Chapter 38: Eight Year Late Reward

Chapter 38: Eight Year Late Reward

―"Abel pisses me off."

Subaru thought that this slogan was the way to capture "The Flamboyant” Yorna Mishigure.
After all, she was a person who was said to have repeatedly rebelled, and was even branded by the personable Zykl as a person with a desire for destruction.
In requesting a meeting with her, Subaru’s strategy was that “an appropriately powerful person wanted to talk to her privately in order to rebel against the current Emperor of Vollachia.”
The three of them visited the Red Lapis Castle with a personal message from that powerful person.

Honestly, Subaru hadn’t told a single lie.
The current “Emperor of Vollachia” was the one who ousted Abel and snatched his name and position. The “appropriately powerful person” who wanted to talk privately was also the real emperor who would normally be sitting on the throne, so there was no falsehood contained in his words.
The goal of Subaru’s group was to give Yorna the letter from Abel. To achieve this, he would tell as many lies as he needed to.

[This is what Natsumi Schwartz's plan is all about――!]

He was applauded by Al and Medium for his deviousness.
However--,

Kafma: “―Rebels against his Excellency?”

The air in the hall chilled as Yorna revealed what he had said.
The one who was brimming with hostility so much that Subaru had the illusion of a chill from him was the man who had been the most passionate in this place since a while ago, Vincent’s escort, Kafma Irulux.
The sternness of his gaze made Subaru realize that it was no longer possible for them to make a peaceful exit.

―”The crafty schemer drowns in his own scheme.” He had never felt these words more than now.

Subaru: “But, aren’t the bad timing and lack of information both Abel’s fault…?”

Kafma: “Shut your mouth. ―General Yorna”

Kafma silenced Subaru, who was cursing Abel for putting him into this absurd predicament. As he did, he thrust his steely gaze forward to Yorna.

Kafma: "Did you knowingly allow these things to be in the presence of his Excellency?”

“―”

Kafma: “I want an answer!”

Kafma raised his voice, and his anger was not directed at Subaru’s group, who was becoming increasingly tense, but at Yorna for creating this clashing situation.
This was not because the blame lied with Yorna.
More simply, it was a sign that he did not see Subaru’s group as a threat.

In fact, the fighting spirit coming from Kafma, who stood up bravely, had the same quality and threat of that of Arakiya, a powerful person who he had encountered at the city hall in Guaral.
At the very least, there was no doubt that he was powerful enough to be ordered to accompany the emperor.
From his point of view, it was probably inevitable that he would judge not only Subaru, but even Al and Medium as unworthy of caution.

Al: "We’re being excluded even though we’re the people concerned? I don't know if that's good or bad…”

The tense exchange continued without Subaru and the others, with Al's small murmur in agreement. Yorna, who was being questioned by Kafma, put her mouth on her kiseru and exhaled tobacco smoke.
Then she tilted her head, shaking her vivid hair ornaments, and said “Now,”

Yorna: “What do you mean, ‘knowingly’?”

Kafma: "Speak plainly...! As I have advised his Excellency many times, you are still dangerous."

Yorna: “You're stating the obvious. With all the chaos I have piled up… aren’t you aware of that?”

Kafma: “―gh”

A vein bulged on Kafma’s forehead at Yorna’s attitude, which could only be considered provoking.
Strangely enough, Subaru's opinion also leaned towards Kafma's as far as the exchange was concerned. Honestly, even from Subaru's perspective, Yorna's character was horrible.
He thought he was prepared for this to a certain extent based on what he previously knew of her reputation, but she was even more vicious than he expected.

However, it seemed that she was not simply planning to present the rebels, Subaru’s group, to Vincent’s group that happened to be visiting.
The air was too tense for a scene in which rebels were being presented to the emperor.
More than anything―,

Vincent: "―As usual, you have repulsively bad taste.”

Vincent’s voice was fired, cutting off Yorna’s plan and throwing it away.
At Vincent's cold words, Yorna raised her shapely eyebrows slightly.

Yorna: "You don't like it, your Excellency?"

