This is a fanfiction created by myself, all rights to Re:Zero go to Tappei Nagatsuki. This takes place between arc 6 and 7 so please finish arc 6 before starting.
Chapter 3: The Broken Child
Subaru's eyes shot open as he gasped for air. The memory of his skull being forced open made Subaru vomit.
Subaru: "What the hell was that."
On the second day, an avalanche had ravaged the town and killed Subaru. Subaru's head was spinning and a lot of things didn't make sense. He needed to start thinking rationally.
Subaru: "Get a hold of yourself Subaru Natsuki. Let's think through this. In my first loop I was drugged and attacked by good feelings, then according to him, when he killed Rem he broke my will which turned me into a puppet-like everyone else. So the Authority of Pride has something to do with mind control and the more willpower you have the more resistant you are. He said my will was strong, but I'm not very strong-willed at all, so maybe it has something to do with my Authority resistance. Anyway, when I was finally freed from the Authority I learned that in two days all the mana would get sucked out of the atmosphere by something. Talk about adding to a full plate. I also learned that the only way to break free of the Authority is to kill Nathaniel. Since I'm not willing to leave Rem with that man I'll have to make that an objective too. Then there are those purple sparks too, they seemed to be his method of defense and offense. Could that be part of his Authority too, or is that magic. I'll have to figure that out later, right now I need to find a way to save the citizens of the town. I'll have to stop the avalanche first, so it doesn't destroy the town. Once I stop the avalanche, I'll find Ninet and ask her about Nathaniel, she clearly knows something but she's afraid to say it. If I can defeat Nathaniel on the first day, I can spend the second day stopping the mana purge thing."
Subaru nodded after thinking over all the facts. He now had a plan of action.
Subaru: "I need allies since there is no way I can beat him on my own so, step one, stop the avalanche before it starts, step two, find Ninet and make her my ally, step three, use the info from Ninet to make a step four."
As Subaru stood up to enter the town once more he stopped. He had remembered something that he hadn't considered which may make his problems even worse.
Subaru: "Wasn't Louis Arneb with me when I came here?"
So many things had been happening so fast that Subaru had forgotten about the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
Subaru: "Why haven't I run into her yet. Even though she now has the mind of an infant, Nathaniel could have used his Authority on her, then he could just command her to fight. In which case, I now have 2 Sin Archbishops to deal with."
Subaru shook his head at the precarious situation he was in. Then, after some time thinking on the subject, he came to a decision.
Subaru: "Since I haven't encountered Louis at all, I don't really need to change my plan yet."
Subaru nodded at his decision, and, with his mind set on an objective, Subaru once again entered Redrock.
After walking through the town for a little while, Subaru once again encountered the strange contraption with the pit in the center. This was the place where he had died last time. Looking at the place where he died, Subaru shuddered as he remembered having his head crushed by the boulder.
Subaru: "So if this is where I died then all I have to do is follow the direction the avalanche was coming from."
Subaru stood in the position he was in when he had died and judged the direction that the avalanche had come from. Once he figured out the direction, he began walking towards a hill in the distance. The hill was made of more red-hued stone, and there was a cave at the top.
Subaru: "I'm really getting tired of red-hued stone."
Subaru said this as he began his trek up the hill. It wasn't steep but the path up was very smooth and Subaru slipped multiple times. Subaru reached the entrance to the cave without running into anyone. As he peered inside the scene wasn't what he had expected. The cave extended for miles and had been commissioned into a full-scale mining operation. Hundreds of people were working in the mines. All of them collecting the red-hued stone.
Subaru: "Woah, just how many people has this guy collected."
All the miners seemed to be under the Sin Archbishops' control. They were all working diligently and mindlessly without break. Whenever they mined stones that they didn't need, they threw them into a central canal. It looked as though the rocks they didn't need would have just harmlessly rolled down the mountain one at a time, but someone had built a wooden barricade to hold back the rocks. As a result, there were enough rocks to flatten the entire town, all held behind a small wooden barricade.
Subaru: "The avalanche was planned! Why would-"
?: "Who are you?"
A child's voice, turned to ice by suffering, demanded Subaru's name. Subaru slowly turned around to see Ninet standing in the entrance of the cave.
Subaru: "Little girls like you really shouldn't be in places like this you could-"
Ninet: "-hk. You talked."
