CHAPTER 127B: NEVER QUIT
The only observable thing in this room is the white woman in the coffin.
Emilia: “Then, this thing she's entombed in... is the mechanism to turn off the barrier?”
Says Emilia after looking over the room, looking perplexed with her head tilted. There are no nice and obvious levers, or spellstones you just have to crush. A dim glow shrouds the transparent spellstone encasing her, and Emilia can tell that it is siphoning mana. The only functioning thing in this place is this coffin.
Emilia: “Seriously, who is she... maybe Echidna's mother?”
Emilia thinks back on the witch who always looked so disgusted around Emilia. She also had white hair and wore black clothes, like the woman in the coffin, and Emilia remembers vividly how attractive her features were as well. The visage of the witch in her memories and of the woman in the coffin have many points in common.
Like the positioning of her closed eyes, or the shape of the bridge from her lips to her nose. Echidna had looked like a late teen, while the woman in the coffin is more in her early twenties. Perhaps it's better to think her Echidna's older sister than her mother.
Emilia: “And... there's no name. But this is supposed to be Echidna's tomb.”
Except Emilia goes in, to find that the woman in the coffin is not Echidna. Perhaps the tomb's name was a deception, or—
Emilia: “Maybe this is Echidna, and the girl I saw in the dream wasn't Echidna?”
It's a crazy theory, and even Emilia has to shake her head. Leaving aside whatever Echinda would say, Sekhmet surely would have mentioned something. And now it's too late for Emilia to simply regard anyone else as being 'Echidna'.
Emilia: “It's Echidna's tomb, but someone else is sleeping here... might be what's happening.”
If so, then they better change the name of the tomb. It says that ECHIDNA RESTS HERE. But it's someone else's place of slumber, which causes lots of problems. Offerings will be going to the wrong person, among other things.
It's not the most clear-cut of conclusions, but still Emilia reaches it as she inspects the coffin, taking care not to touch the thing. She glances over the flow of mana. It appears that the coffin and the tomb are absorbing minuscule amounts of mana from the earth linked to the tomb, and are using that mana to power some kind of algorithm. It's an infinitesimal load of mana it's absorbing, but it's still powering as something as huge as the barrier, indicating that it's gathering the mana from quite a large area.
'Earth linked to the tomb' had been a literal statement. The entire breadth of the forest inside the barrier is probably the tomb's power source. And the tomb takes tiny loads of mana at a time so that it won't affect that power source.
Emilia: “It's amazing... so amazing, that I have no idea what it's doing...”
The algorithm is siphoning a flow of mana, powering the magical faculties. Emilia can write simpler algorithms, but the complexity of the algorithm for the barrier around SANCTUARY far exceeds her comprehension. If she stops these processes, she doubts that they will ever restart. Not that there's any need to restart them.
Emilia: “There. If I cut off this flow, that will probably sever the supply.”
Emilia follows the flow of mana and locates the origin point for the barrier, which uses the coffin as its nucleus. Inside the tomb, where the woman's hands are folded atop her stomach—is the exact point into which the mana flows. If Emilia meddles with the mana there to disrupt the algorithm, then that will terminate all of this tomb's faculties.
Emilia: “—”
For a moment, she hesitates. Terminating the tomb's faculties will probably damage the mechanism that starts the TRIAL. Which means that she'll no longer be able to enter the castle of dreams.
—She will probably never get to have that tea party with Echidna.
The witches, or at least Sekhmet, know about Emilia's mother. She had felt both awe and nostalgia for Sekhmet's overwhelming power. She wants to know what exactly that sense of familiarity signifies. If she cannot enter the castle of dreams, she is furthering herself from that goal. And that—
Emilia: “—I just can't let go, can I?”
With that mutter, Emilia disrupts the weak flow of mana transmitting from the coffin to her fingertips. A shift occurs in the power that supports SANCTUARY's faculties and comprises its barrier. It meddles with the critical parts of the algorithm, compounding from a small into a massive alteration. The glow eventually melts away, all signs of the algorithm vanishing from the spellstone coffin. All that remains after one last flash of light is the pure spellstone, with the woman still sealed inside.
Emilia: “...I guess that's the end.”
Having observed no visible changes, Emilia timidly looks around the area. The flow of mana previously circling through the tomb is gone, leaving the tomb as nothing more than massive stone building.
With a quiet sigh, Emilia leans against the coffin. The tomb has probably stopped rejecting the unqualified now. Emilia ought to bring Roswaal or Lewes inside, being that they probably know what's going on, and ask them who the person slumbering here is.
Emilia: “It's over... yes, it's over...”
By repeating the statement over and over, Emilia attempts to catch the truth that she is not feeling. She thinks back on the lofty talk she gave to Roswaal before challenging the tomb. Roswaal had told her: All you have to do is procure the results you desire.
Emilia couldn't suppose what his sentiment had been, but she doubted that he wanted her to beat the TRIAL. Though, he was also the one who beckoned her here and was endorsing her as a Selection Candidate, leaving her befuddled as to his reasoning.
Emilia: “Teacher... is what he said, right?”
What she also recalls is this person who Roswaal called TEACHER. Even someone at the pinnacle of magicianhood like Roswaal would, naturally, have had a master. Roswaal's master, that being this person called TEACHER, had started SANCTUARY with him.
Emilia: “And maybe... that was you.”
Thinks Emilia as she strokes the coffin. If Roswaal had his Teacher, someone irreplaceable to him, then perhaps this white woman would suitably be it.
Emilia: “—I need to talk to everyone.”
Emilia shakes her head and pulls her gaze away from the coffin. Though, she will have to postpone the talk about the entombed woman. According to Subaru, if they fail to exit SANCTUARY before tomorrow night—that is, dawn of the day after next—then something terrible is going to happen. If anything obviously out of the ordinary happens in SANCTUARY, run away as fast as you can, he said.
Though she has a whole day of extra time, she doesn't know whether any unforeseen circumstances are going to pop up. She trots out of the room and into the hallway, making her way to the exit. If things are still the same, then Lewes and the people of SANCTUARY should be waiting for her outside.
Emilia's footsteps peal over the stone as she runs down the corridor, before exiting the dark tomb for open plaza. Where,
Emilia: “—Huh?”
Met with a blizzard raging through SANCTUARY, Emilia breathes a hazy, white breath.
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The snow encompasses everything in sight. The gale roars close by, and the snow thieves her body of warmth. After a white puff of breath, Emilia's amethyst eyes blink as her throat freezes in shock.
—What on earth happened!?
???: “—lia-Sama!”
The wind howls. Her chilled ears throb in pain. Frigid gusts feel to slice at Emilia's skin, dressed lightly as she is, when she hears a voice calling from beyond the blizzard and stops still.
Snow has already accumulated up to Emilia's knees and threatens to swamp her down. She takes every step forcefully, trudging through the frost, to find silhouettes gathered beyond the veil of white. They must be the people of SANCTUARY. Meaning that they waited for Emilia in this blizzard, without ever retreating indoors—
Emilia: “Everyone! Why are you all outside in this sn... huh?”
Emilia imagines everyone huddled together to stave off the cold, when she stops. There are about forty SANCTUARY dwellers including Lewes. That's a huge number to start with, but Emilia also spots someone who shouldn't be here.
???: “Emilia-sama! Is the TRIAL over!?”
The speaker is a young man with a crew cut. Emilia knows him. Because she spoke with him before coming to SANCTUARY, and she would have spoken to him even had he not acknowledged her.
It's a youth from Arlam Village's young men's brigade. Seeing him, when he's supposed to have left SANCTUARY several hours ago on Otto's instructions, makes Emilia's eyes shoot open. And what surprises her even more is that it's not just him.
With crewcut as their leader, Emilia spots several other people from Arlam. They have come in carriages, huddling with the people of SANCTUARY inside the vehicles or in its shadow to endure the blizzard.
Emilia: “Wh-why is everyone...? But, didn't you evacuate?”
Man: “Yes, we did. On Subaru-sama and Otto-san's instructions. They said that the dragons know the way, so just run.”
Emilia: “Then why!? Didn't you hear that it's going to be dangerous here?”
Man: “We have heard. And we were told.”
The youth grits his teeth, before raising his head and pointing beyond the forest.
Man: “To wait outside the forest, return once the signal appears from SANCTUARY, and retrieve those still here.” Emilia: “Huh?” Man: “Such as Ram-sama and the others. Anyway, they would fire magic into the sky. We were to return to SANCTUARY once we saw it, load the residents into carriages, and leave.” Emilia: “Who gave these instructions!?” Man: “Otto-san did.” Hearing Otto's name makes Emilia think of that flaky-looking merchant.
