"Una?"
Yes, Subaru?
"How did you slow down time?"
I accelerated your thought process.
"How did you know how to do that?"
I ... I don't know... It feels like a voice told me to do it.. It sounded like yours too..
"I unintentionally influenced your decision before the contract started... Do you think this has to do with my high affinity?"
It could do. Usually influencing non contracted spirits without Divine Protections is impossible. But your affinity is really one of a kind Subaru.
"I see."
Subaru opened his eyes. I can converse with them in my sleep? Interesting.
He saw Felix on his left side, sleeping on a chair. And he recalls the events of the night before.
Heh, it seems I'm averaging one near death experience a night. Excellent.
Subaru sat up, the covers rustling as he did so. This woke Felix up, who jumped to his feet and scanned the room, then looked as if he had an epiphany. "Oh, right... Nyah~." He looked at Subaru and winked.
Subaru sighed and got out of bed. "I thought that the doctor did a pretty good job of healing me, I don't know why you're here... No offence." He waved his hands quickly as he realised it could be taken the wrong way.
Felix chuckled. "None taken Subaru-kyun~. Reinhard asked me to check on your gate, although he told me you used contracted spirits, congrats on that by the way, he insisted that I should check."
Subaru nodded in understanding. "I see. He is very cautious. Probably a good thing."
Felix grinned. "Although I don't know what kind of love spell you've casted on him, I'm glad to see him happy. He hasn't smiled like this since... Well, since forever."
Subaru clenched his chest with his right hand, using his left to mimic wiping away tears. "This is too much for my manly heart." He said in a dramatically hoarse voice.
They both laughed for a few seconds before Felix's stomach rumbled. They shared a look and nodded. Food was on their minds.
…
It was a sunny day out, the temperature was perfect, the appa pie Subaru just ate was amazing, and Reinhard was on his knees.
Subaru scratched his chin looking at him.. "Reinhard... What are you doing?"
"Please forgive me. If I wasn't so slothful you wouldn't have had to go through that." Reinhard sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
Subaru sighed. "Reinhard, stand up." He complied, although hesitantly. He had prepared for Subaru to hate him, to call him a monster, to throw him out like his father and grandfather did.
He was a monster after all, he didn't deserve fri-
"Reinhard, what happened was not your fault. The Witch Cult have always been one step ahead. Plus, it's a good thing, I got to meet some pretty cool spirits and now I have bragging rights about how I took down a group of Witch Cultists." Subaru grinned and did his classic pose, before pointing at Reinhard. "Besides, you did save my life anyway. I'd have been toast if you didn't step in. I owe you my life Reinhard."
Reinhard couldn't hold it in. Subaru had broken down every wall around him and shattered all expectations. He opened the floodgates and tears poured out of his eyes. Once Subaru noticed this, he pulled the man into a hug.
Sure, the red-head was a foot taller than him, but Subaru still managed to stroke his hair to comfort him like he's seen in almost every TV show. I'm not gay nor am I trying to get him to love me. But he has some serious self deprecation problems and takes everyone's burdens. I need to get him to learn that friends are there to help. To vent to, to share burdens with.
Once he's learned that, he'll be the best damn swordsman in my party.
...
Seriously Subaru stop thinking about this like it's some game.
A few minutes passed and they broke apart, Reinhard wiped his wet face with his sleeve and thanked Subaru. "Sorry for wetting your shirt."
"That is it. Reinhard, you're not allowed to apologise for anything for the rest of today. If I hear a single apologise, I'll kick your ass six ways 'til Sunday." Subaru yelled in false-anger.
Reinhard didn't really understand what that threat meant, but he found it funny and started chuckling. "Very well, I'll stop apologising."
…
It was lunch time, and Subaru was sitting across from Reinhard. "So, Reinhard, has an investigation started on why the Witch Cult attacked?" Subaru asked.
I am curious as to why they attacked. Was it me they targeted or the mansion itself?
"An investigation, but currently there isn't much evidence. The Witch Cultists had no possessions other than their blades and gospels." Reinhard replied, cutting up his steak.
"Gospel?"
"It's a black book the Witch Cult follows. It's like their sacred text. However there's a common rumour that if you try to read it you go insane and turn into a Witch Cultist."
"You sound like you don't believe the rumour."
