A/N: So, I just wanted to address something from Rem's confession chapter. Some people are wondering when Subaru ever helped Rem and made her fall for him. Just to be clear, all of this happened when the two of them fought mabeasts together, just like in the anime. Part of it happened while (Y/N) was in the mansion, and part of it happened while he was immobile after failing to cast a spell at the "boss" monster. I'm sorry that I didn't make that clear earlier, but that is what happened. (Y/N) just didn't witness any of it. Thanks for all the advice and critiques that you guys are giving me! It helps a lot. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
You looked around you, but the dense fog that surrounded you cut out the faint light that the sky and the fire had provided.
"Dang... I can't see a thing." You start to panic, so you try to calm yourself down. Taking a deep breath, you tell yourself, "Okay. I might be screwed. On the other hand, maybe I'm not. I'm in this existence-erasing fog. Or that's what I think this is... On the bright side, my first priority is to stay alive, and I've got that down pretty good." You start walking around when there was suddenly a blinding light.
Because of that light, you could see the faint outline of what seemed to be the main force. Smiling, you run over there. Maybe this wasn't the end for you.
You could hear the screams of men and the howling of the Whale, but that didn't matter. You had to get out of this fog and make sure that you weren't a 'Who?' If nobody remembered you, that would be a huge problem.
You get to the edge of the fog, where Crusch rides over to you. "Are you okay? We saw you get enveloped in that fog after the White Whale suddenly appeared beside you."
You nod your head. "Has anybody else made it out? There were about ten other guys who probably got caught in that fog too."
Crusch cocked her head to the side. "Who? I do not recall there being anybody else but you being caught by that fog."
Your eyes widen. "A-are you sure?"
Crusch nodded her head. "I am very sure."
Before you could process what this meant, Subaru came to you. "Hurry up and get back on! We can't be wasting our precious bait time!"
In an almost dazed state, you jumped on top of Patrasche. Holding on to Rem's back so you don't fall off again, you ask, "Do you guys remember anybody else getting caught up by that fog earlier, or was I the only one who it hit?"
You got two different answers.
"Yes."
"No."
Subaru looked back when Rem said no. "Are you sure, Rem? I thought that there were some people who were pretty close to (Y/N)..."
Your suspicions were now confirmed. "Um... I think that the fog erased their existence, but it didn't erase mine..." you mumbled.
"What was that?" Subaru yelled from the front.
Before you could answer, the White Whale approached the three of you.
All of a sudden, Rem yelled, "Ul Huma!" A huge pillar of ice suddenly materialized and pierced its side. If this was on National Geographic, you'd feel sorry for the whale, but in this case, it got what it deserved.
Finally, the Iron Fang captains, accompanied by Wilhelm, charged at the wounded beast.
"GAAAAAAH!" The adorable triplets and Ricardo all unleashed what seemed to be sound waves, and the Whale faltered due to its power. As it was knocked to its side, Wilhelm took a great leap and landed on top of the White Whale's body. He drove his sword deep into its hide, and began to run around.
"I've been waiting for this moment for the last fourteen years! Now die like the filthy beast that you are!" He yelled while he ran across the defenseless backside of the mabeast.
Blood gushed from the great wounds, and the Whale cried out once more.
When he arrived at its head, Wilhelm took his sword out of its body and stabbed the monster's remaining eye.
Thick blood sprayed everywhere, and even you felt some droplets fall onto your clothes.
The Whale was now blinded, and before it could attack him, Wilhelm jumped off of it and rejoined Ricardo and the triplets. The beast fell to the ground, as it was in a lot of pain and it couldn't see.
You could hear cheers in the background, and everyone seemed to be hopeful. This attack was going well, so everybody finally allowed themselves to actually believe that they stood a chance against this great foe.
The White Whale was grounded, just like they had hoped. You didn't really understand the implications of this, but you knew that this fight was going better than it did in the anime.
"Now let's go for round two!" Ricardo exclaimed. He, along with other Iron Fang mercenaries, charged the Whale and scaled its sides so that they could attack it from the top. They hacked at the beast but to be honest, it was so huge that the Whale didn't register this new pain. It was blinded, and it had a large gash that blood was quickly flowing out of.
Subaru, who was still beside you, sighed. "Man, I guess that being a distraction isn't really helpful right now. They're just hacking away at it, and all I can do is watch..."
You and Rem were about to say something, but a fourth party entered the conversation.
