CHAPTER 103: START OF SANCTUARY, START OF DESTRUCTION
Theta: “These memories are fragmentary, but I have figured a sorter chronology to them. I think, most probably, this ers the way things proceeded...”
Subaru: “...”
Subaru responds to Theta's faltering speech with silence. He can only choose silence. The information load he's been given is too heavy, and he needs to organize it before he can properly come up with anything to say.
The foundations of SANCTUARY, back in the generation where Lewes Meyer lived. Meaning that these were events from four hundred years ago, where there casually existed a witch. Where there existed the WITCH OF GREED, Echidna.
Subaru: “Honestly, I can't imagine a time where Echidna was just strolling around the place.”
Theta: “The Great Witch's presence might feel distant ter yer, Lil' Su, seeing as yer weren't involved in things back then. Or no, rather, I just feel that she's close, it ersn't that I know her directly.”
Subaru: “When you talk about things you vaguely know about as if you actually lived them, it feels like you're on the first step to senility. Anyway... Echidna visited SANCTUARY a lot?”
Theta: “It's jerst happening because they're not truly my memories. But, guessing from what I've seen and what they said, it seems like the visits were reasonably frequent.”
Unlike Theta, who saw the memories, the whole story lacks in truthiness for second-hand-listener Subaru. But if there were anything about what Theta said that was bothering him, it would of course be—
Subaru: “Beatrice and Roswaal were in SANCTUARY 400 years ago too...”
Theta: “Like I mentioned, Beatrice-sama was as Echidna-sama's daughter. And fer Lil' Roz, the Roz I'm talking about wers the founder erv the Mathers household... the first generation Roswaal, who created the opportunity fer the Mathers household ter enlarge. The name Roswaal ers inherited down the line.”
Subaru: “...Was he friendly with Beako?”
Theta: “From the look erv things, had a charming relationship with her.”
What Theta's story made him envision was Beatrice exactly, dishonest as ever. So she had gone four hundred years without changing, never being upfront with anyone, always curt? Even four hundred years later, her attitude remained the same? Without ever allowing anyone to see how she truly felt, hiding her sentiments inside her little self. Unchanged.
As he recollects on the girl in the Archive, a keen emotional pain runs through Subaru's heart. He puts his hand to his chest, enduring the sensation as he shakes his head.
Subaru: “It surprises me Echidna brought Beatrice along with her. From how she was talking, it didn't seem like she had any kind of familial love for Beatrice.” Theta: “It ersn't that I've ever met the Great Witch directly. But going from what I saw in Lewes Meyer's memory, it feels like the Great Witch did have some kind'er humanity.”
Subaru: “Somehow, I'm agreed with you there.” Say that she doesn't match Subaru's conception of Echidna, and the story ends there. There was a gap before and after her death of four hundred years, and that is how much time she spent.
Perhaps it wouldn't be strange, in that castle in a dream, for her to inadvertently take an estranged view on life. Subaru: “My end with her was definite, and I'm seriously still trying to put hopes in her?” Even he has to call it unsalvagable weakness.
This is different from with Ram and Rem. Echidna understood Subaru's feelings and hopes, and with that understanding, attempted to trample all over them. There should not be any future where he joins hands with her now.
Subaru: “Anyway, everything so far's been a charming reflection on the past. Doesn't feel like anything terrifying enough happened for you to purposefully be hiding it from everyone, Theta¬san.”
Theta: “—”
Subaru: “Please tell me what came next. What happened back in SANCTUARY, where everything seemed right?” In response to Subaru's low-voiced demand, Theta sips her cold tea.
She mutters to herself, Theta: “Tastes poor...” Theta: “What happened, is it?” Subaru: “—” Theta: “Ruin happened. And I learned the true reason why SANCTUARY wers made.” Subaru: “True reason?” Subaru swallows his breath. Theta nods.
She narrows her eyes, again opening the lid on her memories. Theta: “The Great Witch and the first Roswaal were in SANCTUARY back then. If something intimidating and outter the regular happened, it wouldn't just be me, anyone in SANCTUARY would feel anxious abert it.”
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
—The air hung taut and heavy. Parched was Lewes' throat.
???: “We must flee here immediately. The preparations are not in order yet. —That he currently knows SANCTUARY's location means our plans will fail.” ???: “—” ???: “Teacher! Even these moments are precious! He is... he's already nearby!” The slender-faced boy slammed his hands on the cabin's table.
