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An intense aura of swordsmanship hung over the chamber, and it was no joke that goosebumps erupted all over her skin.
Her mind had been trained to remain unshaken by most situations, but even when considering circumstances in which the unexpected and unforeseen might occur in rapid succession, a scenario such as this would be considered an anomaly, demanding to be deemed as an exception.
Yae: [――Wilhelm Trias.]
Rolling the name that had been given around within her mouth, Yae Tenzen quietly sharpened her vigilance.
They had exchanged but a single clash, yet her opponent’s opening move had been slamming her with a kick, forcing Yae to find herself at a disadvantage.
Even after she leapt backward to dampen the impact, the damage from that kick had left a heavy impression on Yae’s slender frame. Had she not retreated, the force might have opened a shoe-sized hole in her stomach. He had delivered a kick to a woman without restraint; as he himself had claimed, he could not be called a gentleman.
There was a worthy title for this old swordsman, which had been readied by the nation for more than forty years.
Namely――,
Yae: [――Sword Demon-san himself, gracing us with his presence here. To think I would meet such a legend myself, I’m so moved~. That episode in which you avenged your late wife, it must truly be an honor to be the Kingdom’s sword, huh~?]
Wilhelm: [――――]
Yae: [Oh? But if I’m not mistaken, I heard you had an unexpected reunion with your wife afterward! Surely the events in the Watergate City must’ve been terribly painful for you, no? I can only imagine your anguish, boo hoo.]
Wilhelm: [――――]
Whilst observing her opponent’s every move, Yae dabbed a finger at the corner of her eye in a pantomime of tears.
Beneath Yae’s crimson gaze, the old swordsman―― Wilhelm stood dignified and unwavering, the two swords in his grip radiating a sharp aura as he met her stare.
Within the calm light of those twin blue eyes, Yae understood that her attempts to unsettle her opponent by brazenly trampling on his heart had proven to be fruitless; she had merely succeeded in playing the role of a villainess.
Yae: […The image I had from what I’ve heard of you led me to believe you were a more passionate person, but~…]
Apparently, that impression had been unreliable.
Given that the source of this information had been none other than Heinkel, if even details regarding his own biological father lacked credibility, then what exactly could she expect of him? Frankly, it would have been better to assign him to take care of Felt rather than the Dragon.
And, should Heinkel have allowed Felt to escape, then the pretext of eliminating her and cutting ties with Heinkel altogether would simultaneously hold ground.
As for Yae’s reasoning as to why she thought such things――,
Yae: [Aside from the old village chief, there shouldn’t be many people who are able to notice my presence concealment―― Felt-sama, might you have done something mischievous?]
Felt: [The hell kind of accusation is that? You know full well I’ve not been able to even lift a finger, you bastard.]
Wilhelm: [――――]
Felt: [Besides talking to your sorry ass, I haven’t done anything. Right now, that’s taking up all my effort.]
With a hint of self-resentment in her voice, Felt spat thus as she retreated to a corner of the room.
When it came to feigning anger, she was not the type to be adept. If she truly possessed the refined acting skills to modulate even her vocal tremors, then such a masterful deception would truly be one worthy of awe.
Therefore, Yae, giving a subtle tug on the steel thread around Felt’s neck, just enough to make her aware of its presence,
Yae: [Please don’t even think about running away, okay? I’d hate to make Felt-sama’s adorable head bid a tearful farewell to her torso.]
Felt: [That’s another kick your ass is getting. And, it’s not for me to say, but…]
Yae: [What?]
Felt: [I don’t think you have the time to be looking away, now do you, you bastard?]
Felt stuck out her tongue with a blunt “bleh”, and the act’s lack of charm was itself cute. But, Yae did not need a reminder, as she had never once let her guard down against Wilhelm. ――He remained rooted in his original position, unable to determine how to respond to Yae’s unfamiliar Steel Thread Technique. Such was only natural.
――Most shinobi techniques specialized in exploiting an opponent’s openings.
That was why, unlike the fighting techniques of warriors utilized in battle, the techniques of the shinobi utilized for killing were called jutsu. Yae’s Steel Thread Technique was a prime example of that distinction.
The more veteran the warrior, the more cautiously they would approach combat. Meanwhile, the true skill of a shinobi lay in setting trap upon trap, like the web of a spider, ten layers, then twenty, until――,
Wilhelm: [――Four moves.]
Yae: [――? What was that?]
Suddenly, Yae furrowed her brow, unable to comprehend the words born from Wilhelm’s lips.
To Yae’s query, Wilhelm offered no verbal reply. ――But, there was a response. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a piercing aura of swordsmanship was released, cleaving through Yae’s entire body as an answer.
Yae: [――Hk.]
The moment she sensed the incoming attack, Yae mobilized all ten of her fingers without hesitation, but rather than attacking to subdue, she rained slaughter upon the Sword Demon with her steel threads. So long as Al’s order not to kill was kept in the end, it would be fine. It would be preferable for her opponent to survive when the intention was to kill; but, if an attack was unleashed without the expectation to kill, would it work on this adversary?
Thus, from all directions, first subdividing into sixteen, and then further into thirty-two, was launched an overwhelming assault of steel threads, each new strand finer than the last; in response, the twin blades in Wilhelm’s grip flashed――,
Wilhelm: [OOOH――!!]
The whirlwind raised by the swing of the twin swords quite literally swept aside the approaching murderous steel threads of carnage.
The extreme speed of the swords’ movement caused the collision between blade and thread to be heard in unison, generating sparks that gave Yae the illusion that her eyes were being seared. Though her initial strike had been neutralized by the overwhelming force of the sword, her Steel Thread Technique remained uninterrupted.
Slackening the steel threads emitted from her rings, she readied an assault of even further segmented threads―― in that moment, the “floor” of the room was cleaved upward before Yae’s eyes.
――That which rose was a portion of the floor that had been slashed and stepped upon, lifting its face. The size of this “floor” rivaled that of a luxurious bed, blotting Wilhelm from Yae’s sight.
Wilhelm: [――――]
With a thud and a forceful step, the “floor” was kicked, launching it straight toward Yae.
Within the confined space of the room, there were no gaps she could use to escape; therefore, using her left hand, Yae adjusted the angles of the steel threads she manipulated to combat the incoming “floor”. However, rather than slicing it, she instead bound it, deflecting it with a bounce.
The “floor” recoiled with the full momentum of the initial kick, returning along its trajectory with even greater speed and danger, barreling toward the Sword Demon with the aim to blast him away.
But then――,
Yae: [Huh?]
A sharp, piercing sound resonated, and Yae’s eyes widened upon the sight of the “floor” being pinned midair.
Its momentum had accelerated, its force doubling in proportion to its weight. Yet, the Sword Demon’s blade struck the rebellion of the “floor” in the dead center of its mass, its tip aligned to the surface with surgical precision, voiding all of its power.
It was truly a divine feat that transcended what mortal hands could accomplish.
Yae, too, understood this, having spent a great deal of time being hailed as a child prodigy beyond the limits of ordinary humans. ――Even in his old age the Sword Demon’s swordsmanship was planted in the realm of the divine.
Wilhelm: [Three moves.]
Within the vision of the breathless Yae, Wilhelm murmured so from beyond the “floor”, which was still suspended in midair.
Hidden behind the “floor” of modest width and ample height, Wilhelm remained beyond Yae’s sight. Yet, the true advantage of her steel threads lay in their capability to land strikes that would not otherwise land, in places she could not otherwise see.
She made her threads snake around the “floor”, forcing the Sword Demon on the other side to move either to the left or right.
Yet, no matter which side he chose, left or right, the threads would be awaiting him――,
――Immediately afterwards, piercing through the suspended “floor”, the tip of his sword approached Yae’s nose.
The timbre of steel striking steel resounded, and the sword launched at a velocity which rivaled even the most tightly drawn bow. The sword that had been thrust into the “floor” to stop it was struck from behind, causing the “floor” to be penetrated by the sword.
This far exceeded her expectations; faced now with a projectile that defied all norms, Yae abandoned any attempt to entangle the sword within her threads, and instead slightly deflected it as she tilted her slender neck just enough to avoid a fatal strike. The tip of the blade passed right by her throat before it was lodged into the wall beside Yae with a thunk.
She had dodged it. And, even in that fleeting moment, Yae never once averted her eyes from the Sword Demon.
And so, in that same breath, she recognized that she had made a tactical misstep.
The sword had been buried deeply, sticking out just to the right of Yae’s neck. ――Her only means of escape was to the left.
And thereupon――,
Wilhelm: [RUAAHH――!!]
Using the “floor” as a springboard, the Sword Demon then kicked off the ceiling to accelerate, descending with a slashing strike.
The blade executed a seamless monk’s robe cut, aiming for Yae’s very life as his blade carved deeply into her left shoulder. [1]
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Wilhelm van Astrea. ――No, Wilhelm Trias, had been sojourning in the Royal Capital, seeking a way to heal his master, Crusch Karsten.
In the midst of the battle against the Witch Cult that had unfolded throughout the Watergate City of Pristella, the Sin Archbishop of Lust had poured a wicked poison into Crusch, corroding her body and soul; she had continued to suffer through such accursed agony.
Even the Kingdom’s greatest healer, the very one bearing the title Blue, Ferris, had been facing the hardship of his inability to alleviate her suffering, nor had any ray of hope emerged for some time.
There had been no dramatic improvements in Crusch’s condition. Only, a means that opened up new possibilities―― a path to the Pleiades Watchtower had been paved, tidings of such had arrived.
Were they to borrow the power of the Sage Shaula, one of the Three Great Heroes of the Kingdom of Lugunica, rumored to be omniscient and omnipotent, perhaps they might find a way to liberate Crusch from the malevolent poison afflicting her.
Ferris: [If it’s to save Crusch-sama, then don’t we have to do whatever it takes, no matter what that might be?]
As desperation drove Ferris to cling to that news, Wilhelm possessed no words to admonish him.
Having been robbed of her Memories at the hands of the Witch Cult a year prior, Crusch had been left as a largely changed person, and it was Ferris who had devotedly supported and assisted her. Ferris himself must have experienced hellish agony and confusion as he attempted to rebuild his relationship with Crusch from scratch.
After nearly a year of suffering, a bond of mutual trust had finally been formed between the two of them―― a bond different to how it was before, but still unshakeable in spite of the difference; it happened right around when that bond had been formed.
That was when the Sin Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica, utterly wrecked it.
The following suffering that Crusch went through was as had been described prior, but the pitifulness of Ferris as he nestled to her side, was an exceedingly painful sight to behold.
That was why, when they heard that Subaru’s group, sights set on the Pleiades Watchtower, had succeeded in reaching it, a fire of hope was ignited within Wilhelm and the rest, more acutely than any of them had anticipated.
Although it was disconcerting that Subaru’s group had not relayed that information directly, there was no way to dig deeper into the movements of the other Camps.
However, he had heard that a trial run was being conducted in order to ensure that visiting the Tower could be done reliably. Unable to sit idly by any longer, Wilhelm and Ferris made their way to the Royal Capital in order to ascertain the success or failure of that expedition, and, if possible, request to join the next group bound for the Tower.
Then, in a room inside the royal mansion, reserved only for dignitaries to stay――,
???: [――There is a matter I wish to share with you, and something I would like to ask for your assistance with.]
And so, the young man, bearing the role of Internal Affairs Minister within the Emilia Camp, delivered to Wilhelm a summation of the catastrophe poised to shake the Kingdom’s very foundations, along with the names of the two individuals who served as Wilhelm’s reasons to take up the sword.
Wilhelm: [RAAAAAGH――!!!]
Blasting off the ceiling, he delivered a devastating shoulder-to-hip arc to the red-haired girl―― nay, to the masterful shinobi.
The impossibly fine, thread-like weapons proved to be lethally versatile; he scattered their oncoming threat through erratic trajectories. Such was the result of seeking a swift and decisive end to the bout, for every second the conflict raged on would only multiply the chances of being caught off guard.
With a single brutal motion, the blade bit into her left shoulder and carved diagonally across her torso, bisecting her very life with a monk’s robe cut―― or so it should have.
Girl: [――Hk.]
In an instant, the girl’s body sank into the floor as she gritted her teeth―― no, she had not sunk. Shredded to smithereens by her threads, the floor itself had come apart. Then, the girl’s body plunged into the basement ahead of Wilhelm, to which he gave pursuit.
Promptly extending his arm out, he wrenched out the sword that had immobilized the girl from the wall, securing his twin blades.
Though he had failed to sever the girl’s left shoulder, there was no mistaking that the wound was deep. What was truly formidable about shinobi was their vanishing act; the moment they would slip from sight, they would become five or even ten times as troublesome than they would have been visible.
All this to say――,
Girl & Wilhelm: [――This is where I take you down.]
And, without prior rehearsal, Wilhelm and the girl’s voices had overlapped.
As Wilhelm plunged into the gaping maw of darkness below, for but a moment he caught sight of glimmering filaments, reflected by the light shining through the darkness. ――The pit leading underground bristled with murderous threads, spun like a spider’s web.
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As she fell backward toward the basement, Yae bound her left shoulder with her steel threads to stop the bleeding.
She admitted that the blade had penetrated deep into her maidenly soft skin, yet the chastity of her life remained intact, so she refused to accept her loss, and at the same time marveled at the terrifying swordsmanship of the Sword Demon.
The first move defended against Yae’s steel thread, the second move kicked away the floor he had cut up, the third move seized the floor she had sent flying back, and the fourth move slashed at her with the sword that had pierced through it―― just as he had declared at the outset, she was about to be killed in four moves.
Yae: [All these pesky old men…!]
The first elderly man that came to mind was the Vicious Old Man, who had the worst possible personality and was the closest to Yae, followed by the elderly giant who had tormented Al on the plains until he was on the verge of defeat, and finally, the Sword Demon, an elderly man who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship despite his age. ――All of these elderly men were people who did not know how to grow old peacefully.
To begin with, it was the way of the world that one’s life could be extinguished at any moment. Nevertheless, the fact that they were still alive at such an old age meant that they had survived natural selection.
???: [That’s why old folks are so damn terrifyin’. If ya think old folks are weak and fragile, you’ll end up dyin’ before ya even get old yerself. Well, I’m kinda an exception to the exception, since I’m such a long-lived shinobi, but still…]
Her cheeks twitched as she was reminded of the loud laughter of the village chief, who had lived and survived a particularly harsh life.
The ultimate technique of a shinobi was to steal their opponent’s attention, cloud their mind, immobilize them, and take their life. Yae was an excellent student in the art of clouding the mind, but she knew that she was no match for the village chief’s years of experience.
Yae believed that she was probably not that twisted, nor did she anticipate living long enough to become so. In fact, Al nearly killed her once before.
She had no expectation that her good fortune would continue. ――After all, the whims of a kind monster were nothing more than a miracle.
Yae: [――――]
Wilhelm chased after Yae as she fell, pulled the sword from the wall, and dropped down into the hole as well.
As the Sword Demon moved with confidence that appeared to be born from actual combat experience against shinobi, presumably shinobi deployed by the Vollachian Empire in the past, she held unending resentment towards her shinobi predecessors who had failed to kill Wilhelm then.
Yae took in a single breath and exhaled. With that, a switch flipped inside her with a click―― and her field of vision expanded, allowing her to see as clearly in the darkness of the basement as if she were standing in the brightness of daylight.
This was the result of training to become accustomed to the darkness of night, a type of physical manipulation that altered her blood flow around the eyeballs to adjust vision.
As the white figure of the Sword Demon emerged within her now gray field of vision, Yae spread her arms wide, as if finally bringing him into her own realm of expertise――,
Yae & Wilhelm: [――This is where I take you down.]
They both uttered the same words in unison, but there was neither a smile nor a feeling of surprise on either side.
They resolved to kill each other. Since mental attacks were deemed futile, they abandoned all techniques designed to disrupt the mind and focused solely on reaching the opponent’s life with sincere determination.
This was the location Yae had prepared for that purpose, the Crimson Sakura’s killing field.
――The underground passageway in the Barielle mansion was not something Priscilla had built when she had renovated the mansion, but rather a remnant left behind by the legacy of the original owner, Leip Barielle.
Priscilla’s late husband was said to have been plagued with pathological distrust and paranoia, and had made preparations for any eventuality, not only in the mansion he built in the Royal Capital, but also in his other residences and hideouts within his own domain.
This hole that led to the basement was also one of those preparations. It had been originally intended as a secret escape route, but Yae had destroyed it beforehand because it could have been used as an entry point for enemies, leaving only the deep hole that continued underground.
Yae had never met Leip and felt nothing but disgust and contempt at him for forcibly marrying such a young and beautiful wife like Priscilla, and then trying to use her as a puppet to control the country’s government. However, she sympathized with Leip’s attitude of wanting to be prepared for any potential disaster and was grateful to take advantage of the opportunity he had inadvertently given to her.
A gallows for slaughter, where she could string up her steel threads and only Yae could move around as she pleased.
She had infiltrated the Royal Capital in order to, if such a time were to come, assist Al. She had kept Felt, brought along so that she would be under surveillance, in that room so that it would serve its purpose in such an emergency.
That was why――,
Yae: [――From here on out, no more holding back.]
Having said that, Yae bent her knees in order to smoothly slip off her shoes, extended her toes wrapped in black stockings, spread the toes of both feet―― and shot steel threads from rings fitted to each of them.
Literally, without mercy or restraint, skillfully manipulating all twenty digits of her hands and feet, Yae Tenzen’s masterful killing technique rampaged in the darkness――,
Yae: [――――]
Both sides sought a swift victory.
As she fell, Yae hooked her knee around one of the threads she had spun, stopping the momentum of her descent and reversing her direction; utilizing the tension of the thread within the large, well-like cylindrical pit, she sprung up and began her attack.
With the agility of an acrobat, Yae danced like petals twirling in the wind.
Yae’s graceful dance was accompanied by silver threads that lured those entranced by their beauty to their deaths, and around her, the blood of those whom she had danced upon blossomed like flowers―― hence the name Crimson Sakura.
These were beautiful, yet cruel, red cherry blossoms that bloomed in all their glory by feasting upon the blood flowing from those fallen corpses.
Wilhelm: [――Hk.]
