"Wait, let's settle down. For now, we should start by organizing the information we have. Got it?"
Having listened at length to the contents
Subaru raised his hand to propose, and both Ferris and Riccard nodded in agreement—the three of them would organize and share everything, including the broadcast they'd just heard.
"Changing locations… that's probably out, given all the wounded."
"Mm. Most people's first aid is done, and there shouldn't be anyone likely to take a sudden turn for the worse, but still…"
Respecting Ferris's professional conviction, they began the discussion without moving. The first thing Subaru wanted to address was this field hospital.
Minimal lighting, a chill stone floor. From the feel of the air, Subaru judged this place to be underground—somewhere close to a department store parking garage.
"This shelter, or whatever it is—where exactly is it? It's still
"It's definitely a shelter. Remember this morning's broadcast from the magic devices? Structurally, Priestella has always been at risk of flooding if anything goes wrong with the waterways, so shelters have been set up all throughout the city. This is one of them in the First Avenue district."
"The place we overturned is near the plaza closest to here. After that lousy first broadcast, I found you guys and carried you here together with the safe refugees—ain't that right?!"
Picking up where Ferris left off, Riccard slapped his broad chest and boomed his answer at full volume. Ferris glared sideways at him—Riccard never lowered his voice no matter how many times he was told—and said, "It was full of wounded, but it was lucky Ferris was here. With this old dog, he could carry wounded people but couldn't do a thing about treatment."
"That's right! It's a good thing I didn't end up feeling bad about it later! Gahaha!"
Riccard threw his head back with a hearty laugh, showing he hadn't changed one bit from his usual demeanor even in this situation. In a place full of wounded, it was a little hard to watch—but just having one person who wasn't wearing a grave expression was a relief in its own way.
"So, about why you guys collapsed…"
"Yeah. Two Sin Archbishops showed up in the plaza. 'Greed' and 'Wrath'—both of them. The one who gouged out my leg was 'Greed,' and the same bastard snatched
"What do you mean?"
"The Archbishop of Wrath… it's hard to explain, but she had the power to make other people feel the exact same injuries and pain that someone had already suffered."
Choosing his words carefully, Subaru did his best to convey Sirius's ability in digestible terms. Riccard tilted his head, but Ferris immediately grasped the danger and his face changed color.
He looked toward the wounded, then at the bandages on Subaru's right leg.
"Right… So that's why your injuries and everyone else's were so similar. I thought inflicting the exact same wounds was just disgustingly bad taste, but… maybe that would've actually been better."
"…Yeah."
If Sirius were merely twisted in personality, plain revulsion would be enough to sum it up. But in her case, her Authority was dangerous on top of her warped character.
And then there was even harder information to convey—the kind that made Subaru not want to even bring it up.
"Also, 'Greed' is a pain too."
"Ugh~ Ferris really, really doesn't want to hear any more bad news, nya."
"Sorry, no choice. —The Greed bastard has some kind of power that nullifies attacks. Flames, whips, punches—zero damage. And on top of that, he might be able to apply that to whoever he's touching, not just himself."
In Regulus's arms, the unconscious Emilia should have been completely vulnerable. Sirius's fire attack and the like should have hit her too, yet Regulus had protected not just himself but Emilia from it all. Rather than Regulus fighting to shield her, it was more accurate to say his baffling ability had made Emilia invincible as well.
But if that were the case, it led to something terrifying.
"One who transmits injuries to others, and one who's invincible… Hah, we're done for."
"The last Sin Archbishop—Petros, that guy—could control any number of invisible arms. That was bad enough, but this time's is way worse in terms of sheer nastiness."
Then again, Petros's guaranteed-hit Authority had never worked on Subaru in the first place.
Since Petros's ability as a Sin Archbishop was useless against him, Subaru's lasting impression was of Petros stripped of his title—nothing more than a lunatic.
This would be the first time Subaru truly fought a Sin Archbishop for what that title was worth.
"If they all call themselves Sin Archbishops… it's safe to assume the 'Lust' from that broadcast is just as troublesome."
