Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Nominally a prison, but actually located in the study of Ricurchi in the Karlsten mansion."

"That's the place where she and Lord Hachiman spent the most time together."

"..."

"Without resentment, without surprise, without resistance, the lifeless Hachiman Hikigaya cooperated all the way here."

"Wilheim didn't lock the door when he left. He didn't even stand guard at the door. Nobody knows where he went. The lunch the guards brought was, as always, all his favorite foods, without the slightest bit of skimping."

"Over time, the study has become filled with the faint scent of Crusch, a fragrance that is just like her decisive and dashing demeanor, captivating all who smell it."

"On the bookshelves and in the cabinets, all kinds of confidential documents are laid out without any defense. If Hachiman Hikigaya wants, he can peek at them at will and destroy them at will."

"He didn't touch anything, but simply picked up his chopsticks and stirred the last meal placed in front of him... Hachiman Hikigaya had no appetite at all, but he still ate bit by bit, finishing every last bite."

"The meal was eaten very slowly, until the color of the window changed from the warm midday sun to the orange-red sunset."

"Crunch."

"As the door opened, light footsteps entered the study. Hachiman Hikigaya took the last sip of water and rinsed his mouth."

"Heave-ho~"

"Both her voice and her walking posture are incredibly cute. She seems very sunny, and Phyllis appears with a smile, her face completely free of any gloom. 'Oh dear, hehe... I never thought Hachiman would actually argue with Crusch-sama. How rare! Phyllis was quite startled, meow.'"

She entered the study with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Hachiman's resolute expression, and said to herself, "But no matter what, imprisoning Hachiman is really going too far, meow~ Ah, how about Phyllis goes to Lord Crusch and asks her to come and apologize?"

"But, but, Hachiman-chan, you also need to apologize sincerely, okay? Only when both sides apologize will there be no lingering resentment, meow. Hmm, are you listening?"

"Through her words, Phyllis subtly offered a way out, smoothed things over, and kept hinting, before poking Hachiman Hikigaya's forehead."

Feeling the pressure of the finger on his forehead, Hachiman Hikigaya tilted his head slightly, his tone resolute: "You hate me, don't you, Phyllis?"

"What—" Phyllis's eyes flashed with panic, and he quickly forced a weak smile. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"We're friends...no, we're best friends, Phyllis."

"Hachiman Hikigaya's voice held a deep sadness, shattering the facade of harmony that Phyllis had painstakingly created in an instant: 'But Crusch is everything to you.'"

"Crusch is more important than your life, more important than the whole world, Crusch's importance is unparalleled. Even your closest friend would want to tear Crusch apart if he dared to slash her flesh with a sword."

"This hatred, this murderous intent, you cannot hide it from me, Phyllis."

Phyllis had already withdrawn her finger, standing frozen in place, awkwardly maintaining a fake smile. "Honestly, Phyllis-chan had no idea Hachiman-sensei could be such a joker."

"Ah—that!"

Before Hachiman Hikigaya could continue, she suddenly pointed to a bookshelf. "Lady Crusch and Hachiman-sama often stood there discussing matters. I really miss those days. Lady Crusch asked you why you were pacing back and forth there, and you said you could think faster and have better ideas while standing. After that, Lady Crusch started standing there with you, meow."

"Philie-chan remembers that the day after Lady Anastasia announced her withdrawal from the royal selection, Lady Crusch was slumped over this table."

"At that time, you handed me a piece of paper, saying that your previous methods of belittling Lady Anastasia were too despicable, and asked Lady Crusch to help write an apology letter to Lady Anastasia in your personal name."

"Lady Crusch was initially puzzled, wondering why you didn't write it yourself. You said your handwriting was rather ordinary, not as beautiful as Lady Crusch's, and she immediately and happily wrote the letter for you."

"Later, Lady Crusch spoke to Fili several times in private, saying that the only thing she might surpass Hachiman in was her handwriting."

