——
He didn't know the reason. There was no basis for it. It was nothing more than a vague sense of unease. And yet, the certainty that it must not be allowed to happen was firmly lodged in his heart.
On the hilltop,
And yet now, trapped in a dead-end, cornered with no way out and no escape, he had been completely unable to prepare anything — and she had happened to be there.
"Why…?!"
Before surprise, before regret, fury surged upward.
It was rage at himself for having known this situation had to be avoided and yet failing to put in the effort, and above all— "You knew, didn't you—Pack!!"
His furious roar tore across the grassland, reaching the spirit hovering beside the silver-haired girl. But the spirit who heard that voice likewise turned no attention toward Subaru; its gaze remained fixed entirely on Emilia's profile.
Waving its paws, darting around Emilia, its face bearing an agitation Subaru had never seen before.
"Liá! No, you have to leave here right now! It's a Sin Archbishop of the
"I can't go back now, and I don't intend to. Everyone's fighting out there even after what happened to them—I wasn't raised to sit here nice and cozy while that happens."
Emilia's cheeks were tense with a measure of strain as she answered Pack's desperate calls. At her stubborn posture, Pack pressed a paw to its face, shook its head saying "No, no—"
"It's not about who does what! It's the Witch Cult! It's the Witch Cult… Aaah, I just remembered! The trials! It's the trials, Liá! The Sin Archbishops impose trials! And I… by contract, I can't be involved with the trials! That's how it is! So that's why…!"
Cutting off his own words, Pack's expression stiffened as though he'd been forbidden from any further mention. That small cat who always carried himself with an air of composure and never let his own pace be disturbed — even Emilia looked at him with slight surprise.
"Pack… do you know something?"
"I don't know anything! But I know that something is known! I can feel it. That's why you can't stay, Liá. Go back right now. If you stay here, if you meet those people, something worse than death will happen!"
Pack offered an answer that was no answer at all. Yet in his flustered state, he neither tried to physically stop Emilia nor used his immense power to forcibly hold her in place.
At that frustratingly helpless attitude, Subaru felt an unbearable fury. Without even understanding himself why his chest burned so hot— "If Emilia showed up here… then what was all of that for! —You!"
"You're the one saying that out loud?! Liá pushed past even my words, and for whose sake did she come all the way to a place like this…!"
Pack's face twisted with vexation as he shot back at Subaru, his voice strained.
At that retort, Subaru grasped a truth he couldn't look away from, and it struck him with crushing self-reproach.
Of course. It was the obvious conclusion.
There was only one reason she'd gotten off the fleeing dragon carriage and returned to the battlefield.
Subaru and the others, who had said nothing to her, told her nothing, and stayed behind despite the danger.
She was the kind of person who always chose to suffer for others' sake, who followed the disposition of her heart straight and true no matter who resented her. —There was no way she would simply accept being protected and nothing more.
He'd made a misjudgment. Once again, Subaru had stacked yet another one on top of the rest.
And having stacked them without ever crossing paths, it all came to light at the worst possible moment.
——At this point, the situation allowed not a single moment's reprieve.
"Pack is…"
On the hilltop, Pack continued to cling to Emilia, pleading for her to reconsider. But there was no way he could bend her iron will.
Emilia, half-resigned to getting no cooperation from Pack, closed her eyes relying on her own magical power alone and began to chant.
And the eerily silent madman, Petelgeuse— "Truly… ah, what a fine day this is. A perfect mirror image — there could surely be no vessel more fitting than this body…"
Tears spilling from his eyes, the madman's voice trembled with irrepressible passion as he took one step toward the hill. His foot wavered as he stepped forward, but his stride was nothing if not the final countdown to ruin.
"———"
Pack was unreliable. Subaru stood up, driven by nothing but his sense of mission.
And the moment the hand touching him withdrew,
"Subaru-kun?!"
Behind him, he left Felis's stunned voice in his wake. Forgetting the pain that made his entire body creak, Subaru ran. To the side, the
Right now, he was the only one who could prevent her encounter with the madman.
He didn't know how much help this small, insignificant self of his could be. He didn't know — but even so, he had to do it. Otherwise, why— "I'd like you to not get in my waaaaay—desu!"
