"Argh!" Subaru suddenly sat up from his bed, clenching his neck in pain. What just happened? Why now? Subaru quickly eased his clenching hand to calm down.
"Subaru?" A worried voice spoke from the left side of his bed.
Subaru looked towards the direction of the voice to see a very concerned Rem standing in front of his bed. Realizing the commotion he had committed, Subaru quickly made up a lie. "Sorry for scaring you, Rem. Had a nightmare that felt too real."
However, that lie caused Rem to look even more concerned. "Subaru, just a moment ago, Subaru's face looked peaceful. What happened? Subaru can talk to Rem if anything is troubling Subaru."
"No worries, Rem. Guess scary endings do exist in nice dreams." More lies on top of lies did not sit well with Subaru as he tried to cover up his situation. "Also, is Ram mad that I overslept?" asked Subaru as he left the bed. "Tell Ram that I'll be there soon."
"Oh," Rem realized, "How did Subaru know about it?"
"Random guess. That's all!" Subaru panicked temporarily. I spoke too much for my own good. "Should be the reason why you're in my room right now."
"That's right. Rem will tell sister that Subaru is awake now." Rem quickly turned around and left the room.
"Huh, that was weird," said Subaru as he went to get dressed. As Subaru started to get dressed, he racked his brain about his recent death. Hmm, five minutes after leaving the village, someone killed me without any warning. I felt a sharp blade. Was it Elsa? No, it couldn't be. Elsa only targets guts, and my guts did not get slashed. Subaru shook his head from his bad memory with Elsa and went towards the bathroom to start his morning. If it wasn't Elsa, was it another assassin after Emilia? No, the killer went for me first. We were far from the mansion anyway.
Subaru left the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen. I have no information about the killer and no possible motives. Subaru sighed after realizing what he must do: redo a loop to get more information and possibly die in the process. Also, another problem Subaru found was dealing with the initial sneak attack.
Upon entering the kitchen and seeing Ram, an idea popped inside Subaru's head. Ram's clairvoyance!
"Barusu! No excuses for oversleeping." An angry Ram came up towards Subaru.
"Sorry about that, Ram. A growing body requires sleep!" explained Subaru as he tried to lessen the blow of his upcoming punishment.
Ram shook her head. "Barusu, you have extra work today as punishment."
At least it's not steamed potatoes this time. Subaru cracked a slight grin.
Ram pointed towards the table. "Take the plates to the dining room. Also, Barusu, I need you to go with my dear sister to the village to buy ingredients."
"Ram, can you come along as well?" said Subaru with a straight face.
"Emilia wasn't enough, so Barusu wants two beautiful flowers on his side again?" snickered Ram.
"Well, I wanted some advice during the walk there." Subaru rubs the back of his head. "I'll even do some of your work later today."
Ram sighed. "Fine, Barusu. Don't be late again."
"I'll make sure of that," proclaimed Subaru as he grabbed the plates and left for the dining room.
Many hours have passed until it was time for Subaru, Rem, and Ram to meet up. Rem and Ram were waiting at the front of the mansion until Subaru showed up.
"Hello, Rem and Ram. I'm here just on time as promised," said Subaru as he performed his pose.
"Sister, Subaru came here on time," inquired Rem as she turned towards Ram.
"Sister, Barusu came here late making us wait," Ram remarked back.
"Sister, Subaru should learn to arrive early."
"Sister, Barusu is still a crude man lacking manners."
"Okay! Okay!" exclaimed Subaru as he tried to stop his belittlement. "I'll work on my manners. Let's head to the village now." Subaru started walking on the trail to the village as the twins followed beside him.
"So Barusu, what advice do you need?" asked Ram.
Upon hearing that question, Subaru realized he forgot to think up a reason while he was working. What advice do I need right now? Actually, what can Ram teach me right now?
"Barusu?" questioned Ram.
"Sorry, Ram. Forgot what I wanted to ask," said Subaru as he apologized. However, he remembers that originally Ram was the one that taught him how to read and write. "Actually, I wanted some pointers concerning writing."
