02x19 - The Permafrost of Elior Forest

[bunniefuu]

I'm so glad you found it for me.

I did find the seal,

but I didn't know where the key was.

But... why...

are you... here?

You seem surprised.

You see, this seal is what we were after,

so my being here is really a matter of course.

Why... are you... here?

Oh, I'm sorry.

I suppose it is Bishop Romanée-Conti and your mother that you wanted to know about.

You need not worry.

The two you are so worried about, Bishop Romanée-Conti and your mother, are safe.

R-Really?

Yes, really.

Neither the worshipers nor I wish to cause harm to anyone.

What we seek is this seal.

So when you're done with the seal, will you leave the forest?

You'll go without doing anything mean to the people here?

Yes, of course.

We do not wish to make any unnecessary sacrifices.

So, please give me the key now.

The... key?

Yes, the key.

Given that this seal is shaped like a door,

it will not open without the key.

And I believe the key is in your possession.

I don't know anything about that!

Hiding it would not be very wise.

I-I'm not! I really, really don't know!

I don't have any key!

Nobody gave me one!

I see.

Then I will have to turn this entire forest over until I find it.

I-I'll open it! I'll open the seal!

Oh, you will? That's wonderful.

So you really do have the key, then.

After all, it is obvious...

that you are the witch's daughter.

Witch?

Now, the seal, please.

As soon as the door is open, we will leave.

Consider yourself to be the key.

I'm... the key.

Can you see it now?

You can't see it?

No, I cannot.

That key is only given to the one qualified to possess it.

Go on, open it.

Then your wish will be granted.

Promise me, Emilia...

I... I can't open it.

Why?

I made... I made a promise.

I see. Well, promises are very important.

A promise with your mother, I'm sure.

But there are times when a decision must be made,

even if it means breaking a promise.

Which hope do you seek?

Which... hope?

One is the hope that you will keep your promise,

get us to leave, and overcome this hardship.

The other is the hope that you will resolve all this harmoniously

by breaking your promise and opening the seal.

Which fate will you choose?

I will entrust fate to you.

I promised Mother.

I'm going to keep my promise.

I will. So...

Mother...

You trust your mother, your guiding light, to the very end.

That answer is the decision your soul has led you to.

I shall respect that.

So you must also respect my decision to open this seal

by any means necessary.

Pandora!

It's dangerous to att*ck without observing your surround—

Take this!

Emilia?!

But why? You should be out of the forest!

Do you not find it cruel to ask her why?

She came here out of concern for you, because she wished to help you.

When you both wear the same expression,

the resemblance between you is even clearer.

Truly mother and daughter.

I'm not Emilia's mother!

She gets her cute face from my sister-in-law!

Ah, her? Please forgive me, then.

Her real parents must be so pleased.

Don't you dare speak of my brother or sister-in-law!

Simply rampaging and refusing to talk will only tire you out.

You should calm down...

so that we have a chance to discuss—

I'm telling you to give it a rest!

Emilia! Wait, no! I didn't mean to—

Can you not direct even a tiny bit of that emotion to the one you despise?

I will not tell you to love all people as you love your daughter.

But there are things that can change with just a bit of sympathy.

Don't be ridiculous!

Who would... Who would listen to you?!

Then why not try this?

Convince your daughter with your own words.

I have verified that she possesses the key,

but she shows no desire to open the door for me...

Because she wishes to keep her promise to you.

I promise you that if the seal is opened,

we will leave this forest and do nothing further.

"Promise" is such a nice word, isn't it?

I'm sorry you had to go through this, Emilia.

Are you the only one here?

Where's Archi?

Archi told me to run toward the white flowers...

So I just ran.

Emilia...

Emilia...

Thank you for keeping your promise.

What a good girl.

What a good girl.

Mother...

Mother...

I... I...

Emilia...

I'm so proud of you.

You are my treasure.

What beautiful motherly love. I'm deeply moved.

Truly, how wonderful it is to see such love.

I won't open the seal, and I won't let you have her.

And you...

will turn into an ice statue and die!

I finally caught up to you!

Geuse!

Fortuna-sama!

Al Huma!

Unseen Hand!

Mother?

And now, it is... over!

That should be more than enough this time!

Fortuna-sama, be careful! Keep your guard up!

I will make sure that...

Geuse?

Emilia-sama?

No... It can't be!

It was not your fault. You mistook what you saw.

That is all.

This can't be!

This can't be! This can't be! This can't be! This can't be!

What... What am I... What am I doing?!

What have I...

Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!

Why did I do this?!

It was all for love.

You offered up your very soul to save the one you love.

All that you have done was out of love.

A beautiful, wonderful symbol of love...

