Lye smiled as he gave off an ominous aura, and I sensed multiple presences within his body, bursting out like old souls with immense energy. With every single nerve in my body on alert, I connected to Echidna through the soul-link.

Chid-chan, go to Felt and fix that meteor staff of yours. That thing is the key to winning this battle. I cannot allow anyone from the White Dragon's Scale to lose their name here.

I see. Well then, you have to be careful as well, okay?

Gotcha. If Otto wants to provide support, allow him to throw the fire mana stones. The only way to beat Lye is to use long range attacks since close range will leave people devoid of their name except for myself.

With that message sent, I allowed the pulsating Deceit and Sloth Witch Factors to resonate throughout my body, and began unleashing the power that I've been holding back.

"Critical Overload. Vigingenso Rupture."

The first twenty elements of the periodic table appeared as orbs on my hands, five on my left, five on my right, and five on the two Extensions. As I condensed them into the beam of light that emerged during their fusion. The atoms, fused together through forced nuclear fission, shot out a beam of unknown substance towards Lye, and exploded upon contact.

The crystals bursted out from the centre, and elongated spikes of the substance expanded like a porcupine, supposedly pincering everything in its path. However, Lye had already jumped upwards using Leaper, and therefore the attack that is capable of decapitating the White Whale did not injure him.

"Interesting attack, onii-san, but it will not work on us!" Lye shot down towards me using Leaper, and muttered the third move. "Carnivorous Beast."

"Absolute Zero."

The domain expanded just as Lye was about to reach me, but he was quick to react this time, and jumped backwards just as his dagger got frozen in time. Leaving his only weapon behind frozen in the domain, he shot an El Huma at me. However, the spikes of ice only froze in the domain upon contact, not even reaching anywhere near me. When I deactivated the spell, they fell to the ground, deprived of their velocity.

"Your tricks are getting old, onii-san." Lye said as he appeared behind me, and swung a karate chop to my neck.

"You definitely have not seen all my moves yet, Gourmet." I smiled as the blow hit me, and nothing happened as Lye's attack stopped as soon as it hit me. Using Gaston's principle, I recreated Ryuuhou on my own body, making me invulnerable to any attacks that does not use Lunar Eclipse.

"Alchemis, Cahya, Bayanga." I summoned my spirits, and they obliged as soon as they materialized, shooting their respective spells. Lye cut through the Al Goa with the 'Wind Blade move' he claimed to have eaten from a samurai. The Ul Minya binded him, and the Al Jiwald struck its target on spot. However, due to the usage of Carnivorous Beast and Palm of the Fist King, it was slightly nullified.

"If you think this can bind us, we will show you-"

"You talk too much, my guy. Please let the atmosphere be a little quieter for a bit. El Vita."

Lye's movements suddenly slowed immensely, having the gravitational force on him increased due to my Yin Magic. Next, I unleashed a combo move to test my theory.

"Ul Murak." I chanted the Yin Magic spell, and I flew up into the air, levitating upwards faster than a helium balloon as the gravitational force on me decreased drastically.

"Al Akra. Ul Vita." Using the momentum that I shot into the air with while twisting in a circle, I shot downwards as the gravitational force on myself drastically increased, and I shot down faster than a falling meteorite, smashing into Lye, who was bound my the Ul Minya Bayanga casted earlier.

After leaving a crater with the large attack, I jumped back towards Felt and Otto. "Hey, are you guys alright?"

"We're fine, nii-chan, but have you looked at yourself?" Felt said as I suddenly realized several wounds bleeding.

"Huh? When did these get here?" I quickly patched them up using the Authority of Deceit, and Lye suddenly started laughing.

"Wonderful! Glorious! Nameless onii-san, you are definitely a meal worth eating! Louis will be so, so happy when we finally devour you!" Lye smirked as he shot towards me, but unfortunately was blocked by a wall of diamond. When I thought I already blocked his attack, a blade of wind severed my left arm, which automatically began to heal due to my already activated authority.

