Arc 10 Chapter 37: Executor

Chapter 37: Executor
 
 '—Ggh… GIGAAAH!'

The instant the knife was pulled from Subaru's flank, lightning seemed to tear through his brain. His vision turned scarlet. He forgot how to inhale, how to exhale, and his internal organs seemed to writhe in agony.

—But that lasted only a few seconds.

Immediately afterward, his brain recovered enough to issue its commands, and he released a long, enormous breath. By the narrowest of margins, he had managed to return from the brink of death.

'All right. Just as planned…!'

'I won't let you die, but how about you go die anyway?'

Ferris whispered that curse directly into Subaru's ear. Still, Subaru knew perfectly well that he had done something reckless enough to deserve such a response. Ferris's anger was entirely justified. After all, Subaru's near-death experience had been dreadful enough, but Ferris's condition was scarcely any better.

—Both his arms had been severed below the elbows, leaving him in a horrifying state. Nevertheless, he had prioritized Subaru's treatment over his own recovery.

The two forearms that had prevented him from administering that treatment remained pinned to the wall by Reborn's enormous shears. Frankly, Subaru had envisioned a rather more elegant rescue operation.

'Ferris having his arms pinned to the wall was unexpected… And I wasn't counting on another enemy showing up. I thought I'd come up with a pretty safe, practically zero-risk plan, at least by my standards.'

'What part of that was zero-risk? You and White Sheep both nearly died!'

'But you were here, weren't you? That's why I figured we had a hundred percent chance of pulling it off.'

'…I'm not Reinhard, you know.'

'—Huh? I'm not Reinhard either. That's why we've both got our work cut out for us.'

Admittedly, saying both might have been rather presumptuous when speaking to Ferris, who possessed the ultimate trump card of healing magic. But wishing for abilities he did not possess would accomplish nothing. Subaru could only make the best possible use of the cards already in his hand.

And for the moment—

'—Crusch! Melty needs help!'

'Please!'

Like Subaru, Melty had been stabbed and urgently required treatment. Subaru shouted despite the pain pulling at his partially healed flank. Crusch responded by conjuring a current of wind, gently lifting the fallen Melty and sending her through the air. As her body traced an arc toward him, Subaru, still carrying Ferris against his back, invoked—

'—Invisible Providence.'

A third arm manifested. Using that unseen limb, Subaru somehow managed to catch the airborne Melty. The wound in her abdomen looked terribly painful. Yet when she looked up at Subaru, who had caught her, she managed to speak.

'…The plan was a success, wasn't it?'

'Yeah. You deserve Best Actress for that performance. —Ferris!'

'You don't need to tell me, you pair of idiots!'

Melty's strained but determined smile earned a thumbs-up from Subaru. As Ferris began treating her wound through Subaru, who held her in his arms, Subaru turned his attention once more to the cards available to him in their current predicament.

'—Cor Leonis! Restart, and full power!'

He reactivated the Authority he had been forced to suspend while approximately ninety-five percent dead. The Little King's ability to shoulder his companions' burdens resumed. Through it, Subaru took upon himself the effects of the uncontrollable emotional Overflow—the extraordinary ability Bellaris called Ring Finger.

—No.

With Ferris here, that was not the only burden he could assume.

'—Ngh… ah…'

'—Huh!? H-hey, what did you just do!? You suddenly started dying again!'

'J-just… took on two people's worth of damage… that's all… Yeah, baby…!'

Painful.

Agonizing.

But the plan had worked, and he was ultra-happy.

Those negative and positive sensations mingled within Subaru, and although he was still receiving treatment for severe injuries, he felt an almost irresistible impulse to leap for joy. Perhaps he should simply give in and start jumping. Melty was in his arms, Ferris was against his back, and both had become considerably lighter thanks to all the blood they had lost. He could probably bounce around with the two of them still hanging off him.