Vincent: "Fool. If it's too one-sided, it's the same as letting a rabbit hunt a dog. I have not grown tired of the empire to the point of making amusement out of mere cruelty.”

Vincent's statement was plain, but with a definite air of authority.
Yorna's fox ears quivered in the gap between her tied hair as she coolly accepted it. Subaru couldn't understand what kind of emotion she was expressing.
But it was the same with Vincent's mind.

“―”

How was the storm that raged in his heart when he was confronted face to face with rebels?
Understanding his inner thoughts was more difficult than imagining what would be going on in the mind of the real emperor, since he knew that the person in front of him was a false emperor.
The false emperor probably thought badly of Abel since he drove him away, but―,

Subaru: "He can't be stupid enough to expose it......"

Vincent: “―You.”

Subaru: “―gh!”

Vincent’s black eyes shot straight at Subaru, who gasped for breath.
Immediately, he was forbidden to look away, and he locked eyes with a powerful enemy unprepared.

He wasn’t sure how it was made, but his fake face looked exactly like the real thing.
Similar to the genuine article, his sharp black eyes tried to see through Subaru.
It made Subaru's heart itchy―,

Vincent: "If there's something you want to say to me, say it.”

Subaru: “...Those are some irritating eyes.”

Kafma: “Wh…!?”

Subaru: “Ah! Um, no! I didn’t mean it! That was unintentional!”

At the most inopportune time, the false emperor's questioning and the leaking of his resentment coincided.
Kafma exclaimed with a face showing that he hadn’t expected the head-on verbal abuse of the emperor.
When Subaru hurriedly waved his hands in panic at the situation, Vincent closed one eye and became silent.

He was surprised, but at the same time, he was looking at Subaru as if he was judging him.
It was the same kind of gaze that the real Abel had directed at him in the Badheim jungle, the village of the Shudrach, and even in the city hall of Guaral.

Subaru: “Umm, anyways, we…”

Behind him, Al and Medium were watching the situation with bated breath.
They must have been under a lot of pressure from Subaru's shocking outburst. The air in the hall was chilly and tense, and one more blunder would have shattered it to pieces.
In the first place, the situation they were in was too painful.

Subaru didn’t think that Yorna or even Kafma were people that Subaru’s group could compete with.
That being the case, he thought it would be best to retract the opinion that he had expressed to Yorna, bow his head and say that they were not rebels, and leave, even if it was bland.
So, Subaru made up his mind and loosened the corners of his mouth to form an amiable smile.

―Subaru noticed Yorna’s gaze fixed on him.

“―”

As she used her kiseru, Yorna silently watched Subaru's movements.
It was a very ambiguous look, whether indifferent or otherwise. It was as uncertain as the tobacco smoke rising into the sky, like an illusion that fades away as you try to grasp it.
It would be truly foolish to try to rely on it.

However, Subaru had a hunch that this was a watershed moment.
That look in her eyes, on the verge of losing interest in Subaru’s group, was not so capricious that she would take them up again if she had given them up. An opinion discarded here would never be scooped up again.
In other words, he would never be able to get Yorna Mishigure’s cooperation.

It was synonymous with blocking off the path to an unreliable victory in the dark.
Therefore―,

Vincent: "―Answer carefully. Tell me what you are going to tell me."

Subaru: “That―”

To Vincent's question, he looked up after a little too long to be called a beat.
The false emperor's eyes narrowed, and Kafma, beside him, turned his attention to Subaru. Behind him, Al and Medium's tension swelled, and Yorna's mouthful of tobacco smoke lodged in her lungs.
With these changes at the edge of his vision, Subaru looked at Vincent and spoke.

Subaru: "It’s as Yorna said. We're declaring war on you."

Yes, it was as if he was clinging to a position that he should not retreat from, a piece that he should not concede.
Rem, who was waiting in Guaral for him to return, Abel, who was not here, and Al and Medium, who were standing behind him, entrusted Subaru with the decision.
In order for Natsuki Subaru not to misunderstand and throw away the meaning and weight of this―.