"That Samurai's Wind Blade ability..." I said as I glanced at Lye, who perched upon an invisible platform, looking at us with glee. "Will be mine."

"CRITICAL OVERLOAD." I spoke, and the veins in my body pulsated with energy. Adrenaline circulated throughout my muscles and cells, vibrating with inner forces. "Suitoru Maxima."

A vortex opened up in front of me, and the wind blade ability, just like the White Whale's Flying Seal, left Lye's body. A green orb left his body, and when he tried to snatch it, I blocked him using Zeam. However, the orb didn't go to me either. Unexpectedly, it... shot itself into Felt.

"Hm?" Felt suddenly felt a weird power surge through her veins, and I looked at her in surprise. Is it because of her Divine Protection of Wind Movement that allowed her to be compatible with the ability?

"Well, this is unexpected indeed. However, it's still to my advantage, though!" I smiled as I threw an Extension at Lye, and it shot him back onto the street, freeing me from his grasp. He charged at me again, but instead of going towards me, he shot towards Felt, who was undefended, and thrust out his Palm of the Fist King.

It was at this time, that I finally reached the peak of my original Thunder Magic.

"Al Kilat."

I appeared in front of Felt faster than sound itself, and blocked Gluttony's blow as Critical Overload instinctively unleashed Haywire Warp, absorbing all the energy unleashed by Lye's technique. Shocked at my sudden growth, Lye stumbled back, amazed.

"Onii-san, we are indeed impressed. To grow like how we eat, is very impressive. However, we refuse to give up on those meals, because we are a true Gourmet! And we will not let the unique foods in the world go to waste! It must- be devoured by us, ~tsu!"

"I was still holding back there, you know? I personally wanted to injure you just a little, to keep the plot running. But it seems that I have to use every single one of my abilities."

"Critical Overload."

"Suitoru."

"Scindo."

"Kago Shometsu."

"Elemental Manipulation."

"Vigingenso Rupture."

The volley of spells and magic covered me, brimming in a bright light as I advanced upon Lye of Gourmet. However, the child was unfazed as ever, and seemed even more excited than usual.

"Awesome, onii-san! We would like to see that true spirit of yours! Because, that's what make our meals, worth eating! I shall return the favour now, Nameless! LUNAR ECLIPSE!"

"LEAPER, PALM OF THE FIST KING, CARNIVOROUS BEAST!"

"Your tricks won't work on me anymore."

"Huh?"

Lye was suddenly swatted away from me as he looked at me in surprise, and the Imperceptible Extensions, now with shields on the arms, flickered in and out of sight. He charged at me again, only to be pinned down halfway by... me.

"Infinite Multiplication."

Tens of clones popped out of thin air, each carrying a fifth of my battle power. They shot towards Lye with their own Extensions, magic, and swords. Elements vibrated through the air. Steel beams were flung towards the ground. To people of this world, it looked like they were fighting a war that has been condensed into one small battlefield.

Lye finally cut through my clones before leaping in the air, and I met his blow using the White Whale's flying seal. Shocked at the mark on my back, he let out a gasp of surprise. However, I gave him a devious smirk in return. "Your pet sure is helpful! To grant me such a power, it's-"

BADUMP-PLOSH

"Huh?"

The power in my body suddenly left me, and I seemed to be hit by some unknown magic of sorts. I looked around, but everyone seemed to be as confused as I was. I didn't reach my limit yet, so how-?

Lye, although perplexed at the situation, shoved his palm onto my stomach. "Heh. Palm of the Fist King. Checkmate, onii-san."

"Grk!?" I was sent flying back, and I slammed into the concrete, my Akra deactivated against my will. I felt my spine crack and my arm break. Pain, for the first time in a month, surged through my bodies like needles prickling every inch of my body.

"Argh! Ugh..." I tried to scream, but no words came out. I knew Capella's Dragon Blood was definitely healing me slowly, so I wasn't worried about my physical condition. However, why did it do that?

Why did my body stop? Is it my Gate? My Witch Factors-

Witch Factor.

