Chapter 13. Witch Cult Disaster Countermeasure Meeting
In the familiar banquet hall of the Water Plume Pavilion.
"Natsuki-san, you've woken up, you see. That's good, I'm relieved."
Anastasia said with a slight smile, looking at Subaru as he entered.
"You should already know that the Water Gate City of Priestella has fallen into the hands of the Witch Cult. Natsuki-san's account, as the first to encounter them, is very valuable. Come, sit, sit, you see."
Anastasia, whose fatigue was clearly visible on her face, smiled and waved her hand. Subaru walked without hesitation to the long table in the center of the room, knelt on a cushion, and looked around.
Kiritaka, Liliana, Anastasia, and the three vice-captains of the Iron Fang, Crusch and her two retainers, and now himself and Beatrice.
"Is this everyone involved? Leaving aside Emilia-sama's side for now, the number of people in my camp is too small. Otto, Felt, and Heinkel aren't here? What about Reinhild? Anastasia-sama, your numbers are also fundamentally insufficient…"
"Reinhild-dono is still fighting [Greed] in the first district."
"My side's main combat power has gone to rescue the Ten-Man Council, you see."
"It was Mimi who carried Big Brother back."
Mimi said excitedly, and Beatrice beside her nodded in confirmation.
"I was too busy issuing evacuation orders and deploying personnel to step away, so for the time being, I will represent the Ten-Man Council of Priestella. Currently, six members of the Council are confirmed safe. Heinkel-dono, Ricardo-san, Julius-dono, and Joshua-dono have not returned yet."
Kiritaka stated the information seriously. Considering his performance this morning, he undoubtedly possessed the ability commensurate with his title. Subaru looked at Liliana beside him.
—If she causes Kiritaka's personality to become abnormal just by being around him, what is Liliana's purpose for being here?
"But isn't this putting the cart before the horse? If we let [Wrath] start her speech, everything will be over, right?"
"You're speaking of my pain, you see."
"Sir Subaru, actually, before the Witch Cult's action, we first received a letter stating that the Witch Cult would move against the Ten-Man Council. It also included information that if the members of the Council fell into enemy hands, the entire Water Gate City would be
annihilated. In the end, the Witch Cult, who controls the city hall and the control towers, is indeed not aiming to destroy the city or massacre the citizens. According to [Vainglory], they only want one thing from this city."
"A thing?"
"The Witch's remains."
This completely unexpected answer left Subaru stunned for a moment.
"Calm down, Sir Subaru. It's not the corpse of that famous 'Witch of Envy.'"
Subaru paused, then thought of the body of the [Witch of Greed], Echidna, buried in the Sanctuary in the Mathers territory, and he instantly calmed down completely.
"However, in this situation, it can't be a fake Witch like Emilia either. When the Witch is mentioned here, it must be referring to a genuine 'Witch,' you see."
Anastasia spoke in a serious tone.
"That kind of statement… Anastasia-sama seems to know something?"
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be saying this, you see. If you investigate the founding of this Water Gate City a little, you'll find out, you see. Do you know? I heard that a long, long time ago, this place was a huge trap set to catch something."
Subaru looked at Beatrice. He thought back to Beatrice's explanation when they first arrived at the Water Gate City yesterday. Recalling that time, she hadn't explicitly mentioned what the prey was.
"That's right. The trap made of this city was used to take down that 'Witch.' The remains of the 'Witch' who was sunk and destroyed by the city are still somewhere within the city, you see."
Anastasia looked around at everyone and nodded.
"The 'Witch's Remains' are an important secret of the Water Gate City… Only members of the Ten-Man Council know about this matter and its location. Although it is not a valuable item, moving it would cause the entire Water Gate City to sink."
Kiritaka added.
"I see. I apologize for making everyone accommodate me, as I don't understand the current situation. Now, let's get back to the main topic. Since this is the Witch Cult Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters, what is the current plan?"
"Although we desperately want to organize a civilian evacuation immediately."
Crusch pointed her finger toward the window outside. Subaru followed her movement and intently looked out the window, where he could see the Witch Cult's flag on the control tower connected to the city's outer wall.
"With the control tower suppressed, the city gates cannot be opened. They can even open the water gates at any moment to flood the city with lake water.
At the same time, the Authority of [Wrath] has indeed enveloped the entire city, but perhaps because the range is too large or the opponent is too seriously injured, the effect is not as exaggerated as Mister Kiritaka mentioned.
Furthermore, because Mister Kiritaka had already been implementing evacuation drills for floods, the citizens' confusion level is surprisingly low at the moment…"
Subaru instantly sensed how dire the situation was. The Authority of [Wrath] made the Water Gate City like water on a fire; even if [Wrath] didn't increase the heat, the city would eventually boil over, and the button that could destroy the city at any time was held in the hands of those overgrown babies.
"In other words, the immediate priorities are to retake the City Hall to stop [Wrath]'s speech, and to retake the control console to organize the citizen evacuation."
Subaru said with a sigh. The population of the Water Gate City, Priestella, is estimated at around one hundred thousand.
Although not excessively numerous, an orderly mass evacuation would be extremely difficult. Moreover, Witch Cult informants might be lurking among the citizens, making the already difficult evacuation even harder.
"Is Pandora at the City Hall? I hate to say it, but that fellow's toughness might not be inferior to [Greed], who is fighting Reinhild."
Subaru's words instantly made the air heavy.
"I see. She is indeed extremely troublesome, but I'm sure that those gathered here can handle it."
"I will help to the best of my ability."
Wilhelm nodded seriously, expressing his intent to support his liege. This alone dissipated most of the heavy atmosphere in the room.
"Alright, alright, everyone calm down, you see."
Anastasia clapped her hands loudly, bringing everyone's focus back to her.
"In the end, our goal isn't actually to retake control of the City Hall, is it? It's to prevent [Wrath] from using the broadcast to incite citizen unrest and ultimately cause a massive riot in the Water Gate City! This means that if [Vainglory] truly is that powerful, what we should do is not kill [Vainglory], but tie her up and seize the opportunity to destroy the Metia, you see."
"If you want to destroy the Metia, I have its design blueprints here."
Kiritaka said, taking out a scroll and placing it on the table. He looked around the room, then took a deep breath and bowed deeply.
"All you great people! I entrust this beautiful Water City of Priestella to you."
Kiritaka spoke in an immensely sincere tone.
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