Chapter 1
Fresh and a half Start
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Life was perfect for Sir Subaru Natsuki. He had a legit reason to stay by his dream girl's side; he had a flashy title; he has a daughter figure; he's a recognized national hero for permanently stopping international threats; he's received acknowledgements of distinguished service from some of the Candidates; he's on good terms with most of said Candidates; he stopped the mansion attack; he saved The Sanctuary; he's either a friend and on pretty good terms with The Witches; and his most recent development, a lap pillow from Emilia.
So why in the Holy Names of God The Father, The Son, and Emilia was this strangely comfortable pressure on him? He persuaded his eyes to open with the promise of seeing Emilia; lo and behold, there she was.
As his eager sight eventually complied, he would thank every god and deity of every mythos for the sight they had bestowed upon him. The snow-white skinned and silver-haired beauty known as Emilia, was slumped-over asleep over him as he was in her lap pillow.
Normally, if this was a Slice of Life, the MC would shoot upwards and out of this precarious situation, leaving the girl to injuries. But he was no pathetic sappy Slice of Life Main Character; he was a run of the mill 18-year-old Japanese boy that was isekaied and cursed to Return By Death to a random location that was dictated by a crappy autosave system.
A run of the mill-18-year-old Japanese boy struck with the fabled case of isekaitis that just so happened to not be able to permanently die.
He felt oddly at home in this particular moment; the woman trapping him being a bonus. He looked around to soak in the Medieval architecture of a Noblewoman's guest room, but gazed upon frighteningly familiar decor.
A massive 3-person leather-clad reclining sofa; gritty textured walls devoid of any color; against the wall, on the left side of the slate platform, was a thicker than normal XBOX One with a stack of games and 3 remotes to the side; and Samsung KS8000 TV.
' Couch, XBOX, TV, drywall?'
He looked up and saw the ceiling was made of the same material, the exception being that there were 2 skylights protected by strangely thick glass panels with signs of wear and tear on the outside.
' More drywall, and skylights. The Other World is some 5, or 600 years away from being able to make drywall.'
He needed to investigate further, meaning he had to leave the comfort and safety of Emilia's lap. He reluctantly began to move his arms off his stomach, lazily rolling them off. Instead of being met with the dense *thunk* of the Other World's common flooring, he was met with the almost hollow *thunk* of hardwood flooring.
"Tatatata"
A/N: "Itai" and "Ta" are the Japanese onomatopoeia for "ouch"
' Yep, that's a hardwood floor'
He slid his hand forward in hopes of sitting upright, but his hand glid across the floor. He caught himself from sliding and disturbing Emilia's sleep, having been used to reduced friction.
' Wood varnish? Probably waterproof.'
Stuff just got weird from 0 to 100 pretty quick; now he really needed to investigate.
?:XWFHCDCDGBNHIMKBGTSXSFYUOPKFWS
Whatever language The Stranger was speaking, Subaru couldn't hear or understand. It most definitely sounded foreign, but he couldn't be sure, because of his morning haze and start-up.
*Chckchck*
Subaru: Oh shit.
Any modern-day Earthling would instantly identify the ominous noise coming from behind him. He wondered how he might get out of this situation: he knows what's behind him, he's stuck between wood and a soft place, and if something goes down, he's not sure if he would Return here or in Lugunica.
He could feel the stare of The Stranger; being sized up, searching for outstanding features, and trying to identify his origin.
The Stranger: *Ahem* Name, birthdate, occupation, affiliation, country, current head of country, currency.
Subaru felt his blood pressure skyrocket; his heart and hormones go into overdrive; and sweat forming on his palms and head. The Stranger spoke in perfect Japanese; speaking in a cold, wary, and controlled tone.
By the sound of it: the stranger was male; around his age, 16-19; and by the power of his guestimating skills, at least 150 cm (~5 ft).
He was in no position to talk his way out of this, and his best bet was to comply as calmly as he could.
Subaru: Sir Subaru Natsuki; April 1st; Royal Knight of Emilia, the woman here; Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica; Council of Elders is leading because the Royal Family nearly died out, and we're waiting on The Royal Selection; Currency is the Lugunican Coin, divided into Copper, Silver, Gold, and Holy, 100 for each denomination up.
The Stranger: Stand slowly, hands up, turn around.
Subaru complied with each command to the punctuation; squirming his head off Emilia's lap, slowly standing up with his hands raised, and turned around slowly.