The moment that word came to mind, an image seared through my mind. A pool of black goo shoved itself inside the tesseract, along with the ball of tendrils already inside it. The two rejected each other while the tesseract began to slowly calm them down.

Ah, I see what happened.

Well, I'll leave the rest to you then, Chid-chan, Felt, Otto, and... Beatrice.

At least for this moment, I can rest easy. It's a little early, but I don't mind.

For the Sin Archbishop of Greed had fallen.

3rd Person POV

"Y/N nii-chan! Y/N nii-chan!" Felt shook Y/N's body, but it gave no response. "Hey, you there!" Felt yelled at Omega, who just finished starting up the meteor staff. "You are part of Y/N nii-chan's group, aren't you? Come over here and help him!"

"Hm?" Omega took a look at her contractor, and after making sure he was fine, she sighed. "Girl, look. Y/N isn't even in any critical danger. He's simply synthesizing with his new power."

"New...power?"

"I wonder... how will the Authority of Greed manifest in him?"

Otto, who had not been listening until now, picked up on the mutterings of Omega. "Authority... of Greed?"

However, before he could ponder further, Lye was already back on the move. "We don't know what caused onii-chan to end up a state like that, but this makes our job all the easier. Now, you will become our feast!"

His inhuman speed allowed him to travel to Otto and Felt within the blink of an eye. However, before he could touch them, a pinkish barrier was evoked, and Baitenkaitos was sent flying back before being forced to dodge Minya spikes that would've turned him to dust.

"Betty's right on time, I suppose. Stop sitting there and let's all stop that monstrosity so we can ask Subaru for a hug, I suppose."

Beatrice, Subaru's contracted Great Spirit, has arrived.

"Mother, is this what you wanted to happen, I suppose?"

"Not exactly, but your performance is definitely outstanding, 'daughter' of mine." Omega spoke, and gripped her most prized meteor, the Meteorite Staff.

"Huh? It's already charged?" Felt looked at the device in surprise, which had drained all her mana before she could even have used it.

"My mana pool has definitely not reached its peak maximum. But along with your power, it should allow for at least two shots." Omega stated, confident as she looked at Lye, who drooled as he approached.

Meanwhile, Otto noticed a strange interaction between Beatrice and Gluttony.

"ーーBeatrice-sama? Wha~t, are you doing outdoors? Even after disliking going outside so much. Aside from the times of meals, or when you were accompanied by the Great Spirit-sama... a~h, so there were so~me exceptions?"

The relationship of the past, between Batenkaitos and Beatrice. Losing understanding before being able to call her name, Otto's throat choked midway. This time he unconsciously glanced at Beatrice's face. Biting her lips, and fury swirling in her large, round eyes, was Beatrice. It had been rare for this Spirit girl, to show rage. In front of the astonished Otto, Beatrice inhaled very deeply, and scowled at Batenkaitos.

"ーーYour trick has been understood, in fact. So that's how it is, I suppose." Muttered Beatrice, in a deep and heavy voice. Her voice was not conveying hostility, but instead it was one suppressing her own emotions.

Hiding her rage from showing on her face, Beatrice locked her gaze into the interior of Lye's corrupted and muddy eyes, and distorted her lips due to the revulsion resulting from what she had laid her eyes upon.

"You, how many people will you stockpile within yourself until you grow sick of it, in fact?"

"Who kno~ws? But, the quantity we eat is still better than compared to Roy. Roy is Bizarre Eating so he eats anything, but since we select carefully, the quantities are different ~tsu! We consider the quality of the lives we eat, and that's what conflicts us with Roy."

Eating Names and Memories, stating it to be his Meal was Batenkaitos. Naming himself Gourmet, and calling someone close to him Bizarre Eating had a peculiar aesthetic sense, both of which were things Otto could never comprehend.

"I had anticipated the experiences of the body of an opponent whose Name and Memory had been eaten to be taken over. Your unarmed martial arts and dagger skills, attaining such an extreme level of prowess in them at your age would be difficult. If that's how it is, then...However, if what is taken over is not just experiences of the body."

After all, Lye had said, that he was, looking for the ones whose speech echoed across the city.

