——
But each time that unavoidable sound reverberates, he thinks.
This is proof that he hasn't stopped walking. These are footsteps drawing closer to the future.
No matter how small those strides are, no matter how little progress he's made—he's still moving forward.
"——Subaru."
"————"
The instant his consciousness is drawn toward wakefulness, distinctive blue eyes with a familiar pattern fill his vision right before him. Peering down at Subaru with a worried expression is
Beatrice's hand is gently placed on Subaru's cheek, and Subaru catches his breath.
Just moments ago, he had parted from Beatrice's tear-stained face.
He can't smoothly transition between these states of consciousness. Just now, they hadn't even exchanged proper goodbyes, but Beatrice was undeniably right in front of him.
"…Ah."
"Are you conscious, I suppose? It took a while for you to wake up just now, so I was worried. Perhaps we should check that you haven't lost your memories by mistake. To start, Beatrice is—"
"Bea…trice…"
"——. It seems you remember properly, I suppose. Good, good."
Saying this, Beatrice moves the hand from his cheek to the top of his head. As her small palm strokes his hair, slowly, his consciousness catches up with reality.
"Count… one…"
"——?"
Beatrice tilts her head at his murmured words.
But she wouldn't understand what that means, and he has no intention of explaining. Even if he did explain, she wouldn't understand, and he doesn't intend to make her.
She's kind. Beatrice is incredibly kind.
So if she learned what Subaru was actually attempting, she would absolutely oppose it. ——And that wasn't limited to Beatrice alone.
"So, how was it? Did you accomplish your goal of reading the book?"
"——Ah, about that."
Beatrice questions Subaru, who still has the book resting on his lap.
Just before—ignoring the difference in his sense of time—Subaru had been seeking a way to overcome "
That had been derailed for complicated reasons, and an extraordinary amount of things had happened in between that felt like it was much longer ago—but that was all Subaru's business alone.
What he needed to do, what he had to do, was already decided.
So—— "Beatrice, things are about to get a bit hectic. ——Lend me your power."
"——. That goes without saying. Betty is Subaru's partner, I suppose."
Without any explanation, Beatrice promises to cooperate with Subaru as he abruptly says this.
Her existence was truly, genuinely ■ strong.
△▼△▼△▼△ ——Shockwaves bounce wildly through the stone corridors of the tower.
"Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! Not bad, not bad at all, not bad maybe, pretty good, you did it, you actually did it, and that's exactly why—! Binge drinking! Binge eating!"
"Don't you have better things to do than fool around? You seem awfully confident."
Using the corridor walls and ceiling as footholds, deploying an ever-shifting array of fighting techniques from one moment to the next—the Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony,"
Pursuing him at high speed is
Her slender body dances, and the sounds of her strikes mercilessly send Gluttony's body flying. And then, as if waiting for the perfect moment, comes— "——A quick pull, then WHAM!"
The striking portion of the ice hammer—large enough to be the torso of a grown man—lands with all her might squarely on Lye's back. With a thunderous crash, his small body goes bouncing away like a rubber ball.
——No, it bounced too much.
Quickly, she kicks the ice hammer, launching herself forward to absorb the impact.
"A-ha-ha-ha! Not bad, not bad, not bad! But, but, that's no good! Can't lose to something like that!"
"——He's so agile!"
Emilia's cute face twists in frustration as "Gluttony" puts on an acrobatic display.
The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Lye, has devoured martial arts masters from every era and region, literally embodying "a hundred different martial arts." His combat power—or perhaps more accurately, his adaptability—is extraordinary. The precision with which he executes the optimal, pinnacle technique at every moment is on an entirely different level.
"If 'Memories' encompass all the accumulated effort, training, and hard work..."
As frustrating as it is, "Gluttony" likely doesn't even need the conscious intent to "draw on" those abilities. The authority allows him to achieve the "I didn't realize I was already moving" state in every situation.
——The "Memories" that are stolen encompass even the body's experience.
This is evident from Subaru's complete inability to remember how to use the whip he carries. It seems to have been his main weapon before losing his memories, but everything from the proper grip to the swinging technique has vanished entirely.
Why would he have chosen a whip as his main weapon to begin with?
Probably some shallow thought like "I can be more useful maneuvering nimbly with this than with a sword or spear." He doesn't disagree with that reasoning itself, but— "I wish someone had prepared a contingency plan for what to do if I lost my memories...!"
Of course, he's aware this is an unreasonable demand, but Subaru deliberately grumbles about it. By doing so, he can forget, if only for a moment, the petty resentment toward his vanished "Memories."
The resentment toward his vanished "Memories" = toward "Natsuki Subaru."
"Subaru, I'll ask you once more. Are you really okay?"
From beside him, Beatrice calls out to Subaru's profile.
Propping up his kneeling body, she asks, and Subaru nods with an "Ah."
"Right now, the battle is in a stalemate... If we can break that... there's a chance to win..."
"——But I'm reluctant to leave your side right now."
"But it's something that needs to be done. You understand, don't you, Beatrice..."
"That's—"
"Lend me your power. I'm asking you again... please."
Being careful to keep his voice from trembling in the ceaseless chills, Subaru presses Beatrice with his cowardly words.
At Subaru's cruel request, Beatrice lowers her eyes with a troubled expression.
"Lend me your power" meant the same thing as what they'd discussed in the Taygeta library.
But at that time, Subaru hadn't yet activated "Cor Leonis," and Beatrice hadn't known the situation in the
So this was an utterly despicable tactic on Subaru's part, exploiting Beatrice's kindness.
"————"
With a troubled expression, Beatrice deliberates over Subaru's proposal.
Subaru's rapid physical deterioration and the corresponding recovery of Ram's combat power—the connection between these was obvious, and Ram, Beatrice, and even Emilia had all noticed Subaru's stubbornness.
But none of them could bring themselves to tell him to stop.
——Because they all understood that the front was barely being held together by Subaru shouldering the suffering.
