[ "It cannot end! This is impossible to end! Since it has come to this, no matter what, I must… I have lost all my 'Fingers', if this continues, I am certain to perish… However, however, however! I still have! A remaining vessel… available for use!"
Then, his laughter grew increasingly manic, increasingly loud— "Ah— my brain is trembling."
"Yuriusu! Dispel it quickly!"
Subaru said hurriedly, then threw a shiny object… upon closer inspection, a conversation mirror, to Yuriusu.
"Understood."
Yuriusu said, catching the conversation mirror and dispelling the Nect.
In the next moment, the vision distorted, and the color tones became dim once again.
Then—
"Just as I thought! This body can function as a vessel to contain me! No matter how you obstruct my advance! There is absolutely no way to defend against this technique! Ah, ah, you truly are Sloth, aren't you!"
Subaru… or rather Petelgeuse, leaned back significantly, his eyes and mouth opening to their absolute limits. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Natsuki-san!"
Otto shouted.
"Subaru-kun!"
Every time she saw that guy possess Subaru-kun, Rem became uncontrollably furious.
"There there, nyaa, there there, nyaa. Ferri-chan knows you are all worried about Subaru. So, it's time for Ferri-chan to make an entrance! Tora Tora Tora!"
—
[ "Come now, this is your friend's body! Can the high and noble knight bring himself to strike?"
"Indeed, I cannot bring myself to strike him."
"Since that is the case!"
"You should say 'precisely because of that'."
Then, Yuriusu took out that conversation mirror.
"Ferris, it's your turn!"
"Making Ferri-chan do this kind of thing, Subaru really is a huge jerk! I'll have to properly deal with you after this is over!"
"So what? The Unseen… Urgh, Aaaaaah?"
Then, he let out a miserable scream.
"Ah, uh, ooh… Wha, hat, is happen, ing…"
Then, just like the last time he was possessed, Subaru's voice rang out in the scene.
It must still be coming from his soul, the voice of his consciousness.
"If the body you were supposed to occupy… cannot, move normally… then aren't you, completely helpless?"
The voice sounded strained; Subaru was feeling that pain as well.
"Could it be… Could it be could it be could it be be be be be be be be be, you! You even predicted that I would transfer into your body?"
"Do you even need to ask?" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"This… Is this… killing from a distance?!"
Garfiel exclaimed in shock.
"Nyaa-ho, that's right. So Garfiel better be honest with Ferri-chan, otherwise…"
Ferris deliberately put on a scary act.
"Ferris, I do not believe this is something to joke about. Please clarify quickly."
Crusch said sternly.
"Ooh… Okay, nyaa, okay, nyaa, Ferri-chan was wrong. Actually, because Ferri-chan interfered with Subaru's gate during treatment, I can remotely use water magic to make the mana inside Subaru explode. Ah, at the end of the last loop, Ferri-chan unleashed this very move."
Ferris explained.
—
[ "With this, the body you pinned your last hopes on is useless… It's about time you had thoughts of giving up, right?"
It was still the voice of Subaru's heart.
"Give up? Would I give up? How could I possibly give up! I will just seize your body like this, and then let me use me, rely on me, it is exactly me become as for my me ah?"
This time, it was the voice of Petelgeuse's heart.
The two began a battle of consciousness once again.
But the difference was that last time Petelgeuse had the upper hand, but this time, Subaru was one step ahead.
Petelgeuse's words had lost all logic.
"If I were to die just like this… it would leave psychological trauma on Ferris… Besides, I don't want to die, I want to settle the score with you in my own way…"
"You, what are you saying… You still want! To take something from me?" A voice of fear.
Petelgeuse was trembling uncontrollably, his voice quivering.
"Are you scared? You, who have committed all sorts of crimes until now, are scared at this late juncture?"
"Everything is for love! The goal is to repay that favor and love! When have I ever provoked you? You are nothing but blocking my path, nothing but hindering me! I'm the one who should ask, just what do you want? Your actions are just taking your anger out on random people… Truly, completely wrong, utterly absurd!" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Now even I can hear it, Petelgeuse is afraid."
Otto said from outside the screen.
"That felt really good! Right, Bro Otto? Boss is so cool!"
Garfiel said.
"I didn't expect the madman to think like that at the time… When you were wreaking havoc, did you not once think of the fear of others?"
Yuriusu gritted his teeth.
Everyone could see it; Petelgeuse had been driven to a dead end.
He was terrified; the man before him, Natsuki Subaru, was his nightmare.
—
[ "…There's no point in saying anything more to you. There are some people, you know, whom you can never understand, no matter how much you bare your heart to them, let alone when the other party isn't even human."
Facing Petelgeuse's terrified words, Subaru responded calmly, and there was even a sense of disappointment and discouragement in his tone.
"You, about me, exactly… how much do you know?"
Everything had been seen through, including the fact that Petelgeuse was an Evil Spirit.
"Forcibly forming a contract with someone who has the aptitude of a Spirit Arts User, and using that to occupy the other's body, this is the true form of your 'possession'. Sin Archbishop… no, it should be the Spirit, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti!"
"To actually compare me— Shut up! To actually compare me! To the likes of a Spirit! Don't lump me in with that kind of low-class trash! What do you! Know of me! It was love that changed me! It was love that gave me will, gave me a reason for existence! Furthermore, all of this is thanks to the Witch's favor! Then I should rightly dedicate this body, this soul to the Witch!"
The voice roared.
But this denial, akin to a thief crying 'stop thief', perfectly confirmed his identity: that of an Evil Spirit.
"Flying into a rage from shame after being hit on the mark. Regardless, your high-minded theory is truly wonderful, Mr. Bishop— then I'll make an exception and let you meet someone."
"What did you say? Meet who? What exactly are you saying?"
"…Naturally, it is to meet the Lady Witch you have been waiting for so long." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"So this was the key!"
Otto came to a sudden realization.
"This… Ah… I… I have an ominous premonition."
Al said.
—
[ "I return by 'Death'…" Subaru once again spoke those taboo words, and then time stopped.
…
This was a space of darkness…
The Garden of Shadows.
Petelgeuse's consciousness was forcibly dragged here, sitting blankly… no, since he had no physical form, saying he was sitting blankly in the Garden of Shadows wasn't very accurate.
Then, a mass of black shadow drifted over, and slowly coalesced into a human shape… ]
.....