Though, no matter what impression he gives, he is Subaru's friend. Every time she sees the two talking jovially, it reaffirms Emilia's assessment that he's someone capable of rivalling Subaru. Otto had definitely planned a lot of the happenings in SANCTUARY, starting with the Garfiel affair, while acting as Subaru's co-conspirator. Meaning that these instructions are hugely significant.
Emilia: “B-but, this was still reckless. The blizzard is blowing so hard... you should've known that doing this was crazy!” The man says nothing.
Emilia: “What's wrong?” The man makes an awkward-looking expression and averts his gaze. Emilia doesn't overlook his reaction, instead pressing him further. Emilia's amethyst gaze pierces him. He puts his hand to his brow, and sighs a frigid-white sigh.
Man: “Otto-san told us that the truly dangerous thing would be if it snows prior to the signal. Since snowfall marks the time limit... he told us to immediately leave the forest then.” Emilia: “They even knew about the snowfall... no, just, nevermind that. Why did you come, then!?”
Man: “—Because it snowed.” The man straightens his back and gives his firm reply to Emilia's wails. His gaze is so strong, Emilia falls speechless.
They knew that snowfall meant danger. And they saw it snowing in SANCTUARY, and understood that they had reached the time limit for that danger. With that knowledge, they chose to come here. They sped here, to where the residents of SANCTUARY were in danger.
Man: “We suspected that Subaru-sama or yourself would have done exactly this.” Emilia: “—” With a wry smile, the man answers the question in Emilia's throat.
So the evacuees overlooking the carriages behind him were Arlam's young men brigade. Since their goal is to evacuate the people of SANCTUARY. Everyone unneeded must have left them and evacuated. That said, those who left would be forced into the tribulation of evacuating by foot. And these men were here, because they judged that this was correct.
Man: “Emilia-sama, if the TRIAL is over... can they exit this place?”
Emilia: “Y-yes, they should. But, with this snow and wind...”
The man gazes at the ground, clicking his tongue in frustration. Snow has piled so thick that walking even a short distance is a trial. Carriage wheels won't find any purchase in this; they are stranded. But if they could at least find somewhere warm, where many people could bide through the cold—
Emilia: “If we can't relocate as far as the cathedral... let's get everyone inside the tomb. The mana there keeps the inside warm, and we don't have to worry about the building collapsing beneath the snow.”
Man: “It's possible to go in?”
Emilia: “I turned off the tomb's dangerous mechanisms, everything's dandy now. Anyway, are you able to transport everyone as far as the tomb? And the dragons should be loosed from the carriages and let inside too.”
The six dragons had accommodated the brigade and brought them all the way back here. Even in this instant, the dragons' carriages are protecting two digit columns' worth of people. It's inconceivable that they could possibly abandon the dragons.
The man nods with a, “definitely.” This should be good enough to deal with the snow for the moment. The issue now is that something dangerous is going to happen alongside the snowfall.
Emilia: “I wish we'd actually talked about this beforehand!”
Emilia mourns the lack of time she had to speak with Subaru before challenging the TRIALS. This probably happened because Subaru didn't want to leave Emilia with anything that would needlessly worry her. Though she's glad for his thoughtfulness, it's ridiculous that it's going to hamper her reaction to the danger. Emilia can think of three people who, like Subaru's group, probably know about the snow. That is Roswaal, Ram, and—
???: “Yer've done well ter make it back ter us, Emilia-sama.”
Emilia: “Lewes-san!”
A pink-haired girl hops out of a carriage and onto the snow—Lewes. With now short she is, the snow that reaches to Emilia's knees reaches to her thighs. She trudges laboriously through the snow while Emilia hurriedly approaches her.
Emilia: “The TRIAL's all over now! Is everybody here!?”
Lewes: “All erv SANCTUARY's people, en all erv the humans who came back fer us err present, yes. But...”
Emilia: “But?” Lewes: “Miss Ram and Lil' Roz ain't here. The two'erve them have been somewhere else since before it started snowing.”
Emilia gazes over the people and the carriages.
She does not spot that familiarly bizarre outfit, nor that dependable pink-haired girl. Emilia: “If I don't search for them... Lewes-san! Do you know? What's going to happen if we stay in SANCTUARY with all this snow?”
