(A/N) If it helps, here's a sketch I made in Excel of the 4th floor! There's a few things on here that haven't come up in the story yet, but that's fine.

Anyway, thanks for waiting, and I hope you enjoy!

After an exhausting hour or so, everyone finally reached the fourth floor again, and Omega immediately broke out of her immense concentration and began talking.

"For those of you who are conscious, I believe that I found a way to maximize our efficiency while minimizing risks," she concisely explained.

Not wanting to waste what precious time everyone had, she quickly summarized her plan in 20 words. "(Y/N), myself, and Meili will go to the library. Ram, rest until tomorrow, when you will face the third trial."

You nodded your head, and both Meili and Ram, the latter of whom was still in your arms, looked slightly discontent with what they heard.

Meili looked really tired, but she decided not to complain about being sent back to the library. On the other hand, Ram looked to be in an even worse condition, but she clearly didn't want to rest.

The oni shifted in your arms, indicating that she wanted you to put her down.

"Sorry," you said to her, "but I agree with Omega. If you're still in this shape after getting healed with magic, you need to rest. If it helps, think of this as you saving your energy to beat the last Trial on the first attempt."

"Then what of your health?" Ram objected, grasping at straws to keep herself from sitting out of action for the remainder of the day. "If you are too weak to walk down stairs without the assistance of magic, then what makes you more qualified to ignore rest than I am?"

"Well..."

Omega butted in to give Ram an answer. "Under better circumstances, I would certainly force (Y/N) to rest now, but I believe that he has recovered enough to be of assistance. For you, the small benefit we would gain by bringing you to the Great Library is vastly outweighed by the advantage we would gain once you have properly healed and rested."

"In that case, heal me now!" Ram objected. "I am not so weak that fatigue would wear me down!"

Omega shook your head. "You know as well as I do that your injuries did not come from Reid Astrea. I have not thoroughly examined your body, but I assume that your status as a hornless oni is the cause of your injuries. Because of this, healing magic can only remove the symptoms. You must rest and regain mana from Roswaal once he is awake, since your Gate cannot absorb mana from the atmosphere like the rest of us can."

Ram bit her lip. She wanted to talk back more, but she knew that Echidna was right. Since she didn't have her horn, she couldn't absorb any mana naturally, and using as much magic as she did against Reid really pushed her body to its limits.

With that said, the last thing she wanted at the moment was for Roswaal to be close to her. Usually, the process of him transferring mana into her body was a rather intimate one, and Ram wanted no such thing from the filthy clown anymore.

With desperation, the oni quietly asked, "Omega-"

Ram shook her head, and she decided to properly look into Omega's eyes as she made this request. "Echidna," she said sincerely, "Can you be the one to provide me mana? I understand if you cannot forgive my words from the past two days, as this is not an apology, but I will not stand for Roswaal to get close to me now."

Omega stroked her chin, considering Ram's words.

"As you know, I am quite keen on preserving as much of my mana as possible," your partner explained, "but I suppose if I rely on Shaula a bit more tonight to assist me, then I may be able to spare mana for you."

Ram nodded her head in thanks, but before she could get through the entire motion, Omega added, "-on one condition."

Your ears perked up as you heard this, and Ram looked skeptical.

"What will it be?" the maid asked cautiously.

Omega smirked. "It's quite simple, really. All I ask is that, while you are operating on the mana that I have so graciously provided, you will obey my every command."

Ram gritted her teeth together. It was clear that Omega wanted to create a binding oath between them for the time being, but even if she wasn't some variant of Echidna, Ram would still hesitate to agree to something with such absolute terms.

"What are you planning?" the oni asked, an edge coming back to her voice.

"Do not think too deeply of it," Omega assured, "I merely want to guarantee that you will not do anything rash within the next few days. You see, the more variables I can control, the less uncertain the future becomes."

Ram, who was still in your arms at this point, looked up at you to see what you thought about this. Even when she was usually so sure about herself, everything happening in the Pleiades Watchtower had shaken her up.

