――Seeing Subaru come out of the Tomb alone, Garfiel's hostility spiked as if stabbing into his skin.
The cold was of a different level outside the Tomb.
Contrary to the somewhat insulated warmth inside, the extreme cold of the Sanctuary sucked all the stamina and warmth out of one's body in a matter of seconds.
An endless blizzard, and a blinding curtain of white. His exhaled breaths froze as they left his mouth, and the shivers driving into his core were almost unbearable.
Hugging his own shoulders, Subaru shuddered in front of Garfiel's glare.
And, clicking his exposed fangs, Garfiel's attention turned to the empty corridor behind Subaru,
[Garfiel: Doesn't look like anyone's behind ya, oy]
[Subaru: Yeah, she's not coming. Emilia is inside, sleeping right now]
[Garfiel: Sleepin'? Huh?]
[Subaru: She's exhausted. For two days straight, she's just been waking up to the Trials, over and over. It's worn her down, both body and soul. And she hasn't been eating. It's just like her… to force herself like this]
Again and again, forcing herself to challenge the Trials only to fail regardless, Subaru could imagine Emilia's frustration and disappointment.
Surely, it would be the same the sense of powerlessness that Subaru himself had felt on so many occasions.
[Subaru: ――――]
Deep inside the Tomb, in her reprieve from the Trials, Emilia was blissfully sleeping.
The memory of Emilia's body heat and of the warmth of their long embrace as she whispered her blind love into his ear at once sent Subaru's blood boiling with love and longing, and left him stricken with such regret that he wanted to die.
He remembered Emilia's flushed cheeks, her voice trembling with passion as she said all the words he had wanted to hear, and the entirety of her emotion tempting him to drown inside it.
Had a part of him considered just letting himself drown and sink into that tender depravity alongside Emilia? No one could possibly know.
After rejecting Emilia's temptations that would have brought even Gods to their knees, Subaru walked out of the Tomb.
Leaving Emilia as she slept, he had no intention of telling her about what was happening outside. And he was not about to bring her within reach of Garfiel's malice.
But, in contrast to Subaru's quiet determination, Garfiel's rage showed no signs of dissipating.
He kicked at the snow under his foot and clicked his bleach-white fangs,
[Garfiel: Y'didn't drag out th'Half-Witch. The snow doesn't look like it's stoppin'. Y'didn't bring any souvenirs and came back with nothin' but yer stinkin' mug. Th'fuck d'ya think yer doin', ah?]
[Subaru: ――Emilia, she… told me she loves me]
[Garfiel: ... ... ...Hah?]
Subaru's off-beat remark might've been too out of place here. For a moment, Garfiel looked as if he couldn't understand what he had just heard. But his face quickly darkened as he decided that he was being played with.
[Garfiel: Looks like the Half-Witch ain't th'only one who ain't seein' th'situation here, hah!? Take a look where we are, and yer still bullshittin' with me, oy!? Oyoy! AAH!?]
The heat of Garfiel's seething rage began evaporating the melted snow on his skin. And the sight of Garfiel's body swelling was no optical illusion, but the start of his transformation from human to giant tiger.
Subaru did not waver as he watched.
With the same expression as when he uttered his previous words, Subaru went on staring at him with the same dry gaze.
And repeated in front of the enraged Garfiel,
[Subaru: Emilia, said that she loves me, and that all she needs is me]
[Garfiel: ――Y'fuckin'…]
[Subaru: With her adorable face, her clinging voice, her tingling movements, at a distance so close that I could melt, almost touching, within range of each other's breathing... that was what she told me]
[Garfiel: So fuckin' what!? It was already obvious when y'got here that Half-Witch's fuckin' glued to ya. If y'wanted congratulations for y'two gettin together, rippin y'two to shreds would fuckin' do it――]
Beastial growls began mixing with his curses as Garfiel's transformation accelerated with his wrath. Ready to pounce at any moment, Garfiel jabbed his words into Subaru.
――And that was the last straw.
[Subaru: ...how could it be]
[Garfiel: Hah? Didn't hear that, y'mind repeatin'...]
[Subaru: ――How could Emilia possibly tell me that she loves me!!??]
[Garfiel: ――――hk]
Subaru turned up his face and screamed.
Even Garfiel fell mute in front of this flood of emotions. Glaring at the flinching Garfiel, bearing an expression of agony, Subaru allowed his heart to erupt.
