Chapter 405. Miscalculation
"Everything they swallowed has been vomited out during the spasms... In other words, after all this time, Rem is finally going to wake up?"
Visible joy radiated from Ram's face. In this moment, she had no room for thoughts of romantic rivalry; she was smiling purely for the health of her sister.
It was like the sun breaking through the clouds. After a long year and a half, she would finally see her "world's greatest," energetic little sister again.
Ram turned to look at her sister in pleasant surprise, while Rem gazed back at her sister with a face full of murderous intent. After the initial joy, the only thing left was the desire to see them die—the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony must die, the three siblings must die; Ley, Roy, and Louis must all go to hell.
At a time like this, even the most love-stricken person wouldn't be thinking about petty rivalries. They, and they, and every single person across two worlds held but one unified thought. It was the ultimate prayer, eventually evolving into a collective shout that shook both worlds:
"—Let the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony all rot in hell!"
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「As if waking from a very long dream, Hikigaya Hachiman let out a soft, sleep-talker's sigh. Memories surged back; his soul returned to its vessel.」
「There was no "clash" between his pre-amnesia and post-amnesia selves, nor any profound dialogue between them. He had held one consistent viewpoint from the start: whether memories were lost or not, Hikigaya Hachiman was Hikigaya Hachiman.」
「"A shining 'Genuine' like myself—what reason would I have to split into two people and lose one of them? That would be turning into a 'Fake.' Hikigaya Hachiman has simply reclaimed what he lost, and that is all."」
「Opening his eyes and raising his head, he integrated back into this world and this reality as if only a day had passed.」
「Lost confidence and growth flowed back. Hachiman's gaze became razor-sharp, quickly scanning the surroundings to grasp the current state of the battle.」
「Having endured the impact of countless deaths, Batenkaitos was on his knees. Not just his soul, but his physical stomach was convulsing, vomiting a pool of filthy liquid onto the
ground. His face was distorted in agony as he rolled around, as if doing so could alleviate the trauma of death.
「The overwhelmed Batenkaitos no longer had the capacity to control the Mabeasts. The creatures, who previously held every advantage, fell into infighting due to their innate violent tempers once they were freed, no longer focusing their collective aggression on the candidates.」
「Thanks to this, while Batenkaitos and Hachiman were at a standstill, Crusch and the others—who were at their limits—found a moment to breathe. They didn't perish tragically under a Mabeast's claws during the two-second stupor of regaining their memories.」
「"Go to hell!"」
「"No! We don't want to die, don't want to die, don't want to die, don't want to die—we don't want to die-yaaaa!!"」
「Hachiman raised his foot, intending to seize the chance to stomp on Batenkaitos's head, but the shell-shocked Archbishop quickly snapped back to reality. His body trembled like a leaf in the wind; out of sheer terror of death, he rolled away pathetically to avoid the attack.」
「No time to catch up with Emilia and the others or speak of their mutual longing, Hachiman had to kick Batenkaitos while he was down. He waved his hand, signaling everyone to attack together—first, they had to finish off this bastard "Fake."」
「"—Please, Roy, come save us!"」
「Crying out in a voice thick with terror and even snot, Batenkaitos's dignity-abandoning wail was not in vain. With a loud crash, the architecture shattered and stones flew as a battered Roy burst into the battlefield, leading Shaula right to them.」
「Ley moved with lightning speed, scooping up his brother and darting away ten meters just as Shaula's massive scorpion pincer smashed down, prioritizing the closer targets.」
「Seeing Hachiman about to be struck, Julius—who had also regained his memories— pushed his legs to the limit as he chased from behind, but he was still too late to intervene.」
「...Clang!」
「What reached everyone's ears was not the sound of Hachiman's flesh and blood being flattened, but the ring of hard steel parrying a blow.」
「"Distasteful. It was selfish enough of you not to commit suicide the very second I felt the urge to kill you, yet you have the shamelessness to flee to such a wasteland, affecting my makeup."」
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「Fiery red dress, a biting tone, and a self-centered demeanor—Priscilla appeared, parrying Shaula's offensive with her Yang Sword while casting a cold, sidelong glance at the Gluttony brothers. It was the gaze one reserved for the dead.」
「"To waste my time repeatedly, and even force me to lay eyes on such filthy, disgusting Mabeasts... even if I were to mince your bodies into meat to feed the rats, it would not suffice to atone for this sin!"」
「The world-disdaining Priscilla tilted her Yang Sword and delivered a back-kick with full force against Shaula's pincer, the shockwave forcing the scorpion-woman back.」
「"Priscilla..."」
「Hachiman, now under protection, looked at the arrogant woman standing before him. Surprise and trust were written all over his face.」
「Priscilla shot him a look and snorted mercilessly, "Hmph. Have you finally reclaimed your memories, you incompetent dunderhead?"」
「"Where's Al?"」
「"How could such a mediocre man, lacking ambition, possibly keep up with my noble self?" Priscilla tilted her chin up like a white swan. Even though she was travel-worn, she still exuded that reassuring, unique aura where arrogance and magnificence stood side-by-side.」
「The brief communication between Hachiman and Priscilla ended as quickly as it began. Julius, Emilia, Crusch, Beatrice, and Meili had all crowded close.」
「Aside from Meili—who only cared about herself because the surrounding Mabeasts had killed each other off, leaving her without protection—Emilia and the others were all biting their lips, looking at Hachiman as if they hadn't seen him for ages.」
「If the urgent situation didn't forbid it, Emilia would have already hugged him.」
「"Don't want to die, don't want to die, don't want to die... we won't die! Absolutely not! That Authority... no, no, no, absolutely not!"」
「Not far away, Batenkaitos, having barely recovered, gasped for air. His eyes were blood-red as he glared at Hachiman. "We're going to catch you, seal you, isolate you! We will never, ever experience that Authority again, even if we die!"」
「As the two sides faced off, Hachiman replied in a voice thick with killing intent: "If you can do it, then by all means, give it your best shot."」
「Batenkaitos heard this and let out a frantic, boisterous laugh.」
「Hachiman knew why he was laughing. Having dealt with the Mabeast horde, Crusch and Meili's strength was exhausted. Emilia, Priscilla, Julius, and Beatrice were all in depleted states, having consumed much of their stamina and mana.」
「Conversely, while Ley was exhausted like Julius, Batenkaitos had only suffered mental trauma from the memories; his combat effectiveness was still at its peak, and he could still lure Shaula into the fray.」
「No matter how one looked at it, the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony seemed to hold the upper hand.」
「"But is that really the case? Will it be as easy as you think, Batenkaitos?"」
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