Chapter 317. We Must Win (Part Two)
「"The rest—just trust your comrades!"」
「Such dashing and gallant words were not things Hikigaya Hachiman usually said. He believed that humans could never truly understand one another; he believed he couldn't trust anyone... and yet, the words had burst from his lips.」
「Because when he looked out over this peril-filled Water Gate City, everywhere his gaze fell—every single place—was occupied by a "Genuine" thing that he could understand, that he could trust.」
「Emilia, Garfiel.」
「Crusch, Wilhelm.」
「Julius, Ricardo, and the three Mimi siblings.」
「With every one of them, he had a bond born of acquaintance that had lasted years. With every one of them, he had personally listened to their heart's secrets and troubles. Every single one of them—he knew their strength better than anyone.」
「"Therefore..."」
「They would lose.」
「Because he understood them so deeply, trusted them so implicitly, and recognized them so clearly, Hikigaya Hachiman knew better than anyone that the probability of losing this battle was high.」
「"But we cannot retreat. For the final victory, this battle must be fought no matter what. We must uncover the Authorities of Capella and Batenkaitos... so... so..."」
「If someone were to lose their life because of this, he would shoulder that guilt.」
「The lives of these nine people were the most precious things imaginable. If their lives were lost because of his decision, he would carry out the wishes and deeds of those who died. And if too many died... he might just start toy with the world, becoming a coward who relies on Return by Death.」
「"So... let's win!!"」
「Shouting the same slogan, coalescing around the same wish, and carrying the same courage and will, the shining "Genuine" articles charged onto the battlefield.」
「Emilia, drawn by fate, was selected by Sirius, resuming their unfinished battle.」
「Wilhelm tremblingly blocked the wife who had returned to her eighteen-year-old appearance. A reunion between husband and wife after fifteen years—yet they met with blades drawn, separated by the boundary of life and death.」
「Garfiel donned his sturdy shields, struggling to survive under Kurgan's dual blades. "Hoo—Ha!!" The sonic roars of the three Mimi siblings always arrived to bail him out at his most dangerous moments.」
「Julius's Spirit Magic heavily wounded the black dragon that Capella had transformed into. But in a flash, Capella regenerated with her terrifying healing power. She didn't linger in the fight, flying instead into the City Hall.」
「"Go help Ricardo! We'll flush her out!"」
「Since Capella could manifest as a large creature like a black dragon, wide-area attacks were necessary to wipe her out. Ordinary sword slashes couldn't kill her. Those capable of such a feat were Emilia and Julius; Crusch's One Blow, One Hundred Felled was not powerful enough after her memory loss.」
「However, Ricardo was clearly outmatched fighting Batenkaitos alone. He quickly fell into a disadvantage and began to take wounds. He couldn't hold out long by himself and would soon die; therefore, Julius had to go assist him.」
「Hikigaya Hachiman didn't think he and Crusch alone could defeat Capella. Their responsibility was to drive her out. Once she was outside, Julius and Emilia might be able to find a moment to combine their attacks and finish her off.」
「At that point, he and Crusch would temporarily hold off Sirius and assist Ricardo.」
「If Wilhelm and Garfiel could hold out until this step was completed, they could receive support from the others, turning the tide from defeat to victory and crushing the Witch Cult in one fell swoop.」
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"...."
Silence reigned. However, in reality, the corpse soldier Theresia moved her finger slowly and silently, without anyone's command—an extremely slight twitch.
"Wh~y won't you just stay dead, meat-scraps? Still dreaming of overthowing this Lady? Hahaha! You're funnier than rotting meat. And all that talk of love and trust—it's utterly boring! Wh~y~"
In contrast to the silent Theresia was Capella, spewing nauseating words.
"As expected of Sir Hachiman!"
At the Karsten estate, Crusch felt a bit ashamed. Even though she was praised by Sir Hachiman as a 'beauty in military uniform,' in the rapidly changing chaos of the battlefield, Sir Hachiman was the one who could analyze how to respond even faster.
This wasn't just true for her amnesiac self; even her current self realized her reaction time for forming a counterstrategy was a step slower than his.
"Hmph. Eyesore of a bastard—what is the point of your life? Rather than staying here and tainting Our mood, you'd be better off burned to ash quickly."
In her mansion, Priscilla furrowed her beautiful brows, haughty and imperious, murmuring an order to herself: "Burn these eyesore trash, you ignorant fool. If you can achieve that, We shall forgive your crime of defiance."
This might seem like she was talking to herself... but Al and Schult knew that Priscilla was actually trying to see if she could extend her "Strong Luck" to this reflected future to help the Hikigaya Hachiman within it.
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「"One Blow, One Hundred Felled!"」
「Running into the City Hall and ascending the stairs, Crusch saw the black dragon inside and, without a word, swung her blade to release a sword technique imbued with magic. Under her continuous slashes, the black dragon was actually easily knocked out of the City Hall.」
「But before she could rejoice and head down from the top floor to give chase, Hikigaya Hachiman grabbed her, gesturing toward the hall. There stood a crying, helpless little girl, seemingly kidnapped by Capella.」
「But Hikigaya Hachiman knew...」
「That was absolutely not the case!」
「"Clang!"」
「An attack as swift as the wind was parried. The little girl stopped crying. Her arm suddenly grew massive, transforming into a hard dragon claw. The dragon scales on it struck the sword blade, letting out a crisp ring.」
「"Ooh—ya! Wouldn't it be nice to just play along with this Lady's little play and step obediently into my trap? Meat~scraps. Truly disgusting. One meat-scrap alone was disgusting
enough, but you specifically brought a vulgar female piece of meat along. What~? Are you saying this Lady's disguise had poor acting?"
「Capella's tone didn't sound quite as arrogant or haughty as Priscilla's, but the content of her words was far more unbearable. She trampled upon the value, dignity, body, and soul of others without any bottom line whatsoever.」
「"You foul-smelling, bastard 'Fake' who doesn't fit in with the rest of the world... to think you'd try to hide from these eyes of mine—I haven't spent all these years observing humans for nothing. I'm not really a blind person like Priscilla says, you disgusting, bastard 'Fake'!"」
「Comparing Capella to Priscilla was a grave insult to Priscilla.」
「Only at a time like this did Hikigaya Hachiman finally feel that Priscilla wasn't entirely useless. At least her aggression and the insults she used to make herself feel superior were the best possible response to trash like the Sin Archbishops!」
「"Here we go, Crusch!!"」
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