Hypothetically, if Subaru released "Cor Leonis" here out of self-concern, Ram would be the first to collapse, Emilia would have her "Name" eaten by "Gluttony," the coordination would crumble, and they would be defeated.
And if "Gluttony" were freed, the balance of power within the tower would spiral into an irreversible situation, ultimately resulting in everyone's defeat and death—game over.
"……In the end, me shouldering the burden is still the best option."
Even though Subaru can barely use his whip and it's not much help, by taking on Ram's burden, her combat power increases dramatically. This was an indispensable requirement for conquering the tower.
However, "Cor Leonis" had a simple but unsolvable trap built into its effects.
That was Ram—consciously or unconsciously—saving her own combat power.
"————"
With overwhelming talent and extraordinary martial arts, Ram completely dominates the battlefield.
And yet she can't finish things because Ram is holding back one step from using her full combat power. ——There was hesitation born from concern for Subaru's condition.
If Ram moved at full power, the corresponding load on Subaru would be enormous.
And Subaru couldn't endure it. That possibility was what made Ram hesitate—to stop her hands, to stop her feet.
In fact, something close to that had happened during the loop where he went to Julius and Reid.
Using "Cor Leonis" to take on Ram's condition was possible even without being in direct contact with her—that had been confirmed. However, if Ram didn't know the connection between her good condition and Subaru's state, she wouldn't hold back her combat power.
The result was a reckless backfire that burned Subaru, and they could have collapsed together.
That would be the worst kind of mutual destruction—the kind that would also mean the end of Ram's invincibility time.
You can't maintain a full sprint for long in an oxygen-deprived state. That was all it came down to.
Therefore, the increase in Ram's combat power through "Cor Leonis" ultimately validated the judgment of Ram holding back her true strength. Drawing things out, keeping them going—that was the optimal play.
But to match Ram's increased strength, "Gluttony" could just barely keep up using the stolen infinite martial training. Emilia was covering the parts he couldn't shake off, but even so, "Gluttony" clung to them in a two-on-one, refusing to disengage thanks to his abnormal resilience.
And so, to that—— "——Minya!!"
Purple crystals that had filled the entire corridor are released all at once.
In response to Beatrice's chanting as she raises and lowers her small arms, a concentrated barrage of what's called shadow magic hurtles toward Lye, who had turned his back to them.
Immediately after, a storm of purple light swallows his small body, and the sound of shattering glass fills the corridor.
"————"
Amid the scattering purple fragments, the two who leap out of the attack range are Emilia and Ram. Their split-second judgment to dodge and their agile evasion—impressive, as expected.
On the other hand, Lye, who was in the same position but had been slower to react because his back was turned, couldn't evade as easily as Emilia and the others.
It's a fearsome magic that crystallizes whatever it hits, turning it into a fragile existence and shattering it. A single graze from Minya can be fatal—and when this many are fired in rapid succession in a narrow area, even a transcendent being can't emerge unscathed.
When the storm of light from the purple arrows subsides, the battered figure of "Gluttony" should have been there—but it wasn't.
"——!?"
"Eh!? Where did he—"
Beatrice gasps in shock, and Emilia's face stiffens as she looks around.
In the midst of that confusion, the first to assess the situation was, as always, Ram.
She places a hand over her right eye, opens only her left eye, and turns around. For Subaru, connected to Ram by something like a link through "Cor Leonis," he could tell.
Ram was activating some kind of technique. Using that special ability, she identified where the vanished "Gluttony" had gone.
His location was— "Barusu!"
"————"
Ram calls out, her pale crimson eyes wide.
In that instant, Subaru understands from her line of sight that a dangerous presence has appeared directly behind him. It was aimed not at Subaru—at Beatrice's back.
Was the interference from Minya just now meant to claim that the battle had been "tainted"?
Either way, the event that was about to occur was no different.
"——I gotta say, taking that consecutively would've been rough, so—"
With words tinged with mockery, a dagger strapped to an arm flashes.
It was Lye's strike, having escaped the concentrated Minya barrage by leaping through space. An ability used alongside the "Fist King," belonging to a certain "Skipper"—in other words, short-range teleportation.
It seemed to have some limits on distance, but even so, the compatibility between an ability that crosses space and an encirclement attack was the worst possible.
Surprise attacks were meaningless, and in the end, the only option was to face him head-on and— "Beatrice!"
"Subar—"
Deliberation and action, the ■ and the body's reaction didn't necessarily align.
The instant he reflexively shoved his small body out of the way, a sharp sensation pierced deep into his chest.
"Ka—"
A pain and impact thousands of times worse than claws scraping at scabs. He immediately regretted taking it in the chest. He regretted it, but there was no suitable shield available.
In that split-second judgment, if Beatrice had been cut down instead, just the thought of it was sickening. Compared to that, being a flesh shield was nothing. It hurt, it hurt badly, but if it was just pain, just a wound to the body—it was over in an instant. Maybe not even an instant. But it was far better than his ■ being hurt.
Far better than his ■ dying.
"Subaru—!!"
A high-pitched voice echoes through the tower, and as he tries to turn toward who called, his knees give way.
Surprisingly easily, strength drains from his limbs. Pathetically fragile, he can't even support his own head—infants can hold their heads up, and here he is, a grown man, unable to do even that.
Not even a wry joke comes to mind as his consciousness falls into the bottom of a deep, dark hole.
The vivid pain and sense of loss burn through his brain.
"——Gi—"
He tries to scream, clenching his teeth to hold back the sound that threatens to burst out.
Screaming won't make things better. Not screaming won't make things better either. But if Subaru screams here, there will definitely be someone who shatters their ■ because of that cry.
He cannot allow that. So die in silence, Natsuki Subaru.
"——Nice one, big brother. Planning to move on to the next one like that?"
Looking down at Subaru as he collapses without strength, a voice speaks.
He held back the scream. But he couldn't endure this mocking voice.
"————"
Unable to move a single limb, he forces strength into his trembling arm, moving his fingers.
