Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"I will save the Sanctuary, I will save the mansion, and even you, Roswaal, I will save you too."

"I will break the commands of the Book of Wisdom, make you understand its incompetence, make you understand Echidna's weakness, pull you out of the quagmire of the Witch of Greed and the Book of Wisdom, rescue you from that quagmire, and I want to see the expression on your face as you doubt life, doubt the world, and doubt yourself because of the failure of Echidna and the Book of Wisdom."

"I want to see that expression on your face, and then—"

"Hachiman Hikigaya took a deep breath, pointed at Roswaal, and said firmly, "When the time comes, I'll settle accounts with you properly. Be prepared to accept your punishment, Roswaal!"

"You really dare to say that, Hachiman-kun."

"At first, he was furious and almost wanted to grind this man who had scorned his teacher to dust, but when he thought of his importance, Roswaal had to stop himself from doing so."

"Even if you're smart and careful, how could you possibly do something like that?"

Whether I can do it or not is not determined by your verbal denial.

Roswaal tilted his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "Is that so? ...Heh, then, shall we make a bet, Hachiman-kun?"

"At this moment, Hachiman Hikigaya thought about many, many things."

"If once doesn't work, try three times; if three times doesn't work, try five times; if five times doesn't work, try ten times..." Emilia wanted to use this method to pass the trial, but it was too painful, so she wasn't allowed to do it.

"But it's okay if it's just me."

"Rem and Emilia, he won't give up either of them. Otto, Ram, Garfield, and also Frederica and Petra are important."

"He strides forward, past the clown-like Roswaal, and looks up at the sky, without turning his head back."

"I have this belief, this ability, this opportunity... therefore, your opinion is irrelevant, and the bet with you is utterly ridiculous. Now, I have nothing more to say to you—all I can offer you is one sentence: prepare to repent, Roswaal."

"..."

"Gazing at his retreating figure without hesitation, Roswaal breathed softly."

"His eyes held anger, confusion, and... a faint, almost imperceptible, hope."

"Then, there was a sigh carried on the wind: 'You were never this aggressive and ruthless before... You've already begun to change in the direction I recommended, Hachiman-kun.'"

"Humph!"

Crusch snorted coldly. If she had to pick the person she hated the most right now, besides Echidna, it would be Roswaal. "A person like that doesn't deserve to be saved by Lord Hachiman, and he's even being so self-righteous... Lord Hachiman's aggression is actually a remnant of Priscilla's influence."

"Four hundred years have passed, and you've been working tirelessly for that wonderful teacher in your memory, without complaint or regret. But are you still feeling tired? Yes, you're unwilling to give up, hoping for a powerful external force to force you to stop, yet you fight back with all your might when that force appears. It's a contradictory and interesting feeling."

In the tomb, Echidna smiled brightly, about to continue her commentary, when suddenly the chair beneath her creaked, seemingly broken due to age and neglect, missing a leg.

Echidna fell to the ground without warning, dropping the teacup she was holding and spilling all the bodily fluids inside, leaving her covered in dirt and grime.

Her disheveled appearance was witnessed by the other witches, and Echidna was stunned for several seconds.

"Priscilla!!"

"The villagers are all ready and can set off at any time. Garfield is too; he's already taken care of the aftermath. He said all the demi-human residents will stay outside the trial grounds and immediately hide inside once Lady Emilia finishes her trial, to avoid the rabbits… Does that mean those legendary monsters really will appear here? That's too dangerous!"

"Otto kept rambling on. On the eve of leaving the Sanctuary, after Hachiman Hikigaya finished his inspection, he stood in front of Ram."

"...Here we go again. What's with that look? Ram hates it when you suddenly become like this."

"...What kind of look was it?"

"Hachiman Hikigaya didn't know that. All he knew was that what he was thinking about now was the most terrible future of failure, that of Ram roaring and wanting to die."

