I woke up to a brown ceiling, along with my whole Battalion in the room as well, sleeping. Sphinx has somehow found a way to snuggle next to me, and Omega was beside me as well.

Careful to not wake the girls up, I snuck out of the room to go downstairs after getting dressed, and I checked my left arm. It's still pitch black, along with the pulsating skin.

If I remembered correctly, Dragon's Blood should heal you even after you cut certain body parts off, right? I personally don't want that disgusting substance covering me anymore, so, this might do it.

I suddenly slashed down at my arm in one fluid motion, severing it. Within moments, the severed arm suddenly disappeared into thin air, before my arm started regenerating without the Authority of Deceit. This time, I peeled off the black skin that covered my left arm, and underneath it is an arm with the silkiest skin I've ever seen.

"Unbelievable. I guess this is what it means to be compatible with things. You will always have great advantages." I said before entering a room, and surprisingly, there was someone waiting for me.

"Hm? Ana? Did you not sleep?" I said to the purple-haired girl, who sighed and rubbed her scarf a little.

"Well, Y/N-san, you definitely have to stay awake if you have to manage the safe shelter as it's leader, you know?"

"Come on, Ana, we all know even the best leaders need some sleep. Having rest is part of being strong. Besides, we need every single person to stay healthy, so leave the rest to me, 'kay?"

Anastasia chuckled a little in response and suddenly put her head on my shoulder. I was surprised by this intimate act, and for the first time in months, my face flushed.

"Uh... Ana, what are you... doing?"

"Aw... look at you, Y/N-san, being so caring yet also so dense at the same time..." Anastasia said as she leaned in closer. However, before she could continue, she fell asleep as she slid down onto my lap.

"Sigh... you are one workaholic." I said as I laid Anastasia on the couch in the room, before leaving. However, before I could step out of the door, a voice stopped me.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell at all if you actually like to help Ana or not..." The voice said as I suddenly went on alert, before realizing the owner of the voice.

"Oh... it's you. To be honest, I didn't think you would talk to me alone." I said as I faced the scarf of Anastasia, who began transforming into a white fox.

"Huh. Most people would be very shocked whenever I say something. Could it be that you knew of my existence?"

"Well, I have been indeed cursed with knowledge, in a sense. But, it was more of my contractor, since she gave me the hint. With a few things here and there, I think I was able to piece things together."

"You really are smart, as Ana said." The fox said as she came down from couch, and regarded me with interest.

"You were the 'Witch-related-artifact' that happened to be at Garkla and Kararagi, weren't you? The Witch Cult really seems to want you for their purposes, it seems."

"Hmm... you mean that fortress that got destroyed by some white-haired dude? Yes, I was there. And I met Ana a long time later, before someone tried to attack me again. If my intuition is correct, they're part of the Witch Cult you spoke of."

"I trust you to be able to defend yourself, I guess. You do have mastery in the field of Yang Magic, do you not, Artificial Spirit...Eridna?"

"Huh? You...knew?"

"Of course, after all, your brother, sister, and creator are all here."

"I personally don't know what my origins or purpose were, but I do recall my name is Echidna. Why, do you call me Eridna then?"

"It's to not confuse you with your creator." I explained. "Of the three artificial spirits the Witch of Greed, Echidna created, Puck was the first, and Beatrice was the last. That would make you... the second artificial spirit."

"I see. That clears up a lot of things." Eridna said before hopping back into her scarf form as she curled around Anastasia's neck. "One last question: what are you going to do about the terrorists in the city?"

"The Witch Cult? Don't worry, the plan to counterattack starts now. Keep Ana safe, and we'll all be fine."

"You still haven't explained what your plan is...?"

"Oh, that? The first part of the plan begins when Subaru returns. We need his information to decide our next move. By the way, they told us to hand over all our Artificial Spirits, did they not? Don't worry, they'll never be able to take you away."

"How can you be so sure? Every time I look at you, it looks as if you could predict the future since your confidence is kinda high."

"Maybe I can. And also, it isn't really confidence. All of this... every thing here... it's the providence, that's at work."

Leaving that phrase for Eridna to ponder about, I left the room and stepped out onto the streets, before running off to find Subaru and Al.

Timeskippu*

While I tried to find Subaru and Al, I bumped into Sphinx, who was performing healing spells on the injured victims of the city.

"Y/N!" She yelled before hugging me tightly as she flew over, leaving her patients behind.

"Hi there, Sphinx. I take it that it has been going well?"

"Yup! Omega said that I just needed more practice with the resurrection spell, and I'll be all good on my own! Honestly, I could've done much better since a long time ago if I knew exactly how to use it!"

"Resurrection spell? You mean... the Immortal King's Sacrament? You can use it completely now?" I gasped, surprised at her advancement. I mean, she was already a prodigy at magic anyways, but Immortal King's Sacrament... that's on a different level, you know.

"Well, maybe about 90% in Omega's words. However, there's no need to worry. At least they won't turn into zombies by this point. Having living dead walking around is quite troublesome indeed."

"Say that to the zombie incident you caused a few years ago..." I muttered under my breath.

