Subaru let out a short sigh as he gazed down at the city that was being swallowed up by the flood.
The city's design was built in the shape of a mortar so that if water was poured into it, there would be no way out. It definitely was extremely effective, like pouring water into an ant nest.
Subaru:「As expected of the city used for the decisive battle against the Witchbeasts…. the effectiveness of the trap was incredible.」
According to knowledge, the city had originally been erected to bring down a Witch, Witchbeasts, and the like; in accordance with that, the efficacy of opening the watergates was immense.
The water's violence dragged the city to the bottom of its surface in an instant, and engulfed its inhabitants before they had any time to escape.
???:『I see, it's a thing of splendour doooooooon't you think? With this, many of the people that know you were dealt with all at once....I guess I'm okay to think that your self-discovery is progressing foooooward, right?』
Subaru:「...Shut up」
Behind Subaru, who was overlooking the devastation, the tall clownish figure let his unscrupulous thoughts spill out. His facial expression didn't express delight, though it did seem that he had gotten a suitable response in the results in front of his eyes. As the plan had been put into effect using his knowledge and advice, it's wasn't that he didn't understand his thoughts, but.
???:『Master sure has poor taste…. 』
The young figure of a maid was looking at the clownish figure with an expression of disdain. The young girl, who adorably gave off a seemingly intelligent impression, snuggled closer to Subaru and sneakily took hold of his hand.
Squeezing her hand back, Subaru gave her a fleeting nod.
Subaru:「Petra, how are things looking?」
Petra:『Ummmm, well, it seems like Shaula-san did everything right. Since all four control towers were used I don't think anyone's managed to get away...….Maybe in the shelters as well.』
Subaru:「...I see. I'm sorry to make you deliver such a painful report.」
Petra put on a brave smile even when she was asked for her objective opinion.
The girl which Subaru knew was certainly stout of heart, but she was nevertheless an ordinary child with nothing special about her. Of course, that didn't mean he didn't feel guilt for dragging her into this, but――
???:『If you're going to get so emotional, I would have preferred if you didn't start this in the first place. Subaru-sama is still such a half-baked individual, isn't he.』
Subaru:「Ack, I don't even have anything I can say back when you put it like that.」
The anger of the blonde haired maid, Frederica, who had brought her condemnations to him, didn't clear up so easily.
She gave more weight to the tragedy that had happened to the people around her rather than the tragedy which she had witnessed. In that sense, it seemed like she'd never forgive Subaru's actions.
This wasn't the only reason why; it was also an emotional matter. Were he to look at this from a logical perspective, and were he to be unexpectedly honest with his feelings, he would be made to feel the kinship by blood she had with Garfiel.
Subaru:「Either way, I only know about Garfiel from others as well.」
Muttering it out with a sigh, Subaru gently brushed his fingers into his fringe. Brusquely scratching his head, he heaved out a strong sigh and shifted his attention to focus on the fight.
Clownish Figure:『Well then? What are you going to do neeeeeeeeext, Subaru-kun.』
Leaning forward, he gave a tch at Roswaal who was looking at him from the side. And then, Subaru declared「It's as decided」as if he was spitting out a curse.
Subaru:「It'll go according to plan. ――It's best to attack the most troublesome guy to start things off with.」
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Patching together, patching together, continuing to form its shape.
Patching together, patching together, continuing to mould its shape.
Patching together, patching together, continuing to fill in the colours.
Patching together, patching together, patching together, and continuing towards bringing himself closer to completion.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Otto:「Cough, Ghack...!」
Garfiel:「Brotto, are y' okay!? Cough the water up! Cough 't all out!」
With tears streaming down his face, Otto violently coughed so that he could force out the water that had filled up his lungs. Seeing how dangerous his condition was, Garfiel helped him cough the water out; but, as expected, having his body shaken up and down, dangling upside down by his feet racked Otto's mind and body in pain.
Though thanks to that, he managed to cough out all the water that had gotten into his lungs.
Garfiel:「Shit! What th' fuck happen'd…..!?」
Otto:「...The city's watergates have been opened, I think. As a result, the streets have been swallowed up by water. Even though we desperately fought to hold the Witch Cult back, everything has come to nought.」
Otto muttered this to Garfiel, whose fangs were trembling, as they gazed at their surroundings at the spectacle of the submerged city. After hearing that, he took a look at his friend's green eyes, his friend whom he regarded as a younger brother, and noticed that they were warped by grief. Otto cast his gaze down.