This boy was one who never lacked in composure or grace—presently, wearing an expression abounding in frantic panic. The listener to his appeals was, her eyes closed in silence and hands linked together, the Witch Echidna. The boy leaned forward toward Echidna, gesticulating intensely as he appealed again.
Boy: “We have no time to hesitate! His power is immense! And I cannot be your strength yet! Should you ask I be your shield, I will shield you gladly. But as we currently lack countermeasures against him, even should I shoulder the role, it will amount to my purposeless death...”
Echidna: “We do have methods. —To an extent, I had anticipated this.”
Interrupting the boy—Roswaal's—speech, Echidna opened her eyes and glared at the grain of the wooden table. Roswaal: “Wh?” He exhaled in astonishment. Echidna quietly shook her head. Echidna: “I've formulated theories over my multiple trips into SANCTUARY. The conditioning on the barrier should function with considerably high probability.” Roswaal: “T-then, we...!” Echidna: “—But the NUCLEUS to activate the barrier is insufficient.” Roswaal: “—” Roswaal's expression was one of hope, until Echidna's pained voice made him swallow his breath. Echidna: “The barrier will not operate without a NUCLEUS. Without the barrier, it is impossible to repel him from here. If we can't preserve a safe zone, he'll eventually find and destroy us.”
Roswaal: “Which is why we took careful time, preparing this SANCTUARY... we got so far, and... we were only one step away!” Wailed Roswaal in frustration as he slammed his fist on the table.
The aged table's legs creaked. Roswaal's hand seeped with blood.
Silence fell upon the room. The hour stretched late. A viscous, phlegmy weight infected the air. Amidst this environment, a girl nervously raised her hand.
Girl: “Erm, about the barrier's NUCLEUS... could I perhaps do it?”
Echidna: “—”
Girl: “I heard before that this would be possible. That I concord with the conditions for your barrier, Echidna-sama. ...Which she said was why she was paying me privileged attention.”
Echidna: “—Beatrice did?”
Girl: “Yes, ma'am.”
Nodding with quiet determination, her hair pink and long, was Lewes Meyer. Her cheeks pulled taught with resolution as she stared expressionless Echidna in the eye.
Lewes: “Beatrice-sama said that you have confirmed the concordance between myself and the requirements. I suppose those multiple mana extractions over these past months have been related to that.”
After a slight silence, Echidna nodded.
Echidna: “Indeed, you do have high compatibility with the barrier's assembly. It will be possible to maintain the barrier if we keep you inside SANCTUARY. I have theorized this much. If we take more time, and harmonize your mana and SANCTUARY's earth into even concord, it should be possible.”
Lewes: “You mean to say that we cannot presently do it.”
Roswaal: “It's not just some simple barrier. For this one to break is impermissible. We've paid careful attention, proceeding with matters cautiously. We keep the half-bloods we've assembled over the years inside to condition the barrier. We need you for the final push. But...”
Roswaal cut off his speech, his expression chagrined. Lewes did not understand the exact details, but it appeared that even with clever Echidna and Roswaal conspiring together, a difficult obstacle was impeding the plan's success. Were there truly no means to do something?
—Surely there are, determined Lewes.
Lewes: “Is there no kind of definitive method?”
Echidna: “—”
Lewes: “...I am an individual saved by yourselves, Echidna-sama and Roswaal-sama. I came to this land, entered into a life absent of disparagement and ostracization, and was happy. If it is possible that I may repay my debt for having partaken in this experience, I am sure that would be my reason for living.”
She presented her heart. Lewes clenched her pale hands so tight that they whitened even further, Echidna's black eyes steadily freezing, losing their warmth. It was instead Roswaal, standing at the witch's side, who found himself beset by complex emotion.
Roswaal: “T-Teacher...”
This was not a statement to entrust the decision to Echidna, but a statement carrying the nuance of you couldn't possibly...
Nevertheless, it was what pulled the trigger.
Echidna: “—If we crystallize your od and turn it into the nucleus of SANCTUARY, we can shorten the process to harmonize the soil and your mana. We'll likely erect the barrier.” Lewes: “And in doing so, save SANCTUARY?” Echidna: “Avoiding the ruin that the approaching threat presents will likely be possible, yes. And if we can just buy ourselves time, we'll probably also be able to refine countermeasures.” Lewes: “—” Echidna's response was no mere consolation. She spoke neither consolations, nor statements of wishful thinking.
