The Depths of Hell
"This is the end."
The stormy wind generated by her landing swept across the entire battlefield.
The voice of an enraged young girl echoed across the war-torn field.
That voice rekindled hope in the hearts of the desperate, made the rampaging White Whale halt its movements, and revived the consciousness of a ghost who shouldn't exist there but was watching and listening to everything.
"Reinhild! Why?"
Subaru didn't know how much important information he had missed, or why this was happening—but what he did know was this: Reinhild absolutely shouldn't be here right now.
In all the countless loops he had experienced, not once had he seen her appear at this moment.
He even had memories of misjudging the timing and being crushed by the White Whale on this very battlefield.
What exactly did I change? What caused Reinhild to appear here now?
No one could hear Subaru's question.
Reinhild knelt silently in front of Felix. The cat-boy, who had refused to heal his wounds, smiled as soon as he saw Reinhild arrive—and quietly passed away.
"I'm sorry I came too late again. Leave the rest to me."
With a gentle hand, Reinhild closed Felix's eyes, then walked over to Subaru's body.
"I'm sorry. I should've been by your side. I don't know what happened in the Mathers Domain—but I'll handle the rest."
Reinhild silently closed Subaru's eyes as well.
—It was my death that brought Reinhild here. It was my death that saved everyone.
A rational analysis would immediately show that such a thought was both logically and temporally absurd.
But as long as that thought existed, Subaru felt like he had a reason to exist.
"Wa...it…"
The wounded Wilhelm tried to stop Reinhild from taking action.
The girl looked silently at the old man.
She understood what he was thinking. She looked around and then opened her mouth.
"Sir Wilhelm, it's time to end this."
Her resolute voice passed the final judgment.
She stepped past the old man.
The Dragon Sword trembled, sensing that this most terrible of demon beasts, which had ruled the world as a hunting ground for 400 years, was a fitting target for its blade.
The girl paused for a moment—and then drew the strongest sword.
Awooooo—!
Twin White Whales began to emit white mist from their entire bodies.
The Sword Saint swung her blade. The slash she unleashed was something incomprehensible, something illogical, an attack that could shatter the heavens and rend the earth.
The white sword aura pierced through the dying White Whale's final counterattack, crushed its massive, steel-hard body, and tore open the sky.
"OOOOOOOOOH!!!"
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers erupted from the battlefield. But in one man's heart, there was no joy of survival, no catharsis from revenge.
Wilhelm stood blankly, staring at Reinhild, staring at the Dragon Sword in her hands, at the cheering crowd, and at the empty sky.
Fourteen years of hatred for the White Whale echoed in his heart. It was as if someone were whispering in his ear:
"If your wife had the Dragon Sword, she would've survived."
"If your wife had the Sword Saint's Divine Protection, she would've lived."
"If Reinhild hadn't existed, this moment would've come 14 years earlier, with your young friends and your wife achieving it."
Wilhelm knew.
He knew Reinhild's strength was far above his wife's.
He knew Reinhild hadn't stolen his revenge. He knew everything.
But the rage, the frustration, the grief that had nowhere to go—Wilhelm, the man known as the Sword Demon, had lived in this world only by clinging to his obsession with avenging his beloved wife.
In that moment, not even Wilhelm realized what he had done—he had drawn his sword.
Hatred and fury caused the old warrior, who should have long since aged, to blaze anew.
The strike he unleashed purely by instinct was the crystallization of his lifetime of swordsmanship—the apex blow that could even defeat the monstrous previous Sword Saint.
[Divine Protection of Preemption]
There was no killing intent.
No hostility.
But Reinhild saw the world slow to a crawl—proof that her Divine Protection was protecting her from being ambushed.
She instinctively turned around.
Countless Divine Protections stirred.
The Dragon Sword in her hands let out a sharp cry, ready to block even this divine strike.
But Reinhild's gaze wasn't drawn to the awe-inspiring sword technique in front of her—it was focused entirely on the hatred in her family's eyes.
Fourteen years of accumulated resentment froze even the Sword Saint—for just one instant.
Blood dripped onto the ground. The sword stopped just short of the girl's neck.
"Reinhild…"
"Yes."
Unlike Wilhelm's trembling voice, Reinhild's reply was calm and unwavering.
Wilhelm first closed his eyes, then asked:
"Why did you steal my final chance?"
There was no immediate reply. After a slight delay, Reinhild answered head-on:
"I only did what was right."
"…Yeah. You're right. I was wrong. Go do what you need to do."
The Sword Demon sheathed his sword.
He pushed away Reinhild's hand, which had reached out to support him.
A fierce wind blew from behind—caused by the Sword Saint moving at full speed toward the north.
Wilhelm paused for a moment, then walked toward the dissolving mist of the White Whale that had once consumed him.
Yeah… I should've stayed in the whale's belly with my wife.
Climbing out was meaningless.
I'm sorry. I didn't even have the power to avenge you.
I'm sorry… for making you wait fourteen years.
Subaru watched Wilhelm's final choice.
Like the extinguishing of a flame, the world itself vanished.
.
.
.
Thud.
The pain of his face hitting the floor brought Subaru's consciousness back.
In the next moment, he clutched his mouth with both hands.
The tragic conclusion of an impossible world burned deep into his awareness.
—Because of me. Because of me, Wilhelm and Felix, who should've been erased by the White Whale, died in front of Reinhild.
That battle must have carved a scar into Reinhild's heart that will never heal.
"Ugh… bleh—!"
The instant he reached that conclusion, Subaru's stomach twisted violently.
Stomach acid scorched his throat.
—The second "Trial" was the worst one yet.
Even if he had made up his mind—even if he resolved to face hell as many times as needed for the best future—
—He had seen something worse than hell. He had seen the depths of hell itself.
"Behold the impossible present."
The voice rang out again.
Naturally, for Subaru, who had died more times than he could count on two hands, there could not be only one present.
—No…!
His consciousness was dragged down, deeper and deeper—into the abyss.
Subaru couldn't even scream.