I checked up on the newly revived citizens, searching for any signs of unhealed injuries. After patching them all up, Sphinx and I used our steam engine vehicle to transport them all back to the Muse Company. Since space was not completely available, I took it upon myself to construct an entirely new part of the building built specifically for the refugees. While constructing it, I also layered the walls with parts of my authority, copying the trick from Capella. This way, even if Sirius' minions pass through here, none of the emotional links could get inside to the people.

Although making new atoms was not hard, it was definitely taxing. Since Authorities don't drain mana from you, they drain your stamina. In my case, the two Authorities share the percentage, which is better for me. That means both of them kind of have their own stamina bar of sorts, and we can utilize both at the same time for maximum efficiency.

I laid down on one of the couches of the company, and I felt a twitch in my own conversation mirror as I picked it up. Subaru's face was on it.

"Hey, Y/N, we're going to discuss or next plan for Wrath's victims. Can you come down to the meeting room right now?"

"Sure, just give me a minute, I'll be right there."

The entire operation for today already made me exhaust most of my energy. It's hard to believe that the battles of Priestella has just begun, all within the span of a few hours. Gulping down a cup of tea, I trudged down to the meeting room where they seemed to be ready to leave for somewhere.

"Where're we going?" I asked Anastasia, who had her bag ready and Eridna around her neck. Julius was also there, his sword strapped to his waist. Garfiel was examining his shield for damages.

"To the City Hall. We'll discuss the next phase of our plan there." Anastasia replied. "Thanks to everyone's efforts to recapture the City Hall, we managed to drive Lust out of that place. It seems that the two guards are also gone now, seemingly patrolling somewhere in the rest of the city, according to the Iron Fang scouts."

"Then, let's go there on my vehicle." I said as I pointed out of the window to the steam engine carriage, and Subaru let out a gasp of surprise.

"Y/N, YOU HAVE A CAR?"

"Well, yeah... after putting some scrap metal and making a basic steam engine, and then connect that to the wheels, you got yourself a very old-fashioned self-propelling vehicle. There's a steering wheel if you want to drive."

"Uh... no, I think I'll leave that to you for now." Subaru said as Al looked at my creation, impressed.

"Then, let's all get there on Bro's car." Al said as we moved out.

Timeskippu*

Inside the City Hall, Ground Floor

"Wait, where did Julius go, by the way? Wasn't he going to come with us?" I asked Anastasia. I thought the spirit knight would definitely accompany his candidate to such a dangerous place in this kind of situation. So where did he go? Unless...

"It seems that Julius was also influenced by Wrath." Subaru said to me, answering in Ana's stead.

"Ey? Really? But he definitely went nowhere near Wrath, did he?" I asked, a little confused.

"Apparently, he's been feeling anxious ever since Joshua went missing." Anastasia said, agreeing with Subaru's statement.

"Also, he's been not being himself a lot, and he's been giving a lot of suggestions... seriously, he's losing confidence, in short." Subaru added.

"I assume the purpose of us being here in the first place is to... use the metia? Whose plan was this?"

"Actually, Natsuki-kun suggested it, but I was thinking among the same lines. The counter for Wrath's rampage on the city might just be resolved."

"Yo, Capt'n, Capt'n's friend and Big'Sis-chan. What're you guys talkin' 'bout doin' again?" Garfiel asked, perplexed.

"Such an unperceptive child... Even my Ricardo could've figured it out." Anastasia sighed, and I had to bite back my amusement.

To Garfiel, who was left out of the loop, Anastasia tossed that unsparing remark. Garfiel gritted his fangs as he heard this, but Al patted his shoulder from behind, laughing at Garfiel as he turned around.

"Basically, what bro's thinkin' is this: Rather than tryin' to stop the Authority of Wrath from spreadin' throughout the city, it'd be quicker 'n easier to try to turn it to our advantage instead."

"Turn it, like what..." Garfiel continued, still mildly confused.

"Sirius' ability causes the sharing of emotions. When people are anxious and afraid, that emotion swells as more people bunch together, until eventually, it gets set off by something small and explodes. So..."

"If you can replace fear and anxiety with another emotion... paint it over with something like hope, then that'll be what's shared instead." Anastasia connected Subaru's point, and Garfiel eventually pieced the puzzle together.

"Aaah so that's it! Then they won't be killin' each other. And if things go well, even the ones whose spirits're broken'll return to the fight."

"When they're engulfed by the surrounding atmosphere, even seasoned fighters would be unable to stand. If we can release them from that anxiety, I think we won't have any problem bolstering our forces anymore."

Garfiel was definitely on board now and he was raring to go, but Anastasia stopped him. "It's not that I don't want to yet, but we do have to weigh the pros and cons."

"The pros and cons... the ones we talked about earlier?"

"The pro is the goal of this strategy itself: Eliminating anxiety and despair from the citizens so we don't have that constant threat at our backs. The con is that whatever we broadcast into the city would naturally also get into the ears of Witch Cult. We have absolutely no idea how they'll react." Anastasia raised her hands to both Garfiel and Subaru. "However, in terms of disadvantages, I believe they're almost negligible. The Witch Cult never forbade resistance when they made their demands in the first place. It's as if they don't even mind if they're thwarted or opposed."