'…Don't tell me you're taking on Lady Crusch's abnormalities too? I don't know how you're doing it, but… Is this another one of those ridiculous spells you came up with alongside little Beatrice?'

'Ridiculous… is a bit harsh… Beako's creativity is always… absolutely prettylitious…'

'Shut up. Be quiet! —I'm going to heal that too.'

With Subaru being tossed about by those conflicting emotions, Ferris rested his chin upon Subaru's shoulder from behind and closed his eyes. His expression became serious as he began what was presumably an examination through mana. Treating Subaru's and Melty's severe wounds while simultaneously identifying the cause of an entirely separate affliction seemed an extraordinary feat. But Subaru had nothing except confidence that Ferris would manage it. 

And while he entrusted Ferris with counteracting the doubled burden imposed by Ring Finger—

'—Crusch! FIRE!'

He shouted encouragement to Crusch, who was moving swiftly to prevent their enemies from approaching. Crusch appeared to have joined the battle through the hole in the underground chamber's ceiling. She was engaged in a ferocious exchange of sword strikes with the man wielding the enormous single-bladed shears. Reborn, if Subaru remembered correctly. Until shortly before this, Crusch herself must have been suffering under the emotional upheaval caused by Overflow.

And yet—

'—Yes, Lord Subaru!'

The Crusch who answered while swinging her sword possessed a certain ease, as though some tightly stretched cord within her had finally slackened. Frankly, the change caught Subaru off guard. Concern for her welfare and a rather less noble curiosity about what had happened both tried to rise within him at once. He forcibly suppressed them. Whatever had changed within Crusch, it was clearly giving her strength. 

The proof was before his eyes.

'—Hah! Seiya!'

Crusch lunged forward with a sharp, decisive step. Reborn caught her attack upon his enormous shears, but his smaller body could not withstand the force of the impact and was hurled backward. He spun through the air, placed the soles of his feet against the wall toward which he was flying, and arrested his momentum.

—Only for a succession of wind blades to descend upon him.

The blades struck relentlessly, possessing a positively unreasonable combination of precise targeting and rapid-fire delivery. In addition to her exceptional swordsmanship, Crusch benefited from the efficient use of power made possible by her Divine Protection of Wind Indication. Within a battlefield the size of this underground chamber, her ability to dominate the surrounding area was extraordinary. And when one included the temporary increase in combat strength granted by her Dragon's Eye, she could comfortably rank among the strongest fighters Subaru knew. Caught in an assault that was practically an inescapable combination of attacks, even Reborn appeared to have lost the advantage.

'LIKE HELL I'LL LET YAAAA!'

'—!'

With a roar, something burst through the wind blades. 

A silver disc spinning at tremendous speed—

No.

It was Reborn's enormous single-bladed shears, hurled through the air. Crusch met the powerful projectile head-on with an upward slash, deflecting it. But Reborn seized the instant when her barrage of wind blades ceased. He kicked off the wall and launched himself through the air, recovered his deflected weapon in midflight, and widened the hole in the ceiling. 

—A rain of rubble descended.

Without a sound.

'This is ba—!'

The soundless collapse resembled a nightmare delivered without anyone remembering to add the finishing touches that would make it feel real. An absurd mass of stone was falling, like a building collapsing during a major earthquake. Yet the absence of noise prevented its enormity from registering properly. It almost felt as though reality itself were making a fool of them.

'————'

The enormous mass of the collapsing ceiling could not be intercepted with wind blades. Crusch deftly evaded the meteor shower of falling masonry. But when billowing dust swallowed her figure, Subaru became almost sick with worry for her safety. The swelling emotions he had taken upon himself, now doubled, threatened to make him collapse into tears and wailing on the spot.

'She won't be beaten by something like that! Don't underestimate Lady Crusch! —And Subaru, that goes for you too!'

'—Oh.'

