Chapter 402. Help Yourself
「Without Shaula's fire support, even with some forces diverted to pin down Priscilla, the massive Mabeast horde continued to press in step by step, ravaging the entire Pleiades Watchtower. An increasing number of Mabeasts flooded into the fourth floor.」
「By this time, the Green Room had also become extremely dangerous. Ram helped Rem and Anastasia onto the back of a ground dragon, subsequently fleeing into the trial grounds of the second floor.」
「Reid was just about to mock the arrival of several weak, female, and sick stragglers—wondering if there wasn't a single decent person left to see, or if the capable women and refined underlings had all died out—when his peripheral vision caught the Mabeasts sliding in after Ram.」
「He gave a playful "Heh," casually waving his chopsticks and effortlessly slaying those eyesore bugs.」
「"Bored out of my mind... you lot, as a way to kill time, are much more comfortable than knocking over a few tender fish who have no will to fight, yeah? Are there more? Though you're weaker than the tender fish, your nerve to face my aura isn't bad. Come play with me!"」
「Ram retreated to the back with the two people she was protecting. She did not express gratitude for Reid's assistance, because Reid had no intention of helping them; he was simply finding it interesting and playing around.」
「At a time like this, one should remain silent. If one were to respectfully thank this coarse man, he might instead take notice and decide to slaughter them all together on a whim.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman, still left on the fourth floor, had now converged with Emilia, protected by the ice shields she created.」
「Emilia's mana capacity could be considered bottomless in a normal battle, but fighting thousands of enemies without a moment's rest while also diverting power to look after others was an intensity that made even her doubt if she could hold out forever.」
「"What is 'Sir' doing here? Although the examiner on the second floor has a foul temper, he wouldn't go as far as to deal a killing blow to you. Instead of seeking refuge there, you come here to be a burden to us. Is this intentional?"」
「For Emilia's sake, a panting Crusch gripped her sword hilt. If the Divine Protection of Wind hadn't shown that Hachiman wasn't lying before, she would have hacked this man into mincemeat by now.」
「But the Divine Protection of Wind could be deceived, especially by the Authorities of the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony—there were several ways to do it, which was why she hadn't blindly trusted the Hachiman of unknown origin.」
「Given the current development of events, her suspicion grew even deeper.」
「Hachiman had grievances he couldn't voice. Going to the second floor was obviously safe, but he was afraid. If he hid on the second floor and Batenkaitos tracked his location there, he might be smashed to pieces by a single strike from Reid.」
「Currently, there was no evidence to prove that once a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony died, the things they had swallowed would be spit back out. If Batenkaitos died so carelessly and other people's memories and existences were not restored, everything would be over.」
「Even if Hachiman's unreliable gamble lost this time, there would at least be a chance to try again. If Batenkaitos was killed directly by Reid's sword, it would truly be a case of spilt water being impossible to recover.」
「Explaining this reason would take some time, and the current situation was that he simply didn't have that time. Even with Emilia's ice shields, they had to keep moving to avoid Mabeast ambushes; these ice shields had gaps that could be exploited.」
「Meili, who had been Elsa's companion for years, narrowed her eyes slightly. She shared Crusch's view and wanted to eliminate Hachiman, this unstable and unknown factor.」
「Kicking away a grotesquely terrifying Mabeast, Emilia seized a moment of respite and quickly persuaded: "It's alright! Miss Crusch, I believe him. He definitely has some hardship, so please trust me!"」
「"Betty as well." Because Hachiman's existence had vanished, the contract could not function. Beatrice, whose mana was being used up bit by bit, utilized concise large-scale methods for every move. By now, her mana was nearly depleted.」
「"But—" The struggling Crusch still felt something was wrong. Before she could finish, her voice was interrupted by a sudden burst of mockery.」
「"Internal strife, internal friction, internal chaos, internal struggle, internal fighting—good, truly good, very good! Because it is very good, it is very good! How does it feel to be feared, excluded, doubted, and loathed by the friends and lovers you trusted, loved, saved, and showed kindness to? Truly sorry, Rem didn't protect you well, waaaah, how pitiable~"」
「The short and ugly Batenkaitos appeared treading atop the Mabeasts. He used Rem's voice and tone, then paused for a moment and laughed loudly: "Oh, oh, we forgot. You pitiable thing don't even remember your hero now, our mistake, truly sorry."」
「He was clearly doing it on purpose to mock Hachiman's lack of memory. This "killing the heart" tactic made Crusch realize instantly that Hachiman was indeed a trustworthy person on their side.」
「"He-yo! Give everyone's memories back!"」
「Emilia manipulated ice spears to smash toward him, but the mocking Ley easily neutralized them using the combat techniques of various strong experts he had devoured. His attitude became even more arrogant, mocking everyone present at every turn.」
「"Oh my, oh my, pitiable Lady Emilia. So pitiable all alone, so pitiable being scolded by everyone, pitiable, oh so pitiable. Rem is happy because she has a sister, hee-hee, it's because she sees lonely people like Lady Emilia that Rem is even happier~"」
「Emilia was not affected in the slightest. She raised an ice sword and charged, refuting Ley's fallacy: "Ram's sister wouldn't be that kind of person—I, Ram, Beatrice, Miss Crusch, Julius, Miss Anastasia, and Hachiman... the Rem that everyone is willing to risk danger for to find a way to save is absolutely not the kind of person you say she is. Stop slandering her!"」
「"Alas, what a shame. If it were the Lady Emilia from before the Sanctuary, she would have surely shrunk back and cried herself to death after hearing these words."」
「Batenkaitos's combat power was formidable; he appeared quite at ease while fighting Emilia. He glanced at Crusch, who was dealing with the Mabeasts, and giggled: "You've grown, huh? You've got half the coolness you had before the amnesia. But being so rough with him, having this rift... even if you get your memories back, you won't be able to pursue the Sir Hachiman you love anymore. Oh dear, oh dear~"」
「Crusch's gaze froze. "Wha...!?"」
「"You've certainly got a lot of spare time, Batenkaitos. Still not planning to come?"」
「Hikigaya Hachiman and Batenkaitos's eyes met. The latter kicked Emilia; she blocked with her ice sword and wasn't injured, but the impact sent her flying a dozen meters. Ley grinned, licked his lips, and dashed toward his delicious dessert.」
「"Yes, yes, indeed, quite so, indeed! Because you are powerful, you are powerful! To be able to regain the trust of several people so quickly, truly worthy, truly worthy, truly worthy of a monster of logic! —But it's useless! Because it's useless, it's useless! This time, not just your existence, but even part of your memories shall be reduced!"」
「"We're going to break our word! We want to break our word! This efficiency is too terrifying. We only had four times, but it's too fast, too fast, too fast!"」
「"Gourmet! Gluttony!"」
「"No! Get out of the way!"」
「As the panicked cries of Emilia and the others reached his ears, Hachiman remained motionless. It wasn't because he couldn't escape, but because he had been waiting for this very moment to appear.」
「"Then help yourself. Enjoy it with your whole heart, you goddamn fake!"」
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