Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"The Witch Cult, and the four Archbishops of Sin, have all descended!"

316. We must win.

“...Ray Badenkatos!”

A name that can cause your heart to stop.

A name that inspires hatred, a name that inspires fear, a name that makes one pray for its appearance yet also for its complete disappearance—it is such a terrifying name.

“Four great sins bishops…four…four…ha, ha ha ha ha.”

Together with Liliana, in a small town, Kiritaka laughed bitterly, his face pale and his body swaying, "Watergate City, it's finished..."

Liliana immediately pushed his shoulder to dispel his despair, "Huh? Cheer up, Mr. Kiritaka! Even if there are five on the other side, we have four on our side—no, a full five! We're sure to win!"

Chilitaka's bitter smile remained.

In fact, he never doubted that the candidate's camp would ultimately win.

Even without anyone else, with just Reinhard and Hachiman Hikigaya present, Hachiman Hikigaya would absolutely be able to rely on his acquired wisdom and caution to let Reinhard deal with the Archbishops of Sin.

What Kiritaka feared was never the possibility that Hachiman Hikigaya would lose.

"Hachiman Hikigaya won't lose... but just because he can win doesn't mean he can save Minato City!"

The more archbishops of the Great Sin, the longer it takes to resolve, the greater the destructive power, and the more likely unexpected events will occur.

"If Minato City is ultimately destroyed, Liliana, your chances of dying are very high... In that case, whether Hachiman Hikigaya wins or not will be completely meaningless to me!"

Looking at Liliana with deep affection, Kiritaka exhaled and spoke his heart.

Liliana froze, stunned. "Mr. Chilitaka..."

As Chilitaka drew closer and closer, and as he seemed about to kiss her, Liliana found herself not at all averse to it, but rather filled with emotion.

“If I had encountered the Bishop of Gluttony at any other time, I would have given my full support.”

At the Shirogane residence, Shirogane Miyuki shook his head and sighed, deeply saddened by the plight of the candidates. "Priscilla and Al have both disappeared, so now it's like four candidate factions fighting against four Archbishops of the Great Sin."

"Although the candidate camp has more people, the Archbishops of Sin are just too strong!"

Shirogane Kei and Shirogane Miyuki exchanged a glance, both with deep sighs in their eyes.

Besides that, the most unexpected thing is the intense hatred of the Bishop of Gluttony. With old and new grudges combined, everyone remembers the heartache that Rem has been in a deep sleep since being attacked by the Bishop of Gluttony.

He longed for Hachiman Hikigaya to meet the Bishop of Gluttony sooner, kill him, and restore many victims, especially Rem, the world's number one.

It's not just the Silver Siblings; it's a consensus among everyone, the wish of everyone in both worlds. But encountering him under these circumstances turns their greatest wish into their greatest nightmare.

"This is troublesome..."

The Hexin Merchant Guild, Ricardo, Julius, and Mimi Anastasia were all focused intently, scanning every detail of the battlefield, trying to memorize all the information about the three Archbishops of Sin in preparation for the later annihilation of the Witch Cult.

Accompanying the acquisition of intelligence was not joy, but rather a deep sense of unease about the future.

"If it were just four Archbishops of Sin, that would be fine, but there are also two exceptionally high-level Corpse Soldiers who completely compensate for the shortage of Archbishops of Sin..."

Although she was reluctant to admit it, Anastasia believed that the battle could already be declared lost.

"If it weren't for the Bishop of Gluttony, we would have had a pretty good chance of winning. What a troublesome enemy!"

"Ray Badenkatos—"

On the road to the capital, Ram's eyes were bloodshot. If conditions allowed, she really wanted to go to the Watergate City at that point in the future, endure the pain, unleash her full power, and kill Badenkathos in one fell swoop to avenge her world's cutest sister.

"Hachiman..." Rem's thoughts were not on her hatred for her enemy, but on her concern for her beloved who was present at the scene.

At the same time, on the rooftop of the manor, both Roswaal and Betty frowned: "Danger!"

"Roswaal, you bastard, why didn't you come with us to Watergate City?!" Betty glared at the innocent Roswaal in desperation, grasping at straws in her panic.

Roswaal gave a wry smile, unable to say anything. If he were there, things would indeed be much easier; at full power, he could at least defeat either Capella or Badenkaitos in a one-on-one fight, or even take down Sylules together.

But how could he, who no longer possessed the Book of Wisdom, have foreseen that four Archbishops of Sin would appear in the Watergate City at once?

"How are we supposed to fight this?"

At Advanced Nurturing High School, Horikita Suzune was dumbfounded. "With the shared blessing of Syluris, the other two bishops and the Corpse Soldier, we need to be careful not to hurt them when fighting with Rius and the others. We weren't guaranteed to win to begin with, and now we have to hold our hands back. How are we going to..."

"--Oh."

Before she could continue her thoughts, she heard a scornful laugh.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji glanced at Suzune Horikita and sneered, "Shut up, you idiot. It's unbelievable that you have the guts to think in front of me. But an idiot is an idiot... Shut up and watch carefully. This is Hachiman Hikigaya's thinking, Hachiman Hikigaya's actions, and Hachiman Hikigaya's command."

"—No need to hold back."

"Undeterred by anger and pressure, the moment the three Archbishops of Sin appeared, Emilia and the others immediately recalled the warnings and instructions that Hachiman Hikigaya had given them before they set off."

"Each Archbishop of Sin is extremely self-centered. Even if Sylures were truly in the City Hall, Capella would never allow Sylures to link his soul with hers and share the harm, even knowing it would benefit him. But the Archbishops of Sin value their own willfulness more than reason."

"As for those two undead soldiers, their souls are gone, so it's even less likely they could be linked to Sylules."

