Arc 9, Part 57: "The Last Service"

—The reason Ferris cooperated with the "Aldebusters" was, of course, for none other than his master, Crusch Karsten.

Originally, Ferris and Wilhelm had visited the Royal Capital to negotiate directly with the castle, hoping to join the investigation team heading toward the liberated Pleiades Watchtower. It was during this visit that Aldebaran’s group attacked the capital—the Sin Archbishop of "Gluttony" was broken out of prison, and a fierce battle erupted between the "Sword Devil" and the "Divine Dragon."

"—There is something I wish to bring to your attention, and I would like to request your cooperation."

The one who revealed the situation to Ferris and the others and requested their help was Otto, the internal affairs official of the Emilia Camp. When Ferris heard from him about Al—Aldebaran’s—outrageous actions and Reinhard’s entry into the fray, he was not as eager for full cooperation as the forward-leaning Wilhelm.

Of course, in times of peace, as a member of the Royal Guard, he felt indignation toward those who disturbed the kingdom's order. However, he was physically weak in terms of combat power, and even his healing magic—his sole strength—had proven useless in saving his most precious master. He wondered what he could possibly achieve.

In fact, after Wilhelm was defeated by the "Divine Dragon" in the subsequent battle and left with unconscious, life-threatening wounds, Ferris’s feelings of inadequacy only grew. However, a situation arose that made it impossible for even Ferris to keep his head down.

"It has been a long time, Master Felix."

Meeting the maid who bowed with a curtsy—Rem—the events of having conversed and fought alongside her returned to Ferris, and he learned that the Authority of "Gluttony" could indeed be stripped away. That meant she was living proof that one of the two curses Crusch bore—her "Memories" and the "Dragon’s Blood"—could be broken.

"...In that case, I have no choice but to do it, nyan."

Wilhelm, who had stayed by the suffering Crusch’s side and continued to encourage Ferris when he fell into despair over his helplessness, had been struck down. Following the request, he would lend his strength to the "Aldebusters" and stop Aldebaran’s group, who were trying to achieve something even if it meant turning the world against them. He decided he would do whatever it took.

Though—

"—I never imagined I’d be the one playing the trump card, though."

Amidst the tremendous plumes of smoke and violent winds, struck by falling raindrops, Ferris covered his mouth with his hand to keep out the dust as he reflected on the unexpected role assigned to him.

Using the power of "Compression"—Petra’s ability to move targets in an instant or conclude discussions—the "Aldebusters" had repeatedly used a "cheat" tactic: transporting the wounded to Ferris, healing them, and sending them back to the battlefield to cling to their powerful foe. That job alone was a major responsibility, but he never imagined he would be entrusted with the finishing blow against the incredibly powerful Aldebaran.

—To cast a constant, persistent healing spell on Aldebaran. That was the role Ferris was given, a task where failure was not permitted, serving as the trump card against him.

To be perfectly honest, even now, Ferris’s understanding hadn't quite caught up. Based on the combined explanations of Petra and Old Rom, he interpreted it as: when Aldebaran is judged to have "suffered a fatal wound," time rewinds to before he took that injury. By abusing this, Aldebaran continued to survive desperate situations, even repelling Reinhard.

Frankly, he had wanted to tilt his head and ask what everyone was so seriously discussing. If that were true, he was far too invincible. No one could win. It was even more absurd that the way to defeat such an invincible power was Ferris’s healing magic.

He thought it was too much of a gamble. At worst, it might be a foolish act that simply fully restored an enemy they had finally cornered. Even so, if, by some miracle, Ferris could be the deciding factor in this battle...

"Do not regret, Ferris. Your heart is noble. Take pride in your talent. ...It is the kindest power in this world."

"—Your Highness."

Once, there was someone who had appraised Ferris’s power that way, and took pride in it. Back then, and even now, Ferris’s power remained short of the title of "Blue." But even so, he wanted to believe there was meaning in the fact that he had never viewed it as a curse and had continued to hone it. For that purpose—

"—Roy!! If you're there, come! Eat me... eat my 'Name'!!"

From deep within the invisible dust, mixed with the roaring wind and the screams of the earth, a voice could be heard. Ferris’s healing magic had indeed exerted its effect as a trump card. Aldebaran’s intensely shaken state and this desperate cry proved it.

But the opponent had not given up yet. —Ferris, too, braced his thin knees and thought.

"For the sake of my precious person, what else can I do?"

"Rigel. —Natsuki Rigel!!"

