The Everlasting Contract (永遠の契約, Eien no Keiyaku) is the fourth arc of Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. It is preceded by Arc 3, Return to the Royal Capital, and followed by Arc 5, The Stars That Engrave History. In the web novel, the first chapter of Arc 4 released on April 20, 2013, and its last chapter was released on August 3, 2014. Arc 4 consists of 135 chapters, 4 interludes, and an appendix in the web novel, six light novel volumes, a manga adaptation made by Atori Haruno and Aikawa Yu, and an anime adaptation with twenty-five episodes.
Overview
Subaru is broken by the loss of Rem and returns to Roswaal Manor with Emilia and Otto Suwen, only to find the master of the mansion and his servants absent. In their place, Subaru and Emilia are greeted by a new maid who introduces herself as Frederica Baumann and points them towards a mysterious place referred to as the Sanctuary. Upon the group's arrival, they find themselves trapped in a forsaken village, located in the very depths of the Lost Forest of Kremaldy, where they find half of the residents of Arlam Village, Ram, and the master of the Sanctuary itself, Roswaal, and the badly wounded margrave instructs the two of them to carry out the Trials of the Sanctuary to liberate the demi-humans from the barrier. However, not only does Subaru find himself in a struggle against the Sanctuary's trials, but the situation becomes complicated as he is forced to overcome the coming assassins at the manor, the appearance of the Witches, and the arrival of one of the Three Great Witchbeasts.
Synopsis
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 10
- Main article: Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 10/Synopsis
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11
- Main article: Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11/Synopsis
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 12
- Main article: Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 12/Synopsis
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 13
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 14
- Main article: Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 14/Synopsis
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 15
- Main article: Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 15/Synopsis
Characters
Protagonists
Supporting Characters
Side Characters
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Antagonists
- Roswaal L. Mathers
- Elsa Granhiert
- Meili Portroute
- Great Rabbit
- Echidna
- Pandora (flashback)
- Regulus Corneas (flashback)
- Hector (flashback)
Adaptations
Adaptation Differences
Web Novel
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 10
- Prologue
- A flash forward to Subaru's meeting with Echidna is added.
- Chapter 1
- Due to the changes in Arc 3 Subaru is unaware of whether Beatrice remembers Rem, so he does not ask about her, and he instead just asks about her relationship to Roswaal, hoping to learn about his intentions.
- Although she still chooses to withhold information, Beatrice is a bit more helpful by giving Subaru a lead by telling him to head to the Sanctuary to find the answers to his questions.
- Emilia talks to Frederica while this is happening to learn more about the sanctuary itself.
- The Sanctuary and the forest surrounding it now have names, "Sanctuary of Kremaldy" and the "Lost Forest of Kremaldy" respectively.
- Chapter 2
- Subaru does not trick Otto into joining the camp and doesn't name him Internal Affairs Officer yet.
- The Sanctuary's barrier gains additional lore due to some changes which now makes unauthorized entrants get lost to keep outsiders away from the settlement.
- To circumvent this in the light novel, Frederica gives Emilia a glintstone to let her in.
- When entering the Sanctuary, the glintstone teleports Subaru near Echidna's grave where he meets a Ryuzu Meyer copy who seemingly guides him to the tomb. This leads to a few events being rearranged, and the pacing is faster than in the web novel.
- The exposition regarding Reid and Volcanica is removed. However, Echidna still states her soul is being held captive in the tomb. Although she mentions the existence of the other witches, Echidna leaves out that their souls also reside in the tomb.
- The meeting with Minerva, Typhon, and Sekhmet is moved to volume 11.
- Because the above doesn’t happen, Subaru gets over his instinctual fear of Echidna naturally instead rather than it being an effect of her tea boosting his compatibility with the Witch Factor of Sloth. It is also mentioned that a Witch Factor gave him resistance to the miasma, which is why he could enter the first time.
- Subaru's reasoning for not asking Echidna about how to cure Rem's condition is directly clarified instead of needing to be inferred.
- Subaru realizes that Garfiel and Frederica are related much faster.
- Chapter 3
- Suspicions are raised from everyone in the group towards Frederica after a discussion on the strange teleportation crystal given.
- Roswaal notes that the crystal is not needed to pass through the barrier.
- In the light novel, Subaru meets Ryuzu Bilma as the first truly sentient Ryuzu Meyer copy.
- Ryuzu is revealed to be a half-elf. This fact was not known in the web novel.
- The anti-liberation faction is mentioned earlier, and Frederica is suspected by Ram to be working with them if not a member herself.