Love... Love... Love... Love... Love...

Yes, there is nothing to fear, nothing to regret.

Love... Love...

This is the inevitability that the path you have walked was leading to.

Your love is not wrong.

For... love...

Emilia...

Mother?

Brother...

I'm sorry...

Mother...

I couldn't do... any of the things... you told me to do.

Your wife...

will be so angry.

She'll never... forgive me.

I'll forgive you, Mother.

You are my mother.

You've always taken care of me.

You loved me just as much as my mom and dad did.

So there's nothing you need to apologize for. Nothing.

Emilia will always... always love you, Mother Fortuna.

I love you...

I love you... I love you.

I love you!

Lia...

Mother?

My little crybaby...

I love you... so, so much.

Now, are you ready to choose the hope that you will break the seal?

Open... the seal?

The mother you made your promise to, sadly, has passed away.

You are no longer shackled by any promises.

What do you say?

Die.

What a dangerous thing to do. What brought—

Die.

Please calm down.

We can talk it over until you under—

Die.

You are a kind-hearted child.

Your mother would be sad if you—

Die.

What a problem. It seems to be having the opposite effect.

Die! Die! Die! Die!

Die! Die! Die! Die!

It is a shame when my long-desired wish is so close,

Die! Die! Die! Die!

but it's time to end this for today.

Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!

To continue further might force you into the impossible.

Die! Die!

Die! Die! Die! Die!

At the rate you're going, you will likely fall into a deep sleep soon.

Die! Die! Die! Die!

Die! Die! Die!

Your power will envelop this forest with frozen soil that will never thaw.

Die! Die...

Die...

Die...

Either your mana will eventually run dry...

Or it will be offset by someone with power comparable to yours.

Until then...

Die! Die! Die! Die!

Unfortunately for you, I will not die.

Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!

As surely as the snow melts and the glacial period ends,

you and I will meet again.

Die! Die! Die!

But it would make me sad if you still hated me then.

Die! Die! Die!

So your memories thus far will end with today, as you forget my existence.

Die! Die! Die...

Fill the emptiness however you please.

Yes, you did your very best to keep your promise.

I would be most pleased if you would engrave that fact in your heart,

and forever stay as you are now.

I look forward to the day we meet again.

Mother...

If you blame yourself for the falsification of your memories,

you are barking up the wrong tree.

The one you saw then was the Witch of Vanity.

There's no doubt that her Authority of Vanity padded out your distorted memories.

If I ask you about Pandora, will you tell me?

I seek out conversations with others,

but in your case, I have no interest in digressions.

I see. Thank you.

I was the one who turned them all into ice,

and it was when they were trying to save me.

By recalling the past, you saw the end of your regret.

All that remains is to give your answer.

My answer to the trial?

The first trial is completed by parting with your greatest regret.

It comes when you either accept or reject your past self.

The fact remains that your own sin caused

your mother, your friends, and your family to turn into ice statues.

Your determination to save them can't even be called idealistic.

It was no more than a dream.

So what is left for you?

I've already been told that.

Mother loved me.

I wanted to save my mother... Mother Fortuna.

I wanted to sleep in her arms again, together in the same bed.

I wanted to tell her over and over that I loved her.

Are you saying you regret that?

No, I don't regret it.

I don't regret keeping my promise and refusing to yield back then.

If I regret anything, it's that I wasn't strong enough,

that I wasn't smart enough to do better.

But I'll never regret not breaking my promise with Mother to do as Pandora said.

Because...

Mother told me in the very end

that she was proud of me for keeping my promise.

That I was her treasure.

Since you can't save her, doesn't that mean you've lost your reason to fight?

Not at all.

I couldn't save Mother,

but I can't say that for certain about everyone else yet.

They're still sleeping within the ice, waiting for me.

Only I can save them.

The forest has been contaminated by the Black Serpent.

What if their bodies are corroded by disease, even if the frozen soil thaws?

What if none of the land your people owned for generations remains?

That's just imagining the worst.

They're all waiting to be saved.

I need to wake them up soon and let them yell at me.

Then they'll smile and tell me they're glad I'm still alive.

What a foolish delusion.

No, it's the prediction of a happy future!

Mother said that, one day,

we would all leave the forest and live normal lives.

Just like how we were friends with Geuse and his people,

and just like how Subaru said he loved me,

the world where Mother and Geuse should have walked side by side will come!

And the villagers who turned into ice statues are there?

The ones that you froze?

I'll apologize like crazy.

I'll apologize over and over until they forgive me.

Then, once they forgive me, I'll show them the world.

I'll tell them we don't need to live in hiding anymore.

I'll tell them this is the world Mother Fortuna told us about!

I'll sing my dreams until my throat goes dry,

so Mother up in the skies above can hear me!

I'll tell her that I'm going to live happily in the world she loved!

I see.

I understand now.

I thought I did before, but this exceeds my expectations.

You are just that pushy, insolent, egotistical, and selfish.

The pinnacle of hypocrisy.

True. Is that bad?

Your trial is now over.

However egotistical its ending may be,

it has most definitely settled your past.

Keep using your mother's sacrifice as an excuse for your resolve

to see your selfish wish through to the very end.

Say whatever you want.

I'm used to your insults by now.

Two trials remain.

I'd like to say I look forward to how pathetically you struggle...

Huh? Wait, there are still more trials?

Two more? So three in all?

The remaining trials...

I doubt they will pose a challenge to you.

Really?

Now that you're fighting back, they'll be a very poor fit.

In a sense, you've abandoned all thought.

That's super mean.

Well, I hate you.

But I don't hate you nearly as much.

Thank you... so much.

I'm sorry, Mother.

Mother...

Mother...

Sorry to push you like that,

but you told me far more than I expected.

Thanks.

I always feared that removing the barrier would

trample upon the wishes of Ryuzu Meyer, our progenitor.

I get how you feel.

But when Emilia pulls it off and everything works out,

we'll be able to call the whole world a Sanctuary.

I leave it to you, Young Su.

Your wish of four hundred years is on me now.

Anyway, I'd like to let Shima-san rest.

Ram, can you take care of things now?

Oh, Old Hag Shi's hideout would be better than Old Hag Ryu's place for that.

I'll go with—

Whoa, wait a second!

You shouldn't push yourself yet, either.

We should let Ram-san and Ryuzu-san handle it.

Huh?

Garfiel, a boor like you charging at Shima-sama

and interrupting her rest would defeat the purpose.

Then I suppose I should go, too.

I would appreciate that very much.

I would feel guilty leaving Ryuzu-sama in the care of two men who lack any empathy.

That's right.

Wait, were you counting me as one of those m—

I guess Ram-san must have sensed it, huh?

Well, the fact that she overlooked...

No, the fact that she was willing to help us at all meant there was hope.

Hey, don't go understanding each other like that!

Don't ignore me like one guy among ten morgrelo!

We'd be stuck if you left,

and since Ram is an unknown variable, I wanted her out of the group.

Ram? Hang on!

I don't understand a damn thing you're sayin' anymo—

We're on our way to visit Margrave Mathers.

Huh?

You have two arms, plus both of us dragging you down.

That should be enough to get there, right?

We need to make it back before Emilia comes out of there all proud.

Never did I expect you to pay me a visit at a time like this.

And what brings you here?

Look at you, greeting us in full makeup.

It's embarrassing when you're that eager to see us.

Was it not you who said to me

that the next time we met, I should be in full makeup?

Yeah, I guess I did say that.

Besides, this makeup is my way of preparing for a battle I cannot lose.

I see. So it's literally your w*r paint.

Well, Subaru-kun? What brings you here?

I think you know by now

that the game board you've set up is falling apart.

Yes, indeed.

Seeing who you've brought with you tells me the situation has changed.

They certainly have tamed you, haven't they, Garfiel?

What?

But the one that concerns me the most is...

You mean... me?

From the moment you entered, I wondered,

"Just who is he, anyway?"

Damn, Otto!

You actually got left out of the prophecy foretelling the future!

That doesn't make me happy at all,

and I can't hide my shock at how little sense this all makes!

And someone like this is here as a witness to the battle between Subaru-kun and me.

I see. That must mean he...

Yeah, that's right.

The first gear's been thrown out of alignment.

Huh?

The game board you've been setting up so carefully

has been invaded by an unknown piece.

That's changed the flow of things...

thanks to my insignificant friend here, who isn't even in the prophecy.

Why don't you tell me your name again?

My name is Otto Suwen.

I'm honored to have this opportunity to meet you.

I'm only a humble merchant, but I thank you.

I shall remember that, Otto-kun.

The next time we meet, I will not overlook you.

Good for you, Otto!

You left a bigger impression on Roswaal than ever, just like you wanted!

This wasn't how I wanted him to remember me, though!

So, thanks to Otto-kun, you made it back on your feet

and found the backbone you needed for this last battle.

That's right.

Doesn't it seem kinda weird, though?

It should be the main heroine that gets me back on my feet.

Why would a male character play that role? How dense can you be?

Don't look at me like it's my fault! I don't know, either!

I'm just kidding, man.

I will ask once more. What have you come here for?

To advise you to surrender.

Shima-san told me the real reason

why this Sanctuary was created.