“―”

Vincent's black eyes wavered slightly as he was told that he was being directly opposed.
However, Subaru could not decipher if it was joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, or some other emotion.
He could only taste the heat of his own words, which rapidly dried out his tongue.
It was no wonder. Unlike Abel, the emperor of the vast Vollachian Empire who had lost his authority, the fake emperor in front of him surely held his authority as a weapon.

In fact, if Vincent hadn't raised his hand slightly to stop him, Kafma would have exploded after hearing Subaru’s earlier outburst, and his life would have been scattered in all directions.
But that didn't happen. Vincent didn't let that happen.

Yorna: “Kuhu…”

Yorna looked down at the confrontation between Subaru and Vincent from her seat above, clearing her throat slightly.
Smoke escaped the corners of her mouth in a chuckle, and her shoulders shook with amusement. It seemed that Subaru's life-risking declaration at least had the effect of distracting her from her boredom.

Vincent: “What’s so funny, Yorna Mishigure.”

Yorna: "First of all, these guests have not retracted their words. In addition, the three of them could possibly endanger the life of your Excellency… What do you think?"

Vincent: "Don’t make light of me, woman. Even you, who believes in disobeying me, know my intentions.”

Vincent responded to Yorna's provocative gaze without changing his expression.
Just after, he looked at Subaru, whose dark eyes once again told him of his hostility.

Vincent: "This is the land of the sword wolf. Only if you have the guts to go for this head can you truly call yourself an imperial citizen."

Subaru: "...That's very sweet of you.”

Vincent: “Hmph”

Snorting, Vincent laughed off Subaru's sarcasm.
Vincent's behavior, including his response, was a perfect copy. If Abel were here, he would have responded exactly the same way.
It even made him suspect that Abel, who was with Subaru and the others, might be the false emperor.
In that case, Subaru and the others would be completely blocked on all sides, so he hoped that wasn’t true.

Vincent: "But the value of my head is not so cheap that I can easily give it to you."

Subaru: "―. Then what do you intend to do with us?"

Vincent: “That’s the problem.”

A statement that acknowledged Subaru and the others, who had shown outright defiance to the emperor, and had won against Kafma, who was on the verge of a violent outburst.
However, receiving his words, there was no change in the cold gaze that Vincent gave to him.
Even if he valued Subaru’s high spirit, he had no reason to take someone who wanted to harm him into consideration.
The air in the room burned as Subaru met Vincent's black eyes.

Yorna: "Aah, I'm also a sinful woman. When I see men fighting over me like this, it makes me boil with emotion.”

Kafma: “This isn’t my problem, but in any case… there are more women over there than men. Saying ‘men’ is off the mark.”

Yorna: “Kuhu.”

Yorna gave a terribly out-of-place reaction during the staring contest between Subaru and Vincent. She cleared her throat in mockery at the irritated Kafma's point.
Kafma's face grew increasingly angry at her reaction,

Kafma: "Your Excellency! Please order yourself! Those things..."

Escort: "―Hey, Kafma, that’s it. You've been going on and on for quite a while.”

Fed up with the stalemate, Kafma tried to appeal directly to Vincent. However, it was not Vincent or Yorna who interrupted him, but someone else.

Kafma: “Ah…”

It was a small figure sitting on the wooden floor apart from Kafma, one of the three people Vincent had brought along as his escorts.

Escort: "You know, most things come together better when his Excellency is thinking rather than when we're thinking. And if we’re chattering, we’ll be in the way, really."

The person who said this was a wrinkled old man with white-colored hair and long eyebrows.
An old man who carefully kneaded an inconvenienced atmosphere in both the tone of his voice and content of his speech. He had a very impactful look, so Subaru couldn’t understand why he hadn’t seen him until now.

―No, he had seen him. It was just that he wasn’t aware of him.

Perhaps that was what it meant to truly disappear.
When the old man pointed out to him, Kafma turned around and said, "But,”

Kafma: "It is the duty of a loyal subject to relieve you of your troubles, Master Olbart!"

