posed with a single glance.
Gulping at how quickly he’d understood, Subaru replied with an awkward nod of his own.
“She…she has the power to brainwash other people. Seems like we’re okay for now, but it happens when you hear her voice or look at her.”
“No, it’s not only her voice and appearance. It would seem that anyone who merely knows she exists is affected. It’s possible that I won’t be able to maintain my composure for very long.”
“No way, even you…?!”
Subaru was stunned seeing Reinhard acting so meek.
Though he had no basis for his belief, he’d thought that Reinhard of all people would be all right. If even he wasn’t immune to Sirius’s Authority, then Subaru’s plan was already falling apart.
And during this exchange between the two, Sirius reacted as well. The bandaged eccentric gazed steadily at Reinhard with a purple eye.
“Could it be…? You with the red hair, are you the famous Sword Saint?”
“That’s correct. I am Reinhard van Astrea, current holder of the title of Sword Saint. Unfortunately, I have yet to merit such a lofty title.”
Reinhard boldly confirmed Sirius’s suspicions. Coming face-to-face with the most powerful being to set foot in that square, Sirius was far from being afraid and actually cried out with an “Ah-ha!”
She shouted and squirmed in place. The eccentric’s cracked, high-pitched laughter echoed toward the sky.
“Ah-ha! Ah-ha-ha! Ahh, what a splendid turn of events! What a fortuitous day it is for you to have come like this! You are known as the most splendid knight in all the land! Everyone loves you, and you love everyone! You are the living manifestation of the hope, the very love that I preach!”
“I wonder about that…”
Sirius writhed with emotion, getting incredibly worked up as she flew into what was truly a wild dance of mad delight. Meanwhile, Reinhard was still engaging in conversation with Sirius, who continued rambling, though he didn’t so much as look in her direction.
This was far too risky against an opponent with an Authority that joined minds in mutual madness.
“W-wait, Reinhard… It’s not a good idea to keep talking with her. It has to be bad. I think…it’s bad. I’m not really sure why, though, but…”
“…So it would seem. Putting my own interests aside, this is not something that should be drawn out for long.”
“Reinhard?”
“—I will do what you called me to do. It’s time to deal with the issue.”
With those final words, Reinhard took a single step forward, slightly bent his knees, and leaped up.
His stance made it seem as if he were just jumping over a puddle in front of him—but the resulting gale-force winds, the tremors that shot through the ground, and the shock wave left in his wake made everyone in the square draw in their breaths.
As astonishment rippled across the crowd that he left behind him, Reinhard used that explosive power to rise high into the air.
“Hee-hee-hee! Ahh, how extraordinary!!”
As the Sword Saint shot out a kick at her from below, Sirius crossed her arms to shield against the blow. Her body was easily launched far into the sky above the tower.
“Wh-what in the…?”
—Isn’t…isn’t this basically aerial combat…?
After taking flight to attack Sirius on the high ground, Reinhard followed up by leaping off the edge of the time tower to pursue his opponent, whom he’d already kicked even higher.
“Hee-hee!! Ahh, what overwhelming power!”
As she watched the hero soar after her from below, Sirius swung her arms as her voice trembled with delight. Hooked chains flew toward Reinhard, slicing through the air with more of a roar than a whistle.
Those razor-sharp hooks could easily punch through the human body, and the sinister chains were no less dangerous, as they could shatter bone on impact. The cacophony of chains rattling seemed to make the very air groan, conducting a symphony of violence and destruction as they snaked toward the Sword Saint.
Sirius exhibited incredible skill as she freely manipulated the flight path of her chains in midair. There was no mistaking that Sirius’s mastery was beyond the ability of any ordinary human. One look was all it took for anyone to grasp this.
—That was why what happened next shocked everyone.
“Chains? How troublesome.”
The Sword Saint frowned, focusing on the chains that rattled sinisterly as they homed in on him.
Then the spectators were left dumbfounded at how the grimacing Sword Saint dealt with them.
“Hee-hee-hee!!”