"I doubt reading a book could do such a thing."
Gospel huh.. A sacred text that they follow. Maybe it has some information.. I need to get my hands on one. He said those Cultists had one on them? I need to find out where they put the bodies... Hmm, think of a lie... Alright! Time for a deception check!
"By the way Reinhard, do you know what that rotting smell is?" I don't know if he has some lie detecting ability, judging how he said he can tell what powers I have maybe means he can read minds too? Puck could... Then again he's a Great Spirit.
"Ah, that's probaby the bodies of those attackers from last night. We've put them in the dungeons for investigation before we send them off elsewhere."
Success! They're in the dungeons huh? Guess I'll have to venture down there when I can.
Subaru was silent afterwards and greedily shoved a large piece of steak into his mouth.
...
Subaru was confused when a purple haired knight just waltzed into the mansion as if he was a member of the house.
"Uh.. Hello?" Subaru asked, trying to find out exactly who this was and why they knew the layout of the mansion.
"Ah, black hair, weird fashion sense. You must be Natsuki Subaru." The knight examined him, one hand stroking his non existent beard.
"My fashion sense is not weird! I just come from a far away place. Jeez." Subaru stomped his foot.
"Julius!" Reinhard yelled, entering the lobby and seeing his purple haired friend.
"Reinhard! I heard about the attack last night and I had to make sure everything is alright." He said, concern audible in his voice.
So he must be a friend Reinhard. He insulted my fashion sense which is unforgivable but I suppose I'll try to befriend him.
"Ah, well everyone is safe-" Reinhard was cut off.
"Except the vases and paintings... And that carpet, sorry about the blood stains."
Reinhard stood there not exactly sure how to react. Julius started chuckling however, so Reinhard used his Divine Protection of Deducing to figure out Subaru was joking.
"Ah, you have a sense of humour. That is good. My name is Julius Juukulius. You may know of me as the Spirit Knight, or the Knight of Knights." He smiled.
"I've literally never heard of you." Subaru smiled back and stuck his hand out for a handshake.
Julius's smile dropped for a second before shrugging it off as he recalled Subaru's previous statement. He shook his hand.
"So you're a Spirit Knight huh? You a spirit arts user?" Subaru asked. He was rather curious as to who this was. If he was a spirit arts user, he may be able to teach him some more.
"I am, I have a contract with-"
"Six quasi-spirits? I think Felix talked about you once."
"Ah.. I see. It's good to hear he hasn't broken his habit of revealing state secrets."
The trio chuckled.
"Are you a spirit arts user yourself, Subaru?" Julius asked. He could feel his spirits brimming with excitement, and it seemed to be aimed towards Subaru.
"Ah yes, apparently I have a very high affinity and spirits have an easy time liking me." Subaru smiled as Una, Feu and Ve showed themselves. They hovered on his shoulders.
Upon seeing this, Julius's spirits all showed themselves and circled around Subaru. "Ah. It seems they like you. Their names are In, Nes-"
"Kua, Ake, Alo and Ia.. They just told me." Subaru nodded.
Julius blinked a few times before looking at Reinhard, who just nodded, smiled and shrugged. "You can talk to them?"
"Yes, I can talk to most spirits I find. And recently it seems they've been more verbal. I don't know if my affinity has been increasing or if it's like learning their language." Subaru shrugged.
"Do you happen to have the Divine Protection of Gathering Spirits too?" Julius asked.
Subaru looked at Reinhard, confused. "He doesn't, I've used my Divine Protection of Judgement and it's revealed that Subaru has no Divine Protections, however he seems to have some ability that I can't recognise. It feels powerful, and like it's only waking. But it doesn't seem dangerous."
Subaru blinked and his mouth hung open. "Right, when did you plan on telling me this exactly?"
Reinhard froze for a second, mentally facepalming. "Ah, sor-"
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU TEN MINUTES AGO!"
…
Subaru was now in the library, staring blankly at a book in front of him. But he could only think of earlier, when Julius offered to teach him how to combine Spirit's spells and also inflict magic on objects, such as his sword.
He, obviously accepted, having a sword that could shoot laser beams sounded awesome.
But now that was the only thing he could think of.
He sighed and buried his face in his palms.
"Ughhhhh."
"Hey guys."