Olbart: "When you call yourself a loyal subject, doesn't it sound like a prelude to someone being purged for being egotistical? I don't want to chop off the head of a promising young man."

Kafma: “Gh…”

Shaking his head loosely, the old man - the one called Olbart - picked at his earholes. Kafma's cheeks tensed up as if he felt some kind of pressure from this gesture.
However, Kafma wasn't the only one who felt his cheeks tense. When Subaru heard the name he said, his cheeks also tensed up.

Subaru: “Olbart…”

Olbart: “Oh? Do you know me? I'm something of a celebrity.”

Subaru: "...Yes, if you're aware that you're a celebrity, then I’m sure.”

His lips quivered, and the name he spun was met with a reaction from Olbart.
If he reacted that way after seeing Subaru’s surprised look, there was no doubt. He had heard Olbart’s name at the city hall in Guaral, and on the way to the demon city.
There were Nine Divine Generals that Subaru and his team would inevitably have to deal with to capture the empire. One of them was Yorna, and another―,

Subaru: “‘Vicious Old Man’ Olbart Dunkelkenn…!”

Olbart: "I don't really like that name. ‘Vicious Old Man’ is too harsh. Do I really look that vicious? Well, if you were to ask me directly, I wouldn't be able to say. Ka-ka-ka!”

The old man opened his mouth wide and smiled, showing off his white teeth that had grown in beautifully for his age.
However, Subaru couldn't bring himself to laugh. ―After encountering Vincent, the fake emperor, for the purpose of getting Yorna on his side, he had Olbart with him.
This meant that Olbart was also a member of that side at this point, didn't it?

Subaru: “Arakiya and Chisha, and now Olbart…”

Subaru wanted to hold his head in his hands at the Divine Generals that had already been claimed by the enemy and were considered to be of high rank.
The problem was not only the future, but also the situation in front of him getting worse at an accelerating rate.

Kafma alone was out of control, and now Olbart, a Divine Generals, has joined in.
It wasn’t possible to match such an unfavorable condition just by thinking about it―,

Al: “―Gramps, do you remember me?”

Olbart: “What was that?”

The sweat on Subaru’s forehead trickled down his cheeks and dripped from the tip of his chin.
In the midst of this tension, a voice unexpectedly made Olbart raise his eyebrows. It was Al, who had extended his hand from behind Subaru.
Al leaned forward, and Subaru's eyes widened in surprise at his action, "Al?”

Subaru: “What are you doing so suddenly… when every move we make is being questioned?”

Al: “Well you’re the one still speaking like a woman, but I didn't just jump out without thinking. No, I wasn't thinking, but… Hey, gramps! It's me, me!”

Subaru: “You sound like a scammer saying it like that…”

It would be rash to think that just because he was dealing with an old man, he could talk like a scammer. In fact, in response to Al’s call, Olbart leaned forward and snorted, saying “Hmm?”

Olbart: "Well, that's quite an eccentric look you have there, son. Even though I'm an old man, I wouldn't be able to forget someone who looks like that. Are you and I really acquainted?”

Al: "I don't know if I would call us acquaintances, and the last time I saw you, I wasn't wearing my helmet. But I didn't have an arm, and we talked for a while."

Olbart: "Talked to me without an arm...?"

Al: "Yeah, that’s right. ―That girl Arakiya was with me.”

In a slightly lowered voice, Al mentioned the name of Arakiya, a fearsome girl who was a  Divine General like Olbart and who had stirred up Subaru and the others.
Al's words were completely inconceivable to Subaru, but as soon as he heard them, Olbart's eyebrows shot up and he shouted, "Oh!”

Olbart: "Oh, it’s you! You're the guy who took back the island with Arakiya! You do look similar, don’t you? Ka-ka-ka, I can't believe you're still alive!”

Al: "Yeah, I'm alive. Somehow my stars turned around."

Olbart: "And now, by some miracle, I'm your enemy. Maybe I should have talked to you more when I was there to make your reputation better. My bad.”

