At the sight of the muscular man who introduced himself as Louis Arneb, Subaru was rendered speechless.
The unnatural method of appearance was one thing, but the name itself was quite another.
If this was some kind of sick joke, it was beyond unacceptable—and even if it wasn't, it was a phenomenon that couldn't simply be taken at face value.
"—I've heard there's a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony who can change their form, and it seems you're that type. Though I have to say, the form you picked leaves something to be expected. Did you think I'd be thrown off by how you look?"
"Change form… Oh, you mean that chatty, loud woman? It hurts a little to be lumped in with her, you know. Besides, her Authority and our 'Eclipse' operate on completely different principles. Hers is mimicry—ours is reproduction, see?"
"Mimicry and… reproduction…?"
The provisional Louis shifted his muscular frame as he gave his answer. Subaru grimaced at the reply, and the words "other Sin Archbishops" that
The existence of other Sin Archbishops had been expected the moment the terms "Sin" and "Gluttony" were introduced, but hearing even one of their abilities described was enough to stir up revulsion.
They said their form could change, but they were probably just squandering it.
"Still, the body you're treating me like a stranger actually belonged to someone pretty famous, y'know? Too bad we don't have the memories of the people we've eaten—big sister and the rest, that is."
"Famous… So you borrow the form of whoever you eat? How fitting—such a tasteless method is exactly what I'd expect from the lowest of the low. I'm going to be sick."
"Whoa, big sister, your language is awfully crude! You're embarrassing us sisters—especially those of us who still retain our memories of being sisters…"
It was at that moment, with the provisional Louis having said that much, that— With a sharp lurch forward, the provisional Louis dodged a sweeping strike from behind—an attack delivered by an ice hammer. Naturally, the one who had launched it was— "Oh, you dodged it!"
"Fufufu, how merciless,
"If it won't hit, then I'll just keep attacking until it does! It's not like I want to land a sneak attack—I just want to take you down!"
With that, Emilia twisted the ice mallet in her hand, transforming it into twin ice blades that she brought crashing down on the provisional Louis. But the provisional Louis evaded with agility that belied his massive frame, and before long, he seized Emilia's slender wrist from above— "Heave—!"
"Kyaaaa!"
With a sharp pivot, Emilia's body was effortlessly flung through the air. Twisting mid-fall, she managed to land on her feet and braced herself with her arms to prevent toppling over. But the claw-tips of the provisional Louis were already thrusting toward Emilia's face.
A direct hit would shatter the world's cutest face. And just then— "Enough! Stop fighting while ignoring Ram!"
"Ram!"
Ram slammed her staff into the face of the provisional Louis, stamping down on the claw tips aimed at Emilia's face and pinning the enemy's movement.
In that instant, a minuscule burst of wind was born, shaped into a blade, and launched at the enemy's face to carve it to ribbons.
"—The King of Fists' Palm!"
Barely managing to deflect it by thrusting his palm upward from directly below, the provisional Louis just barely avoided Ram's strike—a blow that embodied maximum cruelty with minimal effort.
His rising palm caught the wind blade from below, and the wind was then swallowed by the shockwave and scattered to nothing.
Having shattered the wind with his right palm, the provisional Louis immediately reached out with his left hand to seize Ram in front of him. But by the time his hand reached her position, Ram had already pulled Emilia along and retreated out of reach, repositioning to where they could reset the fight.
"Not bad!"
"Hah!"
Clenching his whiffed left hand into a fist, the provisional Louis praised Ram's judgment and decisiveness. Ram snorted at the praise, then immediately pulled Emilia to her feet.
"Emilia-sama, are you unhurt?"
"Yes, thank you. If Ram hadn't helped, I would've gotten hurt badly. But still… did you see just now?"
"—She's clearly gotten stronger."
At Emilia's confirmation, Ram nodded in acknowledgment.
Listening to their exchange from behind, Subaru shared their sentiment entirely.
It had been a brief exchange, but the provisional Louis's movements were swift and precise.
Speaking as a layman, his ability probably far surpassed that of Batenkaitos. The move at the very end—the one that crushed Ram's strike—was nothing short of divine.
"That was the King of Fists' Palm… the signature technique of this body and memory's original owner, the 'King of Fists' Naiji Lockhart. A palm that deflects anything—the strongest掌 in the gladiatorial arena, where he was an unmatched fighter."
"—How transparent, revealing your own strengths like that. It only works against you. Ram won't hesitate to exploit that kind of information."
