"Otto. You were saying something before, right? About using wind and water magic in combination to send footstep sounds off into the distance or something."
"...Now that you mention it, I think I did say something like that. You've got a good memory. Something that simple would be doable even in my current mana-starved state, but... how are we going to use it? You can really only pull it off when you want to get someone to turn around, you know."
"The use is exactly as you just described. Make some noise, draw their attention, and lure them down to where we've set the trap. —After that, I'll blow them away with the quintessence of science."
"You're awfully confident, but this 'quintessence of science' of yours is...?"
"The easiest, most devastating finishing move there is — a dust explosion. The method and materials are incredibly simple. All you need is fire and a little bit of flour. Given what I know about its power, it should be more than enough to send a monster or two flying."
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "That's exactly what you were saying, so I believed you and went along with it — and look what happened!"
"Shut up! Progress in science demands sacrifice! Why did it fail? Not enough powder? Fire too small? ...Don't tell me the laws of physics are subtly different in this world? Could that be why the dust explosion—"
"Oh, who cares about that! Just hit it properly! Ah — No! No good!"
Subaru and Otto were shouting at each other, and Petra was yelling over them, trying to cut in.
The three of them were currently in the dining hall on the first floor of the manor, brightly lit by flames. The reason was simple enough: "You used too much oil! How are we supposed to put this out?! It's spreading like crazy!"
"There was no way I could be stingy with it against that absurdly huge mabeast! Besides, whether we burned it or left it behind, the result would've been the same! You're absolutely going to compensate me for this, you hear me?!"
"You two are so loud! This isn't the time for that! We can't put it out anymore! Let's just run!"
"That's the kind of thing a middle schooler who let a fireworks mishap get out of hand would say..."
He said it with a thoroughly exasperated look, only to notice the tablecloth he was holding had caught fire too. It showed no signs of going out no matter how hard he slapped it, so he reluctantly tossed it into the blaze.
The fire from the storage warehouse had already spread at alarming speed, and flames were now reaching toward the dining hall's kitchen. Any moment now, the cooking-grade magic ore and other materials could catch and explode.
"The cost of doing this is way too high..."
With a bitter twist of his lips, Subaru looked down at the charred remains of the mabeast lying at the border between the storage warehouse and the dining hall. It had been blocking the third-floor office where the hidden passage was, and they'd lured it downstairs with Otto's petty-thief magic, doused it with the oil from the warehouse, and burned it to death — which was how they'd ended up here.
It was a muscle-brain to match its massive frame, and frankly, they should be grateful it had fallen for every trap without a second thought. Fortunately, it seemed to have a weakness to fire as well — once its body caught, it thrashed around in a panic right there and burned to the end.
Subaru had been terrified at what would happen when his prepared dust explosion fizzled, but it turned out that Otto and Petra's backup plan — the stockpiled oil — had saved them.
He'd tried so hard to explain just how devastating a dust explosion could be, but neither of them had listened. In the end, it was their poor comprehension that saved him this time around. He supposed he should be grateful.
Still, if there was one problem, it was that the fire used to burn the mabeast to death had no intention of going away even after its objective was achieved.
It was consuming the manor's walls, burning through the food in the warehouse, and the flames were already reaching the legs of the dining hall's grand table.
Black smoke and the acrid stench of a world burning itself to a crisp. Visibility was dropping fast, and without a fire brigade, they were critically short on water magic users to conduct firefighting operations.
"Honestly, with the fight between Garfiel and Elsa going on and mabeasts roaming around, I knew we'd be looking at renovations, but I didn't think it'd reach the level of a full rebuild..."
"There's no time for that, Natsuki. We need to follow Frederica and the others and get out of here. Before the stairs to the third floor are gone too — quickly."
"Quickly! Quickly!"
As the familiar sights of the manor were swallowed by fire, the two of them tugged at the sleeves of the dazed Subaru, who seemed unable to grasp the reality of it all.
Besides Subaru, only Otto and Petra were here. Frederica, who had been accompanying them, and
There had been some concern about leaving Rem with the injured Frederica, but purely in terms of combat strength, it was the logical outcome. Even with Frederica unable to use one arm, Subaru and Otto probably couldn't have held their own against her.
In any case, the mabeast had been defeated.
Praying that the office and hidden passage were clear of other enemies as they'd predicted, Subaru and the others burst out of the dining hall and raced back up the stairs toward the top floor.
"What if Garfiel burns to death because of this?!"
"Garfiel isn't THAT stupid — it'll be fine! And if it's just him alone, he can scatter the mabeasts outside and make his escape, no problem!"
Subaru was worried that things had unexpectedly turned into an arson-and-attrition situation. Otto's reassurance hit the mark, but in reality, who knew how things would turn out — "Big Sis Frederica!"
Before Subaru could finish his thoughts, the three of them had reached the top floor.
Breathless, Petra spotted Frederica standing in front of the office and waved. Seeing Petra's condition, Frederica seemed to conclude the operation had been a success, and her expression softened with relief.
"Thank goodness, everyone's safe. I'm relieved no one's missing."
"Excuse me, but why are you saying that while staring directly at my face?! Are you implying I look like I'm missing?! At this rate, even I'm going to start crying, you know!"
"Alright, alright, calm down, calm down. Your improved treatment will be an ongoing project — for now, we need to prioritize the immediate problem. Frederica, what about the hidden passage?"
"It functioned without issue. The path, at least as far as the small room, has been confirmed safe... By the way, is it just my imagination, or does it smell rather like something burning?"
Frederica narrowed her sharp eyes, asking about the savory smell tickling her nostrils. Subaru grimaced and looked at Otto and Petra, but both of them shook their heads in unison.
"Ah, well, there was a bit of a mishap. The fire we used to take down the mabeast got a little out of hand. As a result..."
"The manor is on fire... I wasn't expecting the building to come through unscathed, but it seems it's going to be a total loss. ...Still, that's a small price compared to our lives."
"Oh, now you're making sense. Right. Some sacrifices can't be helped."
"I don't have much attachment to the manor myself.
"Nooo..."
He imagined the merciless verbal drubbing he'd receive, and his spirits already sank at the thought of their reunion.
But the ability to worry about the future was itself a good sign. At Subaru's attitude, Frederica offered a wry smile, and a sense of relief spread among them.
"Well, since we've gone ahead and imposed another time limit on ourselves, let's get moving. Frederica, you're on point, followed by Petra and Otto. Once we're through the escape route, we'll be in the safe zone... though honestly, I'm not sure which side of the barrier counts as 'safe.' Follow Frederica's lead. Ideally, we link up with
After wrapping up the banter, Subaru laid out the plan ahead in rapid-fire fashion.
Frederica and Otto tensed up and nodded their agreement. But it was Petra who furrowed her brow at the explanation.
Petra raised her small hand and called out, "Subaru?"
"W-Wait, isn't something weird about this? The way you're saying it, it sounds like you're not coming with us..."
"—Yeah, that's right. Sorry, but I can't escape with you from here. I'm going a different way."
"Why?!"
At Subaru's confirmation of her fears, Petra let out a cry of surprise.
Her outstretched hand grabbed at his hem, her fingertips trembling as she tried to keep Subaru from pulling away.
"Just let's go already! The manor's burning, there are scary people and mabeasts everywhere! You can't win in a fight, Subaru! Let's just run?"
"I mean, yeah, you're right, so I can't really argue with that. I'm not going out there to fight. Well, I guess in a sense it is a fight, but..."
Part of Subaru was happy to feel Petra trying to hold him back, but he gently pried her fingers off one by one. Seeing the grief spreading through her big, round eyes made his heart ache.
From behind, Otto carefully patted Petra's shoulder without startling her.
"Petra. Natsuki has something he needs to do. Until that's done, he can't leave the manor."
"But! Subaru is weak! It's dangerous! Why can't Otto stay instead?!"
"That's not exactly a vote of confidence in my strength, is it?!"
Petra shook her head at Otto's protests and looked up at Subaru with tears forming in her eyes. Subaru knelt down to meet her gaze and gently stroked her head.
"Sorry, Petra. You, Rem, Frederica — I'm going to get all of you out of the manor safely. But that alone won't fulfill every reason I came back. There's one more person I need to bring out of here."
