Watching Arc 4 in The Theater of Despair

by Ostap Bender99

This fanfic is a prequel to the work "The Secret" by Continuer123. The cast is still trapped in an enchanted theater by the enigmatic "Warden". And now they are about to see the trials of Natsuki Subaru that took place in Sanctuary. P.S. - this work is a translation of the finished fanfic.

24. Episode 23

Another addition has arrived. We are SO close to the end! This one got upgraded quite substantially, I must admit.
And not only in terms of size! I also got an unexpected help from 'Vincent Gray' who provided me with exceptional help as a beta-reader! So the QA this time was in place and it's good!))

Alas, the next chapter won't be so juicy and filling I'm afraid, while the episode itself is great and heartwarming, for reactions this episode is not well suited. Most of the topics were discussed prior and there are hardly any revelations left. Oh, well…there is always a price, I guess.

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The episode began with a night panorama of the Roswaal mansion. Flocks of small flying mabeasts were flying around. In its corridors, Elsa and Garfiel continued their duel.

"Great! Marvelous! Marvelous!" Elsa admired her opponent with a manic look.

"She just gets creepier and creepier! I'm glad we're finally rid of that bitch for good!" Felt shuddered at the pleased look of the Bowel Hunter.

"Ha!" jumping up, Garfiel kicked with a roundhouse kick.

"I've already seen that one." The admiration in the killer's voice instantly turned to boredom.

As if to demonstrate her words, she successfully delivered a cutting blow to the Garf's leg.

"Did she just deflect a roundhouse kick? Yeah, buddy. You're good and all that, for sure, but you're not Chuck Norris." Al jokingly remarked, enjoying the fight on the screen. Very rarely had he been able to see a deadly fight in such comfort and yet so closely in his life, so he was going to enjoy the spectacle to the fullest.

"Who's Chuck Norris?" Garf became interested in the unfamiliar name. Could it be that someone from the captain's world was strong? He needs to fight with them if it is so!

"Umm…how should I put it… He's the greatest warrior of our world, whose roundhouse kick even Reinhard won't be able to withstand!" Barely holding back his laughter, the warrior declared in a serious tone.

"Hah?! We'll see about that! Bring that Nock Charris guy here, then we'll see who's really the best!" Felt flared up when she heard that someone dared to underestimate HER knight.

"Please, Felt-sama, calm down. It's clear that Al-san is just kidding, no harm done." The Sword Saint hurried to placate her, but not hiding a satisfied smile. After all, his lady had so boldly rushed to defend his honor. What more could he ask for?

But Garf, seeing how Elsa got distracted blocking his leg, threw out his hand, plunging his fingers right into her eye. The killer fell dead to the floor, but after a couple of seconds she gave voice:

"Aah, it hurts… the pain is so intense that I feel alive again." the Bowel Hunter muttered passionately, taking her hand away from her face, showing a fully restored eye.

"Masochistic scum! If she likes pain so much, she'd just tear open her own belly and wallow in her own guts!" Priscilla growled, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth from the level of contempt she felt for the killer.

"Her regeneration power is truly terrifying! Any ordinary person would have died immediately! That was a clear hit to the brain!" Felix commented.

Now I understand how she was able to withstand a direct attack from me. I fear that to destroy her with one strike, I'd need to call upon the power of the Dragon Sword. And, alas, it did not recognize Elsa as a worthy enemy. Which is a shame." " Reinhard said sadly.

"That was a splendid ruse, Garfiel-san! To be able to turn an opponent's counterattack against themselves is a sign of impressive skill!" Wilhelm replied respectfully with knowledge of the matter.

"Well, when my amazin' self figured out 'er main trick, things got a bit less hard."

"You mean she had some other trump card besides incredible vitality?!" Tivey was almost shocked at this news.

"She sure did! 'Tis bitch memorized every trick my amazin' self used against 'er right after the first time. And if I tried to repeat it, she would react with a counter move. 'Tis why my amazin' self had to constantly improvise and come up with new ways to hit 'er."

"So… any opponent she fought with in the past became more and more predictable to her with every strike?" Julius commented with a worried tone. If so, Elsa Granheirt was an even more vicious enemy than they thought.

"Like dat, yeah."

"Pair that with her near-immortality, and you have an enemy that gets more and more dangerous the longer you trade blows. ." Ricardo nodded grimly, realizing how dangerous this woman was in reality. "Even specialized fighting styles will get turned against you before long!"

The more the head of the mercenaries learned about the Bowel Hunter, the more his respect for the young fighter who attracted his adopted daughter grew. Of course, he wasn't going to say that out loud. Otherwise, how'll he assert dominance later?

"Dat's how it was, old man!" He smiled broadly at the demi-human. "But dat's also wha' ruined her in the end. After all, she was also relying on 'er counterattacks, which made 'er predictable in turn. So my amazin' self used it 'gainst 'er. Ya'll just have to see it for yourself."

"But it was very risky! If she had continued to inflict wounds on you, she would have gradually drained all of your strength!" Otto was afraid for him.

"Garf is strong! He won't die from a couple of cuts!" Mimi warmly supported her planned suitor.

"The lil'one gets it, so listen to 'er, Brotto. And don't forget, I don't just fight, I can heal damn fast too!, the wounds on me heal while my amazin'self fights! Long as the blessing of the earth spirits works, my amazin'self should be fine! Also, dere was no other way to deprive dis bitch of one life after another. After all, t'was the first opponent who forced me to give my all!" Garfiel said with the most serious face, but after a couple of seconds he returned a smug grin.

"Yeah, I wanna face a new challenger as soon as possible! Someone even tougher! And see how much more awesome my amazin' self's become!"

"Damn it, this ain't no joke! Although cap'n warned that ya wouldn't die so easily…but this is just messed up." Garfiel commented tensely.

"Do you hate women like me? Those who heal wounds in a flash and can fight forever? Do you think there's any point in fighting with a girl like that?" Elsa reasoned calmly, taking a break from the fight.

"—Hell if I care! I will trample ya into the ground so many times tha' ya'll stop resurrectin'!" The blond man declared with complete confidence.

"Well said, Garf! Don't let her seduce y-… I-I mean, intimidate you!" Mimi quickly corrected herself.

No matter how creepy this lady was, Mimi couldn't deny that her looks were outstanding. And the fact that she was actively flirting with a young fighter did not please her at all. But she quickly calmed herself, remembering the proportions of the girl whose heart he unsuccessfully tried to win for years.

"How amusing. It would seem that sometimes the most obstinate approach is the most effective." Priscilla admitted with a hint of a smile.

This half-naked savage may have been an embodiment of boorish and mannerless character, but surprisingly enough, he was an ideal match against someone like the Bowel Hunter. Too blockheaded to be seduced by her looks, too stubborn to be frightened by her disgusting traits, and too wild to be constrained by some norms or traditions of duels.

" You do have a talent to assign every asset you have to its ideal place, commoner. That deserves praise from a goddess."

"You truly are marvelous… But that makes this more of a pity." The killer said with eyes rounded with surprise and admiration, smiling contentedly.

"Eh?"

"Your friends cannot escape from this mansion. You've realized this, too, haven't you?"

"Seems like there are mabeasts crawlin' all over dis place. The work of yer little helper, huh?"

"My little sister. She worked hard and brought an entire horde of mabeasts. At this point, everyone could very well have been eaten down to the last morsel."

"Don't get the wrong idea, lady! Ya're talkin' about the cap'n and 'is friends! No matter how many mabeasts ya send at 'em, he'll just laugh and kill 'em all!" Garfiel threw it in her face with solemn confidence.

The man he chose as his commander will not give up in front of a bunch of monsters!

The screen switched to Subaru, who was running down the corridor in a panic and yelling:

"Enough, enough, enough, we're totally done for…!"

"Cap'n! 'ere I was bragging about ya, and ya were yelling like a girl?!" The bully barely uttered, choking with laughter.

"That was hardly a laughing matter! The Guiltylowe was right behind us! You can't just brush it off like a winged rat!" Otto chastised him between fits of laughter at his friend's behavior.

It's back then he behaved similarly, almost screaming in horror. But now, a year later, knowing that everything would be fine, he felt entitled to let Natsuki-san taste his own medicine. Even if only on screen.

"You said it! The whole thing was really scary!" Petra confirmed, giggling uncontrollably.

Her hero was incredibly brave. But that magical window made him look even funnier in such moments of panic.

"Even so, you handled yourself wonderfully, Petra. You never lost your presence of mind even in such a tense situation." Frederica praised the girl, pleased that her student was in a good mood again.

"Of course I did! Otherwise, I would have let my sister Frederica down!"

"Barusu, as always, disappoints me by remaining true to his uselessness. I'll need to punish him for making me think that he has even a drop of potential." Ram gave her verdict, stifling giggles.

"Pathetic!" Priscilla made a contemptuous face. "How much longer will you disappoint me?! Immediately muster up that pathetic pile of what you call bravery and deal with this rat! I'm ashamed to look at the screen!"

By now, she had become accustomed to the emotional rollercoaster this commoner's put her through. But to see him squeal in fear because of some kind of pathetic monster… the princess didn't even bother to remember its name. For her, any mabeasts who were not among the three legendary ones were pathetic. And this happened after he fearlessly climbed onto the horn of the Whitest Whale itself!

"Seriously, Princess. I'm glad you're rooting for my Bro here, but your wording makes even the pink maid start to look like a caring and courteous lady. Still, there is a whole gap in strength and skill between you and him." Al dared to enter into a polemic with her, but immediately decided to ease his fate, noting the absolute superiority of the baroness.

"Actually, Subaru has every right to be afraid. He's not a fighter, after all. And the Guiltylowes are among the most dangerous mabeasts. It's not for nothing that they often stand at the top of the food chain in forbidden areas." Julius desperately tried to save the remnants of his friend's reputation.

"Rem also thinks that Subaru-kun behaves like a hero, even when he screams like a little girl! After all, despite all the fear and panic he felt, he never left me behind, even though I was just a burden then, weighing him and the others down!" Having finished laughing at the sight of her beloved, Rem inserted an important detail.

Call him a scaredy-cat all you want, but even in such a dire situation, Subaru never allowed himself to forget his goal of saving everyone.

"Ya can't argue with that. Whatever happens, Natsuki-kun never forgets what is most important to 'im." Anastasia agreed, approving this attitude of the young man.

The merchant has every right to be afraid, cry, swear or run away, if at the same time he manages to save the cargo. If they succeed, then no one will humiliate them for it. For merchants, unlike the aristocracy, the actual achievements came first, and external splendor afterward.

From behind them, the wall exploded, revealing their pursuer in the face of a huge chimera monster. Turning its gaze to the corridor, it saw that the prey was gone. The trio meanwhile exhaled behind closed doors.

"This is what I get for operating separately from Garfiel, huh…?" Subaru reasoned out loud.

"Do not despair ahead of time! We can do it on our own! Although, maybe I'm bragging now!" Otto tried to lift his spirits.

"Subaru, is everything okay?" Petra grabbed the young man's sleeve in fear.

Looking at the frightened face of the girl, then at the sleeping Rem, he came to a conclusion:

"I think there is only one way out: it's finally time for me to put my unparalleled modern knowledge to good use!

Modern knowledge?! What did he come up with? Julius, prepare the paper!" The curiosity of the merchant princess was piqued.

She was longing to learn something else interesting and innovative from another world.

"Bro is, of course, quite the resourceful guy. But I don't remember him ever proving himself to be a MacGyver. What could he come up with on the go, using science?" Al asked, perplexed, although he was literally burning with curiosity himself.

"Betty remembers Subaru telling her about this case, in fact. Her contractor decided to use the laws of science called chemistry in an attempt to defeat this monster. It's just…he didn't calculate everything correctly, because of the rush, I suppose." Beatrice hurried to protect the reputation of her contractor, knowing in advance how everything would end.

"So what did he decide to do? Beatrice, Otto? Surely something dangerous again, am I right?" Emilia asked with interest and irritation evident in her voice.

"Natsuki-san, for reasons unknown to me, decided to set this mabeast on fire using flour." Otto replied grumpily. Which caused everyone present to freeze for a few seconds.

"Flour?!" Julius couldn't believe his ears.

"Exactly. Flour. He kept saying that by dispersing the bag of flour in the direction of the Guiltylowe and throwing fire there, we could defeat him. I told him then and there that it wouldn't work!"

"Wait… He decided to cause a thermobaric explosion?! In a confined space?! Is he an idio… oh, wait, we're talking about my Bro here… He is an idiot!" Al was shocked at such a risky plan.

"What is a ther-ma-baric explosion? Do you know what this empty-headed dog was up to?" Priscilla asked him. The eyes of the others also turned to the one-armed knight.

"Well, yeah, I do remember it vaguely. Technically, the idea itself could work. You start by throwing a large amount of finely ground flour in the air, so fine that it looks like dust. Throwing fire into that dust cloud will ignite the flour and trigger an explosion, like a fireball. To do it indoors, though? That's just asking to get barbecued along with the enemy! All the oxygen in the room will burn out instantly, and the temperature turns the whole damn place into an oven!"

After hearing the explanation from the one-armed warrior, Beatrice began violently shaking her sleeping contractor, grabbing him by the breasts.

"You! You with your crazy ideas, in fact! Betty will turn gray out of fear and worry because of you! And that will happen despite the fact that spirits can't turn gray at all, in fact!"