Subaru: "Well I…"
Ninel: "El Shamak!"
Subaru: "hk."
A plume of darkness shot from the small form and enveloped Subaru. Subaru lost track of all his senses. Subaru's heart began to beat faster as the disorientation engulfed him. He set his stance in place and took hold of his whip.
Maybe if I whirl my whip around over my head, I can disperse the darkness. Subaru thought as he wound himself up.
Ninet: "Galeth!"
Suddenly, Subaru felt like he was moving through syrup. All of his movements slowed down. Subaru quickly realized that this meant that even if he did whirl his whip around it wouldn't go fast enough to disperse the darkness.
Subaru: "Is this another spell?"
Subaru had never heard of Galeth before, but based on what happened it must have been used to slow movements.
Soon Subaru's whip was knocked out of his hand and his movements were restricted. Subaru struggled but found he couldn't do anything. Then, the spell dispersed. Subaru had been tied up with his hands behind his back and left leaning against the wall of the cave. Standing in front of him, holding his whip was the stone-cold face of Ninet.
Ninet glared and with contempt.
Ninet: "You will answer my questions. If you lie or choose not to answer this will get very painful for you."
Subaru: "Wait, I…"
Ninet: "FIRST QUESTION!"
Ninet shouted at Subaru with cold rage. Subaru didn't dare speak.
Ninet: "Who are you and why did you come here?"
Subaru: "My name is Subaru Natsuki, and I was transported here against my will."
Ninet paused for a moment to think, putting a hand to her chin, then she continued.
Ninet: "Hmm… okay, second question. Where are you from, and what is your profession?"
Subaru thought about this for a moment before responding.
Subaru: "I'm from the Mathers-GAGH!"
Suddenly, Subaru was attacked by horrible pain. It felt like his heart skipped a beat and his entire body had been pierced by thousands of red hot needles. The pain was unimaginable.
Ninet: "I told you lying would be painful, now answer my question truthfully."
Subaru: "What the hell was that?"
Ninet: "I'm the one who asks questions here not you. I believe I told you what happens when you neglect to answer."
Once again Subaru felt the crippling pain course through his body. It lasted longer this time and felt far worse. Subaru puked all over himself from the pain.
Ninet: "Answer!"
Subaru: "I'm from Japan, and I'm a knight of Lugnica."
Ninet paused for a moment, clearly waiting for the punishment to kick in. When it didn't she demanded answers.
Ninet: "You weren't lying?! Where the hell is Japan?"
Subaru knew that he couldn't lie or he'd feel that unbearable pain again. So he had to tell her the truth.
Subaru: "It's in a parallel world, on a planet called Earth."
Ninet: "What the hell is that? Explain!"
Subaru knew that he shouldn't tell her but he had no choice. He told her what he knew about parallel universes, about being transported to Lugnica, about the differences between the two worlds, and answered Ninet's questions. In the end, Ninet seemed to understand and Subaru hadn't suffered the punishment.
Ninet: "That sounds rough, being summoned away from your family without warning to a more dangerous world like that, but we've lost focus. I'll deal with my own feelings on other worlds at a different time, now you need to answer my third question. Why, upon coming here against your will, did you head straight for this cave?"
Ninet asked one of the hardest questions she could. Subaru couldn't answer her question truthfully because that would require talking about Return By Death and that would be impossible.
Subaru: "I can't tell you."
Ninet: "That's not an answer."
As Ninet said this with a sneer, Subaru braced himself for the pain, but it never came. Subaru hadn't lied or failed to answer so the pain was never delivered, which means even Ninet wasn't in control of the punishment.
Ninet: "What the…? How was that an honest answer? Tell me!"
Subaru: "When I tell people what you want me to tell you I either get painfully stopped or the person I told dies."
Ninet: "..."
Ninet seemed to be lost for words. She likely intended to have no stops in her interrogation, now that there was one she didn't know what to say. Ninet quickly regained her composure and continued.
Ninet: "Okay, tell me what you intend to do here without telling me the thing you can't."
Subaru: "I'm here to stop the avalanche from destroying the town."
Ninet: "And I'm assuming you can't tell me how you know that."
Subaru nodded and Ninet began thinking to herself. Subaru needed to escape. As Ninet thought to herself, Subaru started to brainstorm ideas. He decided his best option was to use Invisible Providence to cut through the ropes. Silently he conjured the hand and began cutting the ropes when the pain engulfed him again.
