Puck was out cold. Emilia could only sigh.
Subaru walked over, catching the worry on her face. "It's okay, Emilia. Gojo knows what he's doing. Nobody's going to get hurt."
He had no idea why things had gone sideways. The previous two loops, Gojo and Beatrice had gotten along perfectly fine. Whatever had sparked this was a mystery, but his confidence in the man was absolute.
While the two of them talked, Ram and her sister arrived with Roswaal in tow. An explosion had torn through part of his estate. Sitting idle wasn't an option.
Even Roswaal had been caught off guard when Ram burst in to report that Gojo and Beatrice were fighting. He turned to Emilia first, that theatrical drawl of his stretching every syllable.
"Lady Emilia, do you have any idea what this is about?"
"Not really. Gojo mentioned something about a book..."
A book?
Roswaal owned a Book of Wisdom himself. The connection clicked instantly. Beatrice's copy. It was the only thing that could provoke a reaction this violent from her.
The thought sobered him. No one understood better than Roswaal how Beatrice had changed over these centuries. How hope had thinned year by year, decade by decade, curdling slowly into despair. Through all that endless waiting, the only thing she'd had left to cling to was that book, its later pages blank but still there. Still a promise, however faint.
And now Gojo had destroyed it.
Her reaction made perfect sense.
"If it's what I think it is... this is going to be rather troublesome." Roswaal let out a slow breath. "Still, he's a guest I personally invited. I can't very well stand by and do nothing."
His figure rose into the sky, heading toward the two combatants.
"Beatrice, Satoru Gojo is my guest. There may be some misunderstanding between you, but I'd prefer you both sat down and talked this through rather than..."
"Get out of the way, Roswaal!"
Beatrice cut him off with a violent sweep of her arm.
"This has nothing to do with you. He destroyed the only memento Mother left me. I won't let him walk away from this."
Gojo scratched his head and drifted behind Roswaal, using him as a human shield. "You're the one who told me to destroy it, Betty."
"That's different!"
Her eyes burned into him.
She knew. Deep down, she knew the fault was hers. If she hadn't said those words with that petty, mischievous edge, he never would have done it. But knowing that changed nothing. It was done.
Without the Book of Wisdom, she had no way to confirm whether "that person" would ever come. The last thread of hope tying her to the possibility of leaving the Forbidden Library had been severed.
And if that hope was gone, what difference was there between this and death?
This man, who had obliterated her future on a whim... she truly... she truly...
The anger buckled. Something colder spread beneath it. Fear, formless and vast, seeping through her chest.
She stared at Gojo and Roswaal through eyes that were starting to sting. The dying sun painted everything in shades of red, mercifully hiding the color rising at the rims of her lashes.
"Beatrice, I am sorry this happened." Roswaal's voice was measured. "But as I said, Satoru Gojo is a guest of the Mathers family. I must ensure his safety."
Behind Roswaal, something flickered in Gojo's eyes.
Ensure his safety?
That was a loaded phrase, coming from Roswaal.
He filed it away and looked past the margrave at Beatrice. Even from here, he could see the red edging her eyes, the emotion churning beneath the fury.
"I don't know what that book really meant to you," he said, his voice carrying from behind Roswaal. "And I don't know what you were thinking when you told me to destroy it. But let's go settle this somewhere else. Not here."
A beat. Then, lighter: "If I wreck my host's mansion any further, that's going to be a headache for everyone."
He stepped forward and addressed Roswaal directly. "Thanks for stepping in, but let me handle this myself."
"However..."
Roswaal frowned, concern creasing his painted features.
"It's fine. I'm the one who started it."
"Willful people seem to be multiplying around me." Roswaal shook his head with a rueful half-smile. "Very well. I'll wait for you both to return. Let's hope nothing regrettable comes of it."
He gave in fast. Almost suspiciously fast. Gojo's suggestion was barely out before Roswaal agreed, no pushback, no drawn-out persuasion.
"Let's go, Betty."
Gojo lifted his chin toward the horizon. He caught Subaru's eye, gave him a look that said don't worry about it, and the two of them took off from the estate grounds, one after the other.
They flew fast. Within minutes, the mansion was a distant silhouette.
"This is far enough. How long were you planning to run? Or are you just worried about how ugly your corpse will look?"
Beatrice's voice cut through the wind, stopping him mid-flight.
"Ah. Sorry." He slowed to a halt. "Got lost in thought."
"Prepare yourself. Betty will not show mercy!"
She raised her hand, and the sky above them filled with violet crystal arrows, hundreds of them, hovering like a constellation of malice.
Gojo watched them form. Not a trace of tension in his body.
It wasn't just his strength. It wasn't just the Limitless Cursed Technique creating an impassable barrier around him. More than any of that, it was because he couldn't sense a single shred of genuine killing intent from her.
No matter how vicious her words. No matter how enormous the display.
There was no murderous desire behind any of it. What it looked like, more than anything, was a child throwing a tantrum.
"Yeah. I understand."
He pulled his sunglasses down and looked at her. Truly looked at her.
The arrows screamed toward him.
But in the instant before impact, Beatrice saw it. He hadn't raised a single defense. No barrier, no dodge, nothing. Just standing there.
Her eyes, already rimmed red, flickered with hesitation.
That single moment was enough. Arrows veered off course. Others detonated prematurely, shattering into light before they reached him. The rest slammed into the earth and forest below, kicking up thunderous explosions and billowing clouds of dust that swallowed his silhouette whole.
Beatrice stared into the smoke, her mind blank.
Was she angry?
When she'd watched the Book of Wisdom burst apart in the sky, yes. Furious.
But all of it, every piece of this disaster, traced back to her own words. If anything, Gojo had destroyed the book to earn her trust. He'd been following her instructions.
She was the one at fault. And here she was, taking it out on someone else.
The realization hollowed her out. Anger, resentment, blame... all of it drained away like water through sand, leaving behind an emptiness so complete it ached.
She had no future left. What right did she have to blame anyone?
"So, uh... feeling better?"
The dust cleared. Gojo hovered in the air without so much as a hair out of place. An invisible shell surrounded him, repelling everything. Not even the grit had touched him.
Seeing that, whatever illusion Beatrice had held about his vulnerability vanished. He hadn't been defenseless at all. Not for a second.
The hollow feeling in her chest evaporated. Looking at that spotless, infuriating figure, a fresh wave of emotion surged right back up.
"Drop dead!"
Another sky full of arrows materialized and crashed toward him.
This volley had more bite than the last. She wasn't pulling her punches quite as obviously. But it was still all thunder and no lightning, the impacts spectacular and the threat minimal.
Gojo knew she was hurting. He had no intention of fighting back. With the Limitless active, these attacks had about as much chance of injuring him as a summer breeze. He weathered barrage after barrage, letting her hammer away until, eventually, the onslaught stopped.
Silence settled.
He drifted closer and studied the small figure radiating gloom so thick she might as well have had the word miserable stamped on her forehead.
"About the book... I'm sorry."
The words hit Beatrice like someone stepping on a cat's tail. She bristled.
"What does it have to do with you?"
"Nobody asked you to apologize."
"It was... it was Betty's own decision..."
Watching her stubbornly maintain that proud front, refusing to bend, Gojo considered for a moment. "So you're saying you forgive me?"
"Who said anything about forgiving you?"
She stopped dead, wide eyes glaring up at him as though appalled he could utter something so shameless.
"You just said it was your own decision and it had nothing to do with me."
"You..."
The retort died in her throat, choked off by his logic.
She didn't understand it herself. Moments ago, she'd been ready to let everything go. The anger, the grief, the attachment to the book. All of it had felt distant, almost irrelevant. But now, looking at his face, that obnoxious, unscathed, self-satisfied face, the irritation came flooding back all on its own.
Gojo watched her cycle through emotions. "Want to let off some more steam?"
Beatrice glanced at him. Not a speck of dust on him. Not a single wrinkle. What was the point? More fireworks would just make her look like a monkey bouncing around for his entertainment, and nothing else.
That thought made her angrier. She turned on her heel without a word and flew toward the mansion.
"Hey, wait up."
She didn't look back. Straight to the mansion, straight through the halls, straight into the Forbidden Library. The door shut behind her without a sound.
The others gathered as the two of them returned.
"Gojo, are you okay? Actually, never mind. Looking at you, obviously you're fine." Subaru gave him a once-over and shook his head.
Felt lingered a moment longer, confirming for herself that he was indeed untouched, then clicked her tongue.
"Same as always. Loves picking on little girls."
Beatrice's situation reminded her of her own encounters with Gojo's particular brand of torment. She felt a pang of solidarity.
"It's... a long story," was all Gojo offered, shrugging.
"Is Betty alright?" Emilia stepped forward, her voice soft with concern.
"Don't worry, Emilia. Gojo's not a bad person." Subaru placed a reassuring hand near her shoulder. "I don't know the details, but he'll sort it out."
Felt didn't argue. Whatever else Gojo was, he wasn't the type to dodge responsibility.
"Mr. Gojo." Ram approached, her tone brisk and professional. "Lord Roswaal has asked that you visit his study when you return. He has something to discuss with you."
"Wants to see me? Got it."
No mystery there. Roswaal wanted to talk about Beatrice.
"I'll take you now."
Ram turned and led the way. Gojo followed.
"Is this really going to be okay?" Emilia murmured, uncertainty pulling at her expression. "Maybe we should go check on Betty..."
"I mean, I could..." Subaru started, almost mentioning that he could find the Forbidden Library's door, then caught himself. This was his first day at the mansion. Barging into Beatrice's sanctuary might not go over well.
"I think we should go help Rem instead. There's a hole blown in the side wing, remember? Gojo will handle the rest."
Emilia hesitated, then nodded. Even if she wanted to comfort Beatrice, finding the Library's door was beyond her.
Meanwhile, Gojo followed Ram through the corridors until they reached Roswaal's study.
"It seems things ended peacefully between you two?"
Roswaal smiled at him from behind his desk. He'd watched them return from the window. Neither appeared injured.
"I wouldn't call it resolved." Gojo spread his hands. "If anything, it just got more complicated."
If Beatrice had simply lost her temper, blown up, and gotten it all out of her system, that would've been manageable. But the state she'd been in at the end was something else entirely. Something wrong.
Ram said nothing. She poured Gojo a cup of tea, set it on the desk, and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
"Beatrice's reaction is quite understandable, after all..."
"It was a keepsake from her mother."
Gojo finished the thought before Roswaal could.
"That's only part of it."
Roswaal's smile deepened as he regarded his guest. "It wasn't merely a memento. It was her future. Her hope. Everything she'd yearned for across centuries of waiting."
He leaned forward, just slightly.
"Would you like to hear Betty's story?"
Something in the way he said it, layers folded beneath the surface, invited and warned in equal measure. Gojo settled deeper into his chair, finding a comfortable angle.
"By all means."
"It begins several hundred years ago, and it involves Beatrice's mother... the Witch of Greed, Echidna."
...
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