If Echidna determined that something was possible, it was possible. Meaning, if Lewes sacrificed her life, that would definitely protect this land. Her dedicated desire to repay her debt would assuredly be fulfilled.
Lewes: “...When do we start?”
Echidna: “—If possible, I'd like to start preparing immediately. I'll ready the anchor for your crystallization, and assemble the algorithm. The one to buy us time against the threat will be...” Roswaal: “My role, correct? I'll work to my utmost ability. ...Lewes-kun.” Roswaal raised his head, his face grim. No frailty or weakness rested in his expression any longer.
He gazed the determined Lewes straight in the eye. Roswaal: “I apologize. My ability is too lacking to save my Teacher.” Lewes: “No, Roswaal-sama, you are my benefactor and have conferred me with an irreplaceable time. I am grateful for that, and there is no grudge to hold in the least.”
Lewes put her hand to her chest as she shook her head. Roswaal took a short breath in, a breath out, and looked at Echidna. Roswaal: “I'll leave immediately. Teacher, your preparations... and, please summon Beatrice.” Echidna: “...Don't you think it'd be better for Beatrice not to know?”
Roswaal: “If we do not call Beatrice now at this juncture, she'll resent both of us for the rest of her life. ...Though, she still might even if we do call her.”
Echidna: “She will? ...Alright. I'll call her afterwards.”
After watching Echidna nod, Roswaal turned to exit the room. Partway along his departure, he placed his hand on Lewes' shoulder, and gave a single, firm squeeze. The slight pressure of his nails informed Lewes keenly of the fact that Roswaal cared about her. She shut her eyes.
Lewes: “...Beatrice-sama.”
Quiet, muttered words. The thought of the absent girl led Lewes's heart to, minutely, wrench.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Again, a shift in scene.
Lewes: “—”
—As she witnessed that overwhelming pressure, a terror even greater than being resolved for death sprouted in Lewes' heart.
Roswaal: “—ghaa, hgu”
Roswaal shrieked in pain, spitting blood, as his body flew horizontally across the surface of the ground. Seeing him fallen shoulders-first to the ground, casting up clouds of dust as he tumbled, all Lewes could do was watch on in such stunned astonishment that she forgot to breathe.
Roswaal L. Mathers, who manipulated six hues of magic, and despite being a teenager, had scaled to the highest peak of the sorcery that the human race could accomplish. With his overpowering magic he scorched swaths of land to ash, sliced through stone cliffs with blades of wind, created waters to reverse the flow of great rivers, and could manipulate earth and rock to craft castles. This was something so overwhelming, that not even Roswaal with all his power stood a chance.
???: “...You're still going?”
The boy with his dark brown hair walked, perpetually listless, his head swaying. He was about the same age as Roswaal. The colour of his hair was almost black, with his bangs hanging low enough to cover his eyebrows, and his face attractive enough to be mistaken for a woman's. His drowsy, narrowed eyes were of a dark hue, his shirt white and pants black, and overall he was a person with a horrifically plain outfit.
—With every step he took, with every pebble he idly kicked, Roswaal's body would expel sprays of blood as he ricocheted. Ricocheted. Ricocheted away.
Roswaal: “Ghh! Ghk! Gkkh!”
Boy: “A racket. A bother. Tiresome. Irksome. Drains me. Depresses me.”
The boy spoke lines of negative words, his voice low. But with every mutter and step he took, Roswaal's screams intensified—and despite the distance, Lewes heard his bones creak. Roswaal's fallen body was being steadily pressed into the earth, as if the air overhead was crushing him down. His limbs were already buried in the ground, his flesh torn, bloody tears flowing from his bloodshot eyes.
Boy: “Can't you just stop now? You worked yourself hard. Can't win against me, but you worked and you worked. Entirely worked, and this has to be enough. ...Working hard is pointless anyway.”
Roswaal: “Speaking this, idiotic... How could, I possibly... not stop you, here—ghaaah! Aaah! GuuhaAAaa!!”
Boy: “Haaaaau... it's this that weighs my head most. Nauseates my chest. Dampens my spirits.”
The boy bent his knees and squatted in response to Roswaal's lack of surrender. After giving a deep sigh, the boy stroked the earth. In accordance to the movement of his fingers Roswaal's limbs flattened, twisted, shrieks of pain and severed flesh sounding out in unison.