"B-
"That's right. Have you ever met her?"
Petra shook her head.
It had been roughly ten days since Petra started working at the manor, and the reclusive girl hadn't shown herself to the live-in maid even once. That was how she was.
Even Subaru left the room once in a while — at least to use the bathroom.
"R-Really? There's actually someone like that? You're not just overthinking things and imagining her, are you...?"
He hadn't meant to give that impression, but now even her very existence was being doubted in Petra's mind.
The classic "Are you sure this person only exists inside your head?"
"She's a handful, she's lonely even though she acts like she doesn't need anyone, she takes on everything by herself, comes to her own conclusions and suffers for it, and because she can't deal with it on her own, she wants someone else to settle things for her."
"............"
"That's not exactly someone I'd want to dream up. If I were going to create a fantasy character, she'd be a whole lot more supportive, with maxed-out affection and all."
The real girl did nothing he wanted, had lost track of her own wishes and everyone else's, was on the verge of giving up on thinking altogether, and was an absolute pain to deal with.
And that was precisely why he needed to go to her.
"Beatrice, Petra — she's around your age. She's got a lot of mature mannerisms, but... Petra, you might remind her of her very first friend."
"Her very first friend?"
He remembered what θ had told him about the past.
About a girl named Ryuzu Meyer, who had once formed a friendship with Beatrice, one that had left an indelible wound in her heart.
Between her and Beatrice, there had been a bond of friendship so clear to anyone looking from the outside — even if neither of them had been fully aware of it.
"Petra. When I bring Beatrice back, be her friend. I'm sure you'll get along — she's a total blast to tease."
"More than Otto?"
"Yeah. I don't even need Otto anymore."
Otto looked like he had something to say about that, but Subaru pointedly ignored him.
Then Subaru removed his hand from Petra's head and stood up.
"As I said — I'm going to find Beatrice. I'll try my best not to burn to death, but if I do, make sure to record that the cause of death was the fire started by Otto's oil."
"I'd really rather not come to that, so you'd better come back in one piece — I will genuinely beat you up, I swear."
Otto replied with a deeply annoyed expression, pulling Petra's shoulder and drawing her toward him.
As if drawing a line between Subaru, who was going his own way, and the other four.
"Frederica. I'm counting on you for the rest."
"I shall spare no effort and carve out a path to safety."
"Spare yourself. If you become someone I can't save, there's no point in my having come back."
Frederica's eyes went wide.
Seeing her like that, so surprised, felt like witnessing something rare, and it was oddly satisfying.
Finally, Subaru glanced at Rem, carried on Frederica's back. The sleeping princess continued her endless slumber, showing no sign of seeing him off on his resolve.
That was fine. Rem wasn't in a position to see Subaru off. Subaru was the one who would come to rescue her.
"Subaru, be careful!"
Turning his back on the four of them, Subaru took off running.
Petra's voice chased after him as he left. But Subaru didn't look back. And Petra hadn't asked him to.
The fire was gradually engulfing the manor.
—Would this fire reach the Forbidden Library? As his hand found a sound door, Subaru couldn't help but wonder.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The shield caught the downward slash, deflecting the blow with a screech of steel and a shower of sparks.
Exploiting the opening created between them, a devastating wind-wreathed kick swept toward her midsection. Elsa absorbed the kick by spinning with the impact to disperse the force, and using the momentum, swung the blade in her opposite hand toward Garfiel's temple, threatening to cleave his skull in two — but "Too slow!"
"Oh my, how rough."
Those massive jaws clamped down on the blade — the fourth tooth-catch of the day.
In an instant, his jaw crushed the knife to pieces, and Elsa leaped backward, releasing her grip. She smiled even wider at having her weapon snatched away.
"Another step and your head would've been blown clean off, yet here you are."
"I'm starting to get the hang of you. And I'm about ready to get tired of your fighting style."
"So heartless. You've only known me for a short while, and you're already acting like you understand everything about a woman."
"...Stop talking in ways that keep tripping me up, will you? —And."
Garfiel stuck a finger in his ear, grimaced, then flared his nostrils, having noticed something.
He then turned his gaze to the far end of the corridor and curled the corner of his mouth upward.