You couldn't hear Echidna's thoughts anymore, but you could tell that she was more or less telling the truth. If you had to guess, then she definitely had some other motives, but nothing so big that it would make Ram feel upset.

You'd find out eventually, since one of the terms of your contract stated that Echidna couldn't hide anything from you, and if she did, she had to give you a reason behind it.

In short, you had absolute faith in Echidna, and Ram just needed to learn to trust her here.

Honestly, being suspicious of Echidna was generally a good thing, but without Subaru around and with everyone's lives at stake, trusting the Witch of Greed was the best thing you could probably do.

You conveyed this to Ram, and she reluctantly agreed to Omega's terms. In the end, saving Rem was the most important thing in the world, and if she had to spend a few days doing anything that Echidna commanded in order to remember her twin sister, then so be it.

"Now," Ram ordered, "put me down, (Y/N). You have held me long enough to account for the rest of your life."

You gently put her down, and as her unsteady feet made contact with the hard, stone floor, Omega was already guiding the injured maid toward the Green Room, where she would complete the mana transfer.

To you, Omega said, "I am sure that you are hungry, so please go to the dining hall and eat. In fact," she added as she turned to Shaula, "go with Shaula and Meili. This is a great opportunity for them to eat as well, and they can ensure that you eat your fill."

"Yay!" Shaula exclaimed as she hopped around with Meili still sitting on her shoulders, "it's lunch time again!"

You saw that Meili's body was flopping quite dangerously from its spot atop Shaula, so you put your hands out as a sign for the Apprentice to calm down.

"I know that both you and Meili think it's fun, but that's gonna hurt if you do it too much," you chided.

Shaula huffed and stood still again, but there was no response from Meili.

In fact... it wasn't just that Shaula's hops were kind of jarring. The Mabeast User was completely hunched over, and her body had been completely rag-dolling before Shaula stopped.

"Shaula!" Omega commanded as she noticed this too, "Gently put the child down and take her to the Green Room! Something is amiss!"

Shaula looked very confused, but when she dropped the unconscious Roswaal onto the ground and grabbed Meili off of her shoulders, she could easily tell that something was definitely wrong. The little human that she was holding didn't feel like she was totally asleep, but she definitely wasn't awake.

There were unnatural twitches across her small body, and given how weird they felt, this could only mean one thing.

"Yes, Auntie!" The mabeast girl quickly dashed over to the Green Room, and both her and Meili were inside before Omega and Ram could take more than a couple steps.

"What was that?!" you asked in shock. "She was fine just a few minutes ago!"

"It must have been the miasma," Omega answered quickly, "and I believe it has merged with her fatigue."

Hearing this, you ran past the two women, around the dining hall and toward the Green Room as if there was something that you could do.

From behind, Omega called out,  "(Y/N), do not enter. The maximum occupancy is five living creatures, and I believe there are already four inside."

Four?

Shaula and Meili already went in, and Rem was being kept in there, so that made three. Who was the fourth? Did you forget somebody?

As if she read your mind, Omega said, "Patrasche. She counts as one of the five allowed inside, and I believe that she is also in the Green Room. I will go inside to inspect Meili, and Ram will enter after somebody exits."

This left no room for Ram to argue, so the maid slowly and reluctantly propped herself against the wall once she and Omega caught up with you. As the stone door was opened, you heard Meili's voice, and that only filled you with relief for a moment, because as good as it was to hear her awake, the voice you heard sounded like it shouldn't have been coming from her body.

A deranged cackle came from the young teenager's throat before the heavy door was closed on its own. At the same time, Omega's spell on you was disengaged, and your knees buckled at the unexpected loss of support.

Ram noticed, and she carefully slid her back down the coarse stone wall until she was sitting, insinuating that you should do the same.

The oni sighed as you tenderly sat down next to her. She tucked her knees in before resting her chin down on them. "(Y/N)," she asked , "Do you trust Echidna?"

