Arc 10, Part 14: "Rebel"

—The "Dragon’s Eye." That was the expression that intuitively flashed through Subaru’s mind.

Opportunities to behold an existence referred to as a "Dragon"—not a ground dragon, water dragon, or sky dragon—were not common. Even so, having witnessed the "Divine Dragon" Volcanica at the top of the Pleiades Watchtower and the "Cloud Dragon" Mezoreia in the Vollachian Empire, Subaru likely possessed a relatively high amount of "Dragon experience."

However, it wasn't his wealth of sightings that triggered this intuition. It was a sensation rooted deeper, in the very instincts of a living creature.

When one faces a "Dragon," they feel it—the difference in their stage as a living being. An awe toward an existence on a fundamentally different level of the hierarchy of life; humans felt this toward "Dragons" without exception. That very sensation was the confirmation.

The feeling Subaru got from Crusch’s left eye, now revealed by the removal of her eyepatch, was exactly that.

"————"

A golden, shining pupil of a non-human being, imbued with an extraordinary light—Subaru’s heart trembled before Crusch, who now held what could only be called a "Dragon Eye" in her socket.

What had happened to her? What did that left eye signify? Why wouldn't she drop her sword even after her wind was sealed? Why had things turned out this way? The whirlpool of uncontrollable questions churning through his thoughts might have been an instinctive defensive reaction, a way to avoid facing the reality before him. Swallowing down those formal justifications, Subaru managed to open his mouth—

"—Ah."

He felt as if his heart had been pierced by that gaze imbued with golden light.

"—Shamak!!"

In that instant, Beatrice, acting in place of the frozen Subaru, held out her hand and chanted. Sensing Subaru’s reluctance to fight Crusch, she chose the Yin magic Shamak to tear the opponent’s consciousness away from reality. In terms of neutralizing a target, it was an exceptionally effective spell, and she deployed it with a level of refinement incomparable to Subaru’s.

It should have enveloped Crusch’s head and severed her will to fight from this place. However—

"—I can see it."

Crusch tilted her head and leisurely evaded the swirling black mist that had manifested in space without warning.

"—! Shamak! Shamak, Shamak, Shamak!"

Swallowing her surprise at the first strike being evaded, Beatrice continuously generated black mists in mid-air. They surged forward in an incessant chain, trying to engulf her, but Crusch avoided them all with agile movements. Finally, she timed her sword to the start of the magic and shattered the spell formula itself.

Crushing magic before it could activate. All magic works by giving direction to gathered mana; while the logic that it won't manifest if its structure is collapsed made sense, still—

"Executing that is a completely different story, isn't it!?"

Displaying the divine feat of cutting magic before it could become magic, Tiga leapt at Crusch from the side, his voice tinged with wonder. Wielding a scimitar and kicks simultaneously with great dexterity, Tiga engaged Crusch as she danced her blade to meet him, and their battle resumed. But—

"I told you. I can see it."

As she calmly declared this, Crusch’s movements changed so clearly that even an ordinary person could tell. The change was evident not just to the eyes, but to the ears as well—because, unlike the battle just moments ago, something had vanished from their clash. Sound. The clashing of steel against steel, the swordplay that sent sparks flying—that exchange had ceased.

Crusch evaded the strikes of Tiga’s sword and kicks not with her own blade, but simply through her movements. Even an amateur could tell which side had more leeway between parrying and evading. And what made this possible was—

"—The 'Dragon’s Eye.'"

Subaru gulped, swallowing a gasp of wonder he couldn't suppress. Most likely, the speed of Crusch’s movements themselves hadn't changed that much. What had changed drastically wasn't the speed of the movement, but the speed of its initiation. In a battle where lives are traded in a split-second offense and defense, if one could gain "something" that shaved off a fraction of a second from every single moment, their advantage would be immeasurable. What Crusch was doing now was erasing that fraction of a second.

"Guh... Kgh!"

As if to support Subaru’s hypothesis, the tide of the duel in the office shifted all at once. Tiga, who had been unleashing a variety of dynamic techniques and had supposedly been able to trade blows with Crusch head-on, found his sword dance interrupted and was forced entirely onto the defensive.

His attacks were crushed at the start, a blade was thrust into the gaps of his combos, and his movements were sealed as Crusch saw fit. Tiga’s previously cool profile was now clouded with panic as he barely managed to resist. However, even focusing entirely on defense didn't leave him unscathed. Blood seeped from his shoulder and thigh, and finally, a trail of red flowed from a gash on his cheek, the dripping blood telling the tale of his struggle.

