[ "That voice, I remember it. Ah, is that so, you are—"
"—Natsuki Subaru. The name of the man who is about to kill you."
Natsuki Subaru stared at Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"So cool! Boss!"
"This time... we must succeed."
Otto said.
Emilia put her hands on her chest and prayed.
—
[ "Ah... this is truly wonderful. You appeared before me as a trial. Finally! My foolish self finally understood—that you would stand before me as a trial, all of this is destiny!"
"Destiny, huh... Perhaps that's right. After all, to come here, I would even sell my soul to a demon. As long as I can kill you, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti!"
"Natsuki Subaru—I will regard you as my trial! I will overcome you!"
"As I said before coming, did you understand, Beatrice. You absolutely cannot interfere."
Subaru said to Beatrice behind him.
"—Geuse, Betty doesn't want to believe it..."
"'Sloth's' Authority—'Invisible Providence'!"
The two men, now, both radiated intense killing intent towards each other.
Natsuki Subaru's final battle began. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Wilhelm-san, what do you think?"
Otto asked Wilhelm.
Wilhelm frowned and shook his head:
"It's hard to say until the dust settles."
Previously, Subaru had barely defeated Petelgeuse with a trump card when he was physically exhausted. Unfortunately, that trump card was not the Soul-Severing Sword, so he was able to possess Subaru after defeating him.
In short, only with physical exhaustion plus a sneak attack could he be killed.
And this time, although he was full of energy, Petelgeuse would be wary of sneak attacks.
It's hard to say.
—
[ "Crushing attack—!" Petelgeuse attacked Subaru with Invisible Providence from his body.
"Shamak—!"
A cloud of black mist spewed from Subaru's body.
"HA!"
Subaru, within the Shamak, dodged Invisible Providence and slashed at Petelgeuse.
Petelgeuse also quickly dodged the attack with Invisible Providence.
"You are truly 'slothful'."
Invisible Providence continuously approached Subaru, who used his left prosthetic arm to withstand the attacks.
"Is this all you have after twenty years!? If this is your full extent, then you will never take my life!"
An Invisible Providence grabbed Subaru's ankle, lifted him, and slammed him to the ground.
"Ugh... Shamak—!"
Before being smashed, Subaru released Shamak once again.
"I told you this is useless! How many times do I have to say it before you understand!"
Although Subaru barely avoided the risk of being smashed, other Invisible Providences reached out and continuously beat Subaru.
"Ugh... Ah... Shamak—!"
Subaru, continuously beaten, released Shamak again.
"—"
This time, Petelgeuse said nothing more, but extended an Invisible Providence towards Subaru's neck.
Then, Subaru's neck was grabbed, and his body was lifted into the sky. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"SUBARU-KUN!"
The two Rems cried out in sorrow.
"Calm down, Rem-san. Given Subaru's personality, he must have some hidden move. It's even possible that Subaru is trying to lead to this situation."
Yuriusu said.
One could only hope so.
—
[ "—What exactly is your purpose? Are you going to use that trump card in your prosthetic arm again?"
Petelgeuse also seemed to be guessing if Subaru had any more trump cards.
But seeing Subaru still doing nothing, he said:
"You are a trial that has crossed twenty years. Why, for what reason, do you disappoint me? You shouldn't end so easily, embarrassingly, foolishly. Why don't you fight with all your might, cooperate with trusted companions, and seriously try to kill me!"
"Shamak—!"
Subaru merely kept using Shamak.
"Natsuki Subaru! Let me teach you, such an unaccomplished Shamak is meaningless to me!"
Petelgeuse seemed extremely dissatisfied and continuously attacked Subaru with Invisible Providence.
Due to the repeated Shamak, the screen was extremely blurry, and only Subaru's screams could be heard. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Is this really part of the plan... Could it be!?"
Otto seemed to suddenly realize.
Continuously using Shamak, its true purpose is...
"I have a bad feeling."
Otto closed his eyes.
Then, the screen was suddenly enveloped in light, so bright it was dazzling.
"Ah! What is that!? My eyes!"
Garfiel and the others quickly closed their eyes.
—
[ In the screen, Subaru was holding a magic stone, which the audience recognized as "Night Rider".
It would burst out with an intense flash when released.
"Ah ah ah ah... My eyes... My eyes... It hurts so much it hurts so much it hurts so much! I can't see anything! I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see anything!"
It seemed this was Subaru's plan.
Successfully blinding him temporarily.
"Beiko!"
"Don't call Betty that!"
Beatrice said while releasing a barrier.
"It's a method anyone could have thought of with a little thought, yet you had no countermeasure. You gave me a way out, but never considered fighting me again. While talking about trials, sneak attacks are what you've been doing all along. You never seriously confronted the opponent in front of you—you are truly 'slothful', Petelgeuse."
Subaru said, pulling out his final trump card, the "Soul-Severing Sword" Za'am.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!"
The Soul-Severing Sword pierced Petelgeuse's chest.
Petelgeuse fell. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"I see... It is indeed Subaru-dono. But his right hand..."
Wilhelm said.
Subaru, in the screen, had lost his right hand.
It seemed that in the extremely dark scene just now, his right hand was torn off by Invisible Providence.
"Subaru's right hand!?"
Emilia exclaimed.
"Then... is this the end?"
On the other side, Otto asked with some uncertainty.
"Theoretically, there should be no problem, he's been destroyed from the soul."
"But..."
Beatrice had an ominous premonition.
For the Soul-Severing Sword to unleash its true power, it not only needed to pierce the opponent but also needed mana to be infused.
But Subaru had just pierced with the Soul-Severing Sword using his prosthetic arm.
Because his right hand was gone.
And the prosthetic arm could not infuse mana.
—
[ "Ah...!" Subaru on the screen seemed to feel a pain in his chest. Then...
"—I am, the Witch Cult's Archbishop of Sin, 'Sloth' Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti!"
"Wh—"
Beatrice, on the screen, realized the reason and showed a pained expression.
"Ah, this body, it adapts very well! If it were in a healthy state, it would have enough qualities to be a 'finger'! It's just too heavily wounded! Before this body dies, I must leave this detestable barrier—" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"HUH!!!!?"
Rem couldn't help but slam the armrest.
To actually defile Subaru-kun's body!
"Subaru..."
Yuriusu and the others had sorrowful eyes.
"The thing I least wanted to happen, still happened..."
Yuriusu murmured.
—
[ "I won't let you succeed, take this!"
On the screen, Beatrice saw Petelgeuse, possessing Subaru, about to leave, and quickly released magic, emitting dazzling light.
"This annoying light, begone—"
Petelgeuse pointed the Soul-Severing Sword at Beatrice, but—
"—I won't let you succeed! I won't let you extinguish the light! I won't let you take away my important things again—"
It seemed that the magic Beatrice released had an effect, and Subaru's consciousness began to collide with Petelgeuse's.
Their consciousnesses collided, and the two fought for control of the body. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"What powerful mental strength..."
Yuriusu, outside the scree,n couldn't help but admire.
—
[ "Why is it... I somehow feel like I've known this would happen all along..."
Subaru finally temporarily gained control of his body.
Then he gripped the Soul-Severing Sword and handed it to Beatrice—
"Bea...trice... Please! Into this sword, infuse, mana...!" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Subaru is going to!"
Ferris, outside the screen, exclaimed.
What else could Subaru do now besides this?
Only this...
—
[ "—! It's like this again... Are you going to abandon Betty like this again? We promised... you'd teach me how to fix brother's doll."
Beatrice in the screen showed a lonely expression.
"—I'm sorry, I have nothing to say but to ask for your forgiveness. Beatrice, please."
"—"
Beatrice stretched out her slightly trembling hand and infused mana.
"You really are an annoying person. Betty said... she would help you. But you only make Betty do this kind of thing..."
"Thank you."
Subaru took the Soul-Severing Sword infused with mana and held the blade against his own neck.
"Finally... I—Beatrice, I'm sorry. Please, don't become like this, like me."
Then, Natsuki Subaru stabbed his own throat.
The screen darkened.
"...Kid? Hey! I'm talking to you! Can you hear me?"
The screen lit up, and an old man spoke to the dazed boy.
"—"
The boy was silent.
"Give me a break, kid. Don't just stand here staring."
Then, the boy looked around—
A blue-haired girl appeared in his line of sight.
"Subaru... Subaru-kun? What's wrong?"
"...Ugh!"
The boy knelt on the ground, holding the girl, and cried loudly.
And the girl tightly embraced the crying boy.
The screen froze at this moment and darkened. ]
....