Sirius laughed. It was unclear whether the laugh was an expression of enjoyment or desperation.
But for everyone else watching, what could they do but laugh as well?
She slammed her chains down in a hail of blows—but Reinhard did not draw his sword.
According to what Subaru had heard once, it wasn’t that he chose to not draw his sword. He simply couldn’t. The holy sword that Reinhard possessed was designed to be impossible to draw except against a worthy opponent.
As such, Reinhard was challenging Sirius unarmed. Even Reinhard should have difficulty fighting her under such circumstances—or so Subaru thought, but that was proof that he didn’t truly understand Reinhard yet.
“”
The raging chains attacked in concert, letting out high-pitched cracks as they were thrown back one after another.
The sight of the resulting shock waves and scattering sparks was such a ferocious display, it made Subaru and the others on the ground feel like lightning was crackling above them.
Reinhard was holding his ground with footwork that surpassed all comprehension.
He met the first strike with the sole of his shoe, purposefully wrapping the oncoming chain around his ankle, instantly gaining control of the hook on the end and using it to knock down each and every subsequent attack.
All that happened in the span of less than a second, meaning the only ones capable of tracking Reinhard’s unconventional movements were the few seasoned warriors present. As soon as they realized what they had just witnessed, they would abandon any attempts to understand what was going on.
The audience was suddenly struck with the impulse to laugh. They released the breath they had been holding and let the tension drain from their shoulders. It was good that Reinhard was on their side. If he’d been an enemy, that scene would have left them with buckled knees and weakened bladders.
“Hee-hee, hee-hee-hee! Ah-ha-ha-hee-hee-hee!!”
Seized by a totally different impulse, Sirius kept on laughing.
Of the two sets of chains wrapped around the eccentric’s hands, one remained coiled around Reinhard’s foot. With her options dwindling, Sirius launched a wild flurry of attacks with her left hand to try and beat the hero down, only for her attacks to fail in a shower of sparks.
The erupting fireworks showed no sign of stopping or slowing. The blue sky seemed to be burning white. But before the air itself was reduced to smoke and ash, the Sword Saint finally closed in on his mysterious attacker.
“To think you would push me this far! Incredible!!”
“You are quite skilled yourself. I can’t help but be disappointed all the more seeing you use your talents for wicked deeds.”
The instant the two crossed paths, they traded words as well as mighty blows.
Reinhard pulled his right foot back, replacing it with his left hand in a chop. Sirius counterattacked with a downswing that had such force, her golden chain seemed ready to split the sky itself in half.
—Seeing that solid metal chain being severed with a single hand chop was nothing short of astonishing.
A long time ago, Subaru had seen someone use a chopstick to slice a bag of chopsticks as a sort of party trick. If it were Reinhard, he was sure the man could do the same thing to a steel sword like it was made of paper.
Reinhard’s hand strike was so sharp and beautiful that Subaru believed that with all his heart.
The twirling golden chain that Reinhard had severed twirled around, breaking through the time tower’s wall and whirling somewhere within. It was when Subaru saw smoke and rubble falling down onto the square that he finally came to his senses.
“I’m such an idiot. This isn’t the time to gawk. If Reinhard has her pinned down, then…!”
At that very moment, the boy held captive inside the time tower was out of Sirius’s sight.
Pulling himself out of his dazed state, Subaru darted through a gap in the crowd and raced toward the time tower. He’d free the hostage—Lusbel—and get rid of his worries in one fell swoop.
He also needed to make sure that Reinhard didn’t have to deal with Lusbel being used as a human shield.
Even inside the damp and murky air of the time tower, the battle between superhumans was just as audible inside as it was outside. Focusing on the task at hand, Subaru dashed up the long, spiraling stairs.
“Lusbel!”
“Ngh! Mnnngh!!”
On the topmost floor, Subaru spotted a young child chained up right beside the inspection window. When Subaru picked up the hysterically sobbing Lusbel, the boy desperately shook his head and struggled.
Subaru knew he’d taken the place of his childhood friend out of concern for her well-being.