"That's totally fine, big sister! If you can corner us, go right ahead and try! You know how when you look back on the memory of defeat, it's actually kind of sweet?"
"Now then. Ram only knows victory, so she wouldn't understand."
"Oh? You're missing out on life's sourness, then."
The moment she finished speaking, the provisional Louis's figure vanished from sight once more. This wasn't a matter of moving quickly—it was an outright disappearance from the spot.
"—!?"
Ram's eyes went wide at the unexpected move. She, too, couldn't pin down the enemy's location.
She doubted the enemy had fled, but— "—Ram, look out!"
In a flash, Emilia grabbed Ram and leaped backward. A few strands of Emilia's silver hair, trailing just slightly behind her escape, were swallowed by the impact of the strike and scattered across the corridor.
And the one who laughed "Ha-ha!" at having been dodged was not the muscular warrior, but a gaunt, bald-headed figure clad in what appeared to be a bright orange cassock.
With a somewhat neurotic air about them, this person licked their lips at the sight of Emilia and company having leaped to safety.
"Now that's nice, nice, real nice. Let's see if you dodge the next one!"
"Hya—!"
In an instant, the bald silhouette vanished into thin air again, only to reappear from nowhere once more. It was a relentless barrage of ambush attacks, almost as if retaliating for the earlier assault from behind.
Flitting from blind spot to blind spot, the short sword in hand flashed toward vital points with terrifying precision. Emilia, still holding Ram, fended off every single one with desperate counterattacks.
"Ha ha ha! Nice, nice, nice! How are you reading through the antics of 'Leaper' Dorkel? That's seriously amazing!"
"That's obvious—I'm guessing!"
"Of course, there's also Ram's support! —Emilia-sama!"
"Yes!"
The provisional Louis teleported to a blind spot, launching a surprise attack.
Grinning, the enemy flew freely through the air, but Ram had already deduced the next position. Responding to Ram's call, Emilia whipped her long leg around in a powerful arc.
In that instant, the moment the bald head appeared at the predicted position, Emilia's heel drove squarely into the side of its face.
"Guh…!"
"Ugh, no way—!!"
Keeping her heel planted on the enemy's face, Emilia spun half a rotation and slammed them into the ground. In the same motion, she raised her hand and grew an ice pillar from the floor, then ruthlessly drove the enemy back-first toward its razor-sharp tip.
If it hit unprotected, the spike would have pierced through from back to chest—a terrifying finishing blow. Unfortunately, it failed to have any effect.
"Eh!?"
"'Carnivore' Beri Heinelga's skin can't be cut, not even by a holy sword—so they say."
Shattering the ice pillar with his back and forming a savage grin was a portly, mustachioed middle-aged man.
He swung his log-thick arms—each as thick as Emilia's waist—and began attacking while still lying on his back. Emilia frantically beat aside the strikes as she flew backward, and backward, and backward.
"Ugh! Ah! Ugh! At this rate, I…!"
"Emilia-sama, please let go of Ram."
"I won't! I'm not abandoning Ram—mmgh."
"That's not what I meant."
Emilia, clutching Ram as they fled from the enemy, had her lips sealed by Ram's pressing finger. Having been forcibly cut off mid-sentence, Emilia was met with Ram's exasperated head shake.
"It means it's time to let Ram fight back, is what I'm saying."
Right after saying that, Ram broke free of Emilia's grip and stood boldly before the giant. Seeing this, the provisional Louis's rock-thick lips trembled as he swung his palm down toward the girl.
"Burph! Get squashed!"
"A hundred paces of concession, and even then—please do the squashing, Ram-sama."
Declaring this imperiously, Ram marched forward of her own volition, straight toward the descending palm. No exaggeration—the giant's palm was large enough to crush Ram's entire body with room to spare.
A head-on collision with that palm was tantamount to slamming into a car head-on—at least, that's how it looked to Subaru's eyes.
Ram— "—Don't think you can catch Ram with something like this."
At the very last instant before the fingertips grazed her, she sidestepped with the minimum possible movement, and her elbow smashed into the enemy's face with a sadistic curl of her lips. Though slender and white, the elbow carved through the bridge of the nose with a sharpness that defied its delicate frame, and the "Carnivore" reeled back from the merciless impact. In the same breath, Ram's left knife-hand chopped down at the exposed Adam's apple.
"—!"
"I've had enough of incomprehensible nonsense—do me a favor and get torn apart by Ram's hands, you wretch."
