Chapter 33 (228): This Might Be the Final Battle
Emilia's arrival undoubtedly gave Hikigaya immense hope. However, at the same time, a serious problem emerged. The enemy was a Sin Archbishop, and as a royal candidate, if Emilia's name were exposed, she could be devoured.
Just as Hikigaya was about to say something, Crusch and Rem, both too weak to continue fighting, walked over.
"Do you have any good ideas, Sir Hikigaya?"
Hikigaya shook his head. "The enemy's weakness has already been exposed. Clearly, the three of you can't join the battle."
Priscilla wore an irritated expression. In her view, she still had plenty of strength left, and against that guy, all it would take was a swing of the Yang Sword to kill him instantly. Yet this man was stopping her again.
Hikigaya recalled the last time he died, when Priscilla had been in grave danger. If not for Al blocking that attack for her, she might have lost her life. Hikigaya would never allow that to happen again before his eyes.
Hikigaya: "As a noble lady, there's no need for you to fight personally. Leave this kind of small fry to us."
Rem: "If the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony heard that, wouldn't he die of anger? Honestly, Hikigaya-kun..."
Priscilla didn't argue. The Yang Sword vanished from her hand instantly. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed Hikigaya with that unique gaze of hers.
"Since you've said so much, I'll reluctantly rest for now. But don't expect me to take care of these two. I don't look after people."
"The fact that you can obediently stay here is already a miracle..."
"In any case, make sure you win safely."
....
Emilia followed closely behind Hikigaya, while Wilhelm and the others had already headed toward the other battlefield.
Given the current situation, Hikigaya couldn't bring her directly into combat. But... if he maintained this mindset forever, Emilia would never be able to stand on her own.
Only when cornered could one truly awaken their potential. And if that were the case, Hikigaya would no longer have any excuse to push Emilia away from his side.
Emilia: "Hachiman, am I causing you trouble?"
Hikigaya: "If I had to say, yes. But I also know the problem lies with me."
"Protecting something like a treasure because you've once lost it is natural, but it's also unhealthy. If you never let a bird fly, it will remain a fledgling forever."
Listening to Hikigaya's metaphor, Emilia smiled with partial understanding, covering her mouth as she looked at him.
In truth, no matter what Hikigaya asked of her, she would gladly accept it. Because Hikigaya was always thinking about her. Ever since they met, everything he had done gave Emilia a warmth she had never experienced before. Even if Hikigaya himself had never felt it, Emilia alone could not ignore it.
She gently took Hikigaya's hand, and the two of them walked together toward the final battle.
...
Gluttony held a small knife in his hand. Even when surrounded by multiple opponents, his stamina seemed inexhaustible, his speed absurdly fast. If not for Al's presence, Mimi's magic would have been dodged instantly.
As a mage, once an enemy closed the distance, there was essentially no way to fight back.
At present, Al's body was covered in scars, marks left by his battle with Gluttony. Mimi and the others had also expended far too much stamina during the earlier fight against the White Whale.
Captain Ricardo wasn't doing much better. Even he had never faced such a powerful enemy. Despite his small stature, Gluttony's speed and strength far exceeded his own. Truly worthy of the Witch Cult.
Although they had the advantage in numbers, they gained no ground at all. In fact, they were already at a disadvantage. Gluttony's stamina seemed endless, driving the subjugation force further into despair.
Just then, a violent gust of wind magic swept in, interrupting Gluttony's attack. Wilhelm, Julius, and Elsa arrived simultaneously.
The arrival of the three greatly shifted the balance of the battle. Though Rem had lost her horn, even as rear support, her strength could not be ignored.
Ricardo: "Took you long enough... I'm exhausted to death."
Al: "I thought you still had plenty of strength left. I was already done for a long time ago."
Julius: "Leave the rest to us."
Without any further words, Julius instantly activated his spirits. Golden light surged forth from his scabbard, and under this overwhelming power, a single slash kicked up countless clouds of dust.
Facing such an attack, even Gluttony couldn't withstand it head-on and chose to dodge continuously instead. That said, his body was truly agile enough. Perhaps that was the advantage of being small.
Elsa didn't hesitate either. After giving Gluttony a meaningful glance, she swung her scythe forward. Ram continuously supported her with wind magic.
Unfortunately, even with the two of them giving it their all, they still couldn't do much to him.
"Ice Binding!"
Countless ice spikes instantly pierced his body as Hikigaya, Beatrice, and Emilia appeared before him.
Seeing Hikigaya, Gluttony gritted his teeth. He deeply hated the one who had deceived him. But soon enough, what he felt was disbelief.
"Where's that guy?"
"Of course, we took him out."
As if unable to believe it, or perhaps scoffing in disdain, Gluttony said:
"Took him out? Impossible. I'm not going to believe you a second time."
"That was your chance to run away just now. Too bad you didn't take it. What a pity..."
Seeing Hikigaya acting so arrogantly, Gluttony grew even more irritated. After breaking away from Julius and Elsa, he leapt forward and instantly appeared in front of Hikigaya.
But, "Shamak."
The fog once again blocked his senses and vision. This time, however, the area covered by the mist was extremely small. Hikigaya quickly escaped from it, while Emilia condensed ice spikes and waited for Gluttony to appear.
Wilhelm slowly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, as if waiting for the perfect opportunity.
The fog gradually dissipated, and Gluttony's figure slowly emerged from within.