The current state of the city that had plunged into an all-despairing situation could be seen everywhere, even if one were to take just a glimpse. Luckily, Otto had been picked up by Garfiel and hoisted over his shoulder, with them fleeing to a height where the water barely reached. However, how many people in the city would have managed to do the same?
Garfiel:「Everythin's at the bottom of the water…..」
Rooted to the spot and wide-eyed, Garfiel was stricken by the enormity of the flood that had assailed the city. Although he hadn't heard the story in detail, Otto got the feeling that Garfiel had experienced quite an impactful encounter in Pristella. The existence of such a desirable opponent would have been something quite important for him.
――This flood had even ruthlessly washed away the people Garfiel held emotional bonds with.
Otto:「...No, not just that.」
Though he was worried for Garfiel's state of mind as well, what Otto must have been concerned about was the others who had gotten caught up in this.
Starting with Anastasia―― Echidna, who had brought back the unexpected report, and everyone else, including the Royal Selection candidates that had gathered to hear her report would have fallen victim to the disaster.
They had been gathered to warn them about what had happened, but it seemed like it had ended up backfiring.
Otto:「I'm going to say something harsh. Garfiel, please stand up. We have to deal with this situation just like we did the Witch Cult last time.」
Garfiel:「B-But…. Brotto...Y'see…..」
Otto:「WHAT WOULD BECOME OF US NOW IF WE SIT HERE LIKE SIMPLETONS DOING NOTHING!? NEITHER NATSUKI-SAN OR EMILIA-SAMA ARE HERE! PLEASE STAND UP, GARFIEL! IT'S JUST US LEFT!」
Garfiel:「――――」
Grabbing him by the collar, Otto shouted at his friend whom he regarded as a younger brother whose face had a look of feebleness etched on it. He knew it had been overly harsh of him to explode like that, but with him being so slow to grasp how things were in this moment, he had chewed him out.
In having had his withered heart be the object of his scolding, a fire was kindled within Garfiel that made him stand up.
If he could achieve that, then he did not care about being deemed as insensitive. ――Even if he was hated by Garfiel later, it would be far better than if he wasn't able to fulfill his duty.
Otto:「We need to search for survivors, and then meet back up with the Royal Selection candidates, the Knights or anyone else who might be left. If the attack on the city is from a hostile individual, then we need to reassemble our forces and fight against them…..」
Garfiel:「――Tch! BROTTO!」
Otto:「――!?」
By instructing Garfiel about his compassionless decision, Otto drove that in as a persuasion for Garfiel. Pushing out his chest, Garfiel roared.
And immediately afterwards, a flash of light pierced through straight in front of Otto, who had fallen onto his backside on the rooftop, at tremendous speed, faster than the eye could see.
Otto:「GHAAAAAAAAAAA!」
For a moment, Otto's entire body was engulfed by burning pain from the light which had slightly grazed his chest. There wasn't any bleeding. But, there was a scorch mark on his shirt, and his skin underneath it had been charred.
The true form of the white light of now was pure, intense heat. And, that white light was――
Garfiel:「RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA――!!」
Giving a howl of rage, Garfiel forcibly parried away each one of those white light rays, those white rays of death, that hurtled towards them at lightning fast speed.
Wielding the silver shields fitted on his arms, Garfiel challenged that overwhelming force of incredible speed head on. A hyper-dimensional battle which Otto could not keep up with had commenced.
Nevertheless, he did have a decent idea about what was happening.
Otto:「Where did it come from...」
Whilst he endured his pain, Otto looked around his surroundings and concentrated on finding where the flashes of white had been fired from. It was likely that the culprit who had fired those attacks at Otto and Garfiel was also the culprit who had opened the floodgates.
Of course, the enemy that came to his mind was them being a Witch Cultist――
Otto:「――hk, from all the way over there!?」
Far, far away, at the edge of his sight, one of the floodgate's control towers came into view―― A flash of light could be seen from where Otto and Garfiel were, coming from the top of the tower which stood almost on the opposite side of the city.
