Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Hmm~ That's a very interesting answer, another great experiment about love. Fortuna's answer is truly touching."

With a satisfied sigh, Echidna smiled and turned to Minerva. "This encounter was something that should never have happened. What are your thoughts on the current 'anger'?"

"I! Absolutely! Will not! Allow! Anyone to commit suicide, be murdered, or be maimed!"

The Wrathful Witch Minerva shouted angrily, she hated, she hated, she especially hated Syluès!

“…Syluise, wait, could it be—”

No one knew about Jus's recovery; he was still regarded as Priscilla of Petitchius. While the good fortune was mainly directed at Echidna, it also partly fell on Jus.

Jus, on his way to the capital, was not deterred by the various hardships and difficulties he encountered. However, upon seeing Syluès, his mind, which had been somewhat muddled since his recovery, suddenly cleared, and he stared wide-eyed.

"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you..."

"Buzz!"

"The caress that had been absent for a year appeared again. Hachiman Hikigaya's body fell backward as it had when he died, but the back of his head did not hit the bricks. Instead, it was embraced by a warm embrace."

"What's wrong, Hachiman?"

Emilia, who caught him in her arms, looked at him with concern. "Is the position of prime minister too tiring? Just hearing about it makes you this exhausted? It's alright! You don't have to take it if you don't want it!"

"It's this time... From the discussion of the prime minister's affairs to the time tower, the time between them was very short, definitely not enough for anyone present to run back and call Reinhard."

"If we hadn't explained to Reinhard beforehand, who was summoned by Ah-Zhen, he might still have killed her as soon as he arrived, or at least crippled Syluès first."

"The consequences of that would be unbearable... The four people besides Anastasia joined forces to suppress her, weakened Syrus's strength through fierce fighting, and knocked her weapons away. Finally, Beatrice used her dark magic to capture and imprison Syrus, who was exhausted and unarmed."

"We can't call him Reinhard, at least not the first time. Although we're prepared this time and can warn him immediately, it's still quite risky."

"If we couldn't defeat Sylures, that would be one thing, but now that the four of us gathered here have the ability to defeat Sylures, there's no need to take any risks."

"Although he had not experienced danger and death for a full year, Hachiman Hikigaya's mind was still sharp, and he quickly analyzed the most correct approach."

""listen to me.""

"Hachiman Hikigaya interrupted the girls' concerned chatter, and his war-ready gaze made Emilia and the others immediately become serious."

He pointed to the Tower of Time, not far ahead, "Syrus, the Archbishop of Wrath of the Witch Cult, is currently at the top of that tower. One of the effects of her power is that any damage she suffers will spread precisely to everyone around her. If she dies, those around her will die in the same way."

"A large crowd has gathered at the foot of the tower. Although we don't know what she's up to, it's definitely not a good thing. The four of us working together can subdue her. Emilia, you can inflict minor injuries as you please, but don't let her get seriously injured, understand? Beatrice, your responsibility is to find an opportunity to imprison her. Crusch, you're with me."

“Okay, I understand!” Emilia nodded immediately, while Beatrice pondered seriously, considering whether there was any magic that could counter this power. “Damage feedback? ...Another troublesome enemy.”

Anastasia was taken aback, staring at Hachiman Hikigaya in surprise. The sudden shift from their usual banter to the role of a high-ranking archbishop caught her off guard, leaving her somewhat bewildered. "I've never heard of you possessing prophetic blessings," she said.

"Because I don't actually have any prophetic blessings. This is information I obtained through other channels. Don't delve into it; I won't tell you."

Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head, his imposing presence overwhelming the skeptical Anastasia and Crusch. "There's Felt's messenger, Arjin, at the foot of the tower. Anastasia, take him away from the battlefield, but don't go too far. If things look bad, have him summon Reinhard."

"Just like Petritchius has the hidden hand and the soul replacement as a backup plan. Although he can defeat Syrus in direct combat, Hachiman Hikigaya is always worried that Syrus, who is also a Archbishop of Sin, might have some trump cards that he hasn't revealed yet."

"We need to factor in the possibility of her turning the tide."

"Reinhard is necessary. We don't have to call him over, but we must have a way to get him here immediately."

"Location assignment complete. Crusch was instructed to pick up Anastasia, and the five of them sped toward the Time Tower at top speed."

"Hachiman Hikigaya slowly exhaled... Although I cannot reveal the ability of Return by Death, as long as the relationship is close enough, as long as the people around him trust him enough, believe every word he says, and have unwavering faith in the information he obtains through Return by Death, then the same effect can be achieved."

""So…""

"The campaign against the wrathful bishops has begun anew!"

308. The Wrathful Extermination Battle IV

"They rushed toward the Tower of Time like shooting stars. The original plan was to launch a surprise attack on Syrus and gain the upper hand."

