Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Syluise cheered wildly, swinging her chains as if to burn the despicable half-demon in the midst of her revelry. 'But you are not worthy! Burn to ashes, you wretched, loathsome half-demon!'"

"Emilia tried to raise her ice sword to block, but at that moment, Syrus burst into flames again. This time, she burned not the chains, but her own wrists. Everyone's wrists were burned and they were in excruciating pain. Emilia was also unable to hold the ice sword, leaving her wide open."

"I didn't give you permission to hurt Emilia!"

"Also enduring the burning pain, Hachiman Hikigaya, who has suffered far too much pain, was still able to fight. He raised his leg, performed a backflip, and kicked the sword away. With a clang, the sword struck the middle of the chain, causing it to deviate from its course and narrowly miss Emilia, brushing past her sleeve."

"Syluise was furious and immediately wanted to swing the chains again, but..."

"—You should know when to stop."

"Accompanied by an arrogant voice, a white-haired man dressed in white swaggered into the battlefield, his face full of disdain. 'I'm telling you, even though I'm a very magnanimous and flawless person, even the most good-tempered person has the right to their own life. As my wife, shouldn't she have the simple right that no one can harm her before I decide to? You don't even understand this? As a fellow Archbishop of Sin, I don't recall ever criticizing or offending you, have I? Haven't I always respected your rights? But what about you? How have you acted? Sigh.'"

"This nagging man shrugged, then glanced at the shivering Hachiman Hikigaya. "It's good that there are still people who understand how to defend my most basic rights and protect my wife, but why is it such an unfunny man? Sigh, but what can I do when I'm so outstanding—"

"“The Archbishop of Sin of the Witch Cult, the embodiment of greed, Regulus Kornius? Since you respect my rights, you can rest assured, right? Sigh. I'm not like some low-class people. I'm a flawless, excellent person who knows how to respect others' rights. As long as you respect my rights, that's all that matters. But why is it always like this? Sigh.”

"Although he was polite in his words, although every move he made was flawed, and although he seemed to have no fighting power at all, for some reason, everyone could feel a chilling and unparalleled threat from Regulus. That most terrifying violence proclaimed his invincibility."

"Confused, helpless... At this moment, there are only two people who can react immediately."

"One is Hachiman Hikigaya, who is looking towards Anastasia; the other is Anastasia, who summoned Reinhard as he wished by taking out the token."

"Fireworks bloom in the sky, conveying meaning."

"—Reinhard, help!!!"

310. Emilia, who was not taken away

"...What exactly happened?"

They cried out in despair. The astonished crowd involuntarily let out choked sobs, filled with helplessness and bewilderment.

In the waterfront city, the tens of thousands of people who are currently living peaceful lives are trembling with fear.

They had assumed that with all five candidate camps gathered together, they could defeat any opponent, but in reality, Emilia's camp alone was enough to deal with an angry bishop.

Although she seemed to be at a disadvantage, Beatrice's magic was already prepared in the distance and could support Emilia at any time. If Regulus had not appeared, Syrus would still have been more likely to lose the fight.

However—that victory came with a condition: sacrifices had been made!

Moreover, the victory was an illusion; Regulus's appearance had already made it seem unattainable.

“That’s me…” “That’s me…” “That’s me…” “That’s me…” “That’s me…”

There were women, men, all sorts of people, the inhabitants of the Water Gate City, watching their souls being controlled by Sylures in the Tower of Time, they held their heads in their hands, filled with resentment and pain.

"Syluus resents Lady Emilia, doesn't he? Regulus's words also seem to be directed at Lady Emilia, wanting to kidnap her as his wife!"

Both of these archbishops of sin have an extremely strong desire for Emilia. Could it be that they only followed her because Emilia appeared in Watergate City?

"Wouldn't that mean we've suffered an undeserved disaster?!"

As people gradually grew in anticipation of the future because of Syrus, the Watergate City's rejection of Emilia reached its peak.

Not only them, but those who are currently safe are also living in fear... If these two great criminal bishops are not completely eliminated in this battle, no one in the entire Watergate City will be safe!

Anxiety and unease spread throughout the city of Watergate.

Even if it's something that happens in the future, the nightmare of watching your own head explode and turning into a walking corpse is absolutely impossible to process in peace.

Moreover, seeing this future, the sinful bishops might very well set off ahead of time and turn Watergate City into a bloody hell of wailing.