As he turned to his left, he got a better look at his potential grave in the making. A table against the wall with an unfamiliar model of an HP brand PC, definitely a gaming PC, the components visible and some cooling fans around; and a massive black-steel safe, around 1.5 m x 1.1 m x 0.7m (~60 x ~42 x ~28 in.)
Looking at his right, he could see a queen sized mattress on a basic varnished wood frame.
Subaru couldn't help but wonder how much his "host" had spent on all this, and what he has stored in the safe and computer. Why where he and Emilia here? Was it Earth? An alternate reality? Another planet? The Future of his home?
He kept turning to the stranger, seeing regular thing you would find in a teen's room; clothes, shoes, food trash, miscellaneous electronic pieces.
*CRACK*
Subaru brought his hands to his ears up out of instinct; his ears making a sharp ringing sound. He was squinting but looked down in protection.
He felt something warm and thick on his Knight trousers, and only saw his boots soaking up the crimson pool at his feet.
He couldn't hear himself screaming, but knew from the vibrations of his voice that he was producing sound.
He opened his eyes and saw a singular body on the floor.
Bloodstained threads of snow; spatter on the floor; glossy purple eyes.
Subaru, croaking: E-Em-Emilia? Say something. Say something, please. SAY SOMETHING!
A singular hole in her forehead; see-through with stands of red and white visible. A sole thumb sized cavity lodged above the bridge of her nose. Her once bright amethyst eyes now reduced to a blank glossy purple.
Her face was far gone. Blank, empty, emotionless; her childlike expressions washed over by sudden death and confusion.
A bright bloody pool streamed from both sides of her head, pushing and pulling bits of brain within. Her body laid face up on the hardwood floor with arms sprawled perpendicular to her right-facing head. Blood started to gather within her cheek and would soon overflow.
Subaru: EMILIA, STAY WITH ME… EMILIA… EMILIA!
He started to choke on his words and saliva, and knew he would be choking on blood and skin if he didn't calm himself.
The Stranger: The nosy and shifty get fixed.
Subaru still faced away from his captor, thinking of ways to kill the bastard that just murdered Emilia; killed because he was just looking around. He would guarantee that even Satella wouldn't be able to stop him when the opportunity arises.
He heard the clatter of plastic colliding with wood. A lonely plastic-ended metal parallelogram slid on the side of his right foot. He heard metal glide against more metal, and the audible sharp *chink* of a freshly loaded pistol magazine.
The Stranger: Always good to have Blankers for TW-Deathfulls like you.
' The hell? Blankers? Deathfulls like me? Does he mean Return By Death? How could he know? What about The Penalty?'
The Stranger, in a singing tone: Forget me not, if you can.
Subaru: YOU FUCKING SON OVA-
*BANG*
Subaru felt his body pulled backwards, strange if he was shot from behind. He couldn't think properly; he couldn't move; he couldn't blink.
His ears were ringing even louder now. He tried to summon his Shadow Appendage for one last act of retribution.
…..
Nothing. Nothing even more than the void that comprised Invisible Providence. Nothing would come out.
He felt the most excruciating pain in his lives. Hurting indescribable times more than The Rabbit death; making The Bunny bites feel no more than tickles when compared to this.
He felt something; multiple somethings being pulled from within. Something was reaching into his mind, nay, soul to grab something.
He felt the back of his skull collided with the wood floor, letting him look at Emilia one last time.
' I-I swea-ar I'll sa-a-ave y-'
…..
…..
……
Dead.
Subaru Natsuki, Knight of Emilia The Half-Elf, has once again met his death.
Cursed to forever walk the mortal plane upon death. Forced to relive history because of Satella.
….
...
…..
Subaru opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
' Drywall? And skylights?'
*Chck*
?: Oi. Oqkswpeurucbzbakdheuqyxychwpqfjcba
' The heck? Who's that? Is it morning haze preventing me from hearing a butler? Is my vision and hearing still fuzzy?'
?: *Ahem*. Oi, kid. Kid. Hey, listen to me very carefully.
' Did he just switch to Japanese? What was he saying? And he's so calm its almost scripted.'
?: Your Real Name, birthdate, current year, occupation, affiliation, country, current head of country, currency.
Subaru had a strange stroke of déjà vu, like when he discovered he couldn't die permanently. When he discovered Return By Death. He felt like he's already said something to this guy, but knew that he woke up in here for the first time.
