Mind you. There are mysteries around how certain characters act, that weirdness/inconsistency is intentional. There are mysteries that will be solved as time passes.

I think this is a record use of Sirius in any fic.

"Subaru…are you okay?"

"Hmm. Let me get you guys the sweets you want."

Evading Emilia's question and Beatrice's worried gaze, Subaru started walking.

"Then I'll come with you, I suppo–"

"No. You stay with Emilia, make sure she doesn't do anything dumb."

"Hey!" Emilia cutely shouted.

After easing the tension created by him, even if it's just a bit, Subaru leaves.

It wasn't some PTSD or something like that this time. To begin with, Subaru's consciousness made things a little bit different, whether it could be called PTSD or not he wasn't sure.

Since when he had his 'episodes' he was re-living the entire thing.

Literally.

So perhaps his consciousness was rapidly appearing in different moments he experienced.

None of that mattered.

"This was like…a bad feeling, but it's not about the past."

It was a type of precognition he gained perhaps?

But in the end Subaru wasn't worried about that, instead—

"I can't fucking believe I react like this…Natsuki Subaru just can't stop being dramatic, huh?"

Something bad is going to happen? He might die?

So?

Why feel like this?

What's the point?

'I cannot lose. I cannot even have a victory that I am not satisfied with, anything but satisfaction is impossible. Even with Rem, which made me lose my mind for a while, it is my own way of moving forward. Everything is just so convenient for me.' The sleeping princess was sleeping, so that she would wake up in a convenient world.

He is Rem's Hero. Always two steps ahead. That's what he will become to everyone else, no, to Rem. If Rem saw him like that, that was more than enough.

He is a time traveling, immortal alien who most likely summoned himself to this world.

Not just that, he was superior to people of this world in many ways, unlike them, he didn't need his memories to be connected with the world. He wasn't dependent on mana, nor needed blessings.

All of this which belonged to Subaru, arrogant things to think for sure, but was it wrong?

"Even so I act like this, so fucking stupid."

—In this world, there are at most a few beings that make him sweat as far as matters of difficulty are concerned.

Simply put, Petelguese. Not even a few, just a single person.

It was just that.

There was no reason for him to even believe any other being could cause him problems unless he is limiting himself like in the Sanctuary.

Anyone who depends on their ability or cheat, will just make things easier. He will no longer think that accepting these facts is arrogance.

As far as Subaru is concerned, in the history of this world, only Petelguese could be difficult for him in a stage where things weren't convenient against him. Who didn't exactly depend on his Unseen Hands, not to mention he was smarter than most people he knew in this world, he was insanely cautious as well..

–And even fighting against him was convenient for Subaru, simply because, gospel didn't favor the Petelguese that much.

"Hah, that will probably be true for all of his colleagues as well." If the books they depend on favored Subaru, that also meant convenience.

"Ah, really, this world unironically works in my favor, doesn't it? Though unlike Priscilla, it's probably something I force."

"Fufu~ Excuse me? Can you please join the others? I am about to begin"

The voice was finally acknowledged by Subaru, who was ignoring it so far simply because he thought it wasn't calling out for him.

The feeling when you think someone calls out for you and the embarrassment comes when that isn't true…yeah, Subaru learned to make sure not to assume things quickly.

But now it was undeniable.

"Uh? Uhm…I am fine as it is."

"Really? Are you sure? Are you sure you don't want to join the others? For I have something important to tell all of you."

"Are you stupid?"

"...Ah?" The weird figure smiled.

"We are talking right now, clearly hearing each other, even though we have to raise our voices because of your weird choice to stay so high up. If you were to think things a little bit more thoroughly, you would know that isn't good for speeches by the way. Anyways, I can hear you, so there is no need for me to get in the crowd with NPCs who have questionable hygiene standards." He finally spoke this…he was keeping it inside far too long.

'I already know the level of convenience and observed your civilization levels, you fuckers… water systems and hygiene products are convenient enough here, you have no excuse to smell like that.'

He actually thought if someone like Emilia would smell bad without her rather magical attributes, since mana does help even with such a simple thing like smelling bad when you have enough of it… no, Puck was talking about teaching hygiene related stuff to Emilia. Now that Subaru thinks about it, he tried ignoring it so much but Puck is most likely a being connected to him, or at least his origins. The amount of modern Earth-like behaviors coming from that cat was insane.

'Good job, Natsuki Subaru, you actually managed to ignore that connection even though his name literally means 'mischievous spirit'. Though why would you try so hard? Since it doesn't matter…? Natsuki Subaru's character isn't one that allows for slavery so all of the messed up shit he did was his own fault.'

"Oh, that reasoning makes perfect sense but it's also the most incomprehensible thing I have ever heard, when I consider this situation." The figure nodded several times, who can't help but chuckle despite the effort spent on holding back, doing all that while Subaru was thinking so many things.

It didn't matter, though,anyone could converse with an NPC whilst thinking about important matters.

"I disagree with the second part, but you've already become one of the most sensible individuals I've ever talked to in this world just by understanding half of the things I said. No, to be honest, it's not like I bother to talk in a way that people can understand. Kinda hypocritical considering I desperately wanted to be understood, but it also isn't because I tried a lot to make people understand too. Since there wasn't any difference, I am not hypocritical for giving up. Hm, I see."

Subaru smiled with satisfaction, he himself couldn't remember the last time he felt content like this. And he gained that feeling just by conversing with himself, rather than others.

"Being able to reach an understanding just by talking to yourself requires an immense amount of honesty. And do not worry, I understood you perfectly, the word you used is not one that I recognize, but even so, I understood the meaning now. Since we are connected, you see."

"You did huh? Congratulations…you found a new you, Sirius." Subaru smiled honestly and mockingly at the same time, somewhat managing to do that.

Honesty was pointed out to the woman in bandages, while Subaru mocked himself for assuming there was no way for anyone to understand the foreign words he used.

"...That name calling is sooo creepy since… I know you didn't hear me saying my name! This kind of incomprehensibility brings back bad memories! But what's this? Ara~ I am blushing!" Sirius was seemingly sure that Subaru did not hear her name from anyone, that too, was possible simply because they were connected.

But that interaction comes to an end.

"Hey! What's this? We are waiting so patiently but she forgot about us!"

"Here I was excited about the things we would hear from her!"

"I feel cheated to be honest…"

"I want to kill this guy."

The crowd made their dissatisfaction clear. Stopping both Subaru and Sirius.

"Ah, sorry about them, If I knew you would come now…I want you to know that we would be alone."

"That kind of special treatment will make you gain a lot of points from me, considering the trend about how the heroine of the story puts randoms above me every single time…" Subaru said as he opened his arms while showing a fake sadness.

"Ah…There are people that wait for you?"

"Well, I didn't say they were waiting for me, wow, isn't that creepy? How did you know about that?"

"How did you know my name?"

"Spoilers, even to myself to be honest. But it's also not that surprising."

"If it's not surprising, doesn't that mean you have some ideas?"

"Of course, that's what I meant."

"And what are those ideas?"

"Spoilers, my dear. They are spoilers."

"Okay…Your defiance was already suspicious, but I think you are mocking me, I am sorry if I am wrong though, my apologies in that case."

"Hmm? I will accept your apologies. Because you must understand that spoilers spoil things for you as well, even if you ignore me. Though even If I were to decide to tell you, I do have a strict policy to not do anything that gets in the way of my perfectly satisfactory ending…So in that sense I am not even free to tell you or even get the answers from myself, that requires an insurmountable amount of determination, just enough to beat my current determination on how I do things."

Subaru said with nothing but honesty. Yet, he wasn't acting like his normal self either…

"Well, I am uncomfortable now, simply because I don't understand you even though we are more well connected than anyone in this world. I think I will just move along with what I planned, after that, I have plans for you as well." Sirius said with a sigh.

"Oh? So it's not the end for me just yet?"

"Not yet, but it is also an end for sure, something that will be fixed later. I'll handle it somewhat, I am sorry, I knew I shouldn't prolong the meeting for long and yet I couldn't calm down that uneasiness. And now I have to play perfectly…or else it will be all over for you and me."

With that, Sirius turned her focus to the displeased crowd.

"I am sorry for making you wait, I called you out for a very touching story about…This young boy right here. Lusbel-kun."

Right as she was speaking, she held a boy who was bound by chains.

"Mphphm!? MPHHMMM!" He seemed to be in a different mood than everyone around him…

After his eyes uncontrollably moved, they landed on a figure who wore orange and black, his eyes gained a little bit light just as he registered that fact.

"His father is named Muslan Kallard. Muslan-san works to maintain the stability of the waterways. Ina Kallard, Lusbel-kun's mother, is pregnant. Her stomach has just started to grow larger, and so Lusbel-kun is looking forward to having a younger brother or sister. He also carries a very important person in his heart, Tina-chan. Lusbel wants to be an adventurer for her sake! Tina-chan loves Lusbel ten times more than Lusbel loves her for sure. So that manly goal won't be wasted on her."

"Wow…Lusbel…"

"He is THE man…"

"He is worthy of Tina-chan for sure."

The crowd looked at Lusbel in a different light now, unlike before when they saw him crying like a baby.

"I also agree with all of you, but it doesn't end here, normally I wanted to have Tina-chan with me right now since I think she would work better to make everyone receive the same understanding and share that…but Lusbel-kun desperately wanted to be one."

