——When he first heard the name
That wasn't because he had any special fondness for the name 'Shaula' itself.
It was simply that the sound of it was familiar to Subaru.
'Shaula' was the name of a star in the night sky Subaru knew — a word meaning the constellation Scorpio.
That the person bearing the name of Scorpio turned out to be a giant scorpion clad in jet-black carapace was about as subtle and straightforward an answer as you could get. So unsubtle, in fact, that it made you question the taste of whoever had named her.
But the top candidate for that lack of taste was currently the person Subaru had been treating as his 'Master.' The problem was twofold: he doubted he'd ever had the opportunity to name Shaula in the first place, regardless of whether he had memories or not, and more pressing still, they simply didn't have the luxury of leisurely verifying it.
"————"
Right before their eyes, the tag team of
Those natural pincers, evolved purely for slaughter, and the sinister scraping sound their blades made as they rubbed together — they promised a sharpness that could cleave through human bodies, bone and organs alike, without batting an eye.
Red compound eyes, two nightmarish pairs of massive pincers, multiple legs supporting a colossal body, and a carapace that boasted strength rivaling iron armor — every part of it was a refined symbol of destruction and violence.
In truth, its combat power was every bit as ferocious as its appearance suggested.
Subaru had already confirmed this many times over, with his own eyes and his own body, in the battles up to this point and throughout this world.
"O..."
The instant that awareness took root, the events of the previous loop flashed through Subaru's mind.
Just when they thought they'd repelled the giant scorpion's assault and forced a temporary retreat, they'd been hit by the parting gift the beast had left behind — and
The unbearable anger he'd felt then was something he could never forget.
The fury he'd harbored was directed both at his own helplessness — his inability to do anything — and simultaneously at the scorpion that had carried out that massacre.
——And now he'd learned that the target of that anger, that giant scorpion, was none other than Shaula, who was supposed to be his companion.
Knowing that now, Subaru's heart was consumed by directionless passion and a maelstrom of doubt.
Why was Shaula in the form of a giant scorpion?
Why was Shaula attacking them, trying to kill them?
Why was Shaula revealing her true nature at this juncture and barging into their fight?
Why, why, why, why, why, why, why —.
"——Subaru, calm down. Why don't you take a deep breath first?"
"————"
Subaru, his mind stuffed to bursting with one shocking revelation after another. The one who gently called his name and pulled him back to his senses was Beatrice, at his side.
Her small hand gripped his, and Subaru realized for the first time that he'd forgotten to breathe. Slowly, following her instructions, he drew a deep breath and let it out.
And then, "That's good. —Is it really true that it's Shaula?"
Beatrice's question prompted Subaru to verify once more within himself.
'Cor Leonis' — it was an Authority he'd only just awakened to, one he was still coming to understand, but there was no doubt it told him the whereabouts of his companions and shouldered any ailments they were suffering.
So Subaru could vaguely sense the positions of the companions within the tower — Emilia and Ram, Beatrice and Julius, Meili and Echidna, and the rest.
And that faint, warm feeling he sensed from those companions — he felt the same thing from that giant scorpion.
Given the current positions of their allies in the tower, there was no other candidate.
So that giant scorpion was undoubtedly —, "It's definitely Shaula. Don't know why, but she's gone and turned into a giant scorpion..."
"——. It's true that she was always a girl of unknown identity. If that identity turns out to be a slightly oversized bug, it's hardly cause for surprise, I suppose."
"That's some serious nerve..."
Calling a scorpion a bug without batting an eye, Beatrice had brushed past the shock with adaptability rather than comprehension. Subaru clicked his tongue at her coping method, then glared once more at the giant scorpion.
Those red compound eyes — impossible to tell where they were looking — and he drove his gaze straight into them.
"Why don't you say something! Your true identity's already been figured out!!"
"————"
"At least give me some excuse, or lick your chops over your prey, or do something, damn it..."
Raising his voice in a shout made his aching, nauseated head throb terribly. But Subaru ignored the pain and demanded an answer from the giant scorpion.
Yet the scorpion, its exterior still one of impossible-to-communicate-with alienness, made no attempt to respond.
"Can't even give me a single excuse, huh..."