"One wanted to take Emilia's life, the other wanted to marry Emilia. Sylules and Regulus disagreed and began what appeared to be a fierce battle."

"But even with all her might, Sylules was still unable to inflict even the slightest damage on Regulus, not even a mosquito bite."

"Recognizing the difference in their strength, Syrus's frenzied state subsided slightly. She stood there, staring intently at the helpless Emilia, seemingly pondering how to bypass Regulus and kill her."

"The woman with a screw loose has finally quieted down. Well then, come with me, um, you."

Regulus turned to Emilia with satisfaction and extended his hand. He paused for a moment, then magnanimously asked, "What is your name?"

"Miss Emilia!"

"With the influence of Syluris's power waning and the anger subsiding, Crusch broke free from her rage. Now, with an amnesiac temper, she was extremely gentle and tender, anxiously calling out to Emilia, who was in dire straits."

Regulus nodded. "Oh! Is her name Emilia? What a lovely name, isn't it perfect for this pitiful little girl? Although your voice is loud enough to infringe on my right to choose whether or not to hear others, I, being the perfect, excellent, and generous person I am, will certainly respect your right to speak, given your polite and docile response to my questions."

"He seemed genuinely magnanimous, with an air of pure innocence. But the next second, his hand touched nothing, and his face darkened."

Beatrice's teleportation magic teleported Emilia to Hachiman Hikigaya's side.

"I'm telling you, while I'm not unwilling to communicate properly with these barbarians who don't know manners and violate my rights, all the corpses except my wife should obediently retreat, because I don't have time to play with you. Blame the Gospels, otherwise, perhaps you could still survive, but—"

"Free time is over."

"As soon as Regulus finished speaking, a bell rang throughout the city of Watergate."

"Regulus made a grasping motion with his hand, as if grabbing at the air. Although it was a comical gesture, it made everyone feel a fear that came from their genes and from their very life instincts."

"Instinct warned Hachiman Hikigaya that once this ridiculous move was completed, Regulus could take everyone's lives in an instant."

"Free time is definitely over!"

"Bright as the warm sun, accompanied by the rebuke of justice, it finally arrived from afar, breaking the sound barrier. Reinhard swung a hasty punch, sending Regulus flying over a hundred meters."

"That's enough, you villain!"

"Deal with that man, Archbishop Regulus of Greed! Don't touch that woman!" Hachiman Hikigaya shouted urgently. "That woman's power is to share injuries; if she dies, we die too!"

"Two high-ranking bishops? I understand."

"Just as Reinhardt had figured out the situation, he felt a threat approaching. He leaped into the air, dodging an unseen attack. The attack he dodged made the area behind him feel as if it had been subjected to an unparalleled bombardment, instantly turning the area into a cloud of dust."

"In the smoke and dust, Syluès had left as instructed by the Gospels, while Regulus, with a ferocious expression, returned unharmed. He had been stirred by Reinhard's strong sense of pride and was willing to abandon the instructions of the Gospels in order to kill Reinhard here first."

"With Syluès' departure, the walking dead who were very close to this place regained their sense of self to some extent, but that was not a good thing at the moment."

"As Regulus unleashed a barrage of attacks that were impossible to defend against or even see, the area around the tower roared and was obscured by dust. The panicked civilians were caught in the crossfire and were injured to varying degrees as they fled."

"Beatles could have used teleportation to send everyone to safety, but Reinhard's presence caused all the Mana to automatically converge on him, leaving Beatrice helpless and a vulnerable ordinary person."

"Amidst the smoke and dust, Hachiman Hikigaya and Emilia acted immediately. They grabbed Anastasia and Beatrice, called Crusch, and quickly moved away from the battlefield."

"—Pfft!"

"The sensation of air cutting into flesh."

"Before that unstoppable attack could completely slice through his body and kill Beatrice in his arms, Hachiman Hikigaya threw her away first, and then fell heavily to the ground himself."

"The last thing I felt was the pain of my life hanging by a thread."

"Hachiman Hikigaya, unconscious and near death."

311. Regulus with his defenses broken

"—"

The Archbishop of Wrath's campaign ended in a crushing defeat. Although Reinhard and Regulus engaged in a fierce battle, no one was worried because it was Reinhard.

Only then did those who had been anxiously watching the future finally have a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, their minds filled with countless emotions, yet unable to utter a single word.

"Shared damage... this is practically cheating."