Yes, Subaru? They said in unison.
"Is there some spell that can enhance my memorisation skills?"
If I recall correctly, Yin and Yang spells effect the mind most of the time, so you'd have better luck asking those kind of spirits. Feu explained.
Oooh! I met a yang spirit once! In the margrave's territory. He seemed nice. I think his name was Lui or something. Ve rambled.
"Interesting, thanks guys.."
If my memory serves me right, the Margrave is referring to Roswaal... I could go look for the spirit there and use visiting lady Emilia and Roswaal as an excuse.
I don't really have any other goals at the moment other than becoming a knight. Surely having a Yang spirit can help with that.
He made his decision. He was to depart to the Margrave's manor immediately, so he can memorise the language faster. It would also be beneficial to have mind enhancing magic to be able to help him in the long run. The thought acceleration ability from Una was very helpful, but it drained a lot of mana. If Yang magic specialised in the mind, then surely there's a similar spell that requires less energy.
Subaru got up and left the library, finding Reinhard as fast as he could.
But it didn't take him long, because Reinhard was on the other side of the door. "Ah, Reinhard. I wanted to ask you something."
Reinhard blinked. "Yes I was about to retrieve you for sword practice."
Subaru mentally screamed. I forgot about sword practice.
"I would like to depart to the Margrave's Manor. I need to visit Roswaal, it's a matter relating my magic lessons. And it wouldn't hurt to see Lady Emilia on the way there."
He didn't really need to lie to Reinhard, he just felt like it'd be kinda stupid to only visit to find a Yang Spirit.
Reinhard took a second to process it. "Of course, my friend. But after sword practise. I'll have a servant prepare a carriage in the meantime."
…
Sword practise was exhausting as usual, but he learned a lot about balance and feints. Not that he'd be using it for a while anyway. He didn't have anything other than his wooden sword.
"Subaru, I'm about to teach you how to imbue physical objects with mana. You can do this by pushing mana through your spirits and then looping them into the object. I can do this with my sword with a spell and chant. Let me show you."
He unsheathed his sword and raised it into the air. He was standing in front of quite a large rock, and seemed intent on cutting it in half.
He's mad if he thinks he can cut that.
"El Clarista!" Julius yelled, his sword glowed a bright white and he swung downwards. The stone got cut in half, and then shattered into tiny fragments.
Holy shit he cut it... That was AWESOME!
...
By the time the carriage was ready, it was mid afternoon. He should hopefully arrive at the manor by dinner time. Or perhaps just after.
After saying his goodbyes, he got into the carriage and left. He felt kinda bad about leaving Reinhard on his own with his father, but if Reinhard became too dependant on him, it'd be an issue. He thought back to what Felix had told him. About Reinhard smiling a lot more since his arrival.
Ah, he'll be fine. He's faster than the speed of sound and I don't think I've ever seen someone so much as scratch him.
The carriage departed, and several minutes in, Subaru realised he didn't even bring a book to read. He reached forward for the driver window and asked how long the journey was.
"It should take about three to four hours." The driver responded monotonously.
Subaru sat back and groaned. "Why am I so dumb".
…
Once he arrived at the manor, his legs ached from having sat down for so long. He giddily waited until the carriage came to a halt near the main entrance. He opened the door for himself and jumped down, stretching his legs.
At the entrance, two maids stood next to each other. Subaru noticed that they look the exact same, the only difference being that one had blue hair, and the other had pink hair. The maid outfits they wore were slightly different than the ones back in the Astrea mansion but they were still good nonetheless.
"Sister, Sister, this man is violating us in his mind."
"Rem, Rem, this man has taken us prisoner in his mind."
Subaru flinched and was tempted to take a defensive stance. "I did nothing of the sorts!" He yelled.
"Subaru, do all your entrances have to be so loud." A neutral voice appeared from behind him. He turned and saw a familiar flying cat.
"Puck!" He cheered. "God I thought I'd go mad, they have no cats in the Astrea mansion!"
Puck's smile faded and it turned into a glare. "I am not a cat!" He shouted.
Subaru burst into laughter.