Olbart smiled broadly while exchanging words with Al in an easy-going tone.
Unsure of the relationship between the two, Subaru could only stare blankly. He couldn't even tell if things were getting better or not at the moment.

Vincent: “―. Olbart, you know this man?”

The one who seemed to put an end to his question was Vincent, who intervened.
When the false emperor crossed his arms, Olbart replied, "Oh, yes.”

Olbart: "Two or three years ago, when you had just ascended to the throne, there were uprisings all over the place, weren’t there?”

Kafma: "Master Olbart, his Excellency ascended to the throne eight years ago…”

Olbart: "Huh? I thought it was about three years. Well, it was in the last ten years, so I got the impression that it was recent, but I slipped up.”

Vincent: "Just keep going. Eight years ago, what happened?"

Vincent corrected Olbart, who was getting sidetracked every time he spoke. In accordance with his correction, Olbart pointed at Al, saying, "That's why.”

Olbart: “At that time, a rebellion broke out in Ginunhive… And the ones who stopped it were that guy with the helmet and Arakiya.”

Vincent: “Oh?”

Vincent's interest turned to Al for the first time when he heard Olbart's story.
It was hard to tell which way the needle had swung, good or bad, but it seemed that his work did not immediately lead to a rude defeat.
In addition, Al took a step forward to stand alongside Subaru.

Al: "As old Olbart here knows… I was actually of service to your Excellency eight years ago, and I have yet to receive my reward.”

Olbart: "He's the one who said he didn't want it.”

Vincent: "Shut up, Olbart. ―Keep going, clown."

Al: "―I was hoping to get my reward today.

Quietly, Subaru had the illusion that the sound seemed to freeze the air in the hall.
Al was fearlessly demanding a reward for his own achievement after eight years. With his stubbornness and his presence as someone who knew what he was doing, it was certainly a big gamble worth betting on.

Vincent, the false emperor who didn’t choose to immediately execute them after hearing Subaru’s declaration of war, had his reasons for acting as the emperor of Vollachia and the determination to do so.
And if Abel's words were true, then his creed included "reward and punishment."
Then―,

Vincent: "What do you want? My head?"

Al: "It would be a surprise victory if I could get you to give it to me, but it would take a lot of courage to ask for it. So..."

As he said this, Al turned his head and looked at Subaru. Sensing what he was being asked to do, Subaru pulled out an envelope from his pocket.
Their purpose from the beginning was to deliver the envelope containing Abel's letter, of course.

Subaru: "Our purpose is to give this letter to Lady Yorna. If you would like to reward my companion for his service, please allow us to do so.”

Vincent: “A letter?”

Subaru: “A love letter from our… master, to Lady Yorna.”

Subaru hesitated to call him “master,” and mentally stuck his tongue out while continuing.
Hearing the words "love letter," Yorna, sitting in the upper seat, laughed with a throaty "kuhu.” It seemed to have caught her interest. And Vincent's reaction wasn't bad either.
Vincent's dark eyes narrowed, and he pondered for just a few seconds.

Vincent: "It's been over eight years, but the case of the isolated gladiator island was a big deal."

Subaru: “Oh…!”

Vincent: “You can have your reward if you want it. You may give the letter to Yorna Mishigure.”

With a chuckle, Vincent indicated Yorna.
For a moment, it took them a moment to swallow the meaning of Vincent's words. But when they realized that it meant that Al had won the bet, Subaru and the others looked at each other.
Al's decision to go for it in this big game of all or nothing was the right one―,

Vincent: “―However”

Subaru: “Huh?”

Just before he was about to raise his voice in joy, Vincent, holding up one finger, uttered a single word.
As Subaru and the others turned to look at him, the false emperor closed his deep dark eye,

Vincent: "The only thing I will allow you to do is give her the letter. Do you know what that means?"

Subaru chewed on what he told them.
With that, Subaru's eyes widened and he quickly turned around, clenching his teeth. Subaru's gaze went to Yorna, who was looking upon the situation with a grin.
Subaru’s team’s goal was to give her a letter and get her to respond, but,

Subaru: "If I were to give you a letter, when would I expect to hear from you, Lady Yorna?"