One vital point after another carved into the untrained human body, the provisional Louis groaned in pain. Ram pressed the advantage without hesitation, this time thrusting her staff into the thick roll of fat protecting his flank.
The moment the sharp tip sank into the flesh, she activated a wind spell, blasting the massive body effortlessly behind him.
"Too strong…!"
Subaru watched in disbelief as the provisional Louis sprayed blood, bounced off the corridor walls, and tumbled along the floor.
Up until now, he had been so focused on observing the fight at a remove that he could barely breathe—but the instant Ram stepped onto the battlefield, the tide had turned in the blink of an eye.
Of course, the strategy had been premised on Ram being somewhat capable of fighting, but— "Ram being this good… it's a pleasant miscalculation."
"Not really. We can't just rely on Ram alone, can we?"
"—? What do you mean by…"
Subaru tilted his head, about to ask
"——"
Ram's stance buckled as she stepped forward. Subaru squinted—had she stumbled? No.
Ram's forehead and neck were slick with sweat, and she was visibly struggling for breath.
For the briefest of moments—of course, it was foolish to judge a life-or-death exchange by its length—there was nonetheless a dramatic difference between her condition now and just moments before.
"In a short burst, Ram's fighting instincts are second to none, I'll grant you that. But…"
"She's time-limited…!? Ram—!"
Not knowing about this weakness, Subaru had sent Ram into a dangerous situation. As frustration gripped him, the provisional Louis's form simultaneously shifted back into the muscular giant's body.
Charging at the stalled Ram, the enemy thrust forward with a palm that aimed to deflect everything. If that hit, who knew if Ram could deflect it.
"Ram—!"
"You're so annoying, for a man."
Despite Subaru's desperate cry, Ram's reply was utterly cold.
Even as she spoke, the provisional Louis's strike closed in on Ram's face— "I know my own weaknesses better than anyone. That's why—"
"I'm fighting together with Ram!"
"—!?"
As Ram dropped to one knee, Emilia vaulted over her head, silver hair streaming, and landed squarely before the enemy. With the palm raised and ready, the tactic Emilia chose was simplicity itself.
She conjured countless ice weapons into the air and fired them all at the enemy in a single, devastating volley—a sheer numbers game.
"Ugh, aaaaah—!!"
The provisional Louis deflected the staggering total volume of ice with bare palms.
Fending off the onslaught of the ice storm, the provisional Louis parried, deflected, and cut through with extraordinary agility. This, too, was clearly the skill of an exceptional master.
The person known as the "King of Fists," who had fallen victim to Gluttony's power, must have been a genuine martial artist of tremendous caliber. And now, that skill was being perverted.
Trained strength, mastered technique—Gluttony's power stole everything, co-opting it with impunity and laughing at the journey that had built it.
Or perhaps—perhaps it could even reach heights that the original owner of those memories never could.
"Hah!"
Seeing the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony sweep aside Emilia's entire assault and release a sharp exhale of satisfaction, that thought couldn't help but cross Subaru's mind.
"Now that's the best! You know what I mean—when you fully reproduce a memory's catalog specs, or even exceed them, that's when you really feel the worth of living in this body! It's like, 'I used the borrowed soul better than its owner ever did!' Now that's what makes life worth living!"
"—What a perfectly tasteless sentiment."
"Maybe! But doesn't it make total sense that we, who are different from everyone else, find our joy in things that are different from what everyone else enjoys? Doesn't it? I think it does. You think so too, right?"
"What do you think, Emilia-sama?"
"No, I don't think so at all!"
Ram shrugged at the question, then turned to Emilia as the provisional—no, Louis Arneb—dropped ice shards from his palm and laughed wickedly.
Picking up an ice axe and an ice spear that had sprouted from the ground, Emilia said: "Even if we're different from everyone else in all sorts of ways, we should still be able to think the same things and feel joy or sadness the same way! For example, I was always alone, but I enjoyed stacking stones by the riverbank!"
"…That feels like a rather special case, though."
"Hmm, now that you mention it. Indeed, we do have memories of stacking stones by the riverbank, don't we."
"See!"
"But we didn't do it because it was fun. We did it because there was nothing else we could do. It was just a way to kill time—nothing more."
"Huh, really…?"
Emilia's expression clouded over in shock, her memory of stone-stacking having been denied. Behind her, Ram called out "Emilia-sama" in a slightly sharper tone.
"Don't fall for the enemy's tricks. This is a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony… they'll twist any words they can to destabilize us. Don't be deceived."