"Worst case… as if it wasn't bad enough that there might already be five of them."
"…Five?"
Before Subaru, who was biting his lip, Ferris voiced a bad feeling that exceeded his imagination.
How on earth had he arrived at that thought?
Eyes widening at Subaru, Ferris sighed and held up a finger.
"Listen, okay? Think back to that broadcast. At the end, 'Lust' said it, right? That they'd secured the control towers at the city's four waterways."
"Y-yeah, they did. Something about how if those waterways get operated, the whole city sinks to the bottom of the water… so it's really bad, basically."
"I mean, it's possible the
"Four… towers."
Saying the number aloud, Subaru finally understood what Ferris was getting at.
The control towers governing Priestella's floodgates—one each in the east, west, south, and north, for a total of four. If the enemy had seized all four— "Don't tell me—one Archbishop per tower… four towers, four Sin Archbishops holding them!?" he blurted. "E-even so, that would still only make four in total…"
"Subaru. The broadcast. —A magic device like that can only be used from the city hall at the center of the city. That means the enemy has seized five key points with central municipal functions."
"——!"
At the mounting wave of despair, Subaru's breath caught.
Ferris was right. The broadcast was only possible because the enemy controlled city hall. And aside from the 'Lust' Archbishop holed up there, two more Sin Archbishops had already been confirmed.
There was no reason to believe this wasn't a full-scale assault by the Witch Cult.
"Was it just us in the plaza… that is, were there other disturbances? Damage that caused casualties somewhere?"
"————"
If this was truly a major Witch Cult offensive, it was hard to imagine the plaza was the only place where chaos broke out. Hoping his worst imagination wouldn't take shape, Subaru deliberately avoided the words "dead and wounded." Ferris fell silent.
Subaru's heart sank at Ferris's downturned face, but it was Riccard who cleared his throat.
The canine beastman bared his fangs at Subaru, eyes wide.
"Honest to God, I'm not gonna sugarcoat our situation. We have no idea what's going on at the other shelters. But venturing outside isn't a smart move."
"Why not? Shouldn't we try to coordinate with the other locations somehow? You've got to be worried about your comrades too… Right?"
Arms crossed, Subaru turned to Ferris in a hurry.
There was something odd about this shelter—full of wounded as it was, not a single familiar face besides Ferris and Riccard. Especially with Ferris here, "Where are Crusch and Wilhelm? It's incredibly unusual for those two not to be with you. Are they not in this shelter?"
"…That's a rough question to ask. As you can see, the only familiar faces here are Ferris and this old man, Subaru. As for the rest—"
" —You shouldn't trouble Subaru any further, Ferris."
Ferris's answer, which only stoked Subaru's anxiety, made his insides clench with tension. Then a soft but steady voice cut through the tension.
Startled by the sudden voice, Subaru looked around frantically. But no matter where he searched, he couldn't locate the speaker. Then— "I'm sorry. I think I've startled him instead. Ferris, please make sure Subaru can see me properly."
"All right, all right. Really, Crusch-sama is just hopeless sometimes, nya."
"Huh? …Hah?"
Before Subaru's wide eyes, Ferris conversed with the invisible owner of the voice. Ferris rummaged through his belongings, and what he pulled out made Subaru's eyes go even rounder.
Then the trick behind it clicked.
"You've got to be kidding—that's—"
"Yep. One of my spoils from a year ago. Bringing it this time was the right call, wasn't it?"
In Ferris's hand was a hand mirror that fit neatly in his palm.
At first glance it looked utterly unremarkable, but reflected in it was a beautiful woman with long green hair and a gentle face—unmistakably Crusch.
The magical device known as a dialogue mirror was essentially an otherworldly cell phone that let you speak with the owner of a paired mirror. It had proved useful a year ago during the confrontation with the Witch Cult, and it had apparently been brought along this time too.
Through the silent Subaru, Crusch on the other side of the mirror furrowed her brow slightly.
"Ferris. Subaru looks quite troubled, doesn't he?"
