Subaru and Rem, one on each side, supported Carlisle's broken body, struggling forward along the moon-dappled forest path. Each step left a shallow red mark on the dirt. Subaru could feel the weight in her arm becoming heavier and heavier.
"Carlisle..." She tried to make her voice sound cheerful, "You defeated the White Whale, didn't you?"
His drooping eyelashes trembled, and it took several seconds for a reply to come. "Mm... I vanquished it."
"That's amazing..."
"You vanquished one of the Three Great Demonic Beasts and defeated an Archbishop of Sin. When you return to the Royal Capital, you'll definitely be treated as a hero, right? Maybe... even the Divine Dragon will personally commend you..."
Carlisle's lips curved slightly, but he couldn't offer a gentle rebuttal as he usually would. His right arm hung limply over Rem's shoulder, and the severed part of his left shoulder was crudely bandaged, yet blood continued to seep out.
"Anyway! The crisis at the Mansion was that Sloth Archbishop of Sin, right! Since he's already been taken care of by you, that means everything is over, right."
"Everything is over, and I can go back to how things were..."
"Please..." Subaru's voice suddenly choked up, then she hastily suppressed it, "Don't fall asleep, okay? Let's go back to the Mansion together... Roswaal must have a way... Beatrice also knows a lot of magic... Your arm... it will definitely..."
She couldn't continue. Carlisle's body temperature was slowly fading in her arms, like holding a lamp that was gradually extinguishing.
"I'm sorry..." Rem suddenly whispered, tears falling onto Carlisle's blood-stained clothes, "I'm sorry..."
Carlisle struggled to turn to her, shaking his head slightly. He tried to raise his hand but found even such a simple movement incredibly difficult. In the end, he could only barely touch Rem's hand with his Fingertips, but his nerve endings had long since died, and he could no longer feel the warmth of her skin.
Can't sleep yet... Must confirm... if Emilia-sama is safe... Great Spirit... A bone-chilling cold suddenly swept through his entire body. Carlisle blinked in confusion, tiny ice crystals forming on his eyelashes.
So cold... Strange... I've already lost my sense of touch... He looked up at the sky, where snowflakes were falling from the pitch-black night. The unseasonal snow landed on his wounds but didn't melt; instead, it accumulated like sharp blades, growing thicker and thicker.
Is it cold... Is it a sensation after all?
When the outline of the Mansion finally appeared at the end of their vision, Carlisle suddenly stopped. Subaru and Rem looked at him in panic.
Fire attribute... Mana?
Subaru suddenly trembled violently, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. But she bit her lip hard, swallowing the groan that was about to escape. Only her fingers, tightly clutching Carlisle's clothes, revealed the pain she was enduring.
Rem's Morningstar was already in her hand, but her arm was also trembling, not from cold, but from fear. Something was draining the heat from the entire forest, and they were standing at the center of the storm.
Carlisle's broken body leaned slightly forward, instinctively shielding the two girls behind him. This movement aggravated the wound on his right shoulder; blood gushed out again, but it froze into crimson ice beads before hitting the ground.
"Yin Sealing Technique!"
Carlisle suddenly broke free from their support, his broken body erupting with astonishing strength. His remaining right hand lifted high, and a faint blue light burst from his Fingertips.
A transparent barrier unfolded like crystal, enveloping the three of them. The moment the barrier formed-
"Boom!!!"
A blizzard swallowed the entire world.
Subaru's pupils reflected a terrifying sight in the direction of the Mansion: a giant shadow, comparable to a mountain, rose from the ground, with ice and snow forming a destructive vortex around it. The entire forest froze at a visible speed.
"What... is that...?"
Appearing at the center of the blizzard was a colossal gray beast, comparable to a mountain. Its entire body was covered in flowing gray fur, each strand seemingly woven from a frozen galaxy. When it lowered its head slightly, its golden, glowing vertical pupils illuminated the entire forest.
A cat...?
Subaru's mind became absurd due to extreme fear. If she had to describe it, it indeed resembled a cat, but it was a Beast of the End capable of crushing the earth and changing the climate with its breath. Its mere presence brought to mind the mythical monsters that devoured worlds.
"Slumber now, with my daughter."
— — — — — —
Carlisle's blood-stained pupils reflected the sky-piercing ice giant, and the bloody foam overflowing from his throat froze into ice crystals before hitting the ground.
"Great Spirit... Why..."
The beast's breath transformed into a blizzard, "Lia is forever asleep. I don't want to live in a world without her." Ice crystals coalesced around it into a dazzling crown. "According to the contract, I will turn the entire world into frozen land."
"Emilia-sama... died?"
Subaru's knees hit the ice with a thud, but she felt no pain. Her voice was fragmented.
"Contract... turn the world into frozen land? You're Puck? Why... everything was over!"
The giant beast lowered its head, and sorrow swirled in its golden pupils. "Give up resisting. I can let you die without pain."
Carlisle slowly turned his head. His gaze swept over Subaru's tear-streaked face, then over Rem's hand, which was clutching his clothes tightly. Phantom pain emanated from his frozen, severed arm; he had, after all, failed in his duty.
Emilia is gone... So the knight... Subaru... I'm sorry... He gently pried open Rem's frozen fingers, and the moment he stepped out of the barrier, a pale flame ignited again. When his blood-stained sword was drawn, the dense cracks on its blade were clearly visible, like his own soul was about to break.
"You... are you going to stop me?"
"I cannot let you cause greater disaster." Flames engulfed his right side, "You can hate me."
"I see... You, are a hero."
Suddenly, it threw its head back and let out a world-shaking roar.
"But you didn't protect my daughter!!!"
...
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