Subaru: "Ga!"
Ninet: "I forgot to mention, don't try to escape either, that's painful too."
Subaru: "Damn it, you just wanted to see me try and fail."
Ninet: "Yes, I did. And now that you have learned your lesson, it's time to play a little game. I want to get a gist of how this mysterious power of yours works. So for these next few questions, I want you to answer only yes or no. Got it?"
Subaru: "Yes."
Ninet: "Good. First, did you know about the avalanche because someone told you?"
Subaru: "No."
Ninet: "Did you know about the avalanche because you've been here before?"
Subaru: "No."
Ninet: "Did you guess the avalanche was going to happen?"
Subaru: "No."
Ninet: "Do you know when the avalanche is supposed to happen?"
Subaru: "Yes."
Ninet: "Does your power have something to do with knowing the future?"
Subaru: "Yes."
No punishment, she must be figuring it out! I kind of feel like Akinator right now. Subaru thought this to himself as Ninet continued.
Ninet: "Did you come to this cave with the intention of fulfilling what you saw in your foresight?"
Subaru: "No."
Ninet: "Did you come here to alter the outcome of what you saw?"
Subaru: "Yes."
Ninet: "Does your power have something to do with seeing possible futures?"
Subaru: "Yes."
Ninet: "Okay, game over. I know what I need to know."
Ninet nodded to herself at the completion of the game. Subaru just stared at her, eyes wide with amazement.
Subaru: "Damn, seriously? Most people just accept that I know what will happen and go along with my plans. But you straight up played Akinator with me and figured it out!"
Ninet: "I've noticed I'm more perceptive than most, I have to be."
Ninet's head lowered as she said that, although she quickly got over it and continued.
Ninet: "But that's enough about me. You can see possible futures, what is Nathaniel planning?"
Subaru: "I don't know, no one ever said what it was in the futures I saw, and I never saw far enough to see it."
Ninet: "Well then what use are you?"
Subaru: "Hey! I've killed two Sin Archbishops and orchestrated the death of a third, and I didn't even use my foresight to beat one of them."
Ninet: "You… you've killed them before?"
Ninet suddenly perked up in astonishment as Subaru explained.
Subaru: "Yes I have, though I couldn't have done it without my allies, I still have the most experience fighting them."
Ninet: "I've always just seen killing him as an impossible task, that all I could do was bide my time, stop his plans, and hope for help to arrive. But if you're the only one who came I guess I was lucky you happen to be an expert."
Subaru: "I feel like 'expert' is giving me too much credit."
Ninet: "Well, you've still fought them before and you have some knowledge of what could happen, so what do you think we should do?"
Subaru: "What do you mean we, you tied me up and tortured me for answers, what makes you think I'll be all buddy-buddy with you now?"
Ninet: "Do you expect me to apologize? I did what I had to do with the knowledge I had at the time. Any other person would have done the same."
Subaru: "No, some people would have been nicer about it."
Ninet: "Then some people are fools."
Ninet appeared to be easing up on Subaru. She wasn't asking any more questions and her tone had dulled only a little. She still spoke with a cold even tone and glared at Subaru, but he felt like he could ask her his request now.
Subaru: "Can you untie me now?"
Ninet: "Answer my next question honestly and I'll let you go, lie, and my divine blessing will punish you again."
Subaru: "Okay."
Ninet: "Will you work with me as my ally?"
Subaru: "Yes."
Ninet: "Okay, I'll let you go, just know that if you betray me, my divine blessing will punish you harshly."
Ninet untied the ropes from Subaru. As Subaru stood up and rubbed his wrists he stared down at the small form that had bested him.
Subaru: "If we are allies now then we need to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. First off, what the hell kind of divine blessing do you have?"
Ninet: "Oh right, I should probably… okay. I've been told it is called the Divine Protection of Divine Mercy. One night 2 years ago after the worst day of my life, I had a strange dream. I was communicating with Od Laguna but it was without words, it was like I could feel it's understanding. That night it told me that my suffering was too great and that what was happening to me saddened it. It gave me a blessing, a blessing that is only given to those who've known true suffering their entire lives. It told me that when I target someone with the blessing they will be unable to disobey me or lie to me, if they did their guilt would turn to poison and punish them."