"Sorry about that. But, but—I didn't expect the next contact to come so soon, so the explanation kept getting pushed back. Dialogue mirrors aren't all-powerful, you know."
"W-wait. I get the idea. It's thanks to the dialogue mirror, that much is clear. So—you're calling from a different shelter than ours, right, Crusch?"
"That's correct."
Listening to the exchange between master and servant, Subaru gathered his scattered thoughts.
The reason Ferris—who normally worshipped the ground Crusch walked on—seemed so composed was apparently that he'd already confirmed her safety through the dialogue mirror.
At the very least, Crusch's safety was confirmed, which was a relief. Subaru met Crusch's gaze through the mirror still held by Ferris.
"I'd say 'glad to hear it,' but given the circumstances… being able to communicate like this is a small miracle. Are you hurt, Crusch?"
"Yes, thank you for your concern. Fortunately, I wasn't involved in any incidents up to the point I made it into the shelter. You, on the other hand—I heard you were carried in with serious injuries. Are you all right?"
"I wouldn't say I'm all good. But I'll manage. I can't just lie here, and I'll move out as soon as my wounds close up. …Ferris, stop glaring."
The moment Subaru tried to dismiss the strict bed-rest diagnosis right to his face, Ferris's piercing gaze locked onto him. But sorry as he was, Subaru wasn't speaking recklessly—this wasn't the time to just lie around. The situation was dire enough that anyone could be lost at any moment.
Lolling about and letting the worst happen was simply not an option.
"We can discuss that point later… Crusch, what's the situation at your shelter? Who else is there with you?"
"Well, the people with me here are—"
"I'm here, Subaru. Fortunately, I was able to bring the people who had stayed at the inn with me."
The voice that cut in from behind Crusch was a refined tone identifiable from a single syllable, even through a mirror.
That voice made Subaru's mind go blank for an instant, but he quickly shook his head. He refused to be the kind of idiot who couldn't appreciate how reassuring it was to have that person there in this situation.
"It's a load off my mind knowing you're there, Julius."
"I was worried too, hearing that you were brought in unconscious. Glad to see you've recovered enough to banter. …Is it true that Emilia was taken?"
"…It's true. Sorry. I wasn't strong enough."
"There were two Sin Archbishops. I'm not heartless enough to blame you for being outmatched. On our side, there's me and Crusch, Anastasia, and several members of the
Julius confirmed Emilia's situation briefly and made no effort to press further.
His consideration through the mirror was appreciated, but it also pricked at Subaru's guilt all the more.
As Subaru listened to his subsequent words, he glanced at the wounded in the shelter and spotted the face he'd been looking for.
"Two of Felt's companions are on your end—tell them that your other comrade is being sheltered here. She's injured, but she's alive."
"That's a relief. They've been putting on a brave face, but they were clearly worried. I'll pass the word along. —Now then, Subaru."
After relaying the message about Rachins to Ton and Kan, Julius lowered his tone. The atmosphere of the conversation shifted. When Subaru waited for him to continue, Julius spoke in a low voice.
"What are you going to do?"
"…Wow, that's a pretty broad way to frame it."
"Think back to when we dealt with 'Sloth.' When it comes to the Witch Cult, I'd like to believe you might be our specialist. Perhaps you could break this situation open in ways I wouldn't even conceive of."
"What kind of ask is that? Hate to disappoint, but I'm no Witch Cult specialist."
"That's unfortunate. But there's also Emilia to consider. Without question, you're the one who feels the most urgency about her safety. I want to know—honestly—what you intend to do."
Even though the answer wasn't what he was hoping for, Julius didn't look discouraged. He'd known from the start that his hope of Subaru as a Witch Cult killer was little more than a pipe dream.
But the real topic, Subaru realized quickly, was the second thing he'd brought up.
"…The one who took Emilia was 'Greed.' Even now, the mere memory of his disgusting, self-serving ranting sends chills down my spine. There's no way I can leave Emilia in that bastard's hands for one second longer."
"So you're saying you'll personally handle rescuing Emilia from Greed."