Lewes: “—”
Lewes's cheeks stiffen and she lowers her gaze. Emilia recognizes what this means. Lewes knows what is happening. She knows what the danger is. Emilia: “Please tell me, Lewes-san. We have to prevent it.” Lewes: “But yer see, the timing fer it's off. Lil' Su said that Lil' Roz's planning fer snow ter fall tomorrow night, so there muster've been some mistake fer it to be snowing now...”
Emilia: “What mistake, it is snowing right now! So! We need to do whatever we need to do when the snow comes! Lewes-san!” Emilia puts her hands on Lewes's small shoulders as she attempts to persuade her.
Lewes's sour expression shifts, until she's left staring at Emilia in dumb shock. Emilia: “Wh-what's wrong, Lewes-san?” Lewes: “...Emilia-sama. Have yer gone into the building deep in SANCTUARY's forest?” Emilia: “Deep in the forest? No, I haven't...” Emilia tilts her head in confusion. Lewes: “That isn't posser...” Starts Lewes, before looking at the tomb behind Emilia. Lewes: “Then maybe there wers sermthing in the tomb... that seemed special, perhaps? Like, perhaps.... a giant spellstone, er something similerr.” Emilia: “—There was. A sooo giant spellstone. I kinda wanted you and Roswaal to look at it later...” Emilia glances around the area, then draws her lips near to Lewes's ear.
So that nobody else can hear her, as they begin preparations to move the dragons.
Emilia: “There was a woman inside the spellstone. I don't know who she was.” Lewes: “—!” This information rocks Lewes's expression.
Lewes's eyes shoot open as she stares at Emilia. After a long, long sigh, Lewes: “Then...” Lewes nods as if agreeing with something. Lewes: “Understood. Emilia-sama, ask whatever yer wish. I'm obligated ter answer you. Obligated ter follow yer orders.” Emilia: “I'm not ordering anything!” Lewes: “Listen. That thing yer touched in the tomb ers a spellstone that picks who's qualified ter command LEWES. Yer now hold those qualifications instead erv Lil' Gar. I... no, we, shall obey you.
Please order us however yer wish.” With that solemn reply, Lewes attempts to lower herself while thigh-deep in snow. This will result in her kneeling and burying herself head-deep in snow, and panics Emilia. She promptly grabs Lewes by the shoulders to stop her.
Emilia: “Awuh! Right, okay! So I can ask things from you, Lewes-san. Then I'll ask this. Please tell me what happens when there's snow in SANCTUARY.” Lewes: “...Lil' Su says that once it snows in SANCTUARY, the witchbeast SIZEABLE HARE will come. It's drawn here by the mana in the algorithm ter do something as massive as change the weather ter snowfall... ers the word.”
Emilia: “Algorithm to change the weather... then, somebody's behind this!?” Lewes silently nods. This is magic immense enough to manipulate the weather. Puck could easily do this, if he was being serious. Which makes Puck the most suspicious candidate, but considering Lewes's attitude and the context of the situation, Emilia immediately lands on the culprit. Emilia: “...Is it Roswaal?” Lewes: “Most likely. I think Miss Ram left ter try and stop him. But if the snow came anyway, then it's possible that...”
Emilia: “Stop. I don't want to think about it. Anyway I need to find them. Lewes-san, I'm going to start searching the village for them. If you have any ideas where they could—” Lewes: “No need fer that, Emilia-sama.” Lewes interrupts Emilia with incredible confidence.
It's like she knows exactly what Emilia's thinking, and it makes Emilia gulp. And,
Lewes: “Us Leweses keep a close eye on everything in SANCTUARY. —We'll find and get yer ter them in a jiffy.”
Lewes gives Emilia her stamp of approval.
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Ram, as she lies unconscious, almost looks to be merely sleeping.
Roswaal: “...Ram?”
Roswaal draws the fallen, limp girl into his arms, jerking her . But Ram gives no reply. This girl. Who would put aside anything to give Roswaal's words priority. Ram.
Of course she doesn't reply. Ram is dying this very instant. And it's all because of Roswaal. The burning of the gospel had sent him into a fury. His vision seethed with crimson, he had no idea what was anything anymore, but he knew that he could not forgive Ram for doing this and—
Roswaal: “—”
—Struck her with a ball of fire while she was undefended, blasting her away. She had overtaxed herself with imperfect oni strength, and burdened herself with the exact same fatigue only hours earlier. Ram's body had reached its limit. When a fireball blasted her.