The instant Ferris spoke, the tremendous flood of tears that had been building just behind Subaru's eyes abruptly retreated. The unbearable waves of emotion ebbed away. A short breath escaped his throat. It was liberation from Bellaris's poison, which had been threatening to consume him. And just as Ferris declared, having successfully outwitted Ring Finger, his mistress had not been so fragile that a shower of falling rubble could crush her.

'————'

A soundless leap tore through the curtain of dust. Crusch emerged from the smoke, using the falling debris as footholds. She sprang from one fragment to the next, rising toward the ceiling in a motion that resembled the collapse being played backward. Reborn, meanwhile, had driven his shears into the ceiling and was crawling along it upside down like a gecko. Crusch's trajectory exploited the silence, bringing her toward him from his blind spot. Then came her final leap. She kicked off a massive fragment of stone with enough force to send it flying, propelling herself straight toward Reborn.

—And the sound of that kick rang loudly through the silence.

Naturally, the noise alerted Reborn to her approach from his blind spot.

'—BELLARIS! IGNITE IT!'

The instant he shouted that command, Bellaris's voice rose from deep within the clouds of dust. She had disappeared beneath the falling rubble, and there had even been the possibility that Ring Finger had been crushed. Yet now her voice rang out, warm and sensual, as though singing of joy and affection.

'When two things that should never touch come into contact, it's dangerous, isn't it? —And that's what makes it wonderful!'

At that very instant, Crusch, who should have been rapidly closing the distance to Reborn in midair, swung her sword well before reaching him. It was not a wind blade. It was Magic Cleaving, a technique intended to cancel an enemy's attack. Through the divine skill of the Dragon's Eye, Crusch could sever the signs of magic before a spell was activated, preventing it from coming into existence. Now she attempted to intercept the phenomenon forming between herself and Reborn.

—But the hostile force she should have severed remained untouched.

And above Subaru and the others, colorful flames blossomed. Without a sound.

'Wha—'

To Subaru, Crusch's Magic Cutting had appeared flawless. Yet the sword technique that had completely suppressed Black Dog's magic failed to prevent the flames produced by Bellaris. And what strange flames they were. Rather than ordinary red, they burned blue, green, purple, and gold, bursting like fireworks.

'THIIIIS IS THE EEEEND!'

Crusch was sent falling by the resulting blast. Reborn, on the other hand, used the force of that same explosion to augment his leap, rapidly closing the distance between them. He raised his enormous shears, their blade sweeping toward Crusch's slender waist. Except for Reborn's shout, the entire confrontation resembled a muted action scene. It possessed an almost unbearable lack of reality. And as Subaru watched, his thoughts began to race at a furious speed.

'————'

Surely all the necessary cards were already in his hand.

—If he remembered what Melty had told him, every Beloved Child possessed a single extraordinary ability.

Silence and Long Way Around were straightforward enough to understand. Only Bellaris's Ring Finger had demonstrated powers that seemed fundamentally different from what Subaru had expected. The simple explanation that it stripped away people's emotional restraint was insufficient. Her ability differed in nature from the Authority wielded by the Sin Archbishop of Wrath. And whatever its true mechanism, it ought to explain the explosion that had just occurred as well. The explosion was not magic. There had been no preparation or gathering of power for a spell. If anything, the phenomenon resembled the activation of a trap. And Reborn had clearly seemed aware of what would happen.

There had to be a principle behind it.

There had to be an answer.

Thinkthinkthink.

Applyapplyapply.

Investigateinvestigateinvestigate.

Seethroughseethroughseethrough—

'—!'

His eyes became bloodshot. His mouth went terribly dry. And at precisely that moment, a faint odor brushed against his nostrils. It was an unpleasant stench resembling rotten eggs. That Subaru recognized its source was thanks to the fact that, during his compulsory school years, he had been a boy who absolutely loved experiments.

'CRUSCH! DON'T CUT IT! MAKE WIND!'