The crowd, once again, moved by Lusbel-kun.

But the word "Crowd" didn't include that one person…

"There is more to Lusbel-kun, one day—"

"Yeah, where is the skip button? I can't fucking find it? Or I only get that thing after seeing this part without skipping first? If that's the case can I trick the game into believing I already saw all of this by resetting? That's worth dying to be honest. I'll Alt-F4 really quick if you tell me that's the case. "

Natsuki Subaru, said with pure disgust and disinterest, not letting Sirius continue.

"It seems you aren't moved by the story as much as others…" While the sentence conveyed disappointment, Sirius's eyes screamed the exact opposite of that.

"Come on, you are really good at making the story look good but you see, it actually goes like this. Lusbel's father is rich, doing a job many others can in this luxury city, probably thanks to his connections, possibly, likely, he is corrupt. Their family is having a nice time in this medieval world where most people suffer and he will get a sister soon. The brat is also lucky to have a girl that likes him, but she likes him probably because parents make them meet from childhood to make the marriage easier."

"Hmm…But Lusbel gave his life—I mean his time away for Tina-chan's sake. Don't you think that's commendable?"

"That slip there was cute, and that's a feat for a woman in bandages, no offense."

"None taken."

"Anyways, back to Lusbol—"

"Lusbel. It is important to be correct while calling people's names, as otherwise you might offend them. Of course I apologize as well if you feel like I am judging you, but still, I must insist for the sake of Lusbel's feelings."

"Yes, Lusbal. He is so fucking cliche, not to mention why should I feel moved about this? If I didn't win every single fucking time no one would like me at all. Unless Lusbol's waifu Tina has a crazy twin sister named Tuna that will kill him unless he saves the day, there is no way his sacrifices beat mine. Also, I can't care about every single stranger."

"..." Crowd was shocked about this. In fact, they are going to kill Subaru, yet something stops them…

Sirius speaks, turning her focus from the city, Lusbel and from the crowd to Subaru.

No one but Subaru had her focus now.

"Your words carry intense emotions and cold logic…and yet, look at the Lusbel-kun here, and rethink your words…Perhaps we can reach an understanding…"

Subaru didn't say anything, but his eyes landed on Lusbel…

…..and then.

"He is…"

"Yes?" Sirius waited patiently for Subaru to end his sentence, reach a conclusion.

"An NPC…for sure."

Sirius closes her eyes. Not even she could make him care it seems. Was this her failure?

She decided it was Lusbel's failure, probably for her own sanity.

"Ah…This kind world, it's just beautiful."

Holds the chain that bound Lusbel…

"And yet, that's all there is, so is it really beautiful? Is beauty alone beautiful if there is no ugliness? And if ugliness makes the beauty beautiful, then is it really ugliness?"

She swings the boy, who was crying to the air…Lusbel goes far…far above.

Subaru was impressed by the strength feat.

But he stops that line of thought once he feels Sirius's gaze on him.

"No matter how great the understanding is, no matter how much hearts connect…Not even that affects, when there is not a trace of connection beforehand."

Even if it's a thousand, million or a billion, you cannot achieve a thing by multiplying zero. You cannot share zero, not even she can do that.

That's what Subaru thought instantly, when she heard Sirius's soft voice.

It was far more…pure than before. It wasn't just her voice, her eyes looked at Subaru with pity.

"It's almost like nothingness…is the truth, and not even the beauty of this world can't change it."

Not even Sirus's ability could make people comprehend Subaru's heart. Nor make him sympathize with them when he can see the shallowness in them, that was the true essence of Natsuki Subaru…it has always been this way.

After that statement, Lusbel fell beside Subaru.

He felt nothing.

Everyone close to Subaru fell, painting the ground red.

He felt nothing.

Subaru fell, his body took no less damage than others, all the people that met their end in a terrific way, it wasn't in an instant, it took a little bit more than that.

But…he felt nothing.

Did Natsuki Subaru even feel anything real…ever since he started this journey from zero?

…..What?

…

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food and drinks for them, Subaru-sama? Indulging in sweet snacks will certainly create a mood that will close the distance between them, don't you think so?"

Instead of answering, Subaru brought his left hand in front of his face, the black and white hand with grayness, with a background that was black and white, a girl with colorless long-hair who was dressed in a expensive, revealing…black and white dress that made for royalty, and a little girl who was suppose to bring color into this black and white world, was black and white as well. Right beside her there was a black and white girl who was supposed to have tanned skin.

He ignored their worried gazes, he couldn't hear them so it was easier to ignore that. He snapped his fingers, it was as if he was hitting a tv to make it work, except in this case Subaru was trying to fix his failed connection to this world.

It works, Subaru's hand gains whiteness that was far more natural, hair of that girl which suited some of his tastes gains the silvery color, that gyaru who was infatuated with him and the little girl with butterfly eyes also gains their blond color.

Yet, not even Beatrice's colors felt permanent this time, it would fade away.

Just like that.

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food and drinks for them, Subaru-sama? Indulging in sweet snacks will certainly create a mood that will close the distance between them, don't you think so?"

"You'll say that until I accept it right?"

"Yes."

"Then alright, I will buy you snacks."

"I love you!"

"Yeah, that's a rather cheap love!" Subaru jokes, though Liliana wasn't bothered by it…It actually makes him remember her exceptional way of conveying her love not long ago.

Yes, his heart does skip a beat…but that's about it. Since he has much more to worry about.

Subaru starts walking away but…

"Subaru! Are you fine I suppose? What was that…"

"Nothing, just my ears kinda went numb…or something like that." He answers coldly. Something changed about him, even though he knows it, he can't help but act like this.

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" Beatrice tells him, seemingly deduced he was going to do something.

'Nice observation.' Subaru mockingly thinks, wonders if she would even realize that much if he bothered to hide even a little bit.

"Yes…If you need help just…I am here." Emilia also says.

'I wonder if she even realized anything wrong with me…or just saying this because she saw Beatrice saying it, haha.' Subaru thinks with amusement.

Of course, this was just Subaru having no confidence in them whatsoever, all of them, including Emilia, understood that something was wrong with Subaru.

Liliana wanted to give him a window of opportunity to take a breather alone.

Emilia and Beatrice knew Subaru's habit of taking things by himself, something they considered a flaw since Subaru was…

Weak. As far as pure ability goes, of course

But even that was wrong.

"Nah, you guys are useless so I'll have to refuse." Since they could afford to think him as weak, then he could let them know that they are useless as well, unlike them, Subaru isn't wrong. That's what he thinks.

Not even bothering to cover nor making any attempt to be softer, Subaru brutally rejects Beatrice and Emilia.

Surely, Sirius, whose name spawned in his head randomly, would easily use these two against him.

There was this idea of setting strict rules so that wouldn't happen but it's not like these two could follow Subaru's orders.

One was too arrogant, even when she isn't, would think that taking initiation since she knows a lot of stuff that Subaru doesn't and she can do something. That was Beatrice.

Emilia could be very obedient, but that's when she is confident enough to not do things selfishly just to feel useful, right now, after recent situations and with how the thing with Liliana affected her, there was no way she wouldn't try hard to make herself useful, which always made her useless.

He wasn't willing to die for these reasons.

His new resolution was that if he wishes for it, he could kill himself for the dumbest shit or die because of the dumbest mistake.

But no more Natsuki Subaru would die because of these people, just because they don't take him seriously.

He walks away once again but—

"I won't let Subaru face things away himself! I will always be with him!" Emilia proclaims.

I will always be with him huh? Such nice words.

But it's too late, Emilia.

"Then you better put a sign to hire a new knight, just make sure it's not Julius. He became too precious for me, shit, that sounds too misleading."

Subaru was doing his usual antics, despite dropping the life shattering bomb on Emilia.

"S-Subaru…" As he lent his attention to Emilia, even Subaru's expression changed for a millisecond…

He thought Emilia wouldn't even take that comment seriously, so he would need to do something to prove he was serious.

However…if Emilia didn't take it seriously, then why was her body shaking, her breath going crazy and her pupils getting smaller?

"Hkghg….S-...subaru….I'll…stay."

'Maaaybe…just maybe, she cares. I can't tell though, this is Emilia after all.' Subaru chuckles and leaves, but…

He feels a thug on his sleeve.

Subaru didn't need to turn his head back to know its Beatrice.

"Subaru...I—"

Subaru was sure she had a convincing argument but…

"I hope that person exists, because you might wanna search for him, unless you stay here that is."

The gasp Beatrice made was unmistakably the sound of her heart breaking.

Subaru didn't have the courage to turn back, not because he was scared of how Beatrice's current face would affect him.

Not scared that his heart would break…

But he was scared that he wouldn't feel anything.

He took a peek though, not at Beatrice but at Liliana.

He felt her eyes, disproving his actions. Yet she also looked questioningly as if not taking his out-of-nowhere cruelty as it is.

This was the girl who was basically his fan, biggest fan and she was madly in love with him.

In this world where love's definition was the same with unhealthy obsession as far as Subaru observed, that objective gaze made Subaru's heart beat positively, Liliana was surely precious.

He wasn't sure about Emilia's worth, who was clinging to the crystal where Puck stayed, the moment Subaru snapped at her once, she was clinging on Puck already.