At this rate, Tiga would soon be added to the list of victims at the McMahon estate. With Microtov already beyond saving, this was the worst-case scenario that absolutely could not be allowed to happen. Therefore—

"Ooooooh—!!"

While Tiga attempted to suppress her with his sword and Beatrice with her magic, the roaring Subaru lashed out with the whip pulled from his lower back, making the tip of the Guiltywhip howl in the wind.

From the moment he decided to use E.M.T, Subaru’s objective was to subdue Crusch. The reason he had left the combat to Beatrice and the others until now wasn't just because he was bewildered and stunned by Crusch’s change. It was for this single surprise attack. Faster than a sword, faster than magic, the strike of the Guiltywhip closed in on Crusch. No matter what the trick behind the "Dragon Eye" was, dealing with an unfamiliar attack should—

"—I have seen that before."

"—Oh."

In an instant, Subaru was struck by two shocks, and a pathetic breath escaped his lungs. The first shock was that his long-awaited surprise attack was easily blocked. Crusch met the whip with her sword before it could fully extend from Subaru’s hand, slamming its tip into the floor. The fact that the fastest strike in this room had been so easily cut down was worthy of marvel. But compared to what the second shock brought, it was nothing.

The second shock was Crusch’s eye as she struck down the Guiltywhip—not the "Dragon Eye," but her original amber right eye, which held a look of piercing sorrow.

"—I don't... understand."

To put it bluntly, there was nothing but confusion at that gaze that looked as if she were about to burst into tears. Crusch was the one acting strangely, yet Subaru felt as if he were the villain for trying to restrain her. This wasn't about a beautiful woman’s tears being unfair, especially since he had already been killed once.

Of course, if she called it a false accusation, that would be the end of it. In reality, Crusch remained expressionless with her lips pressed tight, merely glancing at Subaru, the wielder of the whip she had struck down. —But for some reason, he thought: She looks like she’s about to cry.

—I’ll make those tears stop.

"—!" "You let your guard down—!"

Ignoring Subaru, who gritted his teeth at the emotion that crossed Crusch’s eye, Tiga found an opening—though his interpretation of it was different—and flashed his shamshir with ferocious movement. The white blade of the scimitar danced, howling like a beast’s fang as it closed in on Crusch’s slender frame—

"I told you, I can see it!"

In that split second, Crusch twisted her body to match the trajectory of the flashing scimitar, evading the strike so closely it grazed her skin. Raising her voice, she drove a rising knee into Tiga’s jaw. Tiga let out a groan of pain as he was thrown back, and the subsequent flashes of her blade sprayed his blood across the office as he desperately shielded his vitals. As he stumbled back, a powerful kick pierced his torso. Blown straight back, Tiga slammed into the wall and collapsed. But—

"I'll pick up your bones, my friend!"

Using the brief moment Tiga had bought, Subaru closed in on Crusch. He swung his whip, aiming for the hand holding her sword—

"I can see that too."

Dismissing him, Crusch avoided the whip strike with a mere flick of her wrist. Her sword point flipped into a thrust, lunging toward the leg of the carelessly approaching Subaru. The silver light pierced his instep, and Subaru was made to pay the price for his reckless full-body charge—

"Beatrice!"

"—Hmph, you’re a partner who asks for nothing but the impossible, in fact!"

With a single call, Beatrice sensed Subaru’s intention. While grumbling, she used her small body to its absolute limit, pouring her entire soul into granting her partner’s wish. The moment the blade reached him, it activated. —The absolute defense magic, E.M.M.

"————"

Subaru and Beatrice’s original magic. By shifting one’s existence half a step away from reality, it activated the ultimate defense that rejected all physical and magical interference. That said, using E.M.M. while E.M.T. was already active was a reckless feat they were attempting for the first time; success was a miracle—

"You’d better commit to daily love calls morning, noon, and night, I suppose!"

"I love you, Beako!"

While "paying" the adorable demand required as the price for the miracle, Subaru immediately switched gears from the fact that the thrust hadn't connected and set his sights on Crusch, who was bracing for her next move. E.M.M. provided ironclad defense, but it had the drawback of rendering the user unable to move. The moment he took his next step, the invincibility would end. The next sword point would pierce him without mercy. Therefore—

"Invisible Providence!"

Before the next strike could be unleashed, he played his cards in rapid succession. From Subaru’s chest, as he sprayed a nosebleed, an invisible black arm extended and grabbed Crusch’s sword arm, forcibly stopping the follow-up attack she was about to launch. The invisible arm gripped Crusch’s wrist tightly, forcing the sword from her hand and stripping her of her weapon. Crusch, her actions hindered by a succession of cards Subaru didn't know he had, found Subaru lunging at her with his whole body. Combined with the demonic hand, he used three "arms" to pin her against the wall.