How much time had he spent thinking before shouting those words? By the time he spoke, Reborn was already moments away from reaching Crusch in midair. His blade swept toward her, threatening to strike.

—And just before it could reach her, wind blew.

It was probably an instinctive response. Crusch herself likely had not considered what she was doing. Wind erupted from the hand opposite the one holding her sword. It surged without any carefully chosen target and happened to send a current of air directly toward the approaching Reborn.

—And there, an orange-yellow explosion erupted.

'GWWWAAAH—!'

Reborn took the unexpected blast head-on. His body spun wildly before crashing onto the floor and tumbling across it. Watching him fall, Subaru instinctively clenched his fist. He had obtained confirmation that his deduction was correct.

'Amazing… Subaru, how did you…?'

'Ring Finger… Ring Finger, huh? Damn, that's an appropriate name!'

Amid the countless bursts of flame had come that unmistakable unpleasant odor.

—Sulfur.

It had been ages since Subaru had consciously noticed that smell. But the combination of sulfur, the flames that burned in colors other than red, and Crusch's failure to cut them with her anti-magic technique had allowed him to deduce the nature of Ring Finger. If those flames had been magical, Crusch would have severed them. Therefore, they were not magic.

'It's chemistry! Plain and simple! Her power lets her scatter substances into the air that shouldn't be mixed together!'

Certain chemicals enhanced the effects of the substances produced within the human brain when someone faced a crisis, switching the mind and body into a state prepared for combat. Bellaris's extraordinary ability produced a similar effect, forcibly driving its targets into a state of heightened excitement and stripping away the restraints upon their emotions. Consequently, negative emotions grew darker and more intense, while positive emotions were likewise magnified in force and fervor.

That was the true nature of Overflow. And the explosion had operated upon the same principle. Bellaris possessed an extraordinary ability to produce chemical substances and provoke reactions between them, obtaining whatever effects she desired.

'A shipping fanatic on the elemental level! In other words, despite acting like that, she's actually a science girl!'

'A science… girl? Is that a nickname for me? Giving someone a nickname means you love them, doesn't it…? I love you too…!'

'Subaru, you're the worst. What a cheater.'

'THAT'S SOME SERIOUS SLANDER!'

The person concealed within the clouds of soot had misunderstood his words, and now Ferris was reproaching him for it. It was an extremely unfavorable situation for Subaru.
Unfortunately, his misfortune was not finished.

'So you're the bastard who's been figuring out things you shouldn't…!'

Having suffered a direct hit from an ally's attack, Reborn turned his soot-blackened face toward Subaru. He had recognized that Subaru was the one who had exposed Ring Finger's true nature. More importantly, he had realized that Subaru was the linchpin of their entire formation. In an instant, Reborn kicked off the floor, directing all his murderous intent toward Subaru. Subaru attempted to shout a warning.

But—

'—SHUUUUT UUUUP!'

'————'

At that single command, Subaru's voice was extinguished. Ferris and Melty could no longer produce sound either. In a certain sense, Silence might have been the ability most incompatible with Subaru. After all, using words to bewilder his opponents was one of his favorite indirect methods of fighting. Without that option, he was almost completely helpless.

However—

—Invisible Providence.

On this occasion, Reborn might have been better off allowing Subaru to speak. The black, unseen hand extended straight from Subaru's chest. Yet it did not reach toward Reborn, who was charging directly at him.

Instead, it reached behind the three people huddled together, toward the staircase connecting the underground chamber with the floor above. That was the place where Subaru had entered the underground area and immediately been stabbed by Melty. A truly memorable location. There was a door separating the stairwell from the underground chamber.

—A door Melty had closed behind them when they entered.

And this was Kugelschreiber Castle.

The childhood home where Beatrice had once lived alongside the Witch of Greed.

In other words—

'—Huh?'

Reborn's red eyes widened at the sight revealed when the invisible hand opened the door. Beyond it stood a masked man. He had been sent here through Door Crossing from another location within the castle, following the connection provided by Cor Leonis.