Subaru, confused: *Gulp* Subaru Natsuki; April 1st, 2000; 2018; Hikikomori/NEET; Son of Kenichi and Naoko Natsuki; Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan; Abe Shinzō; Yen
The Stranger fell silent again, but his eerie quietness gave Subaru more cause to worry.
The Stranger: Kanku Hisakata Kagirinai; September 22nd, 2003; 2021; High School Junior; Son of Nash Kōri Hisakata Kagirinai and Kariluna de Los Santos; Mission, Texas, United States; Joe Biden; United States Dollar.
Subaru: 2021? USA?... High school?...
Kanku: Call me Kan, Ken, Kagi, Kaz, Rin, HK, or something. You're in The Middle of Nowheresvile, South Texas now, City Boy. Where dreams come true, Stars fall and get drunk, and CIA lay low. And get up off the Half-Elf, that lap pillow nearly makes you look like a perv.
Subaru just blinked slowly, in both confusion and surprise. How'd he get from Lugunica to supposedly, South Texas, USA? Why did this guy, or Kaz, Kagi, Kan, Ken, whatever; speak perfect Japanese, know Emilia was a Half-Elf without explanation, and ask for strangely specific information?
Kanku: You might feel like you had a major stroke of déjà vu, and maybe a little confusion. That one was on me. I had a little poke around your head with some basic hypnosis. Don't worry, it wasn't anything much, just surface information to verify your answer. Oh, yeah, let me get this outa yer face.
The rustling of plastic and something was just audible enough for Subaru to hear from the best pillow ever. He reluctantly got up, noticing the hardwood floor with waterproof varnish.
As he turned to his left, he got a better look at his new surrounding. A table against the wall with an unfamiliar model of an HP brand PC, definitely a gaming PC, the components visible and some cooling fans around; and a massive black-steel safe, around 1.5 m x 1.1 m x 0.7m (~60 x ~42 x ~28 in.)
He fully turned around to meet his new host, partially surprised at how impressive and average he looked.
Hispanic complexion with slight Japanese feature around the eyes and cheeks; Jet-black hair similar to his own; 5'7" (170 cm) with impressive musculature; evenly tanned skin, a soft blend between beige and almond skin.
A variety of scars covered his visible skin. A mix of faded and healed over bug bites; jagged, thick, and neat streaks; acid and flame burns; and strange artistic marks.
But his most outstanding feature was his eyes: mean-looking with the potential to soften up like his.
Concentrating a little deeper, he saw the gaze of professionally hidden pain and trauma; and his strange circular rainbows of irises.
He wore a black Nike shirt, grey Adidas shorts, and brown flip-flops. A Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Plus was clipped to his shorts.
Subaru: Sooo… Kaz, right? Where the hell are we? Why am I in this room? Why did you ask for… that? Oh, nice room by the way.
Kanku: Hai, Kaz desu. You're in my kingdom of a room, the 3 of us 're home alone, in a far south city in South Texas. Almost in Mexico. And seeing that you're already… I should explain from somewhere. Uhhh… this is gonna be a drag. Is she your wife? Girlfriend? Blackmail?
Subaru: The hell? No, she's not any of those. And it was her idea to reward me with her lap pillow. Awh man, you would never believe how divine it is to sleep soundly in her gentle angelic embrace.
Kanku: Just looking at your RPG lookin' suit and the girl, she especially is from another world, I take it?
Subaru: Y-yeah….
Kanku: Care to explain, Fair Knight of a far away land. The Famous Knight, Sir Fetish O' Thighs?
Subaru: Hey! Its not a fetish or anything. It's a sacred event amongst boys to be in the presence of a lap pillow. The rare opportunity to rest in the lap of a caring woman is something that should be cherished.
Kanku: So what, you're an Archbishop of The Holy Church of Thighs.
He made a smug 'matter-of-fact' face as he said this, messing around with his new friend.
Subaru stopped his protests and retaliation when he heard "Archbishop;" his gaze directed downwards and skin starting to crawl.
Kanku: Oof. Struck a nerve? Memory? Was it something on the other side or was it The Catholic " Church"? I swear, those assholes are an annoying bunch, praising their Saints and Virgin Mary. They do the weirdest shit in their religion, and even crazier crap in The Vatican Legion, officially known as The Brotherhood of Saint George's Knights. They're all like (uses mocking voice) "Ooo, lets combine these ancient fractured Legendary Swords and excommunicate batshit crazy Fathers. It totally won't bite us in the ass in years time."