At the Shirogane residence, Shirogane Miyuki shook his head and sighed. He and his sister, Shirogane Kei, looked at each other, gave a bitter smile, and remained silent.

Regulus is alright; as long as Reinhard is around, no matter how strong he is, he can't beat Reinhard... But Sylures's sharing is just too disgusting.

Those whose emotions are affected by her power will share the harm, and even someone as rational as Hachiman Hikigaya will become angry. This is clearly a forced influence, a direct manipulation of the soul.

"Hyperion's plan is quite good: suppress Syrus and capture her alive. It does have a chance of success. However, there is a prerequisite."

In the Classics Club, Houtarou Oreki frowned, unable to deduce how to solve this problem: "Then Sylures didn't harm herself. Her flames burning herself would also affect others. If that's the case, if she had chosen to die rather than submit, setting herself ablaze on the eve of defeat, then..."

Everyone who attacks her will be buried with her!

No matter how powerful others are, they cannot stop Syluris from committing suicide.

“That’s not the worst part.” At home, Kyoko Hori fell into deep thought. “Even if Sylures can trade one for one, Reinhard has the blessing of resurrection, so he can actually kill her without any casualties.”

"But, unfortunately, we are now in Watergate City."

“If this were in the wild, Reinhard could easily deal with Syrus with the resurrection blessing without implicating anyone. But she is in Watergate City now, which is full of people. If Syrus dies, the number of people who will be buried with her will be extremely large.”

Being constrained is the difficulty for the lawful side; if one is willing to disregard the cost, Syluris is not actually that terrible.

However, if it meant paying the price of so many lives to kill Syrus, even Hachiman Hikigaya himself, not to mention others, would not accept it.

"If only we could lure her out of Watergate City." Miyamura sighed, but that was impossible. Sylures wouldn't be foolish enough to give up her greatest advantage; she certainly wouldn't start a battle in the wild.

Dark clouds loomed, and gloom hung heavy in the air. Before this, no one could have imagined that the most troublesome and difficult archbishop of sins would not be Regulus, but Syluris.

Of course, this is limited. Without Reinhard, Regulus, who possessed the strength to rival an entire nation, would certainly be even more troublesome and despair-inducing.

"Uh... well, don't be so sad. Think positively. At least you stopped Regulus, otherwise he would have taken Emilia away to be his wife."

In the Sword Saint's mansion, looking at Reinhard who was slightly disappointed at being unable to do anything against Syrus, Felt patted him on the shoulder, "Right? At least compared to your previous complete failure, you are a great contributor this time."

“However, I also injured Hachiman.” Reinhardt lowered his eyelids. “If it weren’t for my ability to attract Mana, so many injured people would have been teleported away by Lady Beatrice from the beginning and wouldn’t have been injured.”

"There will be a way, right, Parker?"

On the streets of the royal capital, no longer as innocent as before, Emilia had come to understand the meaning of being a wife. She knew what would happen to her if Regulus captured her, so she was truly grateful to Reinhard.

However, she couldn't feel happy at this time, and she couldn't even relax.

Seeing his daughter looking at him with concern, Parker patted his chest and said, "Yes, it will happen. Trust all the people in the future, Leah."

"Although I can't figure out what to do either, it would be absurd if we couldn't solve the problem even with all five candidate camps in the kingdom. This is the strongest lineup in the country—no, it's practically the strongest lineup in the world!"

Inspired by Parker's confidence, Emilia pursed her lips, her eyes hardening.

At the same time, on the rooftop of Roswaal's mansion, Betty's tears welled up again, her voice trembling, "Idiot, idiot, Hachiman, you idiot—you big idiot!"

If it weren't for running to hug her, Hachiman Hikigaya wouldn't have been slow enough to be caught in Regulus's attack; he would have already escaped the attack range before that.

"But it is precisely because he is such a big idiot that he was able to replace your mother, the Book of Wisdom, four hundred years of perseverance, and 'that person' in your heart."

Roswaal was filled with emotion; at this moment, he was the only one in the world who felt completely at ease.

Because he was absolutely certain that Hachiman Hikigaya, the world's number one whom he placed his hopes on, would never fall at the feet of the Archbishop of Sin, would never admit defeat in Minato City, and that Hachiman Hikigaya would definitely win the final victory!

He possessed this unparalleled trust, believing in Hachiman Hikigaya more than anyone else.