Arc 5 – Chapter 23, "Disrupted Situation"
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Beatrice: "So? Tell me what happened, in fact."
Having left the park, Beatrice determined that they'd left Emilia's line of sight, and slowed her steps. Although she'd slowed to talk, Subaru grabbed her arm and led her forward.
Beatrice: "Subaru?"
Subaru: "Sorry. We have to talk where no one else is around. There are many things that I want to discuss thoroughly, but we don't have enough time. —In fact, we have less than 15 minutes."
Beatrice: "… I understand, I suppose. Explain while we walk, in fact."
Beatrice marched along obediently as Subaru turn his face away, trying to hide his anxiety.
The presence of his understanding partner lightened Subaru's heart, and he carefully sorted through the thoughts swimming in his mind as he tried to relay them to Beatrice.
Subaru: "The witch cult will attack the square that we're heading to, and we have to stop their wickedness."
Beatrice: "Witch Cult… hk"
Beatrice's breath caught, and she urged Subaru to continue.
What troubled him were the rules and penalties for giving out information learned through Return by Death. Even if he'd been able to safely relay tidbits to Larkins, there was no certainty that he could do so with Beatrice. That was the nature of the devil of shadows who bound him.
The handicap that prevented Return by Death from showing giving out information only judged the punishment after that had already happened.
If that weren't the case, Emilia's heart wouldn't have been crushed when she'd learned the secret. This was the only explanation he could think of.
So Subaru paid careful attention to what he told Beatrice.
Those devil's hands, when reaching for Subaru, were terrifying but not unbearable. However, if they reached Emilia or Beatrice, Subaru would be crippled by his guilt.
It could be forgiving to Subaru, but it was merciless to others.
Beatrice: "As usual, you can't say anything, I suppose?"
Subaru: "…sorry. I'm so unreasonable."
Beatrice: "Fine, in fact. I'll believe it without any basis, I suppose. They're Subaru's words, so Betty will believe them, in fact."
Beatrice took the useless Subaru's hand with her own.
The warmth in the palm of her hand gave him the strength to speak his next words.
Sirius, Wrath, could connect senses and brainwash souls, and, taking into account the difficulty of communication, Beatrice's perception of danger would be skewed.
Subaru: "First of all, the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult who will appear is Wrath, who is, uh… a pervert."
Beatrice: "If that's the information that needs to be conveyed then Betty thinks that Subaru is having bad thoughts, I suppose."
Subaru: "Anyway, there's something very important that we'll have to deal with. Her abilities… she can control emotions, or is it sharing senses between people?"
Beatrice: "Controlling emotions and sharing senses?"
Beatrice lifted her head.
She was unable to concretely picture it. Of course, Subaru also could not clearly understand the effect of that power.
Subaru: "Explaining is a little difficult… if Wrath is overjoyed, then no matter how angry I am, I'll also feel happy."
Beatrice: "… I don't really underhand how that's a threat, in fact."
Subaru: "Recognizing danger is impossible. No matter how dangerous the situation is, there's no fear. You'll accept it with delight and won't be able to correctly grasp the situation, understand?"
A crying, pleading child who didn't want to die had been cheered for by the masses.
They found joy in everything in front of this. This was comparable to delight at being stabbed with a knife, up until your life was ended by that blade.
Beatrice: "The sharing of emotions, I understand, I suppose. What about sharing senses, in fact?"
Subaru: "That's not all. When someone else feels pain, I'll feel it too. If the Sin Archbishop's head is cut off then mine will come flying off as well… it's overwhelming, isn't it."
As he explained further, his frustration at the hopeless situation began to surface again.
This explanation was rather straightforward; if she died, so would he. He'd been able to escape through Return by Death, but every who'd suffered before had no way of overriding that at all.
Subaru: "If she's alive, then there's a possibility you'll go crazy just by being nearby. If she's dead then we'll all die too. She's really the worst kind of enemy, troublesome alive or dead."
On his second death, Subaru had been swallowed by fear and driven mad. The origin of that fear had been Lusbel, who desperately sought help.
On that occasion, he'd continually felt Lusbel's madness as well. Their spirits had weakened, driving them into that state.
It was hard to say "I should have been better". It was also hard to imagine that Lusbel, who he had spoken to earlier, would resist such overwhelming terror.
But something other than just fear should have killed Subaru during his second death.
Finding a strategy that could defeat Sirius would be difficult without the knowledge of what that something was.
"——"
Subaru didn't continue to speak, but he still kept a grip on Beatrice's hand.
Obviously, he'd taken Beatrice, but he still hadn't found a solution. As such, Beatrice would probably be entangled in a battle with no real hope of victory.
