As soon as Subaru felt the oxygen passing through his throat, he began to cough violently, expelling the clots of blood that lingered in his trachea.

Lying on his back on the ground, he gasped for air, desperately seeking sustenance for life.

In that moment, there was no room in his mind to think of himself as pathetic.

Just the weakness of desperately clinging to the flickering path of salvation before him, after having bitten his tongue wishing for “death,” felt immensely miserable.

But,

“Do I…?”

“—Huh?”

“Do I have value in living…? Is there any worth to me, who doesn’t die… other than dying and repeating…?”

He thought of “returning by death” to save everyone from the brink of despair.

He believed that the result obtained by paying with his life was the only value he had as Natsuki Subaru.

But could he think that there was something else?

“Can I think that I have worth as a human being beyond ‘returning by death’…? Can I think that the people I love think of me as someone they love…?”

“…I wouldn’t know about that.”

Minerva answered Subaru’s feeble questioning with a dismissive tone, turning her face away.

Having lost her right arm and both legs, she skillfully distanced herself from Subaru using only her left hand. First, she turned her face toward her right shoulder—and bit it. Immediately after, droplets of light surged around Minerva, regenerating her missing right arm.

With fists opening and closing where her right arm had been, Minerva then struck the root of her legs—the area where her legs had been lost—recreating them like her arms.

The skirt that had been short to begin with became even more revealing, and in a dangerously exposed state with her right arm now showing up to her shoulder, ‘Witch of Wrath’ Minerva stood in perfect condition.

She stood firm on her restored legs, striking a pose that emphasized her ample chest as she looked down at Subaru.

“And I don’t have a clue about your value. But that child wishes for you to keep living… you saw just like I did in the two ‘Trials’?”

“…But the second ‘Trial’ was… about the mistakes I made, the sins I committed…”

“Are you stupid? That wasn’t meant to hold you accountable for the world you got wrong. It was to show you how much pain those who suffered because of your mistakes went through. Isn’t that the answer you’ve been yearning for?”

“—Huh.”

Memories surged back.

Crying voices. Voices stifled by regret. Powerful voices sending him off. That gentle farewell he was used to.

Whispers of love that believed in him—the words that had fueled Subaru’s fight from the beginning.

He had thought his life held nothing.

He believed he had come to this world empty-handed, having missed things he should have possessed.

To prove his worth, he had no choice but to keep resisting. To protect the precious things he gained by continuing to fight, he could only keep walking in solitude.

He had thought he was only on the receiving end, but could it be that was not the case?

Would anyone truly cry for him?

Would anyone genuinely lament his shortcomings for his sake?

Did he even have the right to stand beside the important people in his life, smiling?

A right whose existence he was unsure of.

But surely, it was something he would no longer be allowed to possess at the end of the path he had just walked, stubbornly choosing to walk alone until now.

With his heart hardened, fighting with unwavering mental strength, surely he could end up with no softness left to even bear a smile.

Then, was it okay to believe?

Even if it meant losing his heart in exchange for the future of his important people.

Even if, in desperately trying to protect his heart, he could no longer move forward.

That maybe there was a greedy option, one in which he could see the future with those dear to him as Natsuki Subaru, and that he was allowed to desire it.

“—I’ll forgive you.”

“—”

It wasn’t something he said aloud, just Subaru’s feelings overflowing silently as tears streamed down his face.

Yet somehow, it seemed to resonate like a sound, aligning in perfect timing.

Lying on the ground, moving his face, Subaru could see beyond Minerva—a girl on her knees in the grass, wiping her tear-stained face as she smiled.

That face now remained unseen by Subaru.

Veiled by darkness, the expression directed at Subaru still eluded him. Yet, he could tell she was smiling.

Echidna had said it—Subaru couldn’t see her face because he had not accepted her. The fact that he only sensed her smile meant that his unconscious had decided he couldn’t see what was actually visible.

“I was saved by you. Therefore, I allow you to be saved. I wish for you to be saved.”

The words and voice of Satella seeped into Subaru’s cracked heart, and he covered his face with his arm. Tears flowed freely; there was no helping that he had already made a mess of his face, but he didn’t want anyone to see it.

After all, how could he find solace in Satella’s words after having maliciously hurled insults just moments ago? Furthermore, how could he display a softening expression?

But it was also true that the unknown words of Satella’s “love” helped Subaru understand the true meaning of the “Trials.”

“…It’s surprising that Minerva broke through the interference of Typhon and Sekhmet, but personally, your actions are the most unexpected for me.”

Echidna muttered quietly, while Subaru’s view remained obscured.

Casting a glance at Minerva back on her feet, Echidna shifted her gaze in another direction—there lay Typhon, struggling under claw-like limbs extending from a black coffin, and facing Daphne and Sekhmet, who were the owners of that coffin.

Daphne chuckled lowly at Echidna’s words. Breaking the bottom of her restraints, she stepped barefoot onto the grass and stuck out her tongue.

“It’s definitely Daphne who gets along best with Tutu. The centipede coffin doesn’t have a thinking brain, so Daphne’s limbs are the worst match for Tutu’s powers.”

“Ugh, don’t get in my way, Fu! Ugh!”

“Now, huff. You mean your main body is meant to keep me at bay? Hah. Unlike Echidna, I don’t understand why you’d do that, huh.”

Sekhmet roughly scratched her excessively tangled hair. She seemed hesitant to move carelessly, as she had Typhon as a hostage.

Receiving Sekhmet’s question, Daphne shook her bundled short hair, smiling, “Nope.”

“Subaru went and bragged to me, saying he defeated the White Whale, and now it’s time to take on the Great Rabbit, right? I think at least he should go and challenge it.”

“An interesting point. Surely, if he sets his mind to it, that may indeed come to pass. You know that, don’t you? But, do you want to see the Great Rabbit destroyed?”

“Not really? Once I cut myself away from them, those guys’ hunger doesn’t relate to my own. I couldn’t care less where they perish… but I am curious about how the Great Rabbit, being the endless hunger itself, will eventually end.”

Daphne continued, “If the end can be realized, that’s an unknown blessing for me too.”

For Daphne, who was always plagued by insatiable hunger, fulfillment would forever remain a dream beyond reach.

And the Great Rabbit reflected that endless hunger, a being that could just as well be seen as another version of herself—although Daphne herself felt no such kinship at all.

If this Great Rabbit were to meet an ending unlike her former self, would it be a fulfillment or not? Was there a chance for her to be fulfilled? Rarer still, she felt a curiosity other than hunger creeping in, smiling to herself.

Echidna nodded approvingly at Daphne’s response, then turned her head again. This time, she looked not at Subaru, Satella, or Minerva. Instead, she focused on a figure standing in isolation away from the collective, similar to herself.

Looking at Carmilla, the ‘Witch of Lust,’ Echidna gently stroked her own white hair.

“Carmilla, what about you? Do you have a reason like Daphne’s?”

“Wh-what do you mean? W-what do you want from me, Echidna-chan?”

“It’s simple. Your consciousness, on the brink of death, called out, right? Being the ‘Faceless Goddess,’ you should have known the outcome if you did that.”

“—”

“Your call must have held every meaning for him. And you must have known that too. So I want to ask—did you not hold any liking for him? Why, then?”

At Echidna’s inquiry, Carmilla placed a hand on her mouth, her gaze wandering. The glance directed toward Daphne and Minerva was one hoping for support from others.

However, among the witches who were universally adored, there were no temptations here.

With a sense of resignation, Carmilla bit her finger, looking at Echidna with glistening eyes.

“Uh, there’s no… reason? I, um, I was satisfied enough with that boy rejecting my advances… As long as no one gets mad at me for fighting and arguing, heh, that’s all that matters.”

“Just?”

“Ah, ‘love’ is important, you know? Mistreating it can’t be allowed, it’s no good. Even if that child doesn’t want to see it, ‘love’ is still there… what exists can’t be denied. I don’t want to owe it, not at all.”

Carmilla’s last point was made exceptionally clear as Echidna shrugged.

The ‘Witch of Greed’ then regarded the expressions of the witches.

“Sekhmet and Typhon are trying to respect his will, while Minerva, respecting life, healed him. Daphne is cooperating to extend his life to bear witness to his fighting spirit, and Carmilla used her abilities to reveal the love he had been turning away from. —So, it seems everyone is trying to help Natsuki Subaru in their respective ways.”

As Echidna assessed the actions of the witches, their expressions changed dramatically.

Pride tilted her head, Sloth sighed dully, Wrath huffed while crossing her arms, Gluttony chuckled as she munched on a limb from the coffin, and Lust grimaced with distaste.

And seeing all that, Greed placed her chin in her hand.

“Truly, interesting. —Don’t you think?”

A gentle smile spread across Echidna’s face, her attention directed towards Subaru, who was swaying unsteadily on his feet.

Even now, as he wiped the remnants of tears from his face with his sleeve, Subaru stood on two legs as he didn’t respond to Echidna’s question.

He merely scanned the faces of the witches with a spiritless gaze.

“What are you guys, really?”

“—”

“Curiosity. Sympathy. Compassion. A sense of duty. Expectation. Disgust. … I can hardly make sense of why you’re all so invested in me. And I get why you’re being called witches.”

“Well, looks like your spirit is back enough to curse a little.”

“…I don’t get it.”

As Subaru murmured, he placed a hand on his chest.

The words that escaped from him simply expressed all of Subaru’s current feelings.