Then, raising a single middle finger, his lips move.
"Drop dead, you idiot."
And with that, consciousness cuts off—— △▼△▼△▼△ ■ Count 2 • Attempted an early resolution against Lye Batenkaitos with Emilia and Ram's cooperation. Failed.
• Timing is crucial when shouldering Ram's burden via "Cor Leonis."
• ——Beatrice's surprise attack is poorly matched against "Gluttony."
△▼△▼△▼△ ——Furiously, the billowing clouds of sand threaten to engulf the entire field of vision.
"————!!"
As his whole body is thrashed about by the violent shaking, Subaru clings on desperately, trying not to be thrown off. In front of him, twin tails of hair sway back and forth.
"——Hang in there, Mr. Sandworm!"
Following Meili's call, the sandworm quivers its massive body and delivers a devastating headbutt. The shockwave swallows everything, tearing a huge gap in the ranks of the swarming magical beasts.
However, that gap was filled in just a few seconds. Trampling over the corpses of their fallen kin, the horde of magical beasts charges in without stopping. ——The battle situation is grim.
"————"
Below—no, from every direction—countless magical beasts swarm toward them. Facing them, Meili makes do with preparations that were far from sufficient and fights valiantly.
Honestly, her effort in controlling the magical beasts was hard to see from the outside. Issuing commands to the beasts, with monstrous creatures rampaging in response—it could look like nothing more than that.
But— "Pant… pant…"
Seeing the girl with sweat on her brow, occasionally exhaling strained breaths, anyone could tell at a glance that this perception was sorely mistaken.
"Haa, hoo… Big Brother really does run people ragged, you know…"
Wiping the sweat that ran down her chin with the back of her hand, Meili shoots off a complaint, her eyes bloodshot.
Unlike Subaru's "Cor Leonis," she wasn't directly linked to the magical beasts, but to forcibly warp the instincts of such vicious beasts required enormous mental energy.
Having once read Meili's book and literally experienced her entire life, Subaru knew full well the weight of that toll. That was precisely why it came through so clearly.
——That Meili was truly, genuinely trying to help Subaru and the others conquer the tower.
"——!"
"Hey, hey, Big Brother!? If you don't hold on tight, you'll die, you know!"
"I—I know…!"
Just as he's moved by the thought, the sideways jolt nearly carries his body away and he loses his balance. He manages to steady himself, but Meili catches it and scolds him.
Responding to her words, Subaru calmly clings to a protrusion on the worm's massive body.
——Currently, Subaru and Meili's positions are atop the sandworm's enormous body.
"If I give orders from close range, even the untrained ones should have some who'll listen, right?"
"That doesn't mean I expected to get a chance to ride a magical beast…!"
As the wind roars past at tremendous speed, jostling his body, Subaru watches in amazement as Meili deftly shifts her weight, riding the sandworm's back with ease.
This time too, Meili's battle against the horde of magical beasts had started from the fourth-floor balcony.
Using several sandworms she'd prepared for manipulation, she struck the horde besieging the Watchtower, preventing the magical beasts from entering—that was Meili's role.
However, she quickly abandoned the balcony assault, leaped onto the sandworm below, and charged straight into the wave of magical beasts with overwhelming momentum.
And Subaru had been dragged along as bait in Meili's bold fighting strategy.
"Really, the magical beasts just love you, Big Brother."
"That's not exactly something to be happy about—"
Watching the approaching beasts with excitement, Meili sighs as the sandworm crushes them underfoot. Agreeing with her assessment, Subaru narrows his eyes at the swarm of beasts pursuing them from all sides.
The principle was unclear, but the result was known.
The magical beasts surrounding the Watchtower weren't precisely targeting the tower itself—they had gathered targeting Subaru inside it. ——That was obvious from this situation too.
The thrust of the beasts' aggression was focused entirely on the sandworm carrying Meili and Subaru.
Turning their feet away from the tower, baring their fangs and pursuing—it couldn't simply be the beasts' instinct to kill living things.
"I was half in doubt, but…"
That he had a constitution that attracted magical beasts was a trait that Subaru, who until yesterday had been living in modern Japan with no way to verify it, couldn't truly feel. He'd been bitten by a neighbor's dog named Pokky when he was younger—could that have been an early symptom of this constitution?
Now there was no way to know. But— "Most of the five obstacles being my fault seems pretty undeniable."
The swarm of beasts bearing down on the Watchtower, the "Gluttony" members attempting to approach the Watchtower through his "Memories," Reid who absorbed them to gain physical form,
"This is getting pretty depressing…"
But if they could lure the magical beasts, Shaula, and the pitch-black shadow outside the Watchtower, perhaps a way to turn the situation around could emerge.
"…Not forbidden to destroy the 'Trial,' huh."
——The fifth rule for conquering the Pleiades Watchtower.
Thinking about Shaula's ■motive for hiding it made his heart ache, but the rule he'd finally extracted from her lips offered a new way of looking at the Pleiades Watchtower.
Knowing this rule didn't suddenly open up revolutionary new possibilities before his eyes.
But being given a scale he'd never even considered broadened his view of the world dramatically. You can't gain what you don't have. That was one of the world's fundamental laws.
Leaving without completing the "Trial," violating the "Trial's" rules—these were forbidden.
And yet, destroying the "Trial" itself was not forbidden. What did that mean?
What—— "Mai—"
About to continue with "-li," Subaru saw it.
The sandworm had changed course to check if there was usable terrain around the Watchtower, but that plan was cut short.
Because from overhead, a beam of white light descended and obliterated the sandworm's thick torso.
"————!!!"
Over eighty percent of its nearly ten-meter circumference was blown away, and the sandworm lets out a death scream.
The low, rumbling roar of the magical beast was like pealing thunder, and Subaru, caught in its proximity, felt the concussive blast enter through his eardrums, whiting out his vision.
On top of that, the front and back halves of the worm's body, no longer connected, tear apart, scattering blue-purple bodily fluids, and Subaru and Meili's bodies are thrown clear.