Yorna: "Let me see…”

When asked by Subaru, Yorna let her gaze wander into the void for a while.
Then she turned her kiseru upside down, dropped the ashes into a jar prepared by the kamuro beside her, and began to smoke.

Yorna: "I’m a woman… I want to open a love letter as soon as I receive it. But because I am… I would take my time to read through it and reply after my guests left the castle.”

Subaru: "―. You will read it after we leave the castle, won't you?"

Yorna: “I will not tell a lie as the lord of this demon city in front of her attendants.”

The light in her blue eyes, whether it was sincere or naive, was something that Subaru, who didn’t know her, could not judge. However, he no longer had a choice.
For example, if he had changed the details of Al's reward to them leaving the castle safely, Vincent probably would have let that pass too.
However, that idea, as before, would end the possibility of making a deal with Yorna.
Meaning―,

Subaru: “Al, Medium”

Before making a decision, Subaru called out the names of his two companions.
Their cooperation was essential for what was about to happen and what needed to be done. That being the case, it made sense to ask for their approval before taking any action.
When Subaru looked back at them, Al and Medium both nodded.

Al: “Well, didn’t I say I would help you, bro?”

Medium: “Brother asked me to take care of you, Natsumi!”

Al cocked his head and Medium gave him strong words.
Encouraged by their answers, Subaru nodded back at them.

Then, Subaru slowly walked to the front of the hall, to Yorna, who was leaning against the armrest on the upper seat, puffing on her kiseru.
Up close to her devilish beauty, Subaru presented her with the letter amidst the sweet aroma.

Subaru: "Here you are, a letter from our master."

Yorna: "Thank you for your hard work. But it's much harder from here."

Subaru: “Yes, I am aware of that.”

Gentle fingers accepted the letter, and words said with a smile cursed the future of Subaru’s group. However, Subaru responded to the words with dignity and turned around.
And then―,

Subaru: "―Your majesty the Emperor, I’m afraid that we will have to take your throne.”

And so, he directly announced a declaration of war even more clearly than before.

△▼△▼△▼△

At that moment, the events that took place were dramatic.

Kafma: "How dare you, you miscreants―!!”

Immediately after directly declaring war, Kafma's eyes widened.
In response to Subaru's declaration, which was extremely disrespectful, Kafma Irulux tried to prove his loyalty to the Emperor with his own power.

― As a result, Kafma's jacket exploded as he stretched out his arms, and countless thorns rushed towards Subaru.

The ivy, dark green in color, rushed towards Subaru like slithering snakes, and its overwhelming mass covered his field of vision. With each strand having thorns comparable in size to Subaru's arms, it was a deadly force that squeezed the life out of its prey to the last drop.

Subaru wasn’t allowed to react at all, and the attack was as easy as a snake swallowing a rat, taking his body into the thorns―,

Al: “―Well said, bro.”

He was prepared for the fierce pain to come from the thorns piercing his entire body.
However, what struck Subaru, who stiffened, was not pain, but the shock from being pulled backwards onto his butt, and the words of Al, who stepped in front of Subaru and took on the thorns with his Seiryuu sword.

While shielding Subaru behind him, Al drew out his thick blade and parried the enemy's attacks. Not all of the attacks could be prevented, and his shoulders and sides were stained with blood.
Even so, Al was able to protect Subaru from the overwhelming mass.

Subaru: “What about Medium!?”

Medium: “Uwah! That was tough! I would’ve been dead if I didn’t do what Al said!”

Right beside Subaru, who turned around in a panic, Medium, who had drawn her twin swords, answered loudly.
Looking at her, she was holding her two twin swords up and down, slashing away, catching, and stepping on some of the thorns that were coming at her from all directions.
Subaru breathed a sigh of relief at her solid skills and the fact that she was safe. However, it was too early to be relieved. After all, this was only the first wave―,

Yorna: "What a grandiose trick."