You could sense that and sympathise with that by being with the character of Natsuki Subaru for a long time. That youth had that mysterious part for him, which made those around him think this. And then there's Y/N, whose mysterious powers and background allowed many to triumph, and his plans never thwarted as if he was simply playing with fate.

"The head maid of the household of Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers... wait wait wait, that's wrong." Oscillating his neck while pronouncing that, Batenkaitos widened his arms.

On his scarred body, he caressed a single white scar lovingly. That scar, suspended on his shoulder, looked like it had received a sharp iron picket, and was painful to even look at.

"Now just a lone loved person. ーーOneself's beloved person, who will be a hero someday, Natsuki Subaru's supporter, Rem... was it? Nameless Onii-san is a different case, but we believe that the one named Natsuki Subaru, and Nameless Onii-san, are indeed, the meals in the world that are most worth eating. Let us meet them, tho~se beloved hero-samas! Our heroes must have had come to cast his judgement upon us, till all the wa~y here!"

"Beatrice-san...?"

Beatrice stepped lightly and stood in front of Otto, who was counting the number of magic stones left in his sleeves with his finger. Otto was unable to understand why she had shifted towards him.

"Get your ideas corrected, I suppose. Good job calling Betty here, in fact. He is... Only he is someone Subaru must not meet, I suppose. If Subaru meets him, he will be hurt. Certainly, to the point that wound will never heal. That's why."

"Then let's stop him here, by just ourselves."

"Waitwaitwaitwait, I'm telling you to wait! I heard you talk like some big shot, but what can this little girl do in the first place. Though I've heard you were a companion of that nii-chan."

"Ah, um, I see. First, explaining that would be a bit tricky..."

Felt suggested her own doubts, to which Otto was unable to give a proper explanation.

She possibly already knew about Beatrice being a Spirit and being contracted with Subaru, since that was common knowledge. It was also true that Beatrice's battle strength was uncertain in Subaru and Y/N's absenceーー.

"A pipsqueak should not call others little girls, in fact. If you have the free time to worry about Betty's ability, you should better use it for worrying about that futureless deficient body, I suppose."

"Quite a harsh brat you are, hey. Let me tell you, I've been eating and sleeping properly now, so both my back and my chest are growing. You should be the one worrying over your future. I'm sure that even Y/N nii-chan would agree with me on this."

"Unfortunately, Betty's body is set firm to this design. So... Hmph."

A conversation befitting the situation started, but Beatrice put a halt to it by pausing her words. Her eyes finally drifted towards the staff Omega held, and realized it was different from the one usually held by the one that used to be know as Ryuzu Shima.

"No way, Mother, is it that Meteor, I suppose?"

"Meteor?" Felt asked, confused at what the large staff could've done. In truth, she thought it was just a very powerful magic stick of sorts.

"Mother... A revered magician a long time ago, used it to pester the Dragon, in fact. Its whereabouts were supposed to be unknown, but this is fate, I suppose." Beatrice regarded Omega, who continued to modify and improve the meteor as time went by at this very moment. "Where, did Mother acquire it, in fact?"

"Y/N said an organization he made a deal with gave this to the blonde girl over there due to some kind of friendship or something. I don't know anything more. Anyways, you should stop delaying, daughter."

"It is a staff which boasts having an anecdote of having made Volcanica halfway cry, is what Beatrice would've said. So yes, this is our winning card, in a sense." Omega stated, reassurance in her voice.

Her claim was still difficult to believe. However, she had conveyed the authenticity of the weapon. Though Otto had been swayed by Omega's words, Felt was yet unconvinced.

"I'll teach you about what the hell you're blabbering about later. Rather than that, this little..."

"Your conscience cannot rise above that level, in fact. But, your concern is futile, I suppose. After all."

"Ah?"

"The attack has already been set up."

In front of Felt, who tilted her neck, Beatrice sketched an enchanting smile upon her face. Her softly upraised right hand pointed towards Batenkaitos, and the throats of everyone were subsequently frozen.ーViolet crystals crystallised, and surrounded Batenkaitos' environs.