You looked at her with a hint of exasperation, not wanting to start this whole conversation here and in a worse mood now that Meili was being affected by the miasma. "I've already told you. I've been contracted with her for about a year now, and I trust her with my life. Omega isn't the same as the Echidna you hate. Didn't you just see how worried she was about Meili?"

"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough for you-" Ram mumbled. "Do you have enough trust in Echidna that you will blindly follow her like this? As it is now, we will slowly die, one by one. The little girl is already a lost cause, and-"

"Do you really think that?"

Ram gave you a side eye, not appreciating the interruption. Goading you on, she questioned, "Hmm? Do you honestly believe that we will all escape with our lives? The miasma has already taken a victim, and what if I perish before clearing the third Trial? Do you actually believe that Reid Astrea will be defeated without another miracle?"

At this, you clenched your fist and glared at Ram with disbelief. "What's wrong with you?! Just now, you were upset that you couldn't help us for the rest of today, and now you sound like you've given up! Sure, things don't look the best right now, but can't you at least act like you have some hope? You might not be able to tell, but when all you do is nag on us and point out the worst of things, it gets really hard to feel like we have a chance! So if you want to help, can't you like, I dunno, at least act like you think we won't die?!"

"Such deception would leave a bitter taste in my mouth," she said, her expression not changing. "That is just how I am. I speak the truth, and I do not care how you feel about it."

You shook your head, which was beginning to hurt from everything that was happening. "In what world is it true that we'll all die here? There's a difference between being realistic and narcissistic, so why can't you just accept that Omega's plan is our best shot at success, and that she isn't out to get you? I promise she's on our side."

"No, I believe you," Ram replied. As you were slowly getting upset, she was still calm, and with honesty, she admitted, "I will no longer doubt that the Witch of Greed's plans are made in our best interest, and while I do not know what 'narcissistic' means, I only say these things for one reason-"

She paused, and after taking a strained breath, she continued. "If fate does not treat me well, please promise that you will do whatever it takes to ensure my sister's survival. If need be, I am prepared to lay down my life for her, so I will trust you with Rem's well-being if Echidna's plan does not succeed."

These words left you speechless, and you couldn't even begin to search for the right words to respond with. At first, it sounded like Ram was about to start another argument, but she suddenly blindsided you with this grave topic.

Ram sighed again. "If time is the enemy that subdues us, you will be the last to remain. I have witnessed your survival in situations such as this, so I will rely on you to live and save Rem. If you must abandon Shaula, then so be it. No matter what, you must protect my little sister and return the memories of her to this world. Please, promise me you will do this."

"I-I..." You looked away from Ram and crossed your arms. "You're not going to die, Ram. And we'll get out of here before Meili gets too much worse."

"(Y/N). Promise me."

You bit your lip and forced your eyes to meet Ram's. Firmly, you repeated, "You're not going to die. I'll make sure of it."

Ram shook her head. "Promise me the same for Rem. You and Barusu are the only ones who remember her, so please make sure that you get her out of here and wake her up so that Emilia-sama, Garf, and everybody else will remember her too."

"I-"

The stone door jarringly grated against the floor as it suddenly opened up, and Shaula came out, carrying a squawking Patrashe. "Auntie said that the oni needs to go inside now," she announced as the earth dragon futilely struggled against her strength.

Even with the legendary Apprentice instructing her to go into the Green Room, Ram didn't move a muscle. She was still waiting for your promise.

Your heart began to thump in your ears, and your chest felt like it was sinking, but you mustered the will to genuinely vow to Ram, "If you die... and even if you don't, I'll do whatever it takes to save Rem. I don't know why you're already looking toward the worst of things, but I'll see this promise through to the end."

Since this was the only loop you have to make it out of the tower, you had to accept that casualties weren't reversible. Thinking this way was supposed to be normal, but it was honestly the first life-or-death situation where you only had one shot at making it out alive.

