The Final Battle Begins
The moment Reinhild swung her sword at Capella, Subaru instinctively understood that he had won this battle.
And in the next moment, the devastating battle unfolding on the girl's side proved Subaru's feeling was correct.
Five loops of accumulated intel, three days of walking on thin ice with careful planning — at this moment, they finally bore miraculous results.
"Ahahahaha~~!"
Subaru laughed aloud, a joyful, elated laugh, one that he couldn't suppress for a long while due to the excitement in his heart.
After all, this time they had taken down the Sin Archbishop of Lust, the Ram sisters, the Bowel Hunter sisters, and even the suddenly-appearing war god Kurgan was ultimately dealt with successfully.
It's no exaggeration to say that this war eliminated more than half of the forces that would have attacked the mansion a few days later.
And the losses were limited to some unfamiliar mercenaries who had a high likelihood of dying anyway, and Winston.
Emotions are contagious.
After confirming the battle had ended, Subaru left the rooftop.
His joy did not spread to others, but the sorrow of the people around him deeply shook his soul.
"..." "Waaah waaah..." "Mama~~"
The western district was the battlefield.
Unfortunately, this time the battlefield did not only contain warriors.
Neither the assassins nor the magical beasts that slipped through were the kind to show mercy to civilians.
Subaru's once-skipping steps gradually turned into staggering ones as he walked and witnessed the tragedies around him, eventually kneeling in front of Winston's corpse.
Tears fell to the ground, grieving his past misunderstanding of Winston in earlier loops and mourning having caused the death of the mentor who first guided him.
The humanity Subaru had gradually lost due to Return by Death returned — or perhaps he simply once again realized the harshness of reality.
At that moment, all joy in his heart disappeared.
After all, not long ago, Subaru had still been a high school student.
He still couldn't treat human lives as mere pawns.
It was a regret, but also a good thing — because it meant he still had a heart.
"Rest in peace, everyone. I will protect Reinhild."
Subaru made this vow to the fallen warriors.
Even though he had obtained Lust's combat power and crucial intel like the existence of the Eight Arms, Subaru no longer had any intention of killing himself to reset.
On one hand, he feared there might be a limit to his Return by Death ability.
On the other hand, he had come to understand that being too naive in this other world would only lead to the deaths of himself and those important to him.
To bear the burden of sin and save Reinhild — at this moment, Subaru truly understood the weight of that phrase.
But he had also truly fulfilled it.
.
.
.
On the seventh day of the sixth loop, two days had passed since the battle of Setia that shook the Dragon Kingdom.
At the Astrea mansion, a funeral was being held for the fallen.
Subaru gazed through the window at the funeral, watching the people sobbing uncontrollably after drinking, and silently prayed that Heinkel hadn't poisoned the drinks.
That's right — Subaru was essentially under house arrest at this point.
A few days ago, after the Setia battle concluded, Otto's side had also finished the battle for the magic crystals.
Based on the timing, it seemed the assassination guild had been responsible for preparing the magic crystals.
Following the plan, Subaru sold most of the crystals to Bernie.
At that time, he believed he could safely pass the seventh day.
After all, regardless of who was behind everything, without the help of the Witch Cult and the assassin guild, going up against the Astrea faction would be suicidal.
Just when Subaru thought he could pass the seventh day peacefully — an assassination attempt by a beastman shattered that illusion.
The beastman wasn't from some unknown mastermind, but rather the relative of a mercenary who had died.
However, he revealed one critical fact.
That is — what surprised Subaru most was that such a strong beastman had been easily subdued by his two servant-like companions.
Their combat ability was nothing like that of normal mercenaries.
That's when Subaru realized — he had been under surveillance all along.
After being exposed, Subaru had to face the music.
Since Reinhild was still busy dealing with Witch Cult remnants and the assassination guild, it was Otto — looking more haggard with dark circles under his eyes — who confronted Subaru.
Although Subaru was unwilling at first, he was rendered speechless once Otto presented the evidence.
Subaru hadn't realized just how many clues he had left behind: the Witch's lingering scent on him, his involvement with Sin Archbishops, black market dealers, his VIP badge from the mercenary guild, even the scent on the down payment he had made...
And so, Otto and the others detained Subaru.
But as time passed, Subaru looked at the soft bed in the guest room, the bookshelves full of novels, and the unfinished steak on his plate — he gradually understood that this wasn't so much imprisonment as it was protection.
Subaru spent a day wallowing.
But once Heinkel returned to the mansion, Subaru noticed the murky look in his eyes and immediately sensed that things weren't over yet.
However, Subaru's combat power was not enough to break free from his "cell."
Though Reinhild's goal was to protect Subaru, Otto — who placed great importance on Subaru — primarily treated him as a dangerous figure to be monitored or even imprisoned.
After all, in Otto's eyes, Subaru was a monstrous being — one who schemed to take down a Sin Archbishop, and who had significantly weakened the Astrea family's hidden forces.
It was notoriously difficult to find someone near Reinhild willing to get their hands dirty.
Otto, who had been working with Leander on the magic crystal issue, was nearly sick to his stomach when he learned most of his carefully built plan had been wiped out.
Once he learned the full story, he deemed Subaru an extremely dangerous person.
That evening, a knock came at the door.
Although Otto held near-absolute authority in the Astrea mansion, there were still two individuals he couldn't control.
"Brat! What should I do next? I saw Reinhild leave the mansion with some people."
Old Man Rom stooped as he entered the room — Subaru's current ally.
As a top strategist from the Demi-Human War, Rom had keenly sensed that Subaru's actions were in the mansion's best interest, so he took the initiative to find Subaru, who had been confined.
Rom wanted to protect Felt, and Subaru wanted to protect Reinhild.
Though their goals weren't identical, they were ultimately on the same side — that of the Astrea faction.
Subaru didn't give Rom any orders — only warned him that someone might poison the drinks.
Rom's actions today exceeded Subaru's expectations.
First, he wore Felt's Meteor pendant, and then he kept drinking beside Heinkel.
"The next step..."
Rom and Subaru both looked out the window.
The night turned into day — or rather, the sky was illuminated by fire.
Countless massive fireballs rained down like meteors on the mansion.
Then, before Subaru's eyes, space itself seemed to distort, and most of the fireballs vanished.
"Brat, get down!"
.
.
.
The final battle had begun.