The sky screen began.
["-Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"-"
Subaru honestly wanted to praise himself for not screaming the instant he regained consciousness. Having experienced his second [Return by Death] and returned once again to the demon beast flower field, he hastily covered his mouth and thought so from the bottom of his heart.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk."
Meili's tongue clicks rang through the space ruled by the overpowering fragrance of flowers. The Courtesan Bear blocking the front of the dragon carriage had its attention captured by the rhythm of her tongue and her fingers quietly moving up and down. Everyone held their breath as they watched this gamble. It was also the scene immediately before the worst possible situation, which Subaru had helplessly allowed to happen mere minutes earlier.
"-"
Subaru touched his flank, where the cause of his death had been, and confirmed that he was uninjured as his thoughts went into overdrive. He had been shaken. But now he had to shift his focus immediately.
He had to forget the hell of being chased by a horde of demon beasts just a minute earlier and concentrate on the problem before him. Before him, the problem before him. What, what was it, what exactly was about to happen? Stinky, fragrant, noisy, annoying, itchy, painful-which was the right answer for [now]?
-Suddenly, Subaru's brain, driven so hard it almost seemed to boil, noticed something. It was Beatrice, shifting slightly in his arms. Looking at the girl leaning back against him, watching ahead with bated breath, Subaru felt his brain cells revive.
-He remembered his [death] moments earlier and heard the sobs of a tearful Beatrice. Yes, that was right. That was it. Subaru had already died twice. This was his third time reaching this moment.
He could not understand his first [death], and the cause of his second death was-no, that could wait.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... tsk~"
His understanding caught up with the situation just as Meili finished guiding the Courtesan Bear. Drawn by the rhythm of her tongue clicks and the movement of her fingers, the demon beast turned its gaze toward the outside of the dragon carriage. Once the threat of the demon beast moved away, Subaru and the others would be able to breathe a sigh of relief, but events would not unfold as they wished.
Before the Courtesan Bear, which was slowly turning its head away, the ground dragon standing there began to pant heavily. The pressure of staring down a demon beast at extremely close range, and the fragrance of flowers violently disrupting its thoughts-these two burdens ate away at the ground dragon's composure, and once that taut string snapped, it would run wild. Unless they found a way to stop it, the outcome would repeat his previous two [deaths].
He had to stop the ground dragon from running wild.
But how should he do it? He could not make a sound. Even conveying this fact to Julius, who held the reins, was difficult.-There was no time. If he could not think of something right this instant, his only option was to throw caution to the wind and call out to Julius.
His previous two [deaths], the demon beasts' fierce attacks, the watchtower's [white light], and Beatrice's tearful face-"-Beako, I love you."
"-!?"
Subaru wrapped his arms around Beatrice's small body from behind and whispered his declaration of love into her ear. The sudden expression of affection startled Beatrice, but Subaru had already covered her mouth to keep her from crying out. Meanwhile, Subaru extended his [hand] toward the ground dragon diagonally ahead-Joseph. His aim was to soothe it gently, as he had wiped away Beatrice's tears before his [death].
-Invisible Providence.
Since his mouth was busy whispering words of love, he chanted the skill's name only in his mind. At once, a pitch-black power awakened with jubilant cheers from the center of Subaru's chest-with a sensation different from mana flowing out when he worked together with Beatrice. It was an [Unseen Hand] that did not exist in this world, which would accomplish a precious purpose in place of Natsuki Subaru, who was to replace [Sloth].
"-"
The pitch-black palm he had created slowly reached toward the ground dragon from Subaru's chest. Just like the original, this demonic hand was invisible to everyone but Subaru. While that reassured him, he also understood that something inside him was being whittled away little by little. The cost of the ability was unknown, but he could be certain he could not spend too long using it. Subaru had no intention of doing so, either.
The smoothly extending black hand gently stroked the thick head of the ground dragon on the verge of going berserk. This was the best way to calm this breed of ground dragon, which Subaru had learned from Julius before their departure.
He had never expected to have a chance to use it in such a desperate situation. He really ought to listen more to whatever people said in everyday life. The ground dragon shuddered at the touch of someone unknown, but its instincts soon told it that the palm bore no hostility. Its ragged panting gradually steadied, and the tension drained from its limbs.
"-Hm?"
Noticing it relax, Julius slowly tightened the reins and tried to soothe it swiftly with practiced movements. In the blink of an eye, Joseph settled down. Just as expected of him. He really knew his stuff.
At that moment, Subaru also severed his connection to the [Unseen Hand], letting the pitch-black demonic hand disperse.
"Ha, ngh..."
With that, the immediate problem should have been resolved for the time being. Although he had relied on a forbidden power at a cost, the essence of Natsuki Subaru's style was to use whatever cards he had without reserve. Subaru would not hesitate in the slightest over that itself. What concerned him, however, was that the effects after using the [Unseen Hand] were clearly milder than before. When he had first used it to defeat Garfiel in the [Sanctuary], Subaru had experienced the illusion that half his body had been taken away. Now, it had merely left his breathing uneven.
"I hope I'm not gradually getting used to it..."