"Subaru-kun! You and I are going to have a long and intense conversation after we get out of here about acceptable risks when you come up with a new idea!" Rem declared in a threatening tone, throwing her sternest look at the sleeping youth.

"And not only with you, Rem. I would like to help you with this conversation, as well." The princess added in an equally frightening voice.

"I'll be honored if you join us, Emilia-sama." The maid nodded politely at her.

"And that's why, Garfiel, harems are a bad idea." Otto whispered fearfully to his young and inexperienced friend.

"Nah, it's not tha'. 'Tis just tha' cap'n has a fetish for collecting extremely strong and dangerous women. He has a half-elf, a demon and a Great Spirit after 'is heart. 'Tis no joke. And Petra's not even at her full potential."

"Haven't you been yearning for a similar demon for years?" Otto asked skeptically.

"Yeah, but my amazin' self is tougher dan cap'n. And I have enough brains to limit myself to just one." Garfiel replied in a calm and adult tone.

"Fair enough." Otto nodded in agreement. He had nothing to say against such an argument.

On the screen, Guiltylowe turned its head around, trying to figure out where its prey had gone. Then it saw Subaru, standing alone in the middle of the corridor, who grinned and rushed into the open room. Roaring, the beast gave chase. Rushing into the room, he saw the target standing at the far end of the room. The creature ignored the candle burning on the table.

"Come on, you big dog!" The black-haired guy teased him.

As if enraged by a provocation, Guiltylowe rushed forward with another growl. After waiting for a moment, Subaru jerked to the side and ran, and the mabeast flew into the wall at full speed. But it wasn't even scratched.

"Come on, taste the light of science! How do you like the dust explosion?" Natsuki shouted and threw a whole bag of flour into the air with a flourish.

When the flour dust reached the burning candles, Subaru covered his face with his hands, waiting for the explosion. But nothing happened. The dust settled on the floor, showing the unlucky young man the evil face of Guiltylowe, who seemed to ask with his look, ' Well, what did you want to achieve with this?'

"Somehow, this guy has a talent for both the most epic and most anticlimactic scenes. One moment he becomes a hero and lures a legendary monster into a deadly trap, the next he stands with idiotic face when his half-baked plan backfires. I wonder what makes him switch between the two?"

"I didn't understand…" Subaru said in confusion, seeing how the unharmed beast was grinning at him. "Oh, come on!"

"I told you right away! Rather than trying some nonsense—" Otto's voice came from somewhere above. "—It is better to choose simpler means!"

At that moment, pots began to fall on the mabeast one after another, covering the beast's body with thick oil. Otto and Petra, who had previously climbed into the room on the floor above through a gap in the ceiling, moved on to the backup plan.

"This is the personal merchandise of Otto Suwen. Oil bought with the entirety of his life savings! How do you like my wares?!" The merchant declared loudly.

Throwing a few more jugs, they created a path of oil from the mabeast to the lying candlestick. Touching the fire, the oil instantly flared up and reached Guiltylowe. Roaring in pain, the monster rushed towards Subaru.

"Let's get out of here!" The young man shouted, running out of the room. The mabeast following him was in too much pain to turn, and its burning carcass broke through the outer wall of the mansion, falling to the ground.

"And that's how even the oil, bought by mistake, turned out to be in the right place, at the right time, to save your lives." Said Julius with interest. Was it a happy coincidence? Or is it a sign that fate is not as merciless to Subaru as he himself thought?

"Another confirmation that you always need to have a backup plan." Anastasia nodded approvingly at her younger colleague's promptness.

"At this point, I think it's safe to assume that anything involving big bro can become a big deal in the future." Felt murmured thoughtfully.

"Is it finished?" Subaru asked, getting up from the floor. "Why didn't the explosion happen? Was there not enough flour or fire?"

"I do wonder, why didn't his plan work?" Crusch asked curiously.

She was always interested in any military tricks and techniques. Who knows, maybe this idea can be somehow adapted by the army.

"Who knows what went wrong there. Perhaps there wasn't enough flour. Or the grinding was too coarse to ignite. Possibly the flour was too wet. Or the air was too humid. Could be a ton of things." Al began to list all the potential points of failure. "From what I remember, though — any fire in the vicinity of the mill is a disaster waiting to happen."

And then he saw that the entire room they set a trap for the Guiltylowe was now completely engulfed in fire.

"No good, no good!" He began to wail in fright. Otto and Petra hurried away from the dangerous place.

The fire immediately spread into the corridor, cutting off one of the escapees' paths.

"Wait a minute… Otto-san. Didn't you say earlier that it was Natsuki-kun who set fire to the mansion?" Anastasia asked her younger colleague unhurriedly, with the expression of a cat who saw a mouse with its tail pinned down.

Sensing more than a few questioning glances, the young Minister of the Internal Affairs of the camp began to sweat profusely.

"Well… it was his idea to set fire to the mabeast. I just suggested an alternative plan! Which, by the way, saved all of us!" Otto began to justify himself in a panic.

"It s-e-e-e-ems that I've found someone who can be held responsible for the destruction of my ma-a-ansion." Roswaal smiled venomously, wanting to make fun of the unfortunate merchant a little.

Otto swallowed in fright. Most of all, he was afraid that he would be held responsible for the destroyed property. If so, he will basically end up in debt slavery for the rest of his life! Turning around, he saw the margrave looking at him with a wicked smile, and realized with horror that his fears might be well-founded. But then his experience as Minister of Internal Affairs kicked it.

' As soon as we have the opportunity to talk face to face, Roswaal-sama, I will be able to offer you an extremely advantageous deal to buy my silence!' Otto mentally declared, returning the clown an equally smug grin.

The two politicians understood each other without words.

"You used too much oil, damn it!" Natsuki criticized them.

"As if anyone can hunt down such a huge demon beast while holding back!" Otto defended himself.

Both of you, this isn't the time! We can't put it out! Let's run! Petra declared.

"Otto!" Having made his decision, Subaru hoisted Rem onto his friend's back. "The passage outside in Roswaal's office is most likely still intact. I'll leave the Rem to you."

"Okay! I promise I won't let anyone hurt her!"

"Subaru?" The girl turned to him worriedly, not understanding what else the young man was up to.

"I'm sorry, Petra, but I'm not running away with you. We need to split up."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, Petra." He said, putting her hand on her head. "I need to pick up someone else."

"Beatrice-sama?" Petra guessed.

"When we get back, try to get along with her. You'll probably like her. Beako is a treasure trove for friendly jokes."

"Jokes?! No respect for your partner at all, in fact! Just you wait! Betty won't talk to you for a whole day, I suppose!" Beatrice was livid at this description of her outstanding being.

"But Betty-chan, haven't we become good friends over the last year?" Petra smiled slyly, recalling the many fun moments they had spent together.

"T-this is different! Betty is just such a good-natured spirit that she lets you play with her while you're still little, in fact!" Beatrice stammered, blushing heavily at the situation.

"Even more than Otto-sama?" The girl asked.

"Yeah. It's so much fun to joke about her that you won't need Otto anymore."

The young merchant raised his finger to habitually demonstrate his resentment with such an attitude towards his person, but stopped to think about it. Why should he be outraged?

To claim that he is so good as a source of jokes that even Beatrice won't interrupt him? That's a lousy reason to be proud of. To be glad that he is considered so insignificant that he is not even worth laughing at? Not much better.

"Yes." Was all the girl could say.

"Don't let me down! If I burn alive, carve on the grave that Otto's oil killed me!" Subaru cheerfully announced goodbye to them.

"Inscribing tombstones is too much trouble, I will give you a smack if you do not return safe and sound. Truly, I will." Otto answered him in a serious tone. Smiling one last time, Subaru rushed into the burning corridor.

"Subaru! Take care of yourself!" Petra shouted after him.

The scene changed, returning to the moment when Emilia's last Trial began.

"Face the calamity that shall come." Her voice said in the girl's head.

Opening her eyes, Emilia found herself floating in the midst of pitch darkness. After a few seconds, hundreds of bright dots began to light up in front of her, moving towards her like a star fall. For a moment, she was blinded by a bright white light. When the girl opened her eyes, she saw a very frightening landscape around her. Against the background of an abnormally large sun and crimson-red skies, the ruins of a huge building smoked, in the middle of which stood Emilia, splattered with someone else's blood.

"And this is the future?! What kind of disaster happened there?!" Felt asked in horror.

"This is… the royal castle! Could it be that the whole Capital is in such a terrible state?!" Reinhard said in surprise, recognizing the stairs and the broken royal throne.

At the same time, guilt and self-hatred inflated again and started gnawing at the Sword Saint's conscious. 'How did I allow such a thing to happen? Will I fail again? Will the whole kingdom have to pay for my sloth?'

"Perhaps we're being shown the aftermath of some great war, and the capital of Lugunica has fallen?" Crusch suggested.

"There's something else here that troubles me. What could have happened to the sun? It's utterly massive." drew the attention of the other Julius.

"And the skies have turned blood-red. I don't like this…." Felix added, clutching his tail in fear.

"The enlarged sun indicates either that the star has gone through a period of transformation into a supernova and then the whole world will come to a violent fiery end. Or, for some reason, the world itself has become closer to the star. Which isn't any better to be frank." Said Al gloomily, who began to think that with his luck he would clearly be 'lucky' to see these events. "Well, that's just great! Are you saying the world is coming to an end? Emilia-sama doesn't look old, or even older. Which means, we don't have much time, either."

"I don't believe it wise to consider Emilia-sama's appearance in regard to this scene. She is, after all, a half-elf. So these events may easily be a hundred years from now." Wilhelm corrected him.

"Beatrice-sama, is there any magic at all that can cause something like what Al-san just explained?" Otto decided to ask the spirit girl sitting next to him, who was staring at the screen with wide eyes. When she heard the question, she thought for a couple of seconds.

"Betty highly doubts it. Mother was the strongest when it came to the arts of magic. But even she, at the peak of her power, could only summon firestorm from the sky. To affect an entire star… Betty can't even imagine the amount of mana that might be needed for such a thing. For something of this magnitude… it would require turning the Od Lagna itself into a catalyst, I suppose!"

"Hate, hate, I hate you. I really hate you… Always, since the moment I met you… I have hated you. I cannot stand the sight of you." She heard her own voice. "I've thought about it many times. I've denied it many times. But the nightmare still came. So I'll say it—"

A smile appeared on her blood stained face. It was a smile for the someone she hated the most in the world.

"—Maybe it's true. We should never have met."

A tear slowly rolled down from the corner of one of her purple eyes, forming a single line. A drop rolled down her cheek, and just before it fell from her chin to the blood-soaked ground, the world split apart and disappeared. Emilia found herself in the pitch-black darkness again, gasping for breath.

"The calamity that shall come. Is this what awaits me?"

"Emilia-sama sounded very harsh in this vision. But who could she say that to? Except Pandora, of course." Otto asked.

"Judging by her words, this is someone that Emilia-sama knows well and has known for a long time." Crusch mused aloud.

"It absolutely cannot be Subaru-kun! Emilia-sama would never say such a thing about him!" Rem declared vehemently. The very thought that Emilia could say something like this to her hero was as alien as the notion that Emilia can become the Witch of Envy. "I would rather assume that we were shown the result of Emilia's future fight with the Witch of Vanity. She's the only one Emilia hates so much. But… it still doesn't add up."

"Or in the future, the half-wit's dog will succumb to madness because of the witch factors inside him and use his ability to destroy the entire kingdom. In this case, her words will start making sense." Priscilla said thoughtfully.

"If the witch factors could drive him crazy, it would have already happened, in fact! Stop talking about things you understand nothing of to make Betty's contractor look like a potential disaster!" Beatrice was furious at the accusation.

"Everyone, calm down, please!" Emilia got up from her seat, trying to steer the conversation away from a direction dangerous for her knight. "Priscilla's words are nothing more than a guess. The Trial showed me events that might not happen for dozens of years, and I could have been speaking to someone I hadn't even met yet! Who knows, maybe I said those words to Priscilla-sama herself. Therefore, I'm asking you not to carelessly speculate on the basis of a few vague words!"

"Emilia is right. To draw any conclusions based on what we have seen is the height of short-sightedness. There's simply not enough concrete evidence. For now, let's continue watching." Anastasia supported the half-elf.

After these words, myriad colored lights flashed in front of her. They began to rush past her at great speed, forcing her to cover her eyes with her hands because of the blinding glow. And with that, fragments of conversation began to reach her.

"It's exactly as you said. This child is our enemy, and our wounds run deep. I can't use healing magic, so even if we retreat now, I might not be able to save you." Reinhardt's voice rang out.

"Then …" a Subaru-like voice answered him.

"But this child is still a child-isn't that enough?"

"It's me and Subaru? What child are we talking about? And how can a child be our enemy?" The Sword Saint asked uncomprehendingly.

"Who knows? But judging by how you sound, neither of you seem very happy about it." Felt noted tensely.

"You… you're a hero. And a hero is all you can be!" Subaru's voice was full of emotions.

"That's… that's what Puck told me in one of Subaru's visions." Reinhard said with fright. What could make Subaru address him with such indignation?

"But I …" came Reinhard's confused voice.

"Thanks for fucking saving my life!" It was a breakup full of almost unbearable sadness. It was a moment marred by indelible despair.

"So this is the future where Subaru and Rein… become enemies?! How is this even possible?!" The youngest of the candidates asked fearfully.