Subaru murmured weakly, fighting back waves of nausea as he tried to think.
Just as the memories from his revival had shown, this giant scorpion had made Subaru suffer through bitter trials again and again.
That girl — naive, carefree, who hadn't tried to hide even once whether her feelings for Subaru were affection or fondness — the fact that he'd been deceived and plotted against by her pierced his chest like a blade.
Had that smile, those words, that attitude — all of it been nothing but a fabricated act?
Had she been a traitor all along, deceiving them?
"No..."
The word 'traitor' floating through his mind, Subaru's cheeks tightened with a subtle sense of discomfort.
Shaula had betrayed them. —Considering the current situation, that was an unavoidable conclusion. But was everything about Shaula truly a lie? There was room for debate on that point.
Of course, it was possible that every word and action Shaula had ever displayed was an act — that her smiles, her physical closeness, all of it had been a ruse to deceive them.
It was possible. But for what purpose —?
If she'd been putting on an act to infiltrate their circle, the objective would be hostility toward them.
But if Shaula had harbored such intentions, she wouldn't have needed to barge into the fight at this particular moment. There had been countless opportunities before now to slit their throats in their sleep.
She'd gotten that deeply into their circle, after all. During their time traveling together, there had been infinite chances to quietly slip them poison during the gaps of leisure time.
Why expose her betrayal now, at the cost of letting all those chances slip by?
That made no sense whatsoever.
What was the point of going to such roundabout lengths, pretending to be their companion?
The fact that she'd listened to Subaru's request and helped stop Meili, the fact that she'd been on the balcony demonstrating grand magic against the horde of magical beasts — none of it made sense.
None of it added up.
"Could it be that I'm thinking this way because I'm mesmerized by the white legs I can see from her hot pants?"
"If that's what's making Subaru's judgment soft, then Shaula's strategy is pretty impressive, I suppose."
"Right. My heart belongs to Emilia-chan fair and square — wait, whoa!?!"
Even as they shared their unease about Shaula's behavior, Beatrice suddenly yanked his arm. It wasn't a protest — it was a forceful rescue operation.
A shaft of white light shot through the space above Subaru's head just as his feet slipped, barely missing his life by a hair's breadth.
"It seems like we don't have time for casual conversation, I suppose!"
As she spoke, Beatrice raised her free hand, and a faint glow surrounded her.
What materialized was a multitude of crystals wrapped in purple light, their tips sharpened to fine points. The violet arrows, deployed in an encircling pattern around them, shot straight toward the giant scorpion.
In the same instant, white light streaked from the opposite direction, colliding with the purple arrows midair — light erupted in a chaotic dance.
"Whoaaaaaaa!?"
"Keep your head down! If you get a direct hit, it could be bad!"
The glittering purple light raged and clashed, the sound of shattering glass cascading beautifully through the corridor.
But contrasting with that dazzling spectacle, the flash fired from the giant scorpion — no, that sharp tail stinger — was aimed with merciless precision, intent on skewering Subaru's life.
Beatrice used the power of her woven magic to deflect, parry, and repel the hundred arrows of killing intent that surged toward them.
But the volume was overwhelming.
"This is bad...! At this rate, my mana will run out soon, I think...!"
"What happens when it runs out!?"
"Betty and Subaru end up on the same needle, all friendly-like, I suppose!"
Friendly aside, that situation would not do.
As Beatrice herself had declared, she wouldn't last long under this relentless assault. Before they were slowly ground down and crushed, they needed to break through somehow.
Just as Subaru gritted his teeth in response to that sense of crisis —, "——You've been zooming dangerously over people's heads this whole time, you know!"
A silver-bell voice rang out sharply, and a massive shard of ice struck the giant scorpion's carapace with a satisfying crack. The impact echoed through the corridor, and the scorpion's emotionless red compound eyes seemed to register surprise.
And the one who'd elicited that reaction was Emilia, who had kicked off an ice wall she'd created in the corridor and plunged boldly into the scorpion's midst.
Her silver hair streaming behind her, she lunged magnificently at the scorpion, raising an ice sword high— "Aiming for Subaru and the others... bullying those who are weaker is cowardly!"