—Love you, Bea—

'LIKE HELL I'LL LET YOU SAAAAY IT!'

With unforgivable rudeness, Reborn interrupted Subaru's declaration of love for his partner, who had once again proven how dependable she was even in such circumstances.
Reborn's roar forbade every piece of information within the area from becoming sound.
The resulting Silence spread throughout the underground chamber. Reborn's approaching footsteps, the breathing and shouts of Subaru and his companions, and even the first words of the newly arrived intruder—

All faded into emptiness.

Without a sound.

But amid that Silence, Subaru raised his hand high.

'————'

Without speaking, he pointed directly toward Reborn. Then he drew his upright thumb across his throat in a cutting gesture.

—In the next instant, green flames erupted without hesitation and engulfed Reborn from the front.

'GAAAAAAAH!'

Reborn cut through the blazing flames with a single stroke. Roaring, he burst through the curtain of fire. His entire body was covered in burns, his eyes blazed with fury, and he charged forward with his enormous shears raised high. But a front kick from Black Dog, who had already rushed past Subaru and the others, intercepted Reborn's torso. A tremendous impact spread through the air without a sound. Yet Black Dog's heel had been stopped by the shaft of Reborn's weapon.

'You keep pulling that same trick over and—GWOAH!?'

At that instant, a fighting staff swung diagonally across Reborn's face, wiping away his triumphant expression. It was Melty's counterattack, delivered with every ounce of strength she possessed as she sprang to her feet.

'Gah—'

With his nose broken and his front teeth shattered, Reborn recoiled and escaped the follow-up attacks with a backward somersault. As he retreated, he swept Melty's legs from beneath her. Black Dog caught the falling girl and supported her, preventing him from pursuing Reborn. But although Reborn had managed to withdraw, his moment of respite was brief.

'—Duchess Karsten. Crusch Karsten.'

'YOU…!'

The voice came from behind the retreating Reborn. There stood the Valkyrie, her green hair neatly gathered and secured with a ribbon. Her words were a beautiful declaration upon the battlefield. Reborn's head snapped upward. He expanded his field of Silence, dragging Crusch into the territory governed by his power.

—But the resistance was futile.

'————'

Without any need for sound, the wind swept swiftly through the chamber. A trail of golden light traced an arc through the air. Reborn raised his enormous shears to intercept her. They were struck aside. Then, with graceful movements stripped of every unnecessary motion, Crusch's sword danced. Its point advanced without the slightest deviation from its intended target. Straight toward Reborn.

'—Lady Crusch really is incredible.'

As Ferris murmured those words with profound feeling, the outcome of the battle was decided by a single stroke.
The blade slashed across both of Reborn's eyes. He clutched his face. And his agonized scream thundered throughout the underground chamber.

—No longer without sound.

It rang out, loud and clear, as though proclaiming his defeat to every corner of the castle.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　                                △▼△▼△▼△

'Kuhahaha! Looks like you've all taken quite the beating! Battered, bruised, and covered in blood, and one of you's even gone and lost both his hands! There's forgetfulness, and then there's forgetting where you left your own limbs!'

'P-please don't talk like that, Black Dog! Subaru and Blue Snake and Emerald Beauty were all fighting desperately…!'

'It's fine, Melty. Don't worry about it. He's probably just embarrassed. He got himself knocked out through sheer carelessness, and because of that, he showed up late when we needed him most.'

Subaru shrugged at Melty's protest. Hearing that, Black Dog let out a suspicious, 'Meltyyy?'

He exchanged his mask for one bearing an angry expression, then looked back and forth between Subaru and Melty.

'Well, well, what's this? You two seem awfully friendly! She's even gone and told you her name! Were you getting all cozy with him while this dog was away? You wicked woman!'

'W-wicked woman? But I haven't…!'