Bang!
Attacks surged forth all at once, and a violent explosion echoed through the sky.
With no attempt to dodge and no trace of fear, Gluttony simply opened his mouth and swallowed all the ice spikes whole.
Even when facing Wilhelm's slashes, he continued dodging without falling behind, refusing to engage Wilhelm head-on. Instead, he used his small knife to slash Wilhelm from tricky angles, leaving fresh wounds behind.
Boom!
Gluttony seemed not to have realized what had happened. He only felt as though something had exploded inside his stomach, his movements slowing for two seconds. Wilhelm, of course, didn't waste this opportunity. His blade instantly severed Gluttony's arm.
Gluttony looked toward Hikigaya in the distance with confusion before rapidly retreating. His gaze soon hardened with resolve. He had to kill that man.
They had never met, nor fought before, yet all of his information seemed to be completely exposed to the other side. There was nowhere to hide. This feeling made Gluttony extremely uncomfortable.
He curled his lips into a sinister smile. His right arm extended, gripping his small knife once more, hesitation completely gone.
Though the man looked harmless, he had caused him unparalleled trouble. That man had to die here.
The blade spun like a whirlwind, instantly forming a violent storm that devoured all life.
Beatrice immediately stepped in front of them, casually casting a wind spell to counter it.
Two raging tempests clashed violently in midair. Though something invisible to the naked eye, it now appeared almost tangible, impossible to ignore.
"Now's the time!"
Emilia exhausted all her strength, gathering every last bit of mana she had into massive ice spikes.
At the same time, Hikigaya took out all his daggers and gripped them tightly in his hands. Seeing this, the others followed suit. Every soldier in the subjugation force raised their equipment, while the mages began chanting spells.
Hetaro and Mimi used the last of their strength to shout encouragement.
With everything in place, Beatrice released her magic. All matter surged like a storm straight toward Gluttony's mouth. Everyone instantly lost control and was dragged toward him.
Everyone grabbed onto each other's hands, desperately resisting being swallowed by the tempest. Otherwise, it wouldn't be long before they were all devoured. But before that happened, Gluttony had to swallow every single attack.
"Bang bang bang... bang bang bang bang!"
The attacks poured down like rain, all crashing into Gluttony. Swords, daggers, and all manner of sharp weapons pierced through his skin from the inside out, turning him into something like a hedgehog. By the time he realized what was happening, countless spells detonated inside his stomach. At that moment, he was like a living bomb, exploding repeatedly from within.
Boom!
Thick smoke blanketed the sky. The group watched in anticipation as the dust cleared. From within, Gluttony staggered forward.
He tried to step ahead, but as if critically wounded, he collapsed onto the ground.
The subjugation force erupted into frenzied cheers. Seeing this scene, no one could suppress their emotions.
But Hikigaya wasn't so careless. As a Sin Archbishop, he knew very well that these monsters didn't die so easily.
Step by step, he walked toward Gluttony. Sure enough, just as he reached him, Gluttony tightly grabbed Hikigaya's leg, muttering over and over:
"Tell me... your name..."
"Tell me... your name..."
"Ah, what a troublesome guy. Looks like your intelligence isn't great. At least I think Sloth was way more annoying than you."
As if his heart had been pierced, Gluttony suffered a mental blow. He opened his mouth wide, trying to devour the man before him.
Ignoring the side effects, he had to drag this man down with him.
Hikigaya: "Honestly speaking, if you were so firmly set on choosing me, I'd be pretty troubled."
As he spoke, Beatrice sliced cleanly through, severing Gluttony's arm once again.
"Looks like you really don't have the strength to resist anymore."
Without another word, Beatrice gently waved her hand. A flame capable of burning everything to ashes descended upon him. It was a fire that would never go out until his body was completely consumed.
Hikigaya picked up the severed arm and tossed the remaining remnants into the flames as well.
He would never allow this guy to revive in any form. Letting an enemy escape was just stupid.
At first, agonized screams echoed from within the fire. But gradually, nothing remained.
Only when the wind passed, the flames vanished, and not a single trace was left on the ground did Hikigaya finally let out a sigh of relief.
This was... over.
Everything was over.
Seeing this, everyone finally burst into tears of joy. They embraced, they laughed, trying to convince themselves that all of this was real.
"Brother, that was awesome."
"What a real headache."
"Mimi feels so happy!"
"Where's Rem? Where's Rem? Where's Rem?!"
"Hikigaya-dono, your heroic bearing in battle makes this old man admire you once again."
"I came to help, but it feels like I didn't contribute much at all. I'm really sorry."
Al, Julius, Mimi, Hetaro, Wilhelm, Ram, and the others gradually gathered together. At the same time, a reluctant-looking Priscilla approached step by step with Crusch and Rem.
Priscilla: "This is the first time I've ever taken care of someone like this. You two should remember how honored you are."
Rem smiled faintly. "Thank you, Lady Priscilla. But... what could possibly have made Lady Priscilla act like this?"
A blush instantly rose on Priscilla's face, but she quickly shook her head.
"Of course it's because I wanted to experience this feeling. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
Rem: "I see... alright then."
Crusch: "Don't worry. You don't have a chance. There's no room left in that man's heart."
Priscilla: "Shut up. Who asked you?!"
Hikigaya: "Looks like you're getting along pretty well..."
Priscilla: "Are you blind?!"
(End of this chapter)