Subaru: “―gh”

Behind Subaru and the others, who were bracing themselves, was Yorna, who would have been included in the range of the thorns as well. She pulled the kamuro into her arms in the posture in which she had received the letter, and exhaled tobacco smoke.
There were signs of thorns closing in around her, but they avoided her by twisting unnaturally, as if there was a round space only around Yorna.
It was impossible to know whether Kafma had intentionally bent them or if Yorna had done something to them, but―,

Subaru: "I apologize for the disturbance. We'll leave you to it."

Yorna: "Have a safe journey home. If the three of you fail to leave the castle..."

Subaru: "Then you won’t read the letter. I understand.”

If he repeatedly mulled over it, he could understand Yorna’s intention, no matter how bad it was. Vincent dared to make it clear that this time―,

Subaru: "The game is on until we leave the castle. ―Al, Medium!"

Medium: “Got it!”
Al: “Aye aye!”

Subaru: “To the right!!”

Immediately after the powerful reply, Subaru yelled loudly.
Hearing this, Subaru’s two companions immediately understood his decision, and their three blades were wielded.

A Seiryuu sword and supple twin swords fiercely cut through the thorns and blew away the mass that blocked both their fields of vision and their path out, and three figures leapt out of the greenery.

They stepped on the wooden floor, gaining speed and momentum.

Kafma: “Don’t think I will let you escape!!”

However, one step forward and a needle as thick as a thumb grazed the tip of Subaru's nose.
Unlike the thorns, it looked like a white bone fragment in the moment it flashed across his vision.
It wasn’t meant to restrain him, but to penetrate his temple. If Al had not quickly inserted his blade into the path of the ejected needle, he would have died.

Subaru: “Thorns, needles, and a surprised human being!?”

Al: “He’s from the ‘Insect Cage Clan’! They attack using insects from inside their bodies!”

Subaru: "This isn’t the Aburame clan!”
(The insect clan from Naruto)

While arguing, Subaru kept his posture low and moved forward with Al and Medium assisting him. It wasn't the exit of the hall that he was heading for.
Even if they headed that way, they would have to run a long distance out of the keep. It would be impossible for them to continue to be exposed to Kafma's attacks during that time.
In other words, Subaru and the others would have to take a major shortcut.
Consequently―,

Subaru: “Medium!”

Medium: “Yeah!”

Subaru: “Do your best!!”

Medium: “―I’ll do my best!!”

The moment he cheered her on, without exaggeration, Medium’s whole body bounced and her momentum increased. With her long hair flowing in the air, she swung her twin swords in both hands, fiercely dispatching the thorns that came at her in their complicated and bizarre trajectories.
Of course, this was due in part to Medium's own skill. But in addition to that,

Al: “Right! Right knee! Neck! Your sexy waist!”

Medium: “Uh! Gah! Dah!”

Al's blood-curdling screams informed Medium of the impending danger. Medium instantly responded, successfully defending against and handling the thorns just before they hit her.


Subaru didn’t know how far he could see, but it seemed that Al's high level of survivability, which he also demonstrated against Arakiya, could be used not only for himself, but also for others.

Taking advantage of that, Medium reached the window of the hall. With one swing, she destroyed the wooden fence, and her long, leaping legs blew down the wall.
The hall of the keep, which was more than 30 meters above the ground below, was opened up, with the blue sky of the demon city spread out in full view, and the wind wildly greeted Subaru and the others.
It wasn’t a matter of all or nothing―,

Subaru: "―If we can get out of the castle!"

Yorna put her hand on the letter.
As long as they accepted this condition, Vincent and the others would stop any further efforts. Perhaps, perhaps they did not make such a promise explicitly.
But since there was nothing else to believe, it was the only way to go―,

Medium: “―Natsumi!”

Called by Medium, who smashed through the wall, Subaru ran as fast as he could.
He was thankful that he had not carelessly come in a skirt. If his cause of death was cross-dressing, he would not be able to face the efforts of his many predecessors.
Forgetting to keep up his appearance at the last moment, Subaru kicked the floor as hard as he could.
Then he caught up with Medium, and together with her, they walked out of the wall―,

Olbart: "Sorry, but I have a job to do, too.”