Raising his voice into the thick, rising clouds of dust, Aldebaran strained his eyes. The rain, the gale, and the rumbling of the earth were so loud that the surrounding sounds were completely indistinct. Unable to rely on sight or hearing, he still raised his voice as if his throat would burst.

The hateful healing power applied to him immediately mended his throat even as he screamed to the point of coughing blood. While receiving that ironic blessing, he continued to strain his voice with all his might.

"Roy! Ro-oy!! Find me! It’s Rigel! Natsuki! Rigel!!"

With every time he spoke it, experiencing a heartache as if his soul were being scraped by an invisible file, Aldebaran shouted that name again and again, and again.

Natsuki Rigel. —The true name of Aldebaran, before he called himself the "Following Star."

"—Tch."

He felt no sense of reality in it. Only annoyance clung to the corner of his mind. To Aldebaran, the name "Aldebaran"—which he had been called many times by the "Witch"—was far more familiar than the name given to him by parents who had never once called him by it directly. Even that name had turned into a wound from the moment the "Witch" became the "Witch of Greed."

He no longer even knew who he "originally" was. —But his self-recognition didn't matter. What mattered was how the Od Lagna recorded this pitiful life. Therefore—

"—I am Natsuki Rigel."

Aldebaran acknowledged himself as such, despite the name bringing him nothing but loathing. Even if he rejected it, despised it, or hated it, one cannot choose their life or their parents.

"————"

While continuing to shout, Aldebaran desperately searched for Roy within the smoke. Tossed by the earlier destructive gale, everyone on the battlefield had been blown away. Aldebaran had been tumbled quite a bit, and the "Witch of Melancholy," Ferris, and Roy would be no exception.

Currently, no one else should have been able to move in this place. However, the opponent had saved their trump card, Ferris, until the very last moment. It wouldn't be strange if they still had a hidden card. —Now that Aldebaran’s "Territory" was sealed, that could be the deciding factor.

"Damn it...!"

He thought he could at least take out Ferris by forcing the "Territory" on him, but it was no good. The sensation of being able to freely manipulate the "bug" he had grasped had receded again after being repelled by the "Witch of Melancholy." Even if it hadn't, the randomness of the target was too strong. It would be disastrous if it hit the "Witch of Melancholy" again. On top of that, Ferris’s healing magic—which was continuously healing Aldebaran—was sustained by drawing the necessary mana from Aldebaran himself.

And because it was currently connected to "Aldebaran," it was effectively inexhaustible.

"If I can't rely on the 'Territory'...!"

He might as well use up the mana that served as his shackles and clear the obstacles with grand magic. Such an idea occurred to him, and Aldebaran visualized several spell formulas in his mind. All of them were knowledge he had learned from the "Witch" but had shelved because he couldn't provide the resources needed to activate them. But now that he was connected to "Aldebaran," they were usable.

Just like with Reinhard, he would use them to find a breakthrough without the "Territory"—

"Urgh...!"

—The moment he thought that, a surge of nausea blocked Aldebaran’s mouth.

With intense dizziness and ringing in his ears, Aldebaran almost fell to his knees with a confused "Huh?" He hurriedly looked around to see if someone had attacked him, but no one was there. —Then he realized. The true nature of what had just blinded him was an extraordinary pressure.

The pressure of being unable to fail his choice was crushing Aldebaran’s heart and soul.

"...You've got to be kidding."

Looking down at his trembling right hand, Aldebaran was speechless. In this life-or-death situation, on the verge of whether everything he had done would be rendered meaningless, with his body in top condition thanks to that detestable healing magic, and in a situation where the fastest and best judgment was required—it was a bad joke that he was so terrified that his head had stopped working properly.

But reality was no joke. Even if it felt like a nightmare, it was a fact.

—Because Aldebaran had never chosen anything decisive without his Authority.

Before this battle began, in the Vollachia Empire, in the Royal Selection, on the Gladiator Island, and in the days with the "Witch" before that, Aldebaran’s choices had always been the optimal solutions protected by his Authority. No matter what failure he made, he would redo it, choose a different option, and cancel out the failure. That was how Aldebaran existed. And now, that didn't work.

"————"

He didn't know what scale of wind he should create to blow away the smoke without killing anyone. He didn't know the heat needed to evaporate the rain, or the impact needed to offset the tremors. He didn't know whether stepping out with his right foot or his left foot into this smoke would yield the best answer. Everything was an unknown.

Not being able to verify was terrifying. Walking a path where the correct answer wasn't guaranteed was the same as fumbling through the darkness. Aldebaran couldn't move forward on a path where there was no certainty of being rewarded. —Because Aldebaran, without the use of his Authority, was a useless puppet.

