02x20 - The Beginning of the Sanctuary and the Beginning of the End

[bunniefuu]

I see. That is a grave illness.

It's remarkable that you've endured this long without dying.

Wh-Who are you?!

You don't even know how to vent your accumulated mana?

Your lack of understanding is truly lamentable.

How's that? Do you feel a bit better?

Wh-What have you done?

How could a young lady...

I only sucked out your mana directly.

Mana?

What you have is not a disease.

It's called the Magic Release Period.

Magic... Release Period?

It is extremely rare.

I'm sure no one has ever understood you because of it.

But I understand your suffering...

as one who has experienced the same feelings.

But who are you?

I am a witch.

An evil witch who occasionally does nice things.

And you?

Well, Betty? What do you think of the romance between our teacher and myself?

There's nothing to think.

I didn't hear a single, solitary thing about it, I suppose.

Also, "romance"? You're being far too familiar toward Mother.

You're right. It was just an excuse to say it.

But I still remember every word she said that day.

That would cause nothing but trouble for Mother, I suppose.

And for me, too, of course.

Beatrice-sama, you shouldn't say things like that.

Also, I can understand how Roswaal-sama feels,

as someone else who was saved by Echidna-sama.

You must be grateful to her as well, Ryuzu-kun.

Yes.

If I hadn't met her that day,

I would still be suffering alone now.

Either that or, in my despair, I might have done something rash.

Instead, I bested my parents and siblings to overtake the Mathers family,

all thanks to her.

Hah! What a shameless man you are, I suppose!

It's cowardly to coerce someone into being grateful!

But you often say things like, "You'd better be grateful."

Hey! Are you on my side or Roswaal's, I suppose?!

You know, I don't like that lukewarm look in your eyes.

If there's something you want to say, then say it, I suppose.

Well, I love you.

Don't say disgusting things like that!

Teacher!

All three of you are here?

Good. Have you been getting along and not fighting?

Of course!

Naturally, I suppose.

Goodness.

Looks like you're all still quite a handful.

Oh? So you heard that story?

Yeah. They're the memories of Ryuzu Meyer that Shima-san saw in the graveyard.

I see.

That would mean you now know what happened that day, too...

The day this Sanctuary was born.

Really, that Roswaal is so irritating, I suppose!

He's utterly intolerable!

I think Roswaal-sama was only avenging me because you were being mean to me.

D-Don't say I was being mean, I suppose!

It was much more refined than that!

No matter how many doors I opened, they led to the same room.

It was a very frightening experience for me.

It was just a bit of yin magic, I suppose.

There's nothing to get so bent out of shape about.

I see.

So even though I did the exact same thing to you with yang magic,

you won't get bent out of shape.

Ngh!

What a great expression, Beatrice.

Your face is my second favorite behind our teacher's, you know.

What do you think you're saying?!

You're just some lucky guy who was blessed with talent and a good family,

who just happened to find the best teacher in the world, I suppose!

Don't let it go to your head!

Beatrice-sama, I think you're just complimenting him.

Ryuzu-kun, if Beatrice ever bothers you again, just come to me.

I'll spank her bottom to teach her a lesson.

Hah! This girl will never rely on you, I suppose!

Go on, tell him!

Thank you.

If anything happens, I will certainly let you know.

How dare you, I suppose?!

Hmph!

Sorry I interrupted your reading.

I apologize on behalf of Beatrice.

Please, don't concern yourself with that.

I can't exactly call this "reading" yet, anyway.

Hmm... Reading books is a good thing, I suppose.

Reading makes your life richer.

So said Beatrice as she echoed the very same words her teacher used.

Grr!

Oh, I know.

Beatrice, why don't you become Ryuzu-kun's teacher?

Me? Teach her?

I-I couldn't trouble Beatrice-sama with that when she's so busy.

N-Now, I didn't say I wasn't willing, I suppose.

It would be a simple task.

What, I suppose? If you don't want to, you don't have to.

It's not as if I'm all that enthus—

Oh, no!

It would make me very happy to have you teach me.

W-Well, if you insist, then I have no choice, I suppose.

You really are one lucky girl.

Beatrice-sama?

Mother is calling, I suppose.

Roswaal! Mother is calling for you, too!

It's urgent, I suppose!

I know!

It seems... he is here.

I have confirmation.

It is definitely him.

I see.

We should flee from here immediately!

If he comes here, our plan will fail,

and it will be impossible to start over!

Teacher! There is no time for hesitation!

I cannot be of any use to you yet.

If you ask me to be your shield, I will gladly do so!

But if we fail to take countermeasures...

It's not as if there's nothing we can do.

The plans for the Sanctuary are in place, to an extent.

Construction of the theory is complete.

Th-Then...

But we still lack the core necessary for generating the barrier.

Without it, the barrier won't function.

All the work we've done...

The Sanctuary was just one step away from completion!

Um... For this core that you don't have yet...

Could I be of any use?

Ryuzu-kun...

I've heard about it already.

The one who meets the requirements to be the core for Echidna-sama's barrier is me.

Did Beatrice tell you that?

Yes.

It's true that there's a good chance you would function as the barrier's core,

but only after your mana and the land adapt to one another.

So I can't do it right now?

This is no ordinary barrier.

We spent years gathering people with mixed human and demihuman blood here

on a scale large enough to activate the barrier.

You are the last push needed to complete it.

But...

I'm sure the two of you have a way to make it work, yes?

Echidna-sama and Roswaal-sama, the two of you saved me.

I've been so happy to live without being ostracized or looked down upon.

If I can repay you for the time I've had to live this way,

I believe that would give my life meaning.

Teacher...

We will use your od as the catalyst to make the Sanctuary's core.

That should shorten the process and allow the barrier to function.

And then the Sanctuary will be saved?

It will make it possible to drive away the current thr*at.

When would you get started?

Right away.

I'm having Beatrice prepare the location where the core will be placed.

All I would need is enough time to construct the spell.

And that is my job, correct?

I will do everything in my power to buy time.

Ryuzu-kun, I'm sorry.

My strength alone is insufficient to protect our teacher.

No, you have also given me so much, Roswaal-sama.

If anything, I am truly grateful.

I have no reason to resent you.

I will go at once.

Teacher, please prepare the barrier and call Beatrice back here.

Perhaps we shouldn't let Beatrice know about this?

If we don't call Beatrice back right now,

she will despise both you and me forever.

Of course, she might do that even if we do call her...

Very well. I'll take your advice.

Beatrice-sama...

You still want to keep going?

Shut up.

You're too noisy.

You're annoying me.

You're a pain in the ass.

I'm losing interest.

I'm losing heart.

I... I have to stop you... here.

I really hate this.

It's bringing me down so much.

I'm so sad... so distraught...

This is the worst of the worst of the worst.

So depressing.

Is someone there?

So depressing.

Al Goa!

Getting sweaty annoys me so much.

Damn you, Devil of Melancholy!

I hate that name.

It crushes my spirit.

Do you think I ended up like this because I wanted to?

No matter how you try to twist the way you live,

you're the one who chose the life you have now from among limited choices!

Don't you dare play the victim...

Devil of Melancholy, Hector!

Your correct statement makes me feel hurt and uncomfortable.

I really just can't stand you at all.

Your bones are crushed, your organs are splattered,

your heart is splintered.

With that out of the way, how about now?

I suppose it would be a stretch to say I made it in time.

No, you are right on time.

Your pupil fought bravely to keep me here and buy you time.

This hurts more than I expected.

If you want to cry, shall we set aside time for it?

You haven't changed a bit, have you?

You're exactly how you were when we parted ways.

And just like then, you still don't know how to talk to me.

You were so adorable back then, though.

How long are you going to lie there looking pathetic, I suppose?

Huh? Beatrice-sama?

Stop spacing out. We need to move while Mother is buying us time.

B-But...

The preparations are complete.

That's what Mother said, I suppose.

All right.

Let's go, Beatrice-sama.

If you don't want to become a part of this crystal,

don't just stand there staring mindlessly at it.

I'm sorry... I know this isn't the time.

So what now, I suppose?

Mother told me to bring you here, but nothing beyond that.

Yet you can still do as Echidna-sama tells you.

Of course, I suppose.

To me, Mother is absolute.

You and the people living here are truly blessed.

Once this is all taken care of,

you can repay that by working your hardest, I suppose.

You're smiling, but that's not an agreeable look on your face.

I-I'm sorry! Something got into my eye.

Actually, you just stay here and don't do anything, I suppose.

I'm going to help Mother.

I also need to save Roswaal before he ends up dead, I suppose.

So from tomorrow on...

Beatrice-sama, thank you for everything you've done over all this time.

Huh?

It's time to say goodbye.

What do you mean by "goodbye"?

This facility has been prepared to place a barrier over the forest.

I was to spend time activating the barrier as its core...

But the time I have is no longer enough.

Time... for the barrier?

I-If that man is interfering, I'll—

You can't win just by fighting him.

That's what the Sanctuary is for.

That's why Roswaal-sama has sacrificed so much.

Because he knows he can't save Echidna-sama otherwise.

If we can just complete the barrier, we can protect this place.

I will offer myself up for that purpose.

Don't say such ridiculous things!

You'll offer yourself up?

You don't even know magic! What can you do, I suppose?!

You can't—

This magic crystal will be the catalyst

to form the barrier using your od as the core?

Yes. That was Echidna-sama's idea.

Wait! You're wrong!

I'll go talk to Mother about it myself right now, I suppose!

Mother dotes on me! I know she'll lis—

We don't have that much time.

The decision has to be made right now.

Then my decision is that I'm going to go help Mother!

Together, Mother and I can b*at him easily, I suppose!

Everyone can just run away from here through my Door Crossing.

Right? I'll do that, I suppose!

It will be hard on me with so many people,

but I can pull it off!

And I'll find an opening to grab Roswaal and get Mother away, I suppose!

See? That will—

Do you want to live your life running away, afraid of being chased again?

We finally have a place where we can enjoy peace,

thanks to Echidna-sama and Roswaal-sama.

If we abandon it, how long will it take to build a new Sanctuary?

I've been granted more than enough time to enjoy warmth and kindness.

I love this place.

I'm truly happy that I was able to live here.

I love the smiles of everyone who lives here.

I don't want to lose them.

No matter what you think about this place,

it doesn't exist for people like you!

Yes, I know.

Then... If you know that, then why?!

It's all right.

That may have been true in the beginning.

But...

There's no way all of the time we spent here

can stay as it was in the beginning.

The choice to live here,

and the choice to talk with you,

were all choices I made on my own.

I haven't lost anything.

I still have everything I've been given.

Living here made me happy.

So to protect all of those times... I must go.

I offer my affection and gratitude to you, Beatrice-sama, over and over again.

Beatrice-sama...

Be careful not to eat too many sweets.

Th-The books...

I promised to teach you how to read and write.

Thank you.

Goodbye,

Betty.

And that's everything I was told.

And?

Assuming that story is true, what of it?

I'll say it again! Surrender!

The course of events has changed.

Stop the people you sent to the mansion.

Then all of this can be reconciled!

I refuse, Subaru-kun.

I didn't come through these years only to bend to a change of this degree.

If you think bringing in a pawn from outside the board

and removing Garfiel gives you an advantage, you are very mistaken.

What?!

Am I wrong?

You snapped so vigorously at outsiders before,

and now you're one of Subaru-kun's merry band of friends.

I am quite surprised at how quickly you changed your tune.

Heh! Nothin' you say carries any weight, Roswaal!

Carries no weight...