"Of course. …Wait, did I just say 'handle'?"
Subaru nodded impulsively, and on the other side of the mirror, Julius brushed his bangs. Then the knight held up an open palm, showing five fingers where Subaru could see.
"Listen, Subaru. If you've talked with Ferris, you already know—the Witch Cult has seized five key points across Priestella. If there's an Archbishop-class enemy at each one, the allocation of forces becomes an extremely critical issue."
"…Because if they tamper with the floodgates at even one location, the city goes under?"
"Exactly. The condition for driving out the Witch Cult is that we simultaneously retake all five locations. We've scraped together every fighter we can find from the city's relevant parties, but… you understand that even that's difficult, don't you?"
With communication between the various shelters cut off, the all-out coordinated offensive Julius described was virtually impossible. Normally, the magic devices at city hall would have handled communication between all locations. But with city hall itself in enemy hands, the shelters were effectively cut off from one another. Each would have to assess the situation and act on its own.
"For what it's worth, Riccard confirmed that Witch Cult members are crawling all over the city. And there are also people who've apparently gone berserk."
"…Witch Cult fanatics and Sirius's victims. Damn, this just keeps getting worse."
At Ferris's unwelcome addendum, Subaru scratched his head and ground his teeth at the deteriorating situation. If only they could establish contact with every remaining friendly force— "On our side, the missing are Garfiel and Otto. Emilia's been taken by 'Greed,' which technically makes her missing too. It's a mess…"
"On mine, Joshua is missing, along with the three vice-commanders of the Iron Fang. Wilhelm and Felt—Reinhard hasn't been accounted for either. As for Priscilla…"
"Her companions Al and the scummy middle-aged guy—no clue. But Priscilla should've been at the city park on First Avenue right when the chaos started. Where she evacuated from there… ah, damn. Liliana was with them too. I hope they're okay."
Priscilla was a person Subaru didn't get along with, and Liliana was certainly a girl who gave him pause—but even he cared enough to hope they hadn't gotten caught up in anything.
He figured they were fine, given that one was a woman who claimed to be lucky and the other a diva with that attitude of hers.
When Subaru gathered up all these concerns, it drove home just how unrealistic a simultaneous five-point assault really was.
It was far too reckless. In their current state, they couldn't even send a single capable fighter to each location. And the enemies were Sin Archbishops—fighting them one-on-one was pure wishful thinking at best.
"…Wait. Why do we even need to take all five simultaneously?"
"What are you saying? I already told you. If even one control tower is left in enemy hands, they can cause catastrophic damage to the city. Miss even one of the four—"
"That's not what I mean. Well, it is, but that's not it. I get that we need to take all four back. But where's the necessity for it to be simultaneous?"
"If they sense an attack on one location, the other three will obviously move to respond. That's precisely why they launched this massive offensive in the first place."
Julius methodically moved to shut down Subaru's objection.
Listening to his reasoning, Subaru genuinely questioned whether that logic was truly correct. Intellectually, he understood Julius's position perfectly—it made complete sense on paper. But their opponents were not the kind of people who played by logic.
Sirius and Regulus had been trying to straight-up murder each other in that plaza.
The damage hadn't spread only because Regulus hadn't been entirely serious, but Sirius had definitely intended to burn him alive. And Regulus, had Subaru not intervened, would likely have torn Sirius to pieces.
Were people like that really coordinating to take down this city?
"…I don't think they're truly coordinating. Sure, they'll threaten to manipulate the floodgates at the control towers, but I doubt they're actually in regular contact with each other. That's what I think."
"You have evidence?"
"In the plaza, the two Sin Archbishops were about to kill each other. They broke it off when a new instruction apparently came through the Gospels, but without that, one of them would be dead. People who would do that aren't the type to coordinate."
"So it's hard to imagine them cooperating…" Julius replied, though his tone was tinged with reluctance. He couldn't quite let go of that sliver of hope. Subaru understood.
"Have you done any checking outside?"
"I've posted Iron Fang lookouts at positions where they can see the control towers, but… do you have something in mind?"