"Crusch-san! Please, listen to me!"

Grabbing both her wrists and forcibly pinning her against the wall, Subaru pleaded. Even then, Crusch twisted her body, trying to drive a knee into Subaru’s flank, but he forced his body against hers, sealing her movements in such close proximity that they could feel each other's breath. Right before his eyes, Crusch’s two-colored eyes—amber and gold—stared at Subaru. Looking back at them head-on,

"This... no matter how you look at it, this is wrong! Things have gone off the rails! I won't let things proceed like this!"

"Natsuki Subaru..."

"I... I won't accept any of this! I won't!!"

Subaru roared at the top of his lungs, causing Crusch’s cheeks to stiffen. In the end, his argument was essentially the same as when he was shouting complaints before his "Return by Death." Even so, he wanted to believe that he could achieve a different result now—compared to before when he was just standing there shouting—by giving Crusch room to think.

Microtov and the lives of those at the McMahon estate would not return. Even so, there had to be a way other than just sitting back and accepting the worst conclusion. For that, it was essential for Crusch to lower her sword here. He would persuade her—

"—Eh?"

Subaru, waiting for Crusch’s reaction with such hope, let out a raspy breath. The reason was what happened before his eyes—Crusch’s mismatched eyes suddenly sharpened, and using the recoil of her back bouncing off the wall, she forcibly pulled Subaru down. Taking the surprise move head-on, Subaru was pathetically collapsed onto the spot. —However, it wasn't a counterattack against Subaru. Rather, it was the opposite.

—Because in the next moment, a hellfire of tremendous heat swallowed Subaru’s vision in a brilliant red.

—Far away, he thought he heard a sound like a steam whistle, and his consciousness slowly surfaced.

Breaking through the surface of wakefulness, the first thing he felt was a stinging, throbbing pain. He felt it intensely throughout his body, especially his right arm, and a pained groan escaped his throat.

"—Ugh."

"—! Subaru, you’re awake, I suppose. Are you alright, in fact?"

Hearing that leaked groan, a voice immediately noticed Subaru’s awakening. It was a familiar one—Beatrice, his partner who greeted him every morning. However, this awakening accompanied by pain was quite different from the daily routine.

"Bea... ko...? What... happened to me..."

"Don't try to force yourself up, I suppose. The burns are still severe, in fact. ...If Betty had enough mana, I would heal you right away. I’m sorry, I suppose."

"It's not something you should apologize for... Burns?"

Tentatively opening his eyelids, he saw Beatrice’s dejected face peering down at him. Seeing the Great Spirit with sadness in her large round eyes, he tried to comfort her immediately, but stopped. Hearing the word "burns," his sleeping brain began to wake up, following his body. That’s right. He remembered seeing fire just before he lost consciousness. And before that—

"—Crusch-san!"

The tragedy at the McMahon estate came rushing back, and Subaru bolted upright. Once he remembered, the vivid restoration of his memories began in a torrent. Microtov’s death, Crusch’s confession that she did it herself, the scene where he tried to restrain her, and the "Dragon’s Eye" dwelling in the resisting Crusch’s left eye—things had moved with far too much momentum. But Crusch was the priority. At the end, using E.M.M. and Invisible Providence, Subaru had succeeded in subduing her. After that, he saw the sudden flames—

"That’s right, a huge fire flared up... Is the pain in my arm from that burn? Dammit, it stings...! But this much is nothing—"

"C-Calm down, I suppose! I haven't been able to cast healing magic because of the mana shortage, in fact! If you don't stay still, you might catch a nasty disease, I suppose!"

"This isn't the time for that! Crusch-san is more important than me right now. Me falling over with a fever is nothing compared to—"

He declared, trying to brush off Beatrice’s concern, when it happened.

"—It seems you have awakened, Natsuki Subaru."

"Eh?"

Suddenly hearing an unexpected voice, Subaru’s eyes widened. Stepping out from the darkness in the back of his field of vision was Crusch, the very person he was about to go looking for. Having covered her left eye with her eyepatch again, Crusch approached the arguing Subaru and Beatrice, illuminating the area with a lagmite lamp in her hand. She took his right arm and said,

"As I thought, it is not a wound that should be left alone. It is only first aid, but take this."

As she spoke, Crusch placed the lamp at her feet and gently wrapped a white embroidered handkerchief from her pocket around Subaru’s right arm as a makeshift bandage. As the handkerchief touched the oozing burn and became soiled, and as he felt the gentleness of Crusch’s touch as she wrapped it, Subaru’s eyes darted around, unable to keep up with the situation.