The easiest thing to do would be to have Reinhardt take Sirius alive. Subaru considered just summoning Reinhardt like last time and telling him to capture Sirius.
He'd simply tell Reinhardt what to do before he engaged in battle.
Before the sudden attack on the square, he'd talk to Larkins again, and Reinhardt would be called to deal with the crisis. Reinhardt wouldn't attack directly without asking for details. Even explaining the need for an emergency call, there would be at least a few minutes until Sirius would make a move.
Subaru: "I'm an idiot. No, I'm a moron. If Reinhardt's called then Sirius is going to react immediately. There won't be time to explain, just like last time."
Subaru needed to tell Reinhardt before he started fighting Sirius.
Could he do it? Subaru had no confidence that he'd be able to express his thoughts in time. In the last loop, although he'd wanted to tell Reinhardt to capture her, his mouth had disobeyed him and joined the crowd in yelling "kill her". This was an undeniable precedent.
Beatrice: "Subaru. There's still more bad news, in fact."
Subaru: "…Seriously? I don't want to hear more bad news."
Beatrice: "I understand, I suppose. But, I have to tell you… Betty would be useless in a battlefield with Reinhardt, in fact. I'd just be a cute little girl, I suppose."
Subaru: "Huh?"
Beatrice spoke suddenly, her eyes downcast.
Beatrice: "Because of his physiology, Reinhardt acts as a beacon for mana. The surrounding mana in the atmosphere will follow him blindly, causing damage to the environment, which becomes a burden to him. Spirits and magic users will be unable to use mana, and I won't be able to do anything."
Subaru: "What… the… That there should be such a thing…"
Even as he said so, Subaru recalled the circumstances of his arrival.
On the first day Subaru had been summoned to this world, Reinhardt and Elsa had fought a battle over Emilia's Royal Election emblem.
Subaru recalled how Emilia had mentioned how magic became ineffective as Reinhardt had revealed his true ability.
Beatrice: "If Reinhardt can solve the problem, then it wouldn't matter if Betty can't do anything, in fact. But, if just Reinhardt isn't enough…"
Subaru: "Beako won't have the option of being useful."
That fantasy was also killed.
Just his presence would cause magic to lose all function. Calling Reinhardt would now be counterproductive.
— Awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, what a disaster. Subaru could no longer see any light.
Was it right or wrong to call Reinhardt? What about bringing Beatrice?
Ignoring Sirius and trying to save people in the square. In that case, Sirius would only find another place to do the same thing. There was no point.
As he contemplated, anxiety began to burn through Subaru's mind.
Subaru expended as much effort as he possibly could in search of a solution, but could find none. Even so, time was ticking on mercilessly.
Beatrice: "…Subaru, we're at the square, in fact."
Subaru: "—hk"
Hearing her, Subaru suddenly looked up and saw the square.
The two had arrived at their destination, which would soon be marked by tragedy. No solution had been found yet. Their remaining time just vanished little by little. The white clocktower. The crowded square.
There were less than ten minutes before the tragedy would take place. How to to solve it correctly. What to do?
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Beatrice: "Subaru, I might have come up a solution, in fact."
As Subaru's face was taut with tension, Beatrice spoke up. Subaru's blanking mind was startled by her sweet voice.
Subaru: "Came up with a solution!?"
Beatrice: "I might be wrong, but Subaru's description of Wrath's abilities sounds familiar… I'm thinking of a higher level magic called Nect that has a similar effect."
Subaru: "Nect…!"
Nect — It was a form of magic that Subaru had experienced in the past. With Nect, magic users could share the awareness and feelings of others. Indeed, it seemed similar to Sirius's authority.
While wondering why he hadn't noticed at first, Subaru thought out loud.
Subaru: "So is there any counter for Nect?"
Beatrice: "…usually, countering Nect is unnecessary, I suppose. It is intended to unite comrades and express feelings, in fact. Using Nect as a weapon seems strange, I suppose."
Beatrice gave her unhappy reply to the anxious Subaru.
Subaru had once reluctantly shared his vision with Julius using Nect, in order to defeat Petelgeuse by making his Unseen Hands visible.
Nect's ability was used for cooperation between allies.
It was absolutely not the kind of magic that should be used to take hostages.
Beatrice: "Normally, there is a condition for Nect that requires contact through mana circulation, in fact. The Archbishop's authority probably has the power to circumvent such a condition, I suppose."
Subaru: "So her authority can forcibly achieve it. More than that…"
Beatrice: "How to counter it, I suppose. — Shamak is the most obvious answer, in fact."
Subaru: "Shamak-san has arrived! That's magnificent!"
Subaru perked up at Beatrice's proposal.
Shamak was an incredibly familiar magic. In painful, hard, dangerous times, in the hopeless of situations, Shamak had always faced adversaries alongside Subaru.
Prior to contracting Beatrice, Subaru's main sources of strength were Rem, Patrasche, and Shamak.
And even after the destruction of the his mana gate, through his contract with Beatrice, Shamak was still helping Subaru.
Subaru: "I see, Shamak, huh… If it's Shamak then surely everything is somehow…"
Beatrice: "Subaru seems to have an unusual level of trust for Shamak, I suppose. It's the most basic of Yin magic and it's really not that useful, I suppose."
Subaru: "Even Beako isn't allowed to badmouth Shamak like that…!"
Beatrice: "What's made Subaru defend Shamak to this extent, in fact?"
Beatrice listened to the incomprehensible ramblings with a sigh, then glanced around carefully while holding a finger up.
Beatrice: "Shamak is rooted in altering consciousness — it's a magic that forcibly breaks the mind's contact with surroundings, I suppose. Subaru uses it strangely, in fact, but Betty doesn't have any problem with it at all."
Subaru: "In other words…?"
Beatrice: "When that magic is cast on the crowd, everyone's minds will be blinded with Shamak, and the Sin Archbishop shouldn't be a problem, in fact. Though I'm worried about whether or not I can control it from affecting Subaru, I suppose."
Beatrice spoke with confidence and Subaru clenched his hands with excitement at this new glimmer of hope.
Subaru: "Alright, good. I'll be depending on your magic. Then… what's next?"
Beatrice: "Aside from Reinhardt, who can defeat the Sin Archbishop, in fact?"
Subaru: "..."
If they called Reinhardt then Beatrice wouldn't be able to use her Shamak strategy. Therefore, he needed to be excluded from their calculations.
However, on this occasion, Reinhardt was perhaps the only one who could defeat Sirius.
Beatrice: "Speaking of which, since Betty needs to maintain Shamak, Betty won't be able to fight, in fact."
Subaru: "That's right. Then… we're back at square one."
Without Beatrice's backing, Subaru would almost certainly be unable to defeat Wrath. Without his trump card, just his whip alone wouldn't allow him to escape unscathed.
Subaru: "At that time, it seemed like there were other places to fight than the square… Subaru thought of the first time at the square.
Upon detecting a threatening presence in the tower, several people reacted immediately. A beastman, a blindfolded woman, a serious looking businessman, and Larkins.
Excluding Larkins, how would the remaining three fare? Adding Subaru to their number would total four, perhaps meaning that there was yet a way out.
Subaru: "What a stupid train of thought, asking strangers to trust me. I don't think there's anything I haven't thought of now…"
???: "— In that case, should I play a part since I know of your strength?"
Subaru: "—— !?"
A sudden voice from behind pierced into his hopeless thoughts.
At that all too familiar voice, Subaru and Beatrice looked back in surprise. Standing behind the two with their hands on their hips,
Subaru: "E-Emilia-tan? Why are you here…"
Emilia: "Subaru seemed to be acting strange, so I was worried that something bad was happening. It looks like I was excluded, that's one of Subaru's bad traits."
Having been criticized, Subaru pressed his mouth shut.
Astonished at Emilia's sudden appearance, he couldn't respond. Beatrice took his place and looked up at Emilia.
Beatrice: "You should have stayed in the park, in fact. Why did you come, I suppose?"
Emilia: "…I couldn't just wait. Subaru told me to stay, but Priscilla told me otherwise."
Subaru: "That woman in red?"
Emilia: "She said that if I didn't follow you, I'd certainly regret it. When I caught up and saw that nothing had happened, I thought about leaving quietly, but you two seemed to be discussing something serious."
Emilia's decision was influenced and the source of that evil comes to mind.
Subaru gritted his teeth, mentally cursing Priscilla and her arrogant, disruptive meddling. That malicious whimsy had perfectly arranged the situation Subaru wanted to avoid the most.
Subaru: "Emilia-tan, I'm happy. I'm glad, so, from now on…"
Emilia: "The Witch Cult will appear? I heard you… even if Subaru tells me to go back, I won't. This concerns me, too."
Subaru: "Emilia!"
There was little basis for his line of thought.
He spoke sharply, desperate to drive Emilia away. She couldn't meet the Witch Cult.
Subaru couldn't quite articulate a reason, but it wasn't anything like stubborn protectiveness. He instinctively understood that she just couldn't.
Emilia absolutely couldn't meet the Witch Cult. To Emilia, that cult was a poison to be avoided. Although that held true for the majority of people born in this world, Emilia was a special case.