On the way to the village, Ram taught Subaru additional tips about writing while Rem listened in. Once they arrived at the village, Ram made sure Subaru stayed with the twins when buying ingredients to ensure Subaru knew how to do this in the future. The trio said their goodbyes and left the village with their supplies. This time, they left a few minutes earlier than before.
"Subaru?" asked Rem.
"Yes, Rem?"
"Rem wants to know if Subaru is willing to share his story about the date with Emilia."
"Must be better than the lap pillow," remarked Ram.
"Sure, I'll tell the story," answered Subaru. For the next few minutes, Subaru enthusiastically gave a detailed description of his date with Emilia. However, he stopped his storytelling as they were about to reach the area where the assassin murdered Subaru.
With a sudden shift of demeanor and tone, Subaru ordered, "Ram, please use your clairvoyance. Rem, please be on guard."
"What?" asked the twins in unison.
"Please do it. I have a bad feeling," begged Subaru.
"Fine. Hope it is for a good reason," remarked Ram as she readied her clairvoyance as Rem went on guard.
A minute passed, but the killer didn't show up.
"Barusu, what am I supposed to spot? No one suspicious showed up," Ram inquired as she kept her clairvoyance up.
"Sister, Rem is certain Subaru has a valid reason," Rem countered. "Right, Subaru?"
Subaru was confused as to why the killer hasn't shown up yet. However, he realized they left the village too soon. "Ram, I need you to keep it up for a few more minutes. There's something bad going to happen soon."
"Since Barusu figured out the mabeast incident, I guess I trust you this time," said Ram as she gave in. She maintained the clairvoyance for another minute until she spotted someone with a weapon drawn heading towards them. "Fura!" Ram yelled as she shot wind magic at the unknown enemy. However, she missed as the person dodged to the side.
The trio entered a defensive fighting stance, with Subaru standing behind to face off against the stranger.
The attacker was a man who was slightly taller than Subaru. He had unkempt black hair with few strands of grey hair and tired brown eyes filled with killing intent. On this right cheek held a vertical scar that barely reached his right eye. The man wore black boots, brown pants, a grey long-sleeve shirt, a green travel cloak, and a small pouch hanging from his right hip. The sword utilized by both of his hands was a long, slightly curved sword meant to slash.
"Get away from the butler. He's a dangerous one," said the man in a low voice. "Hand him over, and we don't have to fight."
"Subaru will not be taken away from you!" yelled Rem as she chucked her morning star at the man.
However, the man dodged and backed up. "I simply do not wish to fight. All I want is the butler," the man explained as he became a little bit annoyed as he evaded more attacks from Rem.
"What did I do?" questioned Subaru as he stayed behind Rem and Ram.
"The butler is a witch cultist! A witch cultist that reeks of the scent! Someone like him should be eliminated before even more die!" The man became angrier with each line. "Hand him over now!"
Witch cultist? Subaru was confused by the accusations.
"Barusu is too incompetent to be a witch cultist," Ram snapped back. "He can't even handle magic properly."
"Subaru can't be a witch cultist! He saved people from a mabeast incident!" Rem explained with an upset tone as she stopped attacking due to missing her hits. "He even prioritizes the lives of the kids!"
"I see he had fooled everyone here," said the man with a disapproving tone. "One last time. Hand over the butler, or I'll take him with force."
"SHAMAK!" screamed Subaru as he grabbed the twins and ran towards the mansion
"Barusu! What's the meaning of this?" asked Ram.
"I'm not a witch cultist, and I have no connections with them!" Subaru answered back. "I'm just a useless butler!"
"Sister, Subaru is right," pleaded Rem. "All Subaru has done was working hard in the mansion and saving lives."
"Dona," spoke a voice behind them. An earth wall suddenly appeared in front of them, forcing the trio to stop running.
"Fura!" Ram fired another wind slash before the man closed in the distance forcing him to dodge. The trio decided to face him head-on instead. Subaru positioned himself in the rear due to having no weapons or combat powers. Ram stood behind Rem, willing to support her sister as Rem will take on the attacker herself.