"It's just as unlikely as Emilia-sama saying those words of hate to Subaru-kun!" Rem said confidently. "I'm almost sure that everything Emilia-sama saw during this Trial was not the future, but another deception from the Witch of Greed, who simply wanted to prevent her from passing the Trial!"

"You're not quite right, but you are somewhat close, Rem. Echidna really showed me only negative images of a possible future. As for her maliciousness, I think you are on point. But I wouldn't be so foolish as to call everything I saw as outright fiction."

"For Betty's mother, the most important thing was to conduct the Trial correctly, I suppose. Regardless of personal preferences. Otherwise, the knowledge gained from the results won't satisfy her, in fact. If she wanted to prevent Emilia from passing the Trial, she would simply not let her into the Tomb." Beatrice defended Echidna's objectivity regarding the Trials.

"I wonder if this conversation between Natsuki-san and Reinhard-sama was part of the same future that we were shown in the beginning? Or was it a different reality, that's what's interesting." Otto mused aloud.

"… Without that, you don't even have a sword to swing, you damn thief?" She heard Wilhelm's angry cry.

The old warrior froze in his chair. He had long ago learned to keep his emotions in check. Only those who deserved his absolute hatred, like the White Whale, could make him speak with such hatred. Then what, or rather who, could have caused such anger in him?

"Perhaps we are talking about the Archbishop of Gluttony? After all, we can say that he 'stole' Crusch-sama's memories." Felix struggled to find a logical explanation of what they heard.

"That sounds plausible." Crusch hurried to admit.

It was a much more desirable conclusion, because she found her other assumption to be much more unnerving. She heard before how Wilhelm in the past stated that Reinhard killed his mother by stealing the powers of the Sword Saint from her. If that's the case, could this possible Wilhelm of the future address such harsh words at his own grandson during the feat of rage?

The duchess really hoped that now, after everything they saw, such a future was impossible. Her old companion clearly wanted to bury the past and make amends with his grandson. And, judging by Reinhard's high spirit, they were already on the way to mending their broken relationship. And she would wholeheartedly support both of them.

"Subaru and sister Emilia must be tired… Excuse me… Now I will only be a burden to you …" Came Petra's voice.

"So… even in the future… there's nothing I'll be able to help Subaru with? Will I be this useless forever…?" Petra remarked sadly, clutching the dress with her fists.

Is it possible that all her attempts to become better, stronger, smarter, to finally become useful to Subaru and others, will amount to nothing in the end?

"Don't say that, Petra. You are very important to Subaru-sama and you already help him a great deal simply by being part of his life!" Frederica hurried to hug her student.

It was not enough for some incomprehensible prediction to break the girl's will at the very end.

"Mm, mm… My granddaughter, my pride and joy…has grown to be…a good child…" Said the tired voice of Rom.

"Old man Rom? Well… at least he'll live long enough to see me grow up, I guess …" Felt said with uncertainty.

"You don't have to worry, Felt-sama. Your grandfather is completely safe in our camp and has access to both healthy food and the services of a healer, should he require one."

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry I couldn't kill you because I'm weak… I'm sorry… And yet, I will keep you for myself—forever. I'm sorry, I'm so weak…"

Al froze in horror at these words. Most of all, he was afraid that now he would be asked to tell what he thought about it. Especially if the princess demands it. He had no idea how he would get out of this situation. He gripped the arm of the chair so tightly that his fist turned white.

Julius proved Al's fears true, by turning to him. "Al-san, do you have any idea, what could this be about?"

For a couple of seconds, Al thought about how to formulate an answer, while avoiding the 'lie-detectors' present in the room.

"You're really asking me if I know about the potential future where I can possibly say something like this to someone?" He did his best to sound as nonchalant and sarcastic as possible to empathize the ridiculousness of the situation.

"I…suppose you are right. After all, we do lack any substantial context on the matter." Slightly offended by Al's not really friendly remark, Julius turned back to the screen.

Priscilla, meanwhile, felt that her knight was under a lot of stress. And, determining that only she had the right to know about her fool's worries, she decided not to draw attention to him. She'll find out for herself. Later. When she's in the mood.

"What, you feel like this is fulfilling your promise? If so…then you should have left me to die wrapped in a mat in that cave! If… If you were going to show me a dawn like this, it should all have ended there! Damn it! Damn it all!" Otto shouted in despair.

"Wow… I wonder what unspeakable horror should happen for me to wish for such a terrible ending for myself?" The merchant was afraid of his own words.

"To show you a dawn like this… Could this be related to the first vision, when the sun was excessively large?" Julius asked.

"Sounds like a possibility, but let's leave it at that. All we can do right now is speculate." Anastasia nodded and urged me to continue.

"I'm definitely not going to die from something as stupid as a curse!" Crusch said firmly.

"A CURSE?! Felix jumped to his feet with a yell, his tail stretched out in a line, his ears pricked up, his eyes gleaming maliciously. "How?! Who would dare?! I'll kill them!"

"Ferris!" Crusch grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at her. "Calm down! I'm fine now. Don't rush to conclusions. We don't even know what we're seeing yet!"

"But I… I…whatever you say, Crush-sama! But whatever you decide, I will start looking for options on how to identify and destroy curses!"

"If it makes you feel better, then I won't stop you. Such knowledge could prove useful in the future."

"Oh, look, I won again." Priscilla's voice said smugly.

"Hm! As if there could be any other way! No matter what the future may happen, there is always one outcome in store for a goddess such as me — an absolute triumph!"

"It must be some kind of bad dream… if the person you wanted to kill so much turned out to be so kind…" Ram said calmly.

The pink-haired maid raised an eyebrow in surprise.

'Is it possible that I am referring to Roswaal-sama? Does this mean that he will do something very kind for us in the future? Or am I talking about someone else? Is it possible that I was referring to Barusu?' The last thought sent a cold shiver down the maid's spine. The last thing she wanted in the world was to wish Barusu dead.

"You have bent your knees before irresistible despair, and you have lost even your sword… Just what is it you still cling to?" Julius' voice pondered.

The Finest knight did not know what to think about the words uttered by his voice. Was he speaking to someone? Or could these words be directed to himself? But why would he? He had bowed his knee before his lady a long time ago, and this only filled his life with new meaning and purpose. And the sword, although it was an important part of himself, was not the only thing that made him Julius Jukuulius. He had family, friends, and a title. Everything that made him what he was. So it must've been someone else he said these words to. But who?

"Am I really that greedy? Do I really ask so much? I just don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone… Is that so hard to understand?" Anastasia's sobbing voice rang out.

'It is a completely normal desire. Nothing bad about being a bit greedy when pursuing your dream.' The merchant princess thought sadly, rubbing her arctic fox scarf repeatedly, convincing herself that she would never be left alone.

Crusch gave her political opponent a quick glance, thinking about

"I'll kill you, just as I promised! Got that, Natsuki Subaru?! Garfiel's voice boomed threateningly.

"WHA'?! No! No fuckin' way! Dere's no way I'd do datto Cap'n! Wha' the hell is dis shit?!" The young fighter started panicking.

"Don't get so worked up, Garf! We don't have any context to draw any conclusions! For all we know, it can be some alternate reality where you never became friends with Natsuki-san!" Otto snapped at him, grabbing the young man by the shoulder.

"Y-yeah! Yer' right, Brotto! That must be it! No way I'm gonna kill my cap'n!"

"We believe you, Garf-kun. Don't forget who's the master of this Trial and what she did in the past to both you and Emilia-sama."

"Good point, Rem! Must be dat witch's sick games!"

"I just realized something… That I haven't been walking alone all this time." Roswaal's voice calmly reported.

'Interesting. What could the future me mean by this? Is it possible that these words were about Ram? Or Subaru-kun?' The magician wondered, glancing at the maid from the side.

"In the end, 'twould seem we must atone with every last drop of our blood, does it not?" Frederica's voice accepted the inevitable.

'Sins? What sins will we have to pay for in such a terrible way?' The head maid thought fearfully.

"You'd better stand aside. Whether you're a witch or a dragon, I'll sweep everyone out of my way!" An unfamiliar voice threatened.

"Does anyone recognize this voice?" Felt asked, bewildered. But others either shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders.

"Why…why won't the soul take?!"

"The soul won't take? Won't take where? Would I ask something like that when looking at a dead body?" Felix asked in perplexity, hoping with all his might that this gloomy phrase had nothing to do with the earlier one about his lady and the curse.

"Back then, I began to doubt all the decisions I've ever made in my life. I couldn't let go of the feeling that any actions that I will or already have taken would lead to one tragedy or another. Just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. I mean, what's the point of doing anything if you're only going to have calamities and death in the future, no matter." Emilia said sadly, recalling her feelings during the last Trial.

"I believe that's the true purpose of the Trial. To see if the candidate will falter when faced with images of a tragic future." Crusch nodded to her own words.

"Sounds about right! If I had tried to pass such a Trial a year ago and if my amazin' self had been shown that all roads lead to the fact that I will lose my loved ones, I would never have left the Sanctuary." Garfiel muttered softly in Otto's ear, not wanting anyone else to hear this truth.

The kaleidoscope of images ended, there was only blinding whiteness around. An image of one of Roswaal's maids appeared in front of Emilia. She did not recognize the voice that rang out, but she immediately realized that it was not Ram.

"In my opinion, it's selfish to pray for your wish to come true. You need to pray for forgiveness."

"What could you mean by that, Rem?" Emilia asked the maid.

"I can't say for sure, Emilia-sama. Except that there is no point in asking higher powers to give you what you crave. We can only get what we wish for by our own actions."

"A statement wiser than it might seem at first glance!" Priscilla commented sternly, but without sarcasm.

Another equally indistinct image appeared nearby, which she quickly recognized as Subaru. The image held out his hand. Emilia wanted to go over and take the image of the young man by the hand, but her vision suddenly swam.

"At least the finale gives at least some hope. Once, the mini-boss appeared at the end and held out his hand to the princess." Ricardo calmly commented, patting the frightened twins.

"A hint that she won't have to face her future alone?" Anastasia elaborated on his thought.

The mercenary captain only nodded silently in response.

"You don't have to worry about that, Emilia-sama. Neither Subaru-kun nor Rem will ever leave you behind! This is my promise to you." Rem said, giving Emilia her kindest smile.

"Thank you, Rem. I'll remember that. So don't you dare disappear from our lives again, okay?" Emilia winked at the girl, returning the same smile.

When her vision returned to normal, the girl was already in a green meadow under a blue sky. There was a tea table next to it under a sun umbrella. There were two cups of tea and a plate of biscuits on the table.

"Where am I? Echidna?"

When she got no answer, she stretched out her hands to the cookies on the table.

"Emilia-sama! I fully expect such behavior from Barusu or Garf, who can only think with either their stomach or crotch! But you have to realize that you shouldn't touch anything provided by a witch!" Ram said with indignation.

The girl considered it her duty to her mistress to use the harshest tone and words to make her be more careful. And at the same time, so that no one would guess how much she worries about the princess.

"With this kind of behavior, I'm amazed you haven't fallen victim to some poisoner yet. That dog of yours is no doubt dying in your place on a regular basis!" Priscilla, who was in solidarity with the pink maid, commented contemptuously.

"Betty's Subaru haven't died once since he made a contract with Betty, in fact!"

"You can't imagine how happy I am to hear this, Betrice-sama." Rem said with relief.

"Trust me, girl, Betty can…"

"It's better not to touch what the witch left, or you'll regret it quickly!" A loud and emotional voice rang out behind her.

Emilia wanted to turn around, but a finger was put to the back of her head and she froze.

"Good girl. You shouldn't turn around." Minerva praised her from behind.

"But who are you?" Emilia asked her.

"I am, well, you know—A Witch so terrifying, she makes every hair on your body stand on end!" The Witch of Wrath tried to lie clumsily.

"More and more I become convinced that these two are really related by blood? They're far too similar in how brazenly and clumsily they lie." Anastasia said half jokingly, half seriously to the duchess, but loud enough for others to hear.

"Even in terms of terrible acting, they're like sisters." Crusch allowed herself a dig at her friend.

The memories of how clumsily Emilia tried to convince Subaru that Puck was not connected with the freezing of the mansion were too vivid in her mind.

"Then what about the fact that Emilia is a half-elf? And the difference in ages?" Otto challenged this idea.

"The amount of blood from another race can not only dilute, but also thicken. If the Witch of Wrath had descendants who lived among the elves, then it is far from an impossibility that only once a human got into her family tree." Tivey reasoned aloud.

"That's an interesting idea, but alas, we won't be able to verify it. Moreover, whatever the truth turns out to be, it won't change anything." Emilia simply shrugged her shoulders. Her tone made it obvious that she didn't believe in the idea that Minerva could be her real mother. Just like Otto has pointed out — the age gap was too big to take it seriously.

"My real mother was Fortuna. And if Minerva is really my mother, then I can only thank her for helping Subaru with all her might."

"At least we can assume that the desire to help everyone around runs in the family." Felt smiled with a soft smile.

"Where's Echidna?" Emilia asked.

"You know, she said she didn't want to see you. She said she doesn't want to meet you. It looked like she had a pretty rough time in the Trials."

"Of course… It seems that way. Echidna seemed really hurt the last time I met her." The girl admitted guiltily, remembering how Echidna barely held back tears at the end of the second Trial.

"What did you see in the third Trial?" The Witch of Wrath asked curiously.

"I've seen a lot of sad worlds. Is this the real future?"

"Let's just say it is possible they might happen. However, Echidna was clearly mocking you when she showed only bad options." Minerva decided to cheer up her guest.