'That's enough already! We just won a battle through some beautiful teamwork, understanding each other without even needing words! You reacted perfectly back there, Black Dog. Nice work.'

'Kuhaha! Pure chance and coincidence! Your precious, adorable little girl had already filled me in, you see! Otherwise, how the hell was I supposed to come through a door into some place I've never seen before and immediately know what to do?'

'…Yeah. I really owe Beako for this one.'

Most likely, Beatrice had remained constantly aware of the connection linking her to Subaru through their contract, even while treating Black Dog's injuries. She had kept herself prepared to respond immediately should Subaru attempt to reach her. Thanks to that preparation, the moment Ferris rescued Subaru from the brink of death, Beatrice had been able to use Cor Leonis as a guide and send reinforcements through the familiar Door Crossing, now that Long Way Around had been lifted from the castle.

'She really saved us. …When our fighting strength got torn apart by everyone turning on each other, I had no idea how we were going to get through this.'

'—When you put it that way, I can only feel ashamed. A great deal of the blame belongs to me.'

Crusch lowered her eyes as she spoke.

'Ah…'

Subaru faltered, realizing too late how his words might have sounded. There was something subdued, almost demure, about Crusch's manner. It was different from the straightforward, resolute bearing of the Crusch Karsten he had known during the past two months—the woman who had seemed so much like her former self.

—Subaru had been practically dead for much of the recent confrontation, so he did not know the details, but apparently this change had begun some time before. 

In short, the Crusch he had believed had returned to her former self, before her memories were stolen, had apparently been playing that role all along. 

And the reason for that was probably—

'—Lady Crusch, your injuries. Please allow me to treat them.'

Ferris, who had just fought so desperately to save them, now offered to tend the wounds Crusch had sustained during her own fierce battle. Perhaps her decision to present herself as the person she had once been had been made with Ferris in mind. And although Ferris must have understood that, he did not bring it up. Crusch frowned at his silence.  But more than that, the sight of his terrible injuries drew a startled breath from her.

'Your…! Never mind me, we need to deal with your arms! We have to reattach them immediately!'

'There's no need to panic like that, Lady Crusch. You're the one who cut them off, remember?'

'That's precisely why I'm saying it! They should have been cleanly severed, but can you reattach them!?'

Since Ferris had deliberately postponed treating his own arms, he must have possessed some reliable means of restoring them afterward. But he made no effort to reassure Crusch of that. Instead, he simply allowed her to become increasingly flustered. And in that exchange, Subaru sensed something of the familiar warmth that had once existed between the two. Things were not entirely as they should be yet, but at the very least, their relationship seemed closer to what it had been in Priestella.

However, just then—

'…What the hell are you all getting so damn friendly for?'

A voice rose from the depths of the chamber, sounding like a curse dragged up from the bottom of the earth. Someone had decided to spoil their moment of victory. Subaru and the others whirled around. Before them, Reborn staggered to his feet, using his enormous single-bladed shears as a walking stick.

Both his eyes had been slashed, robbing him of his sight. He ought to have been incapable of fighting any longer. Yet his features were twisted with hatred, and hostility and murderous intent poured from him without restraint.

'Give it up! Stop already! We've figured out the trick behind your Silence! You can switch sounds on and off within your field of vision, right? That's why you couldn't erase a voice coming from behind you. And now that you've lost your eyes…'

'SO WHAT!? YOU THINK I CAN JUST BACK DOWN BECAUSE OF THAT!? Bellaris! Take away the pain! Tornel! Stop dragging your damn feet and put Long Way Around back up!'
Spittle flew from Reborn's mouth as he slammed his shears violently against the floor and shouted orders to his allies.

Indeed, Bellaris's ability could probably stimulate the effects of adrenaline and suppress his pain.

But she did not answer. 