Boy: “I hate this. I really did back off. It's really been so long since I've backed off this much and it's the worst. The worst, the worst, the worst of the worst of the worst of the worst. —So much tristitia.”
Roswaal: “Gagh, aaugh—hk!”
The moment the boy voiced final word—enough to depress a person just by hearing it, that decisive term—Roswaal's torso crumpled beneath the unbearable, compounding pressure. His abdomen caved in, so much blood abounding from his mouth that one could wonder if he puked out his guts. His teeth bared, his limbs convulsing. The young magician's reward for never once letting his fighting spirit wane was for his lifeblood to be mashed to bits.
Boy: “Aaaauh, aaaaaaaaauh, aaaaaaaaaaaaaauh. What is this. Just whaaaaaaat is this. Look at this. Just look at this. Aaaauh, and I didn't even want to. I feel sick. I feel down. I feel low. All this tristitia. Tristitia, tristitia, tristitiatristitiatristitiatristitiatristitiatristitiatristitiatristitia—”
Roswaal dripped with blood, no longer capable of shrieking. The boy's apathetic eyes gazed at his pulped body, speaking screeds of melancholy mutters. The gruesome end of Roswaal, and the uncanny boy who had brought it about. Lewes was only able to watch as it happened, the situation beyond any help, when she finally remembered that she had forgotten to breathe.
Lewes: “—Hauh.”
Her lungs, strained to the limit, kicked into action as her body and brain demanded oxygen. She needed to take one single breath, get the air inside her, and then hide in silence again. It felt that even a single fluctuation in the atmosphere would catch some fragment of the boy's attention, which terrified Lewes. She had witnessed her benefactor be battered atrociously, but rather than slay the foe, she opted for self-preservation. She did not even recognize in this moment her attachment to her miserable life.
Boy: “Aaauh? Could there be someone over there?”
Lewes: “—hk!”
As if proving Lewes's worries as sound, the boy tilted his head to look towards her. Lewes had been watching Roswaal and the boy fight in the plaza from inside a small building, a little distance away. She had put her eye to a hole in the wall's wood, and peeked through the slim crack. The boy's statement, suggesting that he had noticed that meagre crack from such a distance, made Lewes shiver. There was no way he could have found her. The hole was minuscule. There was no possible way, not in the least, that he could have perceived her. But nevertheless, the boy began walking toward her, without any hesitation.
Boy: “Wellllllllll but you know, it's not like I'm that interested in doing this. Killing everyone isn't going to make anything goooooood happen. ...Would appreciate it if you'd save me some effort, though.”
Lewes: “...Eep.”
Boy: “Hrmmmm. Well, so somewhere kinda around there... no, I'll just do the whole thing. God, I seriously want to just dump everything and go home. I feel sick. I feel down. All this tristitia.”
The boy faced his palm out toward Lewes' building, his gloomy statement her death sentence. A chill raced up Lewes' spine as the stabbing pain of needles jabbed into her skull. Her eyes welled with tears, her throat choked on a wail that she failed to endure. Just like this, an invisible weight would mash Lewes's small body and bones, and she—
???: “AL GOA!!”
With a blooded roar—or no, quite literally a bloody roar—an explosion of flame burned the plaza in crimson. The extravagant heat, warming Lewes's face despite the distance, combusted into existence within a second—its point of origin being the fallen Roswaal's raised hand, its aim being to scorch the boy from behind.
Boy: “—”
Even the boy had to show some unrest in face of this overwhelming wave of heat, and turned around. But turning to face the hellfire revealed that this violence was nothing conquerable within the limits of human knowledge. With him unable to do anything about it, the rush of red light consumed the boy.
Boy: “Sweat is unpleasant. —Irks me.”
—Or would have, if the words he muttered the instant before it hit had not slammed the concentration of scarlet mana to the ground. This blazing fireball—which should have burned the boy into absolute nothing—went without its searing heatwaves even dispersing around the area, and instead shrunk into tiny red sphere and tumbled to the ground.
Roswaal: “Auh, ue, hu...”
Boy: “It still isn't gone, just what power did you put into this? Don't make me use too much strength. The more I do, the more I want to die.”
The boy grumbled as he clenched his raised hand, hard. As if obeying that gesture, the downed, shrunken fireball imploded. The air popped once with a crackle of heat. With that alone, the fire's energy vanished entirely.