"————"
The ice blade came down in a vertical chop. The giant scorpion swept it aside with its massive pincer, then retreated at high speed, its many legs churning. But Emilia refused to let it escape, giving chase after the colossal body — and a three-dimensional battle between a beautiful girl and a scorpion erupted through the narrow corridor.
"Hah! Ei! Yah!"
Ice swords — longswords, twin blades, spears, great hammers — shattered with light sounds, and amid the glittering shards of broken ice, Emilia danced.
The giant scorpion's mighty pincers were devastating, possessing the raw power to easily crush and shear through any opponent's weapon. But against Emilia, that weapon destruction was useless.
Emilia's Ice Brand Arts was a fighting style that conjured countless weapons from her magic.
Disposable ice weapons were, for Emilia, expendable tools. No matter how many were shattered or cut, it didn't hurt or sting her in the least.
"There—ya!!"
Ducking the sweeping pincer and tail stinger, Emilia launched a frozen stake she'd levitated into the air. It collided head-on with the scorpion's white light, and sparks of light scattered.
This was a clash between human and non-human — two beings of overwhelming power locked in combat.
What was truly remarkable was Emilia's instinct. She'd thrown herself without hesitation against an enemy whose combat style would differ vastly from a human-shaped opponent, pressing in close and refusing to let go.
For Emilia, who favored an instinctive fighting approach, the form of the enemy was not absolute. It wasn't accumulated training that mattered — it was the combat intuition she had in excess, and that was what dictated the flow.
As a result, the offensive and defensive exchange between Emilia and the giant scorpion was dead even — a stalemate of equal footing.
But with Emilia tied up against the giant scorpion, the other battle could not help but be greatly affected.
For instance — the fight against Louis Arneb, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, which had been sustained by attacking from two directions simultaneously — was now left to Ram alone.
"Ram!!"
"You don't need to yell like that for me to hear you. Be quiet. It's distracting."
Her brother's concern was brushed off curtly with a dismissive retort.
Alone, at the center of the corridor, Ram faced off against Louis. With her back turned to Subaru's group, she stood her ground against the massive figure that exuded tremendous pressure, clashing head-on.
Naturally, with Emilia having pulled away, the battle situation should have grown more dire — or so Subaru thought — but— "Shh!"
"Higghh—! Sis, that's just mean, so mean!"
Louis's face twisted in a sticky grin, and the giant body shook its head as it leaped backward.
A direct elbow to the face — the retreat was to dissipate the impact. And in front of the stumbling figure, Ram spun with razor-sharp agility, launching a daring close-quarters assault against the self-proclaimed 'Fist King.' The martial arts Louis employed were every bit as lethal as the title 'Fist King' demanded. Yet Ram overwhelmed those perfected combat techniques with nothing but her own extraordinary sense of timing.
Even now, her white fist shot out relentlessly, driving straight into the opponent's centerline.
"Amazing! Amazing! Amazing, right? That's way too amazing! Sis, you're even stronger than I knew! What is this, what is this, how can you move like that!?"
"Don't talk as though you know me. Be quiet and die."
Louis took the savage blows, writhing in pain yet crying out in delight.
At present, Louis's right arm had been broken and one limb was effectively sealed. In that state, no matter how honed the body of the man who'd achieved mastery in bare-handed combat, he couldn't display his full potential.
The combat experience accumulated by the 'Fist King' — that was meaningless in front of Ram, whose condition was no longer impaired.
That was how overwhelmingly superior Ram's natural specs were.
But the harder Ram fought —, "Gu... buh..."
The nausea that kept surging up, the body temperature climbing seemingly without limit. Inside his head, a gong-like cacophony of tinnitus and headaches pounded away as Subaru fought against the weariness overtaking his entire body.
This was what he understood to be the perpetual poor condition Ram had been suffering from all this time.
It ground away at Subaru's body and mind without mercy. Far from getting used to it, the chills grew heavier with every passing second, and the heavier Ram's fighting intensity became, the more pronounced that weight grew.
"————"
But Subaru clenched his molars and endured.
Thanks to this Authority, he could take on Ram's suffering and give her the strength to fight. This amount of backlash from Subaru's end was a price worth swallowing.
