18: Unknown Ahead
Subaru, who had been carefully watching his surroundings, noticed the incoming attack of the Unseen Hands and shouted loudly.
Beatrice showed a confused look, then hesitation.
That momentary hesitation—
A black invisible hand pierced through the little girl's chest.
Countless glowing particles burst from her chest, momentarily dispelling the darkness.
"My brain... is trembling..."
Petelgeuse emerged from the dark mansion, but Subaru had no time to care about him.
It was like tossing a stone into dead water—what emerged instead was a wave of emotion.
For the first time, guilt washed over Subaru's heart, guilt from getting Beatrice killed.
A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.
He rushed to her side and barely caught her collapsing body.
"So... that's how it is..."
Beatrice was stunned for a moment, then showed an expression of release and understanding.
The book in her hand fell onto Subaru's legs as he held her.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Beatrice wiped away the tears of guilt from the boy's face.
"The book... didn't record anything... because the owner's... future had ended... It's been... so long... finally..."
She smiled as she opened her arms to Subaru.
A faint, yet indescribably beautiful smile bloomed on her face.
"Thank... you..."
"Don't—don't joke like that, Beatrice—"
Petelgeuse seemed to realize something was wrong, but the Unseen Hands were too slow.
They couldn't catch up—couldn't stop the last spell that the great spirit Beatrice cast with her dying breath.
—Teleportation activated.
The feeling of dizziness vanished.
Then came the pain of something hitting him.
Subaru instinctively looked down.
It was an open, blank book—Beatrice's Tome of Wisdom.
"Huh?"
Subaru picked it up with trembling hands and began flipping through the pages roughly.
His bloodshot eyes scanned the paper, brain desperate to read its contents.
But what he saw left him utterly stunned.
The opened book had no writing—not a single word.
He turned the page—nothing. Another—still blank. Page after page, no matter how far he turned, all were blank.
Except for the first page, the entire book was empty.
"It's supposed to be the Tome of Wisdom—why is there nothing about the future written in it? Is it some mechanism where only the owner can see the content? Roswaal's book was burned, so I couldn't use it for reference..."
The only other Tome of Wisdom Subaru had seen was Roswaal's, which had burn marks, but even then, he could still faintly make out some of the writing.
"Yeah... that must be it, right? That's the only explanation... Otherwise... otherwise... what have I done!?"
Subaru broke down in tears.
As much as he wanted to lie to himself, he understood the truth from Beatrice's final words.
Her Tome had been blank for a long time.
Which meant...
Every time she had come to help him after a fight—every time she had saved him—it was probably out of genuine kindness.
The pillar that had once supported Subaru to do inhumane things—believing it was all inevitable, all fated—was now shattered.
Beatrice's dying face flashed again and again in his mind.
Guilt and despair gnawed at what remained of Subaru's battered soul.
Crack—
Someone was there.
Subaru jerked upright, drawing his sword.
He locked eyes with the approaching figure.
He stared into emotionless eyes, and the unexpected impact of that gaze made his mind go completely blank.
If the figure had hostile intent, it would've been fatal.
But in that moment, Subaru didn't even care.
He wanted death.
So—he took a step forward.
"You... are?"
Subaru walked a few more steps and finally, by the moonlight, could clearly see the figure.
A girl, who looked to be barely into her teens, with long, pale reddish-pink hair.
She had slender eyes, a straight nose, and skin so pale it seemed like she might disappear if you touched her.
She stood only chest-height to Subaru, with a petite figure draped in white robes resembling a tunic.
A doll.
Not just in beauty, but in presence—everything about her felt surreal.
Emotionless eyes, an expressionless face, and an almost non-existent presence or will.
No matter how you looked at her, she didn't seem human.
One feature, however, stood out distinctly.
"Your ears are long... Are you an elf? Where even is this place?"
Subaru asked.
The girl didn't respond.
Her expression remained blank.
Still, Subaru was sure now—from her exposed, pointed ears longer than a human's—she was an elf.
"Ah...! W-wait! Where are you going!?"
The girl moved like a phantom, turning her back to Subaru and walking away.
Subaru hesitated—but surprisingly, the girl stopped a few meters ahead, as if waiting for him.
"So you're leading me...?"
He hesitated for a moment, then threw aside the Tome of Wisdom and chased after the girl.
She moved with eerie speed, gliding through the dense forest like a shadow.
Though Subaru's body was strong, running through this rough, unfamiliar terrain quickly had him gasping for breath.
"Damn you—!"
He cursed as the girl showed no concern for him, and pushed himself forward, pouring every last bit of strength into his legs.
Minutes passed in pursuit.
Then suddenly—his vision opened up.
"Out of the forest... But where is this?"
He stood in a wide clearing, panting, knees bent, sweat pouring from his brow. Wiping his face, he looked up at the strange building in front of him.
It was a structure made of stacked stone—crude in design, clearly ancient.
Its exterior was covered in vines and moss, and the walls that peeked through were cracked all over. Half of the building had been consumed by the surrounding forest.
If it hadn't been built in the forest originally, it must have stood here for over a hundred years.
A solemn ruin standing quietly in the silent woods.
A temple—or perhaps...
"Looks more like a tomb. For a second, I thought it was a damn pyramid."
Subaru looked around—but the girl was gone.
"So this was the destination, huh... No time to hesitate.
Who knows how far Beatrice teleported me. That Petelgeuse bastard isn't gonna give up."
Remembering the madman who chased him through countless loops, Subaru scratched his head roughly and stepped forward.
In the darkness, only his breathing, heartbeat, and footsteps echoed.
The stillness eased his nerves, just a little. He began thinking through the mountain of issues piling up—
How to deal with Petelgeuse.
Whether to keep trying to fight alongside Beatrice.
The problem with Emilia's memory.
And even...
How he could truly die.
Then—
"So this is your true desire? How interesting."
Suddenly, Natsuki Subaru heard a woman's voice, filled with delight.