- Emilia takes the lead in the 2nd half of the discussions with the Arlam villagers regarding their fate, improving their relationship with her for the first time.
- Chapter 4
- Because the POV does not leave Subaru, the Witch of Envy's appearance in the first trial is not seen as a result.
- Chapter 5
- Otto is not present during the meeting since logically he's still considered an outsider.
- Roswaal suspiciously mentions invoking a contract offhandedly before Subaru leaves the discussion in anger.
- Subaru hides the fact that he has the qualifications to take the trials.
- Garfiel makes his proposal to Subaru on the ride back to Arlam Village instead of the dawn of 3rd day, suggesting that he would agree to let the villagers go. He planned to talk to Subaru about taking the trial instead of Emilia.
- Garfiel gives Subaru his glintstone.
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 11
- Chapter 1
- In the 2nd loop, Subaru decides to reveal that he has the qualifications to take the trials. The scene proceeds much or less the same as the web novel e.g Garfiel being against Subaru taking the trial only with Otto being present this time.
- After the discussion is and over before he meets with Roswaal, Subaru strikes up a conversation with Garfiel and Ryuzu outside her house and to learn the reason they are against him taking the trial in Emilia's place. They outline their stakes in why Emilia must be the one to take the trial which continues the more overt political overtones like Subaru's conversation with Roswaal had in the first loop compared to the web novel.
- During his conversation with Roswaal, the latter surprisingly asks about Wilhelm and the result of the Subjugation of the White Whale. The small talk continues which contains much nuance and info, including referencing Julia, although not by name, that only those who have read Ex 2 and know about Roswaal's current circumstances would fully grasp. Subaru notices that his face is conflicted and oddly emotional through the exchange and doesn't quite buy Roswaal's insistence that unlike the previous generation he has no connection to Wilhelm, but he lets matter drop when Roswaal changes the subject of the discussion.
- Unlike in the web novel, Subaru brings up the idea of freeing the villagers to take pressure off of Emilia and discusses more about Frederica's motives. Roswaal agrees to support his idea and to convince Garfiel and Ryuzu about it on the condition that when he heads back to Arlam to tell the villagers that their families are safe, he brings along Ram with him for protection.
- The next morning, although clearly disgruntled, Ram leaves with Subaru on Patrasche. They have their normal back and forth until Subaru mentions the time he threw her. Ram has a strange reaction as if she some kind of headache, and Subaru later decides to use this opportunity to talk about Rem.
- Chapter 2
- In this section, while the scene, in general, follows the web novel, there are significant and numerous changes to the sequence of events, and the contents are far more chaotic.
- Subaru and Ram arrive at the village, then head for the mansion, where they are greeted by Petra. She tells them that Frederica is out in the woods, so they go to see Rem. The scene in Rem's room is the same as the web novel, except after a moment, a shocked Ram tells Subaru to leave so she can be alone with her. He obliges in hopes that some kind of emotional reaction will happen to restore her memories of Rem. He meets with Frederica in the hall, and she invites him for a chat and tea. The following scene is similar to the web novel, but instead of Subaru asking about her and Garfiel, he brings up the incident with the glintstone's teleportation after some probing. Frederica is baffled about that happening, but due to having taken an oath, she cannot talk about the circumstances around it. Ram joins the conversation and aggressively demands that Frederica spits out what she knows, even threatening to restrain and drag her to the Sanctuary to Subaru's shock, raising the tension throughout the room. Surprisingly, Frederica says there is no need for that and that she will come with them willingly.
- Just when everything has seemingly calmed down, Elsa suddenly appears with Petra in tow, her blade at her throat instead of alone in the hidden escape passageway like the web novel.
- Utterly terrified, Petra still manages to scream in audible hoarse whisper to "run" to the three of them. However, Ram and Frederica seize the opportunity to attack Elsa, the latter transforming her arms into bestial claws like Garfiel, rather than using knuckles as in the web novel. They manage to rescue Petra, and after a bit of combat, they escape the room whilst Subaru casts Shamak. Frederica breaks out of the window carrying everyone at the same time.
- They land safely in the courtyard, but the group notices they did not escape without a scratch. Subaru and Frederica in particular have numerous serious wounds from the fairly large skewers Elsa had thrown and hit them with under Shamak.
- They realize that Rem and Beatrice are still in the mansion and discuss their options. This leads to Subaru and Ram getting into an argument that Frederica defuses.