The ferocity that earned itself its nickname was wielded without mercy, and Wilhelm’s entire body, left to free fall, was torn apart, his well-tailored clothes torn open, his flesh and blood scattering into the air.
As she fell, Yae’s hair was blown back by the wind created by his twin swords, and she was astonished by the intensity of the Sword Demon’s gaze.
Unlike her steel threads, the swords could only reach as far as the arm wielding it. Therefore, on the gallows she had set up, Wilhelm had no choice but to focus on defense.
Naturally, with Wilhelm pulled by gravity and thus restricted, Yae, who could move freely in the darkness with the help of her threads, would never approach him.
Maintaining a safe middle distance where his sword could not reach no matter what, she unilaterally continued her attacks with her steel threads. Before the dance was finished, before the Sword Demon reached the ground and regained his freedom.
Yae calmly raised her arm. ――Blood sprouted forth.
Yae’s slender legs smoothly traced the wall in mid-air. ――Blood sprouted forth.
Yae’s slender body twisted and contorted to its limit. ――Blood sprouted forth.
As Yae’s dance approached completion, the Sword Demon was stained with his own blood, unable to completely defend against the relentless barrage of steel threads.
The sharp steel threads carved wounds into his legs, torso, shoulders, neck, cheeks, and forehead, and the Sword Demon was lured towards death as he bled.
However――,
Yae: [――What un~pleasant eyes.]
His eyes, filled with a terrifyingly serene aura of swordsmanship, did not dull his will to fight one bit.
Yae: [――――]
In addition to the steel threads wielded by both Yae’s hands and feet, there were also threads she had already spread throughout the basement.
It went without saying, but if one were to inadvertently touch a taut string with their arm or leg while being preoccupied with Yae’s actions, that limb would be lost, and if one’s neck or torso were to come into contact with it, one would simply lose their life.
For Wilhelm, this deep pit was now like the jaws of a Witchbeast he had jumped into without thinking, his flesh being torn by its teeth, its tongue lapping up his blood, and finally dropping into its stomach to dissolve his life. ――Yet his eyes were not those of one who pointlessly resisted in despair.
Yae: [But, there’s not much you can do, is there?]
Even without that look in his eyes, Yae did not underestimate the Sword Demon enough to believe this was the end. She had long since dismissed Heinkel’s assessment of Wilhelm as unreliable and evaluated him based on what she had seen with her own eyes amid the struggle for life and death.
Therefore, as the Sword Demon fell helplessly, she was prepared for two attacks.
One was for him to kick off the wall of the pit and deliver a sword strike equivalent to the one that had knocked Yae underground. The other was for him to throw his sword at Yae’s vital points, just as he had done above ground.
Whichever of the two options was chosen, the decision had to be made in the blink of an eye.
Yae: [――Tsk.]
Immediately after her extended black-clad feet drew a circle and inflicted three wounds on Wilhelm’s cheek, he swung his dual swords straight down and repelled the steel threads. The Sword Demon’s strong legs moved back rhythmically, and he planted his soles against the wall.
With the Sword Demon’s knees slightly bent, he gathered enough strength in his legs to launch himself through the air―― and at the last moment, he swung his arms and launched his two swords, surging towards Yae’s life.
Two silver streaks flashed through the air, but Yae dodged them with a series of dance-like movements.
Using the stretched threads as a foothold, she performed a somersault, the blade just barely passing between her thighs and the curve of her back, and emerged unscathed. Then, she struck the Sword Demon who flew after his blades with the steel threads attached to her feet.
With both of his swords gone and no way to defend himself against the steel threads, Wilhelm twisted his body and shielded his head, escaping the web of threads with minimal damage. However, Yae was already out of the way, and the unarmed Sword Demon could not reach her as she rebounded from the threads and escaped.
With that, both threats that she had been wary of were successfully averted―― but it was still too early to breathe a sigh of relief.
Wilhelm: [――OOOH!]
Wilhelm had kicked the wall, missing Yae, and landed on the opposite side of the cylindrical pit. There, the twin swords he had thrown earlier were stuck in the wall, and Wilhelm grabbed them and kicked the wall again.
Wilhelm pursued Yae, who had escaped diagonally upward, and took a path upward with the speed of a bullet. ――He leaped forward, kicked off the opposite wall, and flew toward the other wall. Repeating this over and over, he quickly caught up with Yae who was rising upwards in a dance-like motion.
Yae: [You’ve got to be kidding me… hk!]
Yae’s throat trembled in shock as Wilhelm pursued her with all his might.
He kicked the wall and ascended using a three-step jump. That was not surprising; Yae could do the same. What was unexpected was that Wilhelm was repeating this in a place where Yae’s hands had stretched out countless of her steel threads.
Naturally, if he flew without taking the time to check his surroundings carefully, there was a risk that he would hit a thread and be torn to pieces.
However, Wilhelm was not afraid. Why? ――Because when he had fallen through that space once before, he had noticed where the threads were, and he jumped up so as not to hit them.
That was his terrifying way of fighting, possessed of both an exceptionally keen sense of combat and powers of observation, as well as the unwavering determination to risk his life based on what he saw with his own eyes.
As the Sword Demon fluttered and dived boldly into the storm of silver threads, Yae had no choice but to reach for her trump card――,
Yae: [――Uu, ya.]
Building momentum with her threads, Yae sprang high up, and reversing her stance, she extended all her arms and legs. She let loose steel threads from all twenty digits, entwined them with the threads she had previously placed, and drew in all four limbs.
Yae’s masterful Steel Thread Technique utilized entwining threads and the surrounding objects, and was even capable of binding over a hundred ruffians at once in forest combat. Taking that into account, Yae exerted all of her strength, to the point that it felt like all of the muscles and bones within her body would be torn asunder, and simultaneously pulled all the steel threads tight.
That instant, within the cylindrical pit that led underground, the torn steel threads ran amok.
With a mechanism similar to that of cutting a sausage with a string, Yae utilized the tensile strength of the strained steel wires being torn to completely and utterly ravage the space, a thread-rending onslaught of trajectory and magnitude that not even Yae herself could read.
Furthermore, thereupon――,
Yae: [――A capable maid always goes the extra mile!]
Witnessing the space below her being crushed by the innumerable thread attacks, Yae brought the rings on both her hands to her mouth, kissing them. ――Immediately after, tongues of flames licked down the threads extending from the rings, and after a beat, the infernal flames exploded.