“Don’t worry, I’m on your side. That bandaged freak is our enemy, and right now, she’s got her hands full with a superhero outside. That’s why I’m getting you out of here while I can.”
Patiently explaining the situation to the writhing boy, Subaru seemed to get through, as Lusbel stopped flailing. When Subaru saw reason rather than fear gradually return to the boy’s eyes, he nodded reassuringly.
“You just wait. I’m gonna get those chains off right now.”
The still-anxious boy nodded in acknowledgment as Subaru carefully unraveled the chains binding him. When he finally freed him from the chains, which stretched from shoulder to ankle, and removed the one that was serving as a gag, relief finally appeared on Lusbel’s face.
“Good, they’re off. Can you stand on your own? If not, I’ll carry you.”
“I-I’m all right… Tha-thank you very much…!”
Rising on trembling legs, Lusbel summoned his courage and thanked Subaru. His face was still marred by tears, but Subaru had seen his bravery several times now. It was worthy of praise.
Nodding in respect, Subaru turned his attention beyond the window to the ferocious battle still raging outside the tower.
“One wrong move, and this whole place might go down. Let’s get outta here. You hurt anywhere?”
“Earlier, my left hand got a little…”
Lusbel grimaced as he showed Subaru his injury. The boy’s left arm sported a dark bruise and a cruel laceration, like a snake had been wrapped around it. Seeing how the wound seeped with blood, Subaru twisted his face in anguish.
“Did that asshole really have to hurt a little kid like this? Tying one up wasn’t enough?”
“No, that’s not it. This…started hurting all of a sudden when I was tied up earlier.”
“Wait, what?”
Lusbel’s words made Subaru furrow his brows.
He recalled that Lusbel’s body had been completely ensnared from his shoulders down to his ankles. If the boy’s arm hadn’t been injured before being tied up, there was no way it could have been injured afterward.
—The contradiction left Subaru’s chest throbbing with a deep foreboding.
“…Let’s go. Either way, we can’t stay here.”
Leading Lusbel by his uninjured right hand, Subaru raced back down the spiral stairway of the tower. The two descended down to the lowest floor and proceeded outside.
The instant the two emerged, the scene unfolding in the square before them was—
“”
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
There were thunderous calls for murder. The crowd screamed for blood, for the execution of the stranger who was on the ropes.
Their eyes were bloodshot, and their teeth were bared. Their hatred was born from the physiological revulsion that accompanied enmity, and every one of their negative emotions culminated in an all-consuming desire to kill.
—The sum of these phenomena was wrath.
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Standing shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers, they raised their voices for a single purpose.
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Before this ordeal, their hearts had coalesced into one, all sense of good and evil superseded by the demands of extraordinary circumstances.
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
This union, this simple honesty, this pure act of will, this was—
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
“—To become one—is that not love? If so, then this is nothing short of a utopia that gives rise to true love!”
In a scene straight out of Hell, Sirius spoke in a voice that was tinged with ecstasy as the crowd continued braying for blood.
With her back against the time tower, the maverick stood on the ground, finally cornered by the hero. The nearby crowd demanded her death, as though their screams would empower the Sword Saint, whom they had entrusted with their bloodthirsty intent.
Sirius had apparently completely lost the chain on her left arm at some point in the time that Subaru had spent in the tower. That meant both fighters were now equally unarmed, but not a single person present thought she could beat Reinhard in a fair fight.
She was clearly in mortal peril—and yet Sirius continued to laugh, her demeanor wholly unchanged.
“Do you have any last words?”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, and my apologies. I shall share a warning. The other Archbishops are not as polite as I. Should you ask them for their last words, a terrible fate shall surely befall you.”
“—I will take your warning to heart.”
In response to Reinhard’s charity, Sirius offered a provocative message that seemed to be coming from a place of genuine concern. The Sword Saint dutifully acknowledged her as he raised a flat hand to carry out her execution.
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
The voltage of the audience rose even higher as Sirius’s life seemed to be nearing its end.
And yet Subaru, still standing at the entrance of the tower, couldn’t ignore the terrible chill stirring in his chest.