Subaru couldn't help but start chucking at the quote, unexpectedly changing the one-sided mood of doom and gloom. His face turned red as he puffed his cheeks to withhold the laugh.
Subaru: Pffft. Dude, you j-hahah-ust gave the most accurately wrong rundown of DxD New.
Kanku: Yeah, I guess. But that's extra proof that you're from the same world.
Subaru: L-pffft- lets rewind a bit.
Kanku: A'right. Starting from the top, the year is 2021, the name's Kanku Hisakata Kagirinai, I'm a 17 year old Texan boy of average looks. I have no girlfriend, I'm an only child, and I natively speak English, Spanish, and Japanese. We're in a far south city of Texas, with Mexico a 5 minute drive away. And I can tell that you've caught Isekaitis from my world to her's. Care to implore?
Subaru's eyes shone much brighter than any reactor or HUD of the highest tech robots. He was back on Earth?! His same Earth?! He let out a hopefully squeal, crying of happiness that he might be able to see his parents again.
Subaru: YEEEEES. I'M BACK, EARTH. SUBARU NATSUKI IS STARTING FROM ZERO ONCE MORE. CO-STARRING EMILIA AND KAZ.
He struck his disco pose, a finger pointing to the sky while angling his legs.
Kanku: Hey, hey. Ease up Jackson, this isn't some wacky reverse-isekai.
Subaru, still crying: Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. Its just so good to be back.
Kanku: Do tell, Traveler-sama. You speak any English?
Subaru: I know enough to converse, but about my story, short or long? I should probably get the practice.
Kanku: Everything
Subaru, breaths deep: Ok, the year now is 2021?...
Kanku: May 20, 2021, 12:30 pm CDT, 2:30-ish am in Japan time.
Subaru: Alright. The year was 2017, I was in my tracksuit, and went out to the local convenience store for some snacks. I paid, and when I walked out, I suddenly found myself in another world of demi-humans, magic, and a jacked political system. I walked around, and got cornered into an alley by some thugs. This girl right here, Emilia (points back at her), and the most broken Knight ever, Reinhardt van Astrea, saved me. She seemed confused that I wasn't scared of her, because of her similar appearance to The Witch that destroyed half the world 400 years ago; Satella, The Witch of Envy.
Kanku: Racists.
Subaru: Don't even get me started. So anyways, in exchange for saving a useless dolt like me, I agreed to help her find her stolen insignia, which was proof that she was a Candidate for the Royal Selection, a group of 5 women called Dragon Maidens, one of which was prophesied to rule the country of Lugunica, the place where I was. There were only 4 at the time: Crusch Karsten, a Military Woman; Anastasia Hoshin, Girl who wants to own the world; Pristilla, spoiled girl and the princess of the western country of Vollachia; and Emilia, the Half-elf who was raised in the woods by Spirits.
Kanku: Spirits? The "speak in your ear and sway you" kind or the "sell me your soul for power" kind?
Subaru: The "little quasi-sentient glowing balls" are called Lesser Spirits and fully sentient ones are called Great Spirits. Emilia had a Great Spirit named Puck, who looked like a grey tabby kitten. But back to the story: we tracked down the thief, a slum-dweller called Felt, to a loot-house. We got there, and were attacked by Elsa Granheirt, a pro assassin called The Bowel Hunter.
Kanku: That's a hell ova villainy name.
Subaru: Thanks to Sir OP, Reinhardt, the nicest guy you could meet, Emilia's Fire Magic, Puck, and my razor intelligence, we were able to stop Elsa, but she survived enough to leave me with a badass scar on my stomach. Let me just…
Subaru fiddles with the belt buckle for a bit, successfully undoing it. He carefully pulled the Knight uniform out and shows The Bowel Hunter Survivor's Mark on his stomach; a long scar reaching across his front half.
Kanku: Need a change? We seem to be mostly the same size. If not there's a store a few minutes from here.
Subaru: In a bit, I need to wake Emilia up. In other news, I was almost disemboweled, but luckily I bled out enough to warrant Emilia to take me to the mansion of her sponsor, the creepy clown, the Margrave Roswall L. Mathers. We talked terms for a bit and I ended up a butler along side the Twin Oni Sisters, Rem and Ram.
Kanku: Could I assume the "good at different things" trope, or does every trope ever mean screw-all when you're involved? And what do you mean "luckily"?
