Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Syluise's power has spread throughout most of the Watergate City over time, intensifying everyone's anger, restlessness, loss, and despair."

"This greatly increases the threat to law enforcement."

"But these are things that can't be solved immediately. Once back at camp and separated from Emilia, the first thing Hachiman Hikigaya needs to do is..."

"Bear the wrath of Anastasia."

321. Anastasia Slaps Her

"—Smack!"

"A crisp sound rang out in the hall as Anastasia's hand slapped Hachiman Hikigaya's cheek, her pale blue eyes burning with an uncontrollable rage."

""…Feel sorry.""

"Hikigaya Hachiman, who brought the devastating news, stood rooted to the spot, neither dodging the slap nor offering any defense. 'It was my poor command that caused Julius's amnesia.'"

"Give me a good excuse!" Anastasia glared at him, trying to grab his collar, but since Hachiman Hikigaya's shirt had already been torn and given to Crusch, she could only punch Hachiman Hikigaya in the chest.

"Whether the enemy is too strong, the sudden appearance of the flood disrupted the battle plan, or someone acted on their own... in that case, I can't do anything to you. Go ahead and make excuses, you bastard, you idiot, you're despicable... despicable!"

Anastasia's eyelashes fluttered slightly, her throat suddenly went dry, and she sighed weakly, "What will Joshua do if he finds out about this?"

"I will inform Joshua."

"You really are—"

"Looking at Hachiman Hikigaya who had taken the initiative to shoulder the responsibility, Anastasia bit her lower lip. 'Telling me, you're the one who snatched this job too, aren't you... Who do you think you are? Interfering in my affairs like this... I don't need that!'"

Ignoring her refusal, Hachiman Hikigaya said gravely, "I do bear responsibility for Julius's amnesia."

"Anastasia knew, of course she knew... Although she didn't go to the city hall to fight, she saw deep entanglement and shame in Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes right now."

"That's evidence that Hachiman Hikigaya was holding back. He still had something he didn't use in this battle, something that could have saved Julius, but he hid that unknown thing."

"So Anastasia slapped him."

"That really is... umm..."

At the Hexin Merchant Guild, Anastasia stared dumbfounded at her future self, finally drooping her listless head. "My stupid prime minister always likes to take everything upon himself. Isn't that going too far?"

This slap not only stunned Anastasia, but also jolted Julius out of his despondency. He was deeply moved and his spirits lifted.

"Hmph, you stinking vixen."

Inside the mansion, Priscilla haughtily closed her fiery red fan, gave a cold snort, and disdainfully glanced at the future Anastasia. Beating up and bullying Hachiman Hikigaya—only she, Priscilla, had the right to do that.

If it weren't for Echidna, Capela, and Badenkatos, those three damn imposters would be even more of a nuisance. Priscilla's strong luck was divided into three parts, leaving her with no strength left. She really wanted to make Anastasia stumble and fall.

"My fool must belong to me alone. Any clown who dares to lay a finger on him, whether he is a vixen, a foolish half-demon, or a ghost who only knows how to give and is worthy of praise—none of them have the right to touch my fool who belongs to me alone!"

Even though Anastasia delivered that slap, in the hearts of people in both worlds, Anastasia was still far superior to Priscilla, at most taking a slight step back and showing a long-lost greater support for Emilia.

Priscilla, still arrogant as ever, knew this very well, but she didn't care about any of that. She didn't even care about the will of the fool she valued.

Anyway—

"What I want is mine!"

"Tch, if you want to fight, come at me! I'll accept punishment for my mistakes, but going after a general is going too far... That vile Anna is definitely no match for Lady Emilia!"

Inside the sanctuary, Jiafei muttered to himself, feeling deeply ashamed, yet a warm current flowed through his entire body.

His general took the blame and punishment for him. Realizing this fact and understanding how good his general had been to him, Garfield felt even more ashamed of his own incompetence and how he had dragged his general down.

This time, Granny Ryuzu didn't poke him with her cane.

"This old man... sigh."

In the Carlsten mansion, Wilhelm closed his eyes, his heart filled with complex emotions, as he looked at Prince Hachiman who had taken the blame for him and Garfield.