Not even the ultimate in fire magic, Al Goa, had done anything. Roswaal in his moribund state had attempted to rescue the situation. Having seen the outcome through, he found himself utterly dumbstruck. He had mustered his dying efforts, for this. Even Lewes, who had managed by a hair's breadth to alter the timing of her death, keenly knew that both Roswaal's death and her own death had merely been postponed slightly.
Roswaal: “You damn devil... no, you damn warlock!”
Boy: “That's a nasty name, it depresses me. Do you think I'm like this beeeeecause I wanted to be?”
Roswaal: “The person who, from limited selections... of how their lifestyle would be distorted, chose for this one, was you. Don't you dare pretend you're a victim... Hector of TRISTITIA!”
Hector: “Your sound logic is painful to hear, and feels mortifying. You really are sooooooomeone I have trouble with.”
The boy squatted down beside the fallen Roswaal. He reached his hand out, toward Roswaal's head. His destruction had been overwhelming, and without contact. Should his fingertips proceed to touch, and the boy proceed to transmit his invisible annihilation, Roswaal's body would be flattened without even its fundamental structure preserved.
Roswaal: “Ghhk... Ul...”
Hector: “You're too late, you won't make it, and I won't let you.”
Said the boy nonchalantly as Roswaal strained his mana in an attempt to cast. The deathly fingers reached Roswaal—sending guaranteed death to the dying figure.
Roswaal: “—Rhu, bhhb”
Hector: “Bones, clattering. Guts, squelching. Heart, crunching. Hoooooow dooooo you like it?”
A short scream. That consisted Roswaal's death wail. The boy looked down at the perfectly motionless Roswaal, wiped his knees, and stood. This time, assuredly, he turned back toward the petrified Lewes. He acted without any warning as he aimed his palm toward her and launched that invisible weight.
Lewes: “—hk”
She could not withstand it for even a second. Pressure pressed down from above, the force many times greater than her own tonnage. That she toppled down to her chest was a fortune, for if her posture had been different, her limbs would have snapped into impossible angles as the force squeezed her prone to the ground.
Hector: “If you can't fight this, you're not Echidna. And if yoooooou're not her, I don't even give a crap any more.”
Lewes: “—e, eep”
Hector: “Be crushed, and drown in the dirt. Save me the effort of digging your gr—”
An invisible hand pulled Lewes' skin taught, the feeling erroneously that of the ground skinning her alive. The instant that she considered the boy's voice would be the last thing she would ever hear, the pressure vanished. She exhaled in ragged breaths, her face dirty with tears and drool as she looked up, wondering what happened. In the path of her gaze was—
???: “Made it in time—would be pretty hard to say in this situation.”
Hector: “Nooooooo, don't worry. Your student did great work stalling me and buying time. Thanks to him things aren't quite going how I wanted, and my mood is seriously wrecked.”
???: “Your speaking really hasn't changed at all. You're exactly the same as when we left each other.”
Hector: “And your gab is dismal as always, too. Why did you start talking in this uncute way? And when you were so cute before.”
The boy shook his head in lamentation. Standing before him, obstructing the space between himself and Lewes, was a black-garbed woman of white—Echidna. The witch glanced at the fallen Roswaal. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Echidna: “This sight pains my chest more than I anticipated. A failure to remain objective toward a result is supposed to be an embarrassing faux pas for me, and yet.”
Hector: “Detachedly dealing with it with your emotions would keep him from resting him in peace, iiiiiiiiin this situation. Not that I care. If you wanna cry, how about we pause for that? Not even I'm so cruel.”
Echidna: “How are you daring to say this?”
While their acerbic words hinted at an acquaintanceship between them, their relationship was blatantly not a friendly one. The two steadily gauged their distance as they faced off. Lewes did not doubt in Echidna's strength, but she had equally believed in Roswaal, and he had been easily crushed by that overwhelming power.
With that established, Lewes could not assert that Echidna's backing gave her any peace of mind.
???: “—Are you going to lie gracelessly there forever, I suppose?”
Lewes: “...huh?”
Lewes raised her head from her prone position, when a hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her up. As the force dragged her nearer, Lewes yelped in surprise and turned around. Behind her was a lovable girl, her expression sour and familiar.
Lewes: “Bea, trice-sama...”
Beatrice: “This isn't the time to be gibbering in surprise, in fact. Get away from here quickly, while Mother is buying us time, I suppose.”
Lewes: “B-But, Roswaal-sama and Echidna-sama ordered me to wait here...”
