Keep on dying until you get it right.
Creative Staff
Original Story: Tappei Nagatsuki
Art: Daichi Matsuse
Character Design: Shinichirou Otsuka
Translation: Jeremiah Bourque
What They Say:
-Now you get to feel the terror of being crushed by someone three steps ahead of you!
Once more, the Mathers domain is the stage for conflict, and Subaru goes there to strike down Petelgeuse, his mortal foe. But Petelgeuse is a formidable adversary thanks to his mysterious link with the Witch Cult agents he calls “fingers.” And just as victory seems close at hand-as does a reunion with Emilia-a disturbing change befalls Subaru’s body…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Subaru has survived the explosion and is greeted by Ferris when he wakes up. It seems like he survived, too. Well, kind of. Ferris claims he died once but he’s okay now. You know what they say, cats have nine lives. Anyway, it’s no time to be lollygagging! The witch cultists are attacking the city. They reunite with Julius and discover Wilhelm fighting one of the cultists. Being the badass that he is, he manages to defeat him but is injured in the process. Another of Petelgeuse’s fingers shows up and Subaru acts as bait to lead her away from the village. He leads her into the forest which is a demon beast habitat. Subaru holds onto one of Emilia’s barrier magic crystals which secures his safety. The finger isn’t so lucky as she’s killed by a demon beast attack. Nice thinking, Subaru! Only one finger left.
The last one is in the village and he’s fighting…Emilia!? Why is she here? Subaru doesn’t like this at all but Ferris tells him to calm down. He and Ram asked her to come. Subaru should believe in Emilia’s strength. Speaking of her strength, she totally wrecks the last finger and freezes him to death. Damn Emilia, you scary. Victory is theirs! See Subaru? Ferris was right. Don’t underestimate Emilia! Ferris playfully nudges Subaru and encourages him to go talk to her. However, something isn’t right. Subaru isn’t looking too good and runs off into the forest. Julius and Ferris follow him. To their horror, Subaru is no longer himself. He’s been possessed by Petelgeuse. Well, that sucks. The fingers were just a single entity, Petelgeuse, attaching itself to others. Subaru realizes it’s over for him and asks them to kill him. How can he let it end like this? Didn’t he have something to say to Julius!? Subaru apologizes to Julius but if they don’t kill him now, they won’t be able to win. They can’t let any vessels remain for Petelgeuse. He’s right, you know? Ferris starts crying but he does what is asked of him. Julius, who’s extremely pained by this, delivers the finishing blow. Subaru has died, again. Julius and Ferris had the most horrifically pained expressions in this scene. It was heart-wrenching.
Well, time for Subaru to revive at the fruit stand once again. Wait, he doesn’t!? He finally has a new savepoint!? Score! The new savepoint is just after the battle with the White Whale. Not too shabby. He immediately informs everyone of the Archbishop’s possession ability. If they want to defeat him, they have to destroy all possible vessels he can possess. That basically means they have to eliminate all of the fingers. Also, they have to figure something out with Subaru since he’s also a suitable vessel. Everyone is shocked to learn that! Elsewhere, Emilia is just waking up. She has a lot on her mind, particularly Subaru. I bet he’d be happy to hear that! She heads downstairs and is met by Ram and Wilhelm. Wilhelm informs Emilia that Lady Crusch wishes for her, Ram, and the villagers to evacuate the area. A group of enemies is attacking and they plan to eliminate them. She has a lot of concerns but Wilhelm explains that everything has been taken care of already. Hmm, that sounds too good to be true. At that moment, a disguised Subaru barges in and yells that they need to hurry! Emilia accepts the proposal and everyone heads to the village to help evacuate everyone.
Everything goes smoothly and Emilia is asked to ride in a carriage with a few of the kids. She’s not too sure about that. Are they sure that the kids even want to ride with her? The disguised Subaru walks up to her and reprimands her for thinking like that. Did she just assume that the kids would be disgusted to ride with her? Did she ask them how they feel? If she can’t do this, how does she expect to realize her dream of fair treatment? He’s got a good point. Subaru asks one of the kids if they want to ride with Emilia? She’d be happy to! This cheers Emilia up and she starts smiling. Her smile is so precious! You must protect it at all costs, Subaru. She offers her thanks to the disguised Subaru but she notices that he’s gone. Where’d he go? Oh, you know, just back at the forest where they capture the spy for the cultists. Subaru is three steps ahead and is ready to crush Petelgeuse!
It’s all going according to plan. Everyone has evacuated, the blank letter has been dealt with, and the fingers have been taken care of. All that’s left is to defeat the Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti. I love saying his name. Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti. Subaru confronts Petelgeuse on his own and butters him up. He’s impressed by his LOVE and DILIGENCE! What a truly wonderful disciple of love! Petelgeuse reveals that he plans to use Emilia as a vessel for the witch. If she passes, embrace her! If she doesn’t, kill her! This angers Subaru. Petelgeuse doesn’t see any value in Emilia herself. Don’t insult Emilia in front of him! Also, surprise attack! Patrasche comes out of nowhere and knocks Petelgeuse down. He’s not amused by any of this and attempts to attack Subaru but he dodges. How can he see his authority!? It’s simple really, the witch totally digs him. She literally has his heart in her hands. Petelgeuse refuses to accept that! Subaru hops on Patrasche and hightails it out of there. Petelgeuse chases after him and wonders who the hell this guy is? You want to know who he is, huh? He’s Subaru Natsuki, Emilia’s loyal knight. Best not forget it! The volume ends with Subaru leading Petelgeuse to an area where Julius is waiting for them.
In Summary:
If at first you don’t succeed, then just die and try again. It ain’t easy being Subaru. Dying countless times must really do a number on his mental state. He’s been through a lot, that’s for sure. I still can’t forget the petrified expressions on Julius and Ferris’s faces when Subaru asked them to kill him. You could really feel their pain. Imagine going through that type of suffering over and over again. I do not envy Subaru. On the bright side, he learns each time from his deaths and puts that knowledge to good use. After dying in this volume, he manages to come back and set up a favorable situation to defeat Petelgeuse once and for all. It wouldn’t have been possible if this was his first rodeo. As I said, he’s putting that knowledge to good use. The question is will they really be able to defeat Petelgeuse? I guess we’ll find out in the next volume!
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 10th, 2019
MSRP: $13.00 (US), $17.00 (CAN)