Subaru: “Kuh…”

At that moment, an old man appeared as if from out of nowhere in front of Subaru and Medium, interrupting them, and piercing hands shot out, striking them squarely in their chests.
He was struck by the impact and choked on his breath. Subaru’s consciousness cracked as he took a blow from a Divine General, with everything about to shatter.
But―,

Medium: “Natsumi! It’s no big deal!”

Subaru: “Huh!?”

A loud voice called out right next to him, and Subaru regained the consciousness he had almost let go of. Looking down at his chest in a panic, he could not see any damage from being struck by Olbart's piercing hand.
There was no blood, and no sign that his heart had been removed without bleeding.

Medium: “Let’s go, Natsumi! Don’t bite your tongue!!”

Medium spoke boldly as she grabbed the collar of Subaru, who was looking around in confusion.
She straddled the wall she had breached and threw herself out of the Red Lapis Castle without hesitation.
As Subaru and Medium flew out, tangled in the blue sky, the feeling of ascent from the leap vanished in an instant, and a second later, they were thrown into the trajectory of the fall.

Subaru: “U, gyaah―!!”

With a high-pitched scream, Subaru embraced Medium and rubbed at his hip. There, he pulled out the familiar feeling in his hands and held his weapon - a whip - while in midair.

If he had just jumped without any preparation, it would have merely been suicide.
He hadn't been able to prepare many chances to win, but the stakes had been high with Yorna's provocation and his declaration of war on Vincent, as well as the attacks of Kafma and Olbart.
He had just barely picked up everything, so he could only trust that he could hold onto them to the end.

Subaru: “G, got iiittttt!!”

While holding Medium's thin waist, Subaru swung his arm and released the whip. The tip of the whip extended not into the void, but onto one of the beams that stretched throughout the demon city - like spider webs all throughout the city, it reached one of the outer walls of the Red Lapis Castle.
He hooked his whip to it and used it as a foothold to get off of the castle grounds. That was the best move Subaru could come up with in the confusion of the hall.

Subaru: “―gh!”

He felt a tug on his arm, and Subaru wrapped the whip around his wrist with all his strength. This way, even if his grip was not strong enough, in the worst case, he could support himself at the cost of breaking the bones in his wrist.
All that was left was―,

Subaru: “Al is… gyah!?”
Al: “Sorry!”

The moment the whip was taut, Al came crashing down furiously on Subaru's back. Apparently, he was able to jump out of the castle just like Subaru and Medium.
The three of them clung to each other and hung down, entrusting their combined weight of nearly 150 kilograms to Subaru's wrist.

Subaru: “GAHHHHH―!”

The screams of his arm and wrist, elbow and shoulder, and his entire right arm were replaced by real screams as Subaru and the other two’s bodies arced around one of the beams outside the Red Lapis Castle as a fulcrum.
As it was, it would be best to wait for the recoil to subside and then climb up the whip one by one to the beam. Subaru clenched his teeth as he compared the time it would take to get there with the necrosis of his right arm―,

Al & Medium: “―ah”

And just as he was about to exert all his strength, Al and Medium's voices overlapped.
No sooner than he could see what it was, the burden on Subaru's right arm disappeared. ―No, to be precise, the burden did not disappear, but the beam on which the whip was applied was snapped.
Due to the fierce mass of the thorns extending from the broken wall of the castle.

Subaru: “Uwaahhhh―!?”

With screams trailing behind them, Subaru and the other two flew through the air in a tangled mess. The recoil from the whip on the beam sent their bodies flying in a parabola.
Although it was better than jumping from the castle tower, if they were knocked down from a height of more than 20 meters, the physically normal Subaru and Al would not be able to save themselves.

As Subaru searched for a way out of this situation, the faces of Emilia, Beatrice, and Rem came to his mind one after another, while he left a trail of screams―,

“―”

―With a ferocious crash, the three of them broke through the roof and into the stables near the castle, tangling on top of the hay.