The two "Witches," and his beloved woman—that puppet couldn't save any of them.

"—Tch."

Once he started thinking, only bad thoughts crossed his mind. Was the plan to let Roy eat his "Name" the best move? Was there another hand he could play? Would it be better to use the cursed seal as a shield to let Roy run wild and strike an opening? Could he find a revolutionary way to die that slipped through the gaps of the perfect healing? Or would it be better to just run away through the dust? Et cetera, et cetera—his emotions were only growing more frantic—

"—See, once again."

"————"

Those frantic emotions stopped, feeling as if cold water had been poured over them. Hesitation and fear—the negative emotions of Aldebaran that had erupted all at once due to his Authority being sealed—dragged out his greatest regret, buried deep within, which now began to burn with heat.

While experiencing an extreme heat that would burn him if touched and sear his skin just by being near, he also felt as if every drop of his blood was freezing solid. Aldebaran exhaled.

"Once again, my—"

"...Stop it."

"My—"

"Stop it—!!"

Faced with the thing he had avoided looking at by covering his ears, averting his eyes, and forcibly pushing it into the depths of his heart, Aldebaran screamed. He rejected the voice he heard, rejected the smile he saw, rejected the heat entering him, and bared his teeth. —In that instant, through his forcibly opened eyes, he saw a faint afterimage beyond the smoke.

It was a figure obscured by the dust for a split second, but there was no mistake. It was Roy. It was "Gluttony." From this rising regret—no, from the worst situation currently surrounding Aldebaran, he saw the only light that could pull him out. In that moment, he started running.

"—Roy! I’m here! Eat me! Eat my 'Name'!!"

The hesitation that had faltered in his step, the cowardice that sought a way to die, the weakness that tried to flee to another plan, and the indolence that doubted his own choice—all were shattered by the impact of his foot kicking the ground in that moment.

In this instant, by becoming single-minded in grabbing the option that had flown in front of him, Aldebaran chose to escape from the most terrifying thing.

—Until now, through the power of his Authority, Aldebaran had continued to avert his eyes from the single opportunity to "choose." Therefore, he didn't know.

When "choosing" one thing, a choice made out of a desperate desire to escape from that place would never positively open up one's destiny. That was—

"—Al-sama."

Proven by the actions of Yae Tenzen—an ally who should have been on his side—who caught and held back Aldebaran’s body as he tried to leap toward the shadow seen beyond the smoke.

—When she was defeated in the battle against Rem, Yae’s "next" battle had already begun.

Blown away and tumbling down the slope of an iceberg created on the frozen Great River, she had abandoned all possible blood-stanching methods and everything else, playing the part of a dying loser with all her might. The purpose of doing so was—

"—I have no intention of taking your life. That person would be saddened."

When the oni girl said that and activated her healing magic, Yae won her first gamble. To be honest, considering the ruthlessness during the fight, she wondered who Rem thought she was to say she had no intention of taking a life, but since she had actually survived, she couldn't complain. —More than anything, if she were to voice a complaint, her precious chance would vanish like bubbles.

Unfortunately, there was realistically no chance for Yae to turn the tables on Rem from here. Since she couldn't solve the trick Rem used to nullify Yae’s flash in their final exchange, she might not be able to finish Rem even if a surprise attack succeeded. That, too, would be nothing more than an act that wasted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Therefore, Yae’s aim was different. —It lay in her meager, soul-poured last service.

As expected, Rem was wary of a counterattack; the effect of the healing magic was kept to a minimum, just enough to seal the bleeding wounds and stop the countdown to death. Furthermore, the defenseless Yae’s limbs were bound with chains, a thorough measure to ensure she played no role beyond that of a hostage or prisoner. —However, even so, she had to say their understanding of a shinobi was naive.

As long as it wasn't instant death, a shinobi’s way was to do their job even if their head was flying off. She could escape the chains by dislocating every joint in her body and ignore her near-fatal injuries by burning her tanden.

By doing so, Yae—who had failed to fulfill any of the roles entrusted to her—believed there must be something she could do for Al at the very end. And so, she thought. And then—

"————"

—The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Yae aimed for came sooner than she imagined.

A tremendous impact swallowed the Agzad Valley and the surrounding land, and while the aftermath of the resulting cataclysm attacked in the form of gales, floods, and earthquakes, Yae moved. Escaping from Rem, who tried to protect Yae from the impact, she left the valley and reached the top of the cliff—there, Yae was made to feel the lack of strength of Al’s accomplices, including herself.