These words noticeably lifted the mood of Emilia, who even allowed herself to smile.

"Yes. After all, Echidna is re-e-eally a very naughty girl."

There was almost a physical sense of relief in the hall.

"Still, it's nice to realize that what I saw is not a guaranteed future, but only a possibility." Otto breathed, allowing himself to smile.

"Like I said, Rem. You partially guessed Echidna's motives. However, now I'm re-e-eally sorry that we never saw any possible happy futures." Emilia admitted with a slight sadness in her voice.

She turned her head in surprise when she felt her palm being gently squeezed by Rem's.

"We don't need to see it, Emilia-sama. We can imagine the best future for ourselves. And do everything in our power to reach this desired future! I will keep my promise to you, but I will also make sure that Subaru-kun fulfills his promise to me. He promised that we would be able to laugh together, talking about tomorrow."

"Well said, girl. Accept the praise from the Great Spirit. It's our responsibility to reach the desired future through our own exploits, in fact!" Beatrice proudly lifted her nose, rejoicing at how positive the atmosphere in the hall had become.

"Naughty is hardly the right word." Minerva hinted to her, and asked in surprise. "And how do you manage to stay so calm?"

"Eh?"

"It's weird! You've seen terrible images of the future —yet, in spite of that…" The witch explained.

"But it's not necessarily true. There is a future where this will happen. But there is also where things will turn out differently! Which means there's nothing to worry about. I can clench my fists and fight!" Emilia said firmly.

"I don't think you'll last long." Minerva said skeptically.

"You'd be right if I were alone. But I'm not." Emilia said softly but confidently.

"You have a strong will. In this respect, you and your mother are not at all alike."

"What? Do you know my mother?" Emilia was worried about this news.

"Yes, I know her well. But I will say nothing of her—I've promised not to." Minerva immediately cut off this topic.

"But why?! Why are all of them so stingy?! First, Echidna refuses to say anything useful about Pandora, even though that knowledge could be an invaluable asset! Now the Witch of Wrath says she's made a promise not to tell Emilia-sama about her mother! What is the point of teasing us with valuable knowledge, only to change their mind at the most important moment?!" Tivey was bursting with righteous indignation.

He stood up on Ricardo's leg when he started ranting. The young mercenary did not even notice how the monocle fell out of his eye, which made the resemblance to Mimi even more striking.

"I agree. It's just not fair. It's like they're mocking us with these hints." Anastasia nodded.

She hated it when valuable information was literally at arm's length, and yet it was impossible to get it.

"Yes. I understand… Then I won't ask anything either." Emilia replied calmly, closing her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"I'd love to ask, but I know I shouldn't. Also… My real mother is Mother Fortune!" Emilia said confidently.

"I see… So even that girl's…" Minerva commented thoughtfully, after which she began to shake with small tremors from approaching tears. "Even Echidna's wicked deeds result in something good once in a while…"

'Such outcomes happened much more often than others might think.' Roswaal thought with a degree of sentimentality.

For him, most of Echidna's deeds resulted in good outcomes. She gave him light and showed that the world was not filled only with pain and misery. She saved and gave home to Ryuzu, created Beatrice, created many of the metias the world relies on to this day, and much more.

"Are you crying?" Emilia asked her without turning around.

"Of course, I'm not crying! I won't cry!" Minerva lied clumsily. "I don't have the right to cry…not anymore!"

"You don't need any right to do this!" Emilia declared, turning abruptly to declare her position. But suddenly her head was grabbed and pressed against a large and soft chest.

"I told you…not turning was the right choice. Bad girl." The Witch of Wrath muttered softly, with tears in her eyes, hugging the princess to herself like a mother hugging a child.

This moment made Emilia's heart skip a beat. Her head became full of thoughts. Why was Minerva hugging her so lovingly? Why did she almost cry at the sight of her?

"But…how is it even possible…? Mom…Mother? How? Isn't there a gap of hundreds of years between us? I admit I don't remember what my mom looked like at all, but this is just too confusing!" Emilia reasoned feverishly, trying to comprehend such a possibility.

Now Emilia was regretting not being more persistent in seeking answers back then. Although, even if she did, there was no way Minerva would've broken the promise and told her the truth. And since she completed the Trial, she was left with no means of reaching Echidna. So was there any option left for her to find out more about the Witch of Wrath, her elf-husband and how was it all possible, given the time discrepancy?

"I'm completely confused now. On one hand, everything we saw before gives us an almost unambiguous answer about the identity of Emilia-sama's mother." Otto tried to reason, scratching his head.

"On the other hand, the question arises about when Emilia-sama was actually born. Or when the Witch of Wrath actually died, because apparently it couldn't be the Witch of Envy who killed her, and she lived much longer than the rest of them." Ram supported this thought.

"You're saying Emilia could be almost four hundred years old? That's just ridiculous! We all saw that she looked like a child the day Elior forest was frozen." Anastasia pointed out.

"The only thing we can say with certainty is that the official history's lost all of its credibility." Julius commented with a melancholic tone. "We are clearly on the verge of great historical discoveries. But something tells me that we won't be getting any answers. Again."

"Warden-sama! Would it be possible to see into Minerva's life? Or, failing that, can you provide your own insight? I can hardly understand the purpose in giving us fragments of information while largely keeping us in the dark." Reinhard asked the ceiling.

"That's not why you're here. Don't try to find out more than you're supposed to at the moment. Keep watching." They received an indifferent reply.

"But why? Will we really doom the world if we find out how Minerva-san could be Emilia-sama's mother?" Petra pleaded.

"It is as it has to be. There are certain conditions I am obliged to follow. So, continue watching." The Warden cut off the conversation in the same dry tone.

Sighing and grumbling, the audience turned their eyes back to the screen.

After holding Emilia like that for a few seconds, Minerva turned the girl around. A black metal door appeared right in the middle of the meadow.

"Go straight ahead, and the Trial will be over. The barrier will be removed."

Going to the door and holding the handle, Emilia decided to turn to Minerva:

"Tell me, witch, If you run into Echidna, can you tell her something for me?"

"What is it?"

"If we meet again, next time, let's have tea together. All together. With you and the other witches."

"The destructive influence of Barusu is definitely felt! I hope now that you've seen the witches of sins firsthand, you realize just how unreasonable this idea is, Emilia-sama?" Ram turned to her mistress with all seriousness.

"Yes, I do. At the time, I had no idea what kind of people the witches were and how harmful they could be." Emilia answered her, but she thought to herself. 'But it seems to me that even with them one can find a common language if they try hard enough.'

Of course, she decided not to inform her maid-friend about the last part.

At these words, Minerva almost burst into tears again. Then she smiled slightly and said:

"Yes! I'll tell her! And if he resists, I'll take her by the scruff of the neck and bring her!"

"Ha! I'd like to see that! The Witch of Greed being brought to the table like an unruly kitten!" Ricardo chuckled, earning a scathing glare from Roswaal.

Satisfied with these words, Emilia opened the door. The world lost its clarity and everything was filled with whiteness. The girl woke up in the tomb. The door leading to the heart of the tomb was open in front of her.

"It's open…"

When she went inside, she found a coffin made of glass. A complex shape hovered above it, resembling either a tree or a funnel, woven of pure magical energy, glowing dimly. There were several magic circles at the base and around the magical structure. Approaching the coffin, the girl looked inside.

"Who is this? I thought it was Echidna's tomb…"

"What did you mean, Emilia-sama? Isn't that where Echidna's body was located?" Reinhard was surprised by these words.

"Well, she definitely looked a lot like the Echidna I saw at the Trials. But they were somewhat different. It was as if her older sister's body was lying in a tomb. So I was a little confused."

"It may well be that in the spiritual world, Mother took on the form that she most preferred. As I said before, in the spiritual world, you always have your true appearance. The image of a soul can also have an age different from the physical body, in fact."

"I see, that would explain the difference, I guess."

"Amazing… Is this the magic circle of the barrier?" She reasoned, looking at the amazing creation of ancient magic. "How amazing it is… I can't even imagine how it works!"

"I have to admit, I've never seen magic circles so complicated even in books!" Julius said with admiration.

"That Barrier was one of the crowning achievements of Mother, in fact! It may not be as spectacular as a flying island, but the complexity and the level of magical ingenuity used in this magic is unraveled even today, I suppose!"

"Well, I heard that the Imperial Palace of Lupugana is pretty ingenious, a giant metia in its own right."

"It does look like a ma-a-arvelous construction, until you find out what they've do-o-one to make it." Roswaal commented with a skeptical look.

"And what have they done to build it?" Emilia asked with curiosity.

"Let's just sa-a-ay there is a reason why spirits are very scarce on the La-a-and of the Wolves."

Looking at her palm, she came to a conclusion and clenched it into a fist.

"Probably like that." Raising her fist over the lid of the coffin, Emilia remembered all the most important moments of the Trials — how she calmed Geuse, how Mother Fortuna died, Pandora, happy parents living in the unthinkable present, the horrors of the possible future, the Witch of Wrath, who promised that they would gather together for tea again.

"Ha!" Abruptly lowering her fist, she smashed the base of the magic seal and the mana structure above the coffin quickly dissipated.

"Yes… I guess it's over?" She said to herself and breathed out a sigh of relief. "We must tell those who are waiting outside as soon as possible!"

The girl hurried to the exit of the Tomb to announce the removal of the barrier around the Sanctuary.

"What?!" She said in surprise.

And there was something to be surprised about. A terrible snowstorm greeted her on the outside. Snow was rapidly covering the Sanctuary.

"But the maid and the spirit intervened before the margrave could cast the spell, didn't they? Did he defeat them in a duel and then finish the ritual?" Tivey asked.

"Most likely, yes. I lost consciousness at the end of the duel. So I don't know what happened after that." Ram admitted.

For her, much more important than such trivial details was the memory that she woke up in the arms of her beloved, who was crying because of her poor condition.

The next moment, the action returns to the mansion, where Garf and Elsa continued their deadly dance in the middle of the fire. Garfiel smashed one of the blades with a powerful blow of his shield, and then the second with his jaws.

"Okay, Mimi's convinced! Mimi'll take better care of her teeth!"

Jumping away from her opponent, Elsa threw the broken pieces aside and took out two more weapons of murder, which looked more like meat cleavers than elaborately made blades.

"Just where was she keeping that arsenal?! Do you really expect me to believe she keeps all those blades under those tight clothes?" Otto commented with genuine surprise.

"You're only asking that, nyow? I've been wondering where Rem keeps her weapon for days." Felix said sarcastically.

Rem immediately felt several eyes staring at her.

"That's a professional secret. I'll thank you not to ask!" She replied calmly but firmly.

"Why am I not surprised? This place just loves giving us interesting questions and then blue balling us with a lack of answers!" Al grumbled in a low voice.

Seeing the mabeasts rushing around in panic, fleeing from the fire, Garfiel chuckled contentedly.

"What did I say? All sorts of mabeasts are not a hindrance for my Cap'n!"

"Don't you overestimate your friend?" The Bowel Hunter addressed him calmly.

"Eh?"

But Garfiel did not have time to clarify what Elsa wanted to say by this, because from the outside came a rumble of an approaching huge monster. A moment later, the wall between the two fighters collapsed, and the body of an unconscious wagpig crashed into the corridor.

"Rock Piggie, darling, get up quickly!" Meili admonished the monster, still sitting on his back.

"Frederica nee-sama! Did you beat him up like that?!" Petra asked admiringly

"Well, to be fair, I didn't do a lot of damage to it. I simply didn't have enough raw strength to break through such a thick hide. So I opted to just exhaust it, and then forced it to ram through the wall with its head." Frederica explained.

"A smart tactic, given the situation." Ricardo approved of her decisions.

"Meili, are you all right? I hope you're safe, but I do wish you didn't interfere." Elsa scolded her, as if everything that was happening was just a minor mess created by a hyperactive girl.

But Meili didn't think to feel even a shred of remorse. Moreover, the girl decided that now is the time to express her claims to the elder:

"Sheesh, Elsa, you're so self-centered! The main reason I have to work this hard is because you ran off ahead! You'd better reflect on that!"

"Pretty bizarre picture, don't you think?" Otto said with a concerned tone. "If you don't know the context, they really look like a pair of sisters. Elsa looks out for the little one, while Meili is clearly in her rebellious phase."

"And yet you just can't forget that we are looking at two assassins, who came to massacre several people, who've done nothing wrong to them." Rem said with a stern look.

"Actually, talks like these creep me out the most. Murder is such a natural thing to them that they won't even concentrate on it, becoming distracted by small talk."

"Garf! So this is where you were!" Frederica asked, running up to him.

"Sis? Why are you still here? Where are the others?" The fighter was surprised that his sister still did not get away from the mansion.

"I've done my job. You do understand why I stayed here, don't you?" The maid explained, winking at him playfully.

Although Garfiel only furrowed his brows at this.

"I'm amazed at how much trouble a couple of sisters can cause!"

"Trust me, even one sister can be too many." Tivey muttered with melancholy in his voice, which spoke of many years of bitter experience in this matter.

"Sisters? Yes, I suppose you're right… So now we have sisters gathered on one side and siblings on the other."

Meili, understanding her older sister's words as a command to action, clapped her hands. The rock climber opened his eyes and began to rise from the ground.

"Damn, boy! I really feel sorry for you!" Ricardo commented with a laugh. "The first deadly fight in your life! Graduation for the transition into adulthood, you might say. And the girls around seemingly decided to turn it into some kind of bachelorette party!"

