Arc 5 49, 'Thus Opens the Crusade Against Greed”

Arc 5 Chapter 49, “Thus Opens the Crusade Against Greed”

Emilia: “—Subaru!”

A voice which seemed to summon Subaru, who had crashed through the entrance of the church and sprinted inside.

It belonged to Emilia, who stood in front of an altar, clad in a wedding dress.

Dressed in a snow white dress, her long hair coiled in a braid on her head, she was too beautiful; lovely to a truly dazzling degree. In the right circumstance, Subaru, more than anyone else, would have wanted to admire Emilia’s bridal attire.

Subaru: “I’ll sort out my thoughts on E·M·T later. Seems like we crashed this wedding here.”

Reinhardt. “The ceremony was already going awry, it seems. Though we’ll still be regarded as the intruders here.”

From a ways away, Reinhardt snuck a glance at Emilia and Regulus as they glared at each other, and agreed with Subaru’s mutters. The ceremony seemed to be proceeding poorly, offering them a perfect opportunity to intrude.

Upon hearing their words, Regulus’s already impatient face reddened with rage. He yanked at the front of his suit as his mouth twisted in a vicious pout.

Regulus: “Sorry, though I feel for uninvited guests such as yourselves, this wedding will soon become a funeral anyway. The emotional preparation for such a joyous event to become one of lament... ah, right, you needn’t consider such matters anyway. Since you’ll soon go from the ones bidding farewell to the ones who should be bid farewell to.”

Subaru: “Hey now, what are you going on about when you were rejected right before the wedding? And the bride is so fed up with you she’s taking a Narita divorce. Show me a little shame here. Besides, didn’t you hear me when I introduced this guy beside me?”

Regarding Regulus’s murderous rambling, Subaru taunted him as he eyed Reinhardt. Surprised, Regulus exhaled an “ah” between his teeth.

Regulus: “Who, the Sword Saint? I think I’ve heard of him once. Isn’t that the moniker of some guy who knows of nothing but swinging a sword? What are you planning to do with that kind of guy? Could it be that you thought of him as some trump card? Ahah, that’s rich. Whether it be reputation from history or glory from the bloodline or whatnot, all that is nothing but old-fashioned traditionalism. Notions like that, when struck by a wave of progress, should crumble to ash. Isn’t that just nature at work? You two, are you here to demonstrate?”

Reinhardt: “Knows of nothing but swinging a sword, huh. It’s funny that you’d say that. In truth, many expectations of my roles all stem from that one fact. But, there’s a slight problem here.”

Even faced with such arrogance, Reinhardt showed not a trace of annoyance. As he spoke, his hand crept quietly toward his waist.

Sheathed there was a celestial sword, with engravings traced by the claws of the dragon itself, which Reinhardt always carried. However, as he clenched his palm around the hilt, he shook his head.

Subaru: “What’s wrong, Reinhardt?”

Reinhardt: “The [Dragon Sword] is a unparalleled blade which has been passed down since the start of the Astrea line, but it does have one flaw. It refuses to be unsheathed in the presence of any enemy it deems unworthy.”

Subaru: “Which means?”

Reinhardt: “It seems that the sword has concluded that this enemy isn’t worthy of being drawn against.”

Subaru: “—hk”

Regardless of whether Reinhardt meant it this way, Regulus had received a rather humiliating evaluation. But Subaru had personally witnessed how, during a confrontation with Elsa, the sword hadn’t made its appearance, and so he understood what Reinhardt meant.

But, even with that in mind, Regulus’s unflattering appraisal remained.

Regulus: “A Sword Saint who can’t even draw his sword, why should I even bother with you? Know your place, scum. In the first place, I’m not even on the same level as you; you, who struggle with your ugliness and unfettered excuses, can’t even be compared to one who has already achieved perfection. A fool who can’t assure his self-worth without comparing himself to others has no right to face my divine self.”

Subaru: “Sounds like, you really do think you’re all that.”

Facing the burning obscenity in Regulus’s eyes, Subaru found himself genuinely surprised.

Ignoring all his threats, and listening to only the heart of his speech—

Subaru: “Hypocrisy is your forte, isn’t it? Claiming to have achieved perfection, when you fall short in every comparison to anyone you find?”

Regulus: “—hk! You lowlife, don’t you condescend to preach to my flawless self!”

Infuriated by Subaru’s jeers, Regulus finally put his threats into action.

With murderous intent, he slammed the ground in front of the altar; instantly, the paved floor shattered with astonishing force. The torrent of destruction pummeled straight ahead, sweeping shards of wood and stone into its overwhelming embrace and shattering them even further.

Subaru: “—uwa!?”

Reinhardt: “Subaru, over here.”

Just as the destructive wave neared him, someone caught him by the neck and yanked him to safety.

A sudden gust of wind freed Subaru from the shackles of that torrent; this was Reinhardt’s doing. With one hand, he’d pulled Subaru to his side as he evaded the attack.

Gently depositing Subaru back on the ground, Reinhardt spun around, preparing to face Regulus. However—

Regulus: “Don’t move! Dare to try anything, and they’ll all be dead in an instant.”

Reinhardt: “——”

Glaring at Reinhardt, who stood at attention, Regulus placed his hands on the walls of the church.

Rows of elaborately dressed women watched him impassively. Clearly, they recognized the intent of his actions and the severity of the situation, but they only stood in their lines, indifferently accepting the surrounding chaos.

Subaru: “On that note, though I’d rather not look too far into it, who are these women?”

Regulus: “All of them are my dear beloved wives. Lovely princesses who cherish and are cherished by me. Could you bear to allow such innocents to die? How could you be so cruel!?”

Subaru: “Goddamn, I had a slight suspicion, but I can’t establish a conversation at all.”

Had there ever any we he could? Regulus’s rhetoric was completely illogical.

To hold these women hostage, and yet to declare that they were his wives, existed in no realm of reason. The worst of it was that both the proclamation of [innocence] and the notion that [Regulus would kill them] were undoubtedly true.

This illogical battle of hostages was indeed an extremely effective tactic.

Regulus: “It’s not like I want them to die, or anything. Even so, if you still resist further, I’ll have no choice. I’ll start at the beginning and go in order. Isn’t forcing me to do something so awful just heartless?”

Subaru: “Not like that makes any sense at all, but I don’t remember pushing you to that point?”

Regulus: “So, there’s only one condition for me to free the hostages. You stand in this place, and bear one strike from me. No defending yourself, and no evasion. As long as you do this, I’ll free everyone. Won’t your unfair attack on me be forgiven, that way?”

Reinhardt: “One strike, yes?”

Faced with Regulus’s proposal, Reinhardt stroked his chin as he mediated upon it.

Watching his thoughtful figure, Subaru mentally shook his head desperately at the absurdity of the proposal. Regardless of how Regulus appeared, the power behind his attacks were obvious.

An obscene power which could disintegrate seemingly anything; even Reinhardt wouldn’t be able to withstand such a strike. Even if he barely clung to his life, if he were left indisposed, this battle couldn’t possibly continue.

Reinhardt: “I understand. I accept.”

However, contrary to Subaru’s internal fracas, Reinhardt accepted the condition easily. Stunned, Subaru watched Regulus nod with approval.

Regulus: ”A wise epiphany, I see. You have my respect. Although you’re an enemy who tried to kill my wives, you seem to have at least some basic human humility.”

Subaru: “Hanging onto hostages even as some invincible person, and he doesn’t feel as if he’s in the wrong...”

At a glimpse, Regulus and his mellifluous, flowery words were truly disgusting. However, it seemed that Regulus didn’t hear Subaru’s spite, for he kept his hand laid on Emilia’s neck as he turned his right hand to face Reinhardt.

Subaru: “R-Reinhardt, you... what are you thinking?”

Reinhardt: “Subaru, as promised. Where I’m lacking, you’ll find a way to fill in the gaps, right?”

Subaru: “Quit being so discouraging...”

Even the hardest battle has a chance of being won, was the answer that Subaru had been hoping to hear. However, before he had time to respond, Regulus waved an arm at Reinhardt.

He couldn’t see. Fingertips sliced through the air, as if tossing something at Reinhardt; however, the projectile was invisible. That attack might well very have been something like an [Unseen Hand].

Whether or not the speculation was true was left unanswered.

Reinhardt: “——”

Reinhardt’s figure, which had been standing in front of Subaru, collapsed into a splatter of blood.

His bisected body toppled to the ground, as if stuck by an oblique sniper, completely absent of its normal refined temperament.

Subaru: “Eh—?”

Blood flowed forth from Reinhardt’s fallen corpse, dying the crimson carpet a shade of aubergine. His body trembled like a spring, convulsing in its death throes.

Finally, the moment came where even those movements subsided, and the corpse entered the realm of true death.

This was Reinhardt van Astrea’s certain demise.

Regulus: “No matter how a person acted in life, death is a simple matter. Those who have accomplished great feats, those who have committed great sins; death treats them equally, stealing their lives in the same way. In this gravely unjust world, it’s one of the few truly just parts of life.”

Having killed Reinhardt with only a wave of his hands, Regulus, simply shook his head.

The murderer wore a serene look, as if this had nothing to do with his own actions.

Regulus: “Precisely because they know that the end will inevitably come, the living shouldn’t pursue too much happiness while they live. Therefore, I am extremely satisfied with the low threshold of my happiness. And if I am [Greed], it’s only because I’m always eager to appreciate what I do have, and what I will come to have. If I were never satisfied myself with the amount I have, I would never be happy in my lifetime. But fortunately, I was born with a unique gift. The sensibility of finding satisfaction in simple joys.”

Holding the arm which had killed Reinhardt to his chest, Regulus began to laugh.

Then—

Regulus: “My satisfied self wants to know, are you satisfied with death? If so, congratulations on your death. If not, then those are the words of fate.”

Subaru: “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH—”

Before the echo of Regulus’s ridiculous words had even faded, Subaru sprung into action with a roar.

He grabbed a chair and flung it at Regulus. Facing the projectile, Regulus swept it away with a single swipe, as if it were a mere insect. To say that the impact shattered the chair would be an understatement, and Regulus stepped away wearing an unpleasant expression.

Regulus: “Compared to that graceful one, you really are really both noisy and crude.”

Subaru: “Being a knight without a trace of knightliness happens to be my specialty!”

Treading on the carpet stained with Reinhardt’s blood, Subaru unclasped his whip from his waist, and directed the tip toward Regulus.

In response, Regulus simply made a show of tightening his grip on Emilia’s neck as he lifted her.

Regulus: “Are your eyes just for decoration? Can’t you see that I have leverage here?”

Reinhardt: “—This is all very strange. According to what you promised, you should have liberated the hostages.”

Regulus: “—Eh!?”

The instant he heard that sound, Regulus’s face became stricken with horror.

Tearing his gaze away from the center of the church, Subaru saw a slender, bloodstained figure, and felt his throat close with shock.

Regulus: “Wha—!?”

Reinhardt: “—The『Divine Protection of The Phoenix』.”

With brevity, Reinhardt responded to the wavering Regulus, and three figures moved as one.

Subaru leapt toward the altar, allowing his whip to yank a blonde-haired woman to safety.

Even as her throat was being choked, Emilia kicked her sword of ice over to Reinhardt.

Reinhardt, who had appeared out of nowhere, caught the sword and pointed it at Regulus.

With the women shielded from the line of fire, the wielder of that blade hesitated no longer.

In the next instant, sound vanished from the world— a brilliant blue light accompanied the shockwave that engulfed the church.