[ "What the… hell!" Subaru roared again, rolling away from Beatrice.
"I don't need… any damn healing… Why did you save me?" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Sigh, Natsuki-san must be thinking that the world is about to be overwritten, so there's no point in being healed."
Otto sighed.
"It's likely more than that. Subaru might still be lamenting why he was saved while others weren't."
Yuriusu said in a low voice.
He could start over, but the others couldn't.
If you're going to save someone, save the others; why save my cheap life?
—
[ "That is because… you, you were in such a miserable state, Betty simply couldn't stand by and watch…" Faced with Subaru's questioning, Beatrice replied this way.
"Why… me? If… you wanted to save… why didn't you save Petra? Why didn't you save Frederica? And Rem and Ram! If it were you, then everyone… they should have been saved… It's all my fault for being so stupid, all my fault for being so weak… Things I tried everything to do, if it were you, you should have been able to do it… But, why…" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"It seems my previous assessment was too one-sided. Rather than blaming the Great Spirit, he is blaming his own helplessness even more."
Yuriusu said.
"Sigh… I thinks this is one of Subaru's biggest problems, too."
Felt said.
Why does Subaru always blame himself for everything that goes wrong?
Even though he clearly has the ability to change all of this, he still couldn't prevent the tragedy.
Is that what he's thinking?
But whether it was Frederica who took the initiative to hold back Elsa.
Or Patrasche, who protected Subaru with her life.
Or even Ram, who fought alongside them.
Their endings were the result of their own choices; why blame yourself?
—
[ "Wh, why, did Betty do that… Betty had no reason to save anyone at all. Whatever, Betty doesn't care…"
"If that's the case… then don't you… have no reason to save me either?"
Beatrice was at a loss for words.
"Who… asked you to save me anyway…"
"Ah…"
"Do you know what you've done? It's all your fault, maybe everything will be in vain! Everything might be overwritten, and this hellish situation will become reality… I should just die… You should have killed me…" ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Rem's incident shattered Natsuki-san's idea that he could save everyone. Now Natsuki-san is very sensitive about the 'Return by Death' points."
Anastasia said.
"But to put it bluntly, what Subaru is doing is just impotent rage and unreasonable tantrums. How could the Great Spirit possibly understand what Subaru means?"
Felt said.
"He says he's afraid of being overwritten, but do the 'Return by Death' points have anything in common?"
Otto said.
He was thinking about integrating all the current 'Return by Death' points to look for commonalities.
Could it really just be random?
That possibility can't be ruled out, but if it were truly random, that would be terrifying.
—
[ "I… don't know… I don't know…"
In the scene, Beatrice, of course, didn't understand what Subaru meant.
He saw her eyes widen, shaking her head in confusion, with even a hint of fear on her face.
"Forget it. Since… since you… don't want to save everyone…"
Subaru stood up, looked around, and fixed his gaze on the wooden footstool near the entrance.
The one Beatrice usually sat on.
He kicked the footstool against the wall, causing it to splinter.
Then, with his right hand, he picked up the largest, sharpest fragment.
Gripping it tightly, he aimed it toward his throat… ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Subaru-kun!"
"Subaru!"
Rem and Emilia shouted in unison.
"It's like he's a completely different person compared to before… Don't be so dismissive of your own life."
Beatrice recalled the time when they first encountered the White Whale, after Otto pushed Subaru off the dragon carriage.
Subaru had acted disgracefully, running while screaming, "I don't want to die," completely forgetting Rem's sacrifice.
But now, he was actively seeking death.
—
[ "No!" Beatrice rushed over, hugging Subaru's arm and biting down on his right hand, which was gripping the fragment, to stop him from taking his own life.
"You… why…"
"I won't let you die! How could I let you die here…"
"Leave me alone! Let go!"
The two struggled with each other.
According to Al's cannon glass theory, if Beatrice didn't use magic, her combat ability would be equivalent to that of a little girl.
But even so, Subaru's injuries were already too severe for him to handle even a little girl.
Finally, the two crashed into a bookshelf and fell heavily to the ground.
Subaru had completely lost his strength.
Looking over, a thick black book lay on the floor.
It must have fallen during the struggle.
But this book… ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Mother…"
Beatrice froze.
This book is…
"The Tome of Wisdom."
Roswaal softly called out to that former guiding light of his life.
Seeing the Tome of Wisdom again, Beatrice felt a twinge of melancholy.
But it was only a slight melancholy.
This book… Mother's Tome of Wisdom had already been burned on the night Betty was taken away by Subaru.
It was Betty who had thrown it away voluntarily.
To start from zero, to restart the hands of the clock, to live her own life—she could no longer act according to the Tome of Wisdom.
To take that step, the Tome of Wisdom had to be thrown away.
Betty would not miss the time spent acting according to the contents of the Tome of Wisdom.
—
[ "What?" Subaru stared at the book in utter shock.
"Why… why… is it here…"
Then, Beatrice performed an action that stunned Subaru even more.
He saw Beatrice pick up the book, the Tome of Wisdom, and hold it to her chest.
She let out a breath and stroked the Tome of Wisdom.
"Why, why do you treasure that book so much?"
"…"
"That book… It's not the one carried by those Witch Cultists, right? It just looks very similar, right?"
"…"
"I was too rash, thinking you had hidden it? I was too rash, and I got angry, so I…"
"…"
"Why… why won't you deny it…" Subaru wore an extremely painful expression. ]
.....
〜Inside, the Theater〜
"Lil'Bro is treating this book like a Gospel, huh. In other words, brother is afraid this little loli is a Witch Cultist."
Al said.
If Beatrice were a fanatical Witch Cultist who worshipped the Witch above all else, then what did all their previous interactions mean?
—
[ "Betty has received no instructions to answer that question." Faced with Subaru's question, Beatrice replied this way.
"What is… written in that book… what does it make you do…"
"There is nothing written about this question in the book either."
"If it's not in the book, you can't do anything… If that's the case, why did you hide me? Then why are you talking to me now? Why did you want to save the dying me—"
"It's not written in the book, I don't know."
"Does everything you do… do you have to do exactly what's written in that book?"
"Yes—that's right, everything must follow the instructions of the Gospel. Doing so is exactly Betty's reason for existing; Betty exists only to do this."
"You wanted to save me… is it also because… that book ordered you to do so? You saved me when I was cursed, too! You reached out a hand to me when I couldn't stand up on my own! You and I bickered, cursed at each other, and fooled around like idiots… is that all thanks to the book, too?"
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU! THAT'S EXACTLY HOW IT IS!!" This time, it was Beatrice's turn to roar. ]
.....