Chapter 60. The End
Countless ice spears filled the sky, raining down on the two uninvited guests.
A massive icy tombstone appeared in the center of the forest—the strength of the elven clan's chief, protector of the seal, was beyond question.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she could defeat even Emilia when accompanied by Puck in his normal form.
However, Regulus continued to grumble incessantly.
The next second, the icy tombstone shattered.
Regulus casually patted the dust off his clothes—not a speck of dirt on him.
Pandora merely brushed back her wind-blown bangs with her fingers.
The overwhelming gap in strength was starkly displayed. The roaring flames of vengeance in one's heart seemed utterly laughable before such a power disparity.
["I'll stake my life to stop you from going any further!"]
Despairing, Petelgeuse suddenly came to his senses—Geuse stood resolutely, blocking the path of these overwhelmingly powerful enemies, buying time for Fortuna and Emilia to escape.
From within his robes, he retrieved a small black box.
From the conversation among the three, Petelgeuse could tell this object was extremely dangerous to himself.
But at the same time, the determination emanating from Geuse in the memory reached him clearly and powerfully.
— Ah, let me be the one to witness it... witness our final struggle.
As if foreseeing his future self's thoughts, Geuse swallowed the contents of the black box.
Something began to erode him.
His breath grew labored, blood tears streamed from his eyes, and his expression twisted into something grotesque. Anyone could see what kind of state he was in.
"Idiot~~"
Regulus scoffed and, of course, tried to pass by Geuse.
In that instant, the Unseen Hand suddenly grabbed Regulus's foot and hurled him backwards.
["Marvelous—those eyes dyed red, what do they reflect, Archbishop Romanee-Conti?"]
["Love."]
Geuse answered Pandora's question without hesitation.
Petelgeuse felt a torrent of emotions erupting from within him—he understood it must be how he had felt 100 years ago.
His body, as if scorched by fire, was still driven by that conviction. Or rather, by love.
At the same time, that familiar sensation also made Petelgeuse realize—even this love had been twisted, warped into something belonging to the witch.
— Just how much of myself has been distorted?
The thought appeared in his mind. His focus wavered, and the memory fragments became disjointed.
At some point, Fortuna had joined the battle.
Guilt welled up within him, but whatever she said next brought him a sense of relief and an indescribable happiness.
But Fortuna's arrival didn't change the outcome.
Even though only Regulus was actively attacking, the two of them were still completely overpowered.
Geuse lost his right hand, Fortuna had exhausted all her mana, and Regulus remained entirely unscathed.
The difference in strength was brutally clear, but there was no despair—only fulfillment.
The fulfillment of facing death together with the one he loved.
He had thought he would be captured here and then brainwashed, but the situation suddenly took a confusing turn.
Pandora unexpectedly chased Regulus away, healed Geuse and Fortuna's wounds, and then bypassed them entirely to go after Emilia.
["At last, I've caught up with you!"]
By the time Petelgeuse caught up with Pandora again, she was already standing before Emilia and the slightly ahead-of-her Fortuna.
"Geuse!"
"Lady Fortuna!"
Understanding Fortuna's intent to cooperate, Geuse quickly responded, and the two simultaneously released their strongest attacks at Pandora from both sides.
However, it was Fortuna who was pierced through the chest by the Unseen Hand.
Blood gushed from her mouth, splattering all over the young Emilia.
"Noooo~~"
"Stay calm, Geuse. Look at me. Don't run away."
"How—how could this happen!? What did I—what have I done!? Why did it become like this...?"
Smack.
The pain in his cheek brought an inexplicable sense of peace, like a child comforted after being scolded for a mistake.
"Did Geuse really want to kill Mama Fortuna?"
"How—how could I possibly! I..."
Emilia pressed her finger to Petelgeuse's lips and gently nodded.
"I knew it. So you don't have to explain anything, because I believe in you, Geuse. I already know—it was because of Pandora's authority that you were deceived and mistakenly killed Mama."
"But..."
"Mama Fortuna never blamed you in the end.
Thanks to your efforts, I'm still alive.
Of course, I know you've done many terrible things, so let's go apologize together.
Let's atone together.
Let's rescue everyone in the village who's still frozen.
Let's find Mama Fortuna together and fulfill her last wish.
And—there's still so much we need to do. What do you think, Geuse?"
As she spoke, she raised her fingers one by one, her eyes full of unwavering determination.
"You've really grown up. And you've become so strong."
Petelgeuse slowly stood up.
Because of the girl's words, he remembered—he remembered why he had mistakenly killed Fortuna.
He remembered who had twisted his thoughts.
The hatred in his heart burned with a desire to tear that witch into pieces. But—but more than revenge...
"Please, allow me to stay by your side to atone for my sins."
Petelgeuse chose to take Emilia's outstretched hand.
.
.
.
At the rendezvous point, Subaru first confirmed the casualties.
"If someone died near me, the name of the Shield of Sanctuary would be disgraced. Besides, there are only six people with weird powers anyway,"
Garfield proudly pounded his chest. Though he sounded a bit dramatic, it meant—
"No fatalities, and there were seven Fingers. One of them attacked the shelter but was taken down by Rem and Frederica working together."
The weak voice confirmed Subaru's suspicions—Otto, still injured, had appeared behind Subaru at some point.
"On my end, with the help of Crusch and the others, and Beatrice's efforts, we took care of the Great Rabbit."
Subaru patted Beatrice's head, and she puffed out her chest as if it were only natural—then promptly sent Garfield flying for calling her short.
"By the way, is it okay? Those guys were all your subordinates, weren't they?"
Subaru turned to ask Geuse, who had come to stand beside him.
"It's fine. They're sinners who, like me, deserve death.
My truly important subordinates are still frozen in the forest, waiting for us to rescue them.
Don't worry—undoing the Witch Cult's brainwashing isn't easy.
Even I, if separated from Lady Emilia for too long, could relapse into madness.
If that happens, please don't hesitate to kill me."
"Mm-hmm. Well, it looks like everything went well. Next is meeting up with Reinhild. I've made up my mind. Otto, be sure to help me out."
"???"
Seeing Otto's confused expression, Subaru smiled, patted his shoulder, then leaned in to whisper in his ear:
"I'm going to confess. So give me a hand, alright?"
"Ohh, I get it! Then first, tell me everything you know about this Reinhild."
"Huh???"
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