Arc 4: The Everlasting Contract
Subaru has finally accomplished all of his goals having finally bested Petelguese, aided in the effort to defeat the White Whale, but has learned he can't save everyone. He returns to Roswaal's mansion with Emelia victorious, but soon discovers that half of the villagers haven't returned from a place called sanctuary, home to the tomb of the Witch of Greed.
Tropes
- Backstory: Several characters have their pasts revealed including Subaru, Emilia (Not counting The Frozen Bond), Roswaal, and Beatrice.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The previous arc was darker in tone to the previous ones, which were not light themselves. However, it only gets worse as Subaru has to deal with increasingly impossible odds, active saboteurs, more loved ones dying, and his mind nearly snapping for good.
- Death Is Cheap: Subverted. While Subaru can do this using Return by Death, the arc helps him move away from this by valuing his life. Going forward, he doesn't casually throw his life away when things go wrong.
- I'm Having Soul Pains: Using a limited version of Unseen Hands causes Subaru immense pain and will eat away his soul and mind if he uses it too much.
- Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: The arc. Every question Subaru has gets answered with more questions or answers that create more questions. Even the end of the arc does not answer some pressing questions, leaving them open.
- Laser-Guided Karma: At the end of the arc, after everyone is saved, all the characters aside from Roswaal and Meili beat up Roswall as comeuppance for setting them up to die. The only reason people hold back from doing worse is because they need his backing for Emilia.
- Late to the Tragedy: Invoked. Roswaal set up the attack on the mansion so that either the attack comes after Subaru returns or three days pass, whichever comes first. On the Sanctuary side, he casts a large blizzard using the supply of mana within Ryuzu's crystal to attract the Great Rabbit to kill everyone the moment he decides the current loop is too forgone.
- Loophole Abuse: Seemingly played straight, before getting tragically Defied. Subaru cannot tell anybody about Return By Death, lest the black hand of Satella appear and crush their heart. However, as the nature of Echidna's Dream Castle is effectively a sealed-off dimension containing her preserved soul, and the fact that she's already dead, Subaru discovers that he can actually tell her about his power without any penalty being incurred, to his immense relief and catharsis. However, upon existing the Dream Castle, Subaru is confronted by Satella herself, who possessed Emilia's comatose body to partially manifest herself as a black shadowy mass that seeks to consume and destroy everything in the Sanctuary in punishment for Subaru telling Echidna, even if she can't punish Echidna directly, eventually forcing Subaru to loop once more.
- The Nose Knows: In one loop, Garfiel smells the witch's scent having grown stronger after Subaru left Echina's tomb and combined with him talking about completing the trials (something he doesn't want) causes him to imprison Subaru on suspicion of being a witch cultist.
- The Reveal:
- After going through multiple loops and having obstacle after obstacle appear to completely shut down his efforts, Subaru finally comes face-to-face with the mastermind behind everything, Roswaal. While Subaru certainly suspects his motivations, he is utterly floored at the length's Roswall has gone to simply to force his hand into contracting with Echinda. including setting up all the deaths of everyone around him.
- In-universe, there's the reveal of "that person" for Beatrice, no one. Beatrice has waited for nearly 400 years for someone who will take her out of the library per her mother's instructions and that person does not exist. Anyone could have sufficed if Beatrice so chose, even choosing to abandon her duties was valid, and Echidna only wanted to see who she would choose, just because.
- There Are No Therapists: Thanks to the nature of the Dream Castle, Subaru can finally talk with Echidna about Return By Death. He's so grateful at this, he breaks down over finally being able to talk to someone about what he's going through. Unfortunately, this leaves him psychologically vulnerable and even when faced with Echidna having clearly manipulated him, he nearly contracts with her to have her within him.
- Sharing a Body: Echidna is actually sharing a body with the other witches of sin in the Dream Castle and they can only come out if she allows them to. This turns out to be a lie used to manipulate Subaru and all the witches can come out at once if they so choose.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
- A strong theme present in the arc. Subaru, Emilia, and Garfiel are all the most noteworthy examples, with the problems faced only being solved after they learn it in a variety of ways.
- In a heartwarming manner, Rem having told this to Subaru last arc, tips him off that someone is impersonating her after "Rem" comforts him by saying he can rely on her.