Never in her countless mistakes, Subaru leaned on something or else just in case things wouldn't work with her, but for Emilia it was instant.

"In any case, none of this matters." These interactions would be erased after all. That was the absolute truth that no one can do anything about it.

How he acted in that loop, Subaru ignored it, all of this was Sirius's fault for sure. He will not think about it. He couldn't afford to.

That aside, it was game over before it began.

"Now I won't be affected, it's all the same, I am probably immune this time. After this it's a matter of seeing if I can use the fact that I am immune or not."

This Archbishop, for sure, is stronger than him in brute power. Though Subaru can try to equal that playground by his Mana Negation…it was easier to just attack when Sirius assumes she is in control. He can use his cards after that.

The superiority Natsuki Subaru has over anyone who got their powers from Authorities alone could make him easily win.

Right now, he depends on that idea.

"After this loop, there will probably be casualties, I mean what happened to Lusbol happened to everyone. I took the same damage just a bit later than everyone, that alone supports the idea that in this loop, I'll probably be immune. But it's not the same for everyone."

That was one of the reasons why he didn't care to handle things more smoothly with Beatrice and Emilia.

After he wins in this loop, he will kill himself and do things before the crowd comes together, that will keep his win clear from any imperfections. Not that he wants things to be absolutely perfect, but he can't let the fact that he will kill so many people even though that will be Sirius's fault.

"But still, I guess I will kill fifty people or something like that in this loop."

To that, Natsuki Subaru thinks this over, his answer was—

"Yeah. Whip will do well in this one."

One that didn't even take into account the fact that he would kill…a lot of people.

But was he wrong? All of this will be erased.

There is no other timeliness, it was impossible for Subaru's ability to have such a thing and Subaru himself logically disproved all that.

"...It's fine, right. All this time, I was caring about people's death even the times I knew it would be resetted."

That—was a big lie.

Subaru deep down also knew it, the fact that he died to save people in a failed loop and the fact that he reacted to their death and showed sadness were true.

However…

He reacted and he showed sadness. One can do that even without truly feeling those emotions.

It was no doubt, the person who materialized something like Return By Death, know it for sure that all of that was meaningless.

But even so—

"I can't remember…when I got used to this."

When did he start to act like he cared? Or perhaps he cared and then got desensitized?

It didn't seem like a question that would get an answer. Regardless of how much brain power he sacrificed.

Subaru stopped thinking about this and watched the place Sirius would appear.

Subaru would wait a bit, only move towards the ground when Sirius starts her speech.

Right now, he should stay low as he watches from far away—

"Let's go buddy, something interesting is going on there!" Someone told Subaru…

And Subaru—

"Yeah, why not?" Subaru accepted the stranger's invitation with no struggle.

That meant he already lost.

"Her stomach has just started to grow—"

"Skip!"

"...As you might guess she is pregna—"

"Skip!"

"Can you shut up!"

"Oh my god! This guy is so annoying! I want to kill him!"

"So disrespectful!"

While Sirius seemed to be fond of Subaru's continuous shouting 'Skip!', for some reason. The crowd did not share that sentiment.

"...What a weird development…"

"Oh, you are bothered by it? Well, it's not your fault to be honest, It's actually me who limited my mechanics…probably with the idea that "otherwise I would be too bored or disconnected!" or something like that."

"Hmm, I hope you won't be offended by this, however I want to continue my speech."

Subaru smiles and makes a thumbs up…Unzips his tracksuit, takes a dagger from a seemingly hidden pocket and stabs a woman's throat…

With that, Natsuki Subaru falls with all of the viewers, bleeding to death while unable to breathe.

In his last moments, he sees Sirius unscatched to that…he makes a thumbs up as well.

As he bleeds out and dies Sirius looks at him calculatingly, seemingly out of character.

"That kind of insanity is surprising…but no matter how much I think…that was definitely—"

—Not my doing.

Subaru did not hear any of Sirius's words. But deep down, he knew the truth.

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food and drinks for them, Subaru-sama? Indulging in sweet snacks will certainly create a mood that will close the distance between them, don't you think so?"

"Sure."

With that answer and some better handling of Beatrice and Emilia compared to the previous loop, Subaru left them once again without breaking any hearts.

He…couldn't quite accept things right now.

"Nah. That killing that random NPC lady part…that was me for sure. So I am gaining resistance, this time, for sure."

—He does not realize, however, the fact that he accepted it was him, and him alone, who made that exit by killing a random person, it was a sign that unlike the first loop, he wasn't bothering to reject some of the facts about the Subaru who was affected by Sirius's Authority.

"Though despite my loss of control…I do know for sure me at that time was trying to see if Sirius would die. He even made sure to check her expression…she was surprised by me randomly killing that woman so…yeah, when it's not convenient for her the attacks don't get reflected even though it's not her who made the killing blow. She won't be killed by her own power…Not with this method, that is."

Still…he did not plan that exit.

So why did he even do that at that moment?

…Answer was unknown to Subaru.

In any case, this time…for sure.

Instead of waiting somewhere close, being obviously suspicious, Subaru went to the right where the crowd slowly got bigger and bigger, despite no announcements from Sirius being made.

'This time, I will acknowledge that Authority of yours…just a little bit.'

What he was about to do, might cause deaths.

Even so—not like they would stay dead.

A clapping sound made to gather attention cuts Subaru's thoughts instantly.

"I sincerely apologize. I need only some of it so let me borrow your time. Thank you very much."

A voice appeared. This was the first time Subaru listened to her.

Crowd was more or less complete.

"First, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sirius Romanée-Conti." She said and respectfully bowed.

While Subaru…

'Romanée-Conti? What the hell…No, it doesn't matter. Actually it's better this way, isn't it?'

And then when Sirius was about to continue…

"THAT'S A SIN ARCHBISHOP!? SHE IS GOING TO MASSACRE EVERYONE HERE!"

"...Ah?! No..There is no way—"

"SHE IS, SHE KILLS CHILDREN AND EATS THEM! SHE EVEN HAS THE LAST NAME OF THE SIN ARCHBISHOP WHO TORTURED THOUSANDS AND KILLED MILLIONS!"

A person shouted, so hard that their throat bled.

Keep speaking and speaking, while opening their heart to everyone.

This was Subaru.

Using his accursed inability to forget tragedies, Subaru turned that into power.

Replaying his worst memories, were bodies burned by the cult and there was no one spared.

'How about you sharing this with everyone here? Sirius Romanée-Conti!' Subaru thought and pondered, this was the answer he reached.

Subaru didn't even need to complete his resistance, he can simply exploit even this woman's Authority.

There wasn't any power in this world he couldn't exploit.

"This is…indeed, the isekai isn't it?! What do you think guys!?"

"LET'S KILL HER!"

"THE FUCK! IT'S ENOUGH! WE WON'T BE JUST DISCARDED BY SOME FREAK."

"I'll have fun with her body, she can do that at least before stop wasting air."

"I am a guard anyway, so it's a given I will do some interrogation haha."

—

More and more, the crowd not only shared Subaru's rage, but brought forth their own negative emotions as well.

Even though this was a consequence of Sirius's power…

"..."

Subaru can't say he is pleased with some of the words they uttered.

What bothered him even more though, how calm Sirius was.

"That's not how a person who loses control of their only ability acts…"

As if answering Subaru, Sirius opens her arms and smiles.

Then a terrifying dark feeling invades everyone's soul.

'This…ah, I know this.'

It was what many people in this world do, showing their hostility with their presence, an animalistic move that Subaru liked as a trope when he read stories back in his world.

Yet now he experienced it many times and observed beings, enemy or friend doing it, he looked down on this way of acting. It was no different than a dog trying to scare someone.

But the effectiveness of this move couldn't be denied against weaker people who also lacked willpower to brush it off.

Especially, The Witch Factors who opposed the world single handedly…such presence was something you cannot gain by being strong.

He understood Sirius's motivation instantly, terrifying everyone here. So much so they get in line once again.

"But you don't know me."

It didn't matter to him. Echidna scared him only for a moment, and that was just for his body, Subaru wasn't terrified of her whatsoever.

Any 'scary' presence, he adapted really quickly.

Now, he can give that 'courage' to everyone here.

Taking a deep breath…Subaru rejected Sirius's hostility.

With this—

'What..?'

Why—

"Why am I shaking?!" Was he scared of her?

—No way!

Once again it was rejected, absurdly, he eradicated the fear.

But then—Natsuki Subaru found himself attacked by a fear hundreds of times stronger.

He vomited.

Kept rejecting the fear, with even greater will power.

And thus, fear came back stronger.

Ever stronger fear, ever stronger determination, cycle continued.

"Ah, such a spectacle. You understand people really well."

"..." Subaru was squirming as his body spasmed on the ground, he couldn't even stand.

"Oh? No, I am not mocking you. That was such a great idea. I am not disappointed in the slightest." Feeling Subaru's 'answer' in the shape of emotions, Sirius answered.

"..." Shaking without any control, the cycle continued.

"You are so good…You understood how people enrage rather well. You even brought up painful memories and rage from the past to share, but if you knew I was an Archbishop…wouldn't that be an enough reason for you to hate me? Why did you need to make a sacrifice like that? Remembering painful memories…I can't understand you. But it's not like you understand yourself either."

"..."

As Subaru felt his body couldn't take it anymore…He felt long fingers on his cheek.