"Ah, Beatrice-sama is so merciless."

"Just holding back and mercy are things which do not exist anywhere in this world for you, I suppose."

The moment Batenkaitos let out his complaint, the violet crystals did a boisterous dance, and aimed and rushed at his petite body. The tough and pointed attack struck the thin body standing uprightーー the crystals shattered, the stone pavement fissured, and smoke was given rise to. This disastrous scene in this huge open plaza, had proved her might.

"Well, what do you think, I suppose."

Showing her magical power, Beatrice turned to Felt with a victorious expression. Though it was an immature gesture for a four hundred year old Great Spirit, but Felt was too speechless to point anything like that out.

"W-Well, not so ba~d, I guess. However, Y/N nii-chan can definitely do better!"

However, despite her speechlessness, Felt refused to admit her loss and mistakes. "But he isn't active right now, is he?" Beatrice smirked a little.

"Y-Your voice, i~s trembling, Miss Felt." Gaston chose this moment to cut in, and was immediately reprimanded by his employer.

"That goes for you too! Stop saying idiotic nonsense, and keep looking ahead!"

"He's comingーー!" Dynas shouted, and everyone raised their eyes and looked in the direction he had his eyes fixed upon. There present was the form of 『Gluttony』, with all four of his limbs on the ground, moving like a spider. Gluttony smiled, displayed his fangs, as blood streamed down from his eyes.

"El Akra." Omega muttered the words, and just like Y/N formerly could, everyone's speed drastically increased, including Otto's, who could barely fight.

Shaking his head about, disheveling his hair, Batenkaitos leapt from the ground and pounced, charging ahead once again.

"ーーFive shots, left."

In response to his charge, Otto heard Beatrice mutter something unsettling whilst licking her lips.

The moment El Minya was used, and the attack commenced upon Batenkaitos, Beatrice felt a large Magic Stone shatter in her pocket. The number of Magic Stones now left with her were ten, an increase due to the helpful supplies of Y/N. However, in terms of Beatrice's usage, only five could be deployed in the battle.

If she were to say the truth, Beatrice wanted to hurriedly reach where Subaru was. The city's situation had revolved, and Subaru, too, was under threat. If her self not by his side, Subaru is a hopelessly worrying guy, after all. That's why, now that her self was awake, she shall dedicate herself to Subaruー

"Stupid, I suppose. No, stupid, in fact."

Beatrice gave up on that desire of hers, once she felt the guilt after realizing her indulgence under the name of concern. If Subaru had chosen to fight, that too without the presence of her self, then that means he has a way to fight without her. Subaru does not overestimate himself. Rather, he tends to underestimate himself too much. He would not recklessly get into a confrontation with an opponent he could not win against, and if he could win against the opponent without using Beatrice, he would somehow or other wake her up.

That's why in this battle, Subaru did not need herself, who had been left alone. That is why, once Subaru has returned after the battle, she must also have a victorious record under her belt so that she can match up to him. In other words, she must wrap it up in five moves.

"The reunion will Bubby will have to wait, I suppose. Instead of that, you will be seeing hell, in fact." One of the large Magic Stones Kiritaka gave to Beatrice, was originally intended to be occupied by Puck. That was the original purpose of their trip, but now, that being shattered for the purpose of battle is nothing but ironic.

"We're tired of seeing hell ~tsu! After all, the ones that got eaten by us, eve~ry one of them tasted tha~t in the end!"

Shouting that, Batenkaitos leapt towards them. His movement was casual, but his cutting gaze was utmost cautious regarding Beatrice. He was unaware of the fact that Beatrice would run out of gas after five moves, that she would run out of Mana. In order to give him that impression, she had commenced an attack of a powerful range in exchange of one Magic Stone, that strategy was the best faculty available, and it had passed its exam. Beatrice raised up her left hand, and pointed its palm towards the mid-air Batenkaitos.

"Ul Minya!" At that moment, expecting the extremely high level magic, Batenkaitos toughened up his body. In front of him, Beatrice stuck out her tongue, and flew backwards. "Just kidding, in fact."