Roswaal stepped outside from the grand entrance. "Aaaahhh. Subaru-kuuuuun. I'm so glad you could make iiittt." His accent still annoyed Subaru, but he was currently more confused by the fact that Roswaal knew of his arrival. Maybe Reinhard had a Divine Protection of Announcing Arrivals? "You're juuuuust in time for dinner~. Come join us." Roswaal suggested, although it felt more like an order.
He entered the mansion and followed Roswaal to the dining room. There, he saw Lady Emilia, who stood up upon seeing him. "Subaru! You're okay."
Subaru patted his body down. "Yes, I believe I am. How are you?" He grinned.
Emilia nodded. "I'm alright, thank you." As much as Subaru wanted to continue the conversation, the dinner on the table looked really appealing to his hunger crazed brain right now. He moved to the table and took the empty seat. The food looked and smelled delicious and he couldn't wait to dig in.
After Roswaal sat down on the table opposite him, they began eating. It was good, really good. Better than the food at the Astrea mansion. Don't get him wrong, the food there was really good, but this was just so much better.
After dinner, Emilia had excused herself to her room. He saw no reason to stay up much longer so he retired to his bedroom. Ram had led him there, which was probably for the best because Rem had been glaring at him for the second half of dinner. He wasn't sure if he said something to offend her or if that was just how she acted. But for now he decided it was best to keep his distance.
Ram showed him the door and then left. He reached for the door and opened it, but he ended up in quite a massive Library. He blinked a few times, confused. After looking back out in the hall and judging the distance between the doors and the interior of the library he deduced that this door was some form of portal.
He inspected the library more closely. The bookshelves were all filled with books of many colours, and in the middle, facing the entrance, was a blonde young looking girl in a pink frilly dress. She was sitting on a chair with a book in her hands which she was reading. "Uh... I was told this was my room." He stated.
She sighed and looked up towards him, but the scowl on her face instantly fell when seeing him. Her face turned red and her mouth hung slightly agape.
Subaru, be careful, she's a spirit. And a powerful one at that.
"Yeah, I can tell. Something in me told me that she was a spirit the second I saw her."
Hmm, maybe another thing to do with your Spirit ability.
"Ability?"
Reinhard did say that you had some sort of power. It would explain how you can converse so easily with spirits, because usually just having a high spirit affinity would do this.
"I see."
"My name is Natsuki Subaru, what's yours?" He asked, taking his usual classic pose and then pointing at her when asking the former half of the sentence. She seemed to flinch at this, but then got her bearings together.
"M-my name is Betty I s-suppose." She answered. She cleared her throat and continued. "It appears my door crossing led you here in fact."
Subaru nodded. "Door crossing?"
"It is a form of my magic, it connects any two doors together. I use it to change locations constantly." She replied.
"I see. Well, I would love to talk but I am absolutely exhausted and I would like to go to my bedroom. Could you send me there please?" Subaru yawned.
'Betty' seemed a bit taken back but she nodded. "V-very well. Only because you asked politely I suppose."
He smiled and gave her a thumbs up and opened the door, seeing it led to a bedroom. He walked through and closed the door behind him. Out of curiosity he opened the door again, to see the closet. "Huh. That's cool."
…
Subaru couldn't sleep. Something was bugging him. He didn't know what. Something felt sinister, his instincts warned him something was wrong. He sighed and got out of bed, deciding to take a walk in the garden to calm down. As he stepped outside the cold air nipped at his body. The moisture from the grass soaked into his slippers as he walked further into the dark.
Ugh god. I feel so stressed. I wish I had someone to talk to.
As he thought that, tens, or maybe even hundreds of spirits appeared in the air. Lesser spirits? Ohh, I must have accidentally broadcasted my thoughts.
He conversed with the spirits, they seemed rather polite and friendly. He could tell that some were old, some were young. He also noticed that they spoke a lot more freely than they did back in the capital. They sounded more like people, being able to say full sentences instead of single words.
Maybe it's to do with the fact that there's less people here? I don't know. Reinhard and my spirits mentioned I have some sort of ability that makes spirits like me more. Maybe it also makes them smarter or more sentient around me? That'd be interesting.
JUMP TO THE SIDE.