To distract himself from his shame, Phyllis immediately raised her hand, wagged her tail and cat ears, and asked Crusch, "Although Phyllis-chan doesn't want Hachiman to die again, now that Julius has lost his memory, plus the casualties of hundreds of people, given Hachiman's character, he should be considering returning from the dead, right?"

"Because even if he were to return from the dead this time, it wouldn't change anything."

Crusch shook his head and explained, "Even if we had to do it again, we would still have to attack the city hall quickly and face the three great sin bishops."

"Because the longer it drags on, the higher the likelihood that the impatient archbishops will continue to slaughter large numbers of people."

“If he didn’t care about the lives of the people, Lord Hachiman would have plenty of ways to wait until the three great criminal bishops were scattered and then defeat them one by one. However, in order to save the entire Water Gate City and the people who are still alive, he only has one way to go: to quickly attack the city hall.”

"And when facing the three archbishops of the Great Sin... there will always be someone whose memories and sense of existence are swallowed up when facing Baden-Catos, the only difference is which one out of ten people."

"The reason why Lord Hachiman does not undergo a death return is because he cannot bring himself to have someone else replace Lord Julius and have his memories swallowed."

Therefore, no one can blame Garfield and Wilhelm; their defeat only accounts for a small part of the responsibility, just as no one can blame Chilitaka.

Although the attack on the four sluice gates by Kilitaka allowed the witch cultists to open the gates and release the floodwaters, this was an inevitable mistake.

No matter how fast the Kilitaka attack, so many witch cultists will inevitably try to open the sluice gates and perish together once they see that the gates are about to fall. They have the advantage of terrain and can open the gates with a simple reach, so no one can stop them.

All Kilitaka could do was finish the fight quickly and shut off the sluice gate.

At Advanced Nurturing High School, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji stroked his chin and thought for a moment, putting himself in the situation, "Actually, there is a very simple way, first seize four sluice gates, wait and see which sluice gate the three Great Sin Archbishops attack and seize back, then return by death, set a trap at that sluice gate, wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, and wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

If it were him, he would do the same.

However, this method requires voluntary suicide and multiple resurrections to obtain sufficient information. Hachiman Hikigaya certainly wants this plan, but given his personality, he would never adopt it.

This is not only because Hachiman Hikigaya respects the world and time, but also because if Hachiman Hikigaya were to adopt this strategy, he would have to watch those hundreds of people die repeatedly.

Even death is unpleasant.

Therefore, only someone like Kiyotaka Ayanokoji would use such a poisonous tactic.

322. The Complete Fall of Anastasia

"...No matter what happens in the future, I have nothing to do with you now! I don't need you to face the anger of my subordinates for me. Don't be so self-righteous, Hachiman!"

"By forcefully rejecting Hachiman Hikigaya as punishment, Anastasia's tired face showed tender concern. She slightly tiptoed and looked up at Hachiman Hikigaya's cheek: 'Does it hurt?'"

Hachiman Hikigaya gave a wry smile. "If this hurts, how am I supposed to protect you all?"

"Nonsense, they were clearly beaten until they were red... Telling such a lie is too cunning."

"After speaking with a relieved attitude, Anastasia raised her delicate little hand and gently stroked Hachiman Hikigaya's cheek, rubbing it tenderly."

"She squinted at the cunning man, and from Hachiman Hikigaya's bare upper body, she saw all sorts of fresh knife and sword wounds. Julius wasn't the only one who paid the price."

Anastasia said sadly, "I'm not that noble. The people of Watergate City are fine to save or not; I don't feel the need to save them... So, if I had known it would lead to such a crushing defeat and so much bloodshed, I probably wouldn't have invited you all here."

"But I want to thank you for this."

"Hmm?"

Anastasia froze in astonishment.

"If saving Watergate City is enough to be considered great, then I'll shamelessly be a great person for once."

Hachiman Hikigaya lowered his head, smiled, and gently stroked Anastasia's pale purple hair, saying softly, "Perhaps I'm a hypocrite, but I certainly don't like seeing anyone lose their life. The opportunity to save so many people is all thanks to your invitation, Anastasia."

"...You're clearly very smart, yet you always like to do these foolish things that don't bring you any benefit." Anastasia stared blankly at the man in front of her, involuntarily holding her breath, her heart pounding for some reason.