It was hard to think about what you'd have to do in the very real case in which somebody died here, and having to worry about Meili and Ram had distracted you from the fact that you could be included in the death toll by the end of this.

But now, Ram had gone inside the Green Room, and that left you alone with the thought of a permanent death.

Well, that and Shaula, who was finally putting the proud earth dragon down.

"How's Meili looking?" you weakly asked, hoping that Omega could pull off a miracle again to keep the young Mabeast User healthy.

The Apprentice shivered at the thought of Meili's condition. "If I couldn't smell her, I wouldn't be able to tell that we were dealing with the anklebiter," she admitted. "But don't worry! Auntie put her to sleep, so we can just stop worrying about it!"

"Umm... Just making sure, what exactly do you mean by 'put to sleep'?"

Shaula scrunched her eyebrows and looked at you as if you were dumb. "You don't know what sleeping is? How can you sleep if you don't know what it is?"

You deadpanned at Shaula. "First off, you can do a lot of things without knowing what they're called, and what I meant to ask was if Omega literally put her to sleep, or if you were saying that she had to... kill Meili."

"Kill?" Shaula repeated the word. "Sure, that's what normal people would probably do, but Auntie is smarter than that, so she doesn't have to."

"Thank goodness," you whispered in relief. You pretty much expected this outcome, but there was some part of your mind that dreaded the worst.

Maybe Ram was the reason for that. Maybe not.

Shaula was still obliviously scratching her head over the confusion over her phrasing. "Why did you think I meant kill when I said sleep?" she wondered out loud.

"Well, it seems like Flugel taught you a bunch of phrases, so I just assumed that you knew what this one meant too," you answered.

"Oh, I see!" Shaula beamed as dots connected in her head. "You came from the same place that Master came from! Is that why you smell weird too?"

You slowly nodded your head. Seeing if you could get any information from Shaula and trying to distract yourself from the conversation that just took place, you asked, "Did he ever tell you where he came from?"

Shaula scratched her chin for a few moments, looking back into her memories from four hundred years ago. "I think Master and his moody merchant friend talked about a place called Jupan before... but then again, Master said a bunch of weird words with that Hoshin guy and didn't explain them all to me."

The Apprentice pouted at the memory of Flugel excluding her from the conversations about his home.

On the other hand, this confirmed to you that the Sage came from Japan, but something was off. "So, you learned about words like 'Google' from Flugel, but he didn't tell you about Japan?"

"Oh, is that the name of the place?" Shaula absentmindedly commented as she twirled her fingers through her long, scorpion-tailed hair. At the moment, she was effectively drowning you out, opting to stay in her memories of her beloved Master.

Since it didn't look like you'd get much more out of her, you turned your attention to Patrasche. The earth dragon was visibly upset at Shaula for carrying her in such a humiliating manner, and she looked like she was ready to headbutt the mabeast girl as you asked her questions.

"You probably shouldn't," you warned Patrasche. To this day, it was unclear if she could understand people or if it had something to do with tone or affinity with her or something. Nevertheless, the earth dragon seemed to understand since she huffed at you and trotted over to your side.

She leaned down and let you hold onto her scaly side as she lifted you off the ground and slowly began walking toward the dining hall.

You patted Patrasche on the back, and she squawked in approval. "You know, I'd give you extra jerky if it wasn't all blown to bits," you told her as she helped you get to the dining hall.

Honestly, you could have traversed the short walk yourself, but with your legs still hurting and feeling weak again, the help was very much appreciated.

"You aren't going to leave meeeeee alone, are you, (Y/N)-kunnnnn?" Roswaal's voice suddenly came from behind as you arrived at the door to the dining hall.

"Oh, you're awake now?" you asked uncaringly and without looking back at him. "The Green Room is full, so you'll have to stay out here until Omega gets done with everyone in there."

"Oya?" Roswaal said aggressively. "Is it truly wise to leave myyyyy treatment for the end?"

You looked back at the injured clown. "Yeah, it really is best to make you wait," you answered