Sensing Subaru closing in, Petelgeuse tilted his head and glanced back. His shadow swelled — pitch-black demon hands burst forth, hurtling toward Subaru all at once to ensnare him.
With the palm pressure threatening to tear his limbs from their sockets, Subaru twisted his body, threading through the gaps without so much as slowing down. At this point, a change occurred in his body — his focus sharpened to a razor's edge despite the cumulative fatigue and injuries.
In other words, a burst of adrenaline-fueled strength.
Movements beyond his limits erupted through Subaru's body as he dodged the oncoming palms by a hair's breadth.
At those abnormal movements, Petelgeuse clicked his tongue.
"How irritating, that you of all people can see my unseen hands…"
"Shut that filthy mouth of yours! I'm not letting you do anything else!"
The distance between them shrank to under twenty meters, and the number of demon hands pouring out to tear Subaru apart grew until they filled his entire field of vision.
But there was no fear of being ripped apart. What drove Subaru was a flame of impatience that burned through his entire being, trampling down the part of him that feared death.
He stepped in, dodging palms that grazed his cheeks. From his left cheek to his ear, the skin split open with a vicious tear — pain like nerve endings being seared as blood sprayed out. But clenching his teeth against the agony that nearly overwhelmed his consciousness, Subaru's body pressed forward, forward — and the arm he reached out came closing in on Petelgeuse's slender shoulder— "If the unseen hands put you at a disadvantage, I suppose there's no help for it, desu ne."
"——Quit your struggling!"
"——Urduna."
Petelgeuse, wearing a bored expression, uttered a short incantation.
The instant that word reached Subaru's ears and his eyes went wide, the ground beneath his feet heaved violently, and his stance crumbled as though his footing had been swept out from under him. And then— "No way…?!"
"The unseen hands are merely a mark of the favor bestowed upon me alone… but have I ever once said that's the only thing I can use?"
Tilting his head ninety degrees, Petelgeuse delivered that vicious mockery as he drew further away.
No — it was the ground at Subaru's feet that had risen at terrifying speed, shoving his body — which had been standing right on top of it — high into the air.
The entire area beneath his feet sprang upward like a spring-loaded platform, launching Subaru's body lightly into the sky. The height easily surpassed ten meters— "Ugh—ahh?!"
Still in his collapsed stance, he slammed into the rebounding ground, the hard impact to his chest driving the air from his lungs. His consciousness blurred white from the shock, and in that state, Subaru — thrown through the air — had no effective means of evading the fall.
A fall from a great height. And that he would most likely land headfirst had already been confirmed by "Murphy's True Law." Now too, he was plummeting upside down from the crown of his head, about to snap his neck and lose his life — when, at the very last instant— "Subaru—!!"
A cry of silver-bell urgency rang out at the same moment as a translucent mass rising from directly below caught the falling Subaru.
It was fashioned with the utmost consideration to cushion the impact of the fall, but given the material it was made of, damage was unavoidable. When Subaru pried his eyes open in pain against the hard sensation and the prickling cold against his skin, what he found was— "Ice… a mountain? No, a tower…?"
An iceberg — built up to the same height as the risen earth, erected to rescue Subaru after he'd been launched skyward. That was the true identity of the mass that had saved him from a fatal fall.
His blood-smeared skin stuck to the iceberg, and he grimaced against the pain of skin being peeled away as he forced himself upright. Subaru gained simultaneously the relief of survival and the weight of an irreversible mistake.
——There was no need to even consider whose hand had shaped this iceberg.
"——Emilia!!"
Turning around, Subaru steadied himself on the slippery iceberg and turned his face toward the hill in frustration. But the risen earth obstructed his vision like a cliff face, cutting off his view of Emilia, Pack, and Petelgeuse on the other side.
Emilia's chanting had been interrupted. And he couldn't see whether Petelgeuse's unseen hands had reached her—!
"This is the worst… this is the worst! To get around to the other side of this wall…"
He had to descend the iceberg and scale the wall of risen earth. The earth that had swelled up to block the hill rose like a sheer cliff, making it difficult to go around to the other side given the terrain. For Subaru alone, it was impossible.