- Frederica suggests she will act as a decoy to distract Elsa while they go get Rem and Beatrice. She discards the rest of her ruined maid uniform and undergoes full beastifcation, charging right back into the floor they dropped out of.
- The three head to the east wing, and once there, Subaru notices yet again that all doors are open like in the previous loop. Before they can deduce what is going on, they are suddenly attacked by a Gulitylowe. An intense struggle ensues, and Petra leads them into a nearby empty room, dragging a shellshocked Subaru inside, followed by Ram slamming the door and barricading it. They have a brief conversation where they try to get their wits together. They come to suspect that the beast tamer from the Wolgarm incident is here. The respite is short as the Gultiylowe almost smashes through the entire door like paper as it can't quite enter the room due its size. Ram uses El Fura to blind it by cutting out the beast's eyes while Petra and Subaru escape out the window. Ram catches up and goes to fetch Patrasche from the stables. Petra removes the thick skewer in Subaru's shoulder and ties her handkerchief on to his wound to stop the bleeding as much as possible while they talk about the situation. Subaru, feeling down about how out of control the loop is, gets cheered up a bit thanks to Petra's courage. Unfortunately, the rather sweet moment ends abruptly when she suddenly gets crushed by a Rock Pig, while Subaru's vision goes red, and he blacks out.
- Subaru returns to consciousness and overhears Ram a bit, then finds himself being carried by Patrasche via her mouth. She is desperately running through the wooded area with a horde of witchbeasts at her heels. The Earth Dragon is quite wounded, and her endurance is at its limit. Just as soon as Subaru gets his bearing and identifies a strange weight in his hand, they are attacked by the now blinded Gulitylowe that kills Patrasche in one blow.
- Right before dying, Patrasche manages to throw Subaru into the 2nd floor of the east wing of the mansion.
- Subaru comes through but notices his terrible injuries, his crushed arm, twisted, broken leg, and light headache from so much blood loss. Finally, he screams upon noticing Petra's severed wrist in his hand.
- Elsa walks in, and the scene from there on is the same as the web novel, e.g. it's heavily implied that Frederica is dead by showing the bloodied blade, Subaru tries to enter Rem's room, but gets saved by Beatrice, etc.
- This sequence is also the same except for two things; Subaru tries to commit suicide by stabbing himself with a broken wooden chair leg instead of biting his tongue and falling unconscious. Beatrice saves him like in the web novel by tackling him and wrestling the stake out of his hands. She heals him a bit until he notices the gospel, then they have their emotional exchange until Subaru finally nears his limit from the huge loss of blood. Beatrice, who is fixated on her gospel and distraught, doesn't notice Elsa stepping into the room. Subaru tries one last-ditch effort to stop her by grabbing her leg, but she slices off his arm and proceeds to slay him, in contrast to the web novel where he gets teleported to Echidna's lab.
- Chapter 3
- Feeling betrayed and heartbroken by the events of the previous loop, Subaru returns once again, although unaware of the subtle changes occurring within himself due to his experiences: a lack of emotion.
- Touching upon that further, the next scene switches to just after he brings Emilia back to Ryuzu's house, when Otto starts up a conversation regarding his fairly uncharacteristic behavior.
- Subaru eventually brushes him off once Garfiel joins the conversation and asks Subaru to come with him.
- In a new scene, Garfiel guides Subaru through the woods until they meet with a white robed Ryuzu copy. They discuss the Sanctuary's Barrier as well as a part of Frederica and Garfiel's heritage until Subaru once again reveals he has the qualifications for the trials and wants to undergo them in Emilia's stead.
- However, Garfiel suddenly pounces on Subaru and hoists him by his neck. The white Ryuzu copy reveals herself as Ryuzu Shima. Garfiel then knocks Subaru out through choking the air out of him and proceeds to imprison him much like in the web novel.
- The following scene until Subaru's breakout with Otto is the same as the web novel, except that Garfiel reveals he can apparently smell the Witch's scent on him, and that during his 3-day captivity, Subaru has a nightmare that recounts the deaths of people he cares about.
- Chapter 4
- When Subaru comes out of his confinement, he notices the odd make of the building of which the description matches Echidna's lab instead of a random shack in the woods in the web novel.
- Opposed to the web novel, Ram isn't solely aiding Subaru on her own volition but on Roswaal's orders as well. However, enlisting Otto's help and drafting the plan to have Subaru escape the Sanctuary was still her idea. Because of this, he asks her to bring him to Roswaal which leads to a new scene.