"You thought, that emotion so strong that it can reject fear of death and sin itself…could be shared with people. You weren't technically wrong, my Authority definitely allows that. So please accept my apologies, I mean something different that just saying you misunderstood others—"

—Your mistake was your lack of self-realization.

You ought to be proud, not everyone can muster such defiance, but you also ought to be angry, as people feared you more than me, when both of us opened up just the same.

These were the words Subaru heard crystal clear, as Sirius cut off the fear to make sure he heard them.

However…when fear came back, it was at least a million times stronger…

Subaru's determination could take it, however scary that truth was to Sirius, did not matter.

While Subaru could take the fear.

—his body did not.

Last thing he saw was the intense amethyst eyes that saw nothing but him.

Subaru Returned By Death.

'I died…out of fear.'

Natsuki Subaru knew that was possible, as he read about that in Japan, but of course experiencing it, is something else.

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food and drinks for them, Subaru-sama? Indulging in sweet snacks will certainly create a mood that will close the distance between them, don't you think so?"

Only thing that kept him from shouting from frustration was the fact that ever multiplying fear couldn't make Subaru give up.

So many people, multiplying fear between them, multiplication was such a strong force…2,4,8,16,32 and soon you would reach millions. In this case it was worse as multiplication happened with more than just two. There were MANY people in that crowd.

Yet Subaru's determination didn't lose. It won each time.

"Alright, I will buy snacks. I even have a surprise for you."

"Oh, okay?"

"..." Emilia and Beatrice looked at Subaru weirdly.

'Indeed, extra dialogue seems to be better so that they won't follow me out of worry. Though my reply was a few seconds late because time for adjusting to my body is a thing after each Return By Death, unfortunately. But it was quite short this time…Why is that?'

While thinking Subaru left the group.

…

"Wait, how many times I fucking died?"

Subaru shouted at himself.

For some reason, he wasn't even counting…

"The hell…that's creepy."

Why wasn't he counting?

Quickly recalling everything back Subaru says…

"Four." This was the fourth loop. He died three times.

With that, he moved forward, this time, he had a different idea.

Once again, Subaru waited for the crowd to form.

Return By Death was absolute as always, with Subaru making no difference, Sirius appeared just like she always did.

But before she could speak.

"Hey, what about those bandages?"

Everyone had much different thoughts about the woman, but now Subaru mentioned it.

"Yeah, she looks like a freak" This became the general sentiment.

Sirius looked furious, so furious, but then…she wasn't angry at all.

"Those eyes…You know me right?"

"..."

"But you aren't even trying to do something?"

"That would be wrong." Subaru answered.

"You were just looking at how I would react, I know those eyes really well."

"I see."

"Ugh…My apologies but I am not in the mood anymore, this gentleman proved he was a problem so—"

With that, Sirius made her body slowly covered in flames.

And with that, the street filled with Natsuki Subaru's involuntary screams as he burned alive.

He had no idea—Why did she react like this?

"..."

He snapped his finger right in front of his eyes a few times.

'Five…This time it was my lack of self-preservation that caused this death. Probably experienced people can cancel magic around them from burning if they are prepared…I should use my Mana Negation too. Just an instant open and close should work.'

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food and drinks for them, Subaru-sama? Indulging in sweet snacks will certainly create a mood that will close the distance between them, don't you think so?"

…

After staying silent for a bit…

He looked at Emilia and Beatrice.

And—

"Now, listen to me carefully."

With that, minutes later, Emilia found herself throwing a giant icicle to a clock tower. Just when Subaru said do it, even though she couldn't see anyone there.

"No worries, timing never misses." Subaru was proud how he remembered the exact moment Sirius would step up by remembering how the crowd looked from his memories.

Each time Subaru dies, the reset is absolute.

As if reading Emilia's mind, Subaru answered her doubts.

But now Emilia is worried about something else.

"Be careful I suppose! None of these people are normal!" Emilia warns Subaru.

"Yeah, it just can't be this easy huh, yeah, now they are our enemies."

Of course Beatrice understood that perfectly…but Subaru said those words for Emilia.

Just in case she has any hesitations about fighting them..

"Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stink s Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinksStinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks Stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks, stinks"

While the crowd froze, a voice that was familiar to Subaru repeated a single word.

'Hmm…This…'

"Subaru! Focus!" Beatrice shouted.

It was weird for her to say that, as Subaru couldn't be more focused right now.

As he watched the crowd separating to make a way for someone, that someone spoke as she walked towards Subaru's group.

"Stench…Such a slutty stench…Coming from a body made to please men." It was a cold rage. One that made its intensity so obvious, even though she didn't shout.

Emilia, the target of that intense rage, froze for a second…but quickly recovered as Sirius truly did nothing but rage…

She didn't even share her rage or anything else with Emilia.

'If she did…this would already be over.' Subaru thought to himself.

But that brought one question forward.

—Why would she not use it?

"...Subaru, I am sorry, I missed her!"

Such an apology was meaningless. But after the things happened with Liliana and overall relationship between them…Emilia's self-deprecation was at an all time high.

To begin with, she didn't even see Sirius while aiming at the tower…Subaru truly timed it so well that she never saw Sirius before this.

"You didn't miss."

Emilia's eyes widened…but instead of her it was Beatrice who spoke.

"Didn't miss you say? Subaru, you—"

Subaru cuts Beatrice's disbelief.

"Look at her bandages…"

"...No way." Beatrice looked terrified.

Indeed…she was bleeding.

But the damage was superficial.

"Considering how she reflects damage…This is just so fucking scary."

Nothing stopped Sirius from punching herself in a way that she would barely be hurt…yet it would kill whoever was in front of her.

No, even if it's a strong fighter, they might get knocked out.

"Her durability is bullshit." Subaru said jokingly.

While there was no such intention, it did help calming down Beatrice and Emilia.

Subaru understood that too but—

"This loop is already over." It was just that Sirius didn't truly target them with her Authority…or was it she had to be calm about that? Subaru didn't know. From now on it was a matter of information gathering.

"Subaru?" Emilia asked him, not understanding what he meant.

"Disgusting woman…" Sirius said, looking at her.

So did the whole crowd.

"Well…Emilia?" Subaru asked her.

"...Alright." Having doubts and all, Emilia still didn't back down.

Until now, whoever she faced, Emilia was always overwhelmingly stronger than the opponent..

—Not this time.

Emilia leaps towards Sirius as she materializes her ice sword.

As for Subaru—

"Hu..h-h?" Beatrice made a shocked noise.

As one of the hostile people in the crowd closed in on one Subaru, with no hesitation, Subaru seemingly twisted his waist, he kicked one of the female demi-human, brutally.

It was an unknown move to Beatrice, but that was a spinning back kick.

Having mana amplifying any move and usually backed with great talent, the fighters in this world didn't use the force their body could produce.

While that was surprising, what shocked Beatrice was that Subaru didn't care about the safety of that demi-human.

Instead—

"Oh…So they become rageful husks when they are overloaded…and damage doesn't get reflected after that." Subaru said calmly.

Beatrice quickly adapts to that…

It's not like they will be killing them right?

The reason she was unsure was nothing other than Subaru's expression.

He didn't look like he was considering the crowd's life.

In any case, Subaru seemed to decide to handle things without needing magic from her…

If both of them used her limited capacity, then it would indeed be a problem.

So she will trust his martial arts, one that she has no recollection of Subaru using it.

And while Beatrice and Subaru was handling the crowd—

"Hyaaaaaaaa!"

—Emilia was bringing a hammer on Sirius's head with a cute scream.

The ice hammer was made by Emilia's mana, whether it was quality or quantity, by no means it was anything normal.

And yet, Sirius chose to punch the hammer with her flaming fists.

There wasn't much technique to it, she didn't try to deflect nor redirect the hammer, she just took it head on.

Crash caused a big shockwave unlike the light attacks they traded before.

"What?!" Emilia was shocked as she saw that Sirius was shaken at best.

And her ice weapon took damage as well…which was terrifying.

Not even Garfiel could crash her weapons without his claws or shield.

In the end, what made her shaken to her core wasn't the fact that Sirius's punch damaged her hammer…

But it was the fact that her flames also seem to match…maybe overpower her magic to a level. Even if it's slightly, they did damage her ice.

That's so wrong, feels so wrong.

That was what she felt.

Emilia wasn't arrogant about her power. But Emilia was blessed by mana, not only that, her magic was special as well.

She subconsciously knew that her mana won't end before anyone else's.

She knew that if the enemy isn't a master magician, even if Emilia lacked knowledge on spellcasting, if it's a clash of magic then she will win.

Emilia wasn't Priscilla, she wasn't conscious about it. She didn't speak about it.

But even so…

Emilia just wins. That's the way it is.

That isn't arrogance, that's how she was, when she was alone in Elior without Puck, she could defend herself. Her instincts also told her exactly that. She just wins.

Number of villains didn't matter. She just wins.

"SO WHY?!" She shouted in a way that wasn't Emilia-like.

"Hahaha…There it is. Finally showed your real face. A scum who is raised by scums can only act like a scum, but I am bringing out something more pretty.." Sirius said with a grin.

"What about you shut your mouth?" As Emilia said that with a cold voice, several lights appeared around her and suddenly they turned into weapons.