Subaru: "Woah, that sounds like quite the ability. Wait a minute why can't you use this ability on Nathaniel?"
Ninet: "It gets stronger based on how strong the conscience is of the person it targets, not to mention if I did use it on him, he could kill me through the pain. I have to be near him and I have to give him demands."
Subaru: "Damn, well that idea is out. I wouldn't want to put you in any more danger than is necessary, besides having a life that made Od Laguna feel saddened, you must have had the hardest life in the world."
Ninet: "..."
Ninet remained silent, clearly lost in thought. She had clearly been through a lot. Subaru put his hand on her shoulder and as she looked up he looked into her eyes.
Subaru: "Well don't worry, you won't suffer anymore. I'm going to save you."
Ninet looked into his eyes, and although her stare was still ice cold, Subaru could see a rekindled hope in her.
Ninet: "My mom was pregnant with me when my mom and dad were taken over by Nathaniel. He is so full of himself that he doesn't pay attention to anything that doesn't involve himself. So he never even noticed my mom was pregnant. When she gave birth to me she got released from the control, my best guess as to how is that her will got stronger through some motherly protective instinct."
Subaru: "Or the sheer trauma of childbirth."
Ninet: "Whatever the case she took care of me until I was 4 then she was once again taken over by Nathaniel. My parents are still in that town, under his spell. I tried using Shamak to wake them up from the spell but it didn't work."
Subaru: "Just like with the Authority of Wrath. There was a similar problem with another Sin Archbishop and Shamak didn't work there either. That reminds me, what shadow spells do you know?"
Ninet: "I Know three, all that I learned from a storybook I found in the castle. Learning to read was much harder than learning magic. The three I know are, Shamak, Galeth, and Dorall."
Subaru: "I have an affinity with shadow too, though I broke my gate a year ago so I can't use magic anymore. I've used Shamak in the past, and my contracted spirit Beatrice taught me more spells."
Ninet: "Spirit?"
Ninet looked at Subaru with a questioning look so Subaru explained.
Subaru: "Yeah, she's a cute loli with hair drills, she didn't get teleported with me though so I'll have to find her soon or I'll die of mana poisoning."
Ninet: "No, you'll be fine, these stones have a strange property that makes them absorb mana from people and the atmosphere."
Subaru folded his arms and shook his head with a smirk as he continued.
Subaru: "So now the red-hued rocks are saving me, damn, I don't know whether to love them or hate them. But anyway, I know what Shamak does, and Galeth slows down movement, but what does Dorall do?"
Ninet: "That one is pretty powerful, with it I can paralyze one of a person's limbs for about a minute, but it requires so much mana I can only really use it once a day."
Subaru: "Damn seriously, I've got to see if Beatrice knows these when I see her again."
Ninet: "That's enough about me, what can you do?"
Subaru: "I have parkour and whip skills. And in addition to my foresight ability, I have two others, Invisible Providence, and Cor Leonis. Invisible Providence creates an invisible hand I can use for a variety of things, and if I focus hard enough it can phase through objects. The only problem is I tend to wretch after I use it each time. Cor Leonis is the far more usefull power, I can take on physical and emotional burdens from my allies, and if they allow it I can divert damage I take to them."
Ninet: "Hmm… it seems like you'd make a great supporting character in combat. But nevertheless, you are the one with the most combat experience, so if the Sin Archbishop shows up, you'll lead in combat."
Subaru: "That brings up another thing, what is your plan exactly?"
Ninet pointed towards the barricade before continuing.
Ninet: "I built this barricade a while ago and since then it's been building up rocks. Tomorrow I'm going to release it and it will destroy the town and whatever it is that he is building down there."
Subaru: "But aren't your parents in the town? Wouldn't that kill them too?"
Ninet: "Death would be freedom compared to what they are now. My original plan was to get good enough at magic so I could escape, but by the time I got good enough, I realized he was planning something bad with the contraption in the center of town, so I decided to do something about it."
Subaru: "So you sacrificed your own freedom and happiness to stop the villain. You truly have the makings of a great hero."
Subaru smiled and held up a thumbs up towards Ninet. Ninet, as usual, made no expression.
Subaru: "Anyway, I think you should release your avalanche today, and spare the lives of the villagers."
Ninet: "What, why?"
Subaru: "Because I'm going to kill him, and save everyone."
Ninet: "By now you should know that that is impossible."