"…Ah"
"Guh—!"
Instinctively reaching out, he pulled Meili's slender body into his arms.
A byproduct of having been about to pat her shoulder to get her attention. By reflexively reaching out, he managed to catch her as she was thrown.
However, this was no fundamental solution. The sandworm's massive body was thrashing violently, and it wasn't just Meili who'd been blown off—Subaru too.
Even if he'd caught her, they would ultimately fall onto the sand, surrounded by magical beasts.
And then, before they could regroup, they'd both become beast food.
More importantly— "——Shaula."
In the distance, he could make out the silhouette of a giant scorpion—Shaula's enormous form, clinging to the tower's outer wall, its tail aimed at them, emerging from the twilight darkness.
Time was up.
Someone inside the tower had broken the rules. As a result, Shaula had lost her self-awareness and transformed into the giant scorpion, and just as she'd declared, she was attacking Subaru.
That single shot had obliterated the sandworm's torso and sent Subaru and Meili into the air— "Big Broth—!"
Clutching Meili tightly as she cries out in his arms, Subaru doesn't take his eyes off the giant scorpion—no, off Shaula. Her red compound eyes glowed clearly in the night, and he could feel her sight, directionless as it was, fixed squarely on him.
Light gathers at the tip of the tail stinger, and once more, white light is about to be fired.
If that hit him, he'd evaporate. But he couldn't let it hit him.
Being killed by Shaula—no matter how worn his ■ became—was something he wanted to avoid. If he bent on that point, he really would become something inhuman.
But mid-air, there was no way to defend himself.
"————!!"
The instant the white light fires, the writhing sandworm lunges into the line of fire. Whether that was the worm's instinctive movement or Meili had somehow influenced it, he didn't know.
But the shot that would have evaporated Subaru was avoided.
And then— "Guh, gu—"
Headfirst, they crash into the sand with tremendous force.
In Subaru's arms, Meili—who'd been held tight—was probably fine. But Subaru was not. Unable to take the impact properly, his head was buried in the massive amount of sand.
A dull sound rings out, and joints that shouldn't break shatter.
In that instant, his vision goes pitch black.
Nerves that shouldn't tear, tear apart.
Sound, sensation, sight—everything distances itself.
Only the nose remained alive. A strange thing. Normally, you don't expect much from your nose. For some reason, right to the very end, he could still smell things.
A sweet smell.
The smell of what had been there, in his arms, just moments ago.
Probably alive. The smell, the—— △▼△▼△▼△ ■ Count 7 • Exiting the tower with Meili showed promise in luring out the magical beasts.
• The beasts are targeting Subaru. The shadow and the giant scorpion likely are too.
• ——Alone, Natsuki Subaru cannot protect Meili.
△▼△▼△▼△ "Guh—"
Swallowing the rising nausea, Subaru looks ahead again.
He plants his feet firmly, fighting to keep his body from swaying. The pain hasn't gotten easier. He's just gotten better at masking it.
"Urya! Urya urya! Heiya!"
Chewing on the bitterness of stomach acid, Subaru faces the battle ahead—Emilia furiously swinging dual ice swords. Casually dodging Emilia's attacks with an irritating sneer is the thoroughly familiar enemy, Lye Batenkaitos.
"————"
The restart point for "Return by Death" was set to right after confronting Louis Arneb inside the "Tome of the Dead." Since that was the case, Emilia encountering "Gluttony" was unavoidable.
The moment Subaru used "Return by Death," Emilia's fight with "Gluttony" had already begun.
The simple way to change things would be to manipulate the matchup. But Subaru, who could activate "Cor Leonis" immediately after restarting and locate his allies in the tower, came to understand that this fight was inescapable.
Therefore, the tag team of Emilia and Ram fighting Lye couldn't be changed.
——But even so, there was still something they could do.
"——Julius!"
"I know!"
At Subaru's sharp call, a shadow steps forward.
It's Julius, drawing his knight's sword and dashing elegantly through the frozen corridor. His lavender hair streams in the cold wind as he drops into a low stance and thrusts.
"Ha-ha! Even the nameless knight joins the fray!"
"Unfortunately, if that was meant as a provocation, you're going easy. Subaru's barbs are far more piercing."
"How does that work when we're on the same side?"
Julius parries the incoming thrust with his dagger, and the two exchange words at close range. Throughout, swordplay rages between them, with the exchange of conversation belied by the deadly techniques being traded.
——Having Julius accompany them here was a gamble of sorts.
When the five obstacles first struck the Watchtower, Julius had also accompanied Subaru. At that time, Emilia had her "Name" eaten, and Julius, unable to understand her fighting style, couldn't coordinate well with her—their combined efforts weren't enough to corner "Gluttony."
But— "This time, nobody's forgotten about Emilia. Plus…"
The coordination between Emilia and Julius steadily pushes Lye into a disadvantageous position. To that, from Subaru's line of sight, a figure descends from the ceiling—Ram, crashing in fiercely.
Naturally, using "Cor Leonis" to turn her into a fighting force was Subaru's greatest duty. That was executed again, and Ram approaches Lye's position with extraordinary agility.
And then— "Enough. Just leave already."
"Guh, ehh—"
Cold words, delivered with equal sharpness as her fist slams into Lye's flank. A punch that transmits damage directly through the gaps in the ribs to the organs—a clear groan of pain escapes Lye's lips.
Without pausing, Ram's knee catches his buckling body, she grabs his hair, and slams the back of his head into the ground. On top of that, she repeatedly brings her heel down on his face.
Merciless power, relentless combos—this was pushing Lye firmly toward defeat.
But Lye wasn't going to just take it lying down. As Ram's heel descends on his face, he grabs her slender ankle from the side, bloodied face twisted into a grin as he glares up at her.
"Big siste—"
"Eiya!!"
"——Gegh!?"
The grinning Lye is blasted away by a strike from the side—Emilia swinging the newly created ice hammer like a golf swing.