The words they shared in the Tomb, the heat of their touch, and the certainty of their love―― he threw them all away.
Was it painful? Of course it was painful. But, within those inseverable memories, there existed not the slightest radiance of genuine meaning.
How nice it would be, if Subaru could be foolish enough to be deceived by that counterfeit radiance.
But it was Natsuki Subaru's misfortune to be incapable of being that foolish.
[Subaru: How could she say it. How could Emilia tell me that she loves me... cling to me, offer up everything to me, and tell me she needs nothing but me... that could never happen]
[Garfiel: The fuck y'goin' on about, oy?]
[Subaru: She would never lean on me this way, and tell me that her feelings for me are her everything. Never. ――If Puck was here, there's no way she could be so utterly engrossed with me...]
He couldn't say how desperately he wished he could be placed first in Emilia's heart.
But Subaru wasn't so conceited as to believe that he was nearly enough to be worthy of that place in her heart, nor did he think so little of her.
The one Emilia relied on the most, the one she would cling to till the very, very end, would always be Puck.
Now that Puck would not appear before her, she was merely turning to Subaru as the secondary harbor of her reliance, nothing more.
Her confessions of love, the warmth of her fingertips, and her trembling breaths, Subaru didn't want to believe that they had all been lies.
He didn't want to―― but he knew that they weren't real.
Lifting his head, Subaru glared into Garfiel.
Garfiel's anger seemed to have cooled, but this time, it was Subaru who bared his teeth,
[Subaru: Who was it that drove her into a corner until she had no choice but to depend on a worthless guy like me? Who made her think that she had to keep going... no matter how many times her heart had been broken, over and over! Who!?]
[Garfiel: That's all necessary, ain't it! That's a choice you fuckin' made yourself! Th'fuck're y'tryin' t'pin this on me... n' the others in th'Sanctuary, HAH!?]
Garfiel shot back at Subaru's charges.
But, listening to Garfiel's barked retort, Subaru only shook his head.
Who was it that drove Emilia into a corner?
He already knew the answer without having to ask.
[Subaru: There's no question whose fault it is... it's my fault]
[Garfiel: ――Hah!?]
[Subaru: It's my fault. It's my fault that Emilia was driven into a corner. It's my fault, it's your fault, it's all of your faults]
[Garfiel: ...Cut it with that bullshit. If she can't stand th'weight and caves, ain't that just her calibre!? If her heart's that weak and she goes settin' a goal that high, ain't that just her makin' a fuckin' fool of herself!]
[Subaru: Yeah. You're right. Emilia's too gentle, so she only ever takes the pressure head on. So she never unloads her burdens on anyone else, until she crumbles. ――Even though that was what I was supposed to do]
Receiving Garfiel's rage, Subaru felt his heart growing cold just like the white snowscape around him.
"Even though that's what I have to do", he felt like clarifying.
[Subaru: Yeah. That's what I have to do. That's why I'm here... and even though I'm the one saying this, what was I doing...]
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[Garfiel: Th'fuck're y'agreein' with yerself, oy. ...No, nevermind. Just, nevermind. There's no end t'bullshittin' with ya. "Mordoba's thirst ain't never get quenched". If y'can't do it, then...]
[Subaru: You'll go in the Tomb and bring Emilia out yourself...? You think you can actually do it?]
[Garfiel: ...Th'hell's that supposed to mean]
Garfiel muttered this quiet threat. Though it was meant to intimidate Subaru, it only served to confirm Subaru's baseless conjecture.
[Subaru: Garfiel, I already know you're an Apostle of Greed. I know that's the only way you can be granted command authority over the Leweses]
[Garfiel: ――――]
[Subaru: So it's inevitable, that being an Apostle of Greed, you must've been inside the Tomb. ...Or, more accurately, that you've taken the Trials]
[Garfiel: ――You…]
[Subaru: You've challenged the Trials, haven't you. Though I don't know why you're so insistent on keeping it a secret. Is it because the Sanctuary's residents are forbidden to enter the Tomb? If not... then is it for Lewes, who entered the Tomb to save you?]
[Garfiel: ――――gh]
Garfiel's complexion turned.
After all, family was Garfiel's sore spot. Watching his expression shift to a color of agony, Subaru continued weaving his conjectures as he spoke.
[Subaru: Frederica told me about how you went inside the Tomb. And I heard that Lewes went in as well]
[Garfiel: That... fuckin' snitch...! Just leavin' ain't enough for her, she had to pander to th'fuckers outside...tch]
[Subaru: What, would it be so bad if a certain someone caught wind of this? Come to think of it, who was it that made this contract with the residents, anyway? Was it the Witch Echidona who, created this Sanctuary? If so, then have the residents of the Sanctuary been upholding a contract with the dead all this time?]
[Garfiel: Don't y'fucking――!]
"――go any further", Garfiel kicked into the ground, becoming one with the wind as he flew towards Subaru.
Aiming his claws that could shred through steel directly at Subaru's face――
[Subaru: ――The one making the snow fall is Roswaal]
[Garfiel: ――――]
Hearing Subaru strike the core of the matter, Garfiel's claw stopped just inches from his face.
Watching a look of stupefaction rising onto Garfiel's expression, Subaru nodded.
[Subaru: It's not Emilia. Without Puck here, Emilia couldn't do this by herself. Even if, on the million to one chance, that Emilia was the one who caused this, there's no way that girl could hide it from me so flawlessly]
[Garfiel: That's... just yer wishful thinkin'...]
[Subaru: You're right, but I can only believe. That girl, even if she's completely abandoned herself, she's not the kind of girl who'd throw a tantrum and hurt everyone around her... I just believe that]
It may be a suspect he had arrived at through the process of elimination.
But it was certainly not a baseless accusation.
[Subaru: The one binding you all to the Sanctuary… is Roswaal, isn't it?]
[Garfiel: Y'heard that from Frederica too?]
[Subaru: Of course not... it was just me sorting out all the information and evidence, and having enough prejudice and bad impressions about that guy to not balk at making false accusations. ――But looks like I was right]
[Garfiel: ――――]
As Garfiel fell silent, Subaru exhaled a white sigh.
――It was just the exhaustion of finding out that the person he suspected of being the mastermind was really the mastermind. But, even if he knew that Roswaal was the one conspiring behind the scenes, he still didn't know why he would oversee a contract that was trapping the Sanctuary's residents here, and why he would be tormenting them with this snow. No matter how much Subaru thought, he couldn't find a plausible answer.
In that case,
[Subaru: Guess we'll just take a few shots at that smug face of his]
Listening to Subaru mutter this full with resolve, Garfiel dropped his arms.
And Subaru could tell that Garfiel's face was painted with the same emotions as his own.
[Roswaal: ――We~~ll now, you two ce~~rtainly look a~~ngry]
Laying on the bed in his allotted residence, Roswaal greeted Subaru and Garfiel with these words, cheerfully smiling in his usual clown makeup.
[Subaru: Yeah. I'm super pissed right now. And this one over here wants to jump on you this minute, you know? So you might wanna be careful what you say]
Standing there blocking the doorway, Subaru spread out his arms and nudged his chin at the person beside him. On the other end of his gesture was Garfiel, who was quietly growling.
The sound of his bestial breathing was proof that he was using the last of his rationality to maintain his human form. Although they were indoors, the coldness had penetrated the masonry of the walls and passed inside. Both Subaru and Roswaal were breathing white, while only Garfiel's were bordering on red from the sheer heat of his breaths.
[Roswaal: This is an i~~nteresting pairing, no? I was sure I remember Garfiel saying something about ri~~pping Subaru in two when he comes back?]
[Garfiel: Things've changed a bit. I'll have to put off decidin' who t'crush into paste till I figure out what's true or not]
[Subaru: Don't say such scary things so naturally. Roswaal too, you shouldn't accept that kind of scary statement like it's normal, you know]
Subaru's exchange with Garfiel as he left the Sanctuary for the Mansion had left him with a deep sense of self-loathing. Unable to forget that humiliation, Garfiel's resentment towards Roswaal and Emilia wasn't too difficult to understand.
Seeing Subaru furrow his brows, Roswaal shook his head with [No~ no~~o], as he turned his single yellow eye between Subaru and Garfiel,
[Roswaal: I was simply telling it as it i~~s, Subaru-kun]
[Subaru: Sounds like I'm pretty despised. I'm hurt, Ros-chi. Weren't you gonna do anything even if Garfiel ate me up?]
[Roswaal: A~aya aya, now isn't that too hard on yourself? If Subaru-kun went head to head with Garfiel, I'm not so sure that Garfiel would come out on to~~p?]
[Subaru: You think I have a chance? If you heard my combat record you'd be shaking in your boots, you know]
Ever since being summoned to this Parallel World, Subaru had just been constantly taking damage, with barely a single combat victory to his name.
He did manage to beat up the weird trio in the alley, kill a few Wolgarms, and finish off the dying Petelgeuse, but that was about it.
[Subaru: Actually, that's a lot better than I thought… but if I'm pitted against a pissed-off Garfiel, I won't last two seconds before I get turned into meat cubes. I can at least see that much]
[Roswaal: I wonder. Perhaps, under the right conditions, you could put up a good fi~~ght, I think]
Narrowing his eye, Roswaal looked Subaru up and down as he spoke. Unfortunately, no matter how Subaru tried to reflect on those words, he just couldn't seem to agree.
Subaru shrugged and decided to set Roswaal's statements aside for now, while almost simultaneously beside him, Garfiel stomped down his foot, shattering the floorboard beneath it.
[Garfiel: None'a that crap matters right now! Ain't there somethin' more important here, hah!? Are y'two assholes asleep?]
Leaving a deep footprint in the center of the floor, Garfiel bared his fangs and shouted at Subaru and Roswaal.
He didn't seem too fond of their little sparring match before moving into the main topic. But then again, it didn't suit Subaru too well either.
Following Garfiel's prompt, Subaru gave a single nod, and,
[Subaru: You're the one making it snow outside, aren't you, Roswaal]
He cut straight to the chase.
[Roswaal: ――――]
Hearing Subaru's question, Roswaal closed his mouth.
Subaru followed suit, and quietly waited for Roswaal's answer. Silence descended on the room, as the only sounds audible were the howls of the freezing wind outside the window, the rhythmic ticking of the clock hand, and the clicks of Garfiel's gritting teeth.
[Roswaal: Subaru-kun]
[Subaru: Yeah?]
[Roswaal: ――Did you hear that from me?]
[Subaru: ――――]
What kind of question was that?
Subaru had run multiple simulations in his head about what Roswaal's response might be.
Perhaps a boldfaced laugh like [Aha, you got me], or a pathetic [W-what a ludicrous... proof, where's your proof!]. Most likely, it would have been an evasive [I'm afraid I have no idea what you're ta~~lking about], or something along those lines.
But Roswaal's reply was completely different from anything Subaru had imagined.
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[Subaru: What? We just got here, how are you supposed to have told us? You sure you're not confused?]
[Roswaal: Hm~ mm...is that so. Is that so. I~~s that so. ...Unfortunate]
Despite chewing over the meaning of his words, Subaru only looked at Roswaal with an expression of non-understanding. After leaving him those words, Roswaal cast down his gaze, and let out a feeble sigh.
The side of his pallid face seemed even more devoid of strength than usual. And Subaru could see that it was not a result of his injuries, but a reflection of the state of his heart.
[Roswaal: ――I~~n that case. I misspoke, I misspoke. I said something strange just now]
Lifting his face again, Roswaal revealed a faint smile as if taking back what he had just said.
Somehow, Subaru just felt like there was something off about that red-painted smile.
But, paying no heed to Roswaal's subtle change, Garfiel stepped forward,
[Garfiel: Y'ain't denyin' it, oy?]
[Roswaal: Don't you think that if I throw up a bunch of excuses when I'm already under suspicion, it'll just sound like I'm lying? But on the other hand, my u~~sual behavior hasn't earned me any trust from you two ei~~ther]
[Garfiel: So y'fuckin' noticed? Then y'can probably guess what I'm about t'do next...yeah!?]
Exhaling a sharp breath, Garfiel instantly erased their distance from several steps to zero.
Approaching the foot of the bed, Garfiel reached out his hand to grasp Roswaal by the throat. The split-second movement happened so fast that Subaru didn't even have the time to call out to stop him.
But,
[Garfiel: ――You]
[???: I will not permit such insolence in front of Roswaal-sama, Garf]
Flying out of the adjacent room, Ram caught Garfiel by his torso and the wrist of his reaching hand.
With his right arm restrained to his chest, Garfiel leered at Ram with a growl.
Subaru was surprised that he hadn't noticed Ram's presence in the house until now, but, with a sigh of relief, he was at least grateful that she had managed to avert needless bloodshed.