"You're right. You're right. Yes, I understand. I won't be fooled again."
"My, my—what terrible accusations. It's because big sister here abandoned us that we had to do this, after all."
"—Shut up!"
Ram kicked off the frozen corridor once more, aiming at Louis, who continued to taunt with every word.
Physically, Ram was far from at her best. She knew this, and still charged the enemy because she understood that to do otherwise would be to let the things that must not be defiled become defiled.
And Ram's courageous battle cry pierced straight through to Louis.
However— "This time I'm with you too, so if you're going to surrender, now's your chance!"
"Much obliged for the concern, but I'll have to pass!"
"You stubborn fool!!"
With a cute expression, Emilia delivered a finishing blow that was anything but cute. Fighting against both the furious Ram and Emilia, Louis twisted and shifted his fighting style and appearance with infuriating fluidity, dragging the battle back into his own pace.
"——"
Watching the overwhelming battle from the sidelines, Subaru noted two astonishing things.
The first was the coordination between Emilia and Ram—their seamless, practiced teamwork.
The premise existed that in the previous loop, Emilia had been stripped of her "Name," causing everyone to forget her and leaving them unable to know how to fight alongside her. The awkwardness that had existed between Emilia and Julius's coordination was completely absent between Emilia and Ram.
Part of this was certainly due to Emilia not making the futile effort of trying to adapt to her partner, but even more significant was Ram's extraordinary combat sense.
"Hah!"
"Tch! Seriously, big sister, you're such a pain!"
At the instant the enemy tried to counter, Ram's staff jabbed into the tip of their nose, and as they reeled back to dodge the resulting wind blade, Louis clicked his tongue.
There were no flashy movements, but Ram's support in every gap and opening kept Emilia in the fight, neutralized the enemy's strengths, and steadily swung the advantage their way.
Without the flashiness, it was harder to notice—but the constant work of cornering the enemy so Emilia could always land her full-power strikes, while positioning herself just right, was commendable.
The coordination between Emilia and Ram—thanks primarily to Ram's judgment—was superb. This was one of the things that had startled Subaru.
And there was a second surprise to match it. That was— "Ha ha! Nice, nice, nice, maybe nice, seems nice, right? Nice, isn't it, isn't it, isn't it? Binge! Gluttony! We're getting more and more into this, I think!"
"Damn it! She really is getting stronger and stronger…!"
"How infuriating…!"
Gritting her teeth, Emilia batted aside the incoming fists with her twin blades while Ram targeted the enemy's feet with wind blades. But as the "King of Fists," Louis deflected Emilia's blades with his palms; as the "Leaper," he dodged Ram's attacks; and as the "Carnivore," he body-slammed the icy corridor.
The shockwave pierced through Emilia and Ram, sending both of them flying far backward as they caught their breath.
"——"
Emilia and Ram's coordination was unquestionably refined. But what was astonishing was that Louis's mastery of the memories he had claimed was growing even faster than their teamwork.
By swapping bodies, Louis was able to imprint the "Memories" he had obtained onto a physical form with perfect fidelity, deploying them at will.
"Eclipse"—Louis had indeed used that term.
Before his body was stolen, Batenkaitos—Louis's brother—had also copied Emilia's "Ice Brand Arts," a technique with a rather cool name, during the previous loop. But that had remained a reproduction limited to his own body. Louis's version exceeded that in completion.
An eclipse was the phenomenon of the sun being hidden by the moon's shadow. In this case, the real Louis was the sun, and the moon that concealed it was the reproduced "Names" and "Memories."
In other words, "Eclipse" meant transforming one's own body into another's "Memories" and wielding that power as one's own to its fullest. The result was Louis, standing before them.
And— "If there's an 'Eclipse,' it's only natural to wonder whether there's also a 'Lunar Eclipse.' But what kind of power would the moon being hidden entail… No, before that—can we even beat this?"
The classic pattern for defeating copy-type ability users was that they couldn't fully grasp how to wield their copied powers, and their inferiority to the originals became their downfall.
But Louis and the other Gluttony users had completely negated this weakness by leveraging "the opponent's body and memories."
This was the perfect copy ability—one that defied every conventional rule of exploitation.
"This is bad… If Emilia and the others get pushed back, the situation will change."
Subaru clutched the front of his clothes and ground his teeth in frustration at his own powerlessness—unable to intervene in the scene before him.
With Emilia and Ram engaging the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony as the opening salvo, the battle had already begun in earnest throughout the tower.