Beautifully made, well-detailed weapons. Swords of all kinds, spears and even some of them that not even Reinhard knew, she was sure of it, after all, she showed him while bragging about Subaru.

"These weapons…have never been made before."

Emilia didn't understand why he made such a big deal but she guessed that he just liked swords that much.

This wasn't the fruit of Emilia's powers, but the time she spent with Subaru. When things were better.

'I should've asked for more!' She fired them as she remembered that when she was doing meaningless things, Beatrice was learning from Subaru.

Rage because those who were with her when she was a child were insulted.

Envy because what meant to be hers was taken from her by several others.

Those emotions sharpened her magic.

Even Sirius had to jump, with her insane strength she easily got far away from the blades

However!

"Subaru already saw through that a year ago!" Emilia shouts.

"You know…It's not like I took advantage of that yet but…I observe in this world, when you create multiple projectiles in the air, everyone assumes you are going to throw them all at the same time or do it one by one…So they usually make large leaps to get away I mean even Elsa was doing that against you…and she is one of the smart ones."

"Hehe~ But Subaru...how would you escape from someone throwing you deadly attacks then…You dummy."

"I mean…what about never jumping unless it's an explosion…and just taking a step or something to dodge? Actually probably it's better to just move your body without taking any steps if you can…"

Last part was an idea from someone who never fought, that was definitely true even if Subaru fought before.

After all, what Subaru suggested went completely against the instincts of anyone, not just Emilia.

The most important weapon for powerful fighters. Your body moves, mostly by itself. Trying to change that for the sake of efficiency would result in death.

But he was right about one thing, and that's how people reacted to projectiles.

So Emilia learned to keep some of her magic in the air for a prolonged amount of time…even if it went against her instincts and caused her to spend more mana.

Perhaps those instincts were the exact reason why everyone fired their magic/weapons right away.

In the end, Emilia had so many more weapons to fire even when Sirius was in the air.

"Smelly bitch!" She shouted as she used her chains to hit the ice weapons that came towards her.

Most of them were sharp and had great speed, but they were durable as well…

However Sirius knew that so she didn't try to break them to begin with.

Chain successfully redirected those weapons, they missed.

This was the bad side of using solid magic projectiles, they could be redirected when met by enough force and miss.

But still—

"Shit!" Sirius shouted with rage.

—Emilia didn't throw all of them.

Going further with betting on Subaru's idea, she continued with this abnormal tactic.

It worked…This time it was a hit.

"...What a bitch. I am sure your mommy and daddy hated you. If they didn't, they have to be worse."

Sirius didn't have any of the calmness she showed to Subaru this time around.

"...Why…the hell do you know about my family!" Firing her magic without a care, Emilia fired an ice beam towards Sirius.

She didn't do anything…letting the beam hit her.

And yet, she wasn't frozen.

"Why do you assume that I know anything? You don't need to know the parents to talk about them when you can see the product of their sick fantasies. It is obvious they are scum with a twisted sense of love."

"...Shut up!"

"My name is Sirius Romanee-Conti! I will teach you what a bitch you are!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Emilia releases even more mana, considerably changing the temperature around.

While her reaction was nothing but anger…

"Guese…" Beatrice simply muttered a name with sadness.

There was fondness as well, in that voice

Which is why…

"I will remember this one."

Beatrice's head instantly turns towards the unknown voice coming from the abyss.

But there was just Subaru who was fighting with the crowd controlled by that mad woman.

Though, she confirmed it was him when she saw his eyes.

'This is just cruel I suppose…Why…Why…Why does it have to be like this? Just when I was going to tell him everything…If I could…I would just be free from all of this meaningless weight of secrets…So why?'

It wasn't like Beatrice didn't mention her old friend, who became a terrorist later, in front of Subaru.

But now, after she became a person who changed under Subaru, instead of the past apathetic Beatrice…There were consequences to feeling fond for a mass murderer.

Natsuki Subaru did not care if you are a great spirit or a mighty being, any other person would see their actions as a natural disaster, not him.

'I wonder if he would remember me in a good light in fact? If I were to die here?'

As Beatrice thought that, the unnatural invasion against her was finally completed.

Meanwhile—

"AAAHGHG…..WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" Emilia screamed as her magic raged on.

"...Hah…This is truly beautiful, so that's what happens when you peel the shallowness out of a doll."

While Emilia was crying as she shouted her hostility to Sirius,

In the end, she lost her consideration of anything but Sirius.

"And none of that is my fault. You dirty Witch." Sirius said with a pleased and content voice as the temperature got lower and lowered.

And then—

Hundreds of flowers bloomed on the ground…and on people.

Sucking blood and mana.

When there was no mana, they went for the life force.

This was the kind of magic which stretched the rules…simply because its user was beloved by the world.

Sirius had a smile on her face as she slowly melted the flowers on her body. But Emilia kept supplying mana to them as well and with flowers sucking mana out of Sirius as well…they were resilient.

This made it obvious that Sirius had an immense mana capacity, so she didn't lose any blood as her mana could protect her from the effects of Emilia's flowers, since it wasn't depleted like other people around Emilia.

Even Emilia understood that…but after understanding that and not caring for the masses anyway…she realized that she wasn't just surrounded by people she didn't know.

"S..Subaru." Emilia's voice was cleansed from rage as she remembered him.

Yet, she didn't have courage to look back.

If Subaru survived, he might be wounded. Emilia couldn't endure seeing that…

But Subaru also had means to counter Emilia's magic, but that didn't mean he could react to the unforgivingly fast wave of mana. If he did…she still didn't want to see the way he is looking at her right now.

'I am not a Witch!'

I am not. I am not. I am not.

It wasn't because of anything physical or something Sirius did. Her mana wasn't depleted either.

However…Emilia's head was spinning.

Out of fear of consequences.

"Puck…Please…" muttering to herself she started to cry while touching the crystal she wore.

However that fear, that despair, that worry of how Subaru might react…was meaningless.

After all—

"This is bullshit…" He didn't expect anything from her at all, so he wasn't even looking at her.

That's what Emilia saw when Subaru was looking at the empty space beside him.

Wait…

"Where is Beako?" Emilia said with a confused voice.

"Why the fuck are you calling her like that?" Subaru said, annoyed.

Annoyed indeed, however…

"Hmm gentleman? This isn't the appropriate way to react to the death of your dear…so dear contracted spirit." Sirius said as if that was common sense.

By the way, that is common sense.

"I don't need your shitty lessons, you overpowered bitch. You killed her just by being around? Holy shit…You share more than emotions…" Subaru finally figuring out what Sirius did…looked at her with judging eyes.

"...Spirits can't take much of my nature."

"You connect yourself to everyone around, even if you hold yourself back from doing anything…you still have an effect."

Sirius wasn't doing anything more than just trying to prove something about Emilia. If Subaru were to guess, she was trying to peel off her 'nature'. It was interesting. That was what Subaru thought at least.

However what he was focused on was much more important than some sweet ideas in his head.

"You corrupt the mana inside people, the more you are around them."

Even the simplest ability of her Authority was a slow death sentence.

"But you are quite unaffected, no? In fact, your relationship with miasma is…intriguing."

'This bitch…her mood swings are just too weird…she was raging a while ago'

In the end. Miasma was a corrupt version of mana. To Subaru, it was more superior and versatile, however it was poisonous to every being other than him.

In fact, probably it was poisonous to Archbishops and WItches too…even if it was far less, maybe they had consequences different than health problems.

In the end…that wasn't the case for Subaru.

But it was the absolute opposite for Beatrice.

Spirits were far more affected by miasma. Subaru miraculously didn't hurt Beatrice, however that was probably something caused by Subaru's wish for Beatrice to be safe.

Sirius wouldn't have such a wish, even if she did, mana of that nature unlikely to listen to her.

Beatrice died beside Subaru, slowly vanishing into nothing as her Od couldn't hold the corrupted mana. Subaru couldn't feel anything, all he showed was a straight face.

But Beatrice's smile showed that she accepted even that…

"I wonder if I could feel anything if she didn't show that scum loving attitude…" Subaru muttered.

"S-Subaru?" Emilia called out to him.

She felt as if she was looking at a stranger.

But Subaru ignored Emilia and looked at Sirius.

"Are you really interested in my reactions? It's cruel to make me speak with corpses." Subaru said to Sirius.

"..." Sirius didn't say anything.

But Subaru waited for her words anyway.

"Those eyes of yours…I don't like it."

"Who gives a shit about your opinion?" Subaru said bluntly.

"Ah…So cruel…So apathetic. You are truly…"

"DON'T FUCKING SAY IT YOU—"

—Slothful.

As Sirius finished her sentence, both Emilia and Subaru fell with flowers opening in their body, blood coming out of them, their life force being sucked. Subaru thought Emilia was a dead man standing since Sirius could kill her anytime by reflecting some damage Emilia was still doing to her with few remaining flowers Sirius had on her and it would probably give an opening to Sirius, who would instantly kill her.

But—

"You…can...connect with…magic…mana?"

—Bullshit.

Bullshit.

That's what Subaru thought repeatedly, while Emilia was searching for his hand desperately, to feel him last time as they died.

Her eyes…they were pierced by the cruel, red flowers.

So only if Subaru were to hold her hand, she could die with peace.

—Sirius, who wanted this temporary-end to be meaningful for him…carried a disturbed expression as she saw Subaru's last effort simply being that he raised his middle finger.