The skin of his palms stuck to the ice, and each time it peeled away, the pain sent fire through his brain. A sharp pain that brought tears to the corners of his eyes repeated over and over, and he literally bled his way down the iceberg.
Fortunately, there were several handholds to grab onto, and combined with his desperation, he descended the ice mountain with surprising speed, half-falling as he went.
But without a moment to catch his breath, he looked up at the wall, and Subaru's spirits sank.
"Dammit… this wall… that bastard was playing me for a fool…!"
With his blood-covered hands, he slammed against the earthen wall and gritted his teeth, once again lamenting the shallowness of his thinking.
He'd been so fixated on the idea that封封ing Petelgeuse's "unseen hands" would neutralize him that he'd been careless. And now, just as expected, it had completely backfired— "——Subaru-dono!"
"…Wilhelm-san?"
From behind the hunched Subaru, the old swordsman came rushing over.
His injuries were relatively light; carrying the divine sword, he nodded at Subaru, then glared at the wall.
"I caught a glimpse of Lady Emilia for just a moment. —Is the Sin Archbishop over there as well?"
"Yes… yes! I got done in! Emilia… we can't let her meet him — Petelgeuse! It'll turn into something terrible… I can't explain it properly, but she mustn't. That's the one thing…"
Unable to put his sense of urgency into words, Subaru grabbed onto Wilhelm in frustration. At Subaru's disjointed pleading, Wilhelm nodded.
"Leave it to me. I shall carve through this wall with my own hands."
"Cut through it, you say…"
Subaru's doubt — how could he possibly cut through this wall that loomed so high above them — was answered by Wilhelm in the most succinct way possible: through action.
In other words, the flashing white blade gouged into the wall, and in rapid succession, countless slashes began to cleave through the earthen barrier. The answer was simple, literally: he was cutting it open.
"Whoa…"
Subaru, witnessing the Sword Devil's full-power slashes from up close, could do nothing but marvel at the overwhelming skill. Despite the life-or-death nature of this critical moment, the beauty of the flashing blade, the heights of the cuts — truly, one could say this was what it meant to know the existence of a summit reached by the sword.
Behind them, though Subaru and Wilhelm had been drawn away from the front lines, the battle between the Witch Cultists and the subjugation force was reaching its climax.
The subjugation force — the beastman mercenary company — fought well, and Ricardo's great cleaver sent Witch Cultists flying. And behind him stood Julius, commanding six sub-spirits of differing radiance.
"Ia, Qua, Iq, Aro, In, Nes — all of you, lend me your strength."
Called by name, the sub-spirits responded, each intensifying its own glow. The next instant, six kinds of light ignited along the slender blade in Julius's grip, turning it into a rainbow-hued sword as he sent the "Finest Knight" into the battlefield.
"Your preparations are finally complete! You kept me waiting ages, you know!"
"My apologies, Ricardo. I've been quite the burden on your efforts. —Starting now, I'll show you results worthy of all that trouble."
Responding with characteristic composure to Ricardo's profanity, Julius lightly swung his rainbow-gleaming sword. In the air, a rainbow traced the blade's arc, and glints of light danced wildly.
It was fantastical. But its practicality was far from clear. Brandishing that blade, Julius approached the Witch Cultists. A black-robed figure noticed, drew a short sword from its hip, and lunged at the advancing knight. Julius met it— "My sword now interferes with all things. —Challenging me is futile."
A rainbow flashed, and the black-robed figure's short sword — arm and all — vanished.
A cut so clean not even blood spilled. Having lost both arms to the elbow, the black-robed figure couldn't even process the damage before another slash struck, and they disintegrated.
"Come now — all who desire to be bewitched by the radiance of the rainbow, stand before me!"
Julius raised his battle cry and lifted his sword as the Witch Cultists surged toward him. Standing beside Ricardo, Julius met their charge — a thoroughly reassuring sight.
And on this side too— "The wall… we're through it!"
"——Ngh!"
Beyond the ceaselessly digging slashes, a faint light seeped through the wall. The instant Subaru raised his voice in hope of a breakthrough, the tip of the divine sword pierced cleanly through.