"Nyai feel as irritated as you do." All of you look to your left, but you didn't need to look to see who it was. Their voice gave it away.
Next to you was Felix, and he mirrored Subaru's sigh. "I don't have any attacks, so all I can do is watch."
Subaru shook his head. "But you're the best healer, so that makes you our lifeline. We're counting on you, so don't feel so down!"
Felix smiled when he heard this. "You really have changed in just a short time, haven't you? What happened?"
Subaru winced. "Well, I guess that I've become a slightly better man..."
You clear your throat. "I think you forgot the part where Rem and I had to talk some sense into you."
He threw a glare at you. "First off, you didn't really talk that much. Second, I'm still jealous that you can use magic, so shut up!" He said this playfully, but you understood how Subaru felt. Being powerless was something that you had experienced more than enough already.
All of a sudden, you start gagging, and Felix turns a concerned look at you. "(Y/N), what's wrong?"
You make a disgusted face, and explain, "I think some blood just flew into my mouth. I was about to talk, and I gagged because something landed on my tongue, and it was straight up nasty."
You look back at the whale, where Wilhelm was once again digging his sword into its body while running all over the place.
The Whale suddenly shuddered, and you could tell that something was off. "Hey guys, I don't know that much about whales, but I don't think that this is good."
And indeed, others were noticing that something strange was happening. The monster was eerily still, and then the eye that was blinded by you began to turn red.
Knowing that this was bad, you yelled, "GET AWAY FROM IT!"
You didn't know if they heard you, but Wilhelm jumped off of the beast, and retreated along with everybody else who was attacking it.
This was a good call because the White Whale screeched, making your ears want to commit suicide.
When it finished its offensive noise, pores from the monster's body opened up and released the thick fog once again.
This time, everybody had retreated far enough so that nobody was encompassed by the perilous fog, but it still served to hide the Whale's body from view.
Everybody stood on guard, and you told Subaru to ride towards Crusch.
"... so spread out!" She just finished saying something, and her men obeyed her, spreading apart from the main group.
"Hey Crusch!" Hearing your voice, she turned your head towards you. "Clear that fog away with your sword!"
She nodded her head, and told everybody to watch out. Holding her blade far back, she slung it forward, and the resulting attack cleared about a third of the fog.
Seeing as this was successful, Crusch reared her arm back once more, getting ready to repeat this motion. Mimi and Hetaro also saw this from a distance, so they decided to join in.
"GWAAAAAAAA!" They fired their magic at the fog at the same time that Crusch swung her sword the second time,
This time, when her attack hit the fog, there was a great cry.
The White Whale's red eye seemingly came out of nowhere, and everybody fell back as they felt fear take over them.
Well, most everybody. You, Subaru and Rem stayed on Patrache while Crusch, Felix, Wilhelm, and the Iron Fang captains were the only ones to stay in position.
You and Subaru nodded your heads, and Subaru got ready to say the cursed words.
"Hey everybody! Close your ears!"
Even though they were confused, they complied.
After making sure that their ears were covered, Subaru took a deep breath, and yelled, "I can Return by D-" He clutched his heart and you felt a chill run down your spine.
Just as soon as it came, the chill left. Subaru didn't even need to ask Rem if his stench got worse, because the Whale turned around and began to follow the three of you.
"Ha! It worked!" Subaru exclaimed, even though he already knew that his stench would definitely lure the whale.
"Yes. You stink even more now." Rem commented.
You laughed, and Subaru was about to say something when the whale suddenly appeared next to you.
"What the-" You looked back, and another whale was still following you.
You immediately knew what was going on, and explained this to Subaru and Rem as they maneuvered away from the multiple whales.
"The original one cloned itself! We need to find the one that's not fighting and kill it!" Subaru gasped after he heard this.
"That makes sense! We need to let the others know!" Which was easier said than done, because Subaru was still a mabeast magnet. You, on the other hand, didn't reek nearly as much as he did.
"I can go! You keep these copies distracted, and I'll run over to everyone else and let them know what's happening!" Before Subaru could object, you jumped off of Patrasche and made a mad dash to Crusch.
Halfway there, you chuckled. "What am I even doing? I was just an ordinary guy not too long ago, and now I'm fighting for my life in an anime world. I wonder what happened after I disappeared…"
You stopped talking to yourself when you neared the other combatants. At this point, the soldiers who had retreated returned and were chasing the copies of the Whale.
Panting, you draw Crusch's attention. "We don't need to kill those two Whales! They are just copies, and the original one should be somewhere else!"
