3
“ ”
Batenkaitos slumped, his eyes wide and empty.
And the one who had done it, Emilia—
“Hooray!”
—nodded cheerfully and raced over to Beatrice, giving her a high five.
Seeing that, Subaru looked over at Ram.
“Umm, so basically…?”
“Using Lady Beatrice’s Murak…shadow magic to erase her presence, Lady Emilia stealthily snuck behind the enemy. It is a method that fits Lady Emilia, but…”
Ram massaged her brow, as if feeling tired. Noticing that, Emilia cautiously peered at her…
“Umm, was that bad?”
“…No, it was splendid. Yes, it was truly splendid.”
Swallowing her mixed emotions, Ram praised Emilia and looked at the slumped-over Batenkaitos with withering disappointment.
I totally get you. To think Batenkaitos, who I had thought of as a mortal enemy, would be this easily beaten.
“It’s all thanks to Betty and Emilia’s splendid teamwork. Be grateful.”
“That was more like a head-on collision. But either way, good job, both of you! Let’s get him tied up quick and go take care of the next problem!” Subaru patted Beatrice’s head.
“Wait. You intend to let him live?” Ram furrowed her brow. “He will be nothing but a potential threat.”
Her concern was natural. Subaru also wanted to avoid leaving any loose ends. Even if it was just the shallow peace of mind gained by killing someone.
“I’m not saying tie him up because I don’t want to kill. The whole reason we came to this tower is to save the people whose lives were stolen by them, wasn’t it?”
“That’s true. All the more reason…”
“There’s no proof that what he’s eaten will be returned if he’s killed, right? Not only that, but we’ll also lose our chance to pry that information out of him if he’s dead. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“ ”
He had already asked Louis Arneb about memories and names that were eaten. Her answer was that she didn’t know how it worked. But that was just her answer. There was no guarantee her brothers’ answers would be the same.
“If you have a way to get the answer out right now, then fine, but without that, we don’t have the capacity to deal with him now. There are plenty of problems besides him.”
“…The tower rumbling, and Julius and the others being missing are concerning.”
Ram scrunched up her face in thought as she listened to Subaru’s argument.
“Ram, I agree with Subaru. For now, I’ll make ice shackles so he can’t move, and we can ask him more later.”
While Ram was thinking, Emilia chimed in on Subaru’s side. She swung her arms, and there was a crackling sound as ice formed around Batenkaitos’s hands and feet, binding him tightly.
“See? That should be enough, right, Ram?”
“…Understood. However, when it comes time for discussions, please allow me to handle it personally.”
“—? Okay, got it. I’ll let you talk to him.”
Emilia’s and Ram’s understanding of the word discussions were not quite in sync, but Subaru couldn’t find a reason to explain the difference or to stop Ram from handling the interrogation.
There was no reason for him to feel sympathy for Gluttony.
“So Subaru, we’ve taken care of Gluttony here, but what next? Reinforce Shaula and Meili? Or…?”
“Yeah, about that. Just give me a moment. I’m thinking.”
Subaru put his mind to figuring out what their next steps should be.
Of the five obstacles, they already had party members set out to deal with the demon beast stampede and with Reid, and unexpectedly, Gluttony’s intrusion had been beaten back by Emilia and Beatrice’s teamwork.
The remaining obstacles were the mysterious giant scorpion and the specter of demise that crushed the entire tower, and of course the remaining Gluttony, who had not shown himself yet.
“Louis said the names ‘Lye’ and ‘Roy,’ so…if Batenkaitos is Lye, then the other should be Roy. He hasn’t shown himself once yet.”
There was trouble happening all around the tower. It was hard to imagine there was yet another obstacle he wasn’t aware of, and he didn’t want to dwell on the possibility.
If nothing else, it didn’t seem like the shadow of the other Gluttony was lurking around any of his comrades who were scattered around the tower.
Meili was currently fighting the demon beasts swarming around the tower, Echidna was moving Rem and Patlash toward Taygeta, and Julius was moving violently around the second floor.
“—Julius is having a rough time. That must be Reid.”
“Subaru? What are you talking about? Where are you looking?”
“Where? What are you talking about, Beatrice? I’m…”
Glancing at Beatrice, who was peering up at him, he suddenly realized the weirdness of what he was saying.
He couldn’t say what exactly he was looking at and how he knew.
“What is this? I can tell where everyone is…and what they’re doing? I can see…?”
Clutching his chest, Subaru confirmed the feeling—the inexplicable sight that allowed him to sense something like faintly glowing lights.
It was the same feeling that he’d noticed in the middle of the last loop—he didn’t know how to describe it, but it was a sort of sixth sense that let him feel the presence of his comrades in the tower.
“ ”
The way he had managed to find Ram and the others on the way here with unerring accuracy was a sign of his subconscious knowledge. He had just accepted it as naturally as if he’d been born with a third arm.
But Subaru didn’t know anyone who naturally had a third arm since birth.
“—!”