Subaru: "No, it isn't. Because, I have a plan."
After a talk with Ninet about potential weaknesses Nathaniel might have, Subaru went to work putting his plan into motion. Subaru rummaged through the rocks piled in the cave until he found what he was looking for. A long, wide, and smooth rock that resembled a snowboard. He placed it near the mouth of the cave, overlooking the town. Then he wrapped the end of his whip around one of the supports on the barricade. Then holding the end of the whip in one hand he turned towards Ninet.
Subaru: "All set, are you ready?"
Ninet: "I still think you're an idiot, and your plan is nothing short of madness, but I'm putting my faith in you Subaru. However, if I die…"
Subaru: "I know, I know, my guilt will run like poison in my veins. Now get on my back and hold on tight."
Ninet tentatively climbed onto Subaru's back, wrapping her little arms around his neck as she did.
Ninet: "Are you sure you can do this?"
Subaru: "Don't worry, I've gotten used to carrying around a magic casting loli by now. Also, don't panic, but I haven't done something like this since coming to this world about a year ago."
Ninet: "Wait, what!?"
Subaru: "Hold on!"
Subaru balanced on his makeshift snowboard and steadied himself as he prepared for the rocky slide. As Subaru kicked off from the mouth of the cave and they began to rocket down the side of the hill, Subaru's whip pulled on the barricade and it easily gave way. As Subaru and Ninet rocketed down the hill, the rocks and boulders thundered after them. They continued their insane ride all the way down the hill.
Ninet: "AAAAAAHHH!"
Subaru: "Woooo!"
As the wind rushed around them they screamed with differing feelings. As soon as they reached the town Subaru made a hard turn as the avalanche barreled past them. As they got closer and closer to the town exit Subaru started to lose hope in his plan.
Subaru: "Please work, please work."
Then Subaru saw it. All of the villagers were sprinting to intercept them at the exit, and sprinting away from the avalanche.
Subaru: "Yes!"
Subaru made a turn stop just before he would have crashed into the crowd. As he looked into the crowd he saw Rem's face staring blankly at him.
Subaru: "Your hero has arrived."
Subaru watched at the avalanche barreled towards the contraption at the center of the town. As it got closer and closer Subaru saw something in the castle window. A figure leaped from the top floor of the castle and began falling towards the ground. Subaru hoped that this was the end of the Sin Archbishop, but in the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't.
Nathaniel: "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY A BEING AS GREAT AS ME!"
As the Archbishop yelled this, he crashed to the ground with a purple blast. As he rose from the smoke he stretched out his arms in front of the rocks and purple sparks extended from his body. They created a barrier that protected the contraption and the Sin Archbishop. In no less than 10 seconds the boulders were gone and all that stood in the town's center was Nathaniel Sargas, unharmed.
Nathaniel: "Who would be so stupid as to orchestrate such an attack. I doubt it was anyone who knew me, for if they did they would have never had the heart to attack a being as great as me. No, for if they did know me, they would have seen the undying love I have for myself and would have been utterly swayed, so deeply moved they would do anything I ask of them. No, whoever did this is a loathsome despicable creature, one that does not even deserve to walk the same earth, breath the same air, take up the same existence as me. They deserve to cease to exist entirely, for they would not even face me directly to pay for their sins. Any creature who would not take pride in their work, even if it was loathsome work, is truly a being to be detested, to be shunned, to be forgotten. Am I wrong?"
Crowd: "No sir, you are the greatest, you are the purest, you are the most truthful, we will follow you through every hardship, through every triumph, until the end of time."
Nathaniel: "Thank you, you all know what true devotion is. You all know who the greatest being to be devoted to is. How truly spectacular."
Subaru: "CUT THE CRAP!"
Subaru shouted as he and Ninet walked towards Nathaniel, Nathaniel stared at them with contempt.
Nathaniel: "So you are the loathsome shit-spawn."
Subaru: "These people are only agreeing with you because they're under your control, they'd never say that if they had their free will. Manipulating people's minds to make them say and do what you want, then making them say things to boost your self-esteem, how is that prideful?"
Nathaniel: "Who are you to judge me? What do you know about pride? Look at you now, you stand against me with a look of challenge on your worthless face. If you had any pride, you'd take pride in your position in life and work as hard as you can to be your best in that position. If you're so lost in your delusions of grandeur that you've forgotten your place, I shall remind you that it is to serve me, like all other creatures."