Her life hangs in the balance.
Roswaal: “...Ram.”
Roswaal cannot remember what he thought as he drew near to her prone form and touched her. Even now, as he holds her close and gazes at her sleeping, he does not think anything.
Roswaal regarded Ram as an incredibly convenient pawn. She had gone through ordeals by his hand, and their contract preserved an extremely simple relationship between them. He exposed his true thoughts only to Ram, and spoke of his goals only to Ram. He believed that, once that goal was achieved, he would hand himself over to her as his reward for his accomplice.
But Ram betrayed Roswaal partway through his course. Ram's statements had been correct; going by her contract, the script for the situation had not unfolded as Roswaal intended, and her rebellion was her pre-established revenge. So he will not fault Ram. If forced to say anything, then he would've liked her to postpone her revenge and administer it once the situation about the barrier had been definitely determined. Then there was the topic of his bet with Subaru. Garfiel had been unexpectedly pliant, and some sympathetic-sounding talk had seen Emilia reattempt the TRIAL, but ultimately Subaru's speeches were the ramblings of a weakling.
It is impossible to defy a predetermined future. The path to reach that future may change, but events will still lead to the destined end. Should someone stray from the path leading to the correct ending, what awaits is doom. But they're still resisting it, and it makes Roswaal laugh. And the fact that Roswaal knows this, and knows how weak he is for fearing their actions, also brings laughter.
Why are they trying to change anything? He can't understand it. Once any feeling reaches its peak, once it apexes, it will never fade in intensity. If you love someone, if your heart ever blazes with love for someone, then that heat, that brilliance, ought to be eternal.
And the same concept applies even if the emotion in question is hatred. Feelings you have held for a long, long time ought to ascend to legitimacy. Feelings fostered over time are ironclad, never to yield to anyone. They absolutely must be.
Garfiel's hatred for the outside has shattered. Emilia has accepted her detested and sorrowful past. And Ram's endless, vengeful hatred for Roswaal has,
Ram: <I am in love with you, Roswaal-sama.>
Roswaal: “—!!”
A love confession like a curse, burning deep in his ears. Words that came from the mouth of the girl in his arms, which absolutely never should have.
Had the contract been binding her heart or soul, then he would have understood it. Her burning desire for revenge had been converted into subordination to Roswaal, and her hatred into affection. Which was why Roswaal had Ram assist him in his goals more than anyone else, and trusted her for what would come after their realization more than anyone else.
Because Roswaal believed in her love-converted hatred, and her vengeful desire to kill him. Because he believed in the hatred in the eyes of the girl he first met, and how she gazed at him with absolute murder.
—And yet Ram betrayed her own vengeance, to extol love.
Roswaal: “Why did you, Ram? ...I don't understand it...”
Roswaal hears how her faint breathing grows distant, and senses that Ram's life is ending. Her heartbeat fades. Something screams that this mustn't continue. His right eye aches. Aches, so terribly. Stop! Stop asserting yourself. He's going to lose himself. What should he do? What must he do? He cannot tell what it is he needs to do, and what it is he mustn't do. He cannot remember it. He cannot conceive it.
He looks around the area. Nothing here is what he seeks. The gospel, which told Roswaal of the correct path, has been lost in flames. Nobody will teach Roswaal. What is the choice he must make here? Nobody will teach him. There is nothing for it now.
Roswaal: “—Wailing wind beckons the snow, light upon the earth repatriates to sky. Each droplet is silence given form, ivory untouched by past karma's favour laments unchanging eternity—”
A canto. This hummed, lilting canto gives direction to the power wreathed around Roswaal L. Mathers. The vast store of mana interacts with the refined algorithm, bringing dark clouds to the night forest. Frozen wind whips past, and a chill cold enough to freeze to the core rages through SANCTUARY. Clouds burdened with snow shroud all of the enclosed forest, and white frost dances to the earth.
—This is the power of the massive-scale magic algorithm ULTIMILLION.
Roswaal: “—ugh, khh,”
The canto ends, and the extensively-held magical power is released. A massive load of mana is ripped out of Roswaal, and even he, who boasts a transcendental store of mana, feels somewhat dizzy.