Subaru dodged to the side, as every single spirit in the garden screamed at him to move. He landed just in time to see a morning star fly past him. Oh come on! Seriously? Why do I have to get attacked every god damn ni-
His thoughts were interrupted by the spirits telling him to dodge backwards. He did, and then jumped right afterwards. Subaru searched for the attacker, and saw a blue haired maid with a morning star Rem? What the fu-
He didn't have time to think, he had to concentrate so hard on dodging the blows that he couldn't even cast spells. Each time he dodged he got closer and closer to getting hit. Rem flung her morning star in one direction, making him dodge, only for her to change course mid way and strike his arm. Ah... I should have listened to Reinhard about feints.
His arm got torn from his body. White hot burning pain shot through his body as he fell to the ground. He screamed out in pain and tears pooled in his eyes. The shock was too much for him to handle and he felt his body starting to shut down.
And through his bloody vision, he saw the morning star flying towards his head. He closed his eyes, preparing for his oncoming death. He didn't know what he did to anger the maid, but if he somehow had the ability to load from a checkpoint he'd certainly make sure to not make the same mistake... The pain never came though. In fact,the pain only disappeared. He opened his eyes and realised time had slowed. A lot.
"Una? Are you doing this?"
No. I haven't cast any spells, I've been trying to seal your arm wound along with Feu who's trying to cauterise it.
"Then who."
He saw three orbs appear in front of him. One white, one black and one blue.
Hello. Natsuki Subaru. My name is Lui, I'm a quasi spirit of Yang. A masculine voice echoed in his mind, he knew the elements colours so he could tell the white one was Yang.
Nice to meet you Sir Subaru, my name is Ol, I am a quasi spirit of Yin. A feminine voice followed suite.
A yin spirit? I didn't expect I'd need one due to my affinity.
Hello! My name is Elle! I am a water spirit and I love the blue sky! A cheerful, feminine voice spoke.
"Would you three like to form a contract with me? I could totally go for a water spirit to heal my arm right now."
That is why we are here. You seem very interesting Subaru. Lui responded.
"Thanks... Wait, if it isn't Una slowing time, who is?"
Lui is using a mind enhancing ability to speed up your thought process, and me and Ol are speeding up your body! Elle, responded.
"Alright, excellent. How much longer can you keep this up?"
About 20 seconds.
"Hmm.. Let me think..."
Water spirit, healing. Elle's priority should be healing my arm. I doubt as just a quasi spirit she could regrow limbs, I heard that even Felix struggles with that. She should be able to close the wound and deal with any other internal damage. I'll just have to remember to collect my arm later on and get it sown on until Felix can reconnect the nerves.
Yang and Yin? Interesting. Julius explained to me that Yang is to do with the mind, the body and soul. And Yin can control space-time, which sounds so damn powerful. Wait. Could I recreate door crossing with that?
Anyway. I know I can use Shamac, maybe even the El variant with the spirit. I'll ask Lui to boost my mental speed to be able to cast faster.
Alright, this sounds like a plan.
"Lui, as soon as this spell ends I'm going to funnel mana into you, I need you to then continue casting this spell but to a weaker degree. Just enough for me to have good reflexes."
Of course, I'll cast it as soon as I have the required mana.
"Elle, I need you to deactivate my pain receptors where my arm has been torn off, then you have to seal the wound. If you require help from Una to heal it faster you may ask."
Very well! But you shouldn't underestimate me master!.
"I'll hold you to that! Ol, I'm going to cast El Shamac. Let me do the visualising, I want to focus it on her and I'd rather not create a cloud of smoke. I noticed some magicians can concentrate it onto just one person so I know it's possible."
Alright, good luck Sir.
"Excellent. Now, let's form this contract!"
The moment he said that, he rolled out the way of the morning star, just barely dodging it. He tried his best to absorb mana from the Lesser Spirits in the atmosphere and loop it into Lui. When he accomplished it, time slowed down once more. But it was still a lot faster than before.
"Elle! Una! Heal me!"
After sending them mana, he instantly felt relief as his pain receptors shut down. One step of the plan left, I hope this works. Roswaal did say a simple Shamac isn't always powerful enough. But my gate is too weak to push the correct amount of mana into one spell. This may be overdoing it, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
He lifted his arm, and once more felt the mana course through his veins, before sending it to Ol. He visualised temporarily blocking the connection between the optic nerve and the brain. Using his knowledge on basic biology greatly increased his magic efficiency.