- Subaru asks about Beatrice's and the Witch Cult's Gospels. Roswaal provides the same exposition about them that Beatrice would have in the web novel. Additionally, he brings up the Book of Wisdom, marking this the first time it has come up in the narrative, while notably emitting a dark and cold feeling which chills Subaru similar to when Wilhelm reacts to the news of the White Whale. Although Subaru is inquiring, Roswaal simply brushes him off and returns to his normal state. Lastly, he ends the final part of the conversation by telling Subaru to tell Beatrice he is "That Person" so that he would gain her cooperation.
- The chapter returns to the escape, and Subaru meets up Ram, Otto, and Patrasche. Garfiel appears and the scene goes the same as in the web novel, except there's no POV switch to Ram after Subaru and Otto both leave her, and the Garfiel confrontation is off-screened.
- Arlam Village's residents have greater involvement here because they're now helping Subaru to escape instead of going with him.
- As Subaru nears the entrance of the barrier, Garfiel, now in tiger form, appears with an exploding shockwave. Subaru pleads with him to spare the villagers and take his life instead. Otto gets killed by taking the blow originally aimed at Subaru like in the web novel, bar the fact the latter doesn't subconsciously use Invisible Providence against Garfiel. The villagers attempt to aid Subaru, but Garfiel easily slaughters them while a half-dead Patrasche appears and grabs Subaru from behind then runs away with him.
- Garfiel gives chase, and his speed proves to be superior to the Earth Dragon. Using the last bit of strength she has, Patrasche tosses Subaru toward the barrier before getting bisected. However, as soon as Subaru passes through it, Frederica's glintstone glows and teleports him instead of him being knocked out like in the web novel after landing somewhere in the forest.
- Subaru winds up back in the Sanctuary in Echidna's lab. Frustrated and at a loss, he throws away the glintstone. Subaru makes his way to the entrance of the facility where he discovers that it is the morning of the fourth day and that everything is covered in snow.
- He reaches the Sanctuary again after some time, in which he can't find a single soul and instead encounters the Great Rabbit that ends up eating him alive, just like in the web novel.
- Chapter 5
- Because Roswaal had done so earlier, Echidna does not mention the Book of Wisdom. Instead, Subaru deduces she learned about Return by Death by reading his memories, which she admits afterwards.
- Echidna's circumstances with Volcanica that were removed from the first trial are mentioned here.
- Additionally, she mentions her body was destroyed. Whether this is metaphorical or literal is not known.
- The scenes introducing Typhon and Minerva are also moved here from the first tea party. Sekhmet’s remains omitted.
- The damages wrought by Typhon to Subaru are much more severe here as his spiritual body begins breaking apart with cracks and fissures opening all over it. Typhon also destroyed his legs, making him fall to the ground.
- Daphne does not use her Authority, as she doesn't reveal her eye, which results in Subaru not eating his own arm.
- Because of the above, Echidna’s inquiry about the oddness of his reaction afterward is direct between him and Typhon instead.
- Chapter 6
- A new scene with Roswaal takes place, in which he reveals his Gospel during his cryptic monologue before he is finally eroded and devoured by the Witch of Envy’s shadows.
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 12
- Chapter 1
- The Witch of Envy chases Subaru and Garfiel until they get far enough away. She then suddenly turns her attention towards the mansion, where she intends to go in order to devour whatever is left of Subaru's attachments.
- Unlike in the web novel, Subaru actually gets swallowed by the Witch of Envy's shadows which start destroying his sense of reason and dissolving his physical and mental connection between his mind and body. He almost becomes permanently mixed among the numerous Witch of envy's memories, thoughts, and feelings that are remaining fragments of all victims she swallowed, until the handkerchief Echidna enchanted activates. His sense of being temporarily restored, Subaru uses the opportunity to commit suicide like in the web novel, narrowly avoiding an ultimate end.
- Chapter 2
- Because Subaru keeps his memories when he "Returns by Death", he retained his experience from the battle against the Witch of Envy in the last loop as well as the fragmented memories he gained by his near assimilation by her. Enlisting Ram's help to distract Garfiel so that the latter can't interfere, Subaru goes to search for the laboratory, finds it, and manages to open a door with Frederica's glintstone thanks to the victims' memories from the previous loop, which is a contrast to the web novel, where Beatrice had earlier randomly teleported him there instead.
- During the conversation between Ryuzu Bilma and Subaru, it is noted that the first Ryuzu clone who inherited fragments of Echidna's knowledge and power was slain by Roswaal J. Mathers instead of by the Witch of Greed.