Mana for magic this extensive should truly be built up over several months, and its should be used on a smaller area. Roswaal is irregular for procuring the mana over only two days, and for affecting a range more than twice the size of the usual. After the magician who achieved this feat gives a long sigh, he finds himself utterly lost on what to do.
Roswaal: “I've made it snow, as the gospel tells... what do I do now?”
Roswaal has forgotten that he has made it snow one day earlier than what the gospel's writ stated. Or actually, not even the bet occupies any corner of his mind any more. Roswaal does not pay any heed to the process. His only concerns are for how the events around SANCTUARY conclude. Snow falls, and the barrier is undone. Should that happen, should that happen—then what happens?
Roswaal: “Ram... yes... Ram.”
He can no longer hear Ram's breathing. Roswaal looks down at her face, and gently touches her forehead. Her transformation means that her scar, where her horn used to be, is bleeding. Roswaal wipes away the blood, and as he always does with Ram, injects colourless mana formed from a combination of all six mana types into her. This was a ritual the two had always done, so that Ram's oni blood would not conquer her.
It's not that he's thinking anything. Roswaal unconsciously understands that he is merely betting that her vitality as an oni will keep her alive. He has no questions about saving her. Ram needs to live. For the sake of Roswaal's goals, and for what comes after the realisation of those goals.
Roswaal: “Teacher... Teacher, I... What! Am I supposed to do! Teacher... Teacher! Please tell me... please... guide me, again...”
Roswaal's confusion reaches its pinnacle, and he cannot even comprehend his own heart as he wails. Though he is trying to ensure Ram's survival, his anger about her betrayal remains. He knows that he has lost his beacon, but still searches for that old light.
The snow falls, encasing Roswaal and Ram in white flakes. Everything drowns in the white, disappearing.
With the thought of, and perhaps that is fine, not present in him in the slightest.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Emilia cuts through the snow, breathing white puffs as she dashes onward.
Emilia: “Huma! Again, Huma!”
She shouts, casting ice magic upon ice magic. She is doing it to avoid time loss from her feet getting bogged in the snow. She uses her magic to purposefully harden the snow, giving her a path to sprint upon. Some people might slip and find themselves in quite a bit of danger by using this method, but,
Emilia: “All! Right! Got it!”
Emilia is a practitioner of ice magic, and grew up in Elior forest. She is accustomed to frozen ground. She dashes over the freezing snow of SANCTUARY as if she owns the place, with her small escort running after her.
Emilia: “Is this honestly working for you?”
Asks Emilia, out of breath, to her guide. The girl looks up at Emilia, and replies with only a nod. They can communicate, but she won't talk to Emilia. This is exactly what Lewes—what the representative Lewes personality—had told her to expect.
Lewes had suddenly begun showing special respect to Emilia outside the tomb. She informed Emilia that she was an entity born from the soul of a girl named Lewes Meyer, and that there were several duplicates of her in the same circumstances. These Leweses functioned as EYES spotted around SANCTUARY, went searching for Roswaal and Ram in the community, and were now guiding her to them.
There exists in the world extraordinarily rare magic called 'duplication magic'. Emilia had never heard about it being utilized on living creatures before, but perhaps it had been done as a kind of forbidden magic. Emilia had kept herself from asking all the questions she wanted to ask, ran through SANCTUARY while relying on the Lewes double, and dashed all about in search of Roswaal and Ram.
Emilia: “If I don't hurry... the Sizeable Hare will show up!”
The witchbeast SIZEABLE HARE. Even Emilia, ignorant of the world as she is, knows the name of this creature. It is one of the three witchbeasts alongside the White Whale and Blacksnake, and like those other two beasts, regarded as a calamity. It is a witchbeast of weak, frail, tiny little hares. But the beast itself is a group of individuals, a horde of creatures. It is not each individual hare, but the entire group of them that is the calamity called the Sizeable Hare. With its endless hunger and overwhelming numbers it would devour everything in its path. But still that would not sate it, and it would proceed to wander the world while cannibalizing itself. Indeed a calamity. The terrifying thing is how it can multiply itself infinitely. The Sizeable Hare will usually be low in number, cannibalizing itself to stave hunger when there is nothing to eat—but should it lay eyes on prey that stokes its appetite, it cannot be stopped. It will compound endlessly in number, gnashing away until the prey is destroyed, then cut its numbers back down as it moves on and leaves behind a wasteland. That's what this thing is.