Covered head to toe in earth, Wilhelm kicked the wall down with a front kick, securing a passage wide enough for a person. The Sword Devil slipped through smoothly, and Subaru poked his head through to the other side.
He'd lost a considerable amount of time. During that interval, he'd been unable to interfere with this side at all. And so, if Emilia had been lost in the meantime— "Emi—"
But Subaru's worst fear played out in an entirely different form.
"——Aaah, that hurts, that hurts, that hurts, desu ne."
His voice trembling at its tail end, Petelgeuse groaned in pain and bled.
A large portion of his left side, particularly his lower abdomen, already had ice stakes driven deep into it. His left leg was even worse — a spike thrust up from the earth had pierced through the top of his foot, pinning him to the ground.
And facing him, behind Emilia, numerous blades of ice still hovered, waiting to be launched. The tide of battle was visibly in Emilia's favor.
And because it was visible — that was what made it the worst.
"——Emilia!!"
Subaru screamed, trying with all his voice to make it not become reality.
But before Subaru could even get the words out, the near-death Petelgeuse thrust a palm in his direction — extending a pitch-black demon hand — faster.
The oncoming palm — its speed, whether due to Petelgeuse's own failing life force, was lethargic, shadows of what it had been. Even drawing Wilhelm back and dodging, it was still a leisurely pace. But that demon hand, which didn't seem threatening to Subaru— "Look out, Subaru—!!!"
For Emilia, who knew nothing of the situation, it was the kind of thing that could only mean Subaru's death blow.
And therefore— "Aaah, the abandonment of thought — you truly are 'Sloth,' desu ne?"
The face twisted in mad laughter was severed by the rain of ice blades and sent spinning through the air.
Blood sprayed from the decapitated torso as the lifeless body crumbled. The severed head tumbled across the grassland, hitting the ground with a heavy thud at the edge of vision.
The madman Petelgeuse's life had been ended by Emilia.
It was a different kind of "worst" from the worst Subaru had imagined— "Subaru-dono. It appears that creature…"
Having confirmed the Sin Archbishop's death, Wilhelm allowed the faintest crack in his stern expression. Similarly, Emilia bore a trace of lingering unease on her shoulders alongside her relief at what she'd done.
Before the two of them, Subaru raised his head. And opened his mouth— "Both of you, get away from me now—!" *Too late, desu!!* He extended both hands, intending to shove Wilhelm aside — but at the final instant, his mouth moved contrary to his own will, producing vocalization he had not intended.
Immediately after, Subaru had the illusion that the ground beneath his feet was swelling. No — his shadow exploded, and from it, countless arms were born.
Rising without a sound like writhing serpents, they targeted Wilhelm, who was closest. But the old swordsman reacted at the last possible instant. Unable to perceive the unseen hands' threat visually, he nonetheless sensed Subaru's prior warning and instantly twisted away, moving with the speed of a leap to Emilia's side.
Subaru — Petelgeuse — glared at this with undisguised loathing.
"I feel absolutely wretched… desu. Having someone else's voice rattling around in your head — who knew it was this disgusting…!"
He dug his fingers into his own wounds, using the pain to keep his consciousness flickering but present. Only by maintaining that tension could he keep from being overtaken right then and there.
The sensation of another person — and one who should be his enemy at that — brazenly squatting right beside his mind. Following the precedent of the last time, he should have anticipated this situation.
And yet this was the one scenario he absolutely had to have avoided.
"What's wrong… Subaru, what's going on?"
"He's dangerous, Lady Emilia. Right now, that body belongs to Subaru-dono but not only to Subaru-dono. —Subaru-dono! Are you still in there?"
Wilhelm, restraining Emilia with an outstretched arm, called out with concern at Subaru's altered behavior. Subaru scowled and answered by stepping back.
The topic of "possession" had been explained to every member of the subjugation force as shared common knowledge. Wilhelm, reading Subaru's behavior, surely understood that his consciousness was wrestling with the madman's.
Naturally, a severity settled into his expression, and the tip of his divine sword turned toward Subaru. He wouldn't strike immediately, but the wariness was clear. And that was precisely what Subaru had asked of him before the battle began.
"You kept your promise… I'm happy, Wilhelm-san."
