A few minutes later.
Natsuki Subaru was lying on the ground, totally worn out.
Beatrice's attack had badly hurt him, and then Aqua used healing magic to save Natsuki Subaru again.
"How is it, Subaru?"
Satou Kazuma crouched down and asked Natsuki Subaru how he was doing.
"He, he really seems to be gone!"
Natsuki Subaru reached out and put his hand on his chest.
Although he couldn't exactly say how he felt, Natsuki Subaru was sure of one thing: that Petelgeuse person was really gone from his body.
"Great, did we get rid of that guy?"
Aqua asked curiously.
"I don't think so. After all, that guy can move his body to other places. He might have moved somewhere else. That kind of power is the most annoying."
Satou Kazuma shook his head.
"What if he runs into your body, Kazuma!"
"Hey, hey, I don't feel anything at all! And why are you suddenly coming closer to me with your fist raised!? You're not trying to get back at me, are you?!"
Seeing Aqua coming closer, Satou Kazuma immediately took a few steps back to put some distance between them.
"How could I! Don't you misunderstand this goddess?"
"That guy probably can't take over my body. If he could, he would have already done it."
Satou Kazuma looked at Natsuki Subaru and then spoke his thoughts.
Natsuki Subaru hadn't fought much before, and considering what he had done earlier, Petelgeuse should have chosen to take over his body first.
But he didn't do that, which shows that Petelgeuse can't do it.
Aqua is a goddess, not really human, so it makes sense that she can't be taken over. The same goes for Beatrice.
Satou Kazuma remembered Beatrice saying that she would keep her contractor all to herself.
Maybe that's why Petelgeuse couldn't take him over?
"Betty, what do you want to eat tonight?"
"What? Why are you suddenly asking Betty about this out of nowhere?"
Beatrice frowned at Satou Kazuma, feeling like he had bad intentions.
"But something is strange."
Aqua said, as if she had thought of something.
"What is it?"
"When I touched that guy just now, I felt like he was covered in something, like a curse or something. I've seen it somewhere else before. It's kind of like magic that demons use to mess with people's minds, but I'm not sure."
Aqua scratched her head and thought.
"Can you get rid of it?"
Satou Kazuma asked.
"In theory, I can, but I didn't have a chance to use it before. That undead-like guy suddenly attacked us."
Aqua shrugged.
"Also, Betty, earlier Petelgeuse suddenly asked Subaru, 'Are you Pride?' Do you know what that means?"
"Maybe he thought Subaru was the Archbishop of Pride? After all, Subaru has the same scent as the Witch Cult. It's the Witch's residue."
Beatrice said.
"I have a scent? I take a bath every day!"
Natsuki Subaru sniffed himself in disbelief, but he didn't smell anything strange.
"Rem mentioned it to me once, telling me to be careful of you. That's why she was guarding the door every night before."
"Huh? That really happened?!"
A look of surprise flashed across Natsuki Subaru's face. He was too clueless to notice any of that.
"So, the people in the Witch Cult don't know each other? As long as you have that Witch's residue, you're considered one of them?"
Satou Kazuma said thoughtfully.
"In that case, earlier..."
When Natsuki Subaru was attacked by the Witch Cult in the last loop, the Witch Cultists didn't seem to do anything to him. In fact, they seemed to respect him quite a bit.
Could it be because of that scent on him?
But since Beatrice was there, Natsuki Subaru didn't want to say anything more about it.
He still had some questions in his mind.
In the last loop, he experienced Return by Death because of the sudden ice.
Clearly, that wasn't Petelgeuse's doing.
So what really happened?
"Even if we're not sure if Petelgeuse is dead, he probably won't do anything rash tonight."
Satou Kazuma said.
"Okay."
Natsuki Subaru nodded and then prepared to check on Petelgeuse's situation again before returning to the mansion with Satou Kazuma and the others to tell Emilia and the others what had happened today.
But just as he took a few steps, Natsuki Subaru heard a loud rumbling sound.
His mind went blank. The sound was familiar, but Natsuki Subaru couldn't remember where he had heard it.
At that moment, the already thin moonlight was blocked by a huge object, and a shadow covered everyone.
Natsuki Subaru looked up and saw a huge white creature—
It was only then that Natsuki Subaru remembered the sound he had heard earlier. It seemed like he had heard it somewhere.
It was the sound of whales, which he used to hear on TV.
At this moment, a huge white whale-shaped creature was flying in the air. It was dozens of meters long, and its sides had wing-like features instead of fins. A halo floated above its huge head.
"This is...the White Whale!"
Beatrice's eyes widened, and she spoke in disbelief.
"Betty, what is that thing? It looks really bad?"
Satou Kazuma gulped and asked.
"It's a magical beast called the White Whale...It's said that it was created by a witch four hundred years ago. It moves around the world without any pattern. Wherever it goes, no one survives! Is it attracted by a large amount of mana?"
Just as Beatrice was speaking, the White Whale suddenly roared.
And her vision gradually became blurry.
In just a few seconds, a thick fog had already surrounded them, and the visibility was less than a meter.
"Betty!"
Seeing the fog coming, Satou grabbed Beatrice's hand.
"Don't be afraid!"
"Betty isn't afraid!"
Although Beatrice said that, she was still slightly happy inside.
"I'll carry you!"
Is this idiot Kazuma going to carry me like a princess?
Betty isn't the kind of kid who gets happy when she's carried, but idiot Kazuma is still her person, after all. He's very reliable in a pinch, so let him carry Betty.