Amidst the dust that occupied her vision, covering the entire long valley, Al had not only failed to reach the Mogoraid Fumarole but had been pinned down by the enemy immediately after ascending. That was a hardship that wouldn't have been necessary if Yae, "Aldebaran," Roy Alphard, Heinkel, and the accomplices Al had gathered had fulfilled their roles. That was exactly why—

"————"

In a space where her vision was blurred by dust, her hearing by the rumbling earth, and her sense of smell by the swirling winds, Yae integrated the small amount of information obtained from her five senses and accurately picked out the person she needed to find. Perhaps no one could make full use of this situation better than a shinobi. While feeling grateful for the first time for being kidnapped to a shinobi village, Yae hurried toward her target with grace. This time, no matter what, to be of help to him—

"—Roy! I’m here! Eat me! Eat my 'Name'!!"

—Even though she had thought she must be of use to Al.

"—Al-sama."

She burst through the rising smoke and caught the man who had leaped out from the front. Feeling the heat of the body she touched, its weight, and the pulse of life against her skin, Yae was truly bewildered by her own actions.

"—Ya, e?"

Al, who had been forcibly stopped and leaned forward, peered at Yae’s profile right beside him and muttered in a tone as if he were seeing something unbelievable. The trembling in his voice contained wonder and confusion, but it was the same for Yae. —No, considering her resolve up until just a moment ago, it could be said that Yae was more confused than Al.

"I am..."

She roughly understood the situation Al was placed in. He had been cornered by some method and was trying to find a way out in this chaotic situation. For that purpose, he had to use "Gluttony," and rushing to the Sin Archbishop within the dust was the best and final service Yae could perform to let Al achieve his goal.

Knowing that, Yae blocked Al’s path. She threw her body against him and stopped him. Why? She asked her startled self. —Yae was terrified of Al, and that was why she wanted him to die, and why she had tried to let him achieve his goal so he could die. But if it was the current, cornered Al, she might be able to kill him with her own hands. Was that why? Was it because she wanted to stop Al and make him pay for the terror he had made her taste?

"I am..."

"—It is love."

The figure of Rem, who had stated that without hesitation in response to the arising question, crossed her mind, and Yae caught her breath. No, it was definitely different. They were both maids trying to let their masters achieve their goals, but the fundamental motivations of Yae and Rem were completely different. It was no reference.

However, by remembering the oni who had carried out her conviction based on a ridiculously massive feeling, Yae suddenly realized a certain feeling of her own.

"I—"

Yae wanted Al to die. Because she couldn't help but be afraid of the monster called Al. But—

"—It seems I cannot bear the thought of forgetting you, Al-sama."

—It wasn't that she wanted to lose him for eternity.

"————"

Faced with Yae, who had caught him and stated her reason, Aldebaran felt a blankness. He didn't understand. He didn't understand. There were too many things he didn't understand. —Aldebaran’s "Territory" should have broken Yae’s heart, making her an absolute collaborator on the condition of his death. That selfish trust in Yae was betrayed in this ultimate moment.

Had she been waiting for the best moment to betray him? He didn't know. He didn't know. But Aldebaran, who had stopped, was caught. —By the voice he most wanted to escape from, the one he should have pushed into the depths of his heart by covering his ears and averting his eyes.

"—See, once again, it is my win."

"...Priscilla."

In a situation where he should have made even the slightest effort to grasp the possibility before him, a murmur that was not "Gluttony," nor the woman who held him back, nor his own name, escaped Aldebaran’s mouth. In a situation where he should have acted, where he should have fulfilled something, he was here now with regrets piled up like ash, and yet, Aldebaran still looked toward the mountain of ash.

"What was..."

...the win, Priscilla? You died. You died, didn't you? Dying means you lost. Dying means your wishes won't be fulfilled. The only ones in this world who can avoid ending by dying are myself and Natsuki Subaru. So, you weren't like that. Then, what on earth was the win? You were the woman who least suited a "sore loser" excuse in this world, so did you make a sore loser's excuse at the very end?

Why did you smile at the end, Priscilla?

"The stars—"

"—Huh?"

"The stars were at fault, Al-sama...!"

Yae looked up from his chest at Aldebaran, whose consciousness was occupied by an unanswerable self-question. Aldebaran caught his breath at her strained voice and the content of her words. Aldebaran had frequently said the stars were at fault, and Yae had heard it. So, was it a retaliation? Now that she had stopped Aldebaran, was she using it as retaliation—no, Yae’s crimson eyes were pleading that it wasn't so.