"EL SHAMAC!" He screamed so loud his throat would hurt for the next few hours. In the instant he said it, Rem's face contorted into panic. She swung her morning star around but ended up dropping it as it flung away into a poor innocent tree.
"Jesus Christ, what does El Shamac do exactly?"
Well it cuts off each one of the five senses. But also some others, like the sense of knowing if you're upright. It's as if her mind is no longer in her body.
Holy Crap. I see. I'll just maintain this for a little longer and then I'll... Man.. I think all this blood loss from the past two nights have been catching up with me.. I think I'm gonna...
Thunk..
SUBARU!
Through his fading vision, he saw the faint outlines of pink hair approaching them.
(Subaru has fainted one too many times, I refuse to end the chapter here.)
Subaru opened his eyes after passing out for the third time since appearing in this world. He recalled the events of the night before once more. Ok seriously, something is seriously wrong here. Is it literally gonna be one near death experience per night? The writers of this story need to start getting original.
He scanned the room, seeing Reinhard asleep on his right side. I'm getting a sense of deja vu here. He sat up, feeling fit enough to move around. His left arm was reattached to his shoulder, but he couldn't move it. He deduced the nerves haven't been healed yet.
He was about to call for his spirits, but through either his contract or his ability he felt that they were sleeping.
Subaru silently got out of bed. He saw the black bags under Reinhard's eyes and decided to let him sleep. He opened the door to his room and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind. He sighed and turned around, only to jump out his skin.
In front of him was none other than Ram, she had red eyes as if she had been crying. Her hair was untamed and her cheeks were red. If Subaru didn't know what had happened, he'd have assumed she has come down with a fever. "Ram.. Are you alright?"
Her eyes narrowed at him, but it quickly returned back to normal. She's probably too tired to act all tsundere. Did she even sleep at all?
"Roswaal would like to see you, in his office." She sniffed. He nodded and followed her.
…
He opened the door to the office, seeing Roswaal sitting at his desk facing him. Rem was standing on the left, her face in similar condition to Ram's. Even though Rem had literally tried to kill him, Subaru couldn't help but feel guilty. Subaru, she literally tore your arm off from you. She tried to kill you.
Yes but I also did blind her for god knows how long... She looked so scared when she fell to the floor.
"Aaaahhhh. Subaru-kun~. I'm glad to see you're healthy." Roswaal grinned.
"I can't move my arm." Subaru replied coldly.
"I seee~... Either way. Rem here shall be fired and exiled for her crimes. Buuuttt~. If you want her executed or worst you can just say it and it's dooonnnee~." Roswaal didn't drop his smile.
What kind of person would happily suggest executing his maid. Jeez.. Subaru glanced over at Rem, who avoided his gaze and had flinched, going pale, when Roswaal mentioned the execution.
He glanced over at Ram who had entered the room after him. She looked into his eyes pleadingly. Subaru, you're not staying here for much longer... If you send her away you'll hurt Ram... Ahh fuck it.
"Rem?" He called to her. She didn't meet his gaze but her head lowered. "Why did you try to kill me? I know I made some pretty bad jokes but I don't think they were that bad."
Rem was visibly shocked at this, and she scrambled to get her words together. "I-I... I thought you smelled of the Witch.. I thought you were a Witch Cultist... But after closer inspection there is a difference between your scent and the Witch, although similar."
Subaru had an epiphany. Would that explain why they came to the mansion? That would mean they targeted me though.. And judging by the fact that there hasn't been an announcement about Witch Cultists murdering a member of the Astrea Estate means the Witch Cult knows I am still alive... This means they'll try again...
Or maybe I am just overthinking this. Reinhard is a powerful knight, the public hearing someone died under his protection would ruin him and his reputation. They could be preparing for an attack of some sorts and tried to get him out of commission.
"Well. It was a simple misunderstanding then, no need for you to be exiled. If that is all, then I'm going to go get some lunch. Forming six contracts and killing a group of Cultists in just two days really makes you hungry." He smiles. He turned around and left the room.
As he left the room, he heard Ram mutter something under her breath. Thank you.
…
He spent the rest of the day talking to Emilia and Puck. They were happy to see him, and were excited to meet his new buddies, Elle, Lui, Feu, Ol, Ve and Una.
"So Puck, is it possible to create spells?" Subaru asked.