- After the long discussion with Bilma at her house, on the way back to the residential area of Sanctuary, a new scene happens where Subaru runs into Emilia out for night scroll to clear her mind where a new conversation takes place.
- After that, Subaru goes to the cathedral where another new scene happens, this time with Otto.
- Subaru writes the letter to Emilia and leaves the Sanctuary much earlier than his conversation with Garfiel.
- Chapter 3
- Subaru arrives in the mansion earlier once again and successfully convinces Frederica and Petra to escape to Arlam Village, thus making their deaths happen in the village rather than the mansion in the web novel.
- Frederica talks about some of her history with Garfiel here which deals with why she left.
- The conversation between Beatrice and Subaru is mostly the same, bar the exposition regarding the gospels as Roswaal had already provided it. The skirmish with Elsa, however, is a bit different because Subaru and Beatrice manage to escape from the manor after Beatrice's first Shamak. Elsa also mentions as a response to Frederica and Petra leaving the mansion that she and Meili split the targets between them.
- On the way out of the mansion, Subaru notices some smoke coming from the village and rushes towards it with fear that he may be too late. He runs into Meili on the way who introduces herself as "Meili Portroute", unlike in the web novel where she didn't appear until the last loop, nor did she have a last name. Meili confirms that Frederica and Petra are dead, as are likely Rem, Patrache, and the villagers.
- Elsa catches up to and tries to attack Beatrice by surprise as the latter blocks the strike with magic and counterattacks with Minya, which blasts Elsa almost entirely into pieces just like the web novel.
- Beatrice then prepares to finish off Meili, but Subaru objects due her being a child, which leads to both of the girls refuting his plea. Shortly after, Beatrice saves Subaru by suddenly pushing him away, and she gets stabbed in the back by Elsa's blade, just like in the web novel.
- Dumbfounded, Subaru inquires if Elsa is immortal, but Elsa denies it and mentions that she got this power from a rather malicious person.
- A few moments later, Elsa gouges his eye out much like what Garfiel did in a previous loop in the web novel, but Beatrice, lying on the ground as she is meeting her end, stretches her hand out toward Subaru and uses what little power she has left to teleport Subaru via the glintstone he had on him.
- Subaru comes to find himself inside the laboratory once again. He wraps his torn jacket sleeve around his left-eye socket and head. When he leaves the facility, he comes face to face with the snowbound sanctuary yet again, this time in the middle of a snowstorm.
- Chapter 4
- Because Subaru had entrusted Rem to Frederica earlier as she and Petra left for the village, the small scene of Subaru carrying Rem to the Sanctuary does not happen.
- Likewise, because Subaru was teleported by Beatrice instead of being spared by Elsa like in the web novel, the mention of Subaru burying Frederica and Petra's bodies in the village does not occur, nor does a strange unexplained pile of flesh appear since Subaru does not go there before sanctuary.
- Subaru uses his authority as an Apostle of Greed to summon one of the nearby Ryuzu clones, which he named Pico, to guide him through the snowstorm.
- Emilia does not receive Subaru's letter, so their dialogue at the tomb is changed slightly to reflect that. However, there are no consequences on the outcome of her deteriorated mental state, nor does it change the overall conversation.
- During Subaru's confrontation with Roswaal, the events of Memory Snow are referenced and now play a role in the plot here. Subaru also does not summon the Ryuzu clones to apprehend Roswaal as he is generally too battered by the events.
- Chapter 5
- Out of the 7 timelines seen in the web novel, only 4 are shown in the Light Novel during Subaru's second trial:
- Subaru's twelfth death, the second suicide at the end of Arc 3. It cuts away before Subaru's body possession by the Witch of Envy and Puck's attack which freezes the whole room.
- Subaru's eleventh death, the death at hands of Julius and Ferris in Volume 8 and episode 23 of the anime.
- Subaru's seventh death, the first suicide at the cliff in the last chapter of Volume 2 and episode 7 of the anime.
- Subaru's ninth death, the death where Puck freezes him in Volume 6 and episode 18 of the anime. The scene shows the battle between Reinhard and Puck that would have occurred immediately afterward.
- Due to the omission of the timeline in which the Sloth Subjugation Unit is killed by the hands of one of Petelgeuse's fingers from the light novels, the corresponding alternate timeline was also removed from the trial.
- The short post chapter 71 intermission where the witches discuss parallel worlds is omitted, although Echidna's discussion with Subaru still remains in Chapter 6.