She had no idea…what that meant.

But all she knew was that…even she pitied the girl who died without any warmth in her hand.

…..

"Six."

Subaru didn't mean to say that loudly, but it seems others didn't hear that.

'Ability to corrupt the magic of others with time…and she wasn't even actively trying, if she does try to do it consciously it might be faster or maybe instant. This is hard…it will be hard to keep people alive around her…' This didn't make her more difficult to kill for Subaru or anything like that…but this made everything difficult anyway..since Sirius can just kill people by existing and Subaru wouldn't be satisfied with killing her only after everyone else is dead.

Subaru thought that and looked at Emilia.

He remembered her rage towards Sirius.

'She might be liking that terrorist just like Beatrice, as her reaction to Petelguese's surname indicated that. But since she was angry to that level, she knew that Sirius was right.'

Subaru thought, perhaps it would be okay to put effort to peel off Emilia's shallow nature.

Of course he wouldn't do that with some kind of power…

But who knows, this was just a sweet idea.

As for now, what Subaru needed to take care of was—

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food and drinks for them, Subaru-sama? Indulging in sweet snacks will certainly create a mood that will close the distance between them, don't you think so?"

"Alright…now I am about to get serious."

"You know…your steps are too loud for someone who is trying to be sneaky."

Capable yet not professionally trained, Subaru realizes that it wasn't enough.

Sirius made sure that he knew that as he died from blood loss as the blood coming from his severed legs painted the hard surface red.

'Seven'

…

"It seems we have a visitor, Lusbel-kun…"

"Not sufficient huh?"

"You know—"

""Your steps are too loud for someone who is trying to be sneaky" Right?"

As he said that, Subaru's vision got weird, it spinned awfully in fact it seemed like he was rising in altitude

.

His last thought as he saw his headless body was—

Why the hell was she so angry?

'Eight….Can I reach that…Lusbel…Lusbel right? Can I reach him first? Before he is chained?'

….

"Hmm? I would think that you would come alone? Did you think you alone weren't worth as much as Tina-chan? How kind of you to bring him here…That is indeed satisfactory, I am sorry that you felt you weren't worth it though."

In an instant, numerous spirits appear beside Subaru.

—They explode instantly, killing Subaru and Lusbel.

She can lead spirits to explode themselves?

—Copycat

And his world turned red—

'Nine…I guess I need to take Lusbol with force, it's a failed loop so it doesn't matter. I can handle Tona-chan later.'

…..

"I AM SAYING THAT WOMAN WILL HURT HER, PLEASE SAVE HER FIRST SUBARU-SAMA!."

"...Fuck, you piece of shit Lusbol." Subaru just stopped interacting with Lusbel and ran towards where he knew Sirius would come from.

It wasn't in his calculations that this kid would shout randomly…he changes his plan, he will go offensive, to surprise Sirius.

That didn't work well when Lusbel's emotions were already felt by Sirius.

'Ten…fucking ten, fucking ten? Back to assassination tactic I guess…no, actually…'

….

Lusbel, waiting at the exact place he was told to wait, has no idea what happened as he felt his mouth being stuffed by something and gets choked by a rear naked choke.

Even so—

"Ara? You are kidnapping a child?"

"...It was the fear, the fear gave a warning! Fuck!"

And this time, Subaru realized that Sirius was sensitive to changes in emotion.

The moment Sirius got disturbed by Subaru's lack of care, he lost his limbs.

'Eleven…I am the guy who appeared in Anastasia Hoshing's bedroom at night…While Sirius is a monster when it comes to sensing me, I can knock that brat out before he can feel anything…'

Instead of using the stealth tactic against Sirius, he would utilize that against Lusbel. That is Subaru's current plan.

….

Lusbel's world went black in an instant.

There was nothing questioned, nothing felt whatsoever.

Subaru made sure to check by putting a spirit inside Lusbel.

Even so—

"Can you sense—the loss of consciousness?" Reading her body language desperately.

"Hmm?"

"Or perhaps…it was another variable?"

"?"

"Spirits? Was it spirits?"

Subaru died, not even fighting against Sirius. Desperately focused on solving her. Which eventually brought an incomprehensible anger out of Sirius.

To begin with, Subaru most likely can take on Sirius if he just focused on killing her without dying himself…but what would that do? Only pointless deaths since the 'win' condition was killing her without anyone dying.

He had to solve her, so he could kill her without casualties.

'Twelve…But…this time for sure.'

Subaru realized that Sirius wasn't just feeling him with the Authority of hers or with her off-the-chart magic sense.

No.

"The way her ear shape looks even behind bandages…That's an elf."

Was it possible that he just had to be completely silent…

Sound waves…volumes…this and that…he would solve it for sure.

But that didn't happen in this loop.

What Subaru learned was simply that Sirius could multiply fear…even with just two people. It multiples each time it bounces off from Subaru or Lusbel. Fear bounces off and multiples.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other. Bouncing off each other.

Determination may reject but body breaks once again.

This was Subaru's thirteenth loop.

With the goal of trying to kill Sirius in a way that she can't react in any way (hence no one shares her death) Subaru once again challenged her.

It was a simple mistake.

Subaru also realized that his thoughts also caused his mind to resonate hence alert Sirius.

He was learning.

He was learning.

He was learning,

"Calm down…"

With that Subaru moved, using all of his frustration, turning it into skill and focus.

A crowd formed under the white clocktower.

But before the enthusiastic figure could say anything, something that cut the air came close.

So smoothly, her head was severed from her body.

—By all means, she was scared.

So, so scared.

Out of nowhere, she lost all the control, lost in this game where she had every single advantage.

But…

Ah, truly…It is terrifying.

The Sin Archbishop Of Wrath was dead.

So was Subaru.

"..."

Natsuki Subaru's head severed from his body.

"..."

If he were to be honest with himself, it was impressive how clean his work was, he also experienced it after all—Thanks to Sirius.

"..."

He died thirteen times.

He is in the fourteenth loop.

All the experiences he gained from those loops for the sake of killing Sirius without any way for her to react…achieved its purpose

But even so, that purpose did not bring victory, simply because it seemed like Sirius didn't have to be conscious to share the damage.

"I will buy you sweets."

"After the song ends and they chat again, shouldn't we prepare food—Eh?"

"Ehehehe~ Well that's convenient! Women love men who do things without being asked!" Liliana didn't hide the butterfly in her stomach and Emilia was making a rather dead face.

Beatrice was seemingly enjoying Emilia's suffering..no, she was definitely doing that.

'If she is reacting like that to the singer I wonder what kind of face she will make when the pillow woman starts being aggressive.'

As that trio continued their interactions.

Subaru wasn't thinking anything.

He didn't feel anything either, no, he felt cold.

But…It wasn't as disturbing as before.

It wasn't disturbing at all.

His world didn't spin, lost colors didn't hurt him.

Perhaps that was just the way it is.

This was truly, starting from ZERO in a sense.

However if Subaru were to think that, he wouldn't feel hurt at all.

Remembering Rem wouldn't hurt Subaru right now.

In fact, he was subconsciously didn't want to think about that,

Just imagine Rem being here.

One person he cannot control, she would die many times for sure.

"..." He was happy she wasn't here. He was convinced it was alright for her to sleep.

While he suffers, while he struggles, she just sleeps. When she wakes up, it will be like blinking for her. One moment she was fighting against a cruel opponent, and then she woke up from that nightmare in an instant.

This amount of convenience, only thing Subaru felt was—

"I love you."

—There was no irritation, there were no negative feelings towards that sleeping beauty.

She was the one and only person Natsuki Subaru forgave in this world, anyone else, he just ignored their problems and unacceptable behaviors.

The servant with chains brutally killed him. Illogical suspicion, anyone who thinked the situation thoroughly would know Subaru wasn't a cultist. Surely, he died because of her.

And yet—All of that is fine now.

After all those cruel times, as Subaru watched Rem burning herself with guilt unlike other people who wronged him, the heavenly smile which appeared on her face only for him…all of that, thanks to all of that their relationship ascended.

Subaru continued walking and took a look around. The canal beside him was truly giving him a feeling of being in Venice. Subaru's clear mind thought of one single thing as he looked at the water.

But he did think it was arrogant as well.

"I never went to Venice after all." Subaru didn't go to Venice. So he wouldn't know what being in Venice felt like.

Subaru didn't learn Italian either. He knew English because it was convenient, he was quite good at Japanese compared to his fellow native speakers. He learned German because he thought there were some cool words.

But he never learned Italian, he never went to some other country either.

It's not like his family was rich, but Subaru was determined. The determination to be able to die over and over again, wasn't something he gained in this world. So there was no excuse for why he didn't go to Venice or didn't travel. He could be successful for sure if he put the one percent of the effort he put so far.

Subaru was bored of his world. Trying and getting better at somethings with his effort, then dropping that. It was a cycle he went over many times.

Then he decided that it wasn't worth putting effort anyway.

But Subaru never went to Venice, didn't learn other languages he could learn and he didn't even consider going out with other people when every now and then they invited him after the school.

"Ah, I decided way too quickly that things were boring."

Even if it was, trying was fun anyway. Subaru could just try until he died. Then come to this world, or something like that.

"...Too late for that now I guess."

Because…

—This world was really boring and he was stuck in it.

