Chapter 401. The Fierce Struggle of the Final Battle
"What a truly moving friendship... or so I'd like to say, but considering Mr. Hachiman has only known Mr. Julius for twenty-odd days, part of his encouragement probably involves deliberate rhetoric."
Otto, wearing his green hat, sighed with deep emotion.
"However, even if it is rhetoric, to be able to make one's blood boil and feel so inspired—that makes it the strongest kind of speech."
He, too, wished to be gifted such rhetoric.
Looking across the five men from both worlds who had the closest relationships with Hachiman—Hayama Hayato, Garfiel, and Julius had all received such gifts in succession. Only he and Reinhard remained.
"But looking at it from another perspective, it means Mr. Hachiman thinks Reinhard and I are both so strong that we don't need his encouragement! Yeah, let's go with that!"
Dragging Reinhard into his logic, a salty Otto forced himself to find comfort. At this moment, he could more or less empathize with Crusch's state of mind.
"Tch!"
Back in the Sanctuary, Garfiel clicked his tongue. At such a critical juncture, he—the man who claimed to be the General's shield—was absent once again. Even though that was the status quo established since Watergate City, he still felt extremely frustrated with his future self.
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「Drawn by Julius's invigorated will, the six quasi-spirits he was contracted with actually underwent an evolution and metamorphosis at this moment. Flowers bloomed, offering him even greater assistance for the battle against the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman took off running. Reading his silent hint, Julius fought while retreating. The two of them gradually lured Roy toward the edge of the tower where Shaula was located, intending to use the combined force of two powerful combatants to kill Roy in one fell swoop.」
「But when Hachiman reached the destination, his pupils suddenly shrank. Within his line of sight, Shaula's face was contorted in agony as she fought a violent struggle against an internal command. One of her hands had already transformed from a human appearance into a massive, terrifying scorpion pincer.」
「"Master, run—! The tower has been damaged, the rules violated. I can't control it anymore... I'm going to kill all visitors, Master!"」
「Shaula no longer had the leeway to perform the Infinite Hell Snipe. Yet the rumbling continued; Mabeasts that had slipped through the cracks had reached the base of the tower and were dismantling it, thereby triggering one of the four rules: "Do not damage the tower."」
「When the rules were violated, she would lose her sense of self and turn into a cold killing machine, slaughtering all outsiders... Shaula's original warning had contained not a shred of exaggeration. Half of her body had already transformed into a giant scorpion radiating boiling killing intent.」
「"I command you to return to normal! I command you to retain your self! I command you to do as you wish—didn't you say you'd listen to anything I say? Then follow my orders properly!?"」
「Stopping in his tracks, Hachiman shouted desperately. Shaula's face showed an expression of apology; she wanted to say a final goodbye to her Master, but her voice was gradually drowned out by the roar of the scorpion.」
「"I am... Master's prize pupil... Star-Guardian Shaula... I will carry out all of Master's orders! That's why... this time... there really is no way... Master... Ah, AHHH...!"」
「Six bloody compound eyes stared coldly at Hachiman, locking onto him as a suspect in the damage to the Pleiades Watchtower. A powerful scorpion pincer swung down violently, smashing a massive hole into the floor of the fourth floor with a single strike.」
「Hachiman dodged the attack. Looking at Shaula controlled by her directives, he had no time for sentimentality. He immediately turned and ran toward Roy's location, leading the transformed Shaula right to him.」
「"Haha! How does it feel to have your own disciple try to kill you?! Well? How is it? What will you do? How will you solve it? How will you react?"」
「Roy mocked the weak Hachiman. Although the man had created miracles and reversed impossible situations several times, the "feast" that was Hachiman had already been nibbled on by his older brother and younger sister. Roy didn't take this man seriously at all.」
「By extension, he didn't care about this man's disciple either.」
「...Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!」
「Roy, who had charged forward with a grin, was suppressed by the scorpion's brute force due to his carelessness. He was seized and slammed several times, coughing up blood. "How can she be this strong!?"」
「He had originally thought that, because of the grand plan to seize the Authority of Return by Death, he shouldn't eat Hachiman's memories yet. He intended to taste the disciple as a "dessert" instead, but he never expected this situation.」
「However, Shaula wasn't targeting only Roy. Julius, who hadn't been able to retreat in time, was also caught up. Unable to escape under the storm-like offensive, he was forced to fight alongside the Sin Archbishop against this ally-turned-scorpion.」
「While countering Shaula, Julius constantly maintained distance from Roy to avoid having his memories or existence eaten in the chaos.」
「Roy cursed inwardly. He linked his thoughts to his brother still in the Mabeast Desert, telling Ley to get over here immediately. Hachiman was more capable than expected; two people already trusted him completely, and the others were likely the same.」
「They had to erase Hachiman's existence once again on this trip. Otherwise, he might consolidate his strength and become as formidable as he was before the amnesia, rendering their plans moot.」
「"We're tied up here, get over here now!"」
「"You selfish piece of trash, you think we're free either? That arrogant woman is hot on our heels! All those Mabeasts couldn't stop her completely! Damn it, damn it, damn it! You useless failure! Because you're useless, you're useless! ——Fine, okay, sure, alright, we're coming!"」
「Ley commanded the massive horde of Mabeasts attacking the tower to change targets, swarming toward Priscilla, who was galloping from behind with the Sun Sword in hand, to stall her progress.」
「Ley's speed exploded as he surged toward the Pleiades Watchtower.」
「He had had enough. No matter what method he used or how secret a place he fled to, that arrogant woman would always catch up to him the next day. By dusk, she would let him go, calling it "sparing your dog's life."」
「He was sick to death of that woman.」
「But not anymore. With the Mabeasts and his brother, once he swallowed Hachiman's existence, he and Roy would leave the tower and surround Priscilla in the desert to devour her memories, her existence, and her body.」
「Before enjoying the main course, he would taste the dessert in place of that useless failure. Both he and Louis had already eaten Hachiman; this was supposed to be Roy's benefit, but since he couldn't handle it—」
「"Come on, come on, come on! Together with Rem, together with Rem! Even the memories, even the existence—melt them all into one with Rem! Then Rem can fulfill the duty of a hero, and no one will ever hurt Hachiman again, hee-hee~!"」
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