He desperately searched for an explanation, a clue of some sort, but he simply couldn’t think of the right thing to say. If he opened his mouth now, that incomprehensible misgiving would cause a flood of words to pour out.
“To understand one another. To yield to one another. To accept one another. To forgive one another. To become one like this is the purest form of love.”
Heedless of the anxiety gripping Subaru, Sirius opened her mouth to recite her creed.
On the surface, what she said sounded correct, but the instant he thought about Sirius’s ways, they mutated into the logic of an abominable heretic. This incorrigible distortion was the Witch Cultists’ true nature.
Reinhard seemed to have reached the same conclusion as Subaru.
Deciding there was nothing left to say, Reinhard stepped forward. Sirius simply laughed, stretching her arms toward the sky. The next moment, chains shot out from the sleeves of her robe as if fired out of a cannon—when the chains hidden inside her surged forth, they bit into the walls of the tower as they wrapped around the eccentric’s body all at once.
During that shameless attempt to flee, Reinhard closed the distance, effortlessly slipping through the air.
Leaving footprints behind on the paving stones, the red flame chased the fugitive into the sky. His raised, flat hand was an instant-kill weapon equal to a holy sword or a demonic blade—the instant it connected, Sirius’s life would be forfeit.
“—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
The throng’s cries would be answered.
Unspeakable terror raced up Subaru’s spine with incredible force, a harbinger of something irrevocable.
“Reinhard!!”
Obeying his instinct, Subaru called out the name of the hero.
And then with equal force, he shouted:
“—Kill her!!”
Reinhard’s open hand shot forward.
Tracing a white line, he neatly bisected Sirius’s body from the left shoulder to the right flank.
The blow was so keen that it took several seconds until the body noticed that it had been split in two. Belatedly, blood gushed from the massive wound as Sirius’s severed lower half fell away.
“…Ahh, what a kind world.”
Sirius whispered deliriously as she split apart, her innards spilling out.
With chains still wrapped around it, her upper body scattered gore and viscera as it sailed through the sky, while the lower half trailed blood like a gushing fountain as it spun down toward the square.
It was a terrible spectacle that would make most want to avert their eyes. But not a soul in the square did.
They could not.
“…No…”
Turning back, Reinhard stiffened as a word of utter shock trickled out.
His blue eyes swayed with confusion and remorse. Subaru saw the despair spreading across his beautiful face.
And that was the last thing Subaru saw.
“”
Subaru and the other spectators had all been cleaved in two, transforming the square into a lake of carnage.
Each of them bore a wound like a filleted fish, all neatly severed from the left shoulder to the right flank.
His blood and organs scattered about, Subaru’s mind vanished without any idea of what had just happened.
But in his final moment, he thought he felt something.
The right hand of the boy… The right hand of the boy, who had been severed in half just like Subaru, seemed to faintly grasp Subaru’s left hand in search of salvation.
He thought he felt that.
Sub-chapter 7.
“After the song, we’ll have a pleasant chat, so could you prepare some snacks, Master Natsuki? Do you not think that sweets will make everyone happy and bring us all closer together?”
“!”
“Oww! Owww! That hurts! That hurts, Subaru!”
A moment after he blinked, a certain voice made Subaru jump in shock.
He had been using every bit of strength he could muster to answer the hand that sought comfort from him—from right before his consciousness had gone out—while squeezing Beatrice’s little hand.
Subaru’s sudden act of violence made Beatrice kick his shin with tears in her eyes. With that tiny spike of pain bringing him back to his senses, Subaru released Beatrice and stepped back.
“Wh-wh-what is the matter? To suddenly try and break Lady Moppet’s hand… What a poor way to treat such a lovely hand. I might even offer to lick it, hoo-haaah…”
“Is that not quite unnecessary, I wonder?! Do not suddenly draw so close with such a repulsive demeanor about you!”
When Liliana tried to rub the injured hand against her cheek, Beatrice shook her off and immediately hid behind Subaru. The inexplicable attack on her hand hadn’t dented Subaru and Beatrice’s bond in the slightest.
