[ Petelgeuse's consciousness was forcibly dragged to this place, sitting blankly… no, since he lacked a physical body, saying he was sitting blankly in the shadowy garden wasn't exactly accurate.
Then, a mass of black shadow drifted over, slowly condensing into a human shape…
"…Uh? Ah—"
Noticing the black shadow… noticing the Witch of Envy, Petelgeuse's "eyes filled with hot tears" as he tremblingly "reached out his hand," thirsting for that love.
And the Witch of Envy also reached out her hand, slowly approaching Petelgeuse.
"I have finally waited for it… Your love, your affection, your favor…"
However, in the next moment, the Witch of Envy's hand passed right through him.
"…Wrong." A voice rang out.
"…You are not that person." The voice was incredibly familiar.
And the tone held not only disappointment but also dejection, yet the greatest emotion was anger.
"You are not that person. Why have you appeared in the world belonging to that person and me… Disappear."
The disappointed figure departed from Petelgeuse's "side," and then, she gazed at the other consciousness, Subaru's consciousness, and spoke—
"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you—" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Wh… Why?"
Emilia was stunned.
What shocked everyone was that the Witch of Envy's voice was exactly the same as Emilia's.
It was said that having the same appearance was bizarre enough, let alone having the exact same voice.
"Well, this is a critical hit to the heart."
Outside the screen, Anastasia said with a smile.
"To completely ignore someone who has dedicated hundreds of years to her, and instead whisper words of love to someone else right in front of him—how pitiful and hateful, that madman."
Otto sighed.
"Ah, but what exactly is the story between the Witch of Envy and Natsuki?"
Anastasia asked.
Naturally, no one responded; everyone shared this doubt.
"Hey, helmet guy, I've wanted to ask you for a long time, what are you so afraid of that Witch of Envy for? Did she kill you or something?"
Garfiel looked very curiously at Al, who was curled up on the side.
Not just Garfiel, the others were curious too.
Why was he scared like this? Was there a story?
"Don… Don't look at me, I'm perfectly fine, see? Haha…"
"You call this fine? Hey, what exactly is it between you and the Witch…"
"Garf, everyone has a past they'd rather not touch upon, more or less. Does Ram need to explain such a simple principle to you? Stupid Garf."
Ram cut Garfiel off.
"Ah, got it, got it, Ram."
Seeing Ram make a gesture as if to twist his ear, Garfiel backed down.
—
[ "…Gah! I'm back!"
The world continued to turn, and the screen stopped distorting.
"…No, it should… be… like, this… ah…"
Petelgeuse crawled in a pool of blood.
No wonder the image was no longer distorted; Petelgeuse had left Subaru.
Subaru looked at the wretched figure before him.
"I was prepared for the worst, ready to repeat it as many times as it took until you got the hell out… I didn't expect you to surrender after just one time. You really have no backbone."
Natsuki Subaru seemed to want to appear relaxed, but then his legs gave out, and the purple-haired knight caught him.
"This time, let us end all of this completely."
Yuriusu said, pointing his colorful knight's sword at Petelgeuse.
However, Petelgeuse did not resist. Instead, he turned around, staring blankly at them—
"Why, why… why? Witch… Witch! Witch! I dedicated so much to you! I have been loyal to you for so long! I tried every possible way to repay you, yet why? Why exactly? Why abandon me? Why? Why exactly? Witch! If this is the case, why grant me love… why favor me?" With his faith suffering a violent impact, tears rained down from Petelgeuse's eyes. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"The uncle is so pitiful!"
Outside the screen, Mimi said.
"Mimi, he isn't someone worthy of pity."
Anastasia said, stroking Mimi's head.
"That's right, little Mimi, not a single one of those guys is worth sympathizing with."
Felix said.
—
[ "What you offered wasn't love, nor was it faith, and it certainly wasn't yourself. What you offered were just the passersby walking around you."
On the other side, Subaru denied his faith.
At the same time, Yuriusu…
"Hah!" He dashed forward, piercing Petelgeuse's chest.
Petelgeuse lay face up, extending a slender Unseen Hand upwards—
"…My brain is, trem, bling. Please grant me your love…"
The hand gouged out a piece of the cliff face, causing a collapse from above that crushed Petelgeuse.
Yuriusu, meanwhile, deftly dodged the falling rocks.
Watching all of this, Natsuki Subaru was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and said: "Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. You used to be 'Sloth'." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Geuse… Is Petelgeuse… dead?"
Emilia asked in a low voice.
"…Goodnight, Geuse."
Beatrice said.
And Puck also sighed.
"Um… it might be a bit too early to mourn. Petelgeuse isn't dead yet."
Otto said.
"Huh?"
Everyone let out a "Huh" upon hearing this.
"No way, Bro Otto, he's like that and still not dead?"
Garfiel said.
"To be honest, I also believed Petelgeuse died at that moment."
Yuriusu said.
"No, it's like this… Ah, everyone will know if you keep watching."
Otto had to answer this way.
After all, given his condition, it was hard to imagine he was still alive, so it was better to let the screen speak with facts.
"Is the matter considered over at this point?"
Anastasia asked.
"Not yet, Lady Anastasia."
Yuriusu indicated.
"Oh, oh, it looks like my show is about to start."
Otto said.
There was one more thing.
—
[ "In any case, with no one injured and no one dead, this is much more relaxing. It's only after losing it that you realize how precious peaceful days are… No, wait, I've thought that from the very beginning."
Subaru spoke as he picked up the Gospel that Petelgeuse had dropped.
"…It's a Gospel. I'll keep it for now, and then it's probably better to discuss it with Miss Crusch or Roswaal."
"…Subaru." Yuriusu walked up to Subaru with a stern face.
"Although we've just won a hard battle, we should hurry back to the village. There's a problem."
"…I have a super bad feeling about this. What happened?"
"A message came from Felix. Apparently, there's an issue with the cargo loaded on the dragon carriage used for evacuation—Lady Emilia is in danger." ]
.....