In addition to the berserking threads, a scorching hellfire that burned all to naught―― playing two of her trump cards, Yae’s merciless shinobi techniques engulfed the Sword Demon in a crimson radiance, scorching him to a crisp.
Yae: [As expected――]
Unable to uphold the policy of not killing anybody, Yae found the result of this combat rather vexing.
But, it was something she had thought the moment it began. This was not an opponent who could be defeated without going for the kill. Only by fighting with the intent to kill, would one have a choice between survival or demise, that was the sort of opponent this man was.
For that reason――,
Yae: [Let’s keep this a secret from Heinkel-sama――]
Wilhelm: [――That will be fine. He, too, had better know that I am coming.]
That instant, the Sword Demon burst through the explosive inferno, the glint of his blade slashing through to caress Yae mid-air.
Yae: [――Uh.]
Torso scythed by the flash of the honed sword, Yae spurred blood to helix in a manner different to her usual dance as she revolved through the air, having been unable to disperse the might of the blow; as her eyes widened, she groaned in confusion regarding what had just occurred.
That which had occurred was clear. The enemy had survived both the tempest of steel threads, and the explosive flames that had followed. The question was, how in the world had he done it?
Wilhelm’s final leap had been straight upward, much unlike the trajectory of his previous leaps, where he kicked off the walls and flew diagonally. Thus, in order to achieve such a leap within the pit, he would have had no choice but to use the same method as Yae―― using the steel threads as a foothold, and jumping.
Yae: [How did you, my threads…]
Wilhelm: [You demonstrated it many a time. ――Your threads are terrifyingly sharp weapons, but with a specific angle and application of force, they can be used to bind without cutting.]
Wilhelm’s answer was accurate, having fully seen through the properties of Yae’s steel threads.
What was strange was that he had seen through it in such a short time whilst amidst the heat of battle, and that he had not hesitated in his decision to risk his life on something for which he possessed no definite evidence.
Another baffling matter was――,
Yae: [Then, the fire?]
Wilhelm: [I cut it.]
Receiving a terribly blunt answer to which nothing could be argued, Yae breathed an exasperated sigh.
In all likelihood, he was telling no fib. The response had simply been that bold. While accepting that, Yae simultaneously suddenly recalled some words from a corner of her mind.
Words that Yae had once dismissed as useless and thrown away――,
???: [――My father is strong. To an absurd degree. You and that Aldebaran guy might be pretty capable yourselves, but still, it’s my father who scares me more. That’s what’s known as the Sword Demon.]
It aggravated her to full-throttle, but Heinkel’s assessment was accurate.
Yae could not recognize him as being stronger or scarier than Al, but he was at least more terrifying than she was.
――At this moment, Yae Tenzen made a miscalculation in her assessment.
That was the fact that she had estimated the credibility of the information to be around half accurate based on Heinkel’s opinion. And above all, the fact that since the battle against the White Whale, the subjugation of Sloth, and the siege of the Watergate City, all of which Yae had investigated, Wilhelm’s skills had only continued to be honed. This was something Yae had no means of knowing, but he was once again reaching the levels he had achieved during the prime of his active duty―― the age in which he had defeated the Sword Saint.
Ergo, the battle that had commenced at the Barielle Villa, between the Crimson Sakura and the Sword Demon――,
Wilhelm: [――Zuahhh!!]
Thwarting the completion of her dance with a flash of his blade, the Sword Demon, having stained the sakura of crimson with blood, was thus declared the victor.
Translation Note:
[1] – Kesagiri, or monk’s robe cut, is a type of cut where one slices in a motion from their shoulder down to their opposite hip.
Interesting
I agree with every word.
I do find it a bit unfair how al’s group choosing the non lethal approach gets taken advantage of so unhinged. I didnt expect them to be treated this mercilessly when they fight with both their hands tied to the back, so to speak
May the 4th be with yall
My theory about Subaru, Flugel and Al goes like this:
First of all it’s clear that Satella loves Subaru and only him. The words she spoke, Subaru could have only met her before she went mad. So Subaru was here 400 years ago (and may have already gotten his authority at that time). I want to focus on the fact that Shaula knows about Google. How can someone from 400 years ago know about Google.
There are 2 possibilities.
1. Time flows differently on earth and this world. Subaru was sent back and spent 6-7 months being depressed (as well as collecting silver-haired figurines). And then was summoned again. But for those 6-7 months on earth, 400 years passed in that world.
2. He was sent 400 years in future. Reality manipulation like “Subaru didn’t arrive in this world for next 400 years” by someone like Pandora who can manipulate events. (like sending Regulus back and erasing all the results of his actions in arc4 flashback.)
Now Subaru was removed from the world (and maybe results of his actions were also erased, not sure though). Now this maybe one of the reasons why Satella(not the witch of envy) rampaged to devour the world. To maybe somehow get him back, or maybe because of learning about Subaru’s RbD and hating the world for how it treated Subaru. I believe Subaru already had RbD, and there was some kind of sharing of the Envy witch factor going on between Subaru and Satella. Subaru being removed, maybe even be the reason how Satella got the envy witch factor.
Subarus actions would definitely have been documented and mentioned by now if he had come there before flugel especially if he knew someone like satella unless his actions were erased like you said but then echidna would have no way of knowing subaru aswell
well, tomb echidna was in a place outside the world, like Beatrice had been. Beatrice can still remember Rem because she was in the forbidden library was she was erased from the world.
Echidna probably tried to create a clone of Subaru to mitigate the consequences. And that clone ended up being Flugel. Now why specifically the name Flugel? I think it’s because Subaru used the fake name Flugel to introduce himself and the name was used to bundle his memories(whether the memories are from Book of Death or from Echidna’s own authority book). Just like Od Laguna used Felt’s princess name to store her memories even though she consider her name to be Felt. It’s probably just the first name being used. So the clone also considered Flugel to be the suitable name for him.
But just like Echidna’s clones, it would have been an imperfect clone. That maybe why he was cruel enough to leave Shaula alone for 400 years in a tower amidst a desert.
Well because time flows differently otherwise considering Al’s age he also shouldn’t have the knowledge of the modern terms that he do….
Lastly Al is a clone of Subaru. From the side story “No Stella No Life”, the only people Al knew at the start was Echidna and Natsuki Subaru. So how was he isolated from everyone else? It could be explained if he was created by Echidna in dream castle. So the only person he knew was Echidna herself or Subaru from the memories. And his dialogues are too similar like “Walking into Oni nest, Snake Pit” Or “pulling right door at first guess and irritating GM”. At this point it would feel like ass-pull if it was just coincidence.
One clue is that he said during arc2 snow festival “he know about Snow, though he had never seen it before.” How is that possible if he was born in Japan. It could be explained if he was never in Japan and only knows about it from the memories of Subaru.
Why do People reject theories of Flugel or Al being a version of Subaru, or Emilia being Satella’s clone so much, when we have so many clones of Echidna.
I mean wouldn’t it make sense if Emilia was created to separate out the personalities of Satella and Witch of Envy. Betelguese treated Emilia with too much respect even before going mad, and after going mad, he treated Emilia as a vessel for Satella. As for them having different magic elements, it would be explained by the difference between Vessel and Soul as discussed much at the end of arc8.
Al is also a similar case, since he has different magic element(Earth) than Subaru(Yin). He do have the memories of Subaru, and a somewhat similar Soul, but we don’t know how different the vessel or Od is.
I don’t recall the explanation at the end of arc 8, and I thought Subaru’s element was darkness?
Subaru has been sinking into depression for years. Double isekai is an unnecessary complication. Sending to the future is more likely. Flugel lived before Echidna was born because he had 7 witch factors at one point since he was a sage. Flugel is Subaru, not a clone. Satella was not rampaging because Subaru was deleted from the world. Al is not a clone of Subaru. He couldn’t save Satella 400 years ago. Al is a person who had his own life and then got Subaru’s personality.
First I will focus on Al.
1. Al had no point of reference except Echidna and Subaru. If he was different person, he should have already met atleast 1 person.
2. Sphinx pitied Al because he was a similar existence to herself, but unlike herself, he had still not fulfilled his purpose.
3. If he just had Subaru’s memories, Witch of Envy would be after him just like Petra and Louis. For the witch to ignore him, he must share more than just memories with Subaru.
Same points for others. For e.g. who said Sage need all 7 witch factors. Just more than 1 is enough for Shaula to identify Subaru. And he could have gotten at least 6 after killing the witches, founded witch cult and left witch factors for archbishops
1,2. Al is a flesh and blood person, not mana like Sphinx. He was born normally, and then received something that made him Al. Aldebaran himself thinks that he became Aldebaran after a failure that he wants to die for. He constantly suffers from remorse for not being able to save Satella 400 years ago. He didn’t save Satella, then he became Aldebaran. After he started his current life, he hasn’t met anyone else except Echidna.
3. If Al lived 400 years ago and knew Satella and Flugel before the Great Disaster, then no. Al himself said that Satella hates him, but she would never hurt him under any circumstances. Al always knew about RbD, but that doesn’t matter to Satella. Al didn’t just receive memories, Al received a part of Subaru’s soul copy.
4. Beatrice and Roswaal said that in order to become a sage, Subaru needs to collect witch factors. Echidna said that a sage must rule over witches. The scenes in the Garden of Shadows clearly say that Subaru will collect 7 witch factors. Subaru killed 7 witches, obtained their factors, became a sage, gave up the factors, ruled the last witches, killed 5 witches, defeated Satella, created archbishops. Then, probably, he died of old age, and after 400 years, he was reborn as an isekai. In his past life, Subaru lived a long time. He was before Echidna was born, he was after the Great Disaster.
5. And one more thing. Al has darkness magic, not earth. But he is more comfortable using earth. By the way, if you take into account Melakuela’s words, Flugel is not Subaru’s first life. Subaru has been reincarnated in this world many times.
Pretty sure author said he despises reincarnation, and won’t use it. And Satella said that she loves Subaru and only him, not some past version of his. Nobody said that all 7 witch factors are needed to be sage. Otherwise flugel wouldn’t be one because he never got Envy after killing witches. And before killing witches he wouldn’t have greed because Echidna had that from birth. And the possibility Subaru was there before even the birth of Echidna is not even worth considering. So yeah he never got 7 witch factors. You have shown so many wrong points, it’s not even worth it to argue further.
You’re a clown. The author said he doesn’t believe in reincarnation in real life. Yorna goes through reincarnation. Melakuera talked about the reincarnation of the Half-Elf Witch and the endless repetition of history. In Arc 6, we learned that all people go through reincarnation in the Corridor of Memories. ReZero definitely has reincarnation. Tappei also said that Subaru won’t leave Lugnica. I said that Flugel had Envy before Satella. He had witch factors before the witches that readers know about. He killed the previous witches that we don’t know about, gaining witch factors from them. Factors 1 and 2 gave Subaru the title of Sage Candidate. It’s weird if you don’t need to collect all of them to become a Sage. 2/6 is not a Sage, but 6/7 is a Sage?
Bhai ye author aaram se 10-20 Arcs aur lega story khatam krne ke liye
Yoo indian bhai spotted
Wilhelm the gigachad approaching his prime for a second time
Love to see it. Wilhelm is one of my favorite characters in this series overall, and yet he didn’t really get any chances to shine lately. For good reason of course, but I’m glad to see him start fighting well again here.
Al is in a real pickle with yae now out of the picture. I don’t think he will mentally be able to withhold his promise of not being able to kill anyone and I think this fight is foreshadowing to that.
This is disappointing, I was hoping she’d make it to the finale
It also turns out that Wilhelm, having passed him the second time, did not retreat and did not return to apologize, but went after his revenge.
Also, the fight with Elkanika was limited to not hitting Felt and not killing the others. Moreover, Wilhelm himself knew this. At first, he fought close to Felt to make his opponent suffer.
But then, as we went further, things got a little better, but Wilhelm could not hit Elkanika, he just did not hit him hard and we read the story from Wilhelm’s point of view. The next chapter will be clearer.
Apart from that, I hope Heinkel did not hit him with his sword in a bad place. I still do not understand why you did not hit him with the back of your sword when you got to Wilhelm’s back.