"Shall we assume that our fight begins anew?" Elsa suggested ending the pause.

The fighters were preparing for the next round of the fight. Frederica noticed that whole flocks of smaller mabeasts were crawling towards them from the surrounding area.

"What a crowd! And they were all controlled by one little girl!" Anastasia was amazed at the number of enemies.

"Meili told us that Guiltylowe helped her control such a huge pack. And when it died, some mabeasts immediately fled because of the fire." Emilia explained.

"Garf, don't worry about me!" She informed her brother.

"Ha! Upon seein' the dragon, Blade Master Reid drew 'is sword and laughed!" Instead of answering, Garf quoted another folk wisdom.

"That's what they say about a man who's out of his mind." Elsa reminded him.

"Yes, I know! I'm about to take on the both of ya, so how's tha' the wrong thing to say?" The blond man declared and stamped his foot on the ground.

This caused a shock wave so strong that even the wagpig was bowled over and crashed into the wall. Meili, who flew off his back, screamed in fear. But, before she fell to the ground, Elsa came to the rescue, catching her in time.

"Wow, that looked so cool! Mimi wants to learn that too! To just stomp my foot on the floor and BAM! Garf, teach Mimi to do the same!"

"To blow off such a huge beast in one blow? Not bad!" Al whistled respectfully. He could only dream of using such strong earth magic.

"It's quite amazing to see that even a monster such as the Bowel Hunter has at least a drop of humanity." Julius did not deny the unexpected scene of the killer caring for her adopted sister.

"From what the bitch told my amazin' self, she wasn't always a gut-obsessed maniac. But the circumstances were against her. Not that it mattered to me …" Garf noted coldly.

"G-Garf, what in the world did you do just now?"

"That's the power of my blessing, As long as my feet are planted on the ground, I can hit whatever I can see. I'll say this only once: I won't let ya interfere with this fight. Not you, and not the little sister over there, either."

"That's right! Tell them everything about all of your techniques! How many times and how often can you use them! Oh, and don't forget to tell them about the limitations of your powers! We don't want the enemy to not understand how to effectively disarm you now, don't we? Al spoke, his voice full of sarcasm.

Garf had the humility to scratch his head guiltily after these words.

"Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm watching some kind of anime here, with all these curtsies and clichés! Telling the enemy your name, explaining how your abilities work… All that remains is for the combatants to shout the names of their techniques before each blow as loudly and passionately as possible!" The one-armed warrior continued to grumble.

"Sounds cool!" The young bully suddenly became agitated, imagining how he would resoundingly announce the next attack that would crush his enemy!

"Don't you even think about it! I'll put you on a broccoli diet If you try something so stupid!" Otto slapped his younger friend on the head with his hat. "You'd better listen to Al-san! In battle, it's necessary not to show off before the enemy, but to win!"

"You wouldn't know, you're not a fighter." Garf grumbled, leaning his head on his fist in displeasure.

"Sis, just focus on protectin' yerself."

"Meili, don't come one step closer." Elsa cautioned carefully, setting the girl down on the ground.

"Apparently, Meili was the only one she cared about in this world."

"Although, judging by the way Meili communicated with her, you can't say that."

"It's not like that at all. Meili has a somewhat unusual way of communicating, but I can say that Meili treasured Elsa ve-e-ery much. As I understood it, only Elsa took care of her in her life. And now Subaru is taking care of her."

"He just keeps bringing more and more lolis under his wing, nya. I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever stop."

Standing in front of each other, they looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds. The camera alternated between his gaze and hers.

"This is their last round. Each of them is determined to finish off the opponent no matter what." Wilhelm said, anticipating the outcome of the duel.

"I like how Garf looks right now! It's like he says 'I will bury you!'" Mimi said excitedly, staring at the screen.

The fighters simultaneously rushed towards each other, starting an exchange of blows. However, Meili, although she followed the decree of her older sister, was by no means in the mood to play fair. At her whistle, the mabeasts moved to attack Garfiel, but Frederica intercepted them, tearing the smaller monsters apart with one swing.

"Garf! I'll take them on myself!"

"I see in this mansion, every maid is an accomplished fighter. What will become of Petra after just a few years of study, I wonder?" Crusch noted with interest.

Petra was tempted to tell her that she had been studying light magic for almost a year now. And that she already has several spells. But she was sure that she had no right to disclose such information in front of outsiders.

"Garf was lucky to have his sister backing him up. Thanks to that, he can focus on taking out Elsa without worrying about a sneaky stab in the back!" Felt noted with satisfaction.

In her previous line of work, having a reliable partner to protect your rear was a rare and cherished blessing. Come to think about it, politics wasn't that much different from survival on the streets. Everyone wanted something others had, backstabbing and lying was a fact of life, and finding a dependable ally was a rare gift.

Secretly, she thanked Od Lagna for having Reinhard on her side. Because she knew without a doubt that she could always rely on him. She'd never say that to his face, of course.

Garf didn't even have time to smile at Frederica, as the Bowel Hunter demanded all his attention, licking her lips maniacally. Seizing the moment, she successfully plunged the blade into the blonde's arm.

But he didn't have time to feel the pain. Instantly turning his injured arm into a tiger's paw, he delivered a crushing blow. Even Elsa looked surprised at the moment when the paw swept her aside, tearing off half of her skull at the same time.

"Yes! Tear that scum apart, Garf-kun!" Rem literally rejoiced at the sight of the fight, getting great pleasure from the sight of how a woman who had brought so much pain and suffering to her beloved was being gradually destroyed.

"That's quite the blow! One fell swoop and half a head is off!" Mimi's joy knew no bounds. The only thing cooler would be to join in the fight and personally participate in it.

"Yeah! Get rid of that crazy bitch! Smear her!" Felt shouted enthusiastically.

"Good, very good!" Julius nodded approvingly.

"Rock Piggie!" Meili ordered, intending to buy her older sister time to recover and at the same time finish off the arrogant tiger boy.

Roaring furiously, the huge bulk of the mabeast crashed right into Garfiel, moving him towards the nearest wall to crush him.

"Get pancaked!" Meili screamed her heartfelt wish.

Wasting no time, Garfiel completed his transformation on the move, completely turning into a huge tiger. With his feet on the floor, he was able to slow down the wagpig and clamped its jaw with his paws. The tiger's roar was so ferocious that even the huge mabeast lost seemed to become petrified.

"To make a wagpig afraid with one growl! This guy has some serious potential!" Ricardo said softly, impressed by such abilities.

For the first time, he was actually thinking of supporting Mimi's idea to get closer to the tiger boy. Such talent would be indispensable for any mercenary group. Not only that, but a full year had come and gone since the events on screen took place. Who knows how much stronger Garfiel had become since then?!

"He's just gorgeous. A gorgeous tiger…" Mimi muttered, staring at the screen with stars of admiration shining in her eyes. Right now on the screen, she saw her ideal of man.

"He does have an impressive aura." Wilhelm nodded approvingly.

Gripping the enemy's muzzle in his paws, Garf pushed himself off the ground with force. Once above the rock climber, he used the momentum of the jump to start spinning in the air, causing the mabeast's head to spin with him. Having broken his neck, the tiger did not stop and continued to move until he literally unscrewed the head of the beast. The headless torso fell to the ground. Garfiel landed next to him, letting out a thunderous roar of triumph.

"I wanna have his kittens…" Mimi whispered in a love struck tone, looking at the screen with her jaw dropped and the eyes of a fan, to whom her idol just handed a bouquet of flowers.

Ricardo and Tivey choked on the air from such words. Anastasia didn't hear Mimi, but her maternal instincts raised the alarm, that her baby girl just stepped into the danger zone.

'It's a good thing Hetaro isn't here, otherwise no transformation or Warden would have saved Garfiel!' The two demi-humans thought at the same time, remembering how the third twin reacted sharply to anyone who even laid eyes on his sister.

"Wow… he unscrewed its head! He actually unscrewed it! Did you see that, Rein?! Can you do something like that?!" Felt commented admiringly, looking at her knight and pointing her finger at the screen.

"Well, if the situation called for it, I could certainly try. But I still prefer to fight with a sword. Garfiel-san is… unique in his fighting style." Reinhard explained diplomatically.

"I almost wish I was at the mansion at that moment to see it in person. Almost." Otto admitted frankly.

"Damn, the strength of some people in this world is simply beyond reason!" Al muttered in displeasure.

He had to make do with the abilities of a professional athlete from Earth. And even they were halved by the absence of one hand. And his black-haired colleague was even deprived of powerful muscles. Not to mention, his gate was broken beyond repair. Both of them could only count on cheating with time.

' This world is a real cesspool for people like us…' He thought bitterly.

"Well, this barbarian amused me. I approve. Now finish off the psychopath so we can finally end these viewings!" Priscilla commanded, pleased.

"You really have become much stronger, Garf." Ram whispered respectfully, no less surprised at how Garfiel single-handedly defeated such a powerful mabeast. And right after that, he also dealt with Elsa.

"I don't say it often, because he rarely gives me reasons to be proud of him, but it is my little brother." Frederica added confidently.

"I don't believe… I don't believe …" The girl repeated fearfully, not wanting to accept the reality in front of her. Then she screamed hysterically:

"Elsa! Do something about it!"

"What a cruel, demanding girl…" the Bowel Hunter calmly replied, getting to her feet without any traces of a terrible wound on her head.

Garfiel, meanwhile, had returned to his human form, looked very exhausted and was breathing heavily.

"Even though you are injured all over, my wounds are simply healing. The gap between us grows greater as time passes… Do you not think it is unfair?" Elsa asked her opponent softly.

"Eh? I'm still in great shape!"

"Typical boy. Even when they barely have enough strength left to breathe, they still tend to show off until the very end." Anastasia said with a grin, seeing how the young man did not want to admit the severity of the situation to the enemy.

In no way, she was going to condemn people who persevered to the very last breath. And she found this boy's attitude pretty charming, since it was reminding her of a younger Ricardo.

"Given the intensity of the battle, the number of wounds, and transforming twice in such a short time… I find it astonishing that he is still conscious at all!" Ricardo gave his assessment knowledgeably.

"So, if he hadn't had this blessing of the earth spirits, he probably would've collapsed already." Al added.

' Damn, I guess I would be able to deal with her only if I get the role of the 'victim' when activating the 'territory'! Otherwise, I'd have to chop her to pieces until I go crazy myself! I wonder… What would've happened if she became an 'aggressor'? Would she become stuck in an eternal loop, perceiving this situation as her personal paradise? Just when I think about her, gutting me like a fish for ages! Ugh…'

"I kept healing myself durin' the fight, so it's fine! And the blessin'of earth spirits restored my strength! So it wasn't a problem for my amazin' self!" The fighter proudly declared.

"Don't get cocky, Garf. It's quite obvious that you were riding on stubbornness alone there. Although, Ram has to admit that you can operate on this 'fuel' for years!" Ram wasn't worried about the young fighter at all. Nope. Not even a little!

"There is no denying the boy's talent, but he was quite fortunate to have the appropriate blessing. Elsa was an opponent who could not only deprive her enemies of room to maneuver with each blow, but also possessed the stamina to simply exhaust them to the point where they could no longer oppose her." Wilhelm added thoughtfully.

"Oi! Are ya sain' tha' my amazin' self won just cause of some dumb fuckin' luck?!" Garfiel instantly became overly frustrated by this statement.

He couldn't deny that Wilhelm was a seasoned warrior who could see a lot of little details. And the fact that just by looking at the miniscule part of his and Elsa's fight, the old man was capable of discerning the biggest concern Garfiel was living with the past year. That his triumph over Elsa was a result of a happy coincidence. Just sheer dumb luck. No matter how much Garfiel tried to convince himself otherwise, that gnawing fear, that he was still a weak boy, who just got lucky, never went away.

"There is no shame in having luck on your side, Garfiel-san." Wilhelm said with an understanding smile. He immediately understood what the young warrior was brooding about. "Every battle I've fought throughout my life, I prevailed through luck, among other things. After all, when luck is not with you, the smallest misstep can prove to be your undoing. It is true that without luck, you may well have fallen to the Bowel Hunter on that day. However!" He stressed the last word and raised his index finger. "She was not an opponent to be beaten through sheer luck alone. Her regeneration was simply too large an obstacle to overcome. So you can rest assured, while luck did play its role in your success, it was your skills and relentless determination that laid the path to your victory!"

After Wilhelm's supporting words, Garfiel visibly perked up.

"Dat's right! Not only my amazin' self is gorgeous, but also lucky! Jus' like it should be! My blessin' of earth spirits kept my strength up, my healin' helped me keep fightin', my claws let me tear tha' bitch apart, and my luck tipped the scales in my favor!"

He felt elated, He felt joy. He had no need to feel shame about his first big fight! Thanks to Wilhelm's words, he was able to look at the most important day of his life in a new light.

"But you, though tenacious, are clearly not immortal! Isn't that right, vampire?" Garfiel said defiantly.

"You knew?" She asked, opening her eyes in surprise.

"I had a hunch. Me, I loved readin' books since I was a kid. Apparently, one of the old Witches was one, too. That Witch is dead. And that means you can die, too. You're clearly not the kind of person who can be let go if they swear not to do evil anymore."

"What a surprise. This barbarian can read? Amuse me more then and tell me that he is also capable of writing and knows how to behave at the table?" Priscilla sarcastically declared, for whom Garfiel and literacy went together just as well as a pig in an evening dress.

"Actually, yes, Garf-kun is fully literate. He wrote letters to nee-sama regularly. However, because of the need to conserve paper he was unable to practice enough for his scribbles to be read without special training." Rem decided to stand up for the blond man in typical demon fashion, making it difficult to tell if it was praise or criticism.

Garfiel wanted to fire back, but said nothing. Despite Rem's harsh words, he was pleased to hear that. Not only did this approach remind him very much of Ram, but his captain also often received praise from Rem similarly.

"That and we've, more or less, taught him to sit at the table over the past year." Frederica added on her own.

"…You truly are an adorable child." The Bowel Hunter admitted in a loving voice, and then began to tell in a calm voice:

"Gusteko, where I was born, is a very, very cold land far to the north. My parents abandoned me. Among the days, where theft was followed by beatings, I didn't have time to think about my life and happiness. One day, the wind blowing down from the sacred mountain was cold. Amid raging snow so cold it froze even your breath, I was working as a thief when a shop owner caught me."

"She's lying, I'm sure of it!" Felt spat out aggressively, although fearing that her assumption is mistaken.

She suddenly felt extreme disgust. After all, Elsa's story was in many ways similar to her own. Only Felt had a simpler time. She lived in the wealthy capital of Lugunica, and Old Man Rom looked after her, so Felt did not have to survive all alone. But what if she didn't have an Old Man Rom to raise and protect her? What if she went through the same experience? Could she become the same crazy maniac?! The girl even had to shake her head to get such terrible thoughts out of her head. And even accepted Reinhard hand of support, which was pretty unusual.

"Shaddap! I ain't listenin'!" Garf said menacingly.

"And since I was a girl, he tore off my clothes and underwear. But, fortunately, I picked up a piece of glass in my hands. It was not as if I meant to do it. It just so happened that I thrust the piece of glass into his belly."

At that moment, the screen switched to Elsa's memories. A young naked girl sat over the corpse, clutching a piece of glass in her hand like a blade.

"And then, in the midst of a chilling blizzard, I suddenly realized … how rich in warmth … human blood and guts were!" She said in an admiring tone.

The fire reflecting in her eyes showed her true nature — madness and an insatiable thirst to kill for the warmth of human guts. "And if there is happiness in the world… it must be found in the warmth, driving away the cold. For the first time, I was happy. But I don't think you'll understand me."

"Then why'd ya have to tell me all that crap? It's disgustin'."

"I wonder why myself?" She tilted her head, not knowing why she was telling all this. "I guess I am quite fond of you."

"But why would she bring up this conversation now, of all times? Is she really trying to gain sympathy after everything she's done?!" Tivey spoke, unable to understand the motives of the killer.

"I don't think so. She is well aware of how crucial this fight is. Moreover, I believe she's well aware that these are her final moments. In fact, she may very well welcome the opportunity. That's why she decided to share her story with someone." Wilhelm suggested, thoughtfully scratching his short beard.

"But why would she wanna say tha' to me?" Garfiel asked with evident disgust.

"So as not to be forgotten. To make sure that the one who would take her life remembers that once upon a time there lived a girl named Elsa Granhiert, who killed and gutted to escape the cold." Crusch replied, not without a shadow of sympathy.

"You sound like you really pity her, nya. I seriously doubt she's worth your compassion, Crusch-sama." Felix pointed out.

"I don't pity her. But I do resent the world that allowed a poor little girl to become such a ruthless monster through its own callous negligence."

"I'm sorry, but I have a sweetheart. I ain't got time for some chick messed up in the head." The blond man answered her in a completely serious voice, preparing for battle.

"You're so cruel… However, okay… After all, I'm not interested in you, but only in your guts." She replied, mimicking his movements.

"I'm gonna kill ya, Elsa Granhiert!" The blond man sentenced her.

"—It is because you will kill me that you are my first love, Garfiel Tinzel." Elsa confessed to him.

"It looks like someone has decided to seriously wrestle with the Witch of Envy for the title of the supreme yandere of this world." Al said with contempt in his voice.

"I've seen on this screen many types of love on this screen, both endearing and frightening, but this is the most disgusting by far." Julius muttered.

"She fell in love with Garfiel because she believed he could kill her for good? I…don't understand her mentality at all."

"And I'd advise you to not even try, Tivey. This girl is really messed up in her head. I can only suggest that she dreamed of dying for good out of some sick pleasure. It would be nice to think that deep down she understood what a monster she was and wished to end her existence, but I won't bet on it. So just let it go, don't think about it, and be happy that she's dead." Ricardo explained to his adopted son completely seriously.

Tivey only nodded silently. Ricardo wasn't one to be serious often, preferring to fool around and be a boastful and joyful character. So when he said things with this level of authority in his voice, it was a clear indication that he was to be taken seriously.

[Melody Playing: Takt of Heroes - Awakening]

They rushed at each other again. The blows flew at such a speed that those who were not used to fighting could not keep track of what was happening. With another successful lunge, Garf blew off part of her face with his fist, but the wound on the killer instantly healed. And the expression on her face became even crazier and lust filled.

Their figures performed the dance of death amidst the ruins engulfed in fire. After making a powerful attack with her blade, Elsa was able to break one of Garfiel's shields. Grabbing a sharp fragment, she rushed to attack, catching the guy off guard while he was recovering from the blow. The jagged edge was rapidly approaching his eye.

"Garf!" all the members of Emilia's camp shouted in panic at the same time, except for Roswaal and Garf himself, but with Felt and Mimi at the same time.

Intellectually, they knew that this was the final loop and everything would be fine, since the blond was sitting with them now and both eyes were with him. But, nevertheless, they found themselves so sucked into the action they failed to remember that the events they were seeing happened a year ago. Most felt like they were watching what was happening here and now.

But at the last moment, Elsa got distracted from the final attack by a frightened girl's scream. The ceiling on the floor began to collapse and exactly where the blocks were about to fall, Meili stood, instinctively covering her head. The killer rushed to save the ward, but Frederica got to her first in her animal form. Grabbing the girl by the collar with her teeth, the beast girl jumped high up to the nearest gap in the wall.

"Elsa-a-a!" Meili screamed in panic as she was carried away.

'So, this is the root of your insecurities, as I understand. Although It truly can be considered a stroke of luck, you should not be so foolish as to consider yourself weak, seeing how you managed to get this far, Garfiel-san. There is no need for you to worry, just keep following the path you've chosen for yourself. Confidence and wisdom will come to you with experience.' Wilhelm thought to himself.

On one hand, it was unfortunate to see such a promising young man castigate himself over such a thing. On the other…at least, such humility should keep him from getting overconfident. Unless it grows to become an inferiority complex that will drive him to challenge anyone to prove his strength. Wilhelm decided that it would be wise in the future to look after the tiger boy if the possibility arises.

For a second, the Bowel Hunter froze. Remembering that the fight was not over yet, she wanted to turn to the opponent, but it was too late.

Taking advantage of Elsa's distraction, Garf went on the attack and pounced on her with his whole body, knocking her to the ground and plunging his sharp teeth into her neck. She instantly came to her senses, and the killer responded in kind, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. The tiger boy, like a wild beast, bit into her neck further and further. Elsa was in no way inferior to him in animal rage.

Lying on the rubble and pieces of the dying manor, twisting their bodies in an attempt to gain superiority over the enemy and completely surrendering to their rage, they looked like a pair of lustful lovers indulging in animal passion.

"Wow… this guy doesn't waste time, I see!" Al joked out loud, recalling that images on the screen evoked associations with very specific cassettes that were usually stored on the top shelf.

"You're too young to be seeing such debauchery!" Frederica said firmly, closing Petra's eyes.

She also looked sternly at her younger brother, who clearly needed a lecture on acceptable behavior. The younger maid, meanwhile, was seething at such an injustice. She also wanted to look at everything carefully so that she could properly chastise Garfiel for his indecent behavior.

"Ram has heard so many proclamations from you about your undying love and loyalty to me, Garf! But as soon as some half-naked slut with bulging breasts appeared, you immediately knocked her to the ground and climbed up on her like the wanton animal you are!" Ram stated in a ruthless tone.

Judging by Garfiel's confident demeanor, everything was going as he remembered. So there was no need to worry about him. Moreover, the images on the screen made her feel warm below her stomach. Because of this, confidence in a happy conclusion of this battle gave her a reason to properly scold the young fighter for making her feel aroused and insecure at the same time.

"Garfiel-kyun, do you really like girls with big breasts so much that you'd try to grope them even during a fight, nya?" Felix joined in the chuckles.

"Wha' are ya blubberin' about here?! Can't ya see that I'm tryin' to bite this bitch's throat out?!" The fighter looked frustrated and embarrassed, jumping up from his seat and turning to the hall.

He had no idea that from the side, the final moments of his fight with Elsa seemed so…inappropriate. But the very thought that someone could think about him having hots for the Bowel Hunter was repugnant!

"Don't worry, Garf-kun. Everyone is just happy that you are close to ending this abomination completely, so the general mood is high now." Rem stated in a cold tone, without taking her eyes off the screen.

She had no time to react to vulgar hints. She was too busy enjoying the psychotic killer on the screen bleeding to death.

"Mimi, calm down! Sit down! He's just trying to finish that murderer off, nothing more!" Ricardo admonished, who had to hold his now agitated daughter with both hands so that she would not try to attack the flushed guy.

Rising to his feet, Garfiel jumped away from his opponent to avoid being hit back. But Elsa was not up to it. She touched the bite marks on her neck, then touched Garfiel's blood around her mouth with her fingers. Her face was brimming with ecstasy.

"Gosh…" She whispered happily.

"She's… completely insane!" Ricardo spat.

"Time to finish it! Garf, how long are you going to toy with her?" Ram asked, not even hiding the contemptuous expression with which she stared at the screen.

"Betty agrees! It's time to send this monster to the abyss, where she belongs, in fact!" Beatrice said, clenching her fists.

"Yeah, actually, dat's the end of 'er. Tha' the last seconds of that scum's life!" Garfiel declared with ferocity. He simply couldn't wait for this moment to come.

The movement ahead made the killer take her mind off the intoxicating sensation of someone else's blood on her lips.

Right in front of her, Garfiel lifted the wagpig's carcass above him with his bare hands.

"Not ba-a-ad! Lifting a ground dragon is one thing, but this carcass is a whole another level!" Ricardo admitted that it was an impressive sight. For a fourteen years old boy, such strength was a great achievement. 'I wonder how much stronger he became in the last year.'

"Garf is so strong! Just like Mimi likes it…"

Planning to end this fight, Garfiel threw it right where the killer was sitting. But she didn't care about this danger. Elsa's gaze focused on her own blood, abundantly smeared on the young man's face and chest. She thought back to the day she killed another human for the first time, when felt that unforgettable feeling of warmth. When she touched someone else's guts for the first time. When she smeared someone else's blood on her naked body and felt so happy about it.

"For Subaru-kun!" Rem growled with malice evident in her voice.

"For Emilia-sama!" Otto repeated after her in the same tone.

"For mah sis!" Garfiel growled.

"For Petra!" Frederica echoed him, allowing her student to examine in detail the last moment of the hated woman.

"For Beatrice!" Petra remembered another sacrifice that Elsa had to pay for.

"For my lady!" It was a rare case when Reinhard's voice was full of rage and steel.

"For Old Man Rom!" Felt clenched her fists, intending to enjoy this moment to the fullest.

"For all, whose lives you've ruined!" Crusch drew a line under Elsa's list of sins against the world.

" Die!" Emilia voiced the verdict, pronouncing it in the same tone as she wished Pandora's death.

"I'm trembling with excitement …" the Bowel Hunter whispered lovingly.

The next moment, she was crushed by the carcass of a wagpig.

Elsa Granhilt died.

[Screen title: I love you down to your blood and guts]

"And with tha' the bitch was finished!" Garfiel said, crossing his arms.

But right now, he didn't feel the rush of joy and triumph that he had hoped for. He still has a lot of anger left in him and the desire to tear the killer apart a hundred more times for what his captain went through because of the Bowel Hunter. One final death was hardly enough for her.

"Danm, bro! I always knew you were great, but this was simply increadible!" Otto confessed with delight. So much potential, such tenacity! And it was his best friend and an asset to their camp!

"You did a great service to the kingdom that day, Garfiel! Such feats should not be left unrewarded!" Julius said with respect.

"My amazin' self saved mah sis, helped mah cap'n and proved to myself tha' I was the best! Sounds like a good reward!"

' Strong and humble! Perhaps not a bad choice for my Mimi after all. She, at least, knows how to demand a proper reward.' Anastacia thought with a smirk.

"The only thing I regret is that I wasn't there to participate and tear this woman to shreds!" Rem muttered with a hint of disappointment.

She was happy to see Elsa finally dead, but she wished to be the one to rid the world of this fiend.

The scene changed. One explosion after another appeared against the backdrop of the panorama of the Kremaldi night forest.

After landing on the ground, Ram prepared herself for the incoming wave of fire, but she was covered by an ice block that fell from above.

"Oh! So we will also see how the duel between the clown and his rebellious maid ended? I approve!" Priscilla said with satisfaction.

"Awesome! Can't wait to see this snake's snout being broken! I'd watch this all day!" Garfiel roused himself.

And Ram could only clench her teeth in anger. After all, if their entire duel is shown, then the moment of her confession to the master will also come up. She didn't care about the precarious position he was in right now or what a blatant violation of the maid's code of conduct it was! It was their own private moment! One that belonged only to Ram and her master!

How dare all sorts of otherworldly Wardens so brazenly interfere in her most intimate moments?!

"Are you alright? Pushing yourself too hard will be bad for your body." Puck advised her, without turning his head to her.

"Don't worry about me. With your help, Great Spirit, we can fight back against him!" The maid confidently declared, standing up at the counter.

"He shows signs of concern for someone who's not Emilia? That's surprising. I wonder what happened." Anastasia asked skeptically.

"It wasn't for nothing that I dragged you outside. It would be very, very unpleasant if something happened to the laboratory, or rather, to that cry-y-ystal." Roswaal said cheerfully, coming up to them. "However, even in spite of that, you could have achieved your goal. Don't you want to try?"

"To ask the great spirit to detain you and destroy the crystal myself?" Ram guessed what her master was leading her to and smiled ironically. "Are you kidding? If I had done that, I would never have fulfilled my wish."

"But why? It does sound like a good plan!" Tivey was surprised by the maid's words. "Or was it a trap that the margrave had already prepared for?!"

Ram was silent for a few seconds. Was it worth telling the truth, or should she just let the screen show everything? With a quick glance, she noticed that the members of her camp, especially Rem, were looking at her expectantly. Her sister's gaze became the deciding factor.

"Although I planned to prevent Roswaal from enacting his plan, this was not my main intention. It was important for me to rid my master of that disgusting book, the instructions of which he followed implicitly. Ram knew that he committed abominations and crimes not because he wanted to do it, but because it was described in the book. That's why Ram wanted to pull out the root of evil."

"A maid in love sacrifices herself for an ungrateful master! How romantic!" Priscilla said tartly, trying to suppress unpleasant memories.

"And something tells me that you are quite a fan of such plot twists, Bariel-sama-a-a." Roswaal answered her no less venomously.

He would not allow anyone to belittle Ram's feelings! These were feelings of such intensity that even his callous heart was forced to admit their existence. And he couldn't help but respect such strong emotions.

"Shut your circus hole, before I feel it with liquid fire, pathetic clown!" Priscilla rebutted harshly. Too harshly, that made several other people think that Roswaal's words were not just a random phrase but a reminder of a real event.

Margrave's words forced the baroness to think about how similar this scene was to her own experience. Arakiya basically betrayed her and acted against her will, but did with the intention of saving Priscilla's life no matter what. And she succeeded in the end.

"Maybe so, but your situation is getting worse. I don't deny that I was a bit perplexed at first, but the great spirit is not in his best shape right now."

"…Yes, I suppose so. He is more useless than expected. Not even Ram can conceal her disappointment."

The episode paused when the majority of guests turned their heads to stare at the pink maid.

Emilia looked at her with a mixture of hurt and surprise. She knew first-hand Ram's snarky nature and was sure that she didn't mean it seriously. But she still wasn't happy about Ram's attitude.

"Is she for real?! Just how prideful do you have to be to say something like that about a Great Spirit right in front of them?!" Felix asked with disbelief in his words.

"This maid is simply asking to be isolated from any civilized people! To show such blatant disrespect to the Great Spirit who agreed to help her without any sort of compensation!" Beatrice said with righteous indignation. She might've been still furious at Bubby, but she won't stand when anyone, especially the pink maid insulted her kind.

"I won't insist on any kind of punishment since it happened a year ago, but I'd still advise you to be careful about what you say about the spirits, Ram-san! Especially in the presence of knights and other noble citizens of Lugunica. Not only will your attitude bring great shame to your lady, it can also lead to severe consequences to you personally. And to Subaru!" Julius said coldly.

The last sentence was said with a special hint. Julius understood that if Ram puts herself in a dangerous situation, Subaru will do everything to help her avoid it. Even the most drastic measure.

"Ram can assure you, nothing of what she said was considered as an insult by the Great Spirit himself!"

"You really don't sugarcoat your words, huh? Not that I dislike that part of you…"

"See? Just like I told you. Ram spoke with the Great Spirit beforehand and was able to draw a conclusion that Great Spirit Puck was frighteningly similar in character to Barusu and would be charmed by Ram's bluntness." The maid explained contently.

"Puck is similar to Subaru?" Emilia repeated, quite dumbfounded by this comparison. True, they did sound similar in some aspects, they both were real goof offs, who rarely took things seriously.

"Well…his words do remind me of Natsuki-kun's approach." Anastasia shrugged her shoulders.

"Though, I have to admit," the little cat remarked, his long tail swaying as he looked Roswaal's way, "I'm impressed by how meticulous you are." Puck commented, as if they were having a small talk rather than a deadly magical duel. But he said the next words with anger in his voice and on his face:

"When did you cast the spell on Lia?"

"Before going to the Sanctuary. It wasn't difficult at all to interfere with your pact when Emilia-sama was depressed after a quarrel with Subaru-kun."

"Another part of your plan, I suppose? Did the book tell you that Betty's Subaru will be abandoned by the girl, and she will return in a broken state?" Beatrice asked indifferently.

She no longer had the desire to be resentful or angry at the ancient magician. Everything that will happen to him in the future is only his fault and the results of his deeds. And he will have to bear the responsibility on his own.

"When it came to the measures that needed to be taken, the Book of Wisdom spared none of the details. Alas, the same could not be said about the context, consequences or reasons that caused the need for certain steps." Roswaal replied to her with a note of sadness.

Perhaps if he had more information about the reasons and goals of the steps described in the Book, he would be able to act a little differently? However, there was no point in worrying about it anymore. You can't undo what you've done.

"You wanted Lia to remain helpless!" The spirit declared fiercely.

"Ha! As if this monster behaved any differently!" Anastasia said irritably.

After receiving a frustrated look from Emilia, the merchant princess decided to explain:

"Are you saying I'm wrong? You yourself admitted at the end of the second Trial that he was constantly protecting you. He deliberately refused to let you grow up, and rarely allowed you to face hardship, be it internal or external. You can call it paternal care as much as you like. It might even be true. But if you want to treat your beloved daughter like a doll her whole life, then you shouldn't let her participate in something as dangerous as a royal selection!"

"He prevented you from remembering what happened to your village. He advised you to distance yourself from Subaru when he created difficulties for you in the capital." Crusch picked up this thought.

"Not to mention the fact that he made ending the world when you die part of your contract without telling you! And that same contract totally stops him from protecting you himself! A bodyguard who is forbidden to protect his target! How is that even possible?!" Felt added emotionally.

"All that remains is to admit that the terms of the contract that bound the great spirit Puck and you, Emilia-sama, require serious discussion in the future. Which, alas, will have to be postponed until Puck is able to communicate with you again. Despite everything, it's still worth hearing his position. After all, it's possible he might be able to shed some light on the nature of his relationship with Echidna." Julius tried to interrupt the meaningless argument.

"Yes! I made a remarkable effort to tie Subaru down. To me, he is the final key to bringing my greatest desire into reach. You, on the other hand, intend to put him to the grindstone to see if he is worthy of your beloved daughter. Your thinking is very different from mine."

"Don't bark at me, Roswaal! Just like you and your desire, I offered myself to Lia, the reason for my existence. Are you suggesting it's easy for me to entrust Lia to someone else? Don't get cocky, Witch's apprentice." Puck warned him threateningly, after which an aura of deadly cold formed around him.

"The more I look at them both, the fewer differences I see between the two. Both are simply slaves to their desires. How banal." Priscilla snorted with displeasure.

"… From that last part, I ta-a-ake it, you now remember things from prior to your pact?"

"Wha' did he mean by 'remember'? Don't tell me dat cat had problems with memory too?!" Garfiel asked in surprise. "Could it be tha' he also lived with his memories locked? And after the princess died in failed loops, they came back, and he turned into that monster?"

"I can understand a Great Spirit being able to seal Emilia-sama's memories, but who could possibly be powerful enough to seal the memory of a Great Spirit?! Otto asked, puzzled.

"The one who created the spirit, I suppose. Betty's mother." Beatrice replied tensely. "And no, it's useless to ask for what purpose she could've done it. After her bizarre actions at the last tea party, Betty has completely lost track of her motives, in fact. Betty can only assume that Mother's plans are far more ambitious than we can imagine. And we only saw a few pieces of the picture."

"This is starting to read like a drawn-out soap opera! No matter where you look, someone has sealed memories, fake memories, or no memories at all!. There are hints everywhere that everyone knew each other in the past somehow. All that remains is for everything that happened for the last four hundred years to be reduced to a family drama or some tear-jerking love polygon!" Al continued to grumble, making comparisons that even his mistress didn't understand.

"I have my own guesses. However… I remembered a man with a very similar manner of speech. Is this a reminder of defeat for you, or a punishment for it? Anyway, you're living in the past."

"So this spirit was also aware that Roswaal retains all the memories of his ancestors? How can that be? Didn't he spent centuries searching for Emilia?" Julius questioned.

"It could be that it's one consciousness that keeps switching bodies throughout the centuries." Felix shook his head with a contemptuous expression. "Do you remember what I said about memories? We are what we remember. If you add a few hundred more years of new memories to your current life, then it's hard to say whether you'll even be the same person anymore, nya. Most likely, if you were to accept those memories as your own, you'd become a completely different Julius, who just added another twenty years to his long life."

"What you mean to say is that the margrave here is not the current generation of Roswaal with the memory of his ancestors, but rather an original Roswaal who kept piling up new memories from his descendants?" Ricardo asked with confusion.

"It's nyot like I can prove it, but it would make the most sense. Of course, it's all just speculation. After all, there's nyo way for us to know what would happen if two different sets of memories mingle with each other, nya."

"No matter how ya put it, 'tis still sounds nasty as shit, les' just move on!"

"I agree with Garfiel-san. Let's continue watching, the episode should be ending soon," Crusch ushered them to look at the screen.

"I'm living in the past, right? Indeed I am! My gaze is turned back, I really live in the past. After all, everything that I think is wonderful happened in the past! And all the present is nothing more than a deception built on its remains!"

These words made Ram almost cry with resentment. After all, it turns out that she was also only part of a deception that had no value. But right now, she was here precisely to make her master see her.

"It was really hurtful to hear that from you, Roswaal-sama. I nearly gave up on my dream that moment, you know."

"And yet you did not, ri-i-ight? You steeled yourself and decided to go all in. As for me, at that moment, I was still sure that this world was finished and there was nothing for me left there. What was the point in clinging to something good, if you live your la-a-ast minutes."

"So that's why you obey the book of knowledge. You're struggling to take back the past that you've lost… I won't belittle your way of life. It's just…" Puck added sadly.

"Just what?"

"Betty will be upset about this, Roswaal."

For a moment, Roswaal seemed confused. But after a moment, he furiously cast a spell:

"Ul… Goa!" A huge fireball appeared above the magician's head.

"If you cared about me that much, why did you remain silent all these centuries, I wonder? Why didn't you at least tell Betty that she was not completely alone in this world?"

"Looks like this is the main theme of the episode — even monsters can have a heart if they have sworn sisters!" Priscilla remarked boringly. "First, that maniac set herself up in an attempt to save a little girl. Now the great ancient magician succumbs to a most primitive provocation, all that was needed to hint that the spirit in the library will be upset. What a cheap drama!"

Crusch and Reinhard couldn't understand why they felt the slight gusts of wind of lies when Priscilla finished her claim. Did this mean that in fact the baroness was much more sensitive to the idea of genuine feelings for someone whom one considers their own sister, even if not by blood?

"Because I hit the bull's-eye? How childish!" The great spirit criticized him, creating an ice block that intercepted Roswaal's spell.

As soon as Ram could open her eyes after the explosion, she made her move:

"Al Ful …" But she didn't have time to finish. A mage rushed at her from the smoke at great speed.

"Too slow!" He informed her, adding a hard punch to her stomach.

"How is he so fast!? I thought he was just a magician!" Tivey exclaimed, shocked at the mage's physical ability..

"So what?! You saw him murder the pink maid to get to Garf. He's obviously strong!" Mimi remarked proudly, pleased that she had realized this before her brother.

"You're jumping to conclusions again, sister. It's normal for people with powerful gates to possess impressive physical strength. But the margrave moves like someone who's been through extensive training in melee combat!" Tivey pointed out the flaws in her logic.

"I agree. He may be a magician, but his speed and power show him to be a dangerous warrior on top of that." Ricardo agreed with him.

"Great at magic and a skilled fighter. A rare and dangerous combination. Moreover, he has a memory and experience of four hundred years. Such a shame those talents were wasted on a long-dead witch!" Priscilla snapped her fan in displeasure.

Meanwhile, Wilhelm recalled his early years again, when he fought shoulder to shoulder with Julia Roswaal. Despite her lack of talent for magic, she was incredibly proficient in the theoretical part. And she compensated for her lack of magical power with excellent mastery in martial arts. It would seem that Roswaal decided that all future generations should learn close combat in addition to magic.

'Which, for sure, became a deadly surprise for any enemy who thought that Roswaal could be defeated just like any other magician.'

"Get back!" Puck warned the maid and fired a series of ice projectiles, forcing Roswaal to shift attention to him, allowing the maid to jump back and recover from the blow.

"Conjure faster, otherwise the next blow will be the last!" Puck criticized the maid.

"…You say that like it's so easy, don't you?" The girl said with difficulty.

"What is this? Is the unshakeable, flawless Ram-sama complaining that it's not easy to stand up to an opponent who is many times stronger than you?" Otto smiled gleefully, turning to Ram.

Who would have thought that he would get a chance to return the criticism he was subjected to during the fight with Garfiel. And Otto definitely wasn't going to miss this chance.

"I understand that Puck has a lot to answer for, but still, I am grateful to him for helping Ram in her decisive fight!" Emilia couldn't help but express her gratitude to her foster father for this moment. At least for this one.

"I understand you, Emilia-sama. I also have conflicting feelings about the Great Spirit. I saw how much pain he caused Barusu. And yet, I cannot allow myself to forger that without his help, I would never have achieved my most cherished goal!"

"I'm terribly sorry, Ram." Roswaal said, tearing the ice blocks around him to pieces without much effort. His voice was melancholic, devoid of all hints of mockery and ridicule. "I wished you happiness. So that you can avenge your relatives, achieve your cherished goal!"

But the girl did not know what to say. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying because her master still did not understand her true intentions.

"Ram?" Magician was surprised by her reaction.

"No matter how many times I repeat it to you, no matter how many touches I give you, you still do not understand my desire. It would have been so much better had my body smoldered only with hatred and the desire to avenge my kin." Not without difficulty, but Ram was able to get to her feet. "Had I been but a vengeful demon, my chest would not ache so. However—"

Ram's gaze was suddenly filled with tenderness and warmth.

"I must admit, I'm rather surprised. I didn't think Ram was capable of looking upon another person with such tenderness." Julius honestly admitted.

"I'd say she has the same look now as Rem did when she confessed to the guy." Ricardo echoed him.

Garfiel could only clench his fists and teeth in jealousy. In all these years, no matter how hard he tried, Ram had never looked at him with such warmth. What did this snake do to deserve such a look?! It wasn't normal!

"Despite everything, Ram fell in love with you, Roswaal-sama." The maid finally opened her heart.

These unexpected words completely unsettled Roswaal.

" What?!" A number of voices rang out in the hall.

It would be one thing if she admired him and was faithful to the end, like a servant to a master. But this was clearly a declaration of romantic love.

"Wait a minute! She confessed her love to the bastard, even though she knew that he was responsible for the death of her village and family?! So all her love and all this abnormal loyalty to the clown is just a severe case of Stockholm syndrome?!" Al expressed his surprise loudly.

Frankly, he was disappointed by this turn of events. He had a better opinion of the pink demon.

"Sto-ckhu-lm syndrome? What is that, nya?" Felix became curious about an unknown ailment.

"Umm… It's when a villain takes you prisoner, and your life begins to depend entirely on their whims. And if the bad guy does not treat you harshly, gradually, feelings of affection start to build up. Like, since they do not torture you or abuse you, they must be having feelings for you. And if you show love to your captor, then they will take care of you. It's a lot like what we're seeing here.

"Yes, everything seems to fit together. Ram's life depends on Roswaal's will, not only in terms of the master giving shelter and work to the servant, but even directly. Without regular procedures of mana transfusions all these years, she would have died of mana deficiency long ago." Emilia nodded in agreement.

"The situation with her attitude towards her master could have been further influenced by Gluttony's attack." Noted Wilhelm, who carefully studied the reactions and body language of the girl on the screen. "Before that, Ram-san, in addition to Roswaal, had a sister who was an essential part of her life. But, after Rem-dono was erased, Roswaal became not just the central, but the only figure in the girl's life. Taken alognside the effects of this… Stock-hulm syndrome, as Al-san described, and the picture becomes very apparent."

Ram sat in silence. She clutched her uniform in her fists and cursed the Warden with the dirtiest words she knew. How dare he expose the most important moment in her life to everyone like some cheap entertainment?! Her love for her master was not some kind of mental disorder! It was her decision! Her choice! Her feelings!

And Rem just sat there with her mouth open and her eyes bulging, refusing to believe what she had just heard. Her nee-sama! Her wonderful, brilliant nee-sama fell in love with the one Ram knew was responsible for the greatest tragedy of their lives?! The one Rem was ready to put on a par with the Witch cultists?! The blue maid just couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"Is something amiss?" Ram asked him.

"Amiss, you ask… Are you playing a prank on me? Trying to rattle me at a time like…"

"I was just telling the truth."

"If so, all the more reason it cannot be true!" Roswaal shouted in rage. "Love me? What are you saying?! You hate me. I am the man you hate. To you, I am a man linked to the cause of your homeland's destruction. Surely, the truth is that you hate me enough to kill me!"

"Even the clown understands what emotions should be experienced in such a situation! It's all too clear that the entire demon race had a screw loose in their heads! Priscilla chuckled, remembering the phrases Al used sometimes.

At least this situation amused her. She liked both the reactions of the magician on the screen and the confused faces of the commoners in the room.

"In the beginning, it was so, but now it is not. Now Ram loves you." Ram continued to exhort with the same tenderness.

"That is absurd…! Who—who, I ask, would believe in such cheap emotions?! But what about your oath?! Didn't you give your word that you would avenge the dead?!" Roswaal persisted in his rage, rejecting the maid's words.

"I do feel bad for my kin, and my chest hurts when I think of my homeland. However, now that I have fallen in love, it cannot be helped. Ram prioritizes her feelings before the dead. Ram will not allow you to become an empty shell. Obtaining you in that state is…meaningless."

"How amusing. It seems that when the fetus in the womb of the mother split in too, not only the horns, but also the character traits were separated." Priscilla remarked with satisfaction. "And if the blue maid is a model of complete disregard for herself, then the pink one, on the contrary, absorbed all pride and egocentrism, since she put her vicious love above the oath she herself gave!"

"So Ram too is no stranger to breaking her promises if she deems it important to her." Emilia muttered to herself.

Although, it all fits. Emilia mused, silently. Ram pledged her loyalty to her not because she wanted to serve her, but because she wanted to save Roswaal. She was honest and direct about her motivation from the start. The only thing she found frightening was what would happen if other camps tried to take Roswaal into custody. Ram won't just let them do it. And even if Emilia ordered her to stand down, after what she saw just now, would Ram obey or defy her for the sake of her feelings?

After finishing her confession, Ram gave a loud command:

"Great Spirit!"

"Very well! After all, in addition to my beloved daughter, I'm also the ally of all maidens in love." Puck appeared between them and caused a blizzard that completely blocked Roswaal's view.

"Ram?" After finally coming to her senses, Rem asked in a calm, but detached voice, without even turning her head away from the screen.

Her sister's heart sank at that moment. This enchanted place made her realize one crucial thing. If her wonderful, sweet, little sister addressed her by name, she could only expect trouble.

"Y-yes… sissy?" She tried to sound as friendly and cute as possible.

"Never again do I wish to hear from you that I have bad taste in men." Rem informed her other half in the same calm and detached tone.

"WHAT?! But…! Rem! I was always only thinking about what's best-"

"Never… again." The tone of Rem's voice informed that the verdict was final and no reconsideration is possible. Rem did not turn to her sister, so she did not see her reaction.

"No kidding. I wasn't expecting Ram ta' have such shit taste herself…" Garfiel reacted with disappointment in his voice.

He really wanted to drink something alcoholic right now to wash away that nasty feeling in his mouth from the scene he saw. He could accept the fact that Ram would not choose him. He could even, gritting his teeth, accept a reality where Ram would fall in love with one of his bros. Both Otto and captain were gorgeous in their own way, and in some ways even cooler than Garf. But the fact that she fell in love with Roswaal?! Despite having known for many years, what kind of traitorous snake he was?! Garfiel had never thought that he would feel such overbearing disappointment towards a pink-haired girl.

"Is there any way to cure this syndrome, Al-san?" Frederica turned to Al. If her feelings for the margrave were the result of psychological trauma, then maybe there was a way to fix it?

"I have no idea, to be honest. I learned about the syndrome itself from movies and books. It's probably possible if you find a good shrink. But I'm not even sure this world has doctors like that."

Meanwhile, it was Ram's turn to sit with her mouth open and his eyes bulging. Her own dearest, sweet sister denied her the right to speak out about who Rem chose as partner?! But… she picked Barusu! Out of millions of other men, or even women, for that matter, she picked Barusu!

Sure, he was the hero of the kingdom, the knight of the candidate for the royal throne, the vanquisher of both legendary mabeasts, and the archbishop of the hated Witch Cult, the owner of a well-trained, pumped-up butt. Not to mention that he was ready, in the truest sense of the word, to give up his life to save her little sister. But… it's Barusu…

Sure, the man Ram gave her heart to was a ruthless manipulator. A schemer and a liar who allowed the destruction of her homeland, the deaths of her parents, colleagues, and Annerose's parents , and many other terrible crimes, no doubt. It was undeniably Roswaal's fault that this infuriating, obnoxious, loudmouthed, but so dear to her heart, black-haired young man went through truly inhuman amounts of suffering! But… Rem chose Barusu!

While Ram sat with a completely lost look, struggling in vain to realize when the reality had lost all connection with adequacy, the demonstration continued.

When the icy wind died down and the magician could see, he found himself surrounded by walls of pure ice. In the smooth surface of the walls, he could see the reflections of the Ram running in different directions, confusing him.

"Child's play!" Roswaal said disdainfully and began to destroy one ice block after another with streams of fire. And then someone's huge shadow covered him.

"Don't get distracted." A thunderous voice said.

Roswaal's pupils narrowed in fear. He knew what this change in the Great Spirit's voice meant. The Beast of the End has assumed its true form.

"Really …" the ancient magician whispered in horror.

Turning around, he saw a giant figure towering above the trees. But, after a couple of seconds, the shadows subsided, and it became clear that Puck had simply created a huge illusion.

"—Boo! All I did was get bigger!" The great spirit playfully declared, sending two huge blocks of ice at the clown. But Roswaal easily destroyed them with kicks. With a return volley of fire, he sprayed the illusion.

Only pockets of flame and blocks of ice remained around him. Looking around, he tried to determine where the next blow would come from. What he didn't know was that Ram had been hiding inside the ice block behind him all this time.

After waiting for her moment, the girl broke out of the icy shelter and quickly rushed to her master. Roswaal only managed to turn around when he was hit. But he didn't feel any jolt of pain. There were no wounds on the body.

"And what now?" He asked in surprise, not understanding what had just happened. Turning around, he saw Ram collapsed on her knees. She was spitting blood from overexertion.

"That's—!" Margrave pleaded, realizing what the maid had done.

"For me, the root of evil has always been in this book…" Ram said with difficulty, showing the Book of Wisdom in her hand.

At these words, Otto unconsciously reached for a secret pocket where the burnt remains of the very book that Ram was going to throw into the fire were kept.

It was both easy and impossible to predict what would happen if Ram finds out that the book has not been turned into dust. That Otto found it and took it with him to Priestella to find a master of restoring damaged objects. One could only assume that even the talented hands of a master healer would not be able to put him back together after Ram finishes cutting him to shreds with her magic.

Time in the frame slowed down, showing how Roswaal rushed to the Ram to save the precious artifact. The last thing that connected him with the dream of returning the woman he loved. In those moments, he recalled his first meeting with Echidna. His first and last kiss with her. And that all-consuming love that pushed him forward for four hundred years.

With a faint but victorious smile, Ram threw the book into the flames.

"Finally… it's over …" The girl said happily.

A second later, she was overtaken by a fireball, shot by Roswaal in desperation. A huge explosion shook the entire Kremaldi forest.

"Nee-sama!" Rem jumped up in horror, completely forgetting that Ram was sitting behind her, unharmed. The scene of Ram's death at the hands of Roswaal was still fresh in her memory and would come back to her more than once in her nightmares.

"Rem, calm down, I'm here! I'm fine!" Ram also jumped up so that her sister could get a good look at her.

The screen went dark, making it clear that the episode had come to an end.

"Well, that was… intense." Anastasia breathed. "Probably the last one left? The Bowel Hunter is finished, Roswaal's book is destroyed, and Emilia has successfully completed the Trial. There's only one thing left — to deal with the Great Rabbit, am I right?"

"Yes, which means we still have to see how Subaru will convince the Great Spirit Beatrice to sign a contract with him." Julius nodded to her.

"Which would have been done already if he'd known how to choose his words…" Felt grumbled.

"I still can't believe that Ram-sama could fall in love with Roswaal! After all, she knew that he was to blame for the death of her village! I would've never forgiven that!" Petra stated firmly and with anger in her voice, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Petra! Roswaal-sama should be addressed in accordance with his title!" Frederica scolded her. Anger is anger, but the rules of a maid's conduct must be respected.

"Then I can only congratulate you that you were born and raised in a village that was worth living in!" Ram answered her unexpectedly sharply.

The girl was sitting with an unreadable expression on her face. Her bangs covered both eyes, but her lips were tightly clenched, as were her fists. Ram was obviously going through her own storm of feelings right now.

"I don't think you should be so open about your opinions on this, Petra." Frederica said softly in the girl's ear. "Clearly, the issue of the demon clan's fate is far more complicated for Ram than we think. Although I agree with you on the main issue."

"It seems we are shown once again that love can take many different forms." Wilhelm said calmly.

"Yeah. This place has a nyasty habit of destroying idyllic images of well-established concepts, nya." Felix agreed with him.

"Okay. Let's continue. There is very little time left before the finale. We can discuss everything else in Priestella under more pleasant conditions." Anastasia urged.

No objections were received. The screen turned on to start the next episode.