Arc 4 of Re:Zero Life in a Different World from Zero also known as The Everlasting Contract is the fourth arc in the series which looks a little into the past and begins elaborating on the true nature of the Witches of Sin. It is covered in Volumes 10-15 of the light novel series. There are currently 5 chapters of manga in this arc (collectively known as Daiyonshou). It is not yet depicted in the anime though it is assumed that Re:Zero Season 2 coming up will cover most if not all of the events of this arc.

Previous: Arc 3 - Return to the Capital City
Next: Arc 5 - Stars That Engrave History

Synopsis

As this is the longest Arc so far in the story, the synopsis is broken into two parts. For the first part, click here.

Secrets

Over the next few timelines and deaths Subaru learns a great deal. Garfiel reveals his beastly form, he meets Daphne the Witch of Gluttony, he learns about Lewes Meyer, and Roswaal finally reveals the extent he has been manipulating events. Through a gospel book in his possession Roswaal had far more knowledge than Subaru could have guessed, even professing knowing about Return by Death. Emilia crumbles mentally multiple times as well and in the extreme cases is overtaken by Satella's will.

Outside of Prophecy

On his fifth return, Subaru gets Garfiel to leave him alone and attempts to visit Echidna once again, but is instead forced into the second trial. He begins seeing visions of what happens to the people around him after his various deaths. Eventually the carousel of possible futures ended and he found himself in an unknown place with Rem. He was able to determine that she was in fact a fake and the fake revealed herself to be Carmilla the Witch of Lust. Echidna intervened then and they sit down to talk once more. She offers him a contract but the other Witches appear to warn him. Now cautious of her intent Subaru rejects the offer. At this point Satella shows up and Subaru learns that Satella the person and Satella the Witch of Envy are two different people. He vows to save her even though she asks to be killed.
Subaru eventually returns to reality and learns that he has lost the right to take the trials. He decides to confront Roswaal once again and learns that the current events are not documented in his gospel book. Feeling lost and directionless, Subaru takes his time to get his head on straight and firms up his resolve. He bargains with Roswaal stating that he would act as he pleased in this timeline and that if he died he would obediently follow the mage's plans in the next one. His goal is to gain the trust of Garfiel and to have Emilia pass the trials. Roswaal accepts, still confident that Subaru will fail.

Letting Go of the Past

Subaru manages to convince Emilia to discuss the first trial. Puck then converses telepathically with Subaru and reveals that Emilia is being held back by her fear of the past. Puck chooses to break the contract to allow Emilia to get past this block. He asks Subaru to support her while he is gone. Emilia is distraught come morning once she realizes what has happened and takes the better part of the day to recover. Come nightfall, Emilia asks Subaru to hold her hand until morning. He breaks that promise in order to prepare for the next day which in turn causes Emilia to disappear.

Tricking the Beast

During the entire time that he was helping Emilia, Subaru also met with various Lewes's to discuss getting Garfiel. As part of the plan Otto and Ram were able to distract Garfiel, smuggle the villagers out of the Sanctuary safely, and then put down Garfiel once he activated his beast form. Subaru reunited with Emilia before confronting the injured Garfiel. The two men got into a fight which Subaru barely won, permanently collapsing his damaged gate in the process. Garfiel is convinced to retake the trial he had failed before. Upon returning he decides to help those who need him and begins referring to Subaru as 'boss'. Finally it is Emilia's turn to undertake the trial and she enters the grave area to find that Subaru had carved pictures and words in the first room to cheer her up. She realizes that is what he did the previous night.

Knives and Demon Beasts

After a brief argument with Roswaal, Subaru, Otto, and Garfiel left to deal with Elsa at the mansion. Garfiel is faces off against Elsa but as everyone is about to escape the mansion is surrounded by Demon Beasts that are under Meili Portroute's control. In a fight with a particularly powerful Demon Beast the mansion is inadvertantly set on fire. Everyone except for Subaru escapes through the secret passage in Roswaal's room. Subaru begins searching for Beatrice in the library but she keeps kicking him out. Elsa (who kept regenerating from fatal wounds) is finally killed as the mansion collapses. Subaru barely makes it into the library. Even this space is not safe from the fire and is already beginning to burn down. Subaru convinces Beatrice to accept a contract with himself and the two teleport to the Sanctuary.
Back in the grave, Emilia completes the third trial and finds Echidna's body encased in a sealing stone coffin. She dispels the magic that keeps the Sanctuary sealed and returns outside to find that Roswaal has covered the area in snow with his magic. Subaru and Beatrice teleport in and help Emilia fight off the encroaching Great Rabbits. The three slowly reduce the number of opponents before Beatrice casts the power Al Shamak and sends the Demon Beast to another dimension.

Greed Lives Again

Everyone in the Sanctuary begins work to slowly put things back in order with Roswaal promising to begin helping Subaru from here on. Elsewhere, Echidna has successfully returned to the world of the living by transferring her soul into the body of the original Lewes Meyer. Now calling herself Omega she leaves to explore the world.

Links

Fan Wiki
MyAnimeList