Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"Kirino, stop talking!"

Kyosuke Kosaka covered his sister's mouth with a bitter expression, watching her glare at him angrily. He wanted to belittle Hachiman Hikigaya in one go, to curse him as the most despicable and shameless villain. He might even feel that he, as the older brother, was also aiding and abetting evil, favoring an outsider more than his sister, and a scumbag at that.

He truly felt sorry for Hikigaya...painful, incomparably heartbreaking.

Click.

In her boudoir, after witnessing Rem, Yukinoshita, and Emilia's expressions of love, Kaguya Shinomiya held her phone, which she hesitated to use to call Miyuki Shirogane, when it suddenly fell to the floor with a snap.

"...Hey, you saw that, right, Hayasaka? This isn't an illusion, is it?"

"...Yes, it's true, Kaguya-san."

Undeterred by anger, the mistress and servant exchanged bewildered glances, their brows furrowed, their hearts heavy, as they silently watched Hachiman Hikigaya overpower Echidna.

If you only look at this one scene, they might immediately conclude that it's indecent and that Hachiman Hikigaya is a scumbag.

But... anyone with even a little bit of judgment, anyone who isn't quick-witted, could see just how high the level of helplessness and determination hidden in Hachiman Hikigaya's heart was when he took the initiative to kiss a girl for the first time in his life.

"The real thing. That's what he's been searching for all along... Although I still don't know what the real thing is, repaying a sincere heart with a sincere heart, upholding a love, and being worthy of the person who loves you are absolutely Hachiman Hikigaya's bottom line."

"For this bottom line, he could resolutely give up his first love; for this bottom line, he was willing to live a life of widowhood for Rem. For this bottom line, he always deliberately kept his distance from Emilia."

"...But it was broken."

Shirogane Miyuki was so shocked that he felt dizzy and stumbled, only to be supported by his sister.

"He crossed that line on his own initiative..."

In the village, the villagers and Ramrem felt as if ants were crawling all over them; they were silent and swallowed hard.

Rem hugged her shoulders, suddenly feeling a chill, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. "Echidna isn't interested in Hachiman, who upholds his principles and stays true to himself. She refuses to offer help or guidance, so, so..."

"For Lady Emilia... to save Lady Emilia... Lady Emilia's life safety, Lady Emilia's mental health, Hachiman doesn't want to give up either of them, he has to save both of them."

"So... he abandoned himself."

In the past, they abandoned his physical safety; now they've stooped to abandoning even his mental health.

For someone like Hachiman, what does it mean to actively break the line of authenticity...? I don't understand, it's hard to understand.

However, Rem knew that it must be a terrible, horrific, and unbearable hell that would make him nauseous and tremble, far more cruel than being killed by the Bowel Hunter, twisted by Petritchus, or devoured by the Dorabbis.

“Emilia… my lady.” Rem murmured softly, savoring the name. Her voice trembled, filled with pity, and… resentment.

The same resentment, Emilia's resentment towards herself. That resentment was like a hammer, transforming into intense guilt, shame, and dark self-blame and regret, constantly striking her soul.

"...I will absolutely never let this happen again, absolutely, absolutely!"

The silver-haired girl, Emilia, stood proudly in the royal capital, biting her lower lip. Her mind was a jumble of emotions, filled with guilt. "For Hachiman, for Puck, for me. No matter what happens, I absolutely cannot, like in the future, run away with fear and shift all the responsibility onto Hachiman!"

"So many, so many things. If I can be of any use, if I can help Hachiman share his burdens, if I can be of any practical use, at least... at least I won't be a burden to Hachiman!"

"..."

In the convenience store, Hachiman Hikigaya, for the first time ever, very unusually, and almost without precedent, looked away. He didn't want to, couldn't bear to, and was unwilling to watch this scene.

Even among all the suffering he endured after transmigrating, this was the only one that made him react this way.

Yukinoshita nestled against the man covered in wounds in his arms. Yukinoshita understood him perfectly; she knew better than anyone how much this man valued genuine things and his moral bottom line… Yet, even so…

"Even so, you'll still come, right, Hikigaya-kun?"

No answer is needed. Hachiman Hikigaya has never mentioned wanting to escape or reject this future. Even in this state, he remains unchanged!

Heartbreaking, incomparably heartbreaking.

Crusch, far away at the Carlsten mansion, Anastasia, far away at the Hoshin Trading Company, and even Phyllis and Julius—the more mature a person is, the closer they are to Hachiman Hikigaya, the more heartbroken they will feel for his seemingly despicable behavior.