Meili was fighting the horde of magical beasts surrounding the tower,
"—Subaru? What on earth are you talking about? Where are you looking, and what are you seeing?"
"Where am I looking? What are you talking about, Beatrice? I mean…"
Beatrice, cradled in Subaru's arms, had caught his muttered words and blinked. At her baffled response, Subaru furrowed his brows and was about to answer—when he suddenly realized.
He couldn't clearly say, with certainty, what exactly he was seeing or why he'd said what he had.
However— "What is this? I can tell where everyone is and what they're doing. Can you see it?"
Still clutching his chest, Subaru became aware of that sensation—a strange feeling, like dimly glowing light, that he could vaguely perceive.
It was something within this tower that informed Subaru of his companions' positions. Sensationally, it was the same feeling he'd had when reuniting with Ram and the others, and at that time, he had accepted it as natural—like a third arm he'd been born with.
But people aren't born with a third arm.
The moment he became aware of that, Subaru understood just how unnatural his current state was, and a wave of revulsion—of something like unbearable nausea—surged up within him.
"—Guh."
But he bit down on his molars and held it in, refusing to let it out.
Even if a third arm had suddenly grown on his body right now, if he judged it to be useful, he should cast aside his disgust and claim it as his own.
He could roughly sense where his companions were and what the situation was. In this crisis where allies were being scattered, was there any power more suited to Subaru than this?
So— "Alright, just be still, and become mine—"
This unnatural lump of power had manifested in resonance with
What rose unbidden to his mind was the "Corridor of Memory" where he had faced Louis Arneb—the moment just before he had been pushed out from there, the torrent of power that had bloomed within himself.
He gave it a name. Yes—that name was— "—Cor Leonis."
The awareness and the mastery of it spread through Natsuki Subaru's soul the instant the name was spoken.
And the power crowned "Heart of the Lion" granted its true effect—no, its Authority—to Natsuki Subaru. Its function was— "Ngh, guh…!?"
"Subaru!"
Subaru's legs buckled under the sudden weight that crashed through his body. Beatrice, sensing the change, let out a cry like a scream, but the pounding headache prevented him from answering clearly.
A thunderous, deafening headache and ringing in the ears assaulted Subaru's body without warning. On top of that came an terrifying fatigue throughout his entire being, and the chronic sensation of bones grinding together—a parade of pain and suffering bore down on him, and Subaru dropped to his knees on reflex.
"Gah… ah…"
What is this? echoed a bewildered voice in his mind.
Sudden and total collapse. An agonizing chorus of crushing pain and suffering. His body had grown heavy as if he'd ingested poison, and his breathing came in ragged gasps like after an all-out sprint.
Panicked by Subaru's dramatic deterioration, Beatrice rubbed his back. Grateful for the sensation of her small palm, Subaru's vision swam as he tried to understand what had happened.
Just now, Subaru had attempted to properly wield the Authority that had sprouted within him—Cor Leonis.
No—he was still wielding it, even now. He could feel it.
This state was supposed to be the one where Cor Leonis was functioning properly. If so, then what did this ability signify?
Subaru's body was heavy, his fatigue mounting, and if this continued, he would— Yes, Subaru himself would become useless.
In exchange for that— "—Hm?"
A dry voice of surprise rose, and Louis's eyes went wide as his attack cut through empty air.
Still in the form of the "King of Fists," Louis had been in the middle of showcasing his ferocious martial arts, driving Emilia and Ram back and toying with them as though playing with prey.
Louis's arm was caught, his joint hyperextended. And then— "Hah!"
Ram drove her knee ruthlessly into the joint, snapping Louis's right arm. A dull crack echoed as the broken white bone protruded from the inside of the joint, trailing pink muscle fiber, and the ugly color of blood scattered across the frozen white corridor.
"Gyaa… guheh!"
"Slow!"
Twisting around, Ram's elbow smashed into Louis's face once more. She then seized the enemy by the hair with her free hand, drove his head into the wall, and fired consecutive straight punches into his exposed torso.
The sound of ribs crumbling as Louis's body folded in half, and when his face dipped low, Ram's front kick buried itself into it, sending the massive body tumbling violently across the floor.
"…My body feels lighter?"
Ram opened and closed her hand, her eyes wide with surprise at her own movement.
Witnessing the extraordinary sharpness of her body and her combat ability, Emilia stared in awe at her skill.
The physical decline that Beatrice had been worried about in Ram had seemingly been swept aside in a dramatic display of movement. And Subaru realized— "Wait… is this taking on Ram's decline?"