Can’t edit, spoilers and bad post.
I’m afraid of Google Translate, what do I type and what does it return?
Thoughts: Where the hell did Felt go?
She’s in good hands. Or strings.
Crimson Sakura? Is Sakura Matou out here eating people and dying the place crimson?
Absolute Cinema
Otto being a menace
What a Demon.
BTW something just come to my mind. What if the meaning of the title of Re Zero is where all the important people of the Witches Era is now starting from zero this time? Maybe Satella(Emilia) and Flugel(Subaru) is starting from zero again?
Echidna manipulating the events for her BFF Satella lmao. She has a lot of influence to the events happening around Subaru.
Roswal’s book created by Echidna started it all after all. Or is it? I forgot what book is it.
Thật tuyệt vời
WIlhelm is such a badass, he cut through the fire, mid diffed yae, now he is basically at the pinnacle of sword again.
I dont wanna here no Wilhelm slander again after this chapter. WILHELM IS THE GOAT
Hate being the only one with criticism here, but… Yeah, one more flashy duel with zero consequences.
ReZero without Subaru just doesn’t work. Fights have no stakes, no one dies just because he got unlucky, unless scripted.
This whole “No kill Lugunica speedrun challenge” feels like an artificial safety measure to avoid sacrificing important characters for Al’s arc.
True, it’s just so boring. I started to lose interest in Re Zero after arc 6 cause it became more and more about the fights and action rather than story and characters. Which is really bad since Re Zero’s action has zero stakes and that makes for a really boring read. Every character has plot armor because of RBD.
“Every character has plot armor because of RBD.”
It’s the opposite actually, because there’s no RBD.
One of ReZero selling points, every character is mortal, can die suddenly, but there’s Subaru with RBD to save them. They survived due to Subaru’s will. This plot device made sense, it created stakes for the MC, made him push himself further.
But when you take Subaru out of the picture, the side characters just stop dying. It looks as though being near Subaru actually puts people in danger of plot-related fatalities, and ruins the setting of a merciless dangerous world that’s been created over the first six arcs.
Arc 7&8 had characters that died?
There was a lot, especially in that gladiator island part. Yet somehow all of it got reset by a single big loop despite the fact of checkpoints of the previous arcs being way shorter. The checkpoints are always conveniently placed so no one can die and despite that we are supposed to believe there are any kind of stake according to hardcore fans who defend everything about Re Zero and can take zero criticism. The deus ex machina became too obvious now cause Tappei is not very good at hiding that there are no stakes in the story. At the beginning of the series i used to think that maybe he was a good writer but he was just a mediocre one fater all.
We are saying the same thing essentially, just in a different way. Before, there used to be pseudo stakes cause while it was technically possible that someone could die it never happened and even the most “high stake” moment of the story was when Rem got gluttonied.
So even though we all knew as long as Subaru was there no important character would die and at most they would be put in the position of Rem it still had “possibility” of such a thing happening. In theory the story might’ve had stakes but in practice there was none.
Yet it got even worse now as you’re saying cause despite Subaru being gone in the story no important character will die or even get permanent damage (like how Ricardo lost his arm).
At least there used to be the excuse of Subaru/RBD being there to reset all the bad things that happened before so some fans who defended everything about R:Z said that there actually was stakes in the story but now we all realize that all those arguments are moot and empty.
At the moment nothing can justify the plot armor every relevant enough character has cause there is no RBD to reset things which means that Tappei doesn’t have the balls to commit to a permanent character death from the side of the “good guys” or any other kind of big consequence that would change the course of the story.
Basically somehow conveniently when Subaru is out of the story no one dies yet when he is in the story he has lots of failes loops to trough to achieve his “perfect” and desired ending.
I’m totally fine with characters not dying because of Subaru saving them. It was more like “Subaru armor”, because RBD is the main mechanic of the story.
The stakes don’t necessary need to be said character’s lives, but the struggle and emotional damage Subaru receives in attempt to save them.
From the start ReZero was a story about a person, connections and isolation. The failed loops mattered, because they stayed within the MC, in form of guilt or regrets. I really loved that concept. And sadly this is what is getting lost in never ending series of superhero duels.
Yes the story became more about the neverending mindless action like most shonen anime rather than how it was at the beginning where it was all about the emotional character moments. Episodes like 7, 8, 13, 15, 18, 23 or 25 etc was what hooked me to Re Zero when i watched the first season years ago yet nothing in the story seems to capture those feelings now. It’s all empty action now. Tappei seems to forgot what made this story so special as he went on. I feel nothing reading any of these boring fight scenes.
The shift to fighting and reduction in brutality happened soon after Tappei started publishing. Once you sell rights to the story, it’s no longer yours. I’m afraid this is what happened to ReZero. I hope I’m wrong and he’ll steer out of this lane in future arcs. Back to the bloody hopeless despair we loved so much.
1) Vollachia was the worst thing that could have happened to the plot. Before, there was drama, detective, thriller, character development, suffering, mystery. Now, everything has been replaced by endless large-scale action. Of course, people like different things, but ReZero didn’t start out the way it is now. And people who liked the story at the beginning don’t like it now. Although the problems actually started with Arc 5. Before, there were checkpoints for hours and days. Subaru would let events follow a completely different scenario, get to know the characters, change them and change himself. Now, checkpoints are for seconds and minutes. Subaru can only send allies to another place and dodge attacks.
2) This ruined the plot a lot. There is no reason for this, except for Tappei’s desire for Subaru to die more often. He himself admitted it. Arc 6 ruined Satella. She was the main mystery of the entire plot, the most mysterious character. Arc 6 reduced her to an annoying nuisance that acts like a scripted bot in a game. Chapter 53 of Arc 7 devalued Subaru’s suffering. Now Subaru’s suffering has no meaning, he endured the worst thing imaginable without consequences. In Vollachia, all of Subaru’s allies are reduced to faceless bots. They just fight, following his orders.
3) Arc 9 is done in the worst possible way. After Al’s betrayal, I fully expected the plot to switch to Subaru’s allies, who would have a detective storyline. I hoped that the readers would be there to solve the mysteries surrounding Al and Subaru. Tappei instead makes side stories that reveal Al’s history. And the main plot has no mysteries, only endless action.