As Crusch processed what you said, you caught yourself admiring her features.
You shake your head to get those thoughts out of your head. You needed to be focused so that you didn't mess up and die or end up getting someone else killed. Well, you wouldn't die, but the pain was still something to be afraid of.
She sighed. "If what you say is true and if it is as far back as I believe it is, we cannot rely on my sword to reach it."
She looked at you, and you knew that the both of you shared the same thought.
It was time to get Reinhard.
Time Skip
When Wilhelm heard that he was fighting a copy of the Whale, he was visibly angry. He immediately jumped off of the copy that he was currently fighting, and he ran to Ricardo.
While he was running there, he found the main body hiding up in the sky. When he was within shouting distance of the Iron Fang leader, he exclaimed, "Ricardo! I need you to help me reach the beast in the sky!"
Ricardo, who was fighting the other copy, disengaged and looked up in the sky. He saw what Wilhelm was talking about, and immediately understood what he meant. "'Kay! Here ya go!"
Wilhelm leapt up, and Ricardo brought his great sword under the Sword Demon's feet. He swung up with all of his might, and Wilhelm jumped up with all of the strength he could muster in his body.
His feet left the sword, and it looked like Wilhelm was flying. Even though the White Whale was high in the sky, the combined efforts of the two combatants was more than enough for him to reach it.
Wilhelm extended his sword and plunged it into the underside of the monster, where he landed. Using the blade as a handhold, he swung his body in an upward motion and pulled his sword up as he jumped onto the top of the mabeast.
With a fierce war cry, Wilhelm once again stabbed the White Whale and began to run atop its body, causing it to cry out in pain.
"Die, you cursed monster! Die, and rid the world of your evil!" He screamed.
In an attempt to get Wilhelm off of it, the Whale flipped upside down. Of course, Wilhelm was able to stay on it, and this just gave him an opportunity to slice its underside like he had been doing to the top.
"You killed my wife! Now suffer!" he cried out.
He thrusted his sword as deep as he could, and ran onto one of the fins. The Whale flipped back over, and it began to fall lower to the ground. If it was still being attacked in the air, it might as well go to the ground and kill as many people as it could.
As it descended, Wilhelm held tightly to his sword that was firmly stabbed into the Whale's hide. As he looked up, his eyes were met with the sight of a man who was quickly approaching the battlefield. For a moment, he teared up, but the fierce wind blew them out of his eyes.
While many soldiers were fighting the two Whale copies to keep them busy, Cruch sent her fastest people to get Reinhard, who was pretty far away to keep from the battle so that he didn't consume all of the mana in the area.
As soon as those messengers arrived at his location, Reinhard nodded his head and ran to the battle in ten seconds, while the messengers had taken two minutes to get to him.
"I trust that this is the main body?" You jumped when you heard Reinhard's voice right behind you.
The only thing that could have alerted you to his presence was the slight breeze that you had felt. Looking back, you could see that there was a huge dust cloud that must have been a result of Reinhard's running here.
"Y-yeah." The both of you looked at the falling beast, and you saw Wilhelm clinging onto what seemed to be his sword while crouching down on its left fin. The White Whale was being bloodied by the Sword Demon, but unfortunately for it, beside you was an even more powerful monster.
"I see. Have all of our forces retreat. They will not be able to use magic from this point on." Reinhard didn't unsheathe his sword, but he did pick one up that had been discarded in the earlier chaos.
You nodded your head, and went to tell as many people as you could that Reinhard was here.
Fortunately for you, they noticed his presence. Without you having to go far, everybody fell back except for Subaru. He was still acting as bait so that nobody else was being attacked.
He took a running stance, and he was gone when you blinked. The only proof that Reinhard has been standing there was a small crater from where he took off.
He landed atop the Whale next to Wilhelm. "Grandfather! I am here to kill this monster! I suggest that you retreat so that you are not injured!"
Wilhelm shook his head. "Please let me have the honor of staying here while it is being killed." He wanted to be the one to kill the Whale, but standing next to Reinhard as he killed it was just as good.
Reinhard seemed to pick up on these feelings, as he smiled and took Wilhelm's hand and placed it on the handle of the borrowed sword.
This surprised Wilhelm, but he didn't let go.
Seeing that most of the forces had retreated from battle, Reinhard finally began his attack. As both his and his grandfather's held the borrowed sword in the air, a brilliant light came from its blade and pierced the night sky.