Emilia determines that she must face this incredible witchbeast. They have already lost the time they need to flee the Hare's attack. The accumulated snow hinders their escape, leaving Emilia and the others without options.
The non-combatants will hide in the tomb, while a frontline is formed at the entrance. That is the only strategy they have for opposing the witchbeast. It'll be Emilia and Roswaal. If possible they'll include Ram, needing to assemble all the combat power available in SANCTUARY. And so—
Emilia: “—”
Snapped treetrunks and buildings battered from battle. Gashes in the earth, and unnatural pilings of snow. —A man and a woman, close together in a tree's shade. Having found Ram limp and sleeping, and the dazed Roswaal, Emilia shouts.
Emilia: “—Roswaal! Ram!!”
Emilia leaves the silent Lewes double behind as she slides over the frozen snow. She manipulates the ground beneath her however she wants, scattering flakes of ice as she moves like a snow pixie, before grabbing Roswaal's shoulders as he lies motionless and half-buried in the snow.
Emilia: “Are you listening!? Roswaal, come on, Roswaal! We're in trouble! We have to save everyone! This isn't the time to be frozen!”
Roswaal: “—”
Rocking him makes the snow fall off Roswaal's head. It reveals his expression, and Emilia clicks her throat. Roswaal's face as he looks at Ram, his eyes dim, looks feeble.
Emilia: “Roswaal...?”
Roswaal says nothing. He hasn't even noticed Emilia. His lack of reaction scares her, and she lowers her gaze to what is cradled in his arms. There sleeps a pink-haired girl,
—With snow on her cheeks, showing no signs of melting.
Emilia: “—! Ram? Ram!”
Emilia calls to Ram in Roswaal's arms, and tries waking her up. But Ram gives no particular reaction. Of course she doesn't reply, but she doesn't open her eyes either—in fact, her eyelids don't even twitch. Emilia touches her cheek, and her lips, to find them abnormally cold. As if she's—
Emilia: “That, isn't happening!”
Emilia rejects her ineffectual thinking as she grits her teeth and reaches into Ram's clothes. Her hand strokes across Ram's chest, where she finds a faint heartbeat. It could disappear at any moment, frail, and feeble.
Emilia: “—She's alive! We're okay! We still have time, Roswaal!”
Yells Emilia with hope as she glances back to Roswaal. But Roswaal remains with his hand on Ram's brow, looking utterly dazed. And Emilia notices it. There is a massive amount of mana flowing from Roswaal's hand and into Ram. And this is acting as Ram's lifeline.
Emilia: “Then, you're saving Ram's life...”
Roswaal: “—”
Emilia: “—!”
As she hits upon that truth, Emilia also hits upon the bitter truth. Ram is unconscious, in dire condition, and Roswaal must administer the delicate treatment to heal her. They cannot participate in the fight. Meaning that Emilia must face the Sizeable Hare on her own.
—Can she do it?
This monster is one of the three that has survived for four hundred years, since the WITCH OF ENVY's era. Who could guess how many people had steeled themselves to face this thing, just as Emilia was now? None of them had managed to destroy the beast. How does Emilia propose to fight it alone? Without Puck. Only Emilia.
Emilia: “If we go now...”
Maybe they can still run? But what are they meant to do if it chases them? If they encounter it without any refuges or hiding places, then Emilia cannot protect the civilians from the beast. Guarding somewhere like the tomb presents the most potential. It hurts that Roswaal and Ram can't help in combat, but Emilia musn't abandon the fight.
Emilia: “Roswaal. Bring Ram and come along with me. Everybody from SANCTUARY... mm, everybody is taking shelter in the tomb. And I'm going to protect them. Don't give up on healing Ram, and—”
Roswaal: “It's useless.”
Emilia meets Roswaal's eye level and begins to tell Roswaal of her resolve, when his whisper interrupts her. Roswaal stares at Ram's face, his eyes still hollow.
Roswaal: “Useless. Everything is... I don't know the future. I don't understand myself. ...This world is done.”
Emilia: “So you're back to saying this! Who cares about the book! Maybe someone kind of important wrote it, but how does that have any say in what we do!”
Unable to bear his resignation, Emilia raises her voice at Roswaal. Why is this happening? This is not the Roswaal that Emilia knows. Always composed, making bold decisions like nothing, acting like he knows absolutely everything there is to know, all with a grin. Wasn't that Roswaal?