"...Now that you mention it, even though we attacked the City Hall, they didn't use that as an excuse to exact any retribution. It's like what they did to the people in the City Hall was just for their own amusement." Subaru said.

"He's not wrong. Capella just seemed purely amused as she turned people into creatures, and Sirius only wanted to find out what 'love' is in her own terms. They personally never had a real plan, in terms of attacking." I added, reflecting my experience with each archbishop.

"Amusement? I like that word. It's a pretty accurate way of describing those guys' sick inclinations." Anastasia sighed.

"While I've no objections about the broadcast itself, the problem is... what'll it contain, and who'll be saying it." Anastasia clarified.

"Well then, wouldn't Anastasia-san be the best candidate in here? You are a Royal Selection candidate, and people will definitely know you." Subaru suggested, but Anastasia shook her head.

"My renown and beating the Witch Cult are not related at all. Just knowing that someone famous is fighting the Witch Cult―― might do something, or it might not." Subaru looked dejected at this, although knowing that her argument is valid.

"In that case, it'd be pointless. What's needed is hope. Hope that could replace all the anxiety in people's hearts with a single stroke. I may be able to trick and beguile people with magnificent words. And I'm sure that out of every ten, five would be deceived. But it'd be only a frail, desperate straw that would give way at the slightest whiff of wind, and all it would accomplish is create a momentary change in feeling."

With this, Subaru started to list suggestions, and each of them was shot down, one by one. Crusch could not go since she was sick, although not life-threatening due to my absorbing of the Dragon's Blood, but she still needs time to recover. Besides, her personality is different now, and it's hard to rally people up to fight like she did with the Whale Subjugation.

Julius was out of the question as well since he wasn't here yet. Apparently, he is indeed on the way here. I did not want to tell him that Joshua is probably already been put into suspended animation by Roy Alphard, since that'll de-morale him even more. Anyways, he could not be the candidate.

So while Subaru is scratching his head to think who to go, I felt all of our gazes shift towards him, and he suddenly noticed it as well.

"If anyone's going to do the broadcast, shouldn't it be you, bro?" Al said as he voiced our thoughts, and Subaru reacted as if Al just made a cruel joke.

"Say, Al. We're in the middle of a serious conversation here. The kind where every second counts. I can't deal with your jokes right now." Subaru said, a serious expression on his face. Unbeknownst to him, Al was also serious.

"Oyoy, wait a minute. I'm aware that I'm a guy Princess-san hired because more than half of my remarks are irrelevant, but I wasn't joking just now."

"If you weren't joking then what made you think I could do it? Either you're trying to be funny or you're mad, and I don't know which's worse here."

"What's so crazy 'bout that? Why don't you have a look around?"

"Oyoy, you guys as well?" Subaru said, shocked as he confirmed his suspicions.

Al made an example about how Garfiel keeps on calling him captain, but Subaru definitely did not think much of it. But before he could retort further, Al brought up an extremely important point.

"Same thing! You must've done something right to make Garfiel call you that. That just shows how much he trusts ya, right? You seem to think what you did wasn't that big of a deal for some reason. But aside from you, who else in this city or this world can say that they've defeated "Sloth" of the Witch Cult? In a city occupied by the Witch Cult, who better to inspire hope in people than a man who's killed a Witch Cult Sin Archbishop? The only ones around who meet the criteria are you and Reinhardt. And you're the only one here."

"Err..." Subaru said as he looked awkward, and Anastasia along with Garfiel voiced their agreement with Al's opinion as well. "Well..."

"...why can't Y/N do it?"

EH?

Subaru, what are thinking letting my carry the pot now?

"Well, Y/N-san does seem like a fitting candidate. Since he is the Liberator and all. Lots of people must know him by this point." Anastasia said as she looked at me for confirmation, and I shrugged in response.

"If you want me to do it, I'm fine with that. But the thing is, Subaru has to go as well."

"What-" Subaru tried to protest, but after taking a look at my face that just said 'friends share the same suffering', he sighed in agreement.

"You see, Subaru, if you do this, it'll be the heroic reveries that you carry on your back now. You can never lose. You must only win. You'll take up their hopes, carry their expectations, and fight to show them the future. If you make this decision here, that's what you'll have to do. It's what you have to do, as the 'hero' of your story."

"I can never lose, huh. Sounds just like how it's always been, doesn't it?" Subaru said as he remembered his past loops and all his deaths, and all the possible hardships he went through, before steeling his resolve. "Tch, isn't that still how it's always been?"

"That's the spirit." I smiled, glad that my friend is up for it once more.

"What exactly do we say, then?" Subaru asked Anastasia, clueless about the next part although he already agreed.

"I do have some notes for what you could present. But I think the real person with ideas is Y/N-san over there." Anastasia looked at me for confirmation, and I slowly nodded, thinking that I knew what she was getting at. "Your 'Pure Truth' will lead the way, just like it did before."

"Then, what does the future say, Y/N?" Subaru asked me, ready to begin the broadcast.

"It says that we will win for sure, no matter what."