[ "Emilia! Ram! Ryuzu-san! Otto will do too! If you're there! Come out!" No one responded.
This black shadow looked somewhat like…
Somewhat like…
Everyone had a bad premonition. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Wait, am I just 'will do'?"
Otto complained.
"That's because you haven't shown your true worth yet, Otto-bro. Sooner or later, the Boss will realize your importance."
Garfiel said.
"But this isn't right, is it? What on earth is going on?"
Anastasia asked.
"This all-consuming shadow… Could it be!"
Beatrice had a guess.
—
[ "Am I an idiot… No, I am an idiot. How could I be afraid? No matter what happens, I have to stay as calm as if cold water had been poured over my head… First, I need to confirm where Emilia and the others went." Subaru lifted his leg, preparing to go look for them, but…
"Ah…" Subaru looked at the gathering of dark shadows before him in utter shock—
"You are…" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"W-What, what is going on, how is this possible? Uh… Uh-ah… Ah, ah, ahhh!"
Al shrank back in fear.
"It… It really is…"
Beatrice and Puck frowned, their voices heavy.
"Tch."
"Hmph…"
"…"
Yuriusu, Wilhelm, and Reinhard, the three knights, couldn't help but place their hands on the hilts of their swords.
To cause such a massive disturbance, this black shadow was…
"The W-Witch of Envy, Satella!"
Otto cried out her name.
The greatest disaster in the world, the terrifying existence that once devoured half the world—the Witch of Envy, Satella- had appeared.
—
[ "You are…" Subaru's voice trembled… No, his entire body was trembling.
And that mass of black shadow, or rather, the Witch of Envy, slowly spoke—
"I love you."
A whisper filled with love softly rang out.
"I love you."
The Witch of Envy gazed at Subaru with a burning intensity.
"I love you. I love you."
The Witch of Envy gradually drew closer to Subaru.
"I love you. I love you. I love you."
Subaru remained silent, frozen in place.
And the Witch of Envy slowly reached her hand toward Subaru's cheek.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
The familiar voice rang out, sounding exactly like Emilia's.
"Even though I've witnessed it before, hearing a voice that sounds exactly like mine still feels a bit strange."
Emilia said.
"Don't touch Rem's Subaru-kun with your filthy hands!"
On the other side, Rem couldn't help but roar in anger.
"Why isn't Natsuki-san resisting… Although resisting would be useless, he could at least make some kind of reaction, right?"
Otto said.
"The Witch of Envy is exerting an incredibly immense pressure on Subaru-dono. This oppressive force even touches the soul, rendering Subaru-dono unable to move…"
Wilhelm said.
"There are so many troublesome things. Putting aside how to deal with this monster, how did she even get out?"
Felt was completely baffled.
"The Witch of Envy is not dead; she was merely sealed by the Three Heroes. But even so…"
Yuriusu didn't understand either.
"And in the first place, why on earth does that woman love Barusu? What is there to love about Barusu?"
Ram said.
—
[ "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you—"
"Are you kidding me, you bastard!"
The Witch of Envy kept professing her love, but in the next instant, Garfiel's voice rang out.
"Whoa?! Garfiel slammed violently into the Witch of Envy, and Subaru was knocked to the ground by the impact.
"The situation is absolute garbage, hey! You can still move, right, you bastard?" Garfiel said, looking down at Subaru. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Oh, quite handsome, Tinsel. Your attitude toward Natsuki this time is actually decent?"
Anastasia said.
"Well, Roswaal is injured, so at this time, this great self is the strongest. It seems in this loop, this great self went to rescue the survivors. Then Ram and the others…"
Garfiel's voice was heavy.
There were two possibilities: one was that they were killed by the Witch of Envy, and the other was that they had evacuated.
But with this all-consuming black shadow, where could they possibly evacuate to?
One could only hope they went to seek refuge.
—
[ "Why… did you save me, Garfiel…"
"Huh? Don't make this great self laugh in a situation like this. Even if it was just on the way, there's no way I'd just watch someone die. We're jumping. Your neck might snap, so hold on with sheer willpower!"
Garfiel grabbed Subaru by the neck and leapt upward.
Following that, the shadows on the ground continued to expand, swallowing everything within their reach.
Garfiel carried Subaru, searching for a foothold that hadn't been swallowed by the black shadows.
"Ha! Huff! Ah-ha!"
The two of them arrived on a rooftop, using it as a temporary foothold.
"Th… Thank you for saving me… Though I didn't expect you to save me." Subaru said, panting heavily.
"Huh? Looking at your face, you don't look like you're thanking me at all."
"Garfiel, you, to me…"
"Don't make this great self repeat it so many times. Can't you see the situation? The issue between you and this great self doesn't matter at all right now. What matters is how to bite that bastard's neck off. That's all."
"Garfiel. The others, Ram and the rest, what happened to them?" Subaru asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
"When I came out of the graveyard, the surroundings were already swallowed by shadows, and you were still running around. But the others… are in the shadows."
Garfiel fell silent, then said: "It was too sudden. Everything was just too sudden. Before I knew it, the ground was completely covered by shadows. If Ram hadn't blown this great self away with her wind, this great self would probably have been swallowed too." ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"They didn't go to seek refuge… Because it was too sudden, there wasn't even time to evacuate. Everyone…"
Otto showed a sorrowful expression.
"Everyone…"
Emilia fell silent after speaking.
"Ram… Sigh, as expected of the woman this great self has his eyes on."
"You should address your savior as 'Ram-sama', Garfy."
"This great self is feeling touched right now; don't ruin the mood!"
"This overwhelming power… Realistically speaking, this loop is already…"
Yuriusu said.
Garfiel would be no match for the Witch of Envy, and Subaru would die and return by death once again.
—
[ "Ah…" The Witch of Envy gradually approached.
Looking at the Witch of Envy, Subaru trembled.
"Why… are you here…" He screamed out: "Why are you here—'Witch of Envy'!"
However, merely roaring was useless.
"Think, think, think, think, think. I have to find a way to deal with that thing, find a way to defeat…"
"That bastard, she's actually not chasing us," Garfiel said angrily.
"Eh?"
"Not only is she not chasing us, but she's also heading outside! After doing all this, now she's ignoring us, huh?!"
Garfiel glared at the Witch of Envy, who should have been heading toward them.
The direction the Witch of Envy was heading was… ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"She is going to…"
Emilia looked at the direction the Witch of Envy was heading, then arrived at the answer, shouting out in unison with Subaru on the screen:
—
[ "It's the mansion!" ]
.....