Then――
[Roswaal: Ram. You really are an excellent servant]
[Ram: Yes, Roswaal-sama――]
Subaru couldn't find anything strange about their exchange.
Ram had placed herself in harm's way to protect her master, and Roswaal praised her. There should be nothing wrong about this. Ram was simply carrying out her duty.
So where was the problem? Subaru looked up, furrowing his brows, wondering.
Standing near the door, Subaru could see Garfiel's back in front of his eyes, and Ram's delicate figure opposite him. Beyond them, was the bed which Roswaal had taken for his recuperation, but,
――Since when was Roswaal standing?
[Subaru: ――――]
It must have happened in an instant.
In the time it took Subaru to blink, Roswaal had stood up from his bed, and walked up to the standoff between Ram and Garfiel.
And,
[Subaru: ――――]
What the hell is that?
Protruding out of Garfiel's back was what looked like a human arm.
Penetrating from the front of his chest to the center of his back, it had five writhing fingers, and Subaru was certain that it was someone's right arm.
[Garfiel: Hhg, bh...h]
Before his eyes, Garfiel's body violently convulsed.
Little by little, crimson blood stained into the back of his jacket as his legs dangled from his torso. With nothing to support his body, Garfiel dropped to his knees as the arm disappeared into his back.
And, having lost its plug, mass volumes of blood instantly spouted from the hole.
[Garfiel: ――Hh]
Garfiel collapsed to the floor. Looking down at him, were Ram and Roswaal.
And sticking out of Ram's chest, was,
[Ram: ros...]
[Roswaal: You truly were an excellent servant]
Ram tried to call his name in a feeble voice, but Roswaal gently interrupted her.
He tenderly stroke his left hand on Ram's peach-colored hair, while Ram seemed to accept it with a soft blush on her intoxicated expression.
――From the corner of her smile, a belated trail of fresh blood leaked out.
But of course.
Since her chest had been pierced through from behind.
The arm was drawn out.
And Ram's delicate body, unable to withstand even the slightest force, fell forwards onto the floor.
But what caught her was the profusely bleeding Garfiel.
He took the collapsing Ram into his arms, and lifted her upright,
[Garfiel: Gh...Ros...ch. r, am...Ram, Ram, Ram, RAM RAM RAM RAM RAM!!]
The instant of hatred dominating his heart was drowned to nothing by the sight of the one he loved.
Again and again, Garfiel screamed the name of the girl in his arms, roaring blood as he emitted pale-blue light from his hands.
Subaru knew that vivid glow was from the channelling of healing magic.
While it wasn't Garfiel's specialization, he was still capable of casting it.
Right now, despite the fatal wound through his chest, Garfiel was pouring his everything into healing Ram in his arms.
As he did so, with each beating of his heart, his body pulsed and transformed.
Fur covered over his exposed skin, his fangs began to grow, and his pupils instantly narrowed into slits. His muscles swelled by magnitudes, as his clothes burst apart from the overwhelming mass of his body.
He was transforming into that mindless tiger, and his bestial instinct to protect his body was furiously clashing with the rational human desire to save the life of the one he loved.
But,
[Garfiel: ――――]
[Roswaal: It would be troublesome if you were allowed to morph]
Slightly tilting his head, with these words Roswaal kicked his leg towards Garfiel.
His long, sweeping leg became wind, and smashed directly into Garfiel's skull――with the sound of an eggshell cracking, like some slapstick prop, Garfiel's head exploded into a spray of red.
Garfiel's body lost everything from the neck up. Blood spouted like a fountain from the severed stump of his neck, filling the room with its bloody stench as his corpse fell on top of Ram.
Underneath, the faint smile on Ram's expression remained unchanged.
Garfiel's healing magic had no effect. Ram's pulse had already ceased the moment Roswaal pulled his arm from the cavity of her destroyed heart.
Garfiel had simply failed to notice it as he wrenched out his lifeforce to save her.
[Roswaal: E~~ven I have trouble casting magic while sustaining a weather-interference spell of this magnitude. ――For a court wizard, it really is an unsightly display]
Roughly scraping his blood-drenched leg on the nearby bed sheet, having murdered Ram and Garfiel with his bare hands, Roswaal turned to the immobilized Subaru.
And, with a tone and bearing completely unchanged from usual, he spoke.
[Roswaal: Now――shall we begin our talk? Natsuki Subaru-kun]
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