Not because he couldn't go back, perhaps he couldn't? But he didn't even question if he could or not anyways.

Since it wouldn't matter whether he could go back or not…Natsuki Subaru was unable to give up.

Hence…This journey goes on until the end.

"Oh? I guess someone is late, I am sorry for starting without you."

"Is that honesty I am hearing? Or just kindness?" Subaru answered the voice.

In front of him was a crowd, there was plenty of space between them. The voice was coming from above.

"Both. Sometimes, in this life, both things can be true at once."

"I agree." Said with a clear voice.

Absolute, natural voice.

Somewhat, to an outsider, this interaction could invoke the understanding that these two had a mutual understanding.

But considering one of them was covered in bandages and the other acted like everything was normal…There is no way anyone would think that before labeling them as insane.

"Please join the crowd, I will wait so you can try different spots to find which place is comfortable for you."

"No."

"Ehem…ah…So you are just gonna listen from there?"

"No."

"Ah…This is so awkward."

Subaru wasn't doing anything nor getting ready to enact some genius plan.

Truly, he was back at the 'zero'.

However—

"I have something to tell you." Subaru said.

"...Then you have my ears, good sir."

"I feel too lazy to shout right now…I feel rather empty really."

"Ah, yes, I don't feel much from you either, but we are all connected right?"

"I suppose…"

After that, Sirius took a step and fell from the tower, but without even rolling or doing anything to not take any damage. She was fine anyway.

She walked towards Subaru, who was looking at the ground with empty eyes.

"I know I said I have something to tell you…but first let me ask one thing."

"Hmm?"

"What is your relationship with Petelguese?"

"..."

She paused. Looking at Subaru without giving any answers.

But it was just for a moment, nothing more.

"My most beloved husband of course, that's what he is. So I think it's obvious what I am to him?" Grinning wildly. Sirius said with passion.

"I killed him." Subaru said as he smiled lightly, but that was all the expression on his face. A 'light smile' nothing else.

."What…What. What. What. What. What. What. What?"

The crowd instantly changed from weird acting bunch of people to seemingly mind broken puppets.

Sirius's rage seemingly broke them.

But Sirius wasn't the only one angry here.

Subaru's eyes gained some kind of light.

But that didn't matter as Sirius swung her chain wildly with a mad smile on her face. The hook at the end of the chain seemingly targets Subaru's forehead.

With Sirius's strength, the hook didn't even need to land with its sharp point as the sheer strength would be enough to crack open Subaru's skull, without a doubt.

To that—Subaru looked at Sirius with rage as he simply leaned a little bit side to dodge the hook, after that, he didn't run.

Instead he held the chain that was still going because of the momentum with both ends. Because of the sheer friction caused, Subaru's flesh was being torn, but he didn't care about that—

Instead he finally stopped the chain and then swung it—an action that should not have meant anything against Sirius, causing her vision to change.

"Ara?!" She realized that her feet weren't touching the ground anymore.

Sirius crushes into a building, breaking the stone wall.

It was an impressive strength from Subaru, while Sirius—

"Ha? What…Why do I feel?" —Hurt?

She instinctively touched at the back of her head and then looked at her palm

Red. It was blood.

There was no denying.

Her body was aching.

Something was terribly wrong.

'Was that his Authority?'

"Tell me…Why the hell did you act like you were mad huh?" Despite the upper hand and the element of surprise being at his side, because of his lack of self-preservation instincts…Subaru took way more damage.

So much of the flesh was torn off from his hands.

What he did was simple, indeed, his Mana Negation skill, which he uses thanks to taking up spirits inside of him and using them as gate, also negated the boost he received from the mana in this world.

Unlike literally everyone in this world, Subaru wasn't dependent on mana. His muscles were useful without it and he had endurance regardless of mana. He could stay conscious without mana as well, his body was having some problems with Beatrice sucking all of his mana, but his body adapted to even that.

Subaru was the exception. Sirius wasn't. In fact, neither were strong people like Garfiel, back in sanctuary, even with some mana left, Subaru could fight with him despite being tired himself and he could beat him if that was his goal.

Fight would be even more one sided if Puck could suck all of Garfiel's mana.

But despite having immense advantage when he uses this skill, there was a way to have even more advantage.

What about using all of the strength you can muster with mana and then use the skill?

He activated his magic just when Sirius was about to go against the force he applied to the chain.

He did all this, not to beat her.

He did it because he was pissed.

"..."

"Don't you fucking dare! You are not like the Petelguese, don't even try to act like a madman! You can't fucking trick me!"

"...Shut up, murderer!" As she shouts with rage, Sirius lunges toward Subaru.

–Only to take a push kick to face

"...T..tah…That's…so rude…to a lady." Despite dizziness, Sirius was still conscious.

Normally, Subaru doubts anyone would be able to still be conscious, he couldn't hold back because of anger after all.

But it seems there are other things that make an Archbishop stronger than just mana.

"The only woman I can bear to hear bullshit about being a lady when she isn't one is Echidna …Now answer. What are you even trying to do here?"

"Safest…way…haha." Sirius said, however, because of low volume and pain in her voice, Subaru couldn't hear a comprehensible word.

"Speak! Why the hell were you acting?" If she was pretending or anything like that, that means 'data' he collected throughout the loops might've been not so reliable.

To begin with, Subaru never assumed that an Archbishop would bother with acting or concealing anything about their intentions.

As the gears turned inside his head, Sirius leaned forward slowly and spoke.

"You…tell me this and that, ask me why…However, it is true that my beloved is Petelguese." Sirius said that without any deception, that Subaru could tell.

But why did it matter?

"Who cares about that? Give me something useful…" Subaru was getting more and more frustrated, that was probably because of her Authority…but it didn't matter, Subaru could hold himself in control for a while longer without any problem.

"You are so angry because I was playing a role yet you are acting like a fool yourself…"

"...What does that mean?"

Sirius smiled.

"Why do you assume that I don't know who you are, Natsuki Subaru?"

Subaru's eyes widened, anymore wouldn't be possible.

"W..hat?"

"Oh, you weren't acting, then you are a little bit dumb perhaps? But that's not it either, since I watched you for quite a while. It wasn't my intention to keep you waiting for long, but there was this feeling that other factors would interfere…In any case, you aren't honest with anyone aren't you? Well, I am not either, killing you out of revenge isn't my goal here, or killing you at all."

'What is this? Those eyes with interest…She knew me? No, to begin with why I assumed she didn't? I killed an Archbishop of course she would know. And what? Why does she act like she had more plans than just killing me? That makes no fucking sense, the other loops…She was lethal in all of them!'

"..." Subaru, seemingly ignoring Sirius, held his head with one hand, gripping his hair tightly.

Just one question kept repeating in his head.

How could he be this stupid?

"Oh dear. I didn't mean to cause this. That's why, let me give you a hint."

Why did I assume she didn't know?

"..." Sirius regains Subaru's attention.

"The reason you overlooked something so simple...is the same reason why you can ignore a Sin Archbishop and have an existential crisis…I hope that will be enough in the future."

"..." Subaru didn't look like he ignored her words, yet he didn't seem to reach an answer either.

"It doesn't matter, you and I won't be having a future at all."

"Ah…this confidence…let me erase it, let me show you one of the beauties of the world: It's unpredictability."

The moment she said that an unnatural voice came from Subaru's back and—

—Pierces him.

There is no scream or anything grand, rather than good old pain, he was hit with disbelief.

"How can you…use mana?" Sirius's chain, on its own, pierced Subaru from his back, the hook was stuck on his back.

He turned his back…and then realized it.

"A part of the chain…was outside of the territory where mana is rejected. You used your Authority to connect with mana and used it like that."

Normally, regardless of whatever momentum an item has, if it's gained with mana Subaru's ability makes that effect disappear too…which means Sirius did more than just using the mana on chains. He understood that much—

"Shouldn't you be worried about your life rather than that?" Sirius genuinely asked that, but Subaru didn't seem to care.

"You should've aimed for my spine and just ripped it out, this isn't even fatal and if you assume my magic negation has a high mana cost—You are mistaken."

Snapping his fingers Subaru activates—

"Huh?"

"Didn't I say? Unpredictability is rather beautiful." Chains move on their own and cover Subaru's neck, with a single pull from Sirius, his feet are cut from the ground.

He was being strangled as the spikes from the chain also invaded his flesh.

"That is why you should also embrace the fact that life isn't something you got it all solved, maybe then you might lose that look in your eyes…I really hate it, oh I am sorry, that was a bit mean."

Getting up, Sirius comes close to Subaru's face as he chokes.

Looking at his struggling body, .

And what she sees—how impressive the instincts to stay alive is, no one was an exception after all.

"Yooh…Yhgu..You….Stopped…me…-ffrokm…using…..ghhhhhg the spirit."

Subaru smirks at Sirius, as if understanding what she wanted to see, she wanted to see his self-preservation. He stops trying to breathe by getting the chains that tightened around his neck. Not giving her what she wants, succeeds at not struggling in futility.

Unlike Satella, anyone else and this woman, Subaru sees no point in being terrified and suffer more by struggling in failed loops.

He will do things his way, nobody understands him after all.

"This is…" Sirius mutters with disbelief.

Subaru simply looks at Sirius, he was dying, and yet there was no struggle in his body, not even a twitch.