A perfect save for when he grabbed Ram's leg and was about to do something nasty. As Lye goes tumbling away, Emilia proudly juts out her chest with fierce brows.
"……As expected, no mercy at all, huh."
From nearby, where she was supporting Subaru, Beatrice could be heard murmuring with admiration, exasperation, and a touch of pride at Emilia's actions.
In truth, Subaru agreed. With that cute face, she's really reliable.
"Emilia-tan, you saved us."
"No, it's fine. Ram was fighting so hard that we could grab him. Julius, thanks for coming too."
"Not at all. 'Gluttony' is a deeply personal enemy for me as well. If anything, I'm sorry for putting Emilia-tan and Lady Ram in danger. What I should be saying is for you to step back, but…"
"Against that opponent, there's no room for knightly chivalry or gentlemanly conduct."
Ram cuts off Julius's words while holding her elbow. Julius had no counter for that. The fact itself was apparently a source of mortification for him.
Fighting has its style, and warriors have their codes.
But clinging too rigidly to those, being too proud—it can put much at risk. ——It must be hard on Julius. But there was no choice but to endure it.
At the very least, against the vile Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony"— "……Ah, you've really done it. Being able to put up this kind of fight against us is impressive."
Saying this, the Sin Archbishop in question stands up while shaking his head.
Emilia's powerful blow to his shoulder must be taking its toll—his right arm hangs limply. Perhaps the shoulder bone had been crushed.
If so, that would be fatal for Lye Batenkaitos's authority, which reproduces fighting styles from "Memories." No matter how skilled the technique, it's useless if you can't use it properly.
"……Or are you going to switch places with your sister and swap bodies with someone else entirely?"
"——Heh. I see, I see. So the big brother knows about our 'Solar Eclipse' and 'Lunar Eclipse.' Well, well, you've seen right through us. But listen—"
Pausing deliberately, "Gluttony" sticks out his tongue mockingly at Subaru and the others. Subaru frowned at the gesture, but the answer came immediately.
It was— "——Even in this much of a disadvantage, is there really any point in us continuing to fight?"
"——! Damn!"
Realizing it was self-evident, Subaru cursed his own shallow thinking and shouted.
Hearing Subaru's cry, Emilia and the others apparently reached the same conclusion, but it was too late.
"Buh-bye~!"
With a casual wave, Lye's figure crosses space.
Using the "Skipper's" ability, he vanished from the corridor.
"Stay alert for ambushes! We don't know where he'll appear from!"
"——It's pointless. Once that type has decided to flee, they flee. That's why he's never been caught before."
Julius calls for vigilance against the now-invisible "Gluttony," but Ram shakes her head calmly, assessing the situation.
Subaru agrees with Ram. As Lye's parting words suggested, there was no reason for him to continue fighting in such an unfavorable position.
Lye Batenkaitos was a Sin Archbishop, not a warrior.
He had no interest in fighting to the end or enjoying a desperate struggle. According to what Louis had said, what they desired was the optimal life, the path of the best solution.
——They would never willingly fall into hardship or the risk of defeat.
"……So is that it?"
Dazedly returning her ice hammer to the atmosphere, Emilia murmurs.
In her words was not relief at the enemy's disappearance, but disappointment at letting the enemy escape—no, something quite different from that. It was a sense of letdown.
The answer to that letdown was— "——Just a little more! We were so close!"
"————"
"Another step, just a little more, and we could have… the one who did that to
Ram drops to her knees, her voice thin and high, rising in anger.
She strikes the corridor floor with her fist, her voice trembling with fury directed at "Gluttony" who had escaped.
Everyone present could feel her frustration painfully.
The reason Emilia had been vague, why Julius lowered his yellow eyes, why Beatrice shrank beside Subaru—all of it converged on this.
It had been a lead dropped into their laps.
But interrogating "Gluttony" directly about the damage caused by its authority, as opposed to relying on knowledge of the Watchtower, had seemed like a direct and certain approach.
To have let that slip through their fingers—of course they'd be disappointed.
"……Does this count as having driven Lye off?"
While understanding Ram's ■motions, Subaru has a different kind of question.
Lye had seen the three-on-one disadvantage and attempted to withdraw. But whether he'd truly left as a threat to the Watchtower was not certain.
Ram had declared that there was no need for Julius to watch for ambushes, but that only applied to this location. The dangerous "Gluttony" wandering the tower's interior—the situation hadn't changed.
If so, they couldn't claim one of the five obstacles had been removed.
Worse, they'd let loose an enemy who could clash with them anywhere.
"——Should we chase the one who fled, or rush to another problem—in any case, right now—"
"——Situations are something you deal with without worrying about the other guy's movements, y'know."
"————"
The moment he braces to move, a voice from behind makes every hair stand on end. Everyone turns to see the shuffling footsteps approaching from down the corridor.
A master could easily walk without making a sound. This particular individual chose not to.
"Why should I care about other people when I'm walking through my own domain?"
Declaring this without a trace of shame—the figure of Reid, who had descended to the fourth floor. Subaru senses the situation deteriorating even further.
They'd put off dealing with Reid in order to rush Lye's defeat, but in the end, Lye escaped and they failed to prevent Reid's revival— "When did this tower become your domain?"
"Hey hey, don't get the wrong idea, gorgeous. I said this pathetic tower was my domain? When I say 'my domain,' I mean the whole damn world, obviously."
"……When a man who became legend with a single swing of his sword says something like that, it's hard to dismiss as a joke."
Both Emilia and Julius express their surprise at Reid's appearance from the second floor—where he shouldn't be able to leave—but their words differ. Reid's response was characteristically blunt.
For this overwhelming, transcendent being, the notion of being considerate of footsteps—no, not just footsteps—the very concept of consideration for others was completely alien.
"——Why have you come down? You shouldn't be able to leave that floor, Trial Master."
"I've no interest in chatting with a woman moping on her knees. If you want me to answer, ask nicely. I don't hate strong-willed women. Don't hate weak-willed ones either, though."