"I would prefer that you not make me do something like cut you down. …Can you manage to break free without being dominated?"
"How should I know… desu? Honestly, I'm not even sure I'm still in control of my own self. If I let my guard down even slightly, I could end up… clawing at my throat or something."
His arms twitched involuntarily, and when his attention wandered, he could feel his fingers creeping toward his throat. If left alone, they would gouge into his neck with force approaching the limits of the human body, and the searing pain would end his life. That despicable bastard just loved making people kill themselves.
"Seriously… other people, he uses their bodies for his own purposes… but with me, he tries to make me commit suicide right away — what kind of logic is that… desu ne?!"
His voice trembled, his fingertips shook, and his gaze began to lose its focus.
His mind was being infiltrated by Petelgeuse, and his body's control was gradually being stolen away. He could no longer feel sensation in his feet. And so, creeping slowly from end to end, the existence called Natsuki Subaru was being painted over by the existence called Petelgeuse.
*'It's been quite some time since I struggled this much to possess someone, desu ne.'* "Having a conversation with a mental entity… I'm really at the end of my rope here. Son of a bitch, desu."
The phantom of Petelgeuse surfaced in his mind's eye. The image was of the Petelgeuse he'd first encountered — surely it should have been blown to atoms by now — but that ghostly figure circled around Subaru, gazing at his desperate resistance as though licking him up.
*'What a fine resistance, what a fine expression, what a fine attempt! Trials! Trials, trials, trials, trials, trials! This is what a trial must be! For me, for the Witch, for a half-demon that is nothing but a vessel — it's the same! Trials! Ah, the trials of love, of love!'* "Keep your voice… out of my ear, you bastard. What trials…? In the end, I'll just crush you down with the strength of my willpower… people who think they can beat me just by being stronger-willed — they're not exactly rare, you know…"
He braggadocied, put on a brave front, and rallied his own heart.
He had to, or he would give in to this self-destructive impulse right this instant. Or else he'd reach out with arms born from the shadow about to burst at his feet and obliterate everything in the vicinity without leaving a trace.
If this impulse was what Petelgeuse constantly carried within him, then it made a certain kind of sense — his mad behaviors, his grotesque quirks all throughout.
If one was this hungry for destruction, biting off one's own fingertip would be nothing.
If one harbored a power this difficult to control, losing one's mental balance would be no surprise.
——So this was the world Petelgeuse saw.
*'——I wasn't seeking understanding from anyone, desu.'* There, for the first time, the specter that was Petelgeuse spoke to Subaru with cold detachment.
Up until now, Petelgeuse had expressed anger, madness, ecstasy — all manner of emotion. But for the first time, the tint of feeling had drained from his expression.
It was, in fact, more chilling than any attitude he'd shown before— *'I'm not seeking for anyone to understand me! Above all, pity is an insult to the love I bestow! An affront! It's nothing but a humiliation! I need only think, contemplate, be conscious of, and strive to repay the favor — that alone is salvation, desu!'* "You…"
Petelgeuse's phantom leaned close, extending its tongue to threaten Subaru.
Revulsion and a measure of pity flickered through Subaru's mind, but he cut even that away as nothing more than a momentary lapse in judgment.
Still standing his ground, the madman and the ordinary man locked in a contest over dominion — and into that impasse— "——Subaru!"
"Subaru-kun!"
"Big bro!"
From behind, having annihilated every last Witch Cultist, Julius, Felis, and Ricardo came running over.
"Subaru!"
"Subaru-dono…!"
"———"
From the front, Emilia and Wilhelm descended the hill, their expressions an inseparable mix of guarded vigilance and the worry that bled through from behind it.
His heartbeat, loud and forceful.
The faces of those who had gathered made Subaru's heart wild, but above all, Emilia stood right at his side. At her proximity, Subaru's heart trembled — and suddenly blazed brighter.
"———"
Then, without warning, the trembling of Subaru's limbs ceased.
The aftershock of the battle he'd been waging against what surged up from inside him — that which had been his trembling — vanished, and he let out a long, long breath.
"Subaru…?"
At his composed demeanor, Emilia tilted her head.
Tentatively, her fingers reached toward him, reaching for his cheek.
Just before her white fingertips touched his cheek, Subaru's raised hand caught hers. Emilia let out a small "Ah" as her dark-purple eyes met his black pupils.
And Subaru's cheek slowly curved into a smile.
"——Liá, no!"
"I've finally caught you—desu."
Pack lunged forward with a warning cry, but the smile that split Petelgeuse's face — a smile that seemed to tear his cheeks apart — came faster.
Everyone moved at once to protect Emilia, whose wrist was being held— but that was intercepted by the pitch-black demon hands that shot up and bound them all.
"Nya—?!"
"What the—! It's just like Big bro was saying!"
"The Sin Archbishop's… 'Unseen Hands'!"
Bound and immobilized, Felis, Ricardo, and Wilhelm let out cries of pain. Arms rising from the ground gripped their limbs in an iron hold, as though lead weights had been attached to them, forcing them into a crawling posture.
But— "——It seems there's someone rather ill-suited to this, desu ne?"
"It would appear so. …I would ask that you release all of them unharmed."
At the last possible instant, Julius had leaped backward to evade the demon hands, and now he readied his sword.
Having escaped the unseen hands' restraint by some means, Julius faced Petelgeuse — who had taken control of Subaru's body — and Petelgeuse glared at him with undisguised contempt.
"——AnSpirit术师, desu ka."
"And what if I am?"
Petelgeuse clicked his tongue, utterly irritated.
Julius, maintaining his composed demeanor without so much as a crack, was likely trying to buy time to devise a countermeasure. But— "Stalling won't help you, desu. The vessel is already in my hands—"
As he spoke, Petelgeuse raised the white wrist of Emilia — still gripping it tight. And Emilia, unable to resist, was hoisted into the air by countless unseen hands, her mouth sealed as well, her chanting cut off.
Emilia struggled desperately, squirming in an attempt to break free. Beside her, the Great Spirit who should have been watching over her all this time had forbidden himself from making any move whatsoever.
"Why… why am I here…? Liá, ah, Liá, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Why… if I can't be of help here, then why did
There was a note of helpless frustration in his murmur, and resignation bore down upon his small body.
Hearing that, Petelgeuse suddenly went still. He raised his head, and in a creaking motion, slowly looked down at the small cat.
"You damn well stop messing around… desu…"
It was righteous indignation, an irrepressible surge of fury.
That explosion of emotion was what temporarily called back Subaru's consciousness — which should have been driven into the void.
His will to resist had been completely broken, and yet it was only at the sight of Pack's pathetic state that he could shake his consciousness back.
Then— "Trials, contracts… what a load of crap, damn it. Then why are you even… here?! Why… couldn't you… do anything…"
"What do you know, Subaru? You don't know anything! I couldn't even remember until this very moment! What would you know about the Witch…!"
The eyes looking up at Subaru blazed with anger, and the two glared at each other.
But even as they hurled their irreconcilable hatred at each other, Subaru's consciousness was once again threatened by the flickering shadow of Petelgeuse.
His consciousness was fading — he knew that this time, it would truly be crushed for good.
"——Do it, Julius."
"What are you asking…"
"At this rate, he'll take me over and wipe us all out. If it comes to that, put an end to me."
Gripping the sword, Subaru entrusted his wish to the only person here who could still communicate his will to his own body.
At the very least, he wanted Julius to take out Petelgeuse to break through this situation. And if a vessel was needed for that, Subaru would play the role himself.
"That's unacceptable, Subaru. Think it through. I'm a knight and a spirit arts user. I entered into a contract to cooperate with your objective. Going back on that would be…"
"My objective… is to save Emilia. The accounting for my own life… is a separate matter…"
At Subaru's strained words, Julius's face twisted in anguish.
It was the first time Subaru had seen that composed, elegant Julius — who never lost his composure — wear such a pained expression, and he couldn't help but find himself wanting to laugh.
His cheeks relaxed, and a small breath escaped.
*'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!'* The phantom Petelgeuse reappeared, circling Subaru as though to berate him for his decision.
The absurdity of that sight only made the laughter swell further, and at last, a faint chuckle spilled from his throat.
"Subaru, I…"
"Don't misjudge the situation, Sir Knight—"
Subaru pressed his trembling voice onto the wavering Julius. But still, Julius couldn't bring himself to act.