“I used to be jealous of you, envious of you, pity you, and even somewhat fond of you, Emilia… But now, I am slightly hostile to you and resentful of you, Emilia.”

Crusch's sharp gaze was fixed on the future Echidna, the Witch of Greed who was ecstatic, at the peak of her pleasure, and at the height of her joy. "I'll kill you. I must kill you. You are the only one who absolutely must die, Echidna!"

“…That’s not the teacher, Beatrice.”

On the rooftop of Roswaal's mansion, a gentle breeze blew, and Roswaal, his hair flowing, no longer spoke in his clownish tone.

"what?"

Betty was stunned. "How could it not be Mother? Although she acted strangely, but... no, the most important thing right now is him... Ah! You mean Teacher? You, you, you, you... Rhodes, Wahl? You... you...!?"

A bewildered Betty looked at Roswaal, then at the light screen, and fell into a deathly silence of stagnation.

152. But people are inherently prone to change.

"Disheveled hair, a blushing face bursting with passion amidst surprise and curiosity—this is the Echidna he saw when the kiss ended and Hachiman Hikigaya stopped his profanity and offense."

"Hachiman Hikigaya's heartbeat was normal, his face expressionless. He didn't even raise his gun. Despite the intimate contact, he showed no interest whatsoever. He simply looked calmly at the witch still lying on the grass and said softly, 'Tell me, Echidna, are you surprised?'"

"Hmm~ Ah, an accident, all of it was an accident, unexpected, curiosity, a strong desire, a thirst for knowledge, ahh... wonderful, amazing, you're the best, the most interesting, you're the most interesting. Hmm~ I've been too narrow-minded, haven't I? After staying in this tomb for four hundred years, has my thinking become rigid? Sigh, how sad."

"Echidna chuckled, her curiosity exploding as she looked at Hachiman Hikigaya. The boredom and disgust she had shown earlier were completely gone, as if those sarcastic and abusive words hadn't even come from her. Instead, she wore a charming expression of utter satisfaction, full of amazement, and lavished praise on Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Emilia is more important than me, and that won't change today, nor will it change tomorrow. But do you really think you understand the extent to which I would go to her? Echidna, you're too arrogant."

“Yes, yes, I was too arrogant, umm.” Echidna nodded, as if comforting her own child. At this moment, her patience with Hachiman Hikigaya was higher than ever before. She was truly overjoyed.”

"You've long been completely set in your ways: stubborn, inflexible, with unbreakable bottom lines, a clear and unambiguous direction, boring, uninteresting—I can know everything about you without even looking at you. I was wrong, I was really wrong. Precisely because of this, precisely because of this, you are the most interesting person, Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Echidna chattered on and on, laughing gleefully like a child who had just received a new toy. She held Hachiman Hikigaya's hand and gazed at him affectionately."

"There are bottom lines that cannot be broken. Will they be broken? When can they be broken? Under what circumstances will they be broken? There are people you want to save no matter what. How long will it take before you want to give up? What insurmountable difficulties will you encounter before you run away alone? How many layers of guilt, self-blame, resentment, and pain will overwhelm your strong heart? Yes, yes, you are very interesting. You are simply the most interesting material in the world. I want to apologize. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I love you the most, hehe."

Echidna winked playfully at him, took his hand, and gave him a high five. "Yes, yes, I'll help you. Of course I'll help you. Although I hate her, it's still quite enjoyable to see her suffer. Come on, I'll show you her past."

"Hachiman Hikigaya wasn't surprised at all by Echidna's complete change in attitude... After all, that's what fakes are like."

"only."

"It's really disgusting, it makes me want to vomit, it's really nauseating."

"only."

"Echidna."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry. Thank you."

"—Huh?!"

"Echidna was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was bent over."

"Mmm, I know, I know. This is unexpected, interesting, so interesting. Ah, how embarrassing, I almost missed you."

"Hachiman Hikigaya did not retract his statement because of her attitude. To be honest, he now has a much higher liking for Echidna than he did during their previous two meetings."

"Even though it's still a fake, Echidna is willing to help him, regardless of her mindset or reasons."

"Echidna, what is the price for preserving my memories?"

“Eh, the price?” Echidna paused, seemingly having never considered such a thing, then chuckled with amusement. “Yes, the price… well, you’re not allowed to comment on my age anymore, and if I had to, you have to treat Emilia the same way, how about that?”

Hachiman Hikigaya was stunned. He paused for a moment, then said, "So, the so-called price wasn't a forced, equivalent exchange at all?"