"Theresia... I can finally avenge you." With Reinhard being the only person who heard these words, the two of them brought the sword down onto the beast that they were still standing on top of.
You and everyone else on the battlefield couldn't help but feel amazed as they swung the blade down and cleanly cleaved the White Whale, a huge monster that had terrorized the world for centuries, in half.
Blood rained down, and you made sure to close your mouth this time. Other people who left their mouths agape began to gag, and you internally smirk. Learning from your mistakes is a lesson that is underrated.
When the White Whale was killed, its copies dissipated, so Subaru and Rem were able to rejoin the main group.
As soon as Subaru came near, you could hear him yell across the field to Reinhard. "Wow! That was amazing!"
Reinhard smiled humbly. "Thank you. Though I do not believe that I am worthy of such praise, I appreciate it."
As Reinhard was talking, Wilhelm approached him from behind since the two of them were separated when they jumped off of the Whale. "G-grandson..."
There were tears in his eyes, as his wife had finally been avenged. "I- I am not good with words, so I hope that you understand this old man's feelings."
Wilhelm put his bloodied hand on Reinhard's shoulder. "Please forgive me for any animosity that I held towards you. If you would allow it, I would like the chance to act like a proper grandfather to you."
Reinhard placed his hand on top of Wilhelm's. "Nothing would make me happier."
He then let out the biggest smile that you had ever seen him wear, and he hugged his grandfather for the first time that either of them remembered.
Many people witnessed this touching moment between the two men, and they all left them alone.
You did the same thing, and decided to go to Crusch. There was something important that you needed to tell her.
"Crusch-!"
When she took notice of you, Crusch walked to you and extended her hand. With a smile, she said, "Congratulations! Without you and Natsuki-kun, none of this would even be possible!"
You could have acted humble and said something like 'Well, everybody played a big part', but you decided just to accept the praise.
You shook her outreached hand. "Thank you. Now, there's something important that I need to talk to you about"
Keeping the smile on her face, Crusch asked, "What is it? Perhaps you want to discuss which camp gets the credit for this victory?"
You shook your head. "No, it's not that. I was actually wondering what you planned on doing with the carcass of the White Whale."
With an 'oh' expression, Crusch explained, "Well, I plan on taking its body to the capital by hauling it with several dragon carriages along the highway."
Her plans haven't changed from the anime, so this would mean that if you didn't do anything, her and Rem would get their memories eaten by Gluttony. Therefore, you said, "Actually, I don't think that this is a good idea. Knowing that this is a beast created by one of the Witches, it would make sense that Witch Cultists might try to intercept its body. So we should take a less obvious road to the capital."
She considered your words, and after some internal dialogue, she nodded her head. "I see. Your proposition makes sense, and I can tell that you are not lying. I will consider this, and I will announce my decision tomorrow morning."
At this point, you felt pretty desperate, so you didn't give up. "Well, I really think that you need to take a different road. It will take longer, but it will be safer. Plus, there will be less traffic, so we don't have to worry about other people for the whole trip." You crossed your fingers and hoped that she would make the right decision.
It seems like luck was on your side, because Crusch answered, "You do make good points, and your thoughts have been accurate throughout this battle, so I will trust your judgement and take a different route tomorrow."
You let out a breath of relief. "Actually, there's one more thing that I want to ask." She nodded, signaling for you to continue. "Well, I was wondering if I could accompany you to the capital. I would feel guilty if anything happened while you traveled a route that I suggested, so I want to be there if anything goes wrong."
She nodded her head again. "I see that you have a good conscience, so I will not do anything to sully it. You can ride in the same carriage as me tomorrow. There are two extra seats, so you can occupy one of them."
Time Skip
Today, you, Crusch, Rem, and some other soldiers are departing to the capital through a smaller road that would take you the whole day to reach the capital.
Subaru, Reinhard, Wilhelm, Felix, and all of Anastasia's fighters will go to Roswaal's domain to beat Betelgeuse.
This time, you wrote the letter to the mansion explaining everything because you didn't trust Subaru with letters.
Subaru didn't really mind this, but there was one thing this he kept pestering you about: keep Rem safe. His exact words were, "She's really important to me, so you better protect her if someone - or something - attacks! You got it?"
You grinned after he said that, and you reassured him that everything would be fine. On this road, there wouldn't be Archbishops. At most, there might be some wild animals that would be one - shotted. No one would be dumb enough to attack a fully armed transport in the middle of the day.