A sincere light shone in those eyes, the same light as the "Witch" of the past, saying: It’s not Aldebaran’s fault.

"—Tch, as if that could be true."

There was a surge of passion that erupted instantaneously. The situation up to this point, the events so far, the merits and crimes of how things turned out—all of it lay with Aldebaran, with Natsuki Subaru; it was impossible that it wasn't their fault. That—

"—Al!!"

A silver-bell voice that even the dust couldn't obstruct cut through the instantaneous boiling in a single moment.

Emilia, who had jumped up and hurried out of the valley, was astonished by the sight.

"I thought it was a reeeally big shaking..."

Dust that filled her vision and the sound of wind that wouldn't stop roaring. Furthermore, the shaking of the earth, which was growing larger instead of subsiding—terrible things had happened while she was unconscious. But she wouldn't be discouraged. She wouldn't mope. Emilia didn't have time to be depressed.

"I have to hurry and stop Al..."

The reason she was entrusted with the role of stopping Al by her comrades was because everyone believed she and Rem were the most suited for it. And the reason Rem had sent her off to chase after the flying Al was because Rem expected it of her. Since she had come with her spirit high to save Subaru and Beatrice while carrying all of that, she couldn't let Al escape—

"—There! Al and... eh!? That girl!?"

Emilia, who had charged into the dust with determination, found Al beyond the dust and the figure of Yae holding him, and was surprised once again. Yae should have been stopped by Rem. The fact that Yae was here made her worried about Rem—Ferris had cast a powerful healing spell, calling it a "charm," but she was still concerned for her safety.

"Right away—"

Just as she kicked the ground hard to catch up and ask, a major change that pushed aside the dust came from beyond the embracing Al and Yae. It was the true nature of the shaking under her soles that hadn't subsided, the scream of the earth that had continued endlessly. What rushed in while violently shaking the ground was a massive amount of flash flood water.

Witnessing it about to mercilessly wash away the battlefield and everything on it, Emilia increased her speed without thinking, and—

"—Al!!"

Her eyes met the eyes inside the helmet of the man who looked up with a start at her call, and Emilia leaped over the heads of the two embracing figures to face the flash flood rushing from the front. And then—

"—Icicle Line!"

"————"

The atmosphere let out a high-pitched scream, and an unbelievable scale of freezing was performed against the great water. What was rushing in was a flood of water on a mythical level, as if a large lake had been overturned like a bucket. The beautiful girl with fluttering silver hair rapidly froze the incoming great water one after another, building a glacier.

"Yaaaaah—!!"

But it was a losing game of tag between the freezing and the flash flood. The cold air Emilia produced froze part of the great water, but the next wave came over the frozen part, and Emilia froze that as well. What resulted from the repetition was an umbrella of ice created by the freezing, and a great glacier that flowed and spread endlessly over it.

"Uryaaaaah—!!"

Starting from Emilia, who emitted the cold air, the ice umbrella expanded in a circle and along the flow of the great water, hanging over Aldebaran’s head and eventually passing him by. As its scale grew, its weight increased, the umbrella cracked, and it was only a matter of time before the super-weight fell—

"————"

For a moment, Emilia glanced this way, and her eyes met Aldebaran’s. What she thought of that, her lips tightened firmly—

"Uryaaaaah—!!"

The ice umbrella that had been creaking and making cracking sounds was reinforced, and the construction of the great glacier, which should have been on the verge of collapse, continued. Ice pillars extending one after another from the earth supported the falling umbrella—but Aldebaran’s attention was on something else.

Emilia called herself the "Witch of Glaciation," and in fact, she exerted power worthy of that title. But if the reason she exerted power beyond her limits right now was because of that earlier glance... If, just as she had protected Aldebaran from the giant rock trap he set in the valley, Emilia exerted her power this time to protect Aldebaran as well...

Thinking that, he finally realized. —Emilia had been looking at Aldebaran properly, and she had been trying to talk to Aldebaran.

"I am—"

A hoarse voice escaped his throat, but the rest wouldn't follow. He felt as if there had been a huge, huge, irreversible misunderstanding. —Even before his Authority was sealed, a misunderstanding that could no longer be redone or taken back.

"—See, once again, it is my win."

What was the win? He still didn't know in the end. But, Priscilla, you who said that and laughed triumphantly, you were truly—

"—That’s enough."

—In an instant, an unreasonable hammer that swept everything away turned into light and pierced through the battlefield.