"But remember, unexpected enemies may appear, so be mentally prepared. Don't panic, don't stagnate, don't reveal any weaknesses. Find the enemy you think you can handle, and the rest—no, trust your comrades!"

"In short...we must win!"

"Hachiman Hikigaya, all his caution and warnings, his prior arrangements and guidance, all came into effect at this moment, in an instant."

""yes…""

"We...must win!"

317. We must win.

"For the rest—trust your comrades!"

"Such cool and dashing words are something Hachiman Hikigaya could never say. He believes that people can't understand each other, and he can't trust others... But he just said them out loud."

"Because when he looked around this perilous water gate city, every place his gaze fell upon was something real that he could understand and believe in."

"Emilia, Garfield."

"Cursch, Wilhelm."

"Julius, Ricardo, and Mimi, the three siblings."

"He had known each and every one of them for years. He had listened to their troubles and worries. He knew all too well the strength of each and every one of them."

""so…""

"We will lose."

"Because I understand these people perfectly, have unwavering faith in them, and know them very clearly, I am even more aware than Hachiman Hikigaya that the chances of losing this battle are very high."

"But we cannot retreat. For the final victory, this battle must be fought no matter what. We must figure out the capabilities of Capela and Badenkaitus... So... So..."

"If someone loses their life because of this, then let them bear the blame."

"The lives of these nine people are the most precious. If they lose their lives because of their own decisions, they will definitely fulfill the things and wishes that person did when they were alive. But if too many people die, he may play with the world and become a coward who returns to death."

"So...we have to win!!"

"Shouting the same slogans, united by the same aspirations, and with the same courage and will, the shining artifacts rushed to the battlefield."

"Emilia was chosen by Syluès against her will, and the battle that had been left unfinished continued."

"Wilheim trembled as he stopped his wife, who had reverted to her eighteen-year-old appearance. Their reunion after fifteen years was marked by swords drawn and the separation of life and death."

"Garfield donned his sturdy shield and struggled to survive against the eight-armed twin blades. 'Whoosh!' The sonic roars of the Mimi siblings always came to his rescue when he was in the most danger."

"Julius's elven magic severely injured the black dragon that Capella had transformed into, but in an instant, Capella regenerated with her powerful regenerative abilities. She did not linger in the fight and flew into the city hall."

"You go help Li Jiaduo, we'll go force her out!"

"Capella can transform into a large animal like a black dragon, so we need to use a wide-range attack to wipe her out. Ordinary sword strikes won't kill her. Emilia and Julius are the ones with that ability. Crusch's Hundred-Man One-Sword technique after losing her memory isn't strong enough."

"However, Ricardo was outmatched in his fight against Badencaitos alone, and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position and even began to get injured. He could not hold on for long and would soon die, so Julius had to go and help Ricardo."

"Hachiman Hikigaya doesn't think that he and Crusch can defeat Capella together. Their responsibility is to drive Capella out. At that time, Julius and Emilia outside can take some time to join forces and maybe take down Capella."

"At that time, he went with Crusch to temporarily hold off Syrus and assist Ricardo."

"If Wilhelm and Garfield can hold on until this step is completed, they will receive support from others and turn the tide, crushing the Witch Cult in one fell swoop."

"..."

Silence reigned, but in reality, the zombie Theresa moved her fingers very slowly and subtly without anyone giving her a command.

"Why won't you just obediently die, you piece of meat? You even dare to try and overthrow me, hahaha, you're more laughable than rotten flesh! And all that talk about love, affection, and belief is utterly boring. Why—why?"

In contrast to the silent Theresa is Capella, who speaks nauseating words.

"As expected of Lord Hachiman!"

At the Carlsten residence, Crusch felt somewhat ashamed. Even though Lord Hachiman praised her as a beautiful woman in military uniform, on the ever-changing battlefield, Lord Hachiman was the one who analyzed how to deal with the situation much faster.

This wasn't just true for her after losing her memory; even now, she takes a little longer than Hachiman-sensei to come up with a solution.

"Hmph, an eyesore of a bastard—what's the point of living? Rather than letting it affect my mood, you'd better be burned to ashes."

Inside the mansion, Priscilla frowned, her head held high, and muttered an order to herself, "Burn this eyesore of garbage, you foolish idiot. If you can do it, I will forgive your disobedience."

This might seem like foolish... but Al and Schulte knew that Priscilla was actually trying to see if she could extend her good fortune to this projected future and help Hachiman Hikigaya within it.

"One hundred men, one katana!"

"Running into the city hall, climbing the stairs, and seeing the black dragon inside, Crusch raised her sword without saying a word and unleashed a sword technique imbued with magic. Under her continuous slashes, the black dragon was easily knocked out of the city hall."

"But before she could be happy and go down from the top floor to give chase, Hachiman Hikigaya grabbed her and gestured for her to look at the lobby, where there was a crying, helpless little girl who seemed to have been kidnapped by Capella."

"But Hachiman Hikigaya knows..."

"Absolutely not!"

"Clang!"

The swift attack was blocked, the little girl stopped crying, and her arm suddenly grew to enormous size, turning into a hard dragon claw. The dragon scales on it made a crisp sound when they touched the sword blade.

"Oh—ya! Wouldn't it be better to obediently play along with this little show, obediently step into this little trap? Meat scraps, you're really disgusting. You alone are disgusting enough, but you even brought along a filthy piece of female meat. How about that—are you saying my disguise is so bad?"

"Capella's tone didn't sound as arrogant and haughty as Priscilla's, but the content of her words was far more unbearable than Priscilla's, and it trampled on other people's value, dignity, body and soul without any limits."

"You stinking, out-of-place, filthy imposter, trying to evade my eyes—after all these years of human observation, I'm not blind, as Priscilla claims! You disgusting, filthy imposter!"