"Just a theory, but—if they wanted to communicate periodically, the simplest method would be firing magic into the sky or something, right? The control towers are spread apart, and this city is a maze, so moving between them is a pain. If they tried to coordinate verbally, even with dialogue mirrors it'd take too long unless they brought a whole bunch of them."
"We can safely assume the Witch Cult didn't bring many dialogue mirrors. If a large number had been smuggled in, the spirits would react to the interference. My quasi-spirits haven't picked up any such signs. —Oh, so that's what it means."
By the time he finished answering, Julius had arrived at the same conclusion as Subaru.
"If they're not making obvious periodic contact, then a single tower being attacked probably won't trigger a response—unless the commotion is big enough to draw attention. They wouldn't even know it's happening, so they can't respond. But this way, we wouldn't need to split our forces as much."
"…There is one problem with that plan, though. There's one location that's different from the rest—it has the means to signal the others."
"City hall. The building that can broadcast with those magic devices—the only one that can alert the other control towers by voice. That's why it needs to fall first."
The first move was to concentrate their forces on the city hall at the center. If they could throw everything remaining at it and drive out the Witch Cult, then they could pick off the control towers one by one.
It would still come down to speed, but it was less dangerous than a simultaneous five-point assault. At least, that was what Subaru wanted to believe.
"————"
On the other side of the magic device, Julius had fallen into a pensive silence.
Subaru's proposal was still rooted in wishful thinking—based on the rift between Regulus and Sirius, he was betting that the Witch Cult's coordination was falling apart.
If the Gospel's text had read something like "everyone shall get along and slaughter every last person," and they actually followed through, this entire idea would be upended.
If only he'd been there—if only he'd managed to extract even just the Gospel's content— "I apologize for the delay. Can you hear me now?"
In the middle of that heavy silence, a new voice suddenly cut into the conversation.
That deep, weathered voice carried more reliability than anything else in this moment, and Subaru's head snapped up.
Reflected clearly in the dialogue mirror was the face of a white-haired old swordsman.
"Wilhelm! You're safe!"
"Grandpa Wil! Thank goodness. When we couldn't reach you, we were worried sick!"
Not just Subaru—even Ferris's voice brightened at the sight. Wilhelm, the gentleman in the mirror, widened his eyes in surprise, then gave a slight bow.
"My apologies. We've been dealing with a great deal on our end as well and couldn't find a moment to reach out. We only just now ducked into a nearby shelter with the citizens. I'm glad to see both you and Subaru unharmed. How is Crusch?"
"I'm safe as well. Wilhelm, I'm relieved you're safe."
"You're too kind… No—my failing is in not being at your side during a crisis like this. Please stay where you are for a while longer. I will come to you myself."
"Man, the sense of security is on a whole different level…"
Watching Crusch and Wilhelm exchange words through the mirror, Subaru marveled at the sheer reassurance their master-servant dynamic radiated.
He was glad Wilhelm was safe—but he also wanted to bring him into the planning session. He began to recap the conversation so far— But Wilhelm spoke first.
"There is much I'd like to discuss, but allow me to address the most urgent matter."
Without so much as an extended reunion, Wilhelm vanished from the front of the hand mirror. In his place appeared a small cat-like beastman wearing a monocle.
Tivey, vice-commander of the Iron Fang. It seemed he had linked up with Wilhelm as well. But his expression was grimmer than Subaru had ever seen.
"Oh, Tivey! Good to see you in one piece!"
"You as well, Captain. …But we're not entirely unharmed. Is my sister over there?"
"Mimi? Haven't seen her. What happened?"
Something in Tivey's subdued voice set Riccard on edge, narrowing his eyes. Then someone pushed past Tivey and into the frame— "Ca-Captain! My sister—my sister, she—!!"
"Hetaro? What's the matter, why are you so worked up?!"
It was Hetaro, Tivey's twin brother, who burst in with tears in his eyes. The boy who normally looked timid had his features twisted with anguish.