Beatrice: “It was thanks to said Roswaal's bungling that he realised you're here, in fact. Enough, just follow me, I suppose. Mother instructed me to take you, in fact.”
Lewes: “Echidna-sama instructed...”
Beatrice's brows furrowed in irritation, but regardless her expression was stiff. Even she, abounding in self-confidence as she was, felt overwhelmed by the unknown boy. Nevertheless, she was infinitely stronger than Lewes' own self, who had merely curled trembling into a little ball.
Beatrice: “The preparations are in place. That's what Mother said, I suppose. She said you'd understand if I told you that, in fact.”
Lewes: “—I understand.”
Lewes held her breath as she gave Echidna's message a nod. Beatrice narrowed her eyes in puzzlement of Lewes' reaction, but lacked any time to probe into it. A torrent of mana was peaking behind them. The conflict between Echidna and the boy was only a matter of time. No one could anticipate how the battle would go. The most important factor for securing a definite win would be Lewes's own decisions.
Lewes: “Let's leave. Beatrice-sama, where are the preparations set?”
Beatrice: “...They're inside this old, stale stone room. I transported it along because Mother told me to, but let me tell you it was tiring work even with my Gate Crossing, in fact.”
Beatrice guided Lewes by the hand as they began their migration. Lewes followed after Beatrice's bouncing pigtails, glancing back one last time at Echidna, before sending to her back a bow of her head. —Surely, they would never speak again.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
The crystal was a transparent blue, so beautiful that Lewes trembled.
Beatrice: “Don't get enthralled and stupidly touch it, in fact. It'll swallow you if you do, and you'll become a part of the crystal, I suppose.”
Lewes unwittingly spilled a passionate breath, forgetting the situation. Beatrice stood beside her, arms crossed, as she warned her to do nothing careless. Lewes, quite liable to commit that such-dubbed stupidity, panickedly withdrew her outstretched fingers.
Lewes: “Ah, please forgive me.”
Beatrice: “Whatever, it's nothing to apologize about, in fact. ...So, what now, I suppose? Betty was only instructed to transport the crystal and summon you here, in fact.”
Lewes: “Beatrice-sama, how did you transport the crystal?”
Beatrice: “When you're on my level, it's easy to move something of this par without touching it, I suppose. The accuracy and range on Gate Crossing is enough that Mother praises me for it, in fact.”
Beatrice's expression was dispassionate as always, but perceiving her as nevertheless proud, Lewes's cheeks reflexively relaxed. She had become very accustomed to talking like this with Beatrice. At first she had accepted Beatrice's statements at face value, and been horrifically ashamed with herself multiple times. But over their period of knowing each other, she had learned that the seemingly-imperious Beatrice was actually surprisingly easy to understand. With that knowledge, she was exactly the darling girl that she looked, and Lewes achieved in smiling with her together.
How nice would it be if she continued this commonplace conversation with Beatrice. All while forgetting the disaster besetting SANCTUARY, and the fate awaiting Lewes—not that she possibly could.
Beatrice: “...? That smile you have right now is incredibly unpleasant, in fact.”
Perhaps Lewes's sentiments showed in her expression, for perceptive Beatrice pointed this out. Beatrice had been paying Lewes enough attention that she could determine when her smiles were of a different nature than usual. The moment that Lewes realised this, tears arose at the corners of her eyes. Beatrice's eyes shot open. Lewes hurriedly wiped the stuff away with her sleeve.
Lewes: “P-please forgive me... hk. There's simply some, gunk in my eyes...”
Beatrice: “I-it, wasn't like I was worrying about it, I suppose. —Even Betty at least knows this situation is one where it's hard to say 'stop being anxious', in fact.”
She was off the mark, but nevertheless Beatrice's words were ones of compassion. A warmth spread deep in Lewes' chest. This was the strength that Beatrice's words gave her. Right now, it felt so grand she could boast about her.
Lewes: “Beatrice-sama.”
Beatrice: “What, I suppose? If your preparations take too long, I'm leaving you to go help Mother, in fact. Roswaal's basically presumed dead already, and nevermind it being him if I don't help, he...”
Lewes: “For a very long time, you have taken good care of me. However—now is our goodbye.”
Beatrice: “—wha”
Beatrice blinked in confusion. Beatrice and Lewes, inside a cold stone room—two girls, facing each other.
Beatrice blinked again and again and again before glaring at Lewes, who gazed her straight in the eye. Lewes, who knew her warmth, did not flinch even in the slightest at the sharp gaze.