"Is that so. ——You're disgusting."
Deciding that productive conversation was impossible, Ram quickly cuts off the exchange with Reid.
The next instant, Ram kicks off the floor with explosive force, charging in a straight line toward Reid, a pink tornado leaping at the stationary "Sword Saint."
In that rush, she uses her small frame for a high-speed spinning kick, driving her heel into Reid's neck. No exaggeration—a kick with the force to decapitate.
If it connected cleanly, it would physically sever his head. Even if it didn't, it would blow away his consciousness.
Naturally, the corresponding recoil surged through Subaru via the connection, lightning-like pain running through his entire body.
"Gi, guuu—"
They say that when arteries burst, you feel pain beyond this world. What just tore through Subaru's entire body was comparable, he could proudly declare.
The result of the attack Ram unleashed at that cost— "Not bad. But that's about it. Trisha would've cracked the ground with one shot."
"……Monster."
"Don't lump me in with monsters. That'll lower my value."
He catches the kicking foot and channels the shock into the ground.
The physical attack nullification Subaru had seen before—cracking the floor and walls, yet perfectly blocking all damage to Reid himself.
And then, at Ram's immobilized torso— "Alright, let's see you take this."
Reid pivots, and his thick, muscular leg swings upward. The zombie-like sole connects with Ram's body, launching her straight up into the air with tremendous force.
"Gah—"
Air is squeezed from her lungs, eyes bulging, as Ram vomits blood from her mouth. Taking the full brunt of it without flinching, Reid narrows his uncovered eye and twists his lips.
But immediately, his narrowed eye opens wide, and a voice leaks out.
"Slipped past me, huh."
In that instant, Ram grabs the leg that had sunk into her torso, and with her whole body, hyperextends the knee joint. The impact that had been driven into her midsection—she treats it as nothing.
Seeing this, Reid shows a puzzled expression— "What the. You too, little guppy?"
"————"
He says this while Subaru, looking on with grinding teeth and ragged breathing, feels the agony of a bowling ball being jammed into his solar plexus.
"——Don't! Don't get any closer to Subaru!"
Immediately after, Emilia steps forward, having caught the dangerous emotion flickering through Reid's blue eyes. But Reid casually swings his arm, snatches the incoming ice sword, and uses its pommel to ruthlessly strike Emilia's shoulder, then kicks the falling girl away.
"Aah!"
"You're in the way."
Emilia is blasted backward, the physical distance between them obliterated. Terrifyingly, Reid did it all with the leg that should have been locked in a kneebar.
In other words, he kicked Emilia away while Ram was still clinging to his leg. And even as Ram applied more force, Reid's knee didn't budge.
"Tch, this is going nowhere!"
"——Prepare yourself!"
Ram abandons the joint lock and leaps back, while Julius charges in simultaneously.
But the result of their combined attack was devastating.
The kick, the hand strike—all of them strike down Ram and Julius, who should have been at the pinnacle of warriors. Ram is hit in the neck, Julius has his leg broken, and neither can stand.
"——Damn."
With his companions fallen along the corridor, Reid literally clears the obstacle and approaches. Ahead of him are only Subaru—groggy from absorbing the damage of all three—and Beatrice, spreading her arms protectively in front of him.
"Bea… no, it's impossible…"
"It doesn't matter if it's impossible or reckless. That's Subaru's exclusive specialty. If so, it must be Betty's specialty too, as Subaru's partner."
Beatrice's brave words ring painfully hollow.
Even wanting to answer Beatrice's fighting spirit, Subaru's hands, his feet, won't respond to his will. This was damage that, even with Subaru absorbing it, incapacitated all three. The fact that only three of them remained conscious was purely through sheer willpower.
"Reid, why are you targeting Beatrice—Subaru?"
"The 'Trial' thing is mostly an afterthought, really. My original purpose was to deal with that beauty over there, but…"
"But what?"
"I took one look at you and changed my mind. Creepy, so I'll carve you up."
Judgment based on unique sensibilities—against such an opponent, reasoning was useless.
At the same time, Beatrice bit down on her cute front teeth, realizing the possibility of changing his mind was also dead, and glanced behind her at Subaru, who had crumpled to the ground and couldn't move.
"————"
She held her breath softly. She'd resolved to fight while protecting Subaru.
She wanted to say "Run." But the only thing that escaped Subaru's throat was a ragged breath.
"There's no need to rush to your death, brat."
"I'm afraid I'm quite done with living as though I'm already dead."
"Oh? Is that so. ——Then I've got no choice."
If he were the legendary hero he was supposed to be, he'd never raise a hand against women or children.
As if to shatter that notion entirely, Reid's gaze was unwavering. It proclaimed that this would not change even if the one standing before him was a small child.
Therefore, Beatrice had never expected mercy from the start and went all out from the beginning.
"Ur—Minya!"
Countless purple arrows materialize, filling the corridor and completely sealing off Reid's escape routes.
A single graze from Minya is fatal—that's its characteristic. Reid saw through this at a glance, yet showed no hesitation, twisting his lips.
"Natsuki Subaru's great spirit, Beatrice."
"That's right. ——'Stick Swinger,' Reid Astrea."
They announce themselves to each other, and the air tightens.
Beatrice spreads purple crystals across the space, Reid picks up Julius's knight sword from the ground at his feet and takes his stance.
"————"
Right to the very end, Subaru couldn't make a sound.
But his eyes stayed open. He didn't close them.
He didn't avert his gaze from the results of his own decisions and choices.
He couldn't avert it—.
△▼△▼△▼△ ■ Count 15 • "Gluttony" will flee when the situation is visibly unfavorable.
• Reid, if left alone, will inevitably come to kill Subaru.
• ——Never again will he let someone die before him.
△▼△▼△▼△ "Beatrice—!"
"——Fuwah!? W-what's wrong!? Subaru!? Subaru!?"