"—? What is it? A wind of bewilderment is blowing, I see."

"...Well, it’s blowing at a pretty high wind speed. In my memory, just a moment ago, we were, like, going at each other with desperate looks on our faces, right?"

"I believe you were the only one whose look was desperate, Sir Knight."

"I’m talking about the overall picture! If there’s two of us and I have a desperate face, that means fifty percent of us were desperate!"

"I see. That does sound logically sound, in its own way."

Nodding with a serious face, Crusch left Subaru stunned as she piled banter upon banter. Only then did Subaru finally realize they were in a strange place—they were interacting in a damp passage that couldn't be called very hygienic. He had been laid out on a cold, hard floor, and the air was humid with a fishy scent; now that he was conscious of it, the space was filled with a sense of sewage that was hard to ignore.

"Wait, is this literally a sewer?"

"That is also why Betty doesn't want you overexerting yourself, I suppose. If you accidentally get tetanus, it would be a real struggle to cure you right now, in fact."

"So you’re pulling double duty as a pretty doctor and a tomboy nurse... I’m incredibly grateful for that, but more importantly—what’s going on?"

"————"

While showing understanding for Beatrice’s concern for his well-being, what remained incomprehensible was Crusch, who was just as active as his devoted partner in treating Subaru’s burns. She narrowed her eyes at Subaru, whose voice had dropped slightly, and let out a quiet sigh.

"This is a sewer some distance away from Microtov McMahon’s estate. Based on the distance traveled, we should be right between the Noble District and the Commercial District. Even using the sewers, we cannot bypass the checkpoints that manage movement to the upper levels. That will be our immediate obstacle."

"Wait, wait, please hold on. I can't follow this at all. To begin with, my memory around the time I passed out is super fuzzy. But..."

"But?"

"Based on what you just said... are you and I on the same 'party' right now, Crusch-san?"

"Pa-rty mem-ber..."

Crusch frowned at the unfamiliar term, but Beatrice, who had properly passed the Level 2 Modern Language Proficiency Test, nodded "I suppose" to Subaru’s question.

"There are various complications involved, but that girl has no hostility toward Betty and the others, in fact. It was also that girl who carried the unconscious Subaru this far, I suppose."

"If I had left you there, you too would have been unable to avoid burning to death. At the very least, I felt no falsehood in your words. If that is the case, your death is not something I desire."

"I see. Well, thanks for that... but..."

The last scene before he lost consciousness and the large burn scar on his right arm halfway proved the truth of the situation—that Crusch had saved him from a dangerous spot. There was no way Beatrice would conspire with Crusch to deceive Subaru. However, the reason Subaru couldn't offer a straightforward thanks was Crusch’s wording—Subaru’s death was not something she desired. But the deaths of Microtov and the others?

"...Crusch-san, did you really cut down Microtov-san?"

"—. I affirmed it there as well, and it is the truth. Microtov McMahon and the residents of the estate he employed—I cut them all down with my own hands."

"—!"

"Do you require an explanation for the reason as well? This too will be a repetition of what I said there, but Microtov McMahon and his ilk were rebels, existences that brought harm to the Kingdom of Lugunica. Therefore, as one of the high-ranking nobles, I meted out punishment with my blade."

"That’s... that’s what I don't get. Rebels? Bringing harm to the Kingdom? What does that even mean? Was he plotting something so stupid that you couldn't stand it, Crusch-san?"

"—At the very least, there is a high probability that he was conveniently utilizing the prophecies of the Dragon Tablet."

Subaru, moving the conversation forward to pop the bubbles of doubt rising one after another, gasped. The information Crusch added at the end was exactly about the "Dragon Tablet" that Subaru had wanted to confirm directly with Microtov today. The covenant with the "Divine Dragon" which held immense influence in the Kingdom, and the prophetic slab inscribed with details related to it—that was the "Dragon Tablet," and it was also the key item that served as the basis for the start of the Royal Selection in which Emilia was participating. However, since it was something he had only heard about and never seen in person, Subaru had wanted to confirm its existence with his own eyes if possible.

"That Dragon Tablet is being utilized? By Microtov-san?"

"It is hard to imagine that the Dragon Tablet, which reports major events of the Kingdom, would not speak of the successive passings of the members of the Royal Family. If so, what is possible is that the one in the position of guarding the Dragon Tablet intentionally concealed the prophecies that should have been made and did not make them public."