His whole body was heavy, his limbs creaked, the ringing in his ears was deafening, his slashed thigh burned with pain, his bruised stomach screamed, exertion left him gasping for breath, and his vision flickered between red and white — ——This much? Piece of cake. Easy bluff to pull off.
"——You're such an idiot."
Glancing back toward Subaru, who had sunk to his knees behind Beatrice, Ram's lips moved slightly, murmuring something too quiet to catch.
But the Authority only bore the burden — it didn't reveal everything about the other person.
The short murmur went unheard, and Subaru's only response was a furrowed brow.
However —, "Enough already. If this drags on much longer, our errand boy is going to collapse, you know."
"How cold! Cold, cold, cold! Sis, Sis! Let's play more! Let's have fun! We're sisters, and we've never once wrestled like this before!"
"——Then I'll grant you your wish."
Ram's eyes narrowed coldly, and her palm cracked across Louis's cheek.
In the same fluid motion, she drove an elbow into the same cheek, then unleashed a storm of spinning blows across Louis's entire body.
Louis could only defend. Ram lifted his chin from below with an open palm, grabbed the front of his clothes, and slammed his face into the side wall with brute force. Then she drove a dainty knee into his head.
"Puh—geh!"
Louis's face was pinched between the stone wall and her knee, his nose crushed, blood spilling as he crumpled. Ram's palm hovered over his exposed nape without hesitation.
In that palm, a tiny vortex of wind blades swirled. But don't underestimate its size. The whirlpool of wind blades generated in her palm had more than enough power to gouge through a human body's vital points.
Grand destruction wasn't necessary — just the minimum attack to strike a vital point and finish the enemy. If that hit the neck, no matter how thick the so-called 'Fist King's' neck was, it wouldn't last a moment.
And just as Ram's finishing blow was about to land —, "Tch — people always doing whatever they want while others are trying to sleep. That's why youngest sisters are so selfish. Sis, you'd agree from your position of seniority, right?"
"——!"
In the instant before her palm strike connected, the 'Fist King's' form shifted, and Ram's blow missed.
Immediately after, what caught Ram's slender torso head-on was a back kick from Louis — no, from Rai Batencailtos, who had dropped dramatically in height.
"Switch...!?"
"No, no, no, no, no, no! It's not like I planned that — I just happened to wake up right when my little sister was at a disadvantage! An older brother would understand, right? That feeling where your sibling's playing a game so badly you can't stand watching, so you grab the controller away?"
Rai stuck out his tongue languidly, his dark brown hair framing his wicked grin as he smiled at Subaru.
Behind that vicious smile, Ram had been sent stumbling back after taking a kick to the gut. She grimaced from the single blow, her breathing rough and heavy.
Simultaneously, Subaru took in the cause of what had stopped her — and absorbed it through his Authority.
And then —, "Gu — gyaaaaaaah—!"
A searing pain erupted in his abdomen, and Subaru screamed in unbearable agony.
It was as though someone had driven a fire poker into his stomach and twisted it around. His vision whited out from the impact, and he could feel every organ in his body screaming in unison.
"Oh? I knew it! There's no way Sis could move on her own — it was all because of you, big brother! Sis, you deepened your bond with my beloved while your little sister was away!?"
Rai rambled nonsense as he watched Subaru scream, stamping his heel on the floor. From beneath that heel, a short hidden blade peeked out, its tip glistening with Ram's blood.
He'd been stabbed. The pain of that wound — Subaru had taken it from Ram.
Or perhaps the blade had been coated in some kind of poison. His body temperature plummeted with horrifying speed, and a profuse sweat broke out across his entire frame.
"Subaru!?"
"Barusu, stop it!"
Beatrice cried out in alarm at Subaru's screaming, and Ram shouted with an expression that said she'd grasped the situation.
A stab wound to the abdomen, bleeding freely. If the pain was fading and there was no impact on movement from the wound and blood loss, it was only natural to be suspicious. But Subaru shook his head desperately.
He couldn't return this pain to Ram. The moment he did, Ram would be immobilized.