"Feli-chan also remembers that a few days before Lord Crusch led his troops on a nationwide tour, during the civil war that broke out in the Holy Flame Empire, Hachiman took the time to cook a meal."

"Back then, Lord Crusch said your cooking skills were just average, but Felicity clearly saw that it was the day Lord Crusch had the most appetite in those months!"

Pointing to different places, her speech became faster and faster, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears. Phyllis clenched her fist and slammed it on the table with a thud.

"That one winter, when Lord Crusch was so busy in his study that he fell asleep at his desk, wasn't it you who was the first to notice and cover him with your coat?"

"There were so many happy days, so many wonderful memories, and you clearly loved Felicity and Crusch-sama, so why—"

"Why are you being so heartless now, Hachiman-chichi? Why?!"

Grabbing Hachiman Hikigaya by the collar and lifting him up, Phyllis roared, two tears streaming down her cheeks, "You bastard, do you even know that Lady Crusch actually shed tears... Lady Crusch, she can actually cry?! Do you even understand which bastard did this to?!"

"Lady Crusch, who was completely unguarded with you, Lady Crusch, who confided in you, Lady Crusch, who gave you everything... How could you so heartlessly swing your sword and wound the Lady Crusch who treated you like that? What kind of ruthless monster are you, Hachiman Hikigaya?!"

Phyllis's angry roars pounded on Hachiman Hikigaya with each blow of her hammer.

"...He was in pain, he was very sad, but..."

"I am a rational monster."

"Under Phyllis's condemnation, his only reply was this."

218. Crusch Line: A Series of Obstacles

""Bang!""

"A punch, filled with resentment, landed on his face. Caught off guard, Hachiman Hikigaya fell to the ground due to the momentum, his face burning with pain."

"I really misjudged you, Hachiman Hikigaya!!"

"The frail Phyllis roared and pounced on Hachiman Hikigaya, showing no mercy as she relentlessly pounded his face and stomach with all her might, delivering a thoroughly satisfying beating."

"This is the first and only time in my life that I have done such a thing to his best friend."

"For the past three years, I have been training with the sword demon Wilhelm in my spare time during Crusch's camp. Even so, I am not as strong as Wilhelm and Julius. Even if I give up, I am still beaten dizzy and my face turns purple by Phyllis's fists."

"Phyllis, you idiot!"

A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth. Hachiman Hikigaya gritted his teeth. "You're only hitting insignificant places! What about your heart? Your neck? Put some effort into it! Didn't you eat?!"

""Bang""

"The response to his arrogance was Phyllis's bloodshot gaze and a shout of 'Bastard!!', followed by an increasingly furious and forceful punch."

"The floor is soaked with Phyllis's sweat and Hachiman Hikigaya's blood."

“Phyllis, you…”

Crusch, his brow furrowed, looked at Phyllis, who was sticking out her tongue beside him. He wanted to scold her but couldn't bring himself to do it. However, seeing Hachiman Hikigaya being beaten so badly by him, Crusch felt a pang of heartache and his breathing became rapid.

Phyllis acted cute and said, "Hehe... When I see Hachiman, Phyllis will apologize to him properly. If he hits me back, Phyllis won't fight back."

However, he didn't regret it. Whether it was his future self or his present self, the moment he saw Hachiman Hikigaya swing his sword at Lord Crusch, regardless of Hachiman Hikigaya's reasons, he wanted to give Hachiman Hikigaya a good beating.

"After all, Lady Crusch is more important than the whole world."

Crusch sighed, "No matter what, what you did was really too much, Phyllis."

If she hadn't been able to tell that Hachiman was deliberately provoking Phyllis's anger, intentionally using the physical damage from these punches to alleviate his guilt, and that he was setting a trap, she would have genuinely punished Phyllis.

"That's outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

On the main street of the royal capital, Emilia, who had been pursing her lips, was unusually visibly angry. She wouldn't be angry at people like the Bowel Hunters, Gluttons, and Greed, because she had no expectations of them and only wanted them dead.

But Emilia couldn't accept that Phyllis and Julius, Hachiman Hikigaya's close friends, treated him this way.

"The root cause of Hachiman's grievances against Crusch is clearly me, yet you're blaming Hachiman for everything! That's really too much, Phyllis!"

“Sigh…” Parker shook his head. He realized that his daughter’s kindness could not be swayed.

Fortunately, at least she'll be angry. Phyllis's actions happen to lessen her daughter's sense of indebtedness to the Crusch camp.

“Reinhard in Felt’s route is conflicted, Julius in Anna’s route is repulsed, and now Felt in Crusch’s route is fast-forwarded to the beating.”

Miyuki Shirogane sighed, "If things continue like this, I don't even want to think about what Al would do to Hachiman if Priscilla's timeline existed. Fortunately, at least Al didn't have much contact or feelings for Hachiman in the main story, so it wouldn't be too tragic if they really killed each other."

Most people felt a bit nauseous at Phyllis's beating of Hachiman Hikigaya, but some applauded it, applauded it, and nodded slightly at it.

"Good fight!"

Inside the convenience store, Hachiman Hikigaya cheers on the roaring Phyllis.

In this timeline, Hachiman Hikigaya from the future owes Crusch far too much. Even if it were to fight his present self, let alone his future self, Hachiman Hikigaya feels it's entirely possible.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that Crusch saved Emilia and Rem is an indebtedness that can never be repaid. Although it was due to a deal and an agreement, she saved them, and that's that.

"One more punch! One more punch! Harder!"

The more Hachiman Hikigaya supported Phyllis's beating, the more annoyed and upset Anastasia became.

"Our Prime Minister..."

She stared wide-eyed as she watched Hachiman Hikigaya get beaten, her heart aching terribly, and her pent-up resentment growing stronger.

“Mimi will get revenge,” Mimi nestled in Anastasia’s arms, whispering close to her ear so Julius wouldn’t hear, “Mimi will find a chance to sneak up a sack and beat this guy up!”

Anastasia nodded emphatically.

"Panting out."

Phyllis, who was panting heavily after beating her best friend, looked at Hachiman Hikigaya, whose face was bruised and purple, who was spitting blood, and whose stomach and chest had also been attacked, and said angrily, "Don't expect Phyllis-chan to heal you this time!"

"I... *cough cough*..." Hachiman Hikigaya's face, covered in wounds, was clouded with gloom. "I never had such a wish, Phyllis."

Phyllis, whose words were half said in anger, narrowed her eyes. She hadn't expected Hachiman Hikigaya to say something like that.

"But, as expected, you never really intended to hurt me properly until the very end... You idiot, Phyllis."

""Varied--""

With a thud, Hachiman Hikigaya's lightning-fast punch precisely knocked out Phyllis, leaving her dazed and slumped onto the floor.

"You're just like Crusch, a kind-hearted idiot. That's why I..."

"Hachiman Hikigaya muttered to himself through gritted teeth. His slightly numb leg made him limp as he carried Phyllis, his dear friend, to a chair. He glanced at her one last time, then turned and left without a trace, his body hunched over."

"Hachiman Hikigaya must leave the study, leave the Carlsten mansion, leave the capital, leave Crusch's camp, and leave behind everything Emilia fears."

"And now, he has only completed the first step of his goal."

"Outside the study stood an elderly gentleman."

"The orange-red sunset had disappeared, and the pale yellow moon in the sky dispelled the darkness of the night. Under the moonlight, the sword demon Wilhelm held two swords in his hands."

"—Whoosh."

"One of them was thrown and landed in the hands of Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Wilheim's eyes were sharp when he opened them, like a blade drawn from its sheath."

"No need for further explanation."

""Come!""

219. Crusch Route: The Sword Demon's Release