At that point, Gaston and Dynas plunged onto the curled-up Batenkaitos. The shouting two men launch their counterattack attack upon Batenkaitos, with two blades and a fist. The weighty and sharp hit struck Gluttony, but Batenkaitos dodged it with preeminent body handling, and in reverse, turned his own dagger towards the dominated two.

Gaston obstructed into the dagger's path, shielding Dynas and taking the strike himself.

A wooden report echoed and the dagger's power was weakened, but Gaston, while drawing back, coughed violently, and red blood seeped out of those lips.

"But, it seems he pushed himself far too much, in fact."

In Beatrice's eyes, Gaston's facets and talents were nothing beyond mediocrity. Him being able to, somehow or the other, take the Sin Archbishop's spears with his Ryuuhou, could only be because Batenkaitos had been going very easy on Gaston.

Kneeling down, Lye kicked right into Gaston's jaw in the upward direction. Bleeding from his nose, and collapsing down, immobile, the giant was now unable to battle. With this, their war potential had been reduced by one more.

"You rea~lly worked hard, Gaston! Pre~tty bravely you fought. ーーYou worked and you worked, but you fai~led! We evaluate such a guy to be worthy ~tsu!"

"ーーYou, bastard!'

Seeing the form of Batenkaitos mocking Gaston, Felt's blood rose up to her head, and she took out her daggers as she started swiping them at Lye in fury.

"Uh, o~h! Geez Felt-chan, yo~u're do~ing i~t ~tsu!"

"Shut, up! Get away, you shit!"

"You! Get away now, I suppose! Our merchant has already recovered the big guy, in fact!" Beatrice yelled at Felt with worry, knowing that if she keeps this up, her existence might just be erased.

"Do you think I came here just to mislead!" Felt responded. Other than her will to avenge Gaston, the other part, was that she wanted to believe her nii-chan's words, no matter how harsh the reality might be.

The difference in their physical capabilities was evident, and it was certain that she would lose if she was counterattacked. While Felt attacked Lye, Otto hurriedly drew the fainted Gaston out of the field. Dynas too, confirmed the texture of his two katanas, was searching for a gap to break into Felt and Lye's fight but, there was no certain opportunity. Even if an alteration arises, Lye fills in that gap completely.

"What, what is it, what is this, what could it be, why could it be, what could it perhaps be ~tsu! Even after jumping in for helping, will Felt-chan abandon this so pathetically?"

"So noisy! You too, you bastard, just stay put and get hit..."

As Felt yelled while swinging her daggers, at that moment, Batenkaitos stepped ahead. The distance between the two of them became zero, and 『Gluttony's』 palm caressed Felt's slender chest. At that moment, the shock impacted the young girl's body and threw her backwards gently, and giving rise to a high pitched shriek, Felt rolled down the stone pavement.

The attack had strength enough to simply throw her body backwards, but that was not the problem here.

"Oh no! She has been directly touched!"

Otto raised his voice, seeing the coughing Felt, who had received the impact on her chest. Seeing the agony on his face, Beatrice understood the reason for his concern.

"Felt-cha~n. ーLet's eat."

Following the unknown principle, Batenkaitos' left hand, which had touched Felt, he licked its palm with his elongated tongue. As if, there was something vital, like the young girl named Felt, present on it. Placed it on his tongue as if loving it, caressed its rough texture, tasted each and every part of it as if harvesting it, and dropped it down to his breadbasket and mercilessly digested it.

And, all traces of the young girl named Felt disappeared from the world... or it should've been.

"Ugh, ghue~... ~tsu."

"Hu~h? What is it, you bastard. Just how rude can this guy get."

Felt, shaking her head, was looking at Batenkaitos, knelt down and vomiting. Of course, her existence had not disappeared, she only tilted her neck in rage. Other than that, it fitted her nii-chan's prediction that he told her before he engaged in the fight, miraculously yet unbelievable.

That was the moment, when Lye's meal had failed unsightly.