Elsa and the others didn't seem to have noticed yet, but Garfiel's sense of smell had caught the scent. It was the smell of burning wood and stone — in other words, the smell of fire.
"Oh, honestly! I can't believe this! What a useless lot!"
Right after Garfiel's laugh, the girl watching the battle from atop the mabeast puffed out her cheeks.
Meili turned to Elsa with a sullen expression.
"It seems the shadow lion that was supposed to be holding you guys back got killed. It was always stubborn and quick to anger, so it was hard to handle, but... how does it manage to die on the job when all it had to do was nap in front of a door?"
"I think the bigger question is why you brought such a useless mabeast in the first place."
"These were the only ones not in a breeding or hibernation period — this one and the shadow lion. And the shadow lion still went and got itself killed. I can't believe it."
Sighing as she spoke, Meili tossed another knife over to Elsa. Elsa caught it and tested its weight, utterly indifferent to the report.
Meili didn't seem particularly mournful about the dead mabeast either. A pitiful beast, indeed.
In any case, Garfiel wore a vicious grin at the tidings he'd overheard.
"My, my. The scary-faced cute one is making such an ugly face."
"Can't compete with the boss in the ugly mug department. Besides, didn't I say so? Your scheming little plans are nothing but a walk in the park for the boss and his merry band."
"Indeed, they've exceeded our expectations... but so what? You've killed one useless mabeast, but we still have plenty more. And you — our key combat asset — are pinned down right here... Their situation shouldn't have changed all that much."
"Indeed."
At Elsa's words, dangling two knives, Garfiel crossed his arms.
He flared his nostrils, recalling his exchange with Elsa up to this point — and made his decision.
"About time I started shaking things up, don't you think?"
"What do you—"
"Elsa!"
Elsa furrowed her brow at Garfiel's attitude, but before her question could take form, it was Meili who cried out in alarm.
The earth pig that Meili was riding had changed its eye color and was stomping its massive body on the spot, working itself into a frenzy. Gradually, Meili's calls brought it under control, but the mabeast had likely just now noticed what Garfiel already had — the scent of fire.
Soothing the earth pig's agitation with a palm, Meili then turned a stern expression toward Elsa.
"Elsa, the building is on fire. Someone must have set it."
"————"
"Someone? That's a little roundabout, isn't it? —Has to be the boss. Nice and clear — I like it. Mabeasts are still beasts. To scatter them and clear a path, fire is the quickest way to scare them off."
"That can't be... He came to rescue the people inside, but now he's burning the manor down and running away?"
Meili was rendered speechless by the decisiveness of that course of action. Elsa, too, seemed to be struggling to reconcile this with the image of Subaru she'd built in her mind.
But compared to their shock, Garfiel's heart was remarkably calm.
He hadn't been pre-warned that Subaru would go this far. While he'd known Subaru was the type to take bold action, burning down the manor was beyond even Garfiel's expectations. And that was precisely what made Subaru's way of being — the path he'd chosen to walk — so exhilarating.
Above all, the fact that this scenario had been set up was what truly lit Garfiel's fire.
"A burning manor. A horde of mabeasts outside."
"—?"
"Comrades who need rescuing. A powerful enemy who needs to be held in place. I'm the only one who can fight — and the boss left me with 'I'm counting on you for this one.'"
"What are you going on about, mister...?"
"What do you think?"
Elsa tilted her head, while Meili wore the expression of someone watching something unsettling.
In response to their doubts, Garfiel clenched his teeth with a heart brimming with exhilaration.
His body felt light. He wasn't afraid of anything anymore.
"With all these conditions in place, where in this world is there a man who wouldn't burn with passion?! Yeah, I'll do it. 'The Sword Saint drew his blade and laughed before the Dragon' — that's the kind of man I'll be!"
"That's a saying that means someone is completely insane, you know."
"I know that. So? What's wrong with being insane when it's me and you standing here?"
Garfiel so brazenly embracing his own idiocy with such refreshing vigor made Elsa blank out for an instant. Just a few seconds.
She quickly broke into a smile, licking her lips with a red tongue and letting her eyes curve with delight.