Her voice trailed off, tinged with a slight sob, "I don't have any money to comfort you with such sweet words."

Hachiman Hikigaya chuckled, relieved that this shrewd businessman was still thinking about money. "If these words can make you feel better, that's better than any amount of money you've made. Don't worry, this isn't a favor, so don't feel burdened."

"...Really...too cunning." Anastasia looked away, muttering to herself with a slight blush.

"In those brief, warm moments of forgetting fatigue and worries, she would see Hachiman Hikigaya's chest and be enveloped by his masculine aura."

The sound of soldiers hurrying past outside the hall startled Anastasia, causing her to release her small hand from Hachiman Hikigaya's chest.

"While I'm not opposed to it... I simply don't have the time to waste on this right now."

"Even in a crisis like this, you can't help but find time to flirt with Anastasia... Hachiman, just how much do you like this shrewd businessman!?"

The Shirogane family, who support Emilia, Rem, Crusch, and even Priscilla, all swore never to support Anastasia. Shirogane Miyuki let out a mournful cry.

Believing himself to be mortal enemies with Anastasia, he immediately found a seemingly true excuse: "By the way, Syrus's power amplifies everyone's emotions, which means Hachiman's affection for Anastasia has been amplified!"

Shirogane Kei scoffed at his brother's self-deception, showing no mercy whatsoever. "But doesn't that mean that none of Hachiman-senpai's other feelings can compare to his love for Anna-neechan?"

Powerless, Shirogane Miyuki remained silent.

"Has Hachiman Hikigaya, now fully awake, stopped stroking Anastasia. He distracted himself with serious matters, briefly describing the battle at the city hall and informing the three archbishops of the Great Sin of the situation."

"Although we suffered losses, we have recaptured the City Hall and the broadcasting station. Next, we can use the broadcasting station to convey confidence to the people of the city, and after we are fully prepared, we can use a provocation tactic to get the three major criminal bishops to go to the City Hall and start the second battle."

"Anastasia then relayed three pieces of intelligence."

"One is the ten who knew the location of Typhon's remains, nine of whom are already dead, it is unclear whether they committed suicide or were killed by the Archbishops of Sin."

"The other good news is that Kiritaka and his White Dragon Scales are now stationed at the four sluice gates. Unless there is a surprise attack by the Archbishop of Sin, ordinary witch cultists will not be able to retake the sluice gates."

"I found something good too."

"As she finished speaking, a delighted Anastasia took Hachiman Hikigaya's hand and led him to a room. 'Thanks to your reminder, I can assure you, this is definitely related to the secret of Regulus's powers.'"

"In that room, there was a group of women dressed in white. These women were of varying ages, the older ones were in their twenties and the younger ones were in their teens. Each of them seemed rather numb, with a faint sense of unease and fear."

"Each of them is a woman of outstanding beauty. Although they are not as beautiful as Emilia, some of them are comparable to Rem and Crusch."

"They were all Regulus's wives, but all virgins."

Anastasia's introduction greatly surprised Hachiman Hikigaya.

"I had the children of the Iron Fang Mercenary Group observe the women Regulus and Reinhard found during their battle. They were all terrified of Regulus and initially refused to leave the room on their own; I forced them to."

Anastasia flashed a sly, fox-like smile, pointed south, and said meaningfully, "Interestingly, around the time these women arrived at the camp—that is, after they were quite a distance away from Regulus—Regulus shifted the battlefield a certain distance this way."

"And after that, probably because he no longer had to worry about hurting his wife, he became even more reckless, destroying the terrain beyond recognition."

"Worried about hurting his wife?" Hachiman Hikigaya paused, realizing something was amiss... How could someone as self-centered as Regulus possibly be worried about hurting his wife?

"But after we questioned them individually in turn, the women's answers were surprisingly consistent. They all said that Regulus usually forbade them to make any movements, not even smiling; all actions had to be given to them by Regulus."

"Moreover, Regulus has so far slaughtered dozens of his wives for various arbitrary reasons."

"A man who usually treats his wife that way might actually care about her life during a fight filled with extreme anger?"

Anastasia's eyes flashed with a sharp light; like Hachiman Hikigaya, the clever girl had figured out the correct answer.

"Then there's only one possibility—the death of all his wives would definitely be a loss for Regulus!"