If Ram's improved condition was connected to Subaru's deterioration, then that could only mean one thing.
In fact, Subaru could see it—his perception of the light, those two lights ahead that he sensed belonged to Emilia and Ram, and from one of them, something flowing into him.
If he could sense his allies' positions and was also taking on their decline— "—Cor Leonis means 'Heart of the Lion.'"
The answer lay in the stellar knowledge Subaru possessed.
"——"
The Authority of Greed that Subaru had unconsciously named "Cor Leonis."
Its original form was the Latin name for Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, meaning "Heart of the Lion." But before being rephrased as Cor Leonis, the name Regulus also had a Latin meaning—it meant "the Little King."
"The Heart of the Lion" and "the Little King."
Since a lion was itself the king of beasts, having a secondary name as "king" was understandable. But what did the "little" part signify?
The lion's little king. The pack's king.
What made one a king?
It was— "To stand bearing everyone's feelings—that's what a king is. And so…"
Natsuki Subaru's Cor Leonis allowed him, as king, to bear the burdens of his companions.
As the leader of the pack who should bear that weight, so that his companions could fight at their full strength.
If so, then what Natsuki Subaru needed to do was clear.
"I'm ready—spitting blood and all."
"Subaru?"
"Sorry for worrying you. My head hurts, I feel sick, my legs are shaky, my joints ache, and apparently I took some sneak attacks I didn't even see—but I'm fine."
"Subaru was attacked sneakily!? When? Where!?"
"Probably somewhere during the exchanges I couldn't even track with my eyes."
He couldn't properly explain the situation to a worried Beatrice.
The truth was, the dull ache in his limbs came from the injuries that Emilia and Ram—both, or either—had sustained in the fight against Louis, and were now hiding.
And the fact that he was quietly absorbing those injuries—Subaru didn't explain that either.
Because it was cooler that way.
"If this continues…"
If Ram could press Louis with her full ability, then perhaps the defeat of Gluttony—which had once nearly ended in failure—might actually be possible.
Defeat Louis, rush to Julius's side who was likely engaged in combat with Reid, and then deal with the great scorpion and the shadow— "—?"
At that thought, Subaru's attention turned once more to the presence of light he felt in his chest.
On the second floor, at a slightly higher elevation than where they stood, he sensed Julius in combat. On the balcony, Meili was engaged against the horde of magical beasts. Echidna and the others seemed to have successfully escaped into the Taigeta, as he could feel them staying put in one spot.
However— "—Who is this?"
From a separate location, on the same floor, Subaru noticed a light approaching from the opposite direction.
It was the same direction from which Reid had boldly advanced in the previous loop. Hoping desperately that it wasn't Reid, Subaru turned to look—fighting against a certain conviction that had taken root within him, not wanting to face it.
And— "Beatrice!"
"—! Meili!!"
Pointing toward the end of the corridor and shouting, Subaru prompted Beatrice, who immediately understood and spread her palm. In that instant, responding to her incantation, a purple crystal-like object materialized.
It sharpened its tip, hovered in the air, and the next moment shot out like a bullet. It soared over the heads of Emilia, Ram, and Louis who had been fighting in the corridor, and continued beyond them.
From that position, it intercepted the attack aimed at the backs of Emilia and the others.
"——"
White light tore through the corridor, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the white hallway, and light scattered across the floor. Amid the dazzling dance of ice and crystal shards, a red point of light flickered in the darkness.
Seeing it, Subaru had felt the pain of a pierced heart countless times before. The dread of that threat manifesting once more, the worsening situation—he ground his teeth.
But never before, in this moment, had the sight of that red point of light pierced his chest so deeply.
Before him, that squirming red point of light, and the soft, faint glow he felt in his chest—the light that told him where his allies were—overlapped with each other.
That could only mean one thing.
"What… what is going on. You…"
"——"
Slowly swaying a tail tipped with long, sharp spines, a colossal silhouette clad in black chitinous armor emerged from the darkness—the great scorpion's arrival.
But the appearance of the great scorpion now carried a different, far greater meaning for Subaru.
Because the being that had appeared— "—Is it you,
Understanding the unbelievable truth, Subaru screamed in a voice devoid of both anger and sorrow.
Hearing his voice, the enormous scorpion—which had no mouth to speak with—raised its massive claw and, as if affirming his words, clacked it together high and hateful in the most fearsome display of sharpness.
It clacked it once more.