He opened his mouth. Otto had no intention of giving up.
Because he still could not stop.
There were still people alive around him.
The water was still rising, and the enemy was still standing there.
Otto's fingers trembled, but his eyes never left what lay ahead. He drew a deep breath, and resolve returned to his gaze.
The next moment, he closed his eyes and listened.
In the gutters, beneath the eaves, behind broken walls-he searched every place where small animals might hide, one by one.
Rats.
Waterbirds.
Chirping insects.
As long as even one could answer him, he could find a way to send a message out.
As long as even one could move, he could learn where in this city a way to survive still remained.
As long as even one voice came back to him, he still had a way.
Never! Compro! Mise!
Otto continued thinking calmly. Even at the end of his rope, he still sought to disrupt the situation, trying to seize hope with a human mind amid the most complicated circumstances.
But Otto's face grew paler and paler. All that reached his ears was the sound of water.
It was too quiet.
Too quiet for a city that had just been swallowed by a flood.
Otto's expression changed.
Standing in the distance, Natsuki Subaru watched him, as though he had finally been waiting for him to notice this.
"Stop looking."
His voice reached him.
"The rats in the gutters, the birds beneath the eaves, and those little creatures that can carry messages for you."
"I dealt with them beforehand."
Otto's fingers abruptly clenched.
Outside the screen, Otto himself froze as well.
He understood all too well what those words meant.
The Natsuki Subaru in that Gluttony route had not simply attacked the Water Gate City, nor had he relied solely on Shaula's power to overwhelm it.
He had even snuffed out, one by one and in advance, the last hopes Otto could cling to.
[Otto: He even accounted for that...]
[Otto: Just what does Mr. Natsuki in that route think I am?]
Anastasia watched the screen, her gaze darkening.
[Anastasia: He knows very well that if he leaves you even a little something you can use, you'll do everything you can to pry an opening in the situation.]
[Anastasia: Mr. Otto, it seems we all underestimated you before.]
The Otto on the screen said nothing.
He raised his head and looked at Natsuki Subaru ahead.
That face was so familiar.
So familiar it sent a chill through his stomach.
But as he looked into that person's eyes, he gave a bitter laugh.
"You really did prepare thoroughly."
Natsuki Subaru did not deny it.
Otto walked forward, one step at a time. The current submerged his ankles, then struck his knees. He walked slowly, his body trembling, but his gaze remained fixed on the other man.
"First, release the water to destroy the city."
"Then have Shaula guard the high ground."
"Then lure Garfiel away."
"You even cleared out all the little animals I could call beforehand."
His breathing caught for a moment as he reached that point.
"You really do understand us."
Natsuki Subaru's expression did not change.
Otto raised a hand and wiped the water and blood from his face.
This person looked just like Natsuki Subaru, yet he was completely different from the Natsuki Subaru Otto knew.
His left eye was clouded and dull, his hair an unnatural white, and even the smile on his face seemed borrowed from somewhere else and pasted onto his skin, never quite fitting.
Otto looked at him and gave a bitter laugh.
"You've changed a lot, Natsuki-kun."
Dona Fox had described Natsuki Subaru as having been corrupted by his inner demons, but to him, he was merely "a little stubborn about his own memories."
Water crashed against the ruins, and the spray soaked half of Otto's face.
"Are you satisfied now?"
"I'm still a long way from satisfied."
For some reason, the two gave dry laughs.
Then Natsuki Subaru addressed him in a formal tone. "I've always looked forward to our first reunion, but right now, I must deal with the most dangerous person first."
Otto, however, kept his eyes locked on Natsuki Subaru.
"Your plan has failed. Your first target should never have been me. It should have been Reinhard the Sword Saint."
"With his Divine Protection of First Sight, if you failed to kill him at the outset, you'll never be able to do it again, will you? Your first strike this time has already failed. You'll never find another way to hurt Reinhard."
Natsuki Subaru shook his head.
"Hahaha, you may have misunderstood something. The Sword Saint may be extraordinary, but his priority is very low. I can always find a way later."
Natsuki Subaru continued.
"My first target was you, Otto! Everything I've done, all of this, was a scheme devised to kill you."
At those words, Otto's eyes filled with confusion and doubt, shock and bewilderment. Me? Why me?
Why go to such lengths just for you? Of course, it's a sign of the utmost vigilance toward you. This isn't my opinion, because I don't trust my own opinions.
Emilia, Betty, Ram, Roswaal, Petra, and the others stood beside Otto.
Natsuki Subaru asked them a question.
"Who's the most troublesome person I know?"
"Otto."
"Otto."
"It's Otto, I suppose."
"Mr. Otto."
"Lord Otto."
Otto demanded of Natsuki Subaru, "Who are you talking to?"
"I won't underestimate you. I don't underestimate anyone except myself. You're an incredible person, so I'll use any means necessary to kill you."
Shaula approached from the side. She had just finished off Garfiel.
"Well done," Natsuki Subaru praised Shaula, then turned to Otto. "You're next."
"To think I'd meet this end right after receiving the highest praise of my life. This really is awful."
"The highest praise of your life? You're imagining things. You've always been the person everyone in the camp holds in the highest regard, Otto!"
Otto raised his head, facing that familiar face, ready at last to say what he had always wanted to say.
"Go die, you fake!"
As those words fell, the smile on Natsuki Subaru's face on the screen froze.
The next instant, white light shot through Otto's entire body.
"Why would you say something so hurtful? Honestly..."
Natsuki Subaru looked in disappointment at Otto's fallen remains.
Until a figure suddenly appeared above a house.
"This ends here."
At that moment, Natsuki Subaru was offering a silent prayer for Otto's remains, whose upper body was gone, and for Garfiel's corpse.
Reinhard asked in a grave voice.
"Did you kill them, Natsuki Subaru?"
"Yes."
"Why did you do this?"
At the question, Natsuki Subaru spread his arms, facing the city.
"I'm not like those fools in the Witch Cult. I would never take on a challenge with half-hearted resolve."
Reinhard looked at his friend before him and said sadly, "I'm sorry, but your atrocities end here. Let this be the last thing I can do for you, a testament to my friendship with you."
Natsuki Subaru paid him no heed.
"To reclaim 'Natsuki Subaru,' your life is necessary too. One day, I'll come to kill you."
Reinhard was puzzled. If he wished, he could kill Natsuki Subaru in an instant, even with Shaula on guard.
Old Man Rom pointed. "In this situation, if Felt were going to escape, she'd probably be in that direction."
Natsuki Subaru pointed in that direction, and Shaula understood at once, firing a beam of white light.
What!? Reinhard saw that the attack was heading toward Felt and hurried to go to her rescue.
In an instant, Reinhard raced back after the flying beam of white light.
The Roswaal in his mind gave a wicked smile from the side. "Keeping what matters to you close at hand naturally means exposing your weakness. The same goes for the Sword Saint."
Natsuki Subaru said to Shaula, "Let's leave it at that for today."
Natsuki Subaru held on to Shaula, letting her carry him as she leaped high into the sky.