It was the logical outcome. This pain was best kept with Subaru. As long as that was the case, nobody would lose yet. He could fight. He could help them fight.
"Not... yet..."
"Beatrice! Take Barusu and pull back! He's just in the way!"
Seeing Subaru muttering deliriously, Ram made a swift decision.
She tore off her jacket, wrapped it around her abdominal wound to stanch the bleeding, and resolved to continue fighting. In exchange, she urged Beatrice to extract Subaru from the scene.
Beatrice, following Ram's judgment, pulled at Subaru's sleeve.
"Subaru! Ram is right, I think! We should get away from here..."
"I... I can't... If I leave here..."
Subaru shook his head against Beatrice's tugging, trying to hold his ground.
If he left the battlefield now, 'Cor Leonis' would cut out, and the front Ram was holding together might collapse all at once.
If that happened, what would be the point of Subaru pulling out of here?
"Guh...! Emilia! Come back over here!"
"Huh? Oh, okay! I understand!"
Seeing Subaru trying to stay, Ram called Emilia over.
At the call, Emilia — who had been focused on the giant scorpion — leaped backward in a big bound. The scorpion moved to pursue, but that pursuit was blocked by an enormous ice wall filling the corridor.
Of course, no ice wall would last even a second against the giant scorpion's pincers, but for Emilia's retreat, that single second was enough.
Right then —, "Hey, hey, hey, hold on a second! You really think I'm just gonna let you slip by like that..."
"——Shut up."
"Ooh—ee!"
Rai's tongue licked his lips as he raised a short sword at the retreating Emilia's back. A sweeping low kick from Ram, who had crept in from a crouching stance, knocked it aside with a flourish.
Rai tumbled over, and Emilia hurdled him like clearing a hurdle. When Rai rose to his feet in the corridor — "————!"
"Tch! Ha ha ha! Not bad, not bad at all!"
The giant scorpion, now furiously trying to catch up to Emilia, collided head-on with Rai, who'd been left behind in the combat zone. Its compound eyes were still aimed toward Subaru as its primary target, but that didn't mean it could simply walk through an obstacle standing in its path.
The giant scorpion's pincer swung down, and Rai deflected it with an extraordinary display of swordsmanship using his short blade. A fragile edge would have been easily shattered by a wild beast's blow, but Rai's skill made it look effortless.
With enemies clashing into each other before their eyes — "Emilia! Barusu!"
"Leave it to me!"
At Ram's shout from across the corridor, Emilia scooped up the crouching Subaru. With Subaru hoisted in Emilia's slender arms, he let out a startled "Whoa!"— "Sorry, just stay still for a little bit!"
"Getting carried by a girl... my pride's taking a hit..."
"You don't have the luxury of pride right now. Just be quiet and let yourself be carried!"
Even as Subaru grumbled, Emilia's speed didn't diminish in the slightest.
Behind them, Rai and the giant scorpion were locked in a fierce battle, and however it resolved, the two would keep each other occupied for a while.
Still —, "——Shaula's target is supposed to be Subaru. If we lose sight of her, we won't know where she'll strike from next, and that's more dangerous!"
"That's the issue, Beatrice. —Is that really Shaula?"
Running alongside Emilia, who carried Subaru, Ram and Beatrice exchanged information.
Ram's question was seeking confirmation on the scorpion's true identity — the one Subaru was already convinced of. Beatrice glanced at Subaru and nodded.
"Subaru is certain of it. That light-based attack she's firing — it matches as well, I think."
"...The same kind of attack she used on the balcony, and when we were crossing the dunes?"
Hearing Beatrice's analysis, Ram furrowed her brow in thought. Then she looked over at Subaru, reaching out to tap the forehead of the boy being bounced around in Emilia's arms.
"Barusu, I don't know what you're doing, but stop it. If this goes on..."
"You think I can't take it? I'll have you know, I'm a man. Stubbornness and bravado — that's a man's privilege..."
"Says the guy who's falling apart and getting carried by Emilia."
"Guh..."
Ram's words left him speechless.
In truth, the effects of shouldering Ram's poor condition had left his entire body lethargic — even breathing was a struggle. The fatigue that accumulated with every passing second felt like a curse eating away at his very life.
