The first strike was delivered without holding back, and it was halted by teeth clenching down.

“――――”

Roy Alphard, the ‘Archbishop of Gluttony,’ bit down on the end of the whip, waving his empty hands as though to show surrender. Subaru recognized the name Alphard—another star name!

“That guy has a star name too—!”

“Subaru-sama, that conversation is over! Here I come!”

With Subaru violently yanking the whip, Alphard released his weapon with barely a trace of regret. At that moment, Crusch threw a powerful attack from the side directly at Alphard.

The blade of the raging wind swept across the first-floor lobby of City Hall, sending overturned chairs and anything that had been on the reception counter flying away.

Naturally, the cutting strike mercilessly attacked Alphard, who was within range—

“Whoa, awesome! But it’s quite an impressive trick, you know!”

“――っ!?”

The boy managed to dodge the blade of the invisible wind by dramatically leaning backward. He put his head on the floor as if doing a bridge and rolled backward.

From a crouched position, he showed a stance like a sprinter about to take off, his face rising up with a grin.

“As an attack, it has a good form, but it might catch our allies too, and it’s all too obvious—doesn’t look too appetizing for us!”

The instant he finished his quip, Alphard kicked the floor and his small body shot forward like a bullet.

His small frame leapt with sharp fangs bared wide, giving the impression of a ferocious wild dog. But the level of danger was far beyond that of any wild canine.

Crusch held her sword vertically, bringing it down towards his face. However—

“Good form, but lacks polish! It’s just below appetizer level for us!”

“――Uah!”

As the strike swung down, Alphard’s right hand swung and deflected Crusch’s sword with a high-pitched sound. Upon closer inspection, it was evident that both of Alphard’s hands were wrapped in cloth, with dagger blades protruding from around his wrists.

Alphard fought using speed and agility, equipping daggers in both hands.

The left dagger aimed directly for Crusch’s throat, but she twisted her body just in time to evade it. However, she took a kick from Alphard while he spun through the air, sending her slender form flying sideways.

“Ah, ugh!”

“Crusch-san!”

“That other person shouldn’t be distracted either! In fact, you’re the easiest target!”

As Crusch slid across the floor, Alphard targeted Subaru, who had lost focus, once again kicking the ground. In the dim light, the figure of ‘Gluttony’ clad in ragged clothing blended with the shadows, and in an instant, Subaru lost sight of him—

“Sorry, but…”

“It’s been proven that he’s the best bait, especially from the time of ‘Sloth’!”

“Wha—!?”

By choosing the careless Subaru as his target, Alphard inadvertently exposed his own openings.

Feeling the weight of his own powerlessness, Subaru promised himself not to act rashly, even as his blood rushed to his head. He bit his lip, channeling the pain to keep his focus and allow the most capable person in the room to take the lead.

A silent dagger thrust approached Alphard, who had been mid-air, executed by Julius.

Alphard twisted in midair as he realized in an instant, but Julius, the finest knight, accurately slashed across his torso, causing bright blood to splatter as ‘Gluttony’ tumbled to the floor.

“Whoa! That’s a surprise—”

“Then let’s keep the surprise going. Bloom, my buds!”

As Alphard rose while slamming the floor, Julius stepped in to prevent him from finishing his line, followed by a barrage from the spirit he summoned.

The dimly lit lobby was illuminated in a rainbow of colors as the aurora surged toward ‘Gluttony’ from behind Julius.

“Spirit user!”

“I hope it pleases you, gourmet. Each of these buds is a child destined to bloom into a magnificent flower.”

“Such a smug attitude, none of us really like that!”

Seeing the aurora set the world ablaze, Alphard shouted as he leapt back. Julius’s slender sword chased after him, and the array of blades was relentless in cornering Alphard, who tried to back away.

“——’Little Girl User’!”

“Don’t call me that, ‘Yuri’!”

“Take the ‘War Maiden’ upstairs! Stop the broadcast!”

Calling each other by hidden names, Julius declared he would take on Alphard.

As he helped the coughing Crusch up, Subaru realized this was the most rational decision, yet he was momentarily unable to nod in agreement.

The boy who was jumping around and cursing was ‘Gluttony.’

He was the arch-enemy Subaru had been searching for, for over a year. Defeating him was undoubtedly Subaru’s most significant and pressing goal.

Letting that slip by—

“Okay, understood. Yuri-sama, may you have good fortune!”

“——!”

However, before Subaru could voice his turmoil, Crusch stood up and responded to Julius, the look of regret on Subaru’s face rising as he witnessed her.

Crusch was also a victim who had her memories stolen by ‘Gluttony.’

It was only natural that she’d been considering avenging those memories she didn’t even remember. Still, she prioritized her duty and delegated the fight against ‘Gluttony’ to others.

Putting emotions aside, it was clear that their abilities didn’t stack up. Subaru and Crusch were facing the same decision at that moment.