“There were things I was supposed to do. Those things haven’t changed. That’s for sure. No doubt about it.”

But he continued, as if asking himself rather than anyone else.

“The only means I had decided upon for that was this one. I had made up my mind to choose it… And yet here I am, crushed by the ‘Trials.’”

The second ‘Trial,’ in this impossible now—was the harsh reality ripping apart his heart by slapping him with the results of his actions, which he had been masking with ‘resolve.’

Still confronted with that, Subaru was seeking a compromise within himself, wanting to stick to his resolve. In fact, he was supposed to do just that.

“But knowing the real thoughts of you, who I thought I could count on, and with Satella showing up on top of that… my head’s a mess. You all are throwing out your opinions arbitrarily. I was the one imposing my duties on myself. Yet…”

Now, what good would it do to cling to a life he would have otherwise dismissed as disposable?

Now, what good would it do to teach him to cherish a life planned to be used up?

Now, being made aware of how he was loved, what was he supposed to do with that?

“Right now… I don’t know what to do.”

His reason screamed that he needed to die to protect everyone.

His memories taught him that there were people who would mourn for him if he chose to tear himself apart.

Dying would make someone sad, yet living would make others mourn him.

“—Once more, I shall ask you, Natsuki Subaru.”

Echidna spoke, lowering her tone as Subaru shook his tangled thoughts.

When he lifted his face, he saw Echidna standing directly before him with a single finger raised.

As her gaze met his, Echidna slowly nodded.

“If I assist you, you will surely reach the future where you can save the people you want to save. You won’t even need to worry. To put it bluntly, I will resolve the problems you face. You simply need to charge ahead, focusing solely on breaking through walls. If it’s too painful to keep worrying, letting me take care of everything is one option. I won’t hold it against you, and in a way, I would welcome it. So now, once more, I ask you,”

“—”

“Would you let me guide your hand when you don’t know what to do? I promise I will lead you to the future.”

With that gentle tone, Echidna extended her hand to Subaru.

Looking down at her white fingertips, waiting for an answer as she looked into his eyes, Subaru held his breath.

It was a similar call as when he had previously rejected her.

Back then, Subaru had come to understand Echidna’s true nature and feared the overwhelming curiosity that drove her.

But what about now? After a few moments, if he thought over her words in a calm manner, what was it like?

Treating life as a disposable commodity, conducting all sorts of trial and error, aggressively breaking through obstacles through sheer dominance. While receiving advice from Echidna, even while Subaru continued to tire himself emotionally in battle, how was that more different than his own resolve to continue fighting alone, should he reject her cooperation?

He stubbornly rejected her for not being able to suppress his loathing for Echidna’s attitude.

But if he had the true readiness to sacrifice everything, he should have turned a blind eye to Echidna’s true nature and used her, just as she said.

If even that could persist along the same road he had denied, what meaning held his refusal?

He should take her hand.

If he had the determination to face hurt without fear, to swallow the harshness and pain and continue fighting, he should have taken that hand.

So,

“Echidna.”

“—”

“I’m afraid of being hurt.”

“—”

“I don’t want to feel pain, or despair, or sadness. I don’t want to see anyone else suffer. —I don’t want to die.”

“—”

“So, I can’t take your hand that’s laced with the premise of sacrifice anymore.”

What could Subaru actually do? Even he didn’t fully understand that yet.

But choosing the same path Echidna proposed, he could no longer seem possible.

He’d realized he didn’t want to die.

He had learned that he wasn’t just someone who could only contribute by dying, that there were people who acknowledged him without him having to die.

Natsuki Subaru was not a man whose only value lay in dying.

The people who mourned Subaru’s “death” did not see the worth in his demise; they grieved for something greater about him.

Then what was that something they cherished in him?

“I still don’t know what that is. —But I’ll search for it. If I can grasp that, I feel I might repay them in forms other than ‘death.’”

“…But that path is thorny, Natsuki Subaru. To accept ‘death’ as a tool to pave the way while chipping away at yourself is undeniably the roughest, quickest route to the future. All it required was your heart. To deny that and try to grasp both your heart and the future of your loved ones is far too challenging, and above all—”

Echidna paused her words, taking a breath.

Then, she smiled, the most alluring smile she had ever worn.

“—You’re greedy.”

The ‘Witch of Greed’ received Subaru’s decision with an elated expression.

Even after being refused her proposal, the smile of the witch still managed to elude Subaru’s comprehension.

All the same,

“It’s true that you’ve helped me numerous times. …Even if deep down you only saw me as some kind of experimental subject, that’s still true.”

Echidna had indeed been a source of support that helped him through difficulty.

So he was grateful for the time she gave him, grateful for the small measure of breathing space she had provided to defend his heart.