After clinging to one desire every day for the past ten years,

then letting it go with such ease, you say I carry no weight?

What a pathetic joke.

A wish does not simply go away.

If you truly loved your mother and family,

if you loved them that much,

would you really change so readily?

Or did you not love your mother and family at all?

Is a wish that folded the moment your fangs were broken off

what you spent your last ten years on?

Don't get the wrong idea.

The wrong idea?

I didn't just decide to follow my boss 'cause he b*at me in a fight.

I spent ten years clingin' to the past.

I just faced that past for the first time in ten years.

You confronted your past? You?

I ain't interested in tellin' you what I saw there or why I started followin' my boss.

But I will tell you the one big reason I decided to follow him instead of you.

'Cause rather than the one who told me to stay weak forever,

why wouldn't I follow the one who says, "I need you because you're strong"?

Huh? What?!

Oh, nothing. I'm counting on you, man.

Garfiel saw the past.

Even if he's standing here as a result,

that doesn't mean the love he had for his family for ten years is any weaker.

The strength of his feelings hasn't changed.

He changed without ever changing.

The same goes for you.

If your methods... If you were just facing the same direction as us,

we could get along.

It's not too late to turn back!

I still have the advantage.

What?

Per the terms of our wager, your greatest w*apon was bound,

making you an ordinary person.

And what can an ordinary person like you do?

You cannot do anything!

Nothing at all!

You are less than ordinary! What can you do?!

In the Sanctuary, no one can violate the feelings carved into you by time!

No one! That will never change!

My years will never be overturned by an ordinary person like you!

Because feelings don't change?

Yes!

Because it's what you've believed for so long?

Yes, that's right!

Why don't you ever look at anything but the weakness of feelings?!

You know that caring about someone for a long time is a strong feeling!

Why do you only try to see the weakness in it?!

Because that is what I believe!

In the same way that you find hope by believing in another's strength,

I believe that everyone always remains weak!

So weak and fragile that, other than clinging to just one precious thing,

they aren't even capable of fulfilling their own desires!

That's what I believe!

For years, I have loved only one woman.

That is far longer than the time we spent together.

And even after being without her for so long,

her image is forever b*rned into me.

It never stops burning my very soul!

My heart is still in pieces, as it has been since the day we parted.

Nothing has changed for me!

I'll say it one more time.

I still have the advantage.

And if parts of our stories don't match, what then?

For both you and me, so long as that one crucial person remains,

the battle will never end.

Don't underestimate Emilia.

She won't go along with your ideas anymore.

She'll overcome it all!

You really think that's possible?

She'll be stranded with nowhere to go, her own regrets will crush her,

she'll be sorry she ever aspired to change,

and she'll cling to you in tears.

That's what suits—

Crying doesn't suit any woman!

I've never seen a girl who sucked that bad at crying!

She will be hurt and held in contempt.

That is the fate of the half-elf.

Born with the curse of sharing the same lineage as the Witch of Envy,

it's inevitable that she will be scorned as a witch!

Screw you!

How the hell is she a witch?!

You're the ones ganging up on her to make her one!

Has anyone ever even told her

that it's okay to cry if she's hurt or sad?!

If she can't wipe her own tears away, someone outside will dry them for her!

Has anyone ever told her that there's someone out there who'll do that for her?!

If no one else will do it, I will!

Feelings...

Curses...

If you believe they're things that can never change,

we'll just pound the truth into you!

My name is Natsuki Subaru!

I am the silver-haired half-elf Emilia's knight!

Emilia's coming, Roswaal.

That girl you're so convinced is weak

is gonna come to sever that last desire of yours!

So my suspicions were correct, Natsuki Subaru.

What?

You and I are alike...

in the sense that we both force our ideals upon the women we love.

You believe in weakness, and I believe in strength.

I will agree on the point that you and I are alike.

Let's go.

Stupid idiot!

Right. I'm fine now.

Welcome back, Emilia-sama.