"You're right. That's exactly right. Everything you say is correct."
Affirming his words, Elsa leveled the curved blades in both hands at Garfiel, who stood before her.
She crossed the blades, her long black hair dancing, and tilted her head.
"But what good does a change in attitude do? You're not going to get stronger all of a sudden, and you know full well my constitution by now. I'm more injured, I'll grant you, but we've been at a stalemate — and it's getting tedious."
"Yeah."
Ten-plus minutes had passed since Garfiel and Elsa began their fight.
They'd already exchanged steel more than a hundred times, whittling each other down.
In terms of combat power, Garfiel held a slight edge. He surpassed Elsa in raw strength, speed, and fighting technique, and had never once relinquished the initiative.
But Elsa possessed superhuman healing that could mend her wounds in seconds, and on top of that, she had the peculiar nature of perceiving pain not as pain but as pleasure, which meant she never hesitated in attack or defense.
If she charged in ready to take a wound, even Garfiel would come away injured. And while Garfiel needed time to heal his wounds, Elsa did not.
Since he was at a disadvantage in terms of endurance, if the fight dragged on, Garfiel would be the one overtaken before long.
But — "Five times... no, six? That's how many times I've put you down."
"Was it? And?"
Garfiel had landed killing blows on Elsa on more than one occasion — through direct kicks, slamming her into walls through his shield, or grabbing her by the legs and driving her headfirst into the floor.
Each time, she'd regenerated immediately, so none of them had provided any real satisfaction — but — "Four or five more times at most — that's my read."
"————"
"Being a vampire doesn't make you immortal. If wounds that could kill you start piling up... your life will run out eventually. Before this manor burns down — that's all I need to do."
Garfiel widened his stance, bared his fangs, and grinned fiercely.
At his words, the smile faded from Elsa's expression as she listened in silence. She toyed with the tip of her long braid with a finger and let out a small sigh.
"Meili. —Hand me those, and go after them."
"Elsa... are you serious?"
"If I now have a reason to do so, then not doing so would be rude to my opponent. The only regret is that I might not be able to extract the intestines as cleanly."
Meili didn't press further. With her eyes closed, Elsa gave her answer.
The girl dropped the knife holder she'd been using to pass replacement knives and picked up a different one — one containing just two blades — tossing it to Elsa.
"Heh..."
Watching Elsa draw the blades from the holder, Garfiel let out a gleeful growl.
That was because the two new blades Elsa had taken up radiated an entirely different kind of menace than before.
The blade in her left hand was painted entirely in jet black, from hilt to cutting edge. At first glance, the shape appeared identical to her previous curved blades, but the blade itself was warped and bristled with countless edges like fangs — a weapon designed not for cutting but for gouging and tearing.
The blade gripped in her other hand was the polar opposite — a thick, broad weapon of pure white. Its form was similar to the curved blade, but its hefty width seemed designed to smash right through bone, and paired with the black blade, the overall impression was overwhelmingly violent.
"So those are your trump cards."
"I only use these when killing takes priority over viewing intestines. You're the third person I've used them on — besides my mother."
"That's one hell of an unflattering review and a family background I'm in no hurry to envy."
Garfiel scowled at the unpleasant revelation.
In front of Garfiel, Meili, having delivered the knives to Elsa, commanded the mabeast and turned to leave. The lumbering beast stomped on the floor with all four legs, tearing through walls as it headed for the main building to pursue Subaru and the others. —But — "Well, now that you've shown me yours, only fair I show you mine. That's only right, isn't it?"
Slamming his foot into the ground, Garfiel declared it.
Immediately after, a vibration ran through the floor from the soles of Garfiel's feet, raced through the corridor, passed beneath Elsa's feet, and reached directly under the mabeast behind her — where the impact detonated.
"————!"
"Earth piggy!?"
The ground beneath it caved in as if punched through, and the off-balance earth pig slammed sideways into a wall. The shockwave shook the manor, and Meili, who had been riding on the mabeast, couldn't hold her position and landed in the corridor. She stroked the rump of the falling earth pig, looked at the floor, saw the unnaturally sunken ground, and turned back around.
"You don't suppose... this was your doing, mister?"