- Out of the 7 timelines seen in the web novel, only 4 are shown in the Light Novel during Subaru's second trial:
- Chapter 6
- Echidna's monologue is shorter but still takes up 4 pages.
- Although the sequence of events is the same as in the web novel during the confrontation with Echidna, by the end of it, all the witches are present.
- When Satella appears, everyone's tension is very high except for Typhon who greets her cheerily, giving nod to the fact that she and Minerva were the closest to her in the past.
- Minerva's observation about Satella directing her jealousy towards her if she steps in-between her and Subaru has been removed.
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 13
- Chapter 1
- The chapter covers the rest of the third tea party, though some of the dialogue at the beginning is rewritten.
- Unlike in the web novel, Echidna does not mention that Satella was the one who consumed half the world and devoured the six witches instead of her Witch of Envy personality.
- Daphne jumps out of her Centipede coffin and uses it to restrain Typhon while comforting Sekhmet. It's noted that Typhon's Authority is ineffective against it because it does not have a mind, making it the perfect counter.
- The post-Chapter 79 interlude is entirely omitted.
- Chapter 2
- Most of Subaru's long monologue about his next step is omitted, and the scene jumps almost immediately to the conversation with Roswaal, which starts the same, but has major differences.
- Roswaal spends less time talking about how useless Emilia is. Instead, his dialogue is more dedicated towards convincing Subaru to trample on her will for her sake.
- As his convincing fails, Roswaal basically confesses straight out that he is the one who ordered the assassins to attack the mansion.
- Instead of throwing threats at Roswaal like in the web novel, Subaru begs him to stop the attacks.
- Roswaal has a new speech saying that Ram and Subaru are his only hopes in this world and that he sincerely believes in him.
- Chapter 3
- The bet between Roswaal and Subaru is changed, causing the contents to be changed as well.
- Subaru and Roswaal make a contract regarding their failure conditions as in the web novel, but the difference is that Subaru is not aware of it is a soul-binding contract.
- Subaru’s victory condition is changed from “I will get Garfiel on our side and make Emilia pass the trials” to “I will prevent the disasters at both the Sanctuary and the Mansion”.
- The time limit for the snowfall and mansion attack is in three days instead of five.
- Ram spies on the discussion using her clairvoyance and then leaves Subaru a clue about the source of Emilia troubles with the trials.
- During Subaru and Otto's briefing on the progress of their plans, they both reaffirm that getting Garfiel on their side is a necessary step for liberating Sanctuary, and they begin laying the groundwork for that part despite Subaru's reluctance.
- As Subaru arrives at the laboratory, he meets Ryuzu Alma, and they talk about various things similar to the web novel (what Ryuzu knows about Roswaal’s plan, the clone system, how the whole “some people are against the Sanctuary’s liberation” was a lie, how Garfiel challenged the trial as a child and was brought out by another Ryuzu, Garfiel's mother, etc). This replaces the scene of Subaru running around and talking to different Ryuzu copies in the web novel.
- Subaru meets with Shima sometime afterward, just like he did with Theta in the web novel, and gains her cooperation, but it happens off-screen as most was covered by his dialogue with Alma, while other parts of it where rearranged into Volume 14. This occurs after a new scene with Garfiel in chapter 4 spoken about below. The Sanctuary's past is also moved to Volume 14 instead.
- There is a new scene where Subaru wants to talk about Emilia's trials with Puck.
- The conversation between Puck and Subaru happens off-screen.
- Chapter 4
- There is a really short new scene added where Puck forces himself out of his crystal to say goodbye to Emilia.
- There is a new scene added where Garfiel wakes up in the middle of the night and talks to Shima about Emilia losing Puck.
- Contrary to the web novel, Garfiel is completely aware about Shima being different from the other three main Ryuzu Meyers.
- When Garfiel reaches the lab, he meets Otto. After some talking, he punches Otto away and starts to leave, but on the way, he realizes that he lost his glintstone, which Otto stole from him.
- There are added scenes from Garfiel's perspective, to make it easier to understand his thoughts and perspective compared to the web novel.
- Emilia is still shone going through effects of experiencing the fragments of her pre-Trial recollections, but we don't see the scenes themselves until Volume 14.
- Chapter 5
- The entire fight between Ram, Otto Suwen, and Garfiel Tinzel, has been streamlined considerably from the web novel.
- Chapter 6
- Some additions were made to Subaru’s inner monologue to clarify or add to his thoughts.