Between her injuries and the blood she had lost, she had ceased moving altogether. Whether she was merely unconscious or already dead, she was in no condition to grant his request. And the third Beloved Child, who had yet to reveal himself, showed no sign of responding either. It was pitiful, but Reborn had reached a point where all that remained was to await the finishing blow. Yet neither his standing as one of the Beloved Children nor his own temperament would ever permit him to surrender. Even after realizing that no help was coming from his allies, he turned his bloodstreaked face toward Subaru and the others.

'Is that how it is? Fine by me… I'll just kill every last one of you bastards myself, and—'

'—No. That's enough. You've all gone much too far already.'

—In that instant, a voice rang out that belonged to none of those who had been present in the underground chamber.

'————'

Subaru and the others caught their breath in astonishment. A single figure dropped through the enormous hole in the ceiling. He landed lightly between them and Reborn, placing himself in front of the blood-covered man as though shielding him, and faced Subaru's group.

A slender, elegant figure. A black hat. At his waist hung a curved sword shaped like a crescent moon. Subaru recognized him. And surely Crusch and Ferris would recognize him as well. Subaru had considered the possibility that they might someday find themselves confronting this man. But he had never imagined that he would appear here, of all places, protecting the Beloved Children.

The newcomer was a pastor of the Divine Dragon Church, a handsome young man who served as Filoere's bodyguard.

'—Tiga.'

'————'

At the sound of his name, the young man—Tiga Laureon—closed one eye and furrowed his brow. There was no doubt that the name belonged to him. But that was not what had prompted his suspicious expression. The problem was the person who had called out to him. It was neither Subaru, nor Crusch, nor Ferris.

'—Melty?'

Subaru caught his breath as he turned toward the girl who had unexpectedly spoken Tiga's name. Melty had raised both hands to cover her mouth. Her large, round eyes were wide as she stared at Tiga. There was unmistakable agitation in those eyes. And beneath it, an immense joy she could not quite conceal.

'—?'

Tiga, on the other hand, appeared to have no understanding of the powerful emotion Melty was displaying. He regarded the girl staring at him with such intensity, clearly puzzled by her reaction. For a moment, Tiga's sudden appearance and the complicated atmosphere surrounding the two of them cast a strange silence over the chamber. 

Then—

'—Tiga, do you know that girl, ya know?'

A small presence leaned forward from Tiga's shoulder as it spoke.

—It was a squirrel-like spirit, with a curled tail and a face that was as adorable as it was impudent. Tiga had arrived accompanied by a spirit none of them recognized. At the spirit's question, he shook his head.

'No. I don't believe we've met.'

'—!'

Melty's expression clouded at his answer.

'But she sure looks like she knows you, ya know. And besides… there's no mistake about it. That one over there, the big guy wearing that weird getup. —He's my contractor, ya know.'

'Haaah? What in the world is that tiny little spirit running her mouth about!?'

Black Dog reacted indignantly to the spirit's declaration. Melty had been shaken by Tiga's answer, while the spirit had somehow identified Black Dog as her contractor. There were clearly connections and relationships among those present that Subaru could not begin to understand. But the first person to lose patience with the situation was not Subaru or any of his companions. It was Reborn, the man Tiga had placed himself in front of to protect.

'You bastard! Executor! What the hell do you think you're doing!? This was supposed to be our job—'

'—Your time is up. The situation has changed. I hadn't intended to rush in here like this either, but after something that conspicuous happened, I didn't have much choice.'

'Something conspicuous? Mind telling me what happened, my friend?'

Subaru interrupted the exchange between Reborn and Tiga. Tiga raised an eyebrow slightly. At Subaru's pointed use of my friend, the corner of his mouth twisted.

—For some reason, the expression seemed faintly self-deprecating.

Subaru frowned.But before he could voice his suspicions, Tiga answered his question.

What extraordinary event had occurred?

The answer was—

'This castle has emerged from the alternate dimension into our world. —Right now, it's attracting attention from all across the kingdom.'

—After four hundred years of silence, Kugelschreiber Castle had taken to the skies.

— AshTLs