There was only a smirk on his face.

To that, only reaction she can have is—

—Disgusting

Natsuki Subaru dies with his head severed, last thing he sees is blood spraying out of his headless body..

It was a lovely day in Priestella, there weren't many carriages allowed where walking space wasn't available. You needed more than just a permit, you also had to schedule when you were going to carry your goods. But merchants embraced this and many other limitations, because Priestella's consumer based economy was booming.

Unlike merchants who used Earth Dragons, Priestella's merchants came from a long line and adapted to place, they were one of the richest merchants in the world.

More than taking advantage in the competition by unfair deals in the background—which they also did—the reason for their success was because they had water dragons.

Unlike walking space, which was limited, also restricted from too much merchant carriage use simply because people liked their walking space. For any travel, they could do it in the sea, whether it would be getting into a boat or their personal little canoes

So they could afford to make merchants's lives harder to simply preserve the beauty of the city.

Priestella's administration tried to stop this, for the sake of economy—Because of the sheer amount of money merchants paid them to—but as the struggle between administration and people continued for years, the governors of the city realized that preserved walking centric city made a lot of money thanks to the people who visited that place.

In the end, money beats money and Merchants didn't exactly get what they wanted. But still, they gained some routes and times where they could move more freely in the city.

At the end of the day Priestella got the best of both worlds. Economy flourished.

All of this was thanks to how special the city was.

But, this city where you could flood the entire thing as a self-defense…why was it made?

Once upon a time—

"A flooding city. So genius. And you mock my designs."

"Even if I am wrong here…Your designs suck. Imagine making destructive weapons look like they are everyday items."

"That's not tru—"

"Your magic staff looks like a broom."

"You said you liked that though?"

"I do. Because that is one of the requirements to be a REAL Witch. Until you wear that pointy hat I made for you, you will never be a real Witch."

"Can you please not insult my and my fellow sister's title just because we don't go along with your fetishes?"

"Ah, you will never understand, poor soul. Well, at least you are not going around naked…I am thankful for that, my grumpy Witch."

"What?"

"It's just an inside joke, but one that is naked. Just know you are banned from wearing tablecloths. "Wearing something, no?" is a no. You can't just wear a tablecloth to say you are not naked."

"You are just distracting me from the fact that you are designing a flooding city…"

"It has a purpose."

"Really? You are not tricking me again like you did with exercising right? Right?"

"Exercising does help though…"

"You are lying, my butt didn't grow any larger."

"...So that's why you suddenly became interested…in any case, nothing can happen if you expect results in four days…

"Flooding city…don't think I forgot."

"Yes…you see, if you open all the gates, you can drown strong beings even if you are just an average NPC."

"...You would drown too though?"

"Not if there is enough space for everyone in the city to go underground. Sacrifices would work as well."

"Still…if the goal is just giving a way for people to defend themselves against powerful beings…isn't this too risky?"

"But…the goal isn't that…the goal is to have a flooded city."

"I knew it…"

"Echidna, consider this. We can both travel with a canoe, I'll paddle it and you can just look pretty…That's romantic right?"

"You act like we are lovers…but fine….I don't mind that, not at all."

The city wasn't experienced by the person who made the idea.

In the end the woman could experience a canoe ride in the city with a large number of her weird friend group consisting of Witches and Heroes. But he wasn't there, so there wasn't any point really. She was there to believe that it wouldn't matter even if he wasn't there.

That plan could turn into reality if the woman kept listening to her heart and mind instead of pretty ideologies from a woman with similar hair to hers. Silver instead of white.

After all—

"Road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Ever pragmatic Witch chose to believe in pretty lies instead, despite his words repeating in her mind.

And unlike her, once the man decided he didn't care, he let it go instantly. He let the past die, all the time they spent died with it.

In the end, whatever happened in the past and the grand history of strong beings, didn't matter to the present.

This was the superiority of the present.

People walked in the city center without a care.

They were from the past, they were dead.

The folks in the present may not be exceptional, but in the end, even if the city wasn't made as the certain black haired person planned, they made use of the idea and drowned a Witch.

"I sincerely apologize. I need only some of it so let me borrow your time. Thank you very much."

A woman clapped her hand, gained the attention of the crowd that appeared unnaturally and spoke.

Time didn't care about anyone's feelings. Things would happen.

The unexceptional majority may have defeated the Witches, but that didn't mean there wasn't someone who was more scary.

And this time, they grew dependent on fate, heroes and so on. So they couldn't use their cleverness against an opponent superior to Witches.

However—

"Hey!" A voice from below called out to the woman with chains and silver hair, a deadly combination indeed.

As time didn't care about anyone's feelings. This man was the same.

His own conscious traveling through time, each time he decided it was a 'game over'.

Concept of time had no idea, no god-like beings or cosmic entities would feel it…It was just his consciousness that traveled. Simple as that, anything he rejected never happened, so no being felt him undoing anything. There was no rewind.

He too, didn't care about the feelings of others, he would achieve his 'ending'.

"Ara?" Sirius looked at the black haired man.

"Hey…what about you just…" Putting a charming smile and speaking with a fond voice Subaru finishes his sentence with a finger snap.

"Die?"

Out of nowhere, a dark hand instantaneously crashes Sirius Romanée-Conti's heart from an exceptional distance.

Whatever Sirius's goal was, whatever she was trying to do it didn't matter. He didn't care.

As long as he wins, why does it matter?

She was dead. He is alive.

He…is alive…was alive for more than 20 seconds at least.

"How…can she…reflect damage…after she died?!"

Subaru said—without a heart.

This was nothing but the beginning. A troublesome start.

However Subaru didn't even see all the obstacles ahead of him, not yet.

Subaru is nuts, isn't he? Welp, even I kinda felt bad for Emilia for a second.

Welp I'll simply get to talk about some changes from canon and overall stuff.

–Sirius's ability, which is inconsistent and doesn't work for no reason every now and then, is not the way it is here. Also, Sirius has some more creative uses as well. In canon it was almost like characters knew they had plot armor, I mean Priscilla was about to behead Sirius. I won't even get into the LN narration outright stating Liliana's DP now evolved and is equal to Sirius's authority or people who defend that. In this story Authority DP, no questions asked.

–Sirius knows Subaru. SHOCKER!. There is a reason why she didn't instantly go for Subaru. Sirius might've stated she watched Subaru for 'quite a while' but of course there is a reason why I wrote that in bold. It's the opposite of 'quite a while' you can be sure of that.

That will probably bring up a question from people with fast brains. "Are you going to also tackle why Gluttony didn't attack Subaru for a year?" which is something that both Tappei and fandom ignores. Answer is yes, whether that will be satisfactory or not will be up to readers.

–Sirius has a plan, surprise! I believe it will be one of the most interesting reveals. After Al, Sirius's plan is the most crazy one. You see—both of them adapted to answer the same problem.

–I know some of you probably had emotional reactions but you see, I had already written bunch of shit about how Subaru will try to be more cool headed and won't die for nothing…Here he just got a little bit too angry with the idea of dying because of Emilia and Beatrice's stupidity even though it didn't happen. And again, there is no morality set or thought for a casuality manipulator so Subaru's actions aren't evil or anything.

Subaru trying to act to not worry his friends in loops so they won't bother him requires energy and patience, Subaru won't be having that every loop.

And as for not holding Emilia's hand or not minding Beatrice's death, that too, is Subaru. Is he getting more messed up? Absolutely. And again like what I said above, does he have justification for this? Yes. Though one could argue that it was a very personal choice to show a middle finger to Sirius rather than holding Emilia's hand…Again, Subaru is messed up. That's the point.

–Clarification, I did not give Sirius omnipotence or anything, she doesn't know anything she shouldn't know about Subaru.

–Throughout the chapter Subaru was doing what he thought of doing all this time, his new way of taking things on. Efficient and without lying to himself. Subaru never despairs for no reason, or just because he sees people die. He tries to tackle how to kill Sirius in a way that would be acceptable in the last loop, which means no mass casualties.

Subaru straight up skipped the part where he at least kills her just to kill her. He was only willing to let people die in parts where he changed his focus to killing her without being sensed.

–It's quite obvious, but the way Subaru acts sometimes pisses Sirius off. Why that will be revealed later. When Subaru is faced with the answer he will understand instantly.

–Sirius isn't the scariest bishop in this chapter. Nor closest to Subaru when it comes to

Madness.

–The part where Echidna and someone talks and stuff is just nice trivia stuff. Again, the past isn't important in this story. Though Echidna still has a rent free space in Subaru's head, though that situation is mutual, if not so worse for Echidna. In the end, the past will be in the past, where a sad ending happened. If Subaru had any lack of conclusion about it, he wouldn't be in the current time anyway. One way or another he accepted things.

–Subaru failed to instill courage to people in that one loop because when they got fully connected to Subaru, the crowd feared him, in fact, they feared him more than Sirius. All in all, It really ends with Subaru physically not being able to take the fear rather than mentally. That's just me appreciating that Subaru has actually become something else after dying so many times. Anyone's fear except his won't be effective in mentally affecting him.

–Subaru has the ability to just know the names of certain people now, if he really wants to. Simply because of starnames and stuff, Sirius knew Subaru didn't hear her introducing herself because she could feel that he didn't know her a moment before.

Welp, that's about it, see you in the next chapter!