"Well, something like that. Consider it a statement from me that I'm not letting you escape. As long as your feet are on the ground, you can't get away from anywhere I can see."
Activating the power of his Divine Blessing of Earth, Garfiel could raise or sink any area within his line of sight that he judged to be "ground." The effectiveness varied with scale and distance, of course, but it was more than enough to bluff with.
Garfiel had learned from Subaru that the more trouble you're in, the brazenly you should grin.
"Meili. Stay up here at minimum. Call the others and wake up that mabeast."
"...Mom's going to be angry."
"Failing to eliminate a threat will earn you a far worse punishment. Besides, you don't seem to have the luxury of worrying about what comes later."
"Starting to get the hang of it, are we?"
At Elsa's words, Meili's composed expression gave way to a more serious one, and she nodded before blowing a whistle.
She quietly watched as the thin sound carried far, echoing throughout the manor. If what they'd said was true, the mabeasts that had been released would converge on them before long.
Things were getting more and more heated — in every sense.
"I'll cut off your limbs and lighten you before carrying you home. It wouldn't be fair if you couldn't entertain me for long."
"You've already given up on the intestines, haven't you?"
"Stopping breathing would be more pleasant."
Cracking his neck at her deadpan delivery, Garfiel leaned forward and prepared to meet his enemy.
Elsa swayed her upper body gently, then drew the white blade in her right hand back slightly, channeling power into her arm.
"—I will love you, more deeply than anyone ever could — down to the very marrow of your flesh."
A terrifyingly voluptuous smile, and the cascade of blades clashing together.
And — "—GAAH?!"
The white blade was lodged diagonally in Garfiel's left shoulder, shattering bone.
—The battle between the Intestine Hunter and the Shield of the Holy Land had reached its final phase.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ His shoulder ached, his hip ached, his head ached.
He'd been knocked over, slammed again and again, each time stifling a groan of pain.
Run, run, run — gasping for breath, legs shaking, vision blurring — but he kept running.
Breathing was agony. He kept his head low to avoid inhaling smoke. Inside a building already mostly engulfed in flames, he sprinted toward a door the fire hadn't yet reached.
"————!"
Spotting an untouched door, Subaru lunged for the handle in a trance and forced it open.
Inside, an unremarkable guest room stretched out — a sight that would soon be swallowed by the sea of fire.
Leaving sentimentality behind, Subaru burst from room to room with the doors flung open — the next, the next after that, and the next, throwing open every door in sight.
"—I found it!"
Free of the acrid burning smell, a different scent flowed out — old books and bundles of paper.
Sniffing the familiar musty odor, Subaru stomped roughly into the room.
He raised his voice toward the person at the back of the room.
"Hey! Quit being stubborn and listen to me—"
"I wonder if you'll leave?!"
A shockwave tore through the room, nearly blowing Subaru away with an invisible force. But Subaru managed to hold on by hooking his fingers into the carpet.
As the pressure threatened to carry his entire body backward, he twisted his face into a grin.
"Ha! Don't underestimate me. I'm not going to keep getting thrown out with the same trick over and over again in this short a span of—"
"I won't say it twice!"
"BUWAH?!"
A thick book, carried on the wind, smacked him square in the forehead. The impact sent his vision spinning, his body tumbling backward, flying, and ejected from the room.
He hit the corridor, slamming into the wall. As he shook his head clear, the door shut before his eyes. He lunged for it, but it was already too late. The room in front of him had lost its connection to the Forbidden Library once again.
"What a little gremlin...! Who does she take after, that loli...!"
He kicked it open and left it ajar, then ran off in search of another door.
This time he was on the second floor of the east wing — the fact that he hadn't been dumped near the battlefield where Garfiel and the others were fighting was perhaps a sliver of Beatrice's kindness.
"At the very least, just hear me out, you damn brat!!"
Somewhere inside the Forbidden Library, Beatrice was probably thinking the same thing.
Chewing on that fact, Subaru continued running through the manor, searching for the door to the Forbidden Library, being rejected over and over again.
The battle in the west wing had reached its final phase, and the fire that had started in the main building was spreading throughout the manor — it was only a matter of time before
What had Guiltelau done...!