Subaru: Ouch! But yeah, all tropes mean absolutely nothing with me. Rem had blue hair, did like 90% of the housework, and had an inferiority complex, believing that she was her sister's replacement. Ram had pinkish red hair, did basically nothing, was good at nothing, she bullies me and kept calling me Barasu for reasons unknown, and could only make steamed potatoes.
Kanku: Pfff, anyone with an IQ above Absolute Zero can make steamed potatoes.
Subaru: During my recovery, Puck taught me Magic 101: Fire magic is just temperature control, so you get fire, ice, and water; Water magic is mostly healing, but can be used as a shield; Earth magic is just earth bending minus the periodic element manipulation; Wind magic is air bending. Those 4 types are the most common affinities, with a bonus 2 rare ones: Yin, mostly debuffs and crystallization; and Yang, buffs and lasers. Emilia could only use Ice, but she was proficient in it. We discovered I only had Yin affinity, and due to my inexperienced usage of magic, I ended straining my Gate, which is the body's mana regulation faucet.
Kanku: Gotta let it out somehow.
Subaru: I eventually found out that during their childhood, the people that worship Satella, The Witch Cult, attacked their village. Ram fought hard, and ended up sacrificing her self to protect Rem, loosing her horn. The Oni horn acts like a siphon for mana, makes them go berserk and accelerates healing. They were the only survivors in that attack, and all other Oni went into hiding. I eventually found out that I have The Witch's Scent, aka Miasma, thanks to the 400 year old Great Spirit Loli, Beatrice, who protected a Library of Forbidden Knowledge with magic. Due to whatever circumstances, I'm able to bypass the spell, "Gate Crossing", which links doors to a small pocket dimension, and she would blast me out with wind magic. Eventually, I went to the village as part of my job, got a death curse put on me by magical beasts, Ma-Beasts, and caught wind that a horde of Ma-Beasts was going to attack the same village, which just happened to be under Roswall's domain.
Kanku: The rich hang back and sent the poor to war?
Subaru: In this case, yes. Rem, Ram, and I went to the village, and saw that some of the children got abducted by the monsters. So we ventured into the dense wilderness. We fought all night, and even in her Demon Mode, Rem still got knocked out. So I grabbed her, passed her off to Ram, and used myself as a distraction because the Ma-Beasts are drawn to Witch Scent. I got torn up, brought back to the village, and Beatrice told me that due to the complexity of dispelling so many curses, she wouldn't be able to dispel them because I would die within the day.
Kanku: Apparently the plan flopped.
Subaru: So in order to save me, Rem rushed back to the forest to kill those Monster Dogs, so I got Ram to tag along. We got to the village, I got a sword, we all fought, the sword snapped, but I hung back so Ram could get Rem healed because her Demon Mode wasn't enough.
Kanku: Guess this is where your isekai power manifests.
Subaru: Using my limited talents, I cast Shamak, a black smokescreen, and killed the boss, but ended up damaging my gate. Roswall showed up at the last moment and rained hell on them, fixing the Ma-Beast problem for a while. Then Emilia had to go to the capitol, Luginica. How original. And I ended up making a fool of myself in front of everyone important at the Royal Selection meeting. All the candidates, Emilia included; all the Nobles; The Knights; and a bunch of regular people.
Kanku: What'd ya do?
Subaru: I broke a promise with Emilia, saying that I would stay at the inn Roswall rented for the trip. I didn't want to leave her alone to the mercy of hundreds of racist scum, so I snuck in, and self-proclaimed myself to be her Knight, despite not being one at the time.
Kanku: With how Medieval this all sounds, I'm guessing this happened: Some powerful Knight you pissed off forced you into a duel where you got your ass beat hardcore; Emilia got pissed off at you, so she left you and broke ties.
Subaru: Couldn't have said it better. Turns out that she let me come because she struck a deal with the best healer to help me and my gate. Then I caught wind of 2 things: when and where one of the strongest Ma-Beasts would be; one of the Great 3; The White Whale. It emits a fog that erases someone from existence, leaving people to forget who they were. I managed to create a mutual alliance between Emilia's faction, Crusch, and Anastasia; which cost me to trade my phone.
Kanku: So this thing has been causing problems for a while? That many people gunning for one monster?
Subaru: Not just some monster. The Great 3 were supposedly created 400 years ago under mysterious circumstances; circumstances I personally know the truth about.
Kanku: Look at the Little Knight that could. Stepping up in the world.
Subaru: Yeah, yeah, smart-ass. We geared up the night before, and I got a nice jet-black ground dragon, who I named Patrache. We rode through the night and arrived at the Whale spot, which was next to a massive tree known as Flugel's Tree, we set up camp and waited. It eventually came, so we fought all day and night, and we started to run low on supplies and fighting force. I lured it in with The Scent so we could have time to blow the tree. The exploding magi-crystals blew out the side, the tree fell, and killed it. We celebrated and the second thing I learned about came into play. The info was when and where we could find one of the higher-ups of The Witch Cult, a Sin Archbishop, possessors of Authorities. Betelgeuse Romanee-Conti.
Kanku: I suppose that Authorities are some form of stupidly strong magic?
Subaru: Ok, let me backtrack. In this other world, there's a thing called a Divine Blessing, which are buffs given at birth by random. The numbers get a little weird, so pay close attention:
1. 1 in 10 thousand people get a Divine Blessing
2. 1 in 500 thousand get a useful Blessing
3. 1 in 1 million get more than one
Then there's Reinhardt; the statistical improbability; the statistical zero; The Boy loved by The World; The Sword Saint. He's got a bottomless pit of Blessings and Protections, on top of being the current Sword Saint, which is a blessing passed only in his family, the Astrea House. The Blessing lets him wield the Legendary Sword, Reid. Apparently, the damn thing is semi-sentient because THE SWORD decides when it wants to be drawn.
Kanku: The same Reinhardt that saved you? And a living Saint that wields a picky and sentient sword? That world keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Subaru: The one and only. He's every isekai MC's wet dream in terms of power. To name a few:
· He can walk on water and clouds
· He can revive, no questions asked
· He's the strongest swordsman and can use anything as a weapon like a pro
· He can vaguely read minds
· He's immune to all poisons, curses, buffs, debuffs, and projectiles
· Bleeding makes him stronger
· And deflect and absorb 80% of the power of magic cast against him
Kanku: That alone sounds makes it sound like he's broken.
Subaru: Yeah. Then there's Authorities, also called Cult Magic, because only those in The Witch Cult can have them. And their 5 Sin Branch heads, The Sin Archbishops representing some of The 7 Deadly Sins, are the wielders.
Kanku: So, what? Mini-bosses leading to the embodiments of each Sin?
Subaru: I'll get there. The Sin Archbishop of Sloth is dead at my hand, with the help of the Trio Alliance of The Emilia, Crusch, and Anastasia factions. It took some planning, because Betelgeuse can possess those with high Spirit Affinity, which is basically how strong of a magnet you are for spirits.
Kanku, in a cold tone: And the others?
Subaru, surprised slightly: Envy… and Pride are unclaimed or lost, and the others; Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, and Lust, are still out there, or over there.
Kanku, in his casual tone: Do you have any plans for them?
Subaru was surprised at how easily he switched tones. But he responded, "Any clue we find is either a Witch Cult created lure or weeks old. But anyways, after we killed Betelgeuse, it turns out that one of his goons snuck a bag of explosive magi-crystals onto the carriage Emilia and the village kids were on. So with the help of a merchant buddy of mine, we caught up, and I made sure that everyone knew that badasses slowly walk away from explosions in style."
Kanku: And your relationship with Emilia was restored?
Subaru: Hey, this is my story. Why don't you try getting sent to another world? But as I was saying, relationship restored, and we left to a place called The Sanctuary to save the abducted villagers. It turned out that Roswall's family had quote, protected The Sanctuary, end quote.
Kanku: Craptacular job he did there. So what, anyone live there?
Subaru: Yeah. It was planned to be a haven for half-blooded people. But whatever happened, whether it was intentional or not; it turned the small settlement into a prison for half-bloods. Its only if anyone tried to leave, the barrier would rip their souls out.
Kanku smiled slightly, more of a sly grin with one side of his mouth.
Kanku: You got a little something. (Points to his own left cheek)
Subaru brought his hands to his face, never realizing that he had been crying for some time.
Kanku: It's a'right man. Just let it all out. Bet you saw some crazy shit on the other side.
Subaru: Kaz… You wouldn't believe half of it. My connections… abilit…
Subaru spaced out suddenly; looking deep into whatever plane laid beyond. The white and purple clad boy just stood there, troubled enough about something that he went blank.
His light hazel eyes filled, or drained, themselves of some emotion.