"But... but, isn't it too late for that now!? To begin with, that kind of doubt should have existed since before the Royal Selection started. Especially for you and Ferris, Crusch-san—"

They should have had the motivation to investigate the details of the incident where the Royal Family died. After all, they were particularly close to the Fourth Prince, one of the deceased royals. However, Subaru wasn't insensitive enough to pursue that point out loud.

"—That I did not possess the option to doubt was my own bitter failure at the time."

Inferring the rest of the unsaid words, Crusch admitted her own mistake. Of course, calling it a mistake was far too merciless toward someone who had just lost those close to her. He had heard from Ferris that the relationship between the Fourth Prince and Crusch was more than just being close. It was likely her greatest motivation for desiring the throne. But—

"Then why did you suddenly start doubting it now...?"

"You should know without me saying it. He sent the 'Divine Dragon Church' to me and skillfully deceived Ferris with words, plotting to make me withdraw from the Royal Selection."

"—!? Crusch-san, that’s..."

"Ferris has a strong sense of responsibility. Given my situation, he was also suffering from mental exhaustion. If someone called the 'Brain of the Kingdom' whispered sweet words to him there, it is no wonder Ferris made an error in judgment. If not for that—"

"————"

"—If not for that, there is no way he would have done something that trampled upon the vow between me and His Highness."

Crusch cast her eyes down, lowered her voice, and strove to suppress her emotions. However, the more that effort was conveyed, the more Subaru became unsure which way he should tilt the scales in his heart.

Emotionally, of course he wanted to believe Crusch. It was hard on Microtov, but if Microtov really was a rebel who utilized the Kingdom for his own ends, then Crusch’s actions would have legitimacy. Perhaps, in a proper trial, there would be room for leniency. However, Subaru remembered that Microtov was the one who, despite Subaru’s pathetic display at the Royal Selection, had still acknowledged him as Emilia’s knight.

Crusch was Subaru’s benefactor, and Microtov was also a benefactor. Wishing for a convenient conclusion where one side was unilaterally right seemed far too difficult. And—

"Ferris is..."

He had taken the hand offered by the "Divine Dragon Church" with the resolve that he would be hated by Crusch and even dismissed as her knight, making a choice that envisioned his master’s withdrawal from the Royal Selection. Even if that meant breaking the vow regarding the Fourth Prince, he had chosen it. Subaru didn't want to simply say that decision was the result of someone’s manipulation.

"...I understand your claim for now, Crusch-san. I want to talk about this thoroughly. There are a few other things—"

"Wait, Natsuki Subaru. Your questions are valid, but since you are awake, I would like to prioritize moving. It is not wise to remain in this place forever."

"Ah—the sewer? True, I want to change locations, but we still need to talk..."

Subaru pressed Crusch as she slowly shook her head, trying to end the conversation. But Beatrice pulled on the sleeve of Subaru’s unburned left arm. Glancing at her, he saw a slight sense of tension in Beatrice’s expression.

"Betty agrees with that girl on this point, I suppose. Anyway, we should escape first, in fact. If we dawdle, we’ll be caught by the pursuers, I suppose."

"Even you’re saying that... wait, wait, I can't just ignore that. Escape? Pursuers? I don't understand. Then, us being in the sewer is like..."

"————"

"Like... we’re running away..."

As he spoke the words, a bad premonition gradually settled in, making Subaru’s tongue feel numb. During that time, Crusch picked up the lamp she had placed in the passage again, and Beatrice, with a troubled brow, opened and closed her thin lips several times, wondering what to say. He could tell from their efficient attitude and considerate manner. —Without exaggeration, Subaru and the others had been driven into the position of fugitives.

"I don't get it! There’s too much lack of explanation! And..."

Looking around as he spoke, Subaru confirmed that there was no one else besides Beatrice and Crusch, and mentioned the obvious unnaturalness. —Tiga’s absence.

"Tiga is... he was in the same estate too. So why isn't he here? What happened, how, and why? Tell me—"

"—Tiga Rauleon, was it? Unfortunately, that man is our pursuer."

"...What?"

Crusch’s voice responded to his question, but it only gave birth to a new question for Subaru. When one incomprehensible thing is piled on top of another, the resulting tower of incomprehensibility naturally becomes impossible to grasp in its entirety. With exactly that feeling, Subaru stared at Crusch, his eyes darting.

Then, meeting Subaru’s questioning gaze, she held up the lamp, letting its white light illuminate her beautiful face with the eyepatch covering her left eye, and continued. It was—

"Currently, you and I are being pursued. By Tiga Rauleon and the Kingdom’s soldiers. —Under suspicion of being rebels who plotted the assassination of Microtov McMahon and the overthrow of the Kingdom."