"It's possible but you need a very powerful imagination. But from how Emilia describes how you casted Goa for the first time and had perfected it instantly, I think you have what you need. All you need to do is imagine the effect you want, the element to use, then you push mana through the gate and create an incantation. And like all spells, if you train yourself with them enough, you can cast spells without incantations." Puck replied.
Subaru nodded, processing the information.
…
Subaru went for an evening walk. He felt exhausted, but his mind just wouldn't let him rest. And although last night did have success in putting him to sleep, he felt the methods were a bit different to how he would have preferred it.
But when rolling his Luck check, it appears he rolled a 1.
After finding a village on his walk, he noticed that the inhabitants were running around with torches. His body screamed for him to turn back and go to bed, but his mind told him to help them. Ah, if I want to be a knight I have to learn to push through pain. This is nothing compared to having an arm torn off.
He ran towards the village and stopped in front of one of the villagers, who aimed his pitchfork at him. "Stop there! Who are you!" He demanded.
Subaru blinked. He raised his hands in surrender. "My name is Natsuki Subaru, I'm a knight under Sir Reinhard. I'm here to help." The villager's eyes widened, then he sighed in relief.
"Thank god! You're a miracle! The kids have gone missing, and one of the barrier crystals has been destroyed. There are maabeasts out there!"
Makes sense, I'd be panicked too.
"Hey uh, lesser spirits? Could you help me out and show me the way to the children please?"
A dozen spirits appeared and circled around, before shooting in a direction.
"I see, I shall do my best to save them. I work with spirits, so if a few spirits come over and circle around you they're probably telling you to follow them!" Subaru yelled as he ran after them.
Passing trees, he saw red eyes glowing in the dark. Wolves? Or are they those maabeasts the villagers mentioned.
"Hey, Quasi-spirit bros, wanna wake up?"
He heard yawns in his head as his spirits woke up, then he felt their panic and they probably only now noticed he was running through the forest.
Subaru, you are surrounded by maabeasts.
"Yeah! Thanks Lui! I noticed!"
He continued to run through the forest until he came to a hill. He saw a group of children on the top. Ah, found them. They're unconscious?
He continued his sprint until he was next to them, and he tried his best to catch his breath while assessing the situation. In the remaining rays of the setting sun, he noticed that they all had bite marks on their hands and arms. Bite marks? Must be the maabeasts, but if they wanted to eat them then they'd be eaten... Maybe it's poiso-
"Sir... Please.. One of us.. Blue hair... She's in the forest." Subaru turned towards the source of the voice, seeing an orange haired girl. She looked to only be 12 or so.
Subaru nodded. "Alright, I will go look for her." "Hey guys, can any of you detect if these guys have been poisoned?"
Elle materialised and hovered around the children. No, they're not poisoned, or I can't detect anything. They do have bite marks though. Hey Ol, can you check them for curses?
Ol materialised as well and circled around one of the children. Yeah, this one certainly is.
"Can any of you remove curses?"
Well, I know of one spell but I'd need both Lui and Elle with me to do it.
Subaru nodded. "Do that then, I'll lend you the mana now, do the best you can." He absorbed the mana in the air and looped it into the trio.
"Hey, lesser spirits? I need to look for a girl, she has blue hair, she's a kid. She's somewhere in the forest."
Lesser spirits appeared in the air and shot off in a direction, beckoning Subaru to follow.
"Ve, go get the villages, lead them here. Protect them from the beasts to the best of your ability. Once they're here, come find me. Ol, Elle, Lui, once the curses are removed, stay here until Ve has arrived with the villagers then come find me too. I'll see you later."
Subaru? Are you sure? You'll only have me and Feu left. Una voiced her concerns.
"You underestimate our combined strength. Let's go."
Subaru followed the lesser spirits, leading him deeper into the forest. On his way, two maabeasts stood in front of him. Hm. This can be good, I can test the strength of these beasts. Subaru raised his functioning arm towards them and drained the mana from the air. "El Goa!" He chanted.
Two balls of blue fire appeared from behind him, shooting towards the maabeasts, then burning straight through their fur and brains. Damn, they're not as strong as I expected. That is for the best. He ran further after the spirits, ending up in an opening. He saw a indigo haired girl laying on the floor, unconscious. This must be her.
