Chapter 389. Emilia: Hachiman, Who Is That? (Part 1)
「"And so?"」
「Powerless within this Corridor of Memories, Hikigaya Hachiman had no choice but to prop up his pitiable dignity with a forceful stance. He countered with a sardonic sneer: "Because you can feed without me needing to split, you're so happy that you told me your entire original plan? Unbelievable. How can there be such an idiot as you in this world?"」
「"Of course... not!"」
「Louis did not get angry, granting him a great deal of leniency. "This is part of the plan, heehee."」
「"But it really is thanks to the fact that Big Brother is special—well, rather than saying you are special, I should say Echidna is special. Anyway, it's great that we don't have to carry out the splitting, because that sort of thing is impossible anyway. It just can't be done!"」
「She gesticulated wildly, her voice starting to become slurred due to the increasing saliva. "A person like Big Brother has such a firm will and viewpoint; you simply can't be swayed. You're stubborn to the extreme! You would never feel that having amnesia makes you two different people! You would never go along with that kind of stupid fragmentation!"」
「"Luckily, now!—Ah, no, I can't take it, I can't take it anymore. I have to first, I'm going to... hee, heehee, Louis is going to dig in!—"」
「There was no time to dodge—or rather, dodging was fundamentally impossible.」
「The moment Louis's voice fell, Hachiman felt as though his entire being had been stuffed into a stomach bag. It was pitch black, yet he could see all sorts of strange and bizarre things. Those were memories—other people's memories—memories being devoured, chewed, and stored.」
「But besides memories, there were actually some things that were indescribable.」
「It felt almost as if...」
「Crunch, crunch.」
「The sound of teeth grinding could be heard. He didn't know how much time had passed; it felt like a long time, yet it also felt like only two seconds. Suddenly, light flashed before his eyes. Hachiman widened his eyes to find himself still in the Corridor of Memories. Nothing seemed to have changed.」
「This time, his memories had not been eaten away.」
「"Ta-da! Greatly satisfied! Thanks for the treat!"」
「She clapped her hands together with a clap, then rubbed her stomach as if she were stuffed. A satisfied Louis even let out a burp.」
「Hachiman's mind flashed through the known victims of Gluttony, finally settling on the sleeping Rem. "You... you ate my 'existence'?!"」
「"Your memories have already been enjoyed once. Although I still really want to eat them, for the sake of! The plan! Your memories must be kept this time, Big Brother!"」
「Louis spread her arms, her face full of intoxication, wallowing in her grand plan.」
「"How pitiable to forget the past! Even more pitiable to be forgotten by others! To forget the past is to be lost! To be forgotten by others is to be even more lost!"」
「"And then! Surrounded from within and without, one day Big Brother won't be able to maintain his sanity! You'll have an emotional breakdown! When that time comes, I can! Again! Finally—assimilate with Big Brother, trick Satella, and obtain the authority of Return by Death."」
「"Death death death death death death death death—Reset reset reset reset reset reset reset reset!"」
「Hachiman knitted his brows, but he was more concerned with another piece of information: "You... you can discuss Return by Death so freely?"」
「"Of course! This is Od Lagna, the center of the world, the origin and the end. Sealed Satella—her hands can't reach this place." Louis shook her head proudly. "This is an abnormality, you know. Big Brother better not try to talk about this outside, or you might accidentally destroy the world."」
「"More than that—to be able to taste the sensation of death which has never been sampled before, to be able to restart countless times and turn the future into whatever we like best!"」
「"—Applaud this grand plan, Big Brother? How about it?"」
「Hachiman showed no fear. He stared at the raving Louis and merely held up four fingers coldly. "You, and all of you, can only try at most four more times."」
「"We know that, of course! Once those four chances are used up, Big Brother will absolutely never be tricked into splitting by us. But! Four times! Is enough!"」
「Louis bared a smile filled with infinite malice. "Whenever Big Brother works so hard to build connections with others again, we'll just eat your existence again! As long as you can still hold on, we'll do it again!"」
「"Not eating your memories and even telling you all this is precisely to make you feel pain. You'll pressure yourself, accelerating your collapse—that's how it works!"」
「Hachiman kept his left hand behind his back; this hidden hand was clenched into a tight fist. All of his negative emotions were forced into that one spot.」
「Facing Louis, he hid all his horror and pain. There wasn't even any resentment, because for Louis, that might be exactly what she wanted to see.」
「"I won't be stupid enough to come here again—if you, and all of you, can come to reality and steal my existence again to my face, I'll be waiting for you."」
「This wasn't mere tough talk. Hachiman knew that if he had a chance to snatch back his existence and memories, it would definitely be when the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony appeared before him in the physical world.」
「At least in reality, he would have the chance to set a trap to defeat the Sin Archbishop and pry out what had been eaten from his stomach. He wouldn't be helpless and isolated like he was here in the Corridor of Memories, where he couldn't even commit suicide.」
「"The remaining four times, you won't eat even once. I won't give you that kind of chance, and I absolutely will not—"」
「"You're really stubborn, Big Brother." Louis revealed a meaningful, mocking smile. "We, having tasted Big Brother's deliciousness, know exactly how important 'The Genuine' is to you—especially 'The Genuine' that is found and then lost again, heehee!"」
「She cupped her chin in her hands and sneered: "Besides, there are some things that even Return by Death cannot change, Big Brother. This is unchangeable."」
「"The Corridor of Memories is within Od Lagna. Od is the origin, end, and center of this world. We think that an existence lost in a place like this is something even Satella can't retrieve, right? Haha!"」
「"Also, finally, I have one more piece of intel to gift to Big Brother."」
「Louis leaned her upper body forward. As she expelled Hachiman from the Corridor of Memories to return his soul to his body, she said: "Normal people, you know, when both their memories and existence are eaten, they turn into 'vegetables.' But, because Big Brother is special, you don't have to worry about that. That's just how it is. Bye-bye~"」
「"—In that case, I'll be waiting for you to come."」
「At the final moment, unable to do anything else, he could only issue such a declaration of war. Hikigaya Hachiman... had been utterly defeated.」
.
.
.
Silence. Across two worlds, absolute silence.
Gulp... It was so quiet that the sound of a throat swallowing on the street was clearly audible.
"No way..." Teeth were chattering, legs were shaking, people were trembling. It was unavoidable; almost everyone was terrified by Hachiman's encounter and the sheer toxicity of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
"No way..." Wailing, one of the people with the strongest reaction was Horikita Suzune, who had fallen to her knees.
Hikigaya Hachiman was utterly defeated... in that case, didn't it mean that she, who was already inferior, was now even more inferior to the inferior?
Unable to endure her own excellence being trampled, then trampled again, and then trampled once more, Horikita Suzune looked toward Ayanokouji Kiyotaka with a wail.
"Say something... tell me Hikigaya Hachiman didn't lose! Say it, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!?"
Read ahead (160 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting