――Horrific, dreadful, and cursed.

As the presence looming behind him came into view, an array of negative emotions washed over Subaru’s mind. Petelgeuse’s form was beyond the realm of normalcy.

Crushed beneath the debris, the body lay in ruins. The right side was smashed, bones sticking out, and the scalp peeled away, with red and white interspersed. The right leg was nonexistent below the shin, and the limp limbs showed no signs of life whatsoever.

A corpse. A dead body. A dead man’s futile struggle. It was the last, grotesque attempt of a warped spirit, having forcibly taken over another’s body, to cling to life until the very end.

Because, you see,

“――My body, my fleshly body!!”

“Don’t you remember how dreadful it was to be inside me…!?”

As he spoke, Subaru thought to himself how terrible that phrase sounded—“inside me.” He couldn’t help but feel that Petelgeuse’s fierce obsession overshadowed even his own disgust.

The body of the vessel, now a corpse, had ceased its life functions. Petelgeuse—though in this instance, it was his soul residing within the body—had stretched its “invisible hand” out to bind its limbs and force them to move. The delicate control of that power was faltering, causing the bones of the moving hands and feet to creak and the flesh to be squeezed and torn apart.

Such self-destructive actions could lead to losing the very body needed to possess. However,

“Waiting for the time to run out is a tough call… Damn it!”

Banging his fist against the side of the carriage, Subaru gritted his teeth and spat out his frustration.

To escape the presence closing in behind them and break free from the forest, Patrasche and the others pulling the dragon carriage quickened their pace even further. Thanks to the blessing of the “wind shield,” their speed was nothing short of the wind itself. However, Petelgeuse, destroying the forest in pursuit, was even faster.

Like the last flicker of life, akin to a candle burning down to its wick, the wicked black flames were flickering violently.

The pitch-black magical hands bound the limbs, while a palm reaching into the chest was likely taking the place of a long-dead heart. Extending into the ground as a continuation of the crumbling body, it had transformed into a mere shadow—a monstrous creature born from obsession and twisted life force.

“Is this what a spirit is… where’s the sanctity? Shouldn’t it be something much more divine?”

Subaru’s image of a spirit was one that should shine brightly, adorned with a transient beauty that would make him hesitant to approach.

Yet here lay this grotesque, desperate being, devoid of any sense of reverence, filled with haunting displeasures.

“I absolutely see how kinda nice Pack and those semi-spirits look.”

“—Natsuki-san! What’s behind us!?”

Subaru let out an irritated click of his tongue just as Otto’s yell intersected. For him, being unable to see what nightmare loomed behind them was perhaps a blessing.

And perhaps that’s for the best. Putting his hand on Otto to hold him back as he leaned over, Subaru raised his voice, trying not to reveal the presence behind them.

“Just a slightly oversized, black beast chasing us. Must’ve stepped on its tail without knowing. It’s so loud and ugly, better off not looking!”

“Are you seriously trying not to show me!? You’re saying the most suspicious things!?”

“Just speed up! If I get bitten, you’re next!!”

“Ugh—That’s terrifying!”

Encouraging Otto, who held the reins, Subaru urged him to hasten their flight. Yet, even with Otto feeling motivated, it was the two Earth Dragons at the front who dictated the pace. It was impossible to make them pick up the speed since they were already moving at full throttle.

In other words,

“Keeping you at bay will be my job. Here we are, at the climax… How many climaxes will I have to endure? Where’s the ‘Sloth’ in this overworked person?!”

“Witch… Satella…! I, I love, love, love you, love, annihilated, love can’t stop, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-i!!!”

“Neither you nor I are loved! Can there be a rom-com where someone crushes the heart of their beloved!? I’m out on this!”

Petelgeuse lifted his face, and a desperate scream echoed from what could only be described as a visage of death.

With a corpse-like body, deceived by reality, still screaming what would never change for him—a call for “love” to the witch. To Subaru, it was the first time he found it utterly pitiful.

The screams for a body, the wild desperation to gain the witch’s “love”—beneath it all lay the overwhelming longing to be loved for something devoid of a body, with an unquenchable thirst gnawing at his existence.

—Though, with that said, no validation should be given to this existence.

“Neither powerful spells nor ultimate techniques. But if it’s you, I won’t let you pass. I won’t even let you lay eyes on the girl ahead…!”

“Natsuki-san, you really care about me…!”

“Don’t talk! I’m trying to look cool here!”

Yelling back at Otto, whose feelings were hard to discern, Subaru turned to face Petelgeuse, who was closing the distance.

Since Julius had already weakened the overall number of available “invisible hands,” underwater was left that could be unleashed on him because it was also being used to sustain his life—seven hands. The same as at the start.

Gritting through the evening, Petelgeuse dragged his body along the ground. The raised magical hand snapped branches as it broke the ground downwards like a hammer. Its fingers grazed the back of the carriage, tearing into it regardless of strength.

If the next blow hit squarely in the middle of the cargo area, tipping the dragon carriage would be inevitable. If Subaru were thrown off, he’d be devoured by Petelgeuse and chomped at the head this time for real.

“If I can’t be possessed, then you might want to take me with you.”

“Natsuki-san, we’re about to get out of the forest—!”

At the same time as Otto shouted, the green in sight surged away.

With a breakthrough into the forest and accelerated down the slope of a grassy field. In pursuit, Petelgeuse clawed at the earth, swallowing trees and rocks, becoming the very definition of distorted evil as he gazed down the slope.

—Having made it through the forest and onto the main road. Before long, they would catch up to Emilia and the others.

He couldn’t let Petelgeuse reach them, even if he didn’t know the details of the Archbishop of Sin’s “Trial,” a tragedy was guaranteed.

So with that,

“We’ve cleared the forest. —I won’t hold back!”

“Love! Love! Love is everything—!!”

Tears of blood streamed from Petelgeuse’s mouth, revealing a gaping hole filled with broken teeth as he grinned.

Hearing that horrifying voice, Subaru opened the cargo at the back and pulled out something heavy, filled with a strong odor that hit his nose.

Gathering it in his arms, he pointed a finger at the blood-stained visage.

“—Burn, Petelgeuse!”

“———!!”

The “invisible hands” shot upwards, aiming to unleash a torrent of destruction. However, Subaru’s movements were faster than those coming down.

Lifting the jar with both arms and a cruel grin—he threw the “oil jar.”

The black magical hands came crashing down.

They sought to crush the dragon carriage along with Subaru, scattering him into pieces.

Stretching out his arm, he formed his index finger into the shape of a gun.

On that fingertip was a red glow—thanks to the “red” semi-spirit he borrowed from Julius.

“I’m borrowing your power, Julius Euclius!”

“Yooooouuuuuuu—!”

Petelgeuse shouted, his arm coming straight down from above. It appeared horrifying and godlike, a grotesque abomination.

The tip of his finger burned, the spirit he called upon was named “Ia.” Therefore,

“Ia ia, hastar—!”

An incomplete chant, an incomplete caster, and an uncontracted semi-spirit.

A mix of the incomplete, yet their wills unified as one.

And it would suffice for the intervention in the world to spark a single fire.

With nearly empty mana, aided by the spirit’s power, a spark of fire ignited the air as it approached Petelgeuse. Covered in blood and oil, the ghastly figure opened its mouth wide—

“—Ahhh!!”

—In an instant, the vivid red engulfed Subaru’s sight.

Petelgeuse’s entire body ignited, using the oil as fuel, a magnificent heat radiated forth. As the undulating flames seared him, Petelgeuse’s voiceless scream clawed at the air.

For Subaru, who had no effective means of attack against the spirit that was Petelgeuse apart from physical strife, this was his last and best strike.

Even if there was a possibility that flames without magical elements were powerless against spirits, Petelgeuse’s desire to reclaim a body indicated that attacking the near-corpse of his body wouldn’t be useless.

Seeing the agony and heat tearing through Petelgeuse’s figure suggested that he was right.

Subaru, who believed Otto was busy unloading cargo in the village, had one of the jars he had brought. Seeing its effectiveness made him think he could’ve sneaked away with two or three more, but there wasn’t even a moment for regret.

The “invisible hand” raised in agony split down like the grim reaper’s scythe.

Seeing the flames coloring his vision, Petelgeuse aimed at Subaru, who could hardly make that out.

In a split-second reaction, Subaru rolled sideways for an emergency escape, just moments before an arm pounded down near his feet.

The wooden cargo swayed from the impact, bending under pressure, and the area where the magical hand struck caved in as though it were made of paper. The U-shaped indentation scattered wooden shards all over him, as Subaru grit his teeth, dragging his right foot toward the depths of the cargo.

“—It hurts! Agh!”

The fingertips grazed his calf, causing severe bleeding—sweat soaked his body. The pain of flesh being stripped away and an overwhelming loss of blood caused a flashing sensation in his vision. Subaru instinctively pressed his palm against the bleeding area, but with no bandages at hand, it felt utterly futile.

And above all,

“Give, take, hand over…”

Blazing black fingertips extended toward the flailing edges of the dragon carriage.

Slowly rising, he hoisted a half-torn lower body, dripping with an unsettling sound, as the pitch-black mass dropped onto the cargo.

The writhing magical hands formed a flabby body, losing the original delicate frame of the man who had been its vessel. The “invisible hands” protruded from his back and sides, aside from the severed right arm, sprouting four additional malevolent limbs.

Dragging the lower body, all but the knees had gone dead—the arm jutting out from the thigh served in place of the lost leg.

With a face drooping downwards, his eyes glazed over, half of that face charcoaled from having shed blood like tears, now barely clinging to the tattered robe that barely revealed his form amidst his grotesqueness.

The odious creature grossly displayed how a monstrous entity was buried beneath the skin of a man.

“What a hideous sight, you. …I can’t really criticize, though.”

Subaru, feeling pain gripping his face, forced himself to stand. Blood continued to pour from his foot, and he didn’t have time to spare. However, Petelgeuse was in a similar predicament.

His entire body had decayed and was on the verge of being engulfed by flames. He also didn’t seek a long battle. Their confrontation would end almost instantaneously.

He didn’t have many cards left to play. In fact, they were incredibly few.

What Subaru could do was unleash an incomplete magic skill called Shamak and rely on the power of a semi-spirit to conjure low-grade fire magic. With that, his options were painfully limited, and there was nothing left save for a bare-fisted struggle against him.

With so few options, it was laughable, yet he had to use whatever he had to break through this situation. He had squeezed out every plan. All that remained was cleverness, a last resort.

“Body, body, not disappearing… I can’t disappear…!”

“That’s why! Even if you possess my body, it’ll only result in pain! What’s with this witch? You and I are just being tossed around!”

Dragging his way forward, Petelgeuse, still seeking Subaru’s flesh with unwarranted stubbornness, was met with Subaru’s furious retort, attempting to shatter the mad mind.

However, Petelgeuse’s response was strikingly different from before, forming a shady connection.

—“Witch, Satella.”

He suddenly muttered in a clearer voice, raising his face.

Halfway gone and with his cheek exposed, his visage resembled a diagram of the human body seen in school. With skin peeled back, Petelgeuse’s turned eyes returned to fixate.

His unfocused gaze flickered, and gradually, it formed an image of Subaru.

“You are danger… Deis. Hear, danger, hear, hear, hear… Dangerous, dangerous dangerous dangerous… DANGER!”

“Ah–!?”

“Receiving, receiving, receiving, while denying love!! And you pushed me, me, me, me, ALL THE WAY to this point, death, death, death!”

“—!”

As he shook his head, Petelgeuse’s words spun about chaotically. Suddenly, an arm shot towards Subaru and skimmed his shoulder, ramming into the wall behind him. —It wasn’t that it had moved at unimaginable speed, but rather, the lack of a preparatory motion made it impossible to react.

Petelgeuse was utterly confused, unable to discern his thoughts, making his movements unpredictable. The danger of what he’d do in the next moment surged to new levels, putting Subaru in helpless despair.

The “invisible hand” extended, still having Subaru between them, forming a straight line between them to connect forward and back.

As it inched closer, all Subaru could do was be swallowed up.

Just moments ago, Petelgeuse was solely driven by his primitive hunger for a body. Yet upon hearing the name of the witch, he reclaimed a fraction of intelligence, leading to this complicated situation. The nature of this exchange posed a grave risk.

“Witch, Satella, Satella, I love, love, love! I LOVE YOU! I’m loved! Satella, you, you made me, you made me this way! I can’t forget, not even for a moment… Even if you forget, I will never forget!”

Tears flowed forth. Not tears of blood, but genuine tears.

In that moment, it was as if Petelgeuse shouted genuine words of sanity for the first time.

The words, the will, nothing but dark thoughts, brought Petelgeuse back from the depths of madness into reality. He looked with certain purpose at Subaru as if a dense will lingered in his murky eyes.

“You are in danger! You’ll threaten the Witch Cult! Before! Before you reach Satella! Here! Right here! With my own hands! With my diligence! To part ways with my “Sloth,” to make love true… DIE!!”

Swinging his upper body back and forth, buckets of blood flowed from Petelgeuse. It was a harbinger of the energy from the hidden hands threatening to burst from within and break free. Petelgeuse had resolved to kill Subaru in order to leave no fears for the witch he worshipped.

That intention, bearing the mark of an intelligence contrasted sharply with the frenzied beast.

“If you hadn’t been a monster, I would have lost.”

With his hand pulled from his pocket, Subaru felt something in his grip as Petelgeuse’s eyes widened.

A pang of hurt stirred within him at that response. But quickly, he turned away from the fleeting feeling of sympathy and swung his arm high.

From the tip of his raised arm, a black-bound tome—a gospel was hurled.

“Ah… Satella.”

Petelgeuse uttered, soft and quietly; it was the voice of someone desperately calling for a beloved, ensconced in tranquility.

Looking upward, Petelgeuse raised his fleshly arm to the sky, and the pitch-black magical hand sought to follow suit, catching the tumbling gospel in the air. His fingertip grazed the cover, and in that very moment, it struck.

The book, catapulted high into the sky, fluttered as it soared, just as it was about to be blown away by the wind. That was the clearest sign of the resistance it faced, and this action of reaching for the gospel would lead to…

“—!?”

As Petelgeuse looked up, his body tilted heavily backward in the fierce gust. His dragging foot shattered the plank beneath him, causing half of him to sink in terror.

With the effects of the “wind shield” bestowed upon the Earth Dragons even impacting the dragon carriage, Petelgeuse’s fingers simply escaped that zone.

Once, while headed towards the royal capital in a dragon carriage, Subaru found himself in a similar situation due to a prank gone too far.

On a cargo deck without the wind shield, one couldn’t hope to keep their footing when assaulted by the full brunt of wind and speed.

“—Waaaah!?”

In the moment Petelgeuse leaned heavily, Subaru leaped forward with a roar.

Ignoring the pain in his feet or the torn shoulder, he propelled himself as if ejected. Without any tremendous technique to determine the outcome, all that mattered was the decision at hand.

Having traversed the liminal space between life and death, Subaru had gained an acute scent of danger.

As he charged forward, Petelgeuse raised his face, mouth widening to shout something. However, Subaru couldn’t hear him. He flung himself headfirst toward Petelgeuse in a low posture, aiming for his embrace.

The “invisible hand” still shot forth. Although it looked to stretch slowly, it appeared to stagnate long enough to seem an impossible feat of endurance.

He tilted his head. His body wouldn’t obey. While escaping the direct hit, the palm would still surely graze his cheek and neck. He sensed the encroaching pain. He could almost shut his eyes at its pressure.

And in that situation, a memory surfaced. A painfully persistent recollection of being subjected to agony over and over again. Days gone by, which he once thought meaningless, now resurfaced with newfound meaning.

“—Two things I learned from Wilhelm.”

The palm struck. Pressure seared his neck and along the surface, leaving the sensation of hot iron pressing against him. As pain scorched his mind, his vision dimmed to white.

He dodged. Inhaling, still, it wasn’t over.

“I have absolutely no talent for swords.”

Pain seared and relieved. Those two contradicting sensations threatened to consume his consciousness, yet he steadied his gaze straight ahead.

From beyond the dodged hand, another palm now aimed directly for Subaru’s face—

“—I won’t close my eyes when I’m punched!!”

Shouting, he ducked his head down. The searing pain along his neck reminded him, yet he gritted his teeth. In front of him, Petelgeuse’s face widened in sheer disbelief. Even in his contorted state, a semblance of humanity could still be gleaned from the sunken features.

“—!!”

With full force behind the swing, he struck Petelgeuse’s face, landing a lethal blow. The impact caused Petelgeuse to stagger backward and slip off the board, his balance lost as he tipped outside the dragon carriage.

“Ohhhhhh—”

Suspended upside down, Petelgeuse was dragged by the carriage. A torn piece of his clothing got caught on the edge, and his body tethered, was scraped against the ground.

Blood splattered, flesh burst, and even the “invisible hands” dissipated from Petelgeuse’s existence. Yet, upside-down, he raised his crumbling face to fixate on Subaru.

“End, end, it’s not, it’ll never, end, end, end, end!?”

“—No, it’s over.”

Looking down upon the obstinate Petelgeuse, Subaru’s gaze drifted to a corner of the cargo—there lay the gospel that Petelgeuse had reached for and grasped.

Raising it, he turned the pages. Eventually, he came across a blank page in the latter half.

“The gospel, it… it would affirm my future, my deeds, it would pay me in love, my love… Ah!”

“You’ve been acting on this, huh. —Then,”

As Petelgeuse moved to reach for the gospel once more, his right arm was long gone, and his left arm dangled, now scraped against the ground. He had lost his limbs, even the “invisible hands,” and in his near dissolution, it was the gospel he clung desperately to.

Showing him that blank page, Subaru scooped blood from his own neck with his fingers. Then, he slapped it down onto the gospel.

“Here you’ll find your ‘end’—!”

The word “END” was etched deeply in red ink across the top of the wide-open page.

Seeing this, Petelgeuse’s eyes widened as his lips trembled. The storm of emotions swirling in his gaze became too complex for Subaru to decipher.

And before that fervor could transform into words, the end arrived.

The dragon carriage lurched, and Petelgeuse’s robe snagged, tearing free. That caused Petelgeuse to fall to the ground. Before his tattered and stretched garment hit the ground, it ensnared itself in the turning wheels of the dragon carriage.

As his robe was caught up, his body, lightweight from losing blood and limbs, was pulled towards the wheels. The end was in sight. The sound of ripping fabric mixed with the blood splattering as in those final moments, Petelgeuse looked up at Subaru and cried out.

“—Natsuki Subaruuuuuuuuuu!!”

His scream echoed, morphing directly into a dreaded last breath.

While still calling out Subaru’s name, Petelgeuse’s body was swallowed by the wheels, crushed and ground, scattering bloody fragments as he ceased to exist.

As his physical body dissolved, the spirit that resided within him also succumbed to the intense end, vanishing into thin air.

In the final moments, one of the “invisible hands” stretched towards Subaru.

As the palm almost closed around his face, it abruptly froze, dissolving like sand spilling from its fingertips. It was genuine proof that Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti had vanished.

“Now it’s time to sleep… Petelgeuse.”

Convinced that it was done, Subaru collapsed onto the cargo.

At that moment, the pain he had been able to ignore surged back; he nearly burst into tears—no, tears flowed as he rolled out.

“It hurts! This is bad! I’m dying! This pain! It’s unbearable!”

The tears wouldn’t stop. The pain wouldn’t stop. The throbbing wounds leaked blood, and that ache sent shivers through his entire body. Thus, his chest throbbed alongside those wounds.

There was no pity to be had. For the madman, the deranged spirit Petelgeuse, there was no sympathy worth granting him. He’d run rampant through life, screaming mindlessly about love, only to come undone and decay alone.

He screamed a blind love, acted selfishly, and fell alone.

None needed to feel pity for the tragic ending of Petelgeuse.

—Save for one; aside from Subaru, no one was expected to think such things.

“No one’s ever going to understand you. Dying is inevitable. You deserve to rot. You’re unforgiven, by anyone, by anyone. —So I’ll pity you, that’s the only thing.”

A monster alone, whose desperate cries for love brought no reciprocation.

Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti would finally, without a doubt, disintegrate.

With nothing left in anyone’s heart, save for a feeling of pity stuck in Subaru’s chest, this time for real.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

“Natsuki-san, you’re covered in injuries; are you okay?”

“Of course I’m not okay! I’ve been crying hard; it’s like when the anesthesia wore off during a tooth filling. Now my entire body is crying out in pain!”

Shifting from the half-ruined cargo area to the driver’s seat, Subaru hesitantly applied a tourniquet on his wounds using the first aid tools Otto provided. It seems that the merchant journey brought its share of dangers, and it became necessary to keep such medicines on hand. They had saved him this time.

“I don’t know how well this otherworldly medicine will suit me. I wonder if this ointment is safe for my sensitive skin.”

“It’s a medicine that activates the mana within you to speed up wound healing. You’re so full of cuts that watching you makes me feel pain too, so please tend to it quickly.”

“Alright, alright! Ouch! What’s this!? Ah, this hurts! It stings! Oh, it really stings!”

“A strong medication often stings like hell. But don’t worry, the pain will fade shortly! —But until then, you’ll just have to endure hellish suffering.”

As Subaru writhed in agony due to the medicine, Otto wore a satisfied expression, almost as though he had finally struck back. Watching his delight, Subaru wiped away the fresh tears streaming down and asked,

“So, how much time did we lose?”

“No time lost at all! In fact, thanks to the incredible efforts of both Earth Dragons, we’re ahead of schedule! …What was chasing you, by the way?”

“That was just a lazy one. Y’know, those long-handed creatures that hang upside down from tree branches?”

At Subaru’s playful response, Otto let out a small sigh, and it seemed he’d given up on prying further as he gazed ahead. Following his gaze, Subaru too glanced forward, watching the grassland of the Leafaus road. The road stretched far until the horizon, still no shadow of what they sought could be spotted.

“We’ll definitely catch up. I will save you this time!”

He murmured, bolstering his resolve as he slapped his cheeks. A sharp pain shot through his wounds, but thanks to the medicine, the blood had already stopped, leading him to merely tear up.

“Do you think we can make it in time?”

“We will make it in time!”

Otto’s tone wasn’t weak; it felt like he was gauging Subaru’s determination, perhaps to confirm his own direction ahead.

Sniffling, Subaru twisted his lips and grinned as he declared,

“Soon enough, Rem will be getting antsy waiting for good news. If I don’t meet her expectations, I’m not a man!”

“Is that the name of the girl you’re in love with?”

“That’s the name of the girl that loves me!”

Hearing Subaru say it boldly without any hesitation or embarrassment, Otto briefly wore a stunned expression. Yet it quickly transformed into a broad smile.

“Oh, then there’s no way I can’t look cool!”

Otto exclaimed cheerfully, dramatically flicking the reins as they echoed with a sharp sound.

The two Earth Dragons neighed, and the speed of the dragon carriage soared higher as the wind cut through.

They galloped on, racing down the road like the wind, as the dragon carriage sped forth.

Rushing through, racing through, they traversed the highway in flight, seeking out what they cherished beyond the horizon.

Time ticked away in rapid succession. Yet, Natsuki Subaru kept his eyes forward.

Natsuki Subaru was simply determined to look ahead.

“`

 

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