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself instinctively hugging the girl who was right in front of him.
Surprised by the suddenness, the girl—Beatrice stiffened her small body.
Reuniting with the girl who had just been bracing for the worst. Relief and unbearable guilt flooded his chest, blowing a wretched wind through his ■.
"Beatrice…"
It was good to see her again.
At the same time, he was sorry—sorry for putting her through that.
"Subaru?"
"——No, it's nothing. I remember everything. You're Beatrice, I'm Natsuki Subaru. You and I, best partners, here's to more fun together, Beako-style."
"B-Beako-style…?"
At Subaru's rhyming words, Beatrice gives a confused thumbs up.
It wasn't an expression that existed in this other world, so Beatrice's was clearly the result of being corrupted by Subaru. He pats her head, takes a long breath in, then lets it out short.
Then he needs to assess the situation and shift his focus— "Calm down, Subaru."
"Huh?"
"You need to properly tell me what happened. What was in the book? Were you able to see Reid's memories? Not about Betty—about Emilia and the others? You need to confirm whether you remember everything. Whether you remember all the important things."
"That… yeah, you're right."
Beatrice cups both of Subaru's cheeks with her hands, appealing to him directly in front of his face.
Hearing her words, Subaru realizes that in his rush, he'd been neglecting her—right in front of him. A phenomenon that commonly occurs in loop narratives.
For an individual reliving loops, the freshness fades from experiences repeated countless times.
This causes a disconnect between the experience values of those who react as if it's the first time and the events being experienced, and eventually, one stops seeing others as people— "……I never thought I'd genuinely end up in that position."
Moreover, the characters who fell into that mental state in such works had all gone through dozens, hundreds, or even more trials against insurmountable walls.
Compared to that, Subaru had only—just fifteen.
Just fifteen times, and his heart had already become so worn that he couldn't see others as people?
"Am I an idiot? No, I'm an idiot."
Spitting out the weakness of his ■, its fragility, his own pathetic nature, Subaru steels himself.
It had only been fifteen deaths. Nothing had progressed. He'd simply wasted his life in vain. What right did he have to say he was tired?
There was none. None at all.
Stand up, raise your face, clench your fist, Natsuki Subaru.
There's no one else. There's only you.
——If it were "Natsuki Subaru," he would never make such mistakes.
"——Subaru isn't some all-powerful Superman to begin with."
"————"
Without warning, Beatrice had said this to Subaru as he repeated his self-questioning.
At those words, Subaru catches his breath and opens his eyes wide. Beatrice looks straight into his black pupils, sorrow filling her blue eyes, and shakes her head.
"I'll say it as many times as it takes. Subaru isn't some all-powerful Superman. He's always desperate about what's right in front of him, getting hurt for everyone's sake… and he's not even good at enduring pain. He's just an ordinary boy."
"That— that can't be right. That can't be. Because if that were the case…"
"If that were the case?"
"If that were the case, then someone like this…"
The wounds on his arms, the wounds all over his body, his slightly stronger arms, Emilia who relied on him, Beatrice, Ram,
His heart is beating so loud it's deafening.
It might matter more than his ■ ever did.
"Natsuki-san, you're back. …Did something happen?"
"Big Brother, I thought you'd gone and worried everyone, but it's this? Come on, don't go picking fights with Beatrice now, okay?"
The exchange between Subaru and Beatrice—no, it wasn't that fierce.
But seeing the two facing each other, Echidna and Meili returned from surveying the library. Their expressions couldn't meet Subaru's directly either.
"Beatrice, what happened to Natsuki-san? The shock really was significant after all?"
"……I think that's part of it. But Betty didn't think enough about what Subaru has been going through, I suppose."
"That's…"
Echidna furrows her brow at Beatrice, who averts her gaze toward Subaru. But she quickly seems to read the situation, chin dipping— "Shaula burst out, and Julius went after her and hasn't returned. Emilia and Ram went to get Rem-san, and I'm worried about them too. At the very least, I'd like to link up with one of them…"
"……Echidna and Meili, head toward the balcony. Betty will look for Emilia and the others who went toward the green room. Be very careful."
"But what about Big Brother, what's he gonna do?"
With Beatrice issuing instructions briskly, Echidna and Meili's eyes turn to Subaru.
At those looks, Subaru naturally starts to say he'd accompany Beatrice, but— "——Subaru will stay here and behave himself, I suppose."
"Wha—! Don't say something stupid, Beatrice! I'm fine! Sure, I was a little feverish coming back from the book, but it'll pass soon—"
Reflexively snapping back at Beatrice as she stands, Subaru tries to join them right away, putting weight on his feet.
He puts weight on his feet, but— "Huh?"
"Pass? What's passing?"
At Beatrice's question, Subaru stares down at his trembling legs in shock. He bends his knees, trying desperately to put strength into them, but can't maintain his balance.
No matter what he did, he couldn't straighten up. He couldn't stand.
"Why…"
"That's only natural, I suppose. Subaru has been pushing himself too hard this whole time."
"No, wait—wait! This can't be enough to—something like this can't…"
"————"
"This can't—this can't be all it takes. I…"
He shakes his head vehemently, trying over and over, but the result doesn't change.
There's no pain, no suffering, no fatigue—yet Subaru's fighting spirit won't transmit to his limbs. Even as he tries, Beatrice takes a step toward the staircase.
"——Subaru, what you're lacking, Betty and the others will fill in. You don't have to try to do everything by yourself. Because—"
"Beatrice—"
"Because, isn't that the Natsuki Subaru way?"
With a smile left behind for the shocked, wide-eyed Subaru, Beatrice takes off running. Matching her pace, Echidna and Meili also turn their backs to Subaru.
"Natsuki-san, I'm counting on you. There's no need to rush after us immediately. Still, you might end up being the final push, you know."
"I think it's okay to rest, honestly. But you were the one who told me what to do, Big Brother, so you should work a little harder on that, okay?"
Leaving Subaru behind amid their parting words, the three disappear from the library.