Ninet: "No! I'm done pretending, I'm done lying, I'm done suffering. As someone who's been forced to live with you for years, as someone who still has their free will, I say this, fuck you! You are the worst being in existence."
Nathaniel: "Gahahahahah."
Nathaniel laughed at the small girl's remarks. Subaru and Ninet prepared themselves for battle.
Nathaniel: "Foolish insect, I am the Sin Archbishop of the witches faith, representing Pride, Nathaniel Sargas, your words, like your attacks, won't ever hurt me."
As Nathaniel spread his arms, purple sparks danced along his fingertips. Subaru made his move.
Subaru: "Ninet!"
Ninet: "Dorall!"
Nathaniel: "-hk"
Nathaniel's left leg gave way and he toppled to the ground. Purple sparks danced along the ground before exploding two buildings in the distance. Subaru began wailing on Nathaniel with his whip, the attacks bouncing off his shield of purple sparks.
Subaru: "Hey Ninet, you said he might have some kind of limit."
Ninet: "Yeah, that's why he keeps some people in cages, they're to fuel his power."
Subaru: "Well let's hope we reach that limit soon, I'm starting to get tired."
Crowd: "Nathaniel! Nathaniel! Nathaniel!"
Nathaniel: "Insignificant prideless worms!"
Nathaniel shot a massive purple lightning bolt at Subaru. Subaru Jumped out of the way in time but the blast was so powerful he lost his footing. As Subaru and Ninet tumbled to the ground Nathaniel got back to his feet.
Nathaniel: "You shall be blasted into nothing, your blood shall give the plants no sustenance, your meat shall give the fauna no food, and the memory of you shall be but poison in the minds of all who had to suffer your presence.
Nathaniel began to walk towards them slowly, purple sparks swirling around him. As Subaru got to his feet he heard the little girl next him shout.
Ninet: "Shamak!"
A cloud of shadows sprayed from her outstretched hand and engulfed Nathaniel. With a thundering shockwave, he blasted the cloud away.
Nathaniel: "Pathetic trash clinging to fleeting hopes makes me want to gag. Luckily, such things are impossible for a perfect being like me."
Nathaniel launched another bolt, one that Subaru and Ninet couldn't evade. In desperation, they shouted at the same time.
Subaru: "Invisible Providence!"
Ninet: "Galeth!"
The slowed-down bolt gave Subaru just enough time to launch the invisible hand in the way of the blast. The hand shattering rattled Subaru's bones. As soon as the smoke cleared Subaru launched his whip at Nathaniel again, and again it bounced harmlessly off his shield.
Subaru: "Damn it, just how much power can you get from a few prisoners."
Nathaniel: "How gullible of you to think I would allow myself to be so vulnerable. I love myself too much to see me die. I have been amassing energy for the past 400 years!"
Subaru's eyes widened in horror as the true strength of his opponent hit him. There was no way any of their attacks would be enough. No wonder it took the sword saint 2 minutes to kill this guy. Nathaniel shot an enormous blast at Subaru. Subaru no longer had any energy left, as he watched the blast coming for him he heard the little girl whisper to him.
Ninet: "Thanks for giving me hope, no matter how useless it ended up being."
She pushed him out of the way. Subaru watched with tears in his eyes as the form of the small girl turned to ash.
Subaru: "YOU BASTARD!"
Subaru had no energy to fight, yet he still writhed on the ground, yelling at Nathaniel.
Subaru: "All she did her whole life was suffer and it was all your fault. She was finally starting to be happy and you destroyed her. I'm going to kill you!"
Nathaniel: "Disgusting, revolting, you can't even take pride in your own death. She had more pride than you."
Subaru: "YOU FUCKER! How dare you spit such bullshit."
Nathaniel: "Killing such a loathsome creature is beneath me. My people, please hear my words."
Crowd: "Yes, oh gracious one?"
Nathaniel: "Please kill this wretched creature for me, slowly."
Crowd: "Yes, oh gracious one."
Nathaniel lazily waved his hand towards Subaru as he directed the crowd to do his bidding. As he elegantly walked back to his castle the villagers began to mercilessly beat on Subaru. He felt pain all over his body, his bones broke, his organs ruptured, his mind began to fade. His last sight was Rem as she stomped on his chest, with a wicked smile on her face.