' CRAP! This is Earth, there is no magic. What happens if I die here? Can I still Return?'
Kanku: -Ru… Ey, Subaru…. SUBARU!
Subaru: I was trying to remember what happened. Did I space out? (Makes a face of disappointment)
Kanku: Is this a requirement for Luginican Knights? You lost that glimmer for a moment.
Subaru: Guess I'm the odd one out. Unlike all of those pricks, I don't come from a long line of knights that dates back to The Great Calamity… Oh, yeah. The Great Calamity is what they call the time Satella destroyed half their world. I'm a high-schooler that got snatched right out of the subs and thrown into a fantasy world.
Kanku: You were talking about a soul ripping barrier?
Subaru: Yeah. Lemme think…… got it. So me, Emilia, Roswall, Otto, the merchant from earlier, Rem, and Ram went off to The Sanctuary to save the villagers. Ros hired one of the village kids, Petra, and stationed one of his former maids at the mansion while we were out. Frederica, half-sister of The self-appointed Guardian of The Sanctuary.
Kanku: I assume there was a reason that she was able to leave?
Subaru: She was a half-blooded tiger demi-human. She's tall, beautiful, blonde, beautiful, emerald-like eyes; but if I had one complaint, her teeth are so damn sharp and jagged. Her beast-shifting gift, courtesy of her demi-human nature, just turn her into a yellow panther at most. She can change parts of her body into that oversized cat form, like; shifting her arms and legs into claws and paws, or grow a tail.
He looked down at a still sleeping Emilia, relieved that she was sleeping peacefully.
Kanku: She'll wake in a bit. She just looks a little drained. Your story of the weakest underdog ever is starting to get interesting.
Subaru: Soooo… we arrived at Sanctuary and smuggled the villagers out in exchange for completing Trials so the barrier would be taken down. The source of the barrier, and the contents of it, lead the people to call the place "The Witch's Graveyard."
Kanku: Apostrophe "s" or "e-s"? And why do I feel like you speak of dark dealings that reek of only money.
Subaru: I'll get there. And wow, word-for-word from Otto. So back to the story: Normally, you'd have to be a half-blood to take the Trials, but Emilia ran into the Grave. Bless her kind soul. I was being a dumbass, and ran in after her, accidentally taking the 1st of 3 Trials. I had to "face my own past", where I entered a recreated simulation of life on Earth. I cleared regrets I had with my parents, even though I knew that they were fake. The overseer of the Trials talked to me out of nowhere, and I woke up next to Emilia, who almost went crazy from whatever she saw in her past. Otto and I questioned Ros, and it turned out that he planned for 3 things to happen.
1. Elsa and an accomplice would invade the mansion, destroy it, and kill everyone in there
2. Cast weather modification magic so one of the other Great Ma-Beasts would detect the mana quantity and attack The Sanctuary
3. Wait for Emilia to fail the Trials
He wanted to test my competence and loyalty to Emilia, so we made a bet. If I don't save everyone within 5 days time, I have to serve him. If he lost, he would full-heartedly support Emilia's campaign. So, I had a good talking with The self-proclaimed Guardian of The Sanctuary, Garfiel. 8th grade aged boy, blonde, emerald-like eyes, ridiculously buff, talks in weird proverbs, and has an "x" shaped scar between his eyes, from when he attempted suicide after he failed a Trial as a kid. It was one of the resident clones that saved him. The Overseer created them in her experiments in immortality.
Kanku scrunched his eyes and nose at the sound of a kid attempting suicide after seeing their past. Who could blame him? Everyone has something they'd rather not remember or experience again. And immortality experiments? Clones created for tests? How would that work? Memory-booting? Conscious transfer? Possession?
Subaru: I ran back to The Sanctuary to complete the Trials so Emilia wouldn't have to suffer the way she did. What I saw…. I saw…. saw… is irrelevant. I eventually woke up, and saw my mom. She was going on and on about how I don't need to hurt myself like this. I called her out on bullshit, because I knew that there was no way she could be in that world. Turned out it was The Witch of Lust; Carmilla. I ended up meeting The Overseer; The Witch of Greed, Echidna. She tried to get me into a contract because of my otherworldly knowledge, but I declined.
Kanku: So… there are other Witches representing the 7 Deadly Sins? So what is this "Echidna" greedy for? Men? Money? Just being a hoarder?