As though pushing against his back — breaking into the conversation that everyone was holding their breath to follow— "——Subaru-kun is on the verge of being possessed, and Julius can't make the call to execute him. So I guess there's nothing left to do but this, right nya?"
Bound to the ground by demon hands and forced into a crawling posture, Felis raised her head from that uncomfortable position and managed a faint smile.
Beads of sweat on her brow, a single lock of hair straying across her face — she was beautiful. With only a cloth draped over her shoulder, even knowing she was male, one couldn't help but feel her allure.
And the smile that split her red lips was truly worthy of the word "bewitching."
"Wait, Felis. What are you—"
"I'll make it so there's no turning back."
Before Julius could call out to stop her, Felis clicked her tongue softly.
A sound like a kiss, quiet and brief. Subaru-Petelgeuse blinked, waiting to see what would happen. But nothing seemed to occur— —And then, immediately, Subaru's entire body was scorched by the sensation of his blood boiling.
"——Ah, ha?!"
Hot. Hot, hot. Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot.
His throat burned, his eyes burned, his body burned, his tongue burned, his nose burned, his hands burned, his ears burned, his feet burned, his blood burned, his soul burned, his life burned — hot hot hot.
His blood boiled, his organs simmered, his brain threatened to evaporate — a raging fever so intense it whiteout his vision.
This sudden, catastrophic change to his body — this fatal transformation — left Subaru unable to form words as words.
*'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh——?!'* On the verge of being burned away, Petelgeuse's screams rang in his eardrums — Subaru could see him, suffering the same agony. If they shared a body, then the pain Subaru endured was Petelgeuse's pain too.
Which meant this inescapable end was something Petelgeuse was also tasting.
——Good. Serve you right. That feeling welled up and was extinguished before it could even form against the pain.
He writhed, rolled, convulsed, and was rendered unable to move.
When awareness returned, those who had been bound were now free. Naturally. With the one who should be wielding the unseen hands in this state, who could possibly bind whom?
"Felis! Why did you…!"
"It wasn't his wish, nya. Protecting what you want to protect — that's what matters, right?"
Subaru no longer had the energy to move even a single finger to express his suffering. He understood what had happened, that it was Felis who had caused it, and that Wilhelm had lunged at her for it.
Emilia crouched down and shook Subaru's shoulder.
"Wait… Subaru, no, that's not right. Please. Wait… no, it's wrong, it's wrong. I need to…"
She was crying. Who was she crying for? She had to be crying for someone. She had always been the type who did nothing but good for others.
If that someone happened to be him, maybe he'd be happy — he thought so.
"Can't… watch this."
Ricardo, his massive body swaying, turned his back.
And the one who stepped out from beside him was the Royal Guard Knight with his purple hair slightly disheveled — Julius, gripping his rainbow-hued sword, a trace of quiet solitude in his expression.
"…Felis's actions were brought about by my own failing. I will accept this punishment in time."
He didn't feel like telling him not to sweat the small stuff.
Go on, sweat it plenty. Make sure you never, ever forget. Don't you dare forget how much I suffered — if you let that slide, then I really won't be able to rest in peace.
——The tip of the rainbow sword came to rest against the throat of the prostrate Subaru.
"No… no, Julius. Because Subaru is still…"
"It's a runaway of life force… there's nothing more to be done."
Emilia pleaded with Julius, but the knight shook his head, not listening.
Their voices grew distant. More and more distant, fading away to somewhere far off.
*'This can't be… My— I was supposed to have received — the Witch's blessing, the Gospel's grace…!'* ——Shut up. Go to hell.
Falling, falling, dropping away to some place far, far away.
Ah, he was dying again, wasn't he? Plunging into the abyss, losing everything, still clutching his failures to his chest, and once again wretchedly losing his life.
He looked back at the world.
He would never forget the cause of his failure.
"——Subaru, I'm sorry."
He heard that tearful voice — the voice of the girl he wanted to hear most — and consciousness fell for the last time.
And then, ah, he understood. The reason for this failure.
"I—"
——Natsuki Subaru was not supposed to have made up with Emilia.