Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

"——"

"Pandora, who has risen from the dead, stands smiling on Regulus's head."

"I forgive your outrageous words and your violent acts. However, the purpose of bringing you here has been achieved. So, go back."

"You think you can just make me go back now that you're satisfied?!"

“Well then, let me do it,” Pandora said softly. “Kornius shouldn’t be here; he’s in his room, surrounded by his wives.”

""wait--""

"Regulus's voice abruptly stopped, and he vanished as if he had never been there. All the destruction he had caused in the forest—the craters in the ground, the destroyed trees—was restored to their previous perfect state."

Fortuna stared at Pandora in horror. "...Weren't you already torn to pieces and killed?"

“Oh dear, are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Pandora replied gently. “Kornius isn’t here, so all the consequences of his actions don’t exist.”

"As soon as she finished speaking, Juss found that the arm that Regulus had torn off was back on his body, and all the wounds had disappeared. If it weren't for the fact that what had just happened was still vivid in his mind, he would have almost thought it was an illusion."

"I haven't changed anything about absorbing the witch's essence. It's a reward for your resolve and your love."

Yukino's hand suddenly trembled, and the drink she had just opened at the convenience store spilled out. But no one, including herself, paid any attention to this mistake.

“I always thought Pandora’s power was to have multiple lives, or to be able to resurrect, or at most to be difficult to kill… I always thought she was just of noble status and didn’t have much fighting ability, which is why she specifically acted with Regulus.”

How to describe it.

"To revise the facts, to make one's words law, to falsify the past?"

Hachiman Hikigaya muttered various speculations under his breath, his face grim.

Is Death Return strong? Yes, it's very strong, really strong.

However, if he can't even break through Regulus's defenses, then no matter how many times he dies, he will never defeat him. If all his efforts are negated by Pandora's single sentence, then restarting the game will be pointless.

"What kind of monsters and demons exist at the top of this other world..."

Even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt powerless. If there were limitations, it would be fine, but without weaknesses or limitations, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka believed that no matter how clever Hachiman Hikigaya was, he would be helpless.

"Even if I were to deal with this kind of enemy... I might only be able to instigate the Sword Saint Reinhard. But perhaps Reinhard is invincible, while I would be at Pandora's mercy, which would also be a failure."

It's unsolvable, it's too powerful.

Regulus's strength is legitimate and honorable, while Pandora's strength is even more frustrating.

If one could at least be willing to die fighting Regulus, then facing Pandora, it's highly likely that even the desire to die in battle would be impossible.

160. Everything is for love.

"That damned stinking woman!"

Regulus's anger was reignited when he felt his human rights had been violated and he had been humiliated in front of the world, even though it happened a hundred years ago.

"My rights, my privacy, my freedom, I myself have been completely trampled upon! What is this all about? I'm here, I didn't participate, yet I'm being forced to show my face in this ridiculous thing? Fine, fine then!"

"First, I'll kill that arrogant, stinking woman a hundred times over. Then I'll exercise my right to freedom of marriage. Hachiman Hikigaya, you dared to look into my past without my permission, so it's only natural that I'd also invite you to my wedding with my new wife, Emilia, without my permission, right? I'm not the kind of person who forces others. It's just that you're too weak, which is why I broke your limbs to watch the wedding!"

In his room, a childlike, easily angered voice roared.

Like dolls, his wives remained motionless, expressionless, and utterly silent. In their eyes, there was pity for Emilia, their own pain, their own numbness, and... a hope for Hachiman Hikigaya.

That was a small hope, but one that could ignite a prairie fire.

"The Witch Cult must be eliminated—at least the Bishop of Greed and the Witch of Deception must be killed."

Reinhard concluded that once the broadcast ended, this request must be presented to the Council of Wise Men, requesting that the elders of the Council of Wise Men negotiate with other countries to grant him the temporary right to travel freely.