Subaru: Knowledge. She wants to learn all that there is, and she knows a lot as it is. She's been dead 400 years, but built The Sanctuary when she was alive. Her soul lives in The Graveyard now, and she chooses who can enter the Trials. Apparently, that meeting we had was called a Witches Tea Party; something that only a select few can attend. People would sell their souls and swear hereditary service just to attend a Tea Party, contact a Witch, or even enter a contract with them.
…
Subaru, emotionlessly: And then The Ma-Beast appeared. The Great Rabbit. A white hare that multiplies near infinitely. Omnivorous bunnies that eat anything with a trace of mana. It'll eat an entire body, not even leaving blood behind. They never stop roaming for the next thing to eat…. Trees, birds, grass… people… anything organic or with mana. I… I…. I… almost… died… to them.
Kanku had nothing to say to his mysterious guest. He just looked at him; stunned, surprised, too confused for words and emotions.
They looked at each other blankly. Thick silence hung them like nooses as they stared into each other's eyes, trying to find any hint of emotion.
Kanku: Shiiiit. I'm sorry, man.
Subaru, shakily: The rabbits… swarmed at me. They bit away at my skin. They bit away at my bones. They bit away at my guts. I could move. I couldn't scream. I couldn't even cry…. I just… laid there. Alone. Broken. Almost dead.
…
Subaru: It was Echidna that saved me. She pulled me into her weird Tea Party realm. She offered me a contract, but the Wrath Witch, Minerva, saved me from the contract. It was there I met the other Witches.
· Carmilla, The Lust Witch. She isn't thirsty or anything. She's trying to help people find real love so she might find it too.
· Sekhmet, The Sloth Witch. Lazy to the point of never showering. Breathing is a chore even.
· Echidna, The Greed Witch. Greedy for knowledge. Always on the lookout for every bit of information.
· Minerva, The Wrath Witch. Angry when she sees physical pain and injury. She'll heal anyone, and is unable to inflict pain. All her punches and kicks heal.
· Typhon, The Pride Witch. If she deems you a sinner and you acknowledge it, the part she touches shatters. If you see yourself as a sinner, you shatter. Your sins would determine how much pain you feel.
· Daphne, The Gluttony Witch. According to Echidna, looking into her eyes causes infinite hunger, where you start to eat everything that you can.
· Satella, The Envy Witch, or Jealous Witch. For whatever reason, she destroyed half the world 400 years ago. Even less is known about her than the other Witches combined.
Kanku made another face of surprise. "So their title doesn't exactly correlate to the Sin they're named after."
Subaru: I faced my own past and got into a little physical dispute with Garfiel. Thanks to Otto; Ram; the dragon I got from The Whale Hunt, Patrasche; and a strange invisible hand. I beat the sense into Garfiel that he needed to overcome his past. We apologized, he took and passed The Trial, he became an ally, and one of the clones told me something. I was the possessor of The Authority of Sloth. She told me that I was incompatible enough to be in pain when I used it, but it still absorbed. At the cost of intense pain, I can summon an invisible hand to act as a long 3rd limb.
Kanku: Uhf. Painfully useful.
Subaru: Garfiel, Rem, Ram, Frederica, and myself dealt with the attack on the mansion. They set it on fire, but we killed Elsa, arrested the other one, some kid named Meili that could control Ma-Beasts, and I saved Beatrice from suffering in her contract. I became her new contractor after the Forbidden Library she protected was burned away with the mansion. We returned to The Sanctuary in time to see Emilia finish the last Trial.
Kanku: Chapter 4 cleared. I can't help but get the feeling that something reaaaly bad is gonna' happen.
Subaru: The Rabbits attacked. Since Emilia cleared the 3 Trials, the barrier was deactivated, and it was safe to enter The Graveyard freely. We retreated the people of The Sanctuary into the Graveyard complex, and we fought for hours. Emilia used her ice magic to box off The Rabbits so Beatrice and I could use Yin magic to send all The Rabbits to a void. Where they would never return to any reality, where they would eat each other for all of eternity.
Kanku: DAAAMN. By the sound of all this, you sound like a National Hero. You killed 4 International Threats, and you're probably planning to go up against the other Archbishops.
Subaru: Eventually. But my main priority is doing everything in my power to make Emilia the Queen of Lugunica. But after the whole Sanctuary thing, Emilia set up a party for me. She, Rem, Ram, Roswall, Garfiel, Otto, Frederica, Petra, Beatrice, and I went to that party. It was there that Emilia officially made me her Royal Knight. We talked, