The cold winds were blowing and the temperatures were biting cold.
The white raging appetite fills the field of vision. Warmth is felt from our joined hands.
Natsuki Subaru stood here without any hesitation or doubt.
"It's fine that you made a great appearance, but isn't this situation a bit strange?!"
As he was hit in the cheek by snow, Subaru exclaimed in surprise at the scenery that was different to what he had expected.
The wind roared through the Sanctuary, and as he could see, it was completely covered in snow. Subaru knew this was something he'd have to face eventually, but the date for that was different from what he remembered.
The Sanctuary would be covered in snow, and the white magical beasts would gather there by the next morning - but there was still more than half a day to spare.
A little diagonally behind him was a silver-haired girl breathing out white clouds and shaking her shoulders.
Unable to control the mana overflowing from within her body, Emilia has half her body buried in ice. Her left side is dyed white, and even though she must be in a great deal of pain, her expression shows not the slightest bit of it.
While secretly praising the strong-willed Emilia, he suspects her of being the cause of the snow.
If that was the case, then perhaps it was an uncontrollable rampage of magical power that caused the snow to fall and summoned the Great Rabbit.
"Even so, the order is strange..."
The order of the uncontrollable magical power and the rabbit being lured by the snow is reversed.
Emilia used her magical powers to fight the rabbit, and as a result, she suffered damage. If we follow the story correctly, the cause of this was rather――
"――――"
Further behind Emilia, Echidna's Tomb sits majestically.
Subaru then nodded, seeing the many gazes peeking out from the entrance. If the people inside were the residents of the Sanctuary, then they were not affected by the mechanisms of the tomb. That meant the tomb had stopped functioning, and was proof that Emilia had overcome the Trials.
Emilia has overcome the Trials. Snow is falling earlier than expected. The state of the residents of the Sanctuary, Emilia's expression of resolve, and her cry. And then,
"Roswaal."
"――――"
Roswaal was sitting beside the entrance to the tomb, gazing blankly at me. Ram was asleep in his arms, and there was no time to check if she was okay.
There is nothing else to believe but that he is safe.
"Subaru."
As Subaru was lost in thought, a small hand grabbed his hand and pulled it away.
Hearing a familiar voice calling him in an unfamiliar way, Subaru held his breath,
"Oh, hi."
"...I wonder why you're replying so strangely."
"Well, it's just a new experience having you call me by my name. Can you call me by that name again in a shy way?"
"Huh?! You're really crazy! You're being stupid at a time like this!"
Beatrice, with a frightening expression on her face, attacks Subaru in response to his silly request.
Subaru reluctantly backed down, thinking that even if he begged, he would probably be swept away.
"Subaru... come on, do it."
"Bearko, you're so cute."
"--! Are you not going to tell me anymore? I'll remember once this is all settled!"
Shaking her clenched hand wildly, Beatrice's face turned red in anger.
Subaru watched the girl with a smile, then turned his attention to the surrounding flock of rabbits that were slowly closing in on him. He licked his dry lips.
"So, Beatrice. Your opponent is a Great Rabbit, are you mentally prepared?"
"Right after the contract was made. The enemy was a wing of the three great demonic beasts. The situation was bad due to lack of preparation. The contractor was an amateur. It had been four hundred years since Betty had been sent into actual combat."
"in?"
"Just right, a handicap, I guess."
Beatrice laughed fearlessly, and the demonic beast, its teeth chattering, closed the distance in one fell swoop. As he stepped forward to intercept the attack, Subaru looked back at Emilia behind him,
"Right now, Beatrice and I are going to blow the rabbit away. I feel bad for Emilia-tan, but I want you to protect everyone so we don't miss any shots!"
"me too..."
Emilia stops speaking and hesitates for a moment on whether to continue.
But she closed her eyes, took a small breath, and then
"Okay. Leave it to me. ーーAnd so, I'll leave it to you."
"Oh, I'm in charge."
It's best to have the right person in the right place, divide up roles, and have the husband be healthy and away from home.
Emilia took a deep breath and focused on controlling her own magical powers as she set up a defensive line. As the snow continued to fall, Emilia further created an ice barrier around her.
Stepping outside Emilia's defensive line, Subaru looked out at the white storm.
Red eyes and sharp fangs that fill the entire field of vision. Covered in pure white fur, this magical beast is dominated by the most primitive and greedy appetite in the world. Many rabbits - or, more precisely, Great Rabbits.
The sound of the fangs crunching echoed, and the throbbing in Subaru's soul spread throughout his entire body.
A brutal death, his fangs biting into him and eating away at his internal organs. A hole being drilled into his torso, blood spurting out and the excruciating pain of his throat being bitten to shreds. And then, flesh torn apart all over his body, missing limbs, and the overwhelming sense of loss as he ended up in Emilia's arms.
Natsuki Subaru's current loop will not be completed unless he overcomes this demonic beast.
"--Are you scared?"
Beatrice calls out to Subaru, who holds his breath and looks at the beast.
Glancing sideways, Beatrice had a composed look on her face. However, her eyes, her profile, told Subaru something more eloquent than words could ever hope to convey.
ーーWho on earth was that person standing next to Subaru?
"No, I'm not scared."
"yes"
"Emilia behind me, and you beside me. What can I say, this is the best feeling ever."
"That's right."
Beatrice's cheeks relaxed and she smiled.
Subaru laughed wickedly at the look on his face that seemed to say, "I know that."
The large rabbits rose to their feet and pounced on the two fearless guys all at once.
Beatrice responded by holding her left hand in contact with Subaru, and then her opposite right hand,
"Let's start with a little experiment. --El Minya."
As the incantation began, the space began to swirl, and purple crystals appeared around Subaru and the others.
Shaped and shining like an icicle, it was the magic stake that Beatrice had used to impale Elsa in the previous loop. In an instant, a total of forty of them were generated.
The target was aimed in an instant, and the magic stake was fired without a sound - right on target, piercing the open-mouthed rabbit's face. With that, the magic stake, which had skewered one rabbit, flew through the air and plunged into the group of rabbits lined up behind it, exploding there, and the flying fragments ripped the rabbit at the impact point to shreds.
That force was what it took for all forty of them to strike at once.
The shockwave of destruction approaching from all sides caused red flowers of rabbit blood mist to bloom in the white world.
The merciless opening shot wiped out hundreds of the swarm of magical beasts in front of them. As the square was filled with traces of destruction, the surviving Great Rabbits screamed in pain. There were still many more magical beasts to be counted among the infinitely increasing numbers, but Subaru was excited nonetheless.
Beatrice's destructive power was beyond imagination.
"That's so awesome!!!"
"Is that so? It's nothing serious. When it comes to Betty, it's just the beginning. It's a piece of cake."
"No, my, this... this magic had this much power!? What attribute does it have!?"
"I guess it's the Yin attribute. I'm not really good at anything other than Yin."
Beatrice didn't seem completely opposed to Subaru's praise.
The blown away Witchbeasts were already eating the corpses of their kind and multiplying again, but Beatrice didn't seem to care a thing about the increase in the number of foot soldiers.
"It's alright, Subaru. As a fellow user of the Yin attribute, I'll give you a lecture."
"Eh, that's all?"
"teeth?"
"I thought the only connection between you and me was that we both share the same Yin attribute..."
"I, it's not like that. We're both users of the same yin attribute, we're contractors, and, um, I guess it's Betty's Subaru. Right, that's why I'm telling you."
Beatrice was so flustered, she probably didn't even know what she was saying. The girl cleared her throat, raised a finger, and intentionally lowered her voice.
"The pinnacle of Yin magic power - the world's greatest."
"What should I do?"
"Maybe you could hold hands with Betty and not leave her alone?"
"Well, I think that's important too..."
"...It seems like you don't understand the ways of spirit users, so I'm worried about what's going to happen next."
Even if people say they're surprised, there's nothing I can do about it because what I don't know, I don't know.
Subaru frowned, but Beatrice shook her head and took him by the hand,
"Basically, spirit users and spirits fight as one with separate minds on the battlefield."
"One with a separate head..."
It reminds me of Emilia's way of fighting.
The most striking scene of Emilia fighting alongside Puck is her battle with Elsa in the stolen goods storehouse. At that time, Emilia divided up the roles, leaving Puck to attack and herself to defend. There are also various instances where Emilia uses small moves to buy time for Puck to unleash his big moves.
I think the bald old man next to me also said that this is the basic way for spirit users to fight.
"That means I can do that too. All right, leave Shamak to it!"
"If Subaru uses his incomplete Shamaku, we might become victims too, so I'd rather not do that. And right now, Subaru's gate is…"
Beatrice seemed unsure what to say and tried to avoid saying anything. Subaru regretted having made her feel uncomfortable with her attitude. His gate was probably no good now.
I'd used it too much. It felt damaged. So, that's just a dream.
"--I wonder if he'll come."
In the middle of her explanation, Beatrice muttered softly. "Huh?" Subaru exclaimed, and immediately afterwards, he realized that his feet had left the ground.
Beatrice next to her kicked the ground lightly, and her leaping force carried the two of them into the sky as if they were spring-loaded. And in an instant, the fangs of a demonic beast surged towards where the two were standing. The sound of the rabbit's fangs clashing rang out, and one after the other, the demonic beasts kicked the ground in pursuit of the two who had flown upwards.
"Did it fly in the sky?!"
"It was just a light bounce. I think I reduced the effect of gravity with the Yin magic 'Muraku'. If I wanted to, I could ride the wind and fly in the sky."
"But it's falling!"
"If we were just going to escape, we could just ride the wind like this, but... I wonder if we should destroy them."
Subaru and the others' bodies were being tossed about by the blizzard like leaves at the mercy of the wind. Still, Beatrice was doing something that prevented them from being tipped over in the air.
The two slowly descended from a height of about ten meters. Directly below, the flock of large rabbits were waiting with their mouths open, and they were eagerly anticipating another attack from their magic stakes.
"Subaru, let me continue the story. Normally, elementalists use magic not with the mana within themselves, but by directly interacting with the mana present in the atmosphere. To do this, a contract with a micro-spirit is essential, and Subaru does not currently meet that requirement."
"Hey, what's that, Beatrice? There's so many of them below!?"
"Just listen. I can't use my own gate, and I can't use micro-spirits either. Subaru is so useless and hopeless, I wonder if there's anything else he can do other than stand next to Betty and praise how wonderful she is. What is he here for?"
"I want to hear it!"
"Then I'll tell you."
Below me, the fangs of the leaping demonic beast are about to reach my feet. Once it bites, the rabbit never lets go of its fangs. Acting cool and composed, only to end up taking a lot of damage and half crying, is pretty lame, even to me.
Subaru shouted in desperation at the pretentious Beatrice.
"What should I do?!"
"Just imagine it. Imagine the same crystal as Betty earlier. That is a stake woven from crystallized mana and embodied magical power. Sharpened at the tip, packed with destruction inside, it can penetrate the defense and pierce the flesh - a blow like that."
"I imagined it!"
"Well then, all that's left is to chant!"
Just below, a flock of large rabbits with their mouths open.
Red eyes, a blood-stained mouth, sharp fangs, the instinct to see Subaru as nothing more than a lump of meat.
Everything about him is horrible, everything about him is hateful, he is the greatest enemy in the Sanctuary.
"--El Minya!!"
Subaru and Beatrice's chants overlap, and magic stakes appear from the sky and rain down on the ground.
Explosions and destruction blew away the earth of the Sanctuary, and the hideous magic beasts were torn apart and sent flying.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
"amazing..."
Emilia let out a sigh of admiration as she frozen the large rabbit that had come flying towards her left with an icicle.
Her amethyst eyes were glued to the sight of Subaru and the others fighting the monsters on the other side of the blizzard.
To be more precise, Emilia's eyes were glued to Beatrice, who was holding Subaru's hand.
Emilia, who is a spirit user herself and still uses magic in cooperation with micro-spirits, can painfully see just how extraordinary the magical battle unfolding before her eyes is.
Firstly, Beatrice doesn't receive any magical power from Subaru.
This wasn't because the path between the two of them in a contracted relationship wasn't connected; Beatrice had done it on purpose. Subaru had only just made a contract with a spirit, and if he were to suddenly absorb as much mana as he needed to in a real battle, his body would not be able to withstand it.
Beatrice understood this and dealt with it in a way that would not put a burden on Subaru.
Secondly, Beatrice doesn't receive any magical power from Subaru; in fact, she gives it to him.
It may be a misleading way of putting it, but it's true. Right now, Subaru was holding hands with Beatrice, and with her assistance, he was using magic that he shouldn't be able to use yet. He wasn't using his own gate, but Beatrice's very existence as a substitute for the gate.
Subaru would never be able to comprehend just how out of the ordinary this was.
Even though Beatrice was a spirit, she was able to supplement the magical power of both herself and Subaru with her own stored magical power, rather than using it from elsewhere.
And thirdly, I got to see the ultimate in Yin magic in action.
For a wizard, the attribute he or she is good at can have a big impact on their future. Just as the four basic attributes each have a clearly defined role when specialised, the two special attributes, Yin and Yang, are very different from the other four even before they are mastered.
This is especially true since, at first glance, it is an attribute that seems to have few uses. Another negative aspect is that it has many problems, such as the time it takes for the effect to take place and the amount of magical power required.
Therefore, due to the rarity of the Yin and Yang attributes, there are very few things that can be used to enhance them.
Unlike the other four attributes, there are many spells that have been lost, making it difficult for new great wizards to emerge.
Beatrice has mastered dark magic, which is a type of magic that brings out problems in many ways. And she is using ancient magic that was lost to history before it was lost.
"Wow, it's flying really fast. Huh...? It just disappeared... Ah, it's already over there."
It was a fighting style that made him lose all sense of reality, as if he was in a dream or an illusion.
The fact that Subaru and Beatrice are holding hands so fondly is probably what makes one think so.
Subaru was clearly fighting desperately, but Beatrice even gave him a faint smile.
I'm sure that girl is having a lot of fun. Not that she enjoys fighting, or wielding her powers. But she enjoys doing what she does.
"――――"
Immediately after blinking, Subaru and Beatrice were transported to completely different positions. It was a teleportation spell similar to a limited version of 『Door Crossing』. Purple magic stakes blew away the rows of rabbits from the front and back, and the ferociously roaring magic beasts tried to pounce on the two, but their bodies got caught on something in the air and they were cut to pieces.
I squint my eyes and notice.
The pieces of the magic stake that exploded did not disappear, but were sewn into place as if time had stopped. The leaping magic beast's body was torn apart by the pieces, and it was torn apart and sent flying.
The light-soaked fragments of traps were scattered everywhere, jumping away, rolling to the side, and boldly attacking the two. The magic beasts moving around them were caught in the traps one after the other in awe.
The Great Rabbit is a fearsome magical beast, but its individual abilities are not particularly high even among magical beasts.
The abilities of each individual monster are low, so if you are fighting one at a time, you should be careful of their ferocity, and those who are used to fighting will not be left behind.
There is no learning ability in a reckless way of fighting that only follows the instinct of appetite. Even if the same kind of people around you are caught in a trap and torn to pieces, your appetite is everything. Therefore, without considering that you will be caught in the exact same trap and die, you will jump on it and expose the corpses.
"or!"
Another large rabbit escaped the encirclement and I slammed my magic into it.
Emilia ran over to the ice pillar that the rabbit was frozen to the ground with its feet on the ground, and without hesitation, kicked it to pieces. The monster was reduced to shards of ice, and its death was so severe that it could not be revived.
Thanks to Subaru and Beatrice's efforts, the number of rabbits escaping their attack is surprisingly small. Emilia is also able to focus her efforts on controlling the swirling magical power within her own being.
However, even seeing Beatrice display such overwhelming strength, the seeds of anxiety inside Emilia never disappeared.
Beatrice's traps are powerful and cunning. Every single one of the rabbits falls into the traps, and the mountain of corpses keeps building up. But there's no sign of the bottom.
Right before Emilia's eyes, the crouching rabbit trembles, and other rabbits multiply as if growing from its back. This repeats, and the number of magical beasts increases exponentially.
One moment the hundred rabbits increased to two hundred, and the next to four hundred.
Volume and a base instinct that knows no retreat.
Therefore, this demonic beast is counted as one of the three great demonic beasts, and for the past 400 years has enjoyed the title of "Calamity"――
"Subaru, Beatrice."
Although he called out their names and seemed to have an overwhelming advantage, he could not let his guard down.
Emilia will never forget the shudder she felt when she returned to the Tomb with Roswaal and Ram and first spotted the herd of giant rabbits.
Those eyes that see all living things as nothing more than food.
Things that are truly incompatible are those that make the other feel a hopeless distance between them.
The only way to counter overwhelming injustice is to demonstrate an equal amount of power.
Emilia was actually planning to do that.
A torrent of uncontrollable magical power swirls within him. It certainly isn't his alone. If he were to release it, he could even destroy a flock of giant rabbits.
In exchange, it would cost me my life. I was prepared for the worst.
"Subaru…"
She moans his name under her breath as he fights before her.
He knew about the Great Rabbit's attack beforehand, so I can't imagine that he would challenge this violence without a plan. He took Beatrice out of the Forbidden Library and made her act so lively.
He would never do anything to tarnish that smile.
That is why Emilia believes in the man called Natsuki Subaru.
A white magical power that would end everything asserted its presence in his heart. He suppressed it, as if telling himself that its turn would never come.
--I believe in what that person says.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
For Subaru, using magic was always tantamount to whittling away at his own soul.
As Puck and Roswaal had pointed out at the beginning, Subaru had absolutely no talent as a magician. When he first used Shamak, he was unable to control it and it drained all the mana from his body, immobilizing him.
Afterwards, he continues to use the power of the Bocco fruit to dope himself. Even though he is forbidden not to use it, he uses it in duels anyway, and in the end, he pushes it to its limits, causing the gate to collapse.
His path as a wizard is now completely cut off.
There were many occasions when magic had helped Subaru, but to him it was like sharpening an already thin core.
That's why the scene of him casting powerful spells one after another like he was currently doing was something he'd only dreamed of, and he'd always thought it was impossible to make come true.
「Oi, Beatrice! Is it alright to keep firing at this rate?」
The rabbits thought they had fought back by repeatedly multiplying in numbers that outnumbered those they were killed in. They seemed to be using their energy to multiply by eating the corpses of their kind, as the more they multiplied, the more powerful each individual became.
A faint hope began to grow in his mind that if he continued to buy time like this, he would eventually run out of energy to multiply, but...
"There's no limit to how much they can multiply. I guess these are magical beasts that were created that way. They can't be destroyed, even if you try. Unless you wipe them all out at once."
"So, what should we do? Do you have any good ideas?"
"I wonder if Subaru is the one who relies too much on cute Betty?"
The magic stake explodes, blowing a hole through the group, and the rabbit is blown away, torn apart by the debris that remains in the air. Witnessing this, Beatrice pulls Subaru's arm and flies lightly. She is carried easily, despite not putting much force into her pull or jump.
Beatrice walked through the air, dodging the fangs with dancing steps, and slipping through the gaps in the debris traps. She was excited but not anxious about this battle, and that was evidenced by the fact that there was still not a single stain or drop of blood on her extravagant dress.
"Cross over."
"Ou"
He shouted, and the next moment the space distorted and the two of them teleported on a small scale.
Crossing the space in a different way to 『Door Crossing』, a new one appeared right behind the flock of rabbits. The monsters were snorting, but having lost sight of Subaru and the others, they were wide open.
"May I have the left please?"
"Well then, I'll leave the right to you."
The image running through Subaru's palm reacts to Beatrice's magical power, and the world changes in response to this interference.
It certainly feels like wrestling in someone else's loincloth, but that's exactly why there's no play whatsoever.
Following Subaru's imagination, a dark purple crystal is created, a Minya type with a yin attribute.
Subaru rotated the resulting force, creating a groove and shooting it out in one go. It felt like something he hadn't even touched was being fired according to his will.
It feels like pulling the string of a bow that exists only in my mind and firing an arrow that has no form.
The magic stakes pierced the wind and gained momentum, hitting the defenseless herd directly, sending the herd of rabbits flying with ear-piercing screams.
Similarly, on the right side of the flock, the destruction created by Beatrice wiped out the Great Rabbit.
A crack appeared in space, swallowing the herd of magical beasts, and the enclosed space trapped hundreds of giant rabbits like a painting. The rabbits hopped around in a place that seemed to be on the other side of a mirror. Aiming at the herd that seemed to understand nothing, Beatrice struck with a magic stake - the flat world broke into pieces, and the whole herd of giant rabbits on the other side were swallowed up in an end.
Subaru held his breath, amazed at Beatrice's diverse magical skills.
While Subaru foolishly repeated the same thing over and over again, Beatrice unleashed different shade magic spells, destroying the Great Rabbit.
It was as if he was showing Subaru all the cards he held, or as if he was remembering the skills he once possessed.
"It's about time."
"ah?"
The numbers of the rabbits have decreased further, but their numbers increase again in an instant.
Watching this, Subaru felt the same sense of unease he had felt earlier again. Along with Beatrice's mutterings, he wanted to exchange words.
Subaru: "Beatrice. Those guys have been reviving since a while ago, but… doesn't it feel like their numbers haven't increased beyond what they were before?"
If there were a thousand rabbits, killing one hundred would mean an extra one. Killing two hundred would mean an extra two hundred. With that method, no matter how many he killed, there had been no sign of the situation turning.
However, Subaru had never experienced them multiplying beyond their maximum numbers.
Beatrice tilted her chin in response to Subaru's words,
"Maybe even if there's no limit to reproduction itself, there is a limit to the maximum number of individuals that can sustain a species. So maybe they can't multiply any more than that."
"Then, if we can kill the maximum number of them at once..."
"In theory, it's possible to destroy them... But, that's a difficult proposition."
Beatrice gave a difficult look to Subaru, who had seen the light.
That was only natural. A large number of rabbits filling the field of vision. Or a spell that could burn everything in sight could destroy it, but how much power would it take to do that all at once in an instant?
Even with the powers Subaru knew, it was a reckless plan to blow up the whole area with missiles. If even one of them survived, they would instantly revive. The risk was too great.
"In that case, I guess it's... that."
"Do you have any ideas?"
"As always, I'm totally dependent on you."
Watching the monsters multiply, Subaru leaned close to Beatrice's ear and whispered.
Hearing this, Beatrice lowered her eyes as if deep in thought, then nodded.
"Betty was thinking the same thing. But to do it..."
Subaru: "I know there are some issues. But! Don't get the wrong idea, Beatrice!"
"--?"
"We don't have to solve this on our own, you know?"
Hearing Subaru's answer, Beatrice widens her eyes slightly, then lets out a small sigh and collapses onto Subaru, resting her forehead against his chest.
"Really... that's a great answer, Subaru."
"I promise that I'll be a very fresh contractor that you won't get bored of in the future."
Subaru gave a thumbs up and flashed his teeth, causing Beatrice to give a wry smile.
Then she raised her face in Subaru's arms,
"Okay, I'll do it. However, it will probably take Betty some time to carry it out. In the meantime, I want you to do it well."
"You can just think of it as being on a big ship. That's what I'm thinking."
"I wonder who's rowing?"
Beatrice pushes his chest and moves away.
The girl takes a breath, closes her eyes, and begins to concentrate, increasing her magical power.
Seeing this, Subaru put his energy into kicking the snow.
The beast chased after the running Subaru, gnawing at his fangs. A shadow leapt at him, aiming for his legs. But it was too late. Thinking of the carnage he'd been through over the past two days, the final big rabbit seemed a little lenient.
"You're in the way! Get out of the way! I don't have time to bother with you guys right now!"
He avoids the fangs and kicks.
Chanting, Subaru forcefully cut a path through with the magic stake, and with Beatrice still in his arms, he dashed through the hole-ridden plaza in one go, and ran back towards the tomb.
"Eh, what's that, Subaru?"
Emilia looked surprised when she saw Subaru return.
Subaru slid back next to her, scraping the snow as he did so, and placed Beatrice, who had her eyes closed, down next to him, stroking her head,
"Sorry, Emilia-tan! It was hard cleaning up after just you and Beako!"
"I, that's fine but... what are you going to do? I guess I'll have to do it..."
"No, I've already thought of a way to defeat him. There's no need for Emilia-tan to use a special move or something, even if it means destroying herself. Actually, just stop. It will make all the effort we've put in thus far pointless."
Emilia gasped and looked closely at Subaru's face.
Did he really think that no one would notice? Or at least he did.
In a situation like this, if she was truly cornered, it was certain that Emilia would spare no effort in trying to use her own body to find a way out. Truly, what a troublesome girl she is.
Please stop me from thinking that it's okay if I get hurt so that everyone else can be saved.
"Obviously, the best thing would be for everyone to be safe and for everyone to be saved."
"...Subaru."
Subaru: "Emilia-tan, I'm going to make a somewhat unreasonable request of you. If you can't do it, I'll rack my brains a bit more, but if you can, I want you to do your best. —Let's all win."
"――――"
Emilia places her hand on her chest and blinks repeatedly, as if she senses something in Subaru's words.
In order to buy time for her to make up her mind, Subaru created magic stakes and drove them into the horde of monsters to distract them. However, this didn't last long.
"Okay. Let's do it, Subaru. Just tell me anything."
Emilia's answer was one of determination, her eyes filled with resolve.
Subaru clenched his fist and turned around,
"That's it. Let's do it!"
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Subaru felt an incredible surge of magical power rising from beside him, on both sides of him.
Emilia stood to his left, and Beatrice to his right.
The two of them each had their outstretched hands linked to one of Subaru's, so that the three of them were holding hands.
There was no particular meaning to this arrangement. It just made Subaru more motivated.
In battle, this increased motivation is called morale. High morale is an important factor that can even determine the outcome of a battle.
"Image, image, image!"
A vicious and powerful magical strike that he pictured in his mind.
Subaru creates a magic stake that sharpens the amethyst crystals and bombards the approaching monsters. He repeatedly holds them back, fighting to keep them from getting close to either the tomb or himself.
Subaru wasn't using any of his own mana in this shadow magic, and therefore was casting the magic without any strain whatsoever - but that was a mistake.
Although he borrows the mana required to use magic from Beatrice, Subaru undoubtedly controls the magic himself. He shapes the power, aim, and number of magic into an image, materializes it, fires it, and instantly decides on the next attack.
If you're a professional magician, the physical fatigue is added to this, so the amount of work you have to do at the same time and the strain is immeasurable. It's no wonder people say you have no talent.
The magic stake slammed into the ground, sending the rabbit flying with the force of an explosion and howling in protest. The harsh creaking of its fangs echoed throughout the blizzard, like the gears of hell or something.
The gears of the conveyor belt of death sending Subaru and the others to the guillotine were steadily moving forward.
"Minya! Minya! Ah, damn it! I'm going to bite you, this magic!"
Whilst complaining about how difficult it was to pronounce the spell, Subaru aimed for the protruding mass of the rabbit.
The magic stake that was created was fired, and it missed the head of the leading magic beast - instead, it landed on the ground in front of it, and the shockwave pushed them back into the herd once again.
This is the first phase of the operation.
Subaru uses his magic stakes to keep the swarm in check, but he doesn't kill them. This is to avoid the principle of maximum numbers being violated by killing them, which could lead to proliferation in uncertain places.
I want the rabbits to stay glued to the spot while maintaining their maximum numbers.
"If the scent of mana is what's drawing you here, there's no way you two can take your eyes off us right now."
After all, here were two people with vast amounts of mana that one rarely encounters. And both were beautiful girls. Right now, Subaru had flowers in both hands. He was sure to make everyone jealous.
"Image, image, image... how about it, aren't you jealous? Come closer!"
While humming, Subaru never failed to provoke the beast, which would likely not understand.
Although his aim was to provoke the other person, Subaru's jokes were more intended to motivate himself. By pretending that something was normal in an extraordinary situation, Subaru was barely able to maintain his composure.
Otherwise, there would be no guarantee that my knees wouldn't tremble. The warmth coming from both my hands. Now that I was feeling this sensation up close, I couldn't show any shame.
"Image, image, image...!"
Subaru muttered this over and over again as he squinted his eyes.
The whole herd of rabbits was advancing at once, and there was a limit to how much they could hold them back by holding them back. However, they were not yet fully prepared.
Emilia, Beatrice, and Subaru's preparations.
"...Subaru."
He felt someone grasp his left hand, and when he looked, Emilia was looking at him with her eyes half-open. Was she ready? With a slight smile on her lips, she waited for Subaru's signal.
"----!"
As if pushed by Emilia's gaze, Subaru narrowed his bloodshot eyes even more.
The blizzard was blowing thickly, blocking out the areas he wanted to see. But the wriggling white figures subtly taught Subaru the difference between a magical beast and a snowy plain.
--Just a little bit more, a little bit more, go, go, go!
I grit my teeth and wait for that moment.
Subaru's eyes widened as he checked everything beyond his field of vision, both ends, and in front of him.
"Now, Emilia! Trace the line――!!"
Subaru yelled, gripping Emilia's hand tightly.
Emilia's amethyst eyes glared powerfully ahead, and she saw the line Subaru had drawn.
While using his magic stakes to hold back the flock of rabbits, Subaru was simultaneously drawing lines of mana on the ground. Unlike magic stakes that could create a shape, carving away the ground with formless mana was an extremely difficult task.
But Subaru, who was said to have no talent, overcame the difficulties with his concentration and a sense of vanity that far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
There are four lines drawn.
It was a rectangular line drawn to surround the herd of large rabbits in front of him in a square shape.
As Emilia could see, the range was drawn.
"As expected of Subaru! That's so wonderful!"
At this splendid setup, Emilia let out a cry of joy, something she would never normally say.
Emilia raised her right hand, which was still connected to Subaru's, and placed her left hand, which was turning white from the rampaging magical power, over it. And then, she began to chant.
"--Al Huma!!"
A huge amount of magical power surges forth, and the world changes in accordance with Emilia's chant.
The rushing mana follows Subaru and Emilia's joined hands, jumps into the atmosphere, breaks through the earth, and joins up with the line of mana Subaru has drawn.
--There was a thunderous sound, and a tremendous phenomenon occurred.
"Amazing..."
Subaru, seeing it with his own eyes, couldn't help but let out a stunned exclamation.
That's true. Anyone who sees this scene would have the same reaction.
Emilia's magic traced the line Subaru had drawn on the ground - lifting up all the snow in that square space, along with the snowfield, and suspending them in the air.
Naturally, the entire herd of rabbits was still on top of the lifted snowy ground, and the magic beasts were unaware that the impact was due to their footing now floating.
Though it was a limited area, the floating snow field was probably about twenty meters square.
The sheer number of densely packed rabbits is a sight that perfectly illustrates the supernatural nature of magic, with a huge number of white fur balls trembling on the white ground.
"Emilia!"
"I know! I won't let you get away again!"
However, if it ended there, a giant rabbit would jump off the snowy field and that would be the end of it.
In order to prevent this from escaping, another mechanism is needed.
Emilia raised her connected hand high into the air and swung it down in one go.
The movement caused the surfaced snow field to tremble. The rabbits on the snow could not have imagined what would happen.
There was a loud noise and a stinging, cold, icy wind.
Bathed in it, Subaru and the others watched the results without looking away.
When the wind stopped, a vertically-closed snow field emerged.
Emilia folded the floating snow field from the left and right towards the center.
The earth was sealed shut like a book, and the rabbits that were on it were trapped helplessly in the snowfield.
I looked around the snowy field that I had hastily closed. There was nothing I had missed. There was no shadow moving.
All the rabbits were confined to one place, in a very small area. Under these conditions,
"Now, Beatrice, I'm counting on you to be the real star!"
Subaru called out to Beatrice, who was connected to his right hand, and announced the end of preparation after preparation. The girl, who had been quietly chanting, gently opened her eyes.
Seeing the scene before her eyes, Beatrice gave a small laugh.
It wasn't a surprise or anything. Just a smile of trust.
"This is the pinnacle of the Yin attribute - Al-Shamak."
The moment the chant was whispered, the world was enveloped in shadow.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
--For a moment, his whole body was at the mercy of a floating sensation.
However, that was only a momentary occurrence.
The floating sensation ended, and a shock hit me from under my feet. Immediately afterwards, the sense of restraint that had been pressing down on my whole body was gone, and the first thing that happened was that my body shook violently, knocking off the snow that had clung to my fur.
He snorts and turns his head.
Their primary behavior is to search for prey using their eyes, noses, and ears. They scan the surroundings with their red eyes, searching for prey with a fragrant scent.
Just a moment ago, there was a prey in front of it that was so appetizing that it felt like its stomach was being squeezed. The meat was soft, the blood was sweet, and it seemed like it would make it intoxicated with a feeling of fullness, even if only for a moment.
My nose can't feel. My eyes can't see. My ears can't hear.
The prey that should have been there is gone. I look around, but I can't find it.
Any feelings of disappointment were overwritten by an immediate feeling of hunger. To stave off the hunger and lack of food, he quickly bit into the nearest white lump.
He tore at the food, tore at the flesh, slurped at the blood and scraped out the organs. He chewed to his heart's content, finishing the meal, and then he noticed others around him eating the same meal.
The prey will decrease.
It wasn't a sense of danger, but it was following its survival instinct and biting off the head of the white lump that was desperately trying to devour everything in front of it. It bit down and swallowed.
Again and again, driven by an insatiable appetite, it hunted the prey next to it, and the prey next to the one next to it, and the one next to the one next to it...
Before long, it had devoured everything around it and was left alone.
I licked the blood that had soaked the ground, chewed up every bit of scattered flesh, blood-sucked earth, and grass. Then, once I'd cleaned up even the leftovers, I was truly alone this time.
Inside, a sense of hunger overcomes it that does not go away even when it is filled with meat that exceeds its volume.
It cried, its teeth chattered, and it nearly went mad. An insatiable hunger, a starvation that could never be satisfied. No matter how much it ate, the madness was unforgivable.
I wonder if my mother had something like this too.
For just an instant, a mysterious thought crossed his mind, dominated by appetite.
The noise-like sensation was merely a rush of emotion, never something that could be articulated in words. And that, too, vanished forever in the face of the hunger that threatened to drive me crazy.
It shuddered, convulsed violently, screamed as its insides were churned, and unconsciously gave birth to a being separate from itself.
The white mass suddenly appeared and rolled on the ground on its back, as if it had forgotten how to walk.
Having perceived its prey with all of its sensory organs, it did not hesitate to bite into the rolling mass.
They eat it all without even letting it scream. After eating it all, they suffer from hunger again. And after suffering and struggling, a being different from themselves is born into the world again.
Again and again it continues its doing.
He is alone. A world without anything else. There is buildings, forests, earth, air and wind, but no prey. He is alone.
It keeps eating.
And before long, "it" too will be devoured by an appetite different from one's own and disappear.
And the world keeps turning, as each new person becomes no longer alone.
--An unsatisfied hunger will never be satisfied.
※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※
For a moment, Subaru gasped at the terrifying shadow that covered everything before his eyes.
"――――"
The jet black sphere that Beatrice created as she chanted swallowed up the whole snowy field that was surrounding the rabbit that Emilia had sealed away, and continued to compress, getting smaller and smaller until it was no bigger than a marble, and then vanished without a sound.
Even if you don't understand the principles behind what it means, you can vaguely understand the results.
Al-Shamak - The greatest magic of the Shamak system is magic that affects space.
The magic swallowed up the whole herd of rabbits, along with the snowfield, and blew them away into another dimension. Regeneration and proliferation were now meaningless.
It's literally another world.
"I said we could send them into an isolated space, like the Forbidden Library..."
"Are you dissatisfied?"
Subaru's voice trembled at the overwhelming deed, while Beatrice beside him pursed her lips.
The girl, leaning back with her hands on her hips, seemed extremely dissatisfied with Subaru's attitude.
"Really, amazing..."
Next to Subaru, Emilia also had her eyes wide open at the result.
In Emilia's case, she has a deeper knowledge of magic than Subaru, so the surprise is likely coming from a slightly different perspective. The freezing of half of her body also seems to have subsided somewhat, thanks to the use of a fairly large-scale spell. The rest of the control is probably fine.
Looking around, Subaru confirmed that there was nothing there where the rabbit had been.
Looking back, I confirmed that the tomb was safe. A group of expressionless Ryuzus quietly emerged from the tomb. It seemed that all of the Ryuzu clones had also managed to evacuate.
Roswaal was leaning against the side of the tomb's entrance, Ram in his arms.
Then Ram's hand touched Roswaal's cheek, and he saw that Roswaal was crying.
"――――"
Seeing this, Subaru felt the weight on his chest suddenly lift.
There are surely many things we still need to discuss. I still left Otto, Garfiel, and the others at the mansion. I think they're safe, but we need to meet up and have a proper discussion. I want to hear more about what's happening here from Emilia.
But I just felt like all of that would be okay somehow.
There are still many things that have yet to be confirmed, but when she saw Roswaal crying and Ram looking at him with a smile, she felt that everything would be okay.
"Subaru, look."
Subaru let out a long sigh, and Emilia suddenly poked him in the cheek with her finger.
Emilia smiles at Subaru as he looks at her, then gestures behind him. Beatrice is still there, arms crossed, with a sulky expression on her face.
"I think it would be ok to say something to this person who has made such an outstanding contribution."
Subaru tilted his chin in slightly, seeing the childish gesture of puffing out his cheeks.
and,
"Waah!"
He slipped his hands under her armpits and lifted her light body in one go.
Ignoring the cute shriek that came from her mouth, Subaru spun around on the spot with the girl still in his arms,
"You did a great job! As expected, I love you, Bearko!!"
"W-wait! No, I-I'm not going to let you go! Betty is like this..."
"Yes, yes! So cute, so cute! Bearko is lovely! Bearko is the best! Long live Bearko!"
While praising, Subaru spun around with Beatrice in his arms.
Beatrice's face was bright red as she was picked up, while Emilia gazed upon the two of them in frenzy with an awful gentleness in her eyes.
And so, the spirit and its contractor continued to spin around, expressing joy with their whole bodies.
"a--!"
In the end, they both slipped and fell face-first into the snow.