“—The foolish and pitiful Garfiel fears the outside world.”

“…Eh?”

“That which that child saw in the first ‘Trial’ has kept him bound for so long. If you aim to break this situation on your own, you’ll need to free him from that bondage.”

“Echidna?”

“When the other witches treated you kindly, it would be quite nonsensical if I were the only one to offer nothing. I refuse to have you think, ‘All the witches were good, but Echidna was the only bad one in the end.’ I am, after all, a girl too, and it’s a fact that I’m favorably inclined toward you.”

Rapidly speaking, Echidna lightly poked Subaru’s chest with her hand.

Pushed back by that force, when Subaru lifted his face, he found Echidna turning her back to him. With her white hair flowing, the ‘Witch of Greed’ distanced herself from Subaru.

The other witches also quietly watched him.

“…To me, you guys are all incomprehensible.”

“—”

“I’m on the verge of losing my sanity, with how confusing everything gets, and even now, I’m still pissed off about what you just said. You can’t just have a discussion about stuff I don’t know above my head, so there’s no way I’m going to like any of you.”

That was his true sentiment.

Each witch had their own unwavering values, which were so clearly incompatible with his—no, with those of ordinary people.

That’s why Subaru couldn’t understand them, nor could he agree with their actions.

However, just as he felt with Echidna, understanding and gratitude were two distinct things.

“Thank you for trying to let me die. Thank you for not allowing me to die. Thank you for letting me hear the important voices. —That’s what I want to say.”

Bowling his head to each witch, the surprised reactions they elicited felt refreshing.

Then Subaru turned around, starting to walk away.

Ahead of him, there was still the girl kneeling in the grass—Satella.

She looked up at Subaru as he drew near, breath hitching in her throat.

Seeing her frightened, like a small child, left Subaru speechless.

Why did a warm feeling fill his heart for someone he once found so abhorrent?

What was this emotion he held towards someone with whom he had never shared a bond?

This place had given Subaru far too many questions he couldn’t answer.

Without delivering a single answer, Subaru chose to reach out to the witch who was seated.

She looked curiously at the hand extended toward her.

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know why you tell me you love me, nor do I understand what you mean when you say I saved you.”

“Ah…”

“But it’s a fact that I’ve been saved by the ‘return by death’ you granted me. I’ve managed to stay afloat so far by relying on it.”

“――――”

“Could it be that the ‘return by death’ is just one option for me?”

“――――”

“And it’s your belief that not relying on it is how I love myself…?”

“――――”

“It isn’t something I can simply fathom. —But with certainty, it’s undeniable that you, who granted me ‘return by death,’ made me want to live.”

So,

“Just like you said, I’ll try just a little longer… to like myself. To treasure myself. I don’t know what will come from that, but it’s fine.”

“…Are you okay?”

“Yeah… Compared to dying, it’s really not that big of a deal?”

In response to Satella’s worried voice, Subaru managed a weak smile.

Seeing that expression, Satella took his hand with an air of relief.

In the next moment, Subaru heard the sound of the world cracking.

The blue sky and green grass faded, and Natsuki Subaru was released from the dream castle.

“—Am I going back outside?”

What was happening, how did he get here, it all blurred around him.

What should he do once he got out? The turmoil within had muddied even that.

“Don’t struggle alone. With the people who care for you…”

“—”

“Fight alongside those who don’t want you to die, and those you don’t want to let die… Even if it still feels futile, don’t forget to let go of your fear of death.”

“—”

“Don’t forget that there are those who would be sad if you died—”

The world shattered with a sound.

Satella’s voice grew distant, and that very distance tore at Subaru’s heart.

The warmth of their connected palms felt significantly hot.

Something in him insisted that he couldn’t let go of this hand.

“—I…”

Words of call almost escaped him.

He couldn’t call her name, couldn’t bring himself to speak Satella’s name. The feelings of wanting to reject her and wanting to embrace her waged a war inside of him.

The sky fell. The ground split. Light burst forth, shattering the visage of the dream castle.

The witches’ forms vanished, leaving only Subaru and Satella in the world.

They were fading. They were beginning anew.

—Before the girl in front of him, Subaru gazed on in silence.

“———”

Suddenly, the curtain of darkness fell.

The pitch blackness that his subconscious had denied came forth washed away.

And upon seeing the face that peeked from below, Subaru drew in a breath.

As Subaru held his breath, Satella brushed her silver hair, narrowed her purple eyes, and through the corners of her eyes, tears fell as she said,

“And someday—without fail, come to kill me.”

She vanished.

She faded away.

The world dissipated, and the figure of the cherished girl disappeared from sight.

“I will surely—”

Gripping tightly, as if to confirm the warmth of her palm, Subaru declared, “—I will save you.”

He uttered that to the beloved girl who was no longer visible.