"But just as the five of them were nearing their destination, they saw Syluès throw a boy who was nearly ten years old off the top of the tower. The people below did not stop him; instead, they applauded loudly, praising the boy who was thrown down as a brave child."

"...Because Hachiman Hikigaya's thinking and allocation plan took some time, the five of them arrived here later than in the last loop. In other words, what Sylures is doing now is what she originally aimed for."

"She intends to kill a boy in front of everyone, and it's obvious what will happen to the clapping crowd who clearly have ulterior motives. Syluès will not let them get away with it."

"As expected, Archbishops of the Great Sins are all twisted and wicked beings, like witches!"

"But there was no time for criticism. Beatrice, who was in sync with Hachiman Hikigaya, immediately chanted a dark spell and activated a short-range spatial teleportation as soon as she received his signal."

"Hachiman Hikigaya, who was teleported into the air, caught the boy. Before he fell due to inertia, an ice pillar with a diameter of one meter created by Emilia was launched, giving him a foothold. Together with the ice pillar, they violently crashed into the Time Tower."

"Ice spikes rained down on the top of the tower like a torrential downpour, accompanied by clanging sounds. Just moments before, Syluris, who had been all smiles and gentleness, suddenly changed his expression, roared, and leaped down, intending to bind Emilia with flaming chains and strangle her to death."

"On the way, all the people who blocked her way were mercilessly whipped away by chains. Yet even under these circumstances, the people did not avoid Sylures, did not flee in panic, and did not even utter a scream, like numb, mindless puppets."

"How could this be—"

"The unusual phenomenon, which was beyond our intelligence, startled Emilia. She wanted to shout for these people to run away quickly, but it was too late. Syluès's chains had already torn through the air and swept over us."

"Mana conjured ice spikes, ice shields, and ice swords, disregarding everything else, Emilia exerted all her strength."

"Perhaps her physical strength and combat experience are not as good as Syrus's, but she is absolutely confident in her endurance. She has so much mana that she can squander it without restraint. It is a quantity that anyone except Reinhard would envy and be jealous of."

"The fierce battle between Emilia and Syluès created large, cratered holes in the square. Emilia deliberately pulled Syluès away from Beatrice to avoid accidentally injuring them."

"Something's not right..."

"Crouch and Beatrice wanted to go up and help Emilia, but just like Anastasia said, something was wrong."

"The people still alive in the square, regardless of age or gender, all swarmed towards the three of them numbly, like walking corpses, inheriting Syluès's will and regarding them as enemies, which was chilling."

At this moment, Crusch couldn't help but remark subconsciously, "Lord Hachiman truly had foresight."

"Don't resist, I'm teleporting." Beatrice snorted. She didn't care about the lives of these ordinary people, but she knew that her Hachiman wouldn't want her to kill them. Therefore, she had no choice but to teleport the three of them away, away from these walking corpses.

"Stop, there's something else we need to finish first." Anastasia, with her perfect memory, spotted Ah Zhen in the crowd at a glance.

"Curly used her sword sheath to smash the leg bones of the nearest walking corpses, then kicked Ah-Jin to Anastasia's feet. The item that summoned Reinhard, which was hidden in his clothes, fell out and was picked up by Anastasia."

"Although her fighting power has declined significantly since she lost her memory, Crusch still possesses overwhelming strength when facing these ordinary people."

"The next second, the three of them were teleported to the Time Tower by Beatrice. Here, Hachiman Hikigaya and the boy who survived the ordeal were both safe and sound."

"The boy's name was Rusbel. He had a sister who was also kidnapped by Syluès and taken to the top of the tower. The two siblings hugged each other, feeling more joy at seeing each other safe than fear."

"You mean, those people's souls were affected?"

"Hearing Beatrice, who possesses four hundred years of knowledge, make such a judgment, Hachiman Hikigaya frowned. He hadn't expected that arriving just two minutes late would cause such a big change."

"Those people... never mind them for now. We'll get Sylures out of there once we've imprisoned her."

Looking at the walking corpses below the tower, Hachiman Hikigaya made the most rational decision. He comforted the Rusbell siblings, telling them to stay at the top of the tower until he dealt with Syrus and then came back to rescue them.

"He and Beatrice's mana is to be used in the battle against Syrus. Each additional person teleported via spatial teleportation consumes mana, so this is the only option for now."

"For the safety of the Rusbel siblings, before the teleportation, Hachiman Hikigaya diverted the attention of the walking dead, causing them to head towards the battlefield in Syrus. The walking dead aren't fast, so they won't enter the battle so quickly, it's fine."

"—Heave-ho!"

"In the clash of ice and fire, Beethoven led three people to the vicinity of the battlefield, where they found the battle at a stalemate."

"Seducing men's eyes! Bewitching men's skin! Teasing men's lewd faces! Ah, utterly filthy, looking like this, do you really want to seduce men? Are you so eager for men to humiliate you? Utterly filthy, obscene and lewd, shamelessly depraved! Going to such lengths just to steal him away from me, you vile and lewd slut!"

"Hey! Wait a minute, please don't say such strange things!"

"Syluus, burning with rage, continued to hurl insults, describing Emilia as the most lewd and lustful woman in the world."

Emilia was startled at first, then her anger flared up, and she glared at Syluès.

"My eyes, my skin, my face—I only want Hachiman to admire them, and Mother Fortuna praised them, so I like them too—I don't want you to say that, to make it sound so strange. I'm very angry right now!"

"Not only her, but also Hachiman Hikigaya, who was listening to Syrus's insults, couldn't help but be enraged. He drew his sword and charged forward with Crusch beside him."

"Shut up, you bastard!"

"Bullying Emilia, bullying his Emilia, what a bastard."

"Hachiman Hikigaya is absolutely furious!!"

309. Regulus's Intrusion

"Sizzle—"

"The sharp blade sliced ​​through the iron chain, sparks flying everywhere. Hachiman Hikigaya and Crusch, one on each side, worked together to suppress the scorching iron chain. Emilia shouted in a voice that was both angry and exceptionally pleasant, and kicked Syrus in the chest with explosive power, sending her staggering backward."

"Hmm..."

"Several people present were affected by Syrus's power and suffered the same pain and injuries. Beatrice, who was at the rear, was not bothered by herself, but she noticed that Anastasia's body was only at the level of an ordinary person and was relatively fragile, so she immediately treated her."

"...Huff, haa..." Cold sweat dripped down Anastasia's forehead. Ignoring her own injuries, she gazed at the battlefield, sensing a strong sense of unease. "Something's wrong, this is bad, something's really wrong!"

"Something's not right?" Beatrice was furious and wanted to grab Anastasia and question her about her stammering.

Anastasia also stared at Beatrice with her eyes wide open, wanting to mock her for not being able to see such a simple thing and whether her brain was just a lump of water.

"Just a second before the conflict erupted, and as the sarcastic words reached her throat, Anastasia's cunning and benevolent nature as a businesswoman suddenly allowed her to slightly suppress her inexplicable anger."

"Is Hachiman really such an impulsive and easily angered person? Even if he's acting a little differently than usual because he cares about Emilia, what's wrong with Miss Crusch? What reason does she have to be so angry?"

During this brief respite, Anastasia quickly gathered her thoughts and shared her findings with Beatrice.

Beatrice was startled awake. She realized that not only the three people over there, but she herself had also been somewhat angry. This was definitely not normal.

"—Hachiman, suppress your anger! Stop, think carefully, do you really think you can be so easily blinded by rage? That's the power of Syrus!"

"At the same time as Beatrice's scream was heard, the scorching iron chains came again. The enraged Crusch forgot all her swordsmanship and martial arts skills and met the attack head-on. Her strength and stamina were no match for Syluès, and she was immediately overwhelmed and unable to defend herself."

Just as she was about to be flung away by the chains, a sword hilt pierced her back, causing Crusch to stumble and stagger, forcing her to dodge the chains' attack range.

"Hachiman Hikigaya, who had no time to dodge after saving Crusch, trembled his wrist, his sword blade flipped, and he slashed back at the most powerful and heavy part of the chain, but he was still hit. He flew backward and crashed to the ground, rolling several times and spitting out a mouthful of blood."

""At least--""

"Intentionally suppressing the boiling rage within him, Hachiman Hikigaya regained his composure. But when he looked up, he was shocked to see that Crusch, who should have been safe, and even Emilia and the others, had all coughed up a mouthful of blood and had marks on their bodies from being whipped by scorching hot chains."

"I'm sorry, thank you. Love, ah, this is all love, yes, yes, even in death we'd rather die together, such touching love, umm, so pitiful, so touching, ah, I'm sorry, thank you, it's truly great, thank you, thank you."

"Syluise laughed maniacally, and only then did Hachiman Hikigaya finally realize what the essence of Syluise's power was."

"She is influencing other people's souls and stirring their emotions. On this basis, perhaps when emotions are drawn to a certain extent by her, the injuries will be shared, not limited to her own injuries, but to all those whose emotions are influenced by her."

"If that's the case, then it's understandable why the people under the Tower of Time turned into zombies. They were probably drawn into numbness or something similar by her... Although she is an Archbishop of Wrath, she doesn't necessarily only evoke emotions of anger."

"Look, this is love! This is love! The truth is that people love one another and all become one! Feelings and bonds unite, and we live together, sharing joy and sorrow! Therefore, this ending is inevitable!"