Eyes brimming and voice shaking, the young man clutched at the hand mirror.
"Th-the Blessing of Three—its influence is flowing over from my sister! A-and it's a terrible wound—the wound that's flowing over, if this is what she's—" he choked. "Sis…"
"Big brother, calm down. …Captain, as you can hear. My sister has been injured somewhere, and the effect is carrying over to both my brother and me. So…"
"—Got it. I get it, you two. Stay put. I'm going to find Mimi right now. Don't cry, just wait."
In a voice quieter than Subaru had ever heard from him, Riccard spoke toward the mirror.
That gentle tone sent a chill down Subaru's spine—a pressure he'd never felt from Riccard before.
The canine beastman's eyes burned with fury, and sharp fangs peeked past his parted lips. His massive frame rose, muscles rippling, and his hand closed around his enormous cleaver.
He looked ready to charge into the city and search for the missing girl right that second.
"—Don't you dare, Riccard. I won't allow you to run off on your own."
But what stopped Riccard mid-stride was another voice that came through the mirror.
Riccard turned to find Anastasia clearly reflected in his place, having taken priority over the mirror.
Wrinkling his snout, Riccard thrust his cleaver toward the young woman who employed him.
"Don't try to stop me, miss. Even I have times when I'm not in the mood for jokes."
"If you think this sounds like a joke, then I'd say our long working relationship hasn't built much of a bond at all, Riccard. Don't make me repeat myself. You are not permitted to act on your own right now—not even for Mimi's sake."
"You telling me to abandon Mimi, you little brat!!"
Riccard roared, and the shelter's atmosphere shook with the force of it.
The sheer shockwave nearly knocked Subaru back. The savage beast radiated menace from every inch of his body as he glared at Anastasia.
But Anastasia held that gaze head-on—even through the mirror.
"You know this, Riccard. The situation allows for no room for error. And you are my right hand—one of our most critical fighters. I can't let you go wandering off."
"Listen to you, talking big—who do you think you're dressing down, Anna?!"
"That's obvious, you overgrown dog."
Trading insults that only old acquaintances could, the two of them radiated a volatile, on-a-hair-trigger tension. Feeling the prickling charge in the air, Subaru genuinely agonized over which side to take. No—there was no agonizing about it.
As much as his sympathies lay with Riccard, Anastasia's reasoning was plainly correct.
And more importantly—she, who was not some bystander but a directly involved party, had chosen to prioritize retaking the city over searching for Mimi.
There was nothing Subaru could add. And Riccard, surely, understood that much.
"————"
The staredown continued.
If Riccard had simply bolted, the injured Subaru and noncombatant Ferris would have been powerless to stop him. The only thing holding him in place was the gaze of Anastasia, locked with his through the mirror.
Then, suddenly, Riccard broke his stare from the mirror and turned.
"Don't you—Riccard!"
"—No. I'm not rushing off."
Anastasia called out, but Riccard's answer to her panicked voice was calm.
He turned his gaze toward the shelter's entrance and sniffed.
"Something's getting closer. What is that… the smell of blood?"
"Blood…?"
Even with this many wounded, he could apparently pick out the scent of fresh blood.
Raising his guard fully, Riccard leveled his cleaver at the entrance. Subaru and Ferris held their breath, watching— Then, with heavy footsteps echoing on stone, a figure burst into the underground shelter.
For a moment, even the wounded flinched at the intruder. But the first to break the silence was Subaru himself.
Because standing there was a familiar, small-built, blond-haired man.
"Garfiel!?!"
Garfiel, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
When he heard Subaru's shout, he spotted him and came lurching over with an unsteady gait. And then Subaru noticed—delayed—what was causing Garfiel to stagger.
It was what he was carrying in his arms.
"————"
As everyone fell silent, Garfiel reached Subaru. He crumpled to his knees, bowing his head in anguish.
"Sorry, chief…!! I'm useless… I'm good for nothing…!!"
Garfiel's voice cracked with a raw scream.
In his blood-soaked arms, he cradled the limp body of Mimi—barely clinging to life.