Against Subaru's bravado, Emilia murmured "I knew it" and said, "Subaru, you must be doing something. From a certain point on, I felt so much lighter, and the places where I got hit didn't hurt anymore... Beatrice, if you're making Subaru push himself too hard—"
"It's not Betty's doing. This is something Subaru is doing on his own... through his Authority, I think. Even Betty would stop him if she could, I suppose."
"Authority...?"
At Beatrice's grudging admission, both Emilia and Ram frowned simultaneously.
The word 'Authority' was one Beatrice seemed to recognize — she had some familiarity with the power Subaru had been wielding — but— "Beatrice, what is an Authority?"
"——Something like an upgraded version of a divine protection. Subaru has been using it at considerable cost to himself. The condition Emilia and Ram are in — that may be the reason, I suppose."
"————"
Hearing this, Emilia drew a sharp breath, and Ram's gaze turned razor-edged.
Despite supposedly being in better condition, Ram's rose-colored eyes burned with intense anger. Fixing Subaru with that stare, she said, "When did you become so high and mighty that you'd steal Ram's responsibility without asking?"
"Sorry... I'm a gentleman, you see. So I naturally carry the ladies' luggage with style..."
"And the result is you becoming the luggage? I've said it before, but you've got it completely backward."
The sigh that followed carried a note of resignation toward Subaru's stance. She must have sensed that he had no intention of returning the burden.
Eternally bearing it would be truly exhausting, but at least for the duration of this battle —, "——Yeah."
Having thought that far, Subaru finally extended his awareness past his own body — not toward the aching organs voicing their distress, but deeper, to a different place entirely.
His consciousness passed through the vessel of his body and expanded the range of his perception dramatically. Then, through 'Cor Leonis,' it connected to the state and location of his companions.
'Taigeta' still held Echidna and
"Knew what?"
"Meili... she's still on the balcony, holding back the horde of magical beasts..."
Though slightly separated by distance, the faint flicker of light on the fourth-floor balcony was Meili. Even without Shaula at her side, she was mobilizing all of her power to deal with the approaching swarm.
Her efforts were genuinely admirable, and Subaru felt grateful — but— "That means she wasn't attacked by Shaula, I suppose."
"Exactly."
Beatrice's words were confirmed by Subaru from his perch on Emilia's shoulder.
Right after the battles at various locations had begun, Subaru had left the defense against the horde of magical beasts besieging the Watchtower to Meili and Shaula together.
After that, Shaula had appeared in giant scorpion form to attack them, so naturally, concern had arisen about Meili, who should have been with her — but Subaru could sense that she was safe.
Which meant, "Shaula's transformation happened after she separated from Meili. Either way, Shaula didn't lay a hand on Meili..."
What connection that had to the current situation, Subaru's sluggish mind couldn't piece together.
Beyond that, even if they kept running — "We can't escape our problems without solving them first — we'll just end up cornered no matter where we go!"
Emilia's exasperated shout perfectly captured their current predicament.
Of the five problems — the horde of magical beasts was being held by Meili, the giant scorpion and 'Gluttony' were currently busy fighting each other, and there was still no sign of the arrival of the jet-black shadow.
But the divine punishment of unreasonable violence that was the weapon Raid Astrea — , "——Stop!"
"——!?"
Ram, who had been running at the front, thrust a hand back to halt Emilia and the others. The three froze instinctively, and a split second later, a shockwave tore through the space where they'd been standing.
The shockwave bisected the stone corridor at an angle, sending masonry and plumes of dust billowing upward.
The Watchtower — supposedly indestructible — was being torn apart. In Subaru's memory, this was the third time — though the first time it hadn't been caused by the shadow's compression.
And the true identity of that destruction was — , "Lady Ram... and Lady Emilia and Lady Beatrice as well."
"Julius!?"
Bursting through the dust cloud in a backward leap, the figure that appeared was a dashing man in white, his clothes stained with blood and grime —
He stomped his feet to disperse the impact, glanced back over his shoulder with those golden eyes, and looked up at Subaru perched on Emilia's shoulder.
"I'd thought it had only been a few minutes since we parted, but it seems you've been rather roughly handled."