Then two of you went through the battle plans once more before departing.
Subaru would first go to the mansion and first make sure that everyone there was on the same page. After that, he would convince the villagers that they needed to be evacuated, and then move them, along with Emilia, into Otto's carriages. (You almost forgot about getting Otto's help, but Subaru was able to remember for you and got Anastasia to enlist the group of merchants' help.)
He would make sure that they do not get sent to the Sanctuary, and of course he would make sure that none of the carriages had explosives in them. Accompanying the villagers would be Wilhelm and Julius, along with the Iron Fang mercenaries. They would be able to protect the villagers from any Witch Cultists that tried to attack them.
Reinhard and Felix, along with the remaining fighters, would stay to fight Betelguese. They will first kill his fingers, and then they will go and kill the Archbishop of Sloth.
If Subaru ever got possessed, he would try to say the name of his ability, and then kill Betelguese again once his spirit was ejected from Subaru's body.
This plan was rough against the edges, but you had faith that it would work. That's why you could go with Rem and Crusch without worrying about Subaru's operation.
Speaking of the two women, you were going to ride in a dragon carriage with them. Crusch gave Rem the remaining seat in her carriage as soon as she heard that the maid would be travelling with them.
This was going to be a very awkward ride.
Time Skip
It was already noon, and the trip had gone without incident, just like you had hoped.
According to Crusch, there had only been three casualties, though there had been even more injuries than that. You knew that at least ten men had been 'erased' by the fog, but she didn't need to worry about that.
Now, you sat in the back of the carriage trying to take a nap. You didn't sleep well the night before, and the battle had taken its toll on you, even though you didn't do much of the fighting.
When you were about to drift to sleep, you heard Crusch say something to Rem. You opened your eyelid just enough so that you could barely see the two of them, and you tuned in to the conversation.
"... but there is no reason to worry. Felix, Wilhelm, Reinhard, the Iron Fang, and everybody else who has stayed behind are the best of the best. Such an assembly cannot lose."
Even though Crusch said these comforting words, Rem replied, "Is it still selfish for me to worry despite all of that?"
At this point, you opened your eyes and stretched, gaining the women's' attention. "Well, don't worry too much. Just trust Subaru and everybody else. They'll be fine."
Rem smiled at these words, and bobbed her head.
"It's just like Natsuki-san said. You look best when you are smiling."
Rem was taken aback by Crusch's words, and lowered her head. Quietly, she mumbled, "Honestly, Subaru-kun is such a troublemaker..." She put her head back up, and looked at Crusch. "I am sure that you would look quite different with a smile as well, since you always carry yourself with such dignity. I think that you would look lovely if you smiled."
Crusch looked kind of sad when Rem said this. "Well, I am not very good at smiling. It is still something that I regret, even now."
This would have been a good time for you to say something, but you haven't had enough character growth to start to talk to girls about things like this.
So that led to Crusch talking to you. "(Y/N), if you would, can you tell us how you figured out that the Whale had split itself so quickly? I am sure that nobody else on that battlefield was able to discern that as fast as you did."
They looked at you, waiting for an answer.
While making sure that you weren't really lying, you answered, "Well, I've seen something like that before, so I just used experience to figure it out."
Hearing this, Crusch was surprised. "Is that so? What was that thing that you experienced before."
This was something that you couldn't stretch into a truth, so you just took the safe way out. "Well, that's something that I don't want to talk about..."
Crusch nodded. "Of course. I will respect your privac-"
BOOM!
You bolted up and ran to the front of the carriage, and you saw people and debris flying into the air.
"Enemy attack!" Crusch yelled.
"Don't attack! Turn around!" If this was who you feared it was, attacking him would only be a mistake.
Crusch looked at you like you were dumb. "Just trust me! Fall back!"
She looked conflicted, but she listened. "Everybody! Retreat! Do not engage the enemy!" Unfortunately, the second carriage was destroyed, but the rest were able to swerve to the side of the road.
When the dust settled, you could see two figures in the road.
Why are they here?! What?! This shouldn't have happened! We're screwed! I should have brought Reinhard with us! What do I do?! What do I do?!
You began to panic because standing in the road was none other than the Archbishops of Greed and Gluttony, who should have been on the highway.
Hey guys! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!
Like I said in the note at the beginning, I appreciate all of your comments and reviews. All of that helps a lot, so thank you!
Well, I'll see you next week in the battle against two Archbishops!