Who is weak man, who has given up on everything, looking like a cornered and lost child?
Emilia: “Roswaal. I can't understand what you're feeling or how you're hurt right now. I do want to understand, but there's no time for me to learn. ...But I want to make that time. And so I need you to work with me.”
Roswaal: “—”
Emilia doesn't understand Roswaal. He could continue being like this, and she still wouldn't understand him. But if they converse, and divulge their feelings, there are things she will understand. And things she will never understand if she never does this. And things that will never be communicated, if the time for them is never given. Emilia needs to create the time they need to grow closer to one another.
Emilia: “Please, stand up, Roswaal. Neither of us are ending here. We won't let Ram end either. We're all going back to everyone, together, and—”
Roswaal: “I...”
Emilia is insistent. But Roswaal does not meet her gaze. He continues staring down at Ram, his scarlet lips moving to say:
Roswaal: “I, quit...”
Spoken so quietly, it could disappear. The frigid, whistling winds do whip by, and the words are barely audible. The whisper hardly left his lips. It's questionable whether Roswaal himself even heard it.
But she definitely does hear that quiet sound of surrender. And so, Emilia—
Emilia: “—Don't you dare say that!!”
—Grabs Roswaal by the collar, and screams in anger. The movement rocks Roswaal's head, and he whimpers in pain. Emilia assaults him, unrelenting, with her words.
Emilia: “You quit!? What are you saying 'you quit'!? There is nothing out there to possibly quit! There is nothing for you to quit! Don't you dare give up! Don't you dare surrender! Not me, or Ram, or you, have any single thing we're possibly done with yet!”
Roswaal: “—”
Emilia: “I finished the TRIAL! The past I was so scared of! A happy present that could've happened! Sad futures that might come! I saw them all! And I still decided to walk this path... and with that resolve, I can finally walk it!”
She howls. Wrath beyond what Emilia can ever remember surges up inside her. Yes. There it is. Listen to that whiny voice, hear those pathetic opinions, see that gutless spirit. This is what it looks like when you accept surrender as your end.
Emilia's roaring makes Roswaal's cheeks stiffen, and he averts his gaze. This is not him being worried for Ram, this is him distracting himself and running from something he doesn't want to see. Emilia grabs him by the jaw and forces him to face her.
Emilia: “Look at people's faces when they are talking to you!”
Roswaal: “—hk”
Emilia: “You won't understand what people are thinking if you don't look them in the eye. You won't understand why people are doing what they're doing if you don't look them in the eye. Keep your eyes on mine, hear my voice, stand up, and follow me.”
Roswaal's odd-coloured eyes blink as if realising something. His lips twitch. But he manages no words.
Roswaal: “—auh,”
Emilia: “I'll never let anyone say that they quit. As long as you're alive, there's nothing out there for you to quit. And—I am not letting anyone die here!”
Emilia gets to her feet. Turns around. Over ten Lewes doubles have assembled here. All of them kneel reverently, awaiting orders.
Emilia takes a breath, and shouts her command.
Emilia: “Take Roswaal and Ram back to the tomb. I'm protecting everyone, no matter what.”
Speaking grandly, and aware that she only acquired this right by coincidence, Emilia leads the obedient Leweses as she breaks into a sprint through Sanctuary's snow. The Leweses group together to support Roswaal and Ram, taking turns to make the path while following after Emilia.
—Emilia no longer hesitates in her course for an instant.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
And the tales— “No need to push yourself so hard, Emilia-tan.” The boy who cherishes the girl who decided to protect everything returns to her side, “You can hold off and fall back. —The inaugural battle of deliverance is here.” “I'm sorry. That kind of went over my head.” Their usual banter makes her smile as she supports her failing body, her eyes tracking the white silhouettes as they press forward.
The two silhouettes, walking hand in hand. She hears two voices as well. They sound lively, and, feeling that she has been waiting to hear this, the girl's heartbeat pounds.
“What comes next is a complete unknown, in fact.”
“Yeah, we'll be doing something about this. —Together, me and you!!”
And the tales converge, their wishes perfect mirrors as they enter the finale.
Knight and Princess, facing beast in blizzard-swept SANCTUARY. A Knight who cannot manage on his own brings a magician at his side, consecrating everything to victory.
—The final battle of SANCTUARY commences.
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