"Ram," he said softly, composing himself, "I have no intention of killing Roswaal right now, because you wouldn't agree. But remember, you must remember—if you die, if you die in the battle to destroy the books, I, without hesitation, will make Roswaal die."

"If you don't want him to die, then do everything in your power to live, Ram."

274. I will push open that door.

"...What exactly are you..."

Ram paused, then gave a disdainful look. "Lord Roswaal's life or death is none of your business, nor is Ram's. Although you seem to be considering Ram's best interests, in Ram's heart, you can never compare to Lord Roswaal. Please give up."

"Don't you have the authority to dispose of it?"

Hachiman Hikigaya smiled. "Whether I have that power or not is unimportant; having the strength is enough. In short, please live well, Lum."

"After giving his final instructions, he was about to turn around and leap onto the dragon carriage when, just a second before entering the carriage, he heard a puzzled question from behind him."

"...Could you tell me why you value Ram so much? In Ram's memory, our relationship is pretty good, but it shouldn't be to the point that you care about her this much, right?"

"—Live on, and then I'll show you Rem."

"Hachiman Hikigaya entered the carriage without looking back. The wheels rolled, and the dragon carriage creaked forward under the Alto's control, leaving only this sentence to vanish with the wind."

"Rem's favorite person is her sister, so it's only natural that Hachiman would go to great lengths to protect Ram for Rem's sake."

But that's only half the reason; the other half is due to Lum himself... How could Hachiman Hikigaya, who considers Lum his friend, possibly allow his friend to be harmed!

"Warning Ram to live is nothing. Hachiman's hardest sacrifice was actually suppressing his desire to kill Roswaal."

In the karaoke room, Hayato Hayama sighed deeply, "Once I kill Roswaal, I will immediately become enemies with Ram. Therefore, Hachiman can only bury his hatred for Roswaal in his heart. Even if he wants to take revenge, he can't completely retaliate... It's really tough."

To describe his current feelings about this other world, he feels extreme disgust and aversion.

While there were some benefits, all things considered, the suffering Hikigaya-kun endured far outweighed the gains.

"Right now, I hate Echidna the most, then Roswaal, and then... Ram!"

Hayato Hayama gritted his teeth in resentment. Seeing his indignant expression, Yumiko Miura, who was following her husband's lead, immediately raised her hand, "Me too, me too!"

After hearing this analysis, Isshiki Hatake's eyes welled up with even more, and her heart fluttered with spring fever.

"What is this... Being my senior's girlfriend is so reassuring, isn't it? Oh no, waaaaah... Even if I can't compare to Anastasia and the others, I still really want to give it a try! Even if I fail, even if we're just friends, my senior is so kind, he won't refuse to ask for my help, right!"

She swallowed hard, about to fantasize about directly seducing her senior, when she was suddenly startled by the chilling voice of a fujoshi (female fan of BL) lying on the ground beside her, bleeding profusely from her nose: "Hehe, hehe... Garfield x Hachiman, hehe, Hachiman x Otto, I'm all set, hehe..."

"—"

Seeing her future self once again being heartless and cruel, turning around and using harsh words to deal with her brother-in-law's good intentions, Ram felt embarrassed and her eyes darted around, not daring to look at her sister in her arms.

On the rooftop of the mansion, Betty sneered, "You really are heinous, Roswaal."

She didn't want the repentant Roswaal to die, but if he wasn't punished enough, Betty, who was devoted to Hachiman Hikigaya, would also be very dissatisfied.

Roswaal shook his head and said generously, "That's why I said long ago that I'm not worth dying for."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "But we'll talk about my part later... Get ready, open your eyes wide and watch carefully, Beatrice. Soon, your four-hundred-year duty will be over."

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Betty retorted. After four hundred years of waiting, her body and mind, which had long since cooled, began to revive at this moment, and she cheered with joy for the first time in a long time.

Her gaze was completely fixed on Hachiman Hikigaya.

“Betty will no longer be bound by that vague prank… But, it was you, because of you… Betty wants to know, wants to see, wants to possess, wants to obtain… Tell me, how will you free Betty, tell me… At that time, Betty will surely…”

Pray, supplicate, murmur.

Betty, with a complex expression, awaited the moment of her true and complete liberation.

"Having regained her memories, Emilia erased her timidity and bravely ventured into the tomb to undergo the trial. Roswaal, who attempted to use magic to create a blizzard to attract the rabbits, was stopped by Ram and Puck working together. The worried demi-human inhabitants gathered together, watching their lord's advance."

At the same time, as darkness fell, the imperial carriage arrived at the mansion.

"Hey, this is really, this is quite an unexpected surprise. You're the first person to put me in jail. How about I taste your guts?"

"Under the cover of night, in the mansion's hall, Elsa, the Bowel Hunter, appeared on time, shielding the nearly injured Frederica behind her. They had clashed countless times before."

"If you're willing to cut your intestines out right now, then I might consider it."

"Hachiman Hikigaya coldly glanced at Elsa, then urged Garfiel, who was now armed and excited for his first battle since leaving the Sanctuary, to be careful... Give it your all, Garfiel. You're destined to become the strongest man in the world. You can't fall here. I believe in you."

"Ah, of course, General." Garfield said firmly, head held high and chest puffed out.

"Having passed the trials, I no longer stand still; having gained recognition, I crave recognition; I want to climb to the summit; I want the general to understand that you did not misjudge me..."

"A man among men, a magnificent tiger, this is none other than Lord Jiafeier!"

"Garfield grinned, revealing his shark-tooth teeth, and laughed heartily. 'Your opponent is such a powerful enemy, huh? They won't let you have time to harass the general. Prepare yourself, you wretched woman!'"

"Jiafei..."

"Frandelka looked at her energetic younger brother with emotion. She glanced at Hachiman Hikigaya and, despite the urgency of the situation, bowed deeply to him with tears of gratitude."

"No need for that... I'm leaving Rem in your care, Frederica."

"Frandelica replied earnestly, "Yes, I will obey your orders. I will protect Miss Rem."

"Stop Elsa, save Rem, then, what about the forbidden library standing between me and Beatrice..."

"If you forget me, I'll be in a lot of trouble, big brother?"

"Melly, all smiles, chasing away the monsters!"

275. Choose, Beatrice.

"Yo, good evening."

"A complete idiot walked in and greeted us."

"This idiot is covered in blood, it's hard to tell if it's his own or the blood of monsters. The sword he's carrying is almost dull from killing so many monsters in just one night."

"This idiot's hands are bulging with veins and shaking uncontrollably. It's obvious that he's sore beyond his limits. He should be in so much pain that he'll scream."

"This idiot, in order to protect himself and that green-clothed fool in the war against the monsters, his door is almost on the verge of collapse from using the gauze curtain too many times, and his mana is almost completely exhausted, to the point that he can't move at all."

"This idiot is limping, this idiot's head is bleeding, this idiot is breathing rapidly and with great difficulty, he's probably about to become dizzy from blood loss and can't even see things clearly."

"This fool who barged in," he said with a smile, in a foolish gentleness.

"Let's talk, Beatrice."

"...Shall we chat?"

Betty stared at the idiot in surprise, gritting her teeth and angrily shouting, "Idiot, you're about to die—do you really want to die that badly? At a time like this, Betty will give you—"

"Let's talk about 'that person'."

"..."

"Oh no, this is terrible."

"Betty thought. Upon hearing this, she was completely paralyzed. For some reason, a wave of sorrow welled up inside her. Although she felt a sense of relief, after hearing those words, she absolutely couldn't treat this idiot. She could only focus intently on this idiot, doing as he wished..."

"You... are 'that person'—is it you?"

"Speaking in a voice that even you can't stand to listen to, so stupid and rotten, yet seemingly full of hope, almost on the verge of tears."