If they descended the stairs from the third floor, they should run into Julius, who was about to return with the other two. Or perhaps Subaru clung to the hope that Julius would come drag him out— "He won't come… not if Beatrice said what she said."
He has to respect that.
Moreover, Subaru's condition after returning from the "Tome of the Dead" had been visible to Echidna and Meili as well. Kind as they were, they couldn't help but worry.
But that concern would be fatal. He never wanted to see anyone die before him again.
"Because I'm weak… to crumble over something like this…"
If he were the real "Natsuki Subaru," he wouldn't stop over something this minor. The anger at his own inadequacy burns in his chest.
But at the same time, a different thought surfaces.
It was the words Beatrice had left behind.
"——Subaru isn't some all-powerful Superman to begin with."
"I'll say it as many times as it takes. Subaru isn't some all-powerful Superman. He's always desperate about what's right in front of him, getting hurt for everyone's sake… and he's not even good at enduring pain. He's just an ordinary boy."
The image of "Natsuki Subaru" that Beatrice described—someone who wasn't here.
Hearing it, Subaru can't believe it. Can't bring himself to believe it. Because then, wouldn't he really just be an ordinary person?
"There must have been something. Something that changed you, 'Natsuki Subaru'…"
Perhaps an incredible encounter.
Perhaps he gained unbelievable power.
Perhaps he had experiences that the current him couldn't imagine.
There must have been something to escape from being this useless Natsuki Subaru—because "Natsuki Subaru" had won the trust of everyone in his otherworldly life.
"Otherwise…"
Still kicking his trembling legs, Subaru rolls up his sleeve. There, carved in patterns, was a dark, ugly growth—a mark with no origin in Subaru's memories.
Could someone carry a curse-like thing on their body and remain fundamentally unchanged? Impossible.
Therefore, "Natsuki Subaru"— "Natsuki Subaru, arriving…"
The phrase slips out—the origin of his distrust toward the "Natsuki Subaru" of this world.
Sometimes carved into his arm, sometimes scrawled like a curse throughout a room—a message from an existence that shouldn't be here.
It was almost like a curse directed at someone who had stolen his role.
"If you're really inside me, come out…!"
Gripping his own arm with enough force to make the bones creak, Subaru pleads to himself—no, to the "Natsuki Subaru" who wasn't here.
The existence that could achieve ideals unreachable by this Subaru who was forced to bluff. If "Natsuki Subaru" was there, show yourself.
"Come on, come on, come on…! Show yourself, 'Natsuki Subaru'!!"
As if his arms weren't enough, he reaches for his own neck. Of course, strangling yourself with your own hands wasn't easy, and it didn't work well either.
In the first place, the notion that "Natsuki Subaru" would show his face at the moment of mortal danger was a convenient delusion. If that were the trigger, Subaru had already triggered it nearly twenty times.
And in all those times, how many times had "Natsuki Subaru" actually appeared?
"Damn, damn, damn…! It's me! I'm not enough! I need you, 'Natsuki Subaru'!"
Giving up on holding down his trembling knees, Subaru slams his fist into the floor. The library floor, of unknown material, hurts his fist, but it's nothing compared to the powerlessness gnawing at his heart.
He wants to help. He really wants to help everyone.
Nobody is wrong. Nobody wants to hurt each other. He understands that now. He can believe without hesitation in whom to save and whom to love.
He wants to help all of them, but he doesn't have the power to do so.
"Now is when I need you the most… so why is it me? A coward, a spineless coward—and even then, everyone…"
Even now, his feet won't move.
Because of that, he sent Beatrice, Echidna, Meili, the absent Emilia, Ram, Julius, and Shaula toward death.
Because Subaru couldn't do anything, he couldn't save them from their fated deaths.
"……Cor Leonis."
Murmuring weakly, Subaru activates his own authority—to be hurt.
The power of the "Little King" dwelling within him instantly conveys the locations of his allies in the tower. At the end of that, the final moments they would face, and the tower's doom—vividly.
In the distance, the light that seemed to be engaged in fierce battle was Emilia. This time, Ram's light—who should have been beside her—was slightly separated, with another light alongside.
On the balcony, Shaula was fighting, and Meili had likely joined her there. Julius and Echidna appeared to be moving together, and he could tell that Beatrice, acting alone, was heading toward Emilia's group.
Everything was proceeding as Beatrice had instructed, and as Subaru knew the situation to be.
If this continued, this loop too would end in failure— "——?"
Overrun by that pessimistic thought, Subaru registered a strange sense of dissonance.
He turns his head, looking behind him—the towering bookshelves filled with countless volumes, the great library housing the "Tome of the Dead," the Taygeta.
"————"
It was a peculiar sensation.
A sensation he'd never felt before, that was certain. Because since becoming aware of "Cor Leonis" and beginning to "Return by Death" in this place, Subaru had always activated his authority right here.
Each time, he'd gone to his allies, trying this and that, running around to change the situation, burning through his life.
So activating the authority in Taygeta was the natural thing to do.
But as Beatrice had said, this was perhaps the first time he'd stopped, taken a step back from the center, and surveyed the tower's situation from a removed perspective.
Was it because of that?
"——This reaction…"
Faintly—so faintly that it could vanish at any moment—he could feel it.
Compared to the sensation of feeling his allies' presence throughout the tower, this was an immeasurably weaker sensation—but it was unmistakably there.
Forcing his trembling legs to move, Subaru inches forward like a caterpillar. Then he leans his weight heavily against a bookshelf and strains to lift his upper body.
Somehow, using the bookshelf for support, he stands. Reaching out toward the weak, seemingly vanishing light, he grasps it.
He pulls out the book he grabbed—a single "Tome of the Dead"—and— "————"
His breath catches.
A single book, with nothing but a title on its black cover. A starkly plain, dry volume.
But for Subaru, it held truly immense significance.
Because— "——Natsuki Subaru."
There, in the "Tome of the Dead," was a name that should not have been.