It's not because Betty likes being carried!
But before she could say another word, Satou Kazuma had already thrown Beatrice over his shoulder like a sack of sand.
"?"
"It's good that Betty is a kid. If it were Aqua, I would definitely be exhausted!"
After putting Beatrice on his back, Satou Kazuma immediately turned around to find Aqua.
"Useless goddess! Where are you!"
"I'm here, Kazuma!"
Aqua's easily recognizable voice pierced through the fog and reached Satou Kazuma's ears. The latter followed the sound and finally found Aqua walking towards him.
"Kazuma, what's going on?! How did this fog suddenly spread? I can't see anything!"
"I don't know! It feels like this White Whale is the culprit! Subaru! Subaru!"
Satou Kazuma shouted Natsuki Subaru's name loudly. They weren't far from Natsuki Subaru earlier, but now they couldn't see him at all.
This was definitely not normal fog. It was extremely thick, as if the world in front of them had been completely replaced by a grayish-white color. Any landmarks that could be used to tell direction were swallowed up, and east, south, west, and north were blurred at this moment.
The White Whale's cries echoed around them, along with the howling wind, almost drowning out Satou Kazuma's voice.
He didn't dare to move around carelessly, fearing that he would get farther and farther away from Natsuki Subaru.
"Kazuma!"
"I'm here!"
Satou Kazuma finally caught Natsuki Subaru's voice, and while carrying Beatrice and holding Aqua's hand, he walked quickly towards Natsuki Subaru's voice.
In Satou Kazuma's mind, even if Aqua seemed to have superhuman eyesight in this kind of environment, she would definitely get lost if she left his side for three seconds.
Natsuki Subaru and Satou Kazuma called out to each other, confirmed each other's location, and finally saw each other.
Next, all they had to do was let Beatrice use magic to teleport them away!
But at that moment, they heard a very bad sound, as if the ground had been ripped in half by something.
A terrifying shockwave came at a speed that exceeded everyone's reaction.
It seemed to be made of fog, but it was clearly different, more like a fast-moving blade.
In the thick fog, their vision was taken away, and they didn't have time to react.
And the closest one to it was Natsuki Subaru.
The next second, Natsuki Subaru's body was swallowed by the fog—
......
"Subaru!"
Satou Kazuma reached out excitedly towards the front.
But the surrounding environment had already changed.
He was back in his mansion.
And at this moment, in front of Satou Kazuma, was Russell, who had been splashed with hot tea.
In the last loop at this time, he was at home with Russell, drinking tea and talking about future cooperation.
"Ahhhhh!"
Aqua also immediately reacted and quickly came to Russell's side, using healing magic.
Russell was breathing rapidly, looking at Satou Kazuma in surprise.
Because of Aqua, Russell didn't have any burns, but he couldn't forget the pain of being splashed with hot tea just now.
Wh, what's going on?
Weren't we just talking about cooperation? And it seemed like both sides were making good progress.
Why did Satou Kazuma suddenly turn on him?
Could it be that...
Russell couldn't help but come up with a guess.
Satou Kazuma has the ability to know what people are thinking.
Although Russell was talking about cooperation with Satou Kazuma on the surface, he was actually secretly observing Satou Kazuma's and Aqua's every move, trying to get more important information from them.
And the next second, Satou Kazuma splashed the hot tea over.
Is it a warning?
If that's the case...
Was Aqua and the others coming to him for cooperation also planned?
But all of this was just Russell's guess. He wasn't sure if it was true, so he could only swallow and wait for the other party to speak, so he could judge their attitude.
Satou Kazuma was also feeling a little guilty at this moment.
Subaru, why does your save point have to be at this time?
I'm really sorry, Russell...
You've actually been splashed with hot tea twice already...
Logically speaking, Russell should be furious, right?
It's not a good time to speak now. I'll apologize like crazy when he gets angry.
But...
Russell, why aren't you saying anything?
Satou Kazuma and Russell just sat there facing each other, neither of them speaking first.
"Hey, are you two having a staring contest?"
Aqua looked at the two in front of her, stunned.
Finally, Russell was the first to break the silence.
But whether his guess was correct or not, Russell was very clear that it was most important to maintain a good relationship with Aqua's side.
"Um, Aqua-sama, Kazuma-sama, I'm afraid the whole world will soon undergo earth-shattering changes. The royal family suddenly died strangely from a strange illness, and the Dragon Stone Prophecy has a prophecy about the five Dragon Priestesses. Perhaps a series of big events will happen next."
Russell smiled.
"But I believe that no matter what happens, you will have the last laugh. In my heart, Aqua-sama is the most likely to win among the candidates!"
"Hey, really!"
A look of surprise flashed across Aqua's face, but she quickly showed a natural expression,
"But if it's me, then that's only natural."
Satou Kazuma was also a little surprised.
Wait, isn't Russell angry?
"About the future cooperation..."
"I'm really looking forward to future cooperation! Our side can lower the share a little more! This way, we can further guarantee Kazuma-sama's and your interests! I will also do my best to support you two in the future!"
Russell stood up with a smile, showing his attitude to the two in front of him.
During this time, even Six Tongues still couldn't find out Aqua's and Satou Kazuma's background, which made Russell feel more and more that Satou Kazuma was not simple.
His act of splashing water on himself just now was to warn himself.
And Aqua showed healing abilities that were no less than those of Felix, who had the title of 'Blue.' This was a display of power.
The two of them are probably the most dangerous existence among the candidates.
----
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