4) In Vollachia, ReZero sales fell by 3 times, but the author did not draw any conclusions.
Vollachia arc was fine until the moment Subaru got shotafied. His personality noticably degraded to what we, Russian fandom, call “overcomer”. Fear of death has left the chat with whatever that made him feel alive.
How did you know I was from Russia?
I didn’t. Well, I guess we both love suffering for the same reason.
Then life in the US is even worse, because it’s much more popular there)
Dude you’re the GOAT. I agree with everything you said, all of your criticisms are so fucking true and on point. Tappei lost his magic i think. There are still 3 and half arcs left so there is still a chance to fix all these things but i’m losing my faith more and more with each day and chapter.
I have a very frightening thought that all the answers will be revealed in side stories. In the following arcs, Subaru and Emilia will only fight and will not learn any answers to the main mysteries of the plot. I was hoping for Tappei, but I stopped with the beginning of volume 41.
I feel similarly. I doubt any of the main mysteries of the story will be revealed until arc 12. Up to that point it’ll probably be full of endless boring action. I think i might even drop Re Zero cause i’m starting to get bored. I may wait until arc 9 or perhaps even 10 is over so i can binge read it and if the story still haven’t progressed yet and it’s still about action then i might decide to drop this series altogether and move on to other anime, manga and novels.
—-Prophecy for arc 10—–
(I am bored of waiting)
Al will succeed
Gluttony will try to eat Subaru’s name but can’t but Subaru will forget everything about re zero world.
Subaru is in the hole or whtevr and comes back to japan, Reunion with his parents(we all need it)
Subaru will now live a normal life(Happy Happy)
But his authorities interrupt like unseen hand popping or he died and returns back(It works like smolbaru RBD)
Subaru:Did I just died and returned back?
He will remember everything and try to find a way back.
He will have a proper goodbye with his parents
Subaru will be back SOMEHOW
But now he is in the PAST 400 YRS AGO DAMMIT!
Subaru:Am I in the past?(I can see a cliffhanger)
Subaru will have another character development….
…. suffering noises….
Subaru will now find satella,flugel and other and forms the group saving the world.(We will discover the event of past)(Flugel is not Subaru here)
Satella falls in love with Subaru..
Satella:I LOVE YOU.
Subaru:I love Emilia
….. World destroying noises…..
Now Satella becomes a victim of witch factor
Subaru saves her but instead he falls victim to the witch factor.
Satella thoughts Subaru is dead and goes yandere mode and tries destroy everything but flugel and others stops her(STOPS HER NOT SEAL)
Now Baru is not dead but he becomes envybaru(Antagonist) with REAL full power authority of sloth and greed(Bro finally gets a power up T-T)he also got control over RBD.
envybaru destroys everything and was atlast sealed by flugel,volcanica and reid. Satella was also sealed inorder to seal envybaru.
Soo the real destruction was caused by envybaru not satella and people thought it was witch of envy because of yandere satella.
–Onto the future.–
Everyone is worried about Subaru…
Al is still alive.
The pleiades watchtower is SOMEHOW destroyed.
Everyone thinks that the witch of envy will be fully freed again but nooo,It is Envybaru.
Everyone is shocked.
Envybaru is very strong like Reinhardt because he can now use magic(he probably will fix his gate in the past) is invincible(greed) has many unseen hands(sloth) and other abilities(I will explain later)
This is the baseT-T.
–Some Theory explanation–
•|. Echidna mostly likely knows Subaru 400yrs ago
and she knows that Subaru is from future,soo she creates Al a clone of Subaru who will never fail,to send Subaru into past and to do something about him.it did not go as planned as envybaru killed best tea maker(°^°).
•|. Subaru has another ability other than RBD he can steals any power by killing their owner.(Bro’s broken)
•|. In arc 4 or arc 3 I forgot Satella told Subaru to kill her because she doesn’t want Subaru to be envybaru again.
•|. Satella has two personalities yandere and normal.
The Satella we saw fighting reinhardt is the yandere who want to destroy everything.The real one is sealed with envybaru.
I think that ram and flugel were lovers 400 years ago… Why i say this?
Because the way she seems disgusted by subaru who probably is the reincarnation of flugel
Flugel must have been a stud especially if we consider how he treated shaula like a garbage bag
And so ram knowing that subaru is a reincarnation of his and that is a perverted masochist who ram truly like to stamp on and feign her disgust on makes my theory 9/11 marks
Absolute Cinema
Truly peak fiction
Bro cooked so hard
I hope this theory is true and becomes real
Tappei listen to your fans and pls make this a thing
Thanks for the update. This arc has been my least favorite so far mainly because it completely sidelines the main character, but there is still a chance for payoff and world building as part of it, and I am definitely happy to see characters like Rom or Wilhelm get their chance to shine as well. Looking forward to the next chapters!
least favorite??? just because Subaru not here? I thought the same thing at first but this is way better than Liliana chapters or when Subaru was gone for 20 chap in arc 7, me personally Al is a really cool character and I always loved Wilhelm so I’m am loving this arc but it your opinion ig
Subaru not being there is the main issue, but things have been a bit predictable to me so far due to Al’s power in particular. With Subaru in the picture we know he might win eventually, but how he suffers and learns things to succeed is what is interesting. But with Al he simply repeats thousands of attempts we aren’t even told about to eventually win, which isn’t nearly as interesting.
I like Al as a character and I don’t hate this arc by any means, but I do hope to see a bigger payoff later on.
It’s definitely much better than those mediocre ass arc 7 and 8, probably better than 5 as well for me. I just don’t like the mindless action arcs i missed when this series was more atmospheric, dark and emotionally rich such as arc 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.
I personally enjoy the action quite a bit for my part. Arcs 7 and 8 were actually some of my favorite arcs, though Arc 5 I thought was a bit boring. If I had to list my favorite arcs overall, it would probably go something like:
Arc 4 > Arc 6 > Arc 7 + 8 > Arc 1 + 2 + 3 > Arc 9.
Regardless, I’m excited to see where the rest of arc 9 goes. Even the worst arc or chapters in this series are still arcs and chapters I enjoy, and within each I can find something worth my time.
MY GOAT WILHELM!!!!
thanks for the translation.
RIP Yae
Thanks for the TL