"Shut up... I'm fine, more or less..."
"That doesn't look like the sweat of an uninjured man to me..."
Julius closed one eye at Subaru's pallid complexion and the venomous remarks delivered between ragged breaths. Perceptive as he was, even Julius couldn't read the effects of the 'Cor Leonis' Authority.
And unfortunately, there was no time left for a calm discussion about that matter.
"For the love of God, just tell me you cut off Raid's head..."
"As a knight, fabricating a report that diverges from the truth is an extremely painful choice."
"...I think that answer has become the response in itself, I suppose."
Subaru's prayerful plea was tacitly denied by the earnest reply. Grimacing as hope was painted over with despair, Subaru's expression soured.
Then, cutting through the ringing in his ears, came the sound of boots crushing debris — a zombie-like shuffle.
"Ha! All you ladies came out to greet me, huh? You got that right. I was starting to get bored over there anyway. You lot wanna keep me company, huh?"
"...The worst possible outcome, I suppose."
Following Julius out of the dust cloud was a towering, muscular figure — long red hair flowing from a shoulder bared by the removed sleeve of his garment — the appearance of the red violence, Raid Astrea.
Not on the second floor, but standing boldly in the fourth-floor corridor. At the sight of Raid, Ram's voice came out as a low rasp.
Equally alarmed, Emilia's voice trembled as she said, "Why are you on this floor? You shouldn't be able to get out of there..."
"Oh come on, don't make me laugh, gorgeous. I go where I want, I cut what I want, and I take the women I want. You think I'm gonna follow someone else's rules?"
"...He really is beyond all conventional standards, I suppose."
A visibly shaken Beatrice clicked her tongue at Raid's self-serving philosophy.
But the fact remained that Raid had appeared here and was now standing in their path.
So it was Raid blocking the front entrance, 'Gluttony' and the giant scorpion at the back — a full-blown disaster.
"Maybe it's pointless to even say this, but... what's happening in this tower right now..."
"Yeah, I know it's all gone to hell. But it's got nothing to do with me. If the folks who barged in get in my way, I'll cut 'em down. If they clear my path, I won't bother chasing 'em down to do it. —Oh, and the ones in the 'trial' are a separate category. That one who came at me with a challenge earlier? Can't deny he's got guts."
"Then maybe..."
"Hey, little minnow. Don't waste my time with boring chatter."
Subaru, trying to coax some concession out of Raid through wordplay, was silenced by the extraordinary sword pressure radiating from the man.
"————"
A tingling, electric numbing sensation — physical enough to feel in his very body. That oppressive force shook Subaru — no, not just Subaru, but all five people standing in the corridor. Perhaps even the entire tower.
Was this truly just the displeasure of a single man? Nothing more than that?
The
"——Subaru, on that matter, I have good news and bad news."
Subaru's feeble murmur was met by Julius, who rose to his feet and readied his knight's sword with a solemn declaration. That opening — like something out of a foreign drama — made Subaru's cheeks tighten.
Good news and bad news. A common enough phrase in fiction, but hearing it delivered to him like this made it sound agonizingly grating.
Swallowing once, Subaru repeated "good news and bad news" under his breath, then said, "Okay, let me hear the good news first."
"Regarding the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony whose whereabouts you're worried about — there's no need to be cautious of him. I can guarantee that."
"——? Don't know your reasoning, but that's definitely good news. So what's the bad news?"
Had they found a way to beat him? Or had Julius obtained evidence that the Archbishop hadn't even entered the Watchtower? Subaru raised one eyebrow at the knight's statement.
If it was just one Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, that was one fewer problem to deal with.
Comparing their hand against the enemy's, Subaru turned his sluggish mind to determining the best course of action.
Looking at Subaru like that, Julius paused briefly, then continued.
"The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony,
"...Huh?"
In a serious tone, Julius pointed the tip of his knight's sword straight ahead.
The only person standing where that blade pointed was a towering man wearing a ferocious shark's grin.
It meant nothing else. —The man with the shark's grin was standing there.
And to the stunned Subaru and the others, Julius pressed on.
"The man before you — the first 'Sword Saint,' Raid Astrea. —He is Roy Alphard."