Subaru: "We'll manage something. Emilia doesn't need to be involved. This has nothing to do with you."
Emilia: "Even so, what if Subaru is hurt because I'm not there? I'd never let that happen. If Subaru fights, I'll fight by his side. If Subaru wants to protect something, I'll do my best to help. And since Subaru will certainly protect me…"
Subaru: "——"
Emilia: "I also want to protect Subaru. I promised I wouldn't cry like that anymore."
Emilia spoke with an unyielding heart.
In order to keep her away from danger, Subaru had to summon every drop of his courage, face adversity with a heart of steel.
However, Subaru, right now, was afraid. He was terrified of fighting. Three times.
Three times Subaru had lost to Sirius, and three times he'd lost his life.
No matter how experienced he was with death, he'd still died so much, in such a short span of time.
Death was horrible, unacceptable, and no matter how much he experienced it, he couldn't grow used to it.
Having his life taken was completely unreasonable. That denied his self, trampled on his existence, insulted his soul. It was something that stole from him.
Although he tried to cover everything up, Subaru couldn't brush off everything that affected him.
Even while stubbornly maintaining that he had people he wanted to protect, he could never cast off the weak heart that was afraid to die.
Natsuki Subaru, no matter what, hadn't been able to overcome that weakness.
Beatrice: "…Subaru. You should give up, in fact."
Subaru: "Beatrice…"
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Beatrice: "Emilia is stubborn, I suppose. She won't change her mind, in fact. Betty also understands Emilia's feelings, I suppose. Betty wants to protect Subaru the same way… Betty isn't able to deny her that, in fact."
Beatrice is key to the strategy and also the decision-making party. If she waves a white flag, then Subaru won't be unable to resist.
Emilia looks to Subaru sincerely, and Beatrice adorably. Under their gaze, Subaru finally gave in.
Subaru: "…the cultists will target you. If that happens, think of yourself as a priority."
Emilia: "Mm, I understand. Even if I'm caught, Subaru will definitely save me. I believe in you and I'll do my best."
Subaru: "Don't jinx it… so, how much of our conversation did you hear?"
Having been accepted by Subaru, Emilia gave a relaxed smile.
She touched her fingers to her lips.
Emilia: "I heard the gist of it. The Witch Cult is going to wreak havoc with Nect, which Beatrice wants to counteract with Shamak. During that, I have to work hard to scold that villain."
Subaru: "That's a childlike way of understanding it, but it works. Emilia, can I depend on you?"
Emilia: "Leave it to me. I'm plenty strong."
Emilia makes a guts pose with her hands. That lovely action showed a certain lack of tension, but she seemed to have understood. Subaru felt restless and useless about relying on Emilia.
Moreover, the timing of Beatrice's magic was difficult for him to get a grasp on, which made it another element of anxiety. But,
Subaru: "Emilia-tan and Beako are both here, so I can't fail…!" Instead of feeling anxious, he used that to fuel his determination.
Subaru: "Besides, it's almost time."
Between Beatrice's proposal, and Emilia's joining, more than half of their remaining time had gone by. They'd try their best when it came to Sirius.
If they could, avoiding Lusbel's location and knocking the tower down would be preferable.
Subaru: "Emilia-tan. Soon a strange person will appear on the tower. Attack then with a big shot. Having her fall from the tower would be ideal. Afterward, Beako will prepare her spell, so when the signal comes we'll start fighting."
Emilia: "Mm, I understand. Although I do not know if things will go that smoothly, but I'll try." Emilia's expression stiffens and both Subaru and Beatrice nod at each other. The plan is set.
Subaru: "—She's here!"
A figure could be seen moving about in the clock tower's window.
A body wrapped in a black coat, a head wrapped in bandages. The ends of hers chain, hanging from her hands, struck the ground with rattling sounds as she looked down at the square.
The people there had yet to notice that anomalous presence.
Sirius stood on her stage, shaking her body and opening her arms as though admiring the people who were unprepared for the imminent threat.
And then she began to clap — the people who heard the sound noticed her, and her speech began.
Subaru: "——"
Swallowing, Subaru witnessed the moment.
With imposing gestures, Sirius raised her chest to speak fiercely—
Emilia: "Ul Huma!"
A huge icicle appeared in front of the tower, hanging in the air near Sirius.
The thick icicle, which was around the size of five people, struck the tower with a violent crash. An icicle speared through the front of the tower, and the walls split apart. Subaru's jaw dropped in amazement.
Subaru: "E-Emilia-tan?"
Emilia: "Subaru said we needed to strike first, so I did… did I mess up?"
Subaru: "No, GJ. I just didn't expect you to attack before her introduction."
Subaru hadn't motioned for her to act yet, and was surprised that Emilia had spotted the threat at a glance.
Since Sirius had been equally unprepared. Maybe the blow had even taken her out. Moreover, the panicked crowd were all fine, so perhaps Sirius had indeed been incapacitated.
That was entirely from Emilia's great contribution.
Subaru: "Beako, what do you think?"
Beatrice: "First of all, think of a way to address the misunderstanding people around us, in fact."
As Beatrice's surprise turned to pride, Subaru wanted to ask whether or not they'd gotten Sirius.
Emilia surveyed the destruction of the tower while Subaru slowly turned to face the uneasy crowd. The beastman and the blindfolded woman were there — how unfortunate, they were people that Subaru had wanted to ally with.
Subaru: "Uh, well, what do I do now? Explain that we didn't mean any harm?"
Emilia: "—Mm. You better do that, Subaru."
While Subaru scratched his head, pondering the explanation, Emilia suddenly grabbed his shoulders, placing herself in front of the crowd.
In that moment, a crack sounded through the air, and a blue sword of ice appeared in Emilia's hands. She assumed a battle ready posture, facing down the crowd.
Subaru: "Emilia-tan? You don't have to go that far…"
Emilia: "It's not that. Look closely, Subaru. There's no sign of sanity."
Subaru: "—Eh?"
Scared by Emilia's suddenly firm voice, Subaru surveyed the crowd around them, and couldn't help but exclaim. Like Emilia had said, their eyes held no trace of cognizance.
The people around them were red from neck up, the blood vessels in their faces on the verge of bursting, bloodshot eyes glaring at Subaru's group.
Their gazes were filled with only fury.
Subaru: "Beako! What about Shamak!?"
Beatrice: "… It failed, I suppose."
Subaru: "What?"
Beatrice: "This magic is nothing like Nect… no, it's evil, in fact. This is nothing like magic, I suppose. A curse… it is magic, in fact!"
Beatrice raised her voice in anger, and Subaru could only answer with a frown.
He wasn't sure of the specifics, but Beatrice's Shamak hadn't worked. He understood the issue but had no solution.
Then, the masses were completely engulfed by madness.
Crowd: "It stinks. It stinks. It stinks. It stinks. It stinks. It stinks. stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks."
It was a terrible, viscous, sound that was cursing the world.
"——"
With the sound of a detonation, the clock tower collapsed.
The remainder of the tower cracked apart, decimating the rest of it, and the icicles embedded in the tower shattered to pieces. Shimmering, the ice crystallized in the sun, accompanied by the faint sound of footsteps.
The footsteps of an abomination.
She wasn't unhurt. Half of the bandages wrapped around her face were stained with blood, which also dripped from her left arm and her chain.
Emilia's premeditated attack had no doubt played an effect. Only, it had also caused something undesirable.
Sirius: "Disgusting, the stench of that woman, filthy and detestable, the stench of the one who stole my husband from me, the stench of maggots, endless filth. Hate, I hate it so much, burning it to cinders isn't enough."
Subaru: "…what are you saying?"
Sirius: "And that other woman, she's obviously not that person, but she has such a similar stench, how shameless, the stench of rotting insects, ah, ah, ah ah aaAAAAAAH! How hateful! How rancid! How vile!"
The anomalous woman clutched her bleeding head with a harsh cry. Spittle flew from her mouth as she ruthlessly stomped her feet. Subaru knew this odd behavior. It was wild as ever, but it's direction was obviously different.
Sirius: "My! Are you testing the love for my husband, spirit?! Were you not satisfied with taking my husband from me, YOU HALF HALF-WITCH BITCH!!?"
Gritting her teeth, she issued a wrathful cry as she leapt forward.
Sirius, who'd fallen from the tower, folded her arms in front of her face, and red flames flared into life. They sprayed from both arms, and a line of flame had formed as she landed in the square.
Exercising her limbs, armed with her flame, the madwoman raised her head.
Emilia held her sword of ice ready as she stood in front of Subaru and Beatrice, guarding them. Swinging her gaze back and forth, Sirius yelled with a furious voice.
Sirius: "I! Am the witch cult's sin archbishop of Wrath!!"
Red flames gushing forth, she bathed the crowd in heat as she raised her arms.
In a frenzied crisis completely different from the situation Subaru had expected, the madwoman introduced herself.
Sirius: "— Sirius Romanee-Conti!! Damn half-elf and spirit, I'll scorch your corpses and scatter your ashes at my husband's tomb!!"