"How rude of me! If I can't even freely control the price, what kind of Witch of Greed am I? Price, well, it's just 'price,' you could use another word, like 'Echidna's Dona Tea,' right?"

"Seriously, you—" Hachiman Hikigaya stopped mid-sentence, "Fine. This is the price."

"Echidna was in high spirits, her sun-kissed face suggesting she felt she had hit the jackpot. 'So, what do you want to know now? Come on, tell me. I like you the most now, I'll tell you anything, don't be shy.'"

""show me.""

"Hachiman Hikigaya said bluntly, 'Show me. I want to see what Emilia saw in the past trials, everything she saw, all of it. I want to see it all.'"

"..." Echidna's expression clearly showed disgust, a genuine, heartfelt dislike. She hated Emilia at the mere mention of her name. "...Hmph, fine, fine, fine, I guess I like you the most."

"Anyway, it's not so bad to see her suffer. Oh my, is this a date? Is this a date? Hehe."

"Come, come with me, I'll take you there." Echidna's tone was extremely gentle. A swarm of green butterflies emerged from her hands, instantly creating ripples that connected the Trial World and the Witch's Tea Party.

"Following behind her, Hachiman Hikigaya took a step after about three or four seconds. By then, he had already buried all his negative emotions in his heart... He couldn't be sure when that place, which had accumulated so many negative emotions, would trip up... But at least, not now."

"It's about to begin. The past of the Ice Witch, Emilia, will be revealed."

Kurei sat upright, a hint of anticipation in her eyes, hoping that Emilia's past would change her opinion of the woman.

Given Hachiman's affection for Emilia and Emilia's likable personality, she actually didn't want to resent this woman if she could. However, whenever she saw the various sufferings Hachiman endured because of Emilia, she would be so angry that she could hardly bear it.

153. Petitchius, with Jules

"I still don't quite understand it."

Mayaka Ibara couldn't understand, "His kiss with Echidna was to prove to her that he was a person with an unpredictable future, a person who valued diversity, and to persuade Echidna to lend a helping hand."

"I can understand that he was willing to abandon his own spirit to save Emilia. But why did he kiss Echidna? That involves coercing someone. Hachiman is the kind of person who would abandon himself, but he would never do that to an innocent person."

She glanced at Fukube Satoshi, then at Oreki Houtarou. Oreki sighed; he noticed Chitanda Eru was also looking at him. In order to witness in peace the past that would lead to Emilia's downfall, he had to answer.

"First, Echidna is not innocent. Remember Roswaal's Book of Wisdom? That's a high-quality replica of Echidna's original Book of Wisdom. I speculate that the prophecies in the replica also came from Echidna. In other words, the root of all the suffering in the so-called perfect ending is Echidna, even more so than Roswaal."

"Secondly, Echidna herself doesn't mind being kissed. Think about her black tea—she'd casually give her bodily fluids to a man she'd just met. How could a woman like that care about so-called chastity?"

His explanation made Chitanda Eru and Ibara Mayaka realize what he meant.

Houtarou Oreki breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Walking through the butterfly-woven path. The dazzling sun, the smell of earth, the fresh air, and the residents coming and going on the road. Except that the residents couldn't see him and Echidna, to Hachiman Hikigaya it was almost no different from the real world."

""here it is…?""

“The Great Forest of Elior,” Echidna replied with a smile. “Thanks to that little cat who kidnapped you and drove you crazy with trials, otherwise, given her amnesia, it would have been very difficult for me to uncover the whole story of her past.”

"This woman has no intention of provoking Hachiman Hikigaya; she's just being sarcastic towards Emilia."

"Do you really hate Emilia that much? Why?"

"Does hating someone need a reason?" Echidna affectionately drew a circle on his chest with her index finger, chuckling sweetly. "Don't you hate me for no reason either? Hmm... but I do have a reason, that's for sure. Come on, this way, we're about to see that annoying brat. Even when she was little, she was just as annoying, so irritating."

"It's a treehouse."

"Passing through the gate, Hachiman Hikigaya saw two people inside the house. One looked like an enlarged version of Emilia, but only about 60% the same. She wasn't as sharp-tongued as Emilia, and her eyes were naturally fierce. The other looked like a miniature version of Emilia. She appeared to be about eleven years old, and her familiar appearance immediately confirmed her identity."

"Listen carefully, Emilia, everyone has important things to do today, so you'll be very busy. You'll be all alone in the house, so be a good girl, okay?"