“Now then, let’s see what we’ll do. We could go either way, you know? A nobody girl and a nobody guy might just serve to warm up before the main course. That ‘Yuri’ guy over there could nibble, gnaw, munch, lick, gobble, bite, rip, crush, and gorge himself!”

“Better not say anything unnecessary. I, Yuri, have no intention of just being eaten!”

As the aurora carved through the limited space, Alphard laughed nonchalantly. Julius chased after him, the sound of their swords clashing resonated throughout.

During that, Subaru and Julius briefly exchanged glances.

Though the gaze conveyed nothing to Subaru—

“Ah, crap! I get it! You better not lose!”

“That’s our line. You just need to survive. No, more importantly, don’t die!”

“Let’s go, ‘Little Girl User’!”

Rubbing his head, he set everything frustrating aside and bolted forward.

He at least wanted to move ahead of Crusch, but it was pretty pathetic that she was the one who could react to a sudden ambush.

Chasing after the injured Crusch, Subaru hurried up the stairs. Before they ascended, they took a last glance at Julius and Alphard fighting.

Julius seemed to have the upper hand in the battle. But leniency would be foolish.

“Move out!”

“—Damn!”

Noticing Subaru’s gaze, Julius never once let his guard down.

Annoyed, Subaru silently fumed while making excuses in his head. He couldn’t afford for Julius to collapse before he could take his revenge. Subaru then followed Crusch, soaring up the stairs.

As they cautiously moved through the landing, aiming for the top floor—

“Subaru-sama, I’m so sorry. Under normal circumstances, you should be the one taking on ‘Gluttony’…”

“Stop it, Crusch. No one thinks it’s your fault.”

While peering at the upper floor, Crusch quietly voiced her apology. But the frustration was mutual. Mutual wounds wouldn’t heal simply by apologies.

Moreover, being apologized to made Subaru feel as if he wanted to blame her, which he hated.

“…I’m sorry, Rem. Just wait a little longer for me.”

Calling the name of the girl who was still asleep in the mansion, Subaru sent heartfelt regret into the ether.

He truly wished to rush back immediately and tear that wickedly laughing Archbishop of Sin apart. What would be wrong if doing that could bring her back?

Doing so would surely incite chaos that might tip the very lives of many.

Thinking about that, if he didn’t act impulsively, it would undoubtedly be much easier.

Even though he knew doing so would get her to scold him when she woke.

“――――”

Holding his breath and biting back the surging emotions, Crusch said nothing to Subaru. Instead, she closed her eyes, seemingly regretting her previous apology, and resumed the march ahead.

City Hall was a five-story building, and Subaru and Crusch had already ascended to the fourth floor. The floors contained meeting rooms and offices, and judging by the signs around the landing, it was reasonable to assume that the broadcast room was on the top floor.

In other words—

“That means ‘Lust’ is there too…”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true. But really, can he fit in this corridor?”

Peering into the fourth-floor hallway, Crusch raised her brow in skepticism.

Her doubts were justified, and Subaru felt the same confusion.

The width of the fourth-floor corridor barely allowed four people to walk side by side.

From afar, the size of the black dragon pouvait be estimated like that of an elephant. There was no way he could fit down this building’s corridor.

Of course, it was possible he was bypassing the corridors, demolishing walls, and stuffing himself into rooms by sheer force—

“What do you think?”

“At the very least, we can assume there’s no ambush in the corridor. Crusch-san must think the same, right? The problem is the potential ambush in the broadcast room, but… it’s been quite some time since entering. They’re definitely preparing something.”

“…Yes, that’s what I think. They must have something set up in the broadcast room.”

“Thinking of it as a guaranteed location, that’s undeniable. Still, the people who should have been in City Hall haven’t been found yet. They might even be planning a hostage operation…”

The more he thought, the more bleak scenarios piled up in his mind.

This wasn’t something that could be resolved with pure might. Crusch’s fighting ability was decent at best, and she had claimed her magical expertise was lackluster. Subaru was also in pain after Beatrice’s withdrawal from the frontlines. Not to mention, upon closer inspection, he noticed blood seeping from his right leg.

“You can’t rush into the tiger’s den without knowing the depth of it, can you? Once the battle outside settles, we should get down there and change the situation in a single swoop…”

“That would mean there’d be no reason for ‘Lust’ to delay the broadcast. It looks like we have no choice but to handle it ourselves, Subaru, don’t we?”

“The optimal method against an ambush…”

Crusch spoke with determination and stared deeply into Subaru’s eyes.

Feeling the weight of that intense gaze, Subaru swallowed hard.

“Um, Crusch-san?”

“I’ve heard from Wilhelm. He says that in situations like this, Subaru-sama is the one to elucidate the optimal resolution. I believe that too.”

“That’s a heavy trust!”

Crusch’s expectations, based on Wilhelm’s overestimation, shadowed Subaru, who had once been perceived poorly.

With the crushing weight of expectation, Subaru strained to think within the shortened timeframe, finally making a decision.

“What can we do about the ambush…”

“Yes.”

“If the opponent expects us to wait normally, then… we’ll shatter that expectation.”

“`

 

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