Rather than relief, Subaru felt intense unease at the diminished sense of loss and revulsion. Although having more cards in his hand was better, holding several jokers in a matching game was not a good thing, either. It certainly was a powerful card, but-
"...Th-that's enough, Subaru."
Just then, Beatrice, whom he was still holding in his arms, protested. Only then did his attention return to reality.
"Sorry," Subaru began to apologize.
"Beako, what's with that tangled mess on your head...?"
"That's obviously what happens when Subaru keeps messing up Betty's hair! What are you trying to do?"
"Huh? I did that?"
Beatrice deftly lowered her voice to shout at the innocent Subaru. Her beautiful ringlets had been wantonly braided and knotted into a hairstyle with no sense of cohesion. This cutting-edge style was so far ahead of its time that no one could match it.
"It's infuriating that Subaru doesn't even realize it... By the look of things, you don't remember what you whispered to Betty just now, either."
"No, I remember that. I'll be loving Beako my whole life, after all."
"Eep."
At Subaru's unabashed declaration, Beatrice blushed and pulled her cloak over her head. Subaru wanted to properly appreciate how endearing she looked, but now was no time for flirting. Thanks to Meili's bold attempt, they had successfully broken free of the Courtesan Bears surrounding them. At last, they had time to catch their breath. Subaru looked around and spotted a space without a flower field. They could discuss things there. With that thought, Subaru gestured to Julius, who happened to cast a glance his way.
"We retreat for now.-Time to work out a strategy."
"-I'd like to ask everyone something. Did anyone see the tower light up?"
"The tower, light up?"
At Subaru's question, Emilia and everyone else tilted their heads in puzzlement.
"I didn't notice anything. Did you see the watchtower light up, Subaru?"
"Yeah, ah, that's right. I don't think I was mistaken. The tower definitely lit up..."
"C-could that mean the [Sage] in the tower noticed us?"
"Even if they haven't noticed us, they'd need a light at night, wouldn't they? Maybe that's it?"
"I see. If the [Sage] has already noticed us, perhaps we can make contact if we show we mean no harm."
"Ah, wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second."
Being unable to speak about [Return by Death] had instead led to a careless explanation. This was really not what he had wanted.
"-What do you think of those lights, Barusu?"
Just then, Ram folded her arms and offered a helping hand to Subaru as he racked his brains. Prompted by her question, Subaru considered his words before speaking.
"I think... they're dangerous. At the very least, they're not a friendly signal."
"And your only basis is intuition?"
"...Yeah, more or less."
"I see.-That makes things difficult."
To his surprise, Ram took Subaru's answer seriously-no, not just Ram. Emilia, Julius, and even Anastasia wore grave expressions.
"Huh? Wait, I said it's just intuition, didn't I? Aren't you going to doubt it a little more?"
"If it were ordinary intuition, I might think that way. But it's your intuition, Subaru, isn't it? Then I think it's better to worry than to doubt you."
"You need not belittle yourself so much. You, too, have survived numerous ordeals. There is an intuition that only awakens in those who have experienced such things. In other words, one might call it a rule born of experience."
"I hear field mice move before heavy rain arrives. We shouldn't underestimate Barusu's intuition, either."
"You're completely underestimating me already... But, I see."
Emilia and the others took turns giving their opinions on Subaru's statement based on intuition. In truth, they were all saying that even if it was intuition, they were willing to trust Subaru. Their attitudes saved him. Unexpectedly, Julius was among them as well. Moved, Subaru rubbed beneath his nose with a finger and looked away from his companions.
-That was why Subaru failed to notice. Ram was the first to see it.
"-Barusu, what's that?"
"Huh?"
Ram suddenly asked in a grave tone, and Subaru immediately followed her gaze. Ram was looking at Subaru's chest. Looking down, Subaru noticed it at once. A red dot of light he had never seen before had appeared over the chest of the cloak he wore.
"-" -＞ -＞
In that instant, a certain word flashed through Subaru's mind. It was a word utterly out of place in this world.
-Laser pointer. (Note: a laser pen, laser indicator, and so on.)
"-!"
The next instant, Subaru's companions sprang into action as if by a miracle.
-A beam of white light shot from the watchtower straight toward Subaru with terrifying speed and accuracy. Leaving even the wind behind, about to pierce its prey without a sound, it was [death] itself. A strike that would vaporize Natsuki Subaru was about to kill him, with nothing he could do.
"-I won't let you!"
-That was, if Natsuki Subaru had been alone when he was targeted. A palm-sized shield of ice appeared before Subaru's chest, where the red dot shone. It was a magical defense Emilia had created in an instant to save Subaru from mortal danger. With flawless precision, it blocked the path of the white light closing in on Subaru-
"-You've got to be kidding!"
Only an instant. The ice shield slowed the white light for only an instant before it was vaporized and pierced. Far from stopping it, the shield had not even lasted a second. That fact drew an anguished sound from Emilia's throat. Yet that instant had bought them something meaningful.
"Hah!"
A knight's sword swung up, knocking down the white light with every ounce of strength before it could pierce Subaru. It was Julius.
With desperation on his face, he had perfectly seized the moment when Emilia's ice wall weakened. Deflected by his sword, the white light spun over and over and embedded itself in the sand. A plume of white smoke rose. For the first time, Subaru had avoided a direct hit from the white light, whose true form was-
"...Is that a needle?"
The white light, its true form previously unknown, now stood dazzlingly in the sand. That violent white, vividly seared into their eyes in the darkness of night-long and slender, it looked like a needle. That needle, too, began to crumble from its tail, swallowed by the wind as it gradually vanished.
"Barusu! The next one's coming!"
"Beako, can you do it!?"
"Do you even need to ask!?"
Beatrice would never answer Subaru's question by saying she could not.
"I won't let it keep getting away with this-!"
If the first defense had been a miracle, the second was a combination of training and technique. Emilia and Julius each pushed their abilities to the limit and blocked the [death] that had nearly reached Subaru.
"-E M T."
"Yah!"
Subaru swept up the headscarf he wore to keep out the sand and opened his mouth wide to offer praise-no, to chant. In time with Subaru's voice, Beatrice drew the scant remaining mana from his body and constructed a complex, bizarre magic formula, bringing an entirely new, unknown magic into being.
-It was one of three original spells Subaru and Beatrice had devised. (Note: original spell.)
"Its power... disappeared?"
Julius swung his knight's sword, effortlessly knocking away the white light, now traveling only as fast as an arrow.
Amid that tense situation, a quiet voice reached their ears with an unusually clear quality.
"-Are you watching, Barusu?"
It was a murmur from Ram, who covered her face with her palm. For an instant, Subaru did not understand what she meant, but then he realized it was the result of [Clairvoyance]-Ram had established a connection with someone in the tower. No, not just someone. There was only one person Ram would target at a time like this.
"Is it the [Sage]!?"
"-"
Subaru shouted his question, but Ram did not answer. Instead, Subaru saw blood begin to seep from Ram's right eye socket, flowing from her pale red eye. She had not been attacked. He did not know for certain, but this was a backlash from [Clairvoyance]. Subaru thought that was the most likely explanation.
"Idiot, stop! For now, get out of here-"
Subaru spoke harshly, intending to stop Ram's dangerous attempt. He grabbed her arm and forcibly lifted her slender body.
"This is absolute nullification magic, E M T.-Within this area, the power of magic becomes ineffective."
Holding Beatrice's hand, Subaru extended his other hand toward the tower and declared it.
"-! Oh no!"
Before them, an impossible change swept through the nighttime sea of sand, making Beatrice cry out shrilly.
"The spatial distortion is coming apart under E M T's effect!"
"What will that-"
Subaru never finished his question. In its place came a floating sensation as his feet left the ground. The [world] twisted, broke, and unraveled chaotically, as though a sheet of paper had been punched through. A fissure that formed without regard for heaven or earth swallowed Subaru and the others, dragon carriage and all.] End.
The sword-polishing cloth in Julius's hand fell to the ground with a soft thud.
"What the sky screen is showing now... is indeed the reality that Subaru-kun, everyone else, and I experienced. Then those previous two times... what exactly were those previous two scenes? Had Subaru already experienced death twice because of that beam of light before this?"
"What kind of ability is this? Is it a variation of the Divine Protection of that great spirit in Kararagi City, the 'Grim Reaper'? Lady Anastasia once told me about the abilities of that spirit from her homeland... If Subaru-kun possesses such an ability, then why..."
He abruptly stopped there, his lips trembling, unable to continue. The kingdom's finest knight, always gentle and elegant, always composed and proper, was now as pale as paper, deep remorse and pain entwining his face like vines.
"From beginning to end... was he the one saving everything?"
The words were as light as a sigh, yet as heavy as a boulder as they struck the silent air.
His hand trembled slightly as he covered his mouth, no longer even possessing the strength to grip his sword hilt.
As the kingdom's most perfect knight, he had always considered protecting others his duty.
"Julius."
Anastasia's voice came from beside him. She set down the map in her hands, a trace of heaviness in her azure eyes as well. Walking to Julius's side, she gently patted his shoulder.
"This isn't your fault."
Only then did Julius notice that, at some point, a tall figure resembling a werewolf had appeared beside Anastasia.
The "Paean," Halibel, the strongest in Kararagi City, one of the four great nations.
At some unknown point, he had already come to stand there and watched everything on the sky screen from beginning to end, yet he had suppressed his presence entirely, so that even a top-class knight like Julius had failed to notice him. His gaze still rested in the direction where the sky screen had vanished. His golden eyes held none of the curiosity of a spectator, only a calm that seemed to have witnessed countless lives and deaths. Beneath that calm, however, lay a faint, almost imperceptible trace of sympathy.
"What's on that sky screen really is quite interesting... Sorry, it's quite cruel, too."
He paused and withdrew his gaze from the distance, resting it on Julius's pale face.
"But rather than the Grim Reaper's Divine Protection, this seems more like a-"
His voice paused, and then, word by word, he spoke that name laden with endless despair and tenderness.
"-An ability called [Return by Death]."