Endless Loop (Part 2):
"I'm alive?"
Subaru leaned on the door with his left hand, panting heavily.
"I really didn't expect her to appear in the real world directly. Wasn't she supposed to be sealed?"
Recalling what had just happened, Subaru shuddered involuntarily.
His instincts told him that being swallowed by that shadow would lead to something far more terrifying than death.
"Is it because Petelgeuse is still alive? The two people's secret absolutely cannot be revealed to a third party, or else the yandere voyeur maniac will kill you. What kind of horror game is this?"
He remembered that suffocatingly intense love—
Love, love, love, love...
"Don't ignore Betty! Life or death, human standards are seriously boring. In the end, it's all nonsense and lies. You're the very definition of a mess."
The rather sharp and bitter words came from Beatrice's mouth, but thanks to that, Subaru finally snapped back to reality. The food in his right hand slipped and fell to the floor because he couldn't hold it properly.
Subaru began panting again, and when he looked at Beatrice, who had just woken him up, he instinctively lifted her up high.
"Don't treat Betty like a child, you rude scoundrel!"
A familiar invisible force smacked Subaru and slammed him against the wall.
He slowly slid down and landed on the ground, seeing that the food had flown out too.
"Well then, let's prepare for the third strategy meeting."
Wiping food from his face, Subaru looked at the closed door and sighed. He stood up and pointed at the ceiling.
To avoid getting sucked into that vortex of love again, he redirected all his attention toward figuring out how to deal with Petelgeuse.
He took a step forward—and slipped.
Looking at the food on the ground and his now filthy clothes, he muttered:
"Guess I should clean myself up first."
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"Last thing is to inform Lady Beatrice."
The meeting for "Witch Cult Hunt 3.0 Even a Monkey Could Understand" finally came to a close.
Thanks to Astrea's intelligence-sharing efforts (particularly his lust-fueled battle), the information was remarkably accurate. Otto and the rest of the Astrea faction chose to trust Subaru, and Emilia's faction didn't doubt him at all.
—But come to think of it, is someone as naïve as Emilia even capable of doubting people?
The kind of person who'd count money for someone who just sold her.
Subaru looked at the troubled expression on Emilia's face and thought with a sigh.
"I get the feeling Subaru-kun is thinking something very rude right now."
Emilia puffed out her cheeks and said.
"If it's Subaru-kun, I'd be more than happy to help," Rem said with a smile, apparently seeing through Subaru's thoughts from behind Emilia.
—Why did I waste my entire afternoon, again?
Looking at the members of Emilia's camp and remembering how he had racked his brain earlier trying to explain the source of the intel, Subaru suddenly felt like a complete idiot.
"I'll go inform Beatrice myself. You handle the next part of the plan. Leave the drill-haired loli to me!"
Subaru said, looking at Otto.
"You're brave to say that, given how hard she is to deal with."
Apparently, Otto and Beatrice didn't get along well.
Understandable, considering she's a tsundere with a sharp tongue and a quick temper—but for Subaru, that was all part of her charm.
"Feels like she won't run away from me. Probably has a pretty high opinion of me."
Subaru smiled.
"Let me show you how a former shut-in can drag another shut-in out into the world."
"Huh? That's... weird, isn't it?"
Even though he'd made such a bold claim, Subaru—confident and all—quickly found himself in a predicament.
The great spirit Beatrice was using her Yin magic to shift around the mansion via the "Door Crossing" trick that led to her forbidden library. There was essentially only one "correct" door in the mansion at a time, and she'd mischievously relocate it often.
Yet usually, Subaru could easily reach the forbidden library by randomly opening a door during meals.
"To think I can't find her even after this much effort... This is beyond just disappointing."
Muttering as he opened door after door, Subaru found himself back at the servant's quarters, where all the doors had already been tried.
His feet hurt, and when he glanced at the clock, he realized just how much time he had wasted.
"So this is how hard it is for other people to find Beatrice... No wonder they find her annoying."
Even though he tried to joke, unpleasant sweat continued to drip from his forehead—not just from walking around in the summer heat.
"Since we don't have to search for the Witch Cult's hideout this time, we've still got plenty of time. No one's in a rush... So even if I can't find Beatrice, it's just embarrassing, that's all."
Subaru fell silent.
If only embarrassment were the worst of it.
But Beatrice's abnormal behavior gave him an inexplicable sense of unease.
"No way... Beatrice loves this mansion so much. She'll definitely help defend it... right?"
"She's probably sulking because of that high-lift thing. Or maybe she just didn't want to eat the cake I made today."
Subaru spoke to comfort himself, but unease filled his heart. I
f he had already gathered the location data in this loop, why hadn't he solved the problem yet?
In previous attempts, it had gone so smoothly...
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"Subaru-kun."
"Ah, thanks... By the way, I really can't find Beatrice anywhere."
Subaru took the towel Rem handed him and wiped away his sweat, spreading his arms helplessly.
"If Lady Beatrice gets serious, no one can break through her 'Door Crossing'."
"I'm worried... Aren't you, Rem? The opponent is a Sin Archbishop, after all."
"Mhm. But I believe in Subaru-kun."
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"Geuse… ah... No, I… I didn't mean… to do that. It's not… like that…"
What had just happened? He couldn't understand. Or maybe he simply refused to understand.
Snow was falling from the sky—like an apocalypse descending upon the world. But the one who brought this blizzard wasn't a divine beast.
It was the silver-haired half-elf.
She was crying, she was in chaos, she was freezing everything.
"What is... this? Geuse, what are you saying? Geuse... Geuse... No, no, no..."
Petelgeuse, the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, was falling into madness as well.
One moment staring vacantly at Emilia, the next moment screaming and clawing his own face apart, and then suddenly professing his love to a witch no one could see.
Black invisible hands readied to tear all life to pieces, while the endless snow prepared to annihilate the entire region.
The two most powerful forces on both sides had gone mad.
The cold wind invaded his wounds, as if trying to freeze his internal organs.
"Beatrice... Beatrice... Say something, please..."
Subaru stood before a door. But no miracle happened.
The great spirit who loved this mansion so dearly never came out to protect it.
And so, she allowed the dark hands and the snow to destroy everything she once loved.