Sadly, there was no time to find relief in that happy observation.
“Subaru, are you all right? Your face has suddenly gotten very pale.”
“E-Emilia-tan…”
Coming near, Emilia gently touched a hand to Subaru’s cheek with a look of distinct concern. Subaru drew a sharp breath when he saw himself reflected in her violet eyes, which were rimmed by long eyelashes.
He’d returned once again.
“”
He patted his shoulder and side, checking to see if he was still in one piece.
He’d experienced terrible deaths before, including getting his belly torn open and his head smashed apart, but this was the first time he’d died from a proper slashing. At the instant of his death, a sense of surprise and loss won out over pain.
But that hadn’t been the only cause of his enormous sense of loss—
“This is the first…or, actually, the second time I got done in completely due to friendly fire, right?”
As Subaru tried to make sense of the memories he’d returned with, his death demanded his recognition and acknowledgment of what had happened. And this time, when Subaru looked back at what had occurred in his final moments, he was able to grasp exactly what had brought about his demise.
“But that’s just broken…”
Subaru’s death was identical to how Sirius had died only moments earlier.
They had been killed the exact same way. That incomprehensible fact explained his first death when he watched Lusbel fall to his doom.
When they saw Lusbel plummet to his death, Subaru and the onlookers suffered the same fate all at once. In other words, Sirius’s Authority not only created a resonance of emotions but also transferred physical conditions.
“What am I supposed to do…?”
Reinhard joining the fight had certainly fulfilled Subaru’s goal of striking down Sirius—at the cost of a great deal of lives in the square, rendering all their efforts meaningless.
Leaving things up to Reinhard had looked like the right choice at first, but knowing what he knew now, it had clearly been a mistake.
“Subaru…”
“Ah.”
Emilia and the others looked on in concern as they watched Subaru fall into silence with a difficult expression on his face. For the moment, his priority was to avoid needlessly worrying them further about the Witch Cult being in the city.
With that in mind, Subaru quickly recomposed himself.
“Ah, yeah, uh, it’s nothing, really. I’m just a little… Oh, I know! That daisukiyaki we had this morning came back with a vengeance, and it’s giving me some serious heartburn.”
“Ahh, I completely understand that feeling. The same thing happens to me quite a lot. Sometimes, when I mean to burp, I throw up instead, and other times, I pass a little gas the wrong way, and…”
“You don’t need to finish that thought. You’re technically a young lady, you know? Please never bring that up again.”
Stopping Liliana in the middle of what was clearly supposed to be an outrageous joke, Subaru flashed Emilia a smile. For the briefest of moments, that charming smile made Emilia’s lips tremble before she replied:
“If you insist, I’ll take you at your word, Subaru… But only this time, okay?”
“Yeah, I hear you. Thanks… Anyway, I’m gonna follow Liliana’s suggestion and go play errand boy for a bit. You just sit back and enjoy her song, all right, Emilia-tan?”
Appreciative of Emilia’s thoughtfulness, Subaru saluted as he played the fool. Then Subaru took Beatrice’s hand in a natural fashion while she hid behind him.
“Beako, you’re on shopping detail with me. We can be lovey-dovey the whole way there.”
“Wh-what are you saying all of a—? Yes, I understand.”
Beatrice’s face instantly went red as she instinctively got ready to make some retort, but she calmed down immediately instead the moment she saw Subaru’s expression. She’d deduced something when she noticed in his gaze the hope that he could rely on her.
“Emilia-tan—I’ll be back soon.”
“…Mm-hmm.”
With Beatrice in tow, Subaru said his farewell to Emilia before setting off from the park.
He was unspeakably worried about leaving her by herself. At the same time, he could no longer think of any other way to break out of the dead end that he found himself trapped in—without borrowing Beatrice’s strength.
It was in that darkness with no way out in sight that Subaru ran alongside his partner.
“—Hmph.”
Little did he know, a certain red-eyed girl stared intensely after them as they left.
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Diamond. Diamond. Diamond.
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