The man stood up straight with his sword in hand, ready to fight. "Don't bother running away, or my earth magic will slow you down instead. I won't kill the maids, but I will not hesitate to immobilize them."
"Who the hell are you?" asked Subaru to gain more information about his killer.
The man rushes forward towards Subaru. "Only when you're dying, you get to know, witch cultist!"
"El Fura." Ram fired an extreme wind blast at the man.
"Dona." Another earth wall appeared to cancel the effects of El Fura. However, both the wall and wind canceled each other out, allowing Rem to rush forward and sending her morning star towards the man.
The morning star made contact, but the man dodged backward far enough to soften the blow. Rem relentlessly swung her morning star at the man, but the man kept on the defense by evading every swing. Ram shot her wind magic when there was an opportunity, but the man countered with his earth magic. However, the fight continued as a stalemate for both sides as Subaru watched helplessly.
"Barusu!" Ram grabbed Subaru's attention as she fell back to his position. "Run to the mansion and get help since running is the only good thing you do. We can't sustain a long fight with this foe. Run!"
Subaru nodded and made a dash towards the mansion leaving the two to delay as long as possible. However, the man noticed Subaru running, so he tried to evade Rem, but Rem activated her oni form and continued the onslaught while Ram fired more wind magic.
I didn't expect things to go down like this! Subaru was in full panic mode as he ran towards the mansion. He cursed himself for being weak and letting the twins delay for him. Despite acting all heroically during the mabeast incident, he was playing the role of a weak coward.
As Subaru ran, he heard the sound of earth walls behind him. Subaru took a quick look behind him to see the man running after him while deploying more earth walls to slow down Rem, who was breaking through all of them. It was a matter of time before the killer caught Subaru.
"Don't you dare remove one of my reasons to live!" screamed Rem as she tried to slow down the attacker. "El Huma!" Rem fired ice spears, but more earth walls blocked them.
The man suddenly turned around and faced Rem. "Ah! Screw it! This is why I hate magic fights! Only bothered with one spell! Dona! Dona! Dona! Dona!" Four earth walls surround Rem. The man quickly opened his pouch and threw a small object that exploded into smoke. He also raised a few more walls in random spots in the smoke to slow down Rem even more.
During that short time, Subaru gained some distance. However, he was starting to become extremely tired despite having a lot of ground to cover. Suddenly, earth walls blocked Subaru's path and his sides. He turned around to see that his only path out was backward where his pursuer was standing.
"Despite the efforts of the two maids, one of them ran out of mana, and the other one slowed down." The man casually walked forward towards Subaru, who backed up against the earth wall. "For a high-ranking witch cultist, I must applaud you for gaining the trust of the two maids that will diligently help you. Now tell me, what kind of witch cultist are you?"
"I don't know anything! I don't know the witch cult! I don't know why I received a label?" Subaru yelled back with pleading eyes.
"Witch cultist or not, for a smell that strong, the witch cult will take a liking for you, and I will have to stop that before you become one before more lives are lost," said the man in a very stern tone.
"Please wait!" pleaded Subaru, but the man started to swing his sword.
"The Witch's Scent Hunter, Kanishi, will be granting you a quick and fast escape from the witch's grasp," proclaimed Kanishi as he cut down Subaru.
"El Huma!" Ice spears struck the back of Kanishi.
"I guess that blue-haired maid truly adored you. If only that scent did not exist for a happy future," said Kanishi as he staggered forward before running away.
"Subaru! Subaru! Subaru!" Rem screamed in horror as she ran towards Subaru's dying body in an attempt to heal him.
As Subaru laid there quickly dying, some stuff Kanishi spoke to him was starting to make sense. The information he needed came from his past trauma of Rem. The time when Rem tortured him for similar reasons as Kanishi.
A/N: Every time I visit the wiki, I learn something new as an anime-only. When I was trying to pick a magic type for Kanishi, I actually forgot earth magic existed and already seen an example of it aka Petelgeuse's dome. Kanishi's fighting doctrine of avoiding non-witch cultists in battle suits the usage of stage 1 earth magic.