Beatrice: “What exactly do you mean by goodbye, I suppose? You're running away?”
Lewes: “No, I am not. Should I run and live, perhaps I would someday reunite with you, Beatrice¬sama. But this goodbye shall be one for life. I doubt we will ever be able to speak with each other again.”
Beatrice: “...”
Beatrice pursed her lips as she peered into Lewes' eyes, searching for the girl's intentions. Seeing Beatrice's confusion for the first time ever, Lewes quietly selected her words.
Lewes: “The preparations that Echidna-sama spoke of meant something required for placing the barrier around this SANCTUARY. It apparently should need more time before the barrier can entrench itself in SANCTUARY's soil, but... the present situation means that we do not have that time.”
Beatrice: “Insufficient time... the barrier won't make it? You mean that barrier was an indispensable means to keep that man away, I suppose.”
Lewes: “I do. I have clearly seen the danger of that man. He is a peril. I understand why Echidna¬sama is attempting to defeat him at any cost. And I suspect that Roswaal-sama's noble devotion was because he understood that he could not save Echidna-sama should his efforts be anything less.”
That was how overwhelming that boy was. Lewes did not know in what exact fashion the activated barrier would benefit Echidna, or whether it would contribute to exterminating that creature from existence. But there was one thing that Echidna had assured her.
Lewes: “Echidna-sama has promised me that, should the barrier be activated, it will be possible to protect SANCTUARY. ...However, myself must be sacrificed for this purpose.”
Beatrice: “D-don't say anything stupid, in fact. Sacrifice yourself... you don't have any groundings in magic, how could you possibly...”
With panic in her eyes, Beatrice began to hastily speak. But, being clever as she was, her sentence cut off halfway as her own statement led her to her question's answer. Her eyes shot open in shock as she glanced at the blue crystal looming beside the two.
Beatrice: “You root yourself to the crystal's core... act as the central od, spread around the entirety of SANCTUARY... and if you do that, there's no need to take the time to harmonize?”
Lewes: “Yes. Echidna-sama has stated the same thing.”
Beatrice stood still, wordless. Lewes circled around to enter Beatrice's view, and gave her a smile.
Lewes: “The affinity between myself and SANCTUARY's mana... Beatrice-sama, you are the one who gave assurance about this.”
Beatrice: “—hk!”
Beatrice's face sprang up. Her white teeth bit down on pink lips, blood seeping from the flesh.
Beatrice: “I did'n...hk. Betty... Betty, didn't mean to do that when I... wait, no, wait, I suppose. Wait, in fact. B-Betty will go and speak with Mother, I suppose. Mother might act that way but she spoils me, I know she'll listen to me, and...”
Lewes: “There is no time. We must decide in this instant.”
Beatrice: “Then Betty will go and assist Mother immediately, in fact. If Mother and I are working together, that guy's gonna get trounced, I suppose. And I heal Roswaal up too, and the three of us...”
Beatrice shook her head with childish reluctance, her sentence tapering off to a weak end. Even she herself realised how unpersuasive her statements were.
Beatrice was indeed amazing. Lewes entirely revered how a girl her own age could handle magic so skilfully, and how she never slacked on her daily studies. In the spare time she had while doing laundry, sewing, or cooking, Lewes had always been watching how, simultaneous to her loving respect for her mother and quarrels with Roswaal, Beatrice would diligently practice her magic.
Beatrice accurately understood her own abilities, and so she clearly comprehended the differences in fighting strength between herself and others. She could not expose her mother to danger due to a comforting pipe dream.
Beatrice: “—We can evacuate everyone with Betty's Gate Crossing, in fact.”
Lewes: “...”
Beatrice: “Right? Let's do that, I suppose. I might need to push myself just a little for it, but Betty can manage it, in fact. While Mother is buying time, we gather up everyone in SANCTUARY and have them flee to Mother's mansion, I suppose. I'll find an opening to collect Roswaal, and if Betty and Mother can slip through the door, we'll escape him. ...Yes, this is what we should do, in fact.”
Lewes: “And then live in fear that he will pursue us again? We were ostracised by many people, and now it concludes with us abandoning our place of safety... how much time will we need before we can craft such lives for ourselves again, in a new place?” Lewes shook her head, her statements gentle yet harsh. She saw the wounded look expand across Beatrice's face. An intense pain ran through Lewes' chest. Lewes needed to trample over the compassion of a girl who cared about Lewes, about Lewes's people so much, reject it, and force her own way though. Just to what extent did this cruel and selfish conduct betray the days that they had spent together until now?
—The feelings that they had built up over the days they had spent together, and now, their betrayal.
Lewes: “Beatrice-sama. I love SANCTUARY. I am truly glad that I have been able to live here. I love the smiles of everyone who dwells here. I do not want to lose them.” Beatrice: “—” Lewes: “I have already lived warmth aplenty. I do not think my polluted blood apt for the happiness that I experienced. And so I am satisfied entirely.”
Beatrice: “That couldn't, possibly be... J-just what, kind of place do you all, what true meaning do you think, there is to this place that you...” Lewes: “Yes. We do understand it.” Beatrice: “—hk” Lewes nodded to Beatrice, whose expression was one of regretting her words. Lewes did understand. The true meaning of this SANCTUARY.
Of course she understood that Echidna and Roswaal's gathering of peoples shunned by their races was not out of simple altruism. A paradise where the ostracised and belittled could live their lives with pride—was the superficial hope that they mustn't cling to, but did wish to believe in.
And now she couldn't help but simultaneously resign and comprehend that inevitably, she would always only see the dazzling positives of the place. Lewes: “The purpose of this place is to do something about the person pursuing Echidna-sama.” Beatrice: “...” Lewes: “I now understand that that is what this place is for, and that that is what we are for.”
Beatrice: “If you... if you understand that, then why?” Beatrice shook her head in utter confusion. Lewes smiled in response to Beatrice's pleading gaze.
Lewes: “It's fine. Perhaps that is what it had been at the beginning. But that does not mean that all of the time we spent living here was entangled in Echidna-sama's plots. As was not the case for the all time I lived here, and all the talks I had with you.”
Beatrice: “—”
Lewes: “It isn't the beginning which is important. It's how it ends, and what you feel along the way.”
Beatrice: “—”
Lewes: “My life here was one of happiness. And so I shall pass on for the sake of protecting it. Beatrice-sama, I express to you my gratitude for all the compassion you have given me, and are giving me even now.”
A distant boom echoed to the stone room. This ground-quaking, air-shaking force was an after-effect from the conflict between Echidna and the boy, taking place in SANCTUARY's centre. The fact that it was slowly but steadily approaching proved better that anything that Echidna, fighting to keep the conflict from reaching this place, was not winning.
Lewes: “—hk”
Lewes closed her eyes, steeling her will. Beatrice's shoulders heaved as she frantically forced herself to think, searching for the words. The magic words to dull Lewes's will, overturn her feelings, and reverse her opinions. But such convenient magic existed not in this world.
Lewes: “Beatrice-sama.”
Beatrice: “...What, I suppose?”
Lewes: “Take care not to eat too many sweet foods.”
Beatrice: “—”
She could never stop herself from reaching for the sweeties during teatime, and she was so cute, but it would all be spoiled if she got fat. Her teeth, too, did Lewes want for her to keep pretty. Because, although she did not show it much, she was a truly adorable girl when she smiled.
Lewes turned around and wordlessly approached the blue jewel—the crystal. The deep glow of the crystal, enthralling. Should she touch it, she would truly be engulfed.
Would it hurt, and would she suffer? She was resolved to face her end, but she did not know what form the thing would take. Say plainly that she was scared, and yes, scared was the only thing she felt.
Once that light swallowed her, she would make this SANCTUARY genuine. And if that genuine world would be a place where everyone was kind, and could live their lives in peace...
If Echidna and Beatrice would continue to watch over that SANCTUARY for her...
Lewes: “—”
A tug came at her sleeve. Lewes turned around. Beatrice stood directly beside her.
She was gazing at Lewes with an expression she had never seen from her before, her fingers forlorn as they tugged on Lewes' sleeve. The strength in those fingers was weak, and not even Beatrice could have known what she was attempting to do with this touch. She reached out regardless. Lewes thought it the action of a girl who could not honestly put her emotions to words, expressing her feelings honestly.
Lewes: “—”
Lewes tenderly unhooked the fingers clutching at her sleeve. Their fingertips touched, they shared each other's warmth, making Lewes smile at her end.
Lewes: “Thank you. —Goodbye, Betty.”
—With those words as her last, Lewes's consciousness was swallowed in blue light,
And vanished.
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