Although Reinhard was modest, he knew very well that he could do things that others couldn't. Other bishops, and the witches' souls in the Sanctuary, were no problem; others could handle them... However, Regulus and Pandora were the only ones he could likely defeat.

In the village of Karara.

Ram touched her horn again... She was once very glad that her horn had broken off, as that horn had always been the abyss that prevented her and Rem from truly loving each other without any hindrance.

But now, seeing how many dangers and monsters lurk in this world, she truly misses her horn more and more.

"If Ram still had horns, he could definitely protect Rem well, and there would be nothing to worry about."

Putting aside people like Pandora for now... Although Puck is bound by the contract, the help he provides to Emilia is still far greater than the help she can provide to Rem.

"Death, dying, then resurrection, gentle persuasion to surrender, and then experiencing countless deaths again and again, the cycle continues endlessly. Pandora has died countless times."

"When Jus and Fortuna were exhausted and panting heavily, Pandora seemed to realize that it was impossible to persuade the two to surrender. She had died and been resurrected this time, but instead of staying there to fight them, she appeared at the sealed place as quickly as possible."

"Young Emilia has also run here."

Pandora kindly asked her for the key, explaining that only those with the right to see it could. After Pandora promised not to harm anyone here once the seal was opened, Emilia stood trembling before the sealed gate, imagining the key, and finally saw what Pandora had been longing for.

"Just a second before she was about to be seduced into breaking the seal, Emilia suddenly stopped. She remembered that she had made a promise with her mother, Fortuna."

"I can't open it...it's an agreement."

"As a bewildered little child, Emilia was on the verge of tears, completely lost. But she wanted to keep her promise to her mother; she didn't want to break it. If she kept her promise, her mother Fortuna would surely keep her promise too, and would stay with her forever."

"I see..."

"Pandora praised Emilia's heartfelt choice with the same gentle tone she used to praise Jus's resolve. Then, in a light and airy tone, she uttered the most terrifying words: 'I will respect your choice. Therefore, I will stop at nothing to seal it, and you must respect my decision too.'"

She glanced back and saw Fortuna, who had been tracking her, had arrived and was roaring as she attacked, but she panicked when she saw Emilia.

"In Emilia's eyes, Pandora wasn't really a bad person. She wasn't scary-looking, had a gentle voice, and didn't attack anyone. However, Mother Fortuna had been killing her all along. Even so, Emilia still chose to obey Mother Fortuna's promise."

"After learning this from the nagging Pandora, Fortuna excitedly hugged Emilia, praising her for keeping her promise, which further strengthened her resolve to kill Pandora."

""Lady Fortuna! ""

"Jus also arrived at the battlefield at this time. He wanted to join forces with Fortuna to launch a pincer attack and kill Pandora completely."

"Fortuna stood up, took Emilia's little hand, and together with Jus, she was about to cast a spell to give Pandora—"

"…laugh."

"The spell, which was halfway through its incantation, stopped. Fortuna's eyes widened at that moment. An invisible hand had pierced through her chest, and blood was gushing out in large quantities. Her injuries were so severe that she could not afford to be complacent."

"Finally—Lady Fortuna, please leave quickly! I'll handle the inspection—Lady Fortuna?"

"Jus, who had just landed, abruptly stopped speaking in his anxious voice."

"In his sight, Pandora lay sprawled on the ground, pierced by his own invisible hand... Was that Pandora?"

"Jules?"

"A confused tremor ran through her as Emilia, checking on Fortuna's mother's injuries, turned her head and stared blankly at Jules."

"————?!"

"The one lying on the ground, the one he attacked, wasn't Pandora. It was...it was...ah, ah, ahh ...

""impossible!""

"Jules' eyes were bloodshot. He staggered and fell to his knees, unable to believe it. 'Impossible! Impos ...! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!! Impossible! Impossible!! Impossible! Impossible!! Impossible!! Impossible!! Impossible!!

"There's nothing we can do about it," Pandora said with a smile, standing to the side. "After all, you just 'misjudged' it."

"Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible! What did I do? What did I do? What was all of this for? Ah, ah, ahhhhhh..."

Pandora floated lightly towards Jus, who was clutching his head. Her voice was seductive, alluring, and possessed a power that could make one lose their way: "Everything, it's all for 'love'."

-

-

161. We must bring Jules back!

"Pandora's voice concealed the manipulation of her power. She whispered in Jules's ear that Jules hadn't misjudged; he had only misjudged, and everything he did was for love, and it was inevitable."

"This alteration rendered Juss, who was already suffering from the witch factor, powerless to maintain his own identity. His face gradually became distorted until finally, he became the madman known to everyone, the Bishop of Sloth Petitchius, who was full of love."

"With only her last breath, Fortuna was worried about Emilia. In her final moments, she apologized to her long-deceased brother and sister-in-law, then stroked Emilia's hair and said that she loved Emilia the most."

"But she can no longer keep her promise, the promise to always stay with Emilia."

"I...forgive Mom."

"Fortuna's mother... is my mother."

"I...I love Mom the most too!"

"To Emilia's tearful response, Fortuna, relieved, died with a heart full of regret and self-reproach."

"Lying on Fortuna's body, Emilia took off the butterfly ornament from her mother's head and put it on herself, as if Fortuna were still alive and accompanying her."

"Wrong, wrong, all of it is wrong!"

Kyosuke Kosaka opened his mouth, completely taken aback by this unexpected outcome. He was momentarily speechless and his mind was in turmoil.

"Jus is Emilia's adoptive father, a kind man who takes care of everyone wholeheartedly, but, but—how could this be, how could this be!"

Kyosuke Kousaka really can't accept this!

He shook his head, his hands on the table, feeling a sharp pain in his stomach, a pain so intense he wanted to kill Pandora, to see Pandora never to be resurrected again. "Jus killed Fortuna... no, that's not right, it was Pandora's power! But Jus thought he had killed Fortuna, and thus Pandora twisted his mind, which is why the father and daughter killed each other a hundred years later."

"Pandora, only you must die, only you, no matter what tragic past you have, no matter how great your reasons are... only you, no matter how horrific or inhumane your death may be, I will support you!"

Nearby, Kirino Kousaka had collapsed to the floor, muttering to herself, "How could this be... how could this happen... this kind of thing... this kind of thing should never happen!"

At the Izumi residence, Izumi Sagiri, disregarding everything else, instinctively threw herself into her brother Izumi Masamune's arms and sobbed.

"Pandora, the witch of disguise, she is insulting a warrior!"

Wilhelm, Phyllis, Crusch—everyone in the upright and honorable Karsten camp was filled with rage, wishing they could tear the Witch of Pretense to pieces.

“I was relieved before, that at least Jus was still alive a hundred years later, and Emilia still had a chance to win back her family ties… Now it seems that maybe it was a good thing that Jus was killed by Regulus from the beginning, at least it was better than the current situation.”

Crusch's eyes flashed with murderous intent. Even if it had nothing to do with Emilia, if you replaced young Emilia with someone else, she would still be just as furious.

This was not only because she was one of the most upright people in the Kingdom of Lugnica, but also because this tragedy reminded her of the pain of Hachiman Hikigaya.

“Pandora’s act of sending Regulus away was not showing any mercy… Killing Fortuna with his own hands, at that moment, Jus was completely overwhelmed by self-blame and guilt, just like when he confessed his powers to Emilia, which led to Emilia’s death.”

"You really have guts, Pandora." It reminded her once again of Hachiman-sei's bewildered, near-collapse expression.

"You are also someone who must die... No, with such a twisted worldview, you are not even human, the hypocritical witch Pandora!"

Shirogane Miyuki remained choked with emotion for a long time. He gently patted his sister's back, who was crying, and said with deep feeling, "Achi is dead, but he died like a hero. Jus is still alive, but he lives like a clown."