Subaru finally realized how unnatural this all was and groaned. The repulsive, incomprehensible sensation was physically nauseating.
“Subaru!”
Beatrice steadied his shoulder as he stumbled. Noticing something was strange, Emilia raced over, too, but he held his hand up to stop them.
“It-it’s okay. I’m just a little lightheaded…”
“Are you sure? You look awful. It might be because you read Reid’s book of the dead. Maybe you should hide somewhere.”
“Don’t bench me like that, please. I’m just in the middle of upgrading.”
“Upgrading…?”
Emilia cocked her head at the unfamiliar word. Even as he was thinking that her gestures were cute, Subaru desperately tried to get his newfound powers under control.
I don’t know how this happened, but I can’t let this sixth sense slip away.
With all of his comrades scattered right now and virtually unable to fight himself, this was an authority that Subaru wanted more than water in a desert.
“Quit acting up and become mine—”
The unnatural third arm had emerged in response to the cry of Subaru Natsuki’s soul.
—So it should answer my call now.
“ ”
As he made that wish, the third arm took root inside him.
It allowed his sense to extend for an unbelievable range and perceive his comrades all around the tower as faint lights.
“I can vaguely tell where everyone is…and if they’re safe or not. With this…”
I can still be useful for breaking out of this situation— Just as he thought that…
“—Ahhh, you’re so stingy, mister.”
…there was a voice slithering along the ground that drew their attention. It was the resentful—no, the jealous—voice of Batenkaitos, whose limbs were still bound in ice.
He had apparently regained his consciousness. Before any of them could react, Batenkaitos closed one eye. Then his body disappeared.
“Wh—?”
“Subaru Natsuki.”
While they were stunned by his magic act, Batenkaitos crossed the sky with his mouth open wide. His toothy maw uttered Subaru’s name just before his red tongue danced.
He couldn’t move in time. His instincts recoiled in the face of a predator telling him he was about to be eaten.
Batenkaitos’s mouth closed on Subaru’s neck.
“Thanks for the mea—”
—A flash of light passed over the top of Subaru’s shoulder and tore into Gluttony’s wide-open mouth.
“ ”
It happened in an instant. Neither Subaru nor anyone else had been able to move.
Batenkaitos alone let out a stunned sound as the light pierced his body and blew him away before he managed to reach Subaru’s neck.
Rather than the bloody left side that had been carved up by Ram, it was the right side of his face that sustained a grievous injury. Even that was putting it mildly. There wasn’t much left. The area from his right cheek to his right eye was completely gone, leaving a wound that didn’t bleed, because the flesh had been seared. This was the work of the same white light that was still being unleashed at Batenkaitos as he flew through the air.
The beams pierced Gluttony’s body one after another, completely obliterating him.
Bound hand and foot and hurtling through the air, Batenkaitos couldn’t evade. His last hope was that instant teleportation, but it didn’t seem to be activating, possibly because the source of that ability had already been destroyed. His arms, legs, torso, and head were all swallowed up in dazzling white light.
“Huh? Isn’t death supposed to be more…?”
In his last moments, he started to say something, but he never got to finish.
It sounded like he was about to comment on his impending death, but no one would ever hear the rest.
Most of his body was erased, and what bloody chunks of flesh remained had been scattered across the corridor.
Confirming Gluttony’s demise, Subaru exhaled, remembering to breathe again. Then his heart leaped in his chest. It started pounding furiously, like it wanted to make him understand how close he had come to dying and being robbed of something important.
“Th-that was dangerous. I almost got eaten… Thanks.”
Even as his knees almost gave out, Subaru’s face went slack in relief.
This was the result of his underestimating Gluttony’s eccentric fixation. Fortunately, the one who paid the price had ended up being Batenkaitos.
“I wanted to keep him alive, but I won’t ask for too much,” Subaru said as he wiped his forehead. “You saved me there, Shaula.”
“…Shaula?”
Beatrice’s voice was incredibly grave. Finding that reaction strange, Subaru glanced over at her.
“Beatrice? What is it? Why the face? I know it was a close call, but…”
“No. Not that, Subaru. How can you say that’s Shaula?”
“How…?”
He was confused, not understanding her question.
What do you mean ‘how’? I know because I know.
The third arm that had stuck onto him, the sixth sense that let him know the current location of his comrades, was telling him that she was standing at the other end of the hall.
When it came to why she was there, he didn’t know. She was supposed to be on the balcony with Meili, dealing with the monster hordes.
Why was she in a perfect position to protect me from Gluttony?
“Subaru, get back.”
“Emilia-chan? What are you…? Why do you look like…?”
Emilia held out her hand, taking up position in front of him. Ram was standing silently beside her, wand in hand and eyes fixed on something down the passage where the white light had come from.
Their caution was strange. It didn’t make sense. He could feel it down the passage. A faint light. His sixth sense was letting him know an ally was over there. That’s what the light was.
“—Shaula?”
“ ”
When Subaru looked, he could see the giant scorpion with its multiple red eyes overlapping with a faint light.
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