He rushed over to her, checking her for injury. She had a bite mark, but he had no way of removing the curse for now. He'd have to wait for Ol, Lui and Elle to get back. After picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder, he noticed a pack of maabeasts had surrounded him. Ah, fuck.
They growled as they approached him. This is a bit of a problem. His eyes scanned the environment for an escape route. "Hey, Feu?"
Yes?
"Are you strong enough to withstand an Ul spell?"
Of course, all of us can cast even Al spells.
Excellent.
Subaru looked at one part of the circle, where the blockade was less numerous than the rest. He raised his arm, drawing the mana from the air once more. "UL GOA!" He shouted. A wave of fire flew towards the maabeasts, and the sound of howling and whimpering could be heard from a mile away. Subaru made a break for it, taking advantage of the beasts being distracted. He made his way through the burning corpses and re-entered the forest.
He ran and ran and ran, evading whenever he heard a voice in his head telling his to move. But after this game of cat and mouse went on for too long, they outsmarted him. Just as he dodged to the left, another beast had already gone to pounce on him before he could jump again. Subaru knew it was coming, and he prepared himself for death. Mentally writing his will, he reflected on the time he spent with the people from this world.
Emilia, the first person to be his ally. The first person he could talk to. The kindest and most beautiful person he's met. Although he didn't notice it in the alley, he saw she was a half elf when the wind blew her hair when she ran. He heard the rumours in the capital about her, about her being the Witch of Envy. He knew it was obviously false, and it enraged him to think people thought that of her.
Reinhard, the most humble person he's met. He had a kind heart, and although he may not completely understand social cues, he tries his best. Subaru could tell that Reinhard hasn't had many friends, and he's seen firsthand his family problems. He knew that Reinhard would be sad at his death, or would he? Subaru couldn't tell for certain, but that didn't matter. He wished Reinhard the best. That Julius and Felix would help him out of the hole his depression dug for him.
Felix. A bit of a nutcase that one, but he made him laugh. A very good healer, and Subaru thinks of them as friends. He could tell when he was in the Crusch manor that he cared a lot about her. Felix, good luck.
Puck, he's cool. A good friend, although he didn't quite understand them, he still laughed as his jokes. His fur was so so soft and he taught him a lot about magic.
Julius, he only met him today, but he seems like a cool person. He sticks to his knight code a lot and can sometimes act like he's the best person in the room, but he taught some cool things to Subaru, and I just wish I got to know him better.
Rem, Ram, Roswaal. They were quite a weird and cold bunch, but he's sure they'd warm up to him if he spent more time with them... Oh so much he could have done if he only had more time.
The sound of chains snapped him to reality.
Loud whimpers echoed throughout the forest. Subaru turned to look and saw none other than Rem, a horn grown on her head and blood covered her clothes. Although shocked to see her, he decided there was a different time for being shocked. "Thanks Rem. Let's run." He manages to say between pants. The maabeasts continue to run after them as the two attempt to flee. Wait, didn't the villagers say the barrier is broken? If I lend these beasts to the village then they'll get slaughtered, especially since an unknown portion of them went to get the children. Seeing the village not too far away, he gave the girl to Rem. "Run to the village, I'll distract them."
Before she could respond, he had already shot a few Fulas at the beasts and ran in a different direction. He kept running, trying to come up with a plan to evade them. But his body was screaming for him to rest, and his lungs were burning. His throat felt dry from the cold air and his movements reopened a few healed cuts from the night before.
He found another opening, and was surprised to hear... Nothing.
He turned around and noticed the maabeasts had ran away, deciding to not follow him. Fuck fuck fuck no no no. You were meant to follow me! God I hope Rem is okay. Ah, she must have brought Roswaal. Or maybe even Emilia... Please, just someone. Save the villagers.
He used the few moments to catch his breath, but he flinched upon hearing footsteps approaching him. Subaru turned around, his eyes meeting someone all too familiar. Oh god... Please no.
In front of him stood someone with unfinished business. Elsa Granhiert, The Bowel Hunter.
Thanks for reading. This chapter is a longer one however I wanted to keep the dialogue to a minimum. Next chapter will contain a lot of information and discoveries so yeah.
See ya (I am trying to upload at least once a week, currently aiming for every 2 days but I might not always be able to)