Immediately after he thought he'd seen that flicker, the light instantly came surging to where they were. Somehow, Garfiel was still fending them off right now, but――
Garfiel:「THINGS ARE GONNA KEEP GETTIN' WORSE! BROTTO, FIND A PLACE TO HIDE! MY AMAZIN' SELF'S GONNA BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA THIS BASTARD!」
Otto:「GARFIEL! WILL YOU BE OKAY IF YOU GET CLOSER!?」
Though Garfiel roared that out, by no means was what he was saying a good idea in this situation.
The speed at which the approaching rays of white light moved at was completely out of the ordinary; the distance which separated them from their opponent was such that Garfiel was only barely able to mount a defence against them.
If he got closer, the time he would have to deal with the rays of light would decrease respectively. Even the difference of an augenblick would be fatal in a hyper-dimensional battle.
Garfiel:「EITHER WAY, THERE'S NO OTHER WAY! IT'S JUS' US TWO! ISN' THAT RIGHT!?」
Otto:「――. You're right. GARFIEL!」
Garfiel:「HYYYAAAAH!!」
Repeating what Otto had said before, Garfiel took a mighty step forward and leapt up. Making use of a building which could barely be classed as a foothold in the city still submerged by the flood, Garfiel zealously drove forward, and determinedly made his way towards the city's control tower where the white flashes of light had been coming from.
Garfiel:「GRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa――!!」
One shot after another, Garfiel braced himself and somehow managed to keep ahold of his footing whilst the shock of each impact racked his body as if paralysing him to the bone.
The opponent was formidable.
In addition to their attacks' pinpoint accuracy from so far away, the sheer amount of mana that they put into these potent attacks without missing a beat, was far from normal.
If he considered his position where he had kept his distance from the start, it was a terribly favourable situation for his opponent.
Otto:「Even so...」
His grasp of how skilled his opponent wasn't sufficient enough that he could give this up. And beyond that, what his opponent had done was seriously, completely, completely unforgivable.
It was likely that an unimaginable amount of people had become victims with the Watergate City Pristella sinking to the depths. One after another other, tragedy had engulfed the city which still hadn't completely recovered from the after-effects of the Witch Cult's last attack. ――Caught up in the midst of that as well, was the family which Garfiel was tied together with by blood.
Garfiel:「――Tch!」
So to not let his mind dwell on that, Garfiel gritted his teeth, and frantically shook his head.
But, in the end, try as he might, nothing about what was on his mind would change. Sorrow and anger wasn't what mingled together in the depths of Garfiel's chest; rather, his heart was engulfed by a dark fury, as he continued to grow more enraged.
If he put that dark fury into his fangs and claws and struck down the enemy with it, then ――
???:「――Garfiel」
Suddenly, a voice reached through to his skull amidst his tempestuous fury. The voice had just called out his name. If it had been just that, Garfiel wouldn't even have taken any notice of it.
However――
Garfiel:「――Captain?」
It was a completely different story if that voice belonged to the person he had long awaited to return. Letting his green eyes spin around, Garfiel looked around in the middle of the hyperspeed battle for the figure which had spoken.
――From the start, Garfiel hadn't believed a word of the report which Echidna had brought back.
To begin with, Echidna was a name which Garfiel couldn't put any trust in. Of course, he had warned Subaru about the dangers of the being that called herself that name, and on top of that, she had forced him to head to the Pleiades Watchtower.
Even so, on seeing Echidna return taking the form of Anastasia, Garfiel had regretted his thoughts as having been shallow, naive and immature.
He had considered following her so to find Subaru, Emilia and the others as soon as possible.
It was just after he had proposed setting up that discussion to Otto that the flood had come rushing into the city. It seemed like Otto was thinking as he usually did, but Garfiel sunk his strength into his fangs and adamantly refused to admit that his thoughts had been wrong.
For Garfiel, it didn't seem like Subaru was the sort who'd screw up.
That's why Garfiel found hope in having heard Natsuki Subaru's voice here. He would turn the tables around in this situation where absolutely everything had come to a dead-end.
He looked around for his figure so that he could cling onto such a convenient illusion――
Subaru:「Your heart can't grasp the most important thing about yourself. ――Still, your family's eyes are sharp.」
The moment that he came into view, Garfiel furrowed his brows in bewilderment. Not because the mutter had reached his ears. His mutter had been inaudible. What had caused the change in Garfiel's facial expression was purely his surprise at what was in front of his eyes.
Garfiel:「――――」
Beneath his eyes, there was a figure looking up at Garfiel, who was leaping towards the white light. His appearance certainly seemed to be the same as the one he knew, but.
Garfiel:「――Who th' fuck are you.」
When he shifted his attention to his nose, a familiar smell slipped into his nostrils. However, it was his instinct, not his five senses, that tried to deny the familiar figure below him.
A lapse that lasted not even a fraction of a second was born in his thoughts.
Nevertheless, it was a fatal lapse.
Moving towards there was――
???:「――Gotcha! Tah-dah!」
Garfiel:「Ngh」
From in front of him, a black haired woman came plunging forward, and threw out a kick with a semi-enthusiastic cry. Catching her kick immediately with both of his shields, Garfiel absorbed the attack which felt like he had been rammed by a dragon carriage.
Even so, she was not an opponent with whom he could deal with in this situation. He couldn't afford to direct his attention in two different directions, both in front of him and beneath him.
Black-Haired Woman:「Not so bad, but myyyy love for Master is a 100 times better than that .」
With a smile of satisfaction adorning her face, her palm rose towards the front of Garfiel's face. In an instant, with all of his hair standing on end, Garfiel tensed his body and quickly moved his face backwards――
「*Squelch*」
The blow pierced straight through Garfiel's abdomen and his organs spilled out from his back.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
――Otto's thoughts spun rapidly as he looked at the petals of blood blooming in mid-air.
Otto:「――hk」
Clenching his teeth, Otto cursed the cold-hearted part within himself. It was quite the odious thing to him that under these circumstances he was trying to calmly get a grasp of the situation. His friend whom he regarded as a younger brother had been blown away right in front of his eyes. And even then, he still couldn't get emotional at all.
Even in this overwhelmingly unfavourable situation, Otto's attention was focused on his surroundings in an attempt to find a means of escape.
If he used his『Divine Protection of Anima Whispering』then a faint glimmer of hope would emerge, no matter what the situation was. By putting faith in that mantra, he'd overcome every single hardship he'd come across up until now.
That's why――
???:「It's regrettable, but even rats end up drowning when they're soaked in this much water. Seems that the guy you were talking with is nowhere to be seen.」
Otto:「――――」
A voice, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, quietly struck Otto's eardrums.
The sound of footsteps slowly approached within the world which seemed to have fallen dreadfully still. Swivelling his head around to look at where the footsteps were coming from, Otto held his breath for a moment.
And then, he let out a short gasp.
Otto:「...You truly are beyond recognition, Natsuki-san.」
Subaru:「Is that so? If you're talking about me, then I don't really understand myself well, but….」
Otto:「 I think you'll clearly see what I mean if you look at a mirror. Ahh, that's right. Didn't Echidna-san's story say you lost your memories. Is it because of that that you don't understand yourself?」
Subaru:「Hahah, maybe so. More clearly, if I could be different in every single aspect, then well, I'd definitely give this up, but…..」
Whilst scratching his cheek, the opponent laughed at Otto's jabs. What should he call his opponent; what name should he call out? Composure and impulsiveness cried out in unison within Otto's head. Hesitating on the right choice of what to call that, hesitating on there being no other way to call out to that, he shouted.
Otto:「You're...」
Subaru:「Even if you don't say it, I know. My name is… Natsuki Subaru. I'm broke beyond compare.」
Otto:「――――」
Subaru:「I've heard a lot about you as well. You have quite the reputation. Finally we've met, Otto.」
Saying that, that individual―― who took the appearance of Natsuki Subaru, but looked completely different to the one Otto knew, laughed.
His lightless left eye had clouded over, and his hair had gone completely white for god knows what reason. As he smiled from ear to ear like he was somewhat off his rocker, Natsuki Subaru kept laughing.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Patching together, patching together, continuing to form its shape.
Patching together, patching together, continuing to mould its shape.
Patching together, patching together, continuing to fill in the colours.
Patching together, patching together, patching together, and continuing towards bringing himself closer to completion.