- Chapter 7
- The fight between Subaru and Garfiel has been slightly streamlined.
- Subaru is direct to the point during the fight, he and questions if Garfiel still hates that his mother abandoned him. Which caused Garfiel to tell him what happened to his mother.
- Subaru uses Invisible Providence for the first time, hitting Garfiel square in the face, sending him flying backwards as opposed to the web novel where Subaru subconsciously used it first in a previous loop.
- Chapter 8
- The conversation Emilia had with Roswaal after Subaru's fight with Garfiel is moved to volume 14.
- During Garfiel's trial, Echidna doesn't show up to talk to him, resulting in all the dialogue with her being omitted, while the rest remained the same.
- The small conversations Emilia has with Ram and Otto before going to her trial are omitted, but the one with Subaru is kept, and everything else is the same up until Emilia meets Echidna and announces herself as a Witch while making a pose.
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 14
- Chapter 1
- Emilia's pre-trial recollection scenes that were previously scattered through the last third of the web novel are combined and shown here.
- The very first scene from Bonds of Ice where Emilia and Puck first meet, is added.
- Echidna describes the trial as a "physiological preparation".
- Echidna has a somewhat surprised reaction to the seal.
- Petelgeuse and Fortuna have additional dialogue which mentions that once, a long time ago, Fortuna had a fever, and Petelgeuse nursed her back to health.
- The surroundings of the seal are different from the web novel counterpart; it's now surrounded by white trees and looks like a sacred place.
- Chapter 2
- The flashback is significantly extended.
- The original Ryuzu Meyer was an apostle of greed. She was twelve, and Roswaal, who was four years older than her, was sixteen.
- Ryuzu considers Roswaal as her senpai, and she thinks that he and Beatrice have a brother-sister relationship.
- The original Roswaal's name was Roswaal A. Mathers.
- Hector gets a more descriptive appearance and his conversation with Echidna is also longer. Echidna casting a fire ball has also been omitted in the light novel. However, the two still seem to fight.
- The goodbye scene between Beatrice and Ryuzu mentions that the crystal contains a lot of Mana, with the addition of Beatrice bringing up teaching Ryuzu to read and write.
- Chapter 3
- Pandora's line "For the fulfilment of cardinal desire of us Witch Cultists," is changed to "shall we steal the seal and the key?" making her goals more direct.
- Petelgeuse's dialogue before being granted the Seat of Sloth is expanded. Now, Petelgeuse expresses his reasonings for his actions, as well as the reason he's willing to subject himself to such a cruel demise.
- Petelgeuse's finger states that Regulus is the leader of the Radical Faction of the Witch Cult, which is not present in the web novel.
- The conversation between one of Petelgeuse's finger and Archi has additional lines mainly about how there shouldn't be more than 7 witches aside the Witch of Envy who is sealed in a desert far from here and the six others who are dead.
- Child Emilia has a much clearer reason for heading into the inner forest where the seal is.
- Chapter 4
- Fortuna gives Emilia her hair ornament.
- The light novel mentions that during the time Emilia and Puck lived together in Elior Forest, she would religiously polish and talk to ice statues without understanding the guilt that accompanied it until now.
- Chapter 5
- The secret and fifth Ryuzu copy which Subaru named Omega in the web novel doesn't appear as her existence is omitted. Nonetheless, the conversation between Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel is the same.
- There is a slight rearrangement and some different lines, but the confrontation between Roswaal, Subaru, and Garfiel is otherwise the same as the web novel.
- Roswaal does not destroy the room he was in following the trio's departure.
- There is a new scene where Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel discuss what to do about the attack on the manor.
- A scene is added where the villagers see Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel off as they depart for the manor which contains a lot of set-up for the Volume 15.
- Subaru tosses the glintstone that Puck is in to Ram instead of Garfiel giving an unnamed colorless crystal to Emilia in the web novel.
- Chapter 6
- Emilia and Roswaal have their conversation from Chapter 114, which has some additions, but otherwise stays largely the same.
- Roswaal and Ram have an additional conversation about his plans after Emilia leaves for her second trial.
- The previously skipped scene where Ram made a deal with Otto is recalled here via flashback with the conditions slightly change: 1) Slow down Garfiel but leave the final confrontation to her. 2) Tell Subaru to think of ways to cheer Emilia up. 3) Don't tell Subaru why she is joining the gamble.
- Ram tracks down Roswaal through her clairvoyance and prepares to confront him. Puck emerges from the glintstone to assist her for his own reasons relating all the way back to Bonds of Ice.
Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 15
- Chapter 2
- Archi transforms into Echidna near the end of the second trial.
- Chapter 3
- Instead of running off with Rem, Frederica participates in the mansion battle by holding Meili off while the others escape.
- Chapter 4
- Emilia's conversation with Sekhmet is replaced with her talking to Minerva instead. The scene is subsequently entirely different.
- Chapter 5
- Garfiel and Frederica fight off Elsa & Meili together.
- Frederica saves Meili from the debris that nearly crushes her.
- There are also smaller changes that make the fight more violent.
- Chapter 6
- Roswaal displays some new magical spells and abilities, such as his Twofold, Threefold, Fourfold, and Fivefold Magic, which allowed him to cast multiple higher spells simultaneously using various parts of his body. Furthermore, a new ability is added, which allows Roswaal to rewrite the composition of a spell and absorb the spell's mana.
- Roswaal reveals that he had meddled with Emilia and Puck's contract during her depression in Arc 3, which was the reason for why Puck could not appear suddenly after returning from the Royal Capital in contrast to the web novel where Puck earlier told Subaru during their conversation that Emilia was subconsciously preventing him from materializing. Roswaal learned to do this thanks to his close relationship with Beatrice.
- Puck reveals he knows Hector and compares his way of talking with Roswaal's.
- Puck makes an illusion of his Star Beast from which rattles Roswaal for a moment, prompting him to cast his strongest spell at the illusion (he notes he was unable to use Sixfold magic, his trump card; therefore, his chances against Beast of the End were slim).
- Puck saves the villagers from the sudden snowstorm by making walls of ice to protect them with his remaining mana, off-screen.
- The scene between Emilia, the Arlam villagers, and the Sanctuary residents has been modified slightly with extend dialogue.
- There is a new scene with Emilia and the Ryuzu copies. The copies are obstructing the overseer Ryuzu, so that Ryuzu Shima can fulfill her role.
- Ryuzu Shima gives Emilia the glintstone that Puck is in before saying her goodbyes to other clones, after which she disappears together with the giant mana crystal containing the original Ryuzu Meyer, finally completing the sanctuary's role and bringing the barrier down in the process.
- Chapter 7
- Rather than using Al Huma to trap the Great Rabbit, it is replaced by a new combined spell called "Cocytus" created by Subaru and Emilia to trap the witchbeast. Afterward, Beatrice proceeds to use Al Shamak just like in the web novel.
- Interlude
- A new and clearer explanation about oaths, contracts, and covenants is added.
- Roswaal reveals the oath and the sealed curse engraved on his skin and soul, which was the result of losing the bet with Subaru, who was unaware of that extra per-caution. The rest is the same.
- When Subaru is at Echidna's Tomb, Roswaal does not show up, hence the exposition about Od Lagna does not happen, and the dialogue about who is the mastermind who hired Meili is moved to the Final Chapter. Beatrice appears after that, and the rest is the same.
- Final Chapter
- Emilia does not talk about the rest of her past to Subaru, which mentioned the Dragon's Blood. Instead, they make a promise to talk about it in her room, after the ceremony. Note that this exposition was already covered in Volume 4 of the light novel.
- Although the meat pie incident is not included in the light novel, it is still referenced, and it is therefore still canon.
- Roswaal explains to Subaru that he never hired Meili, while in the web novel, he explains it when Subaru was at Echidna's tomb.
- Extra
- In the light novel, Echidna resurrects herself through both the body of the original Ryuzu Meyer as well as the body of Ryuzu Shima who became her host following Garfiel's first trial, whereas it is implied in the web novel that the fifth Ryuzu copy as well as the original Ryuzu were both used for Echidna's resurrection, as the latter stated Subaru already gave her a name. When Ryuzu Shima entered the tomb, Echidna latched a part of her soul onto her, and for the next decade, she steadily poured more and more of her soul into Shima, with the goal eventually taking it over and escaping the Sanctuary. She also names her herself Omega based on Subaru's knowledge to emphasize the idea that she is the last clone.
Trivia
- The manga adaptation of Arc 4 is named The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed (聖域と強欲の魔女, Seiiki to Gōyoku no Majo).
- In promotional material, Arc 4 is known as the Sanctuary arc (聖域編, Seiiki-hen).
- While not the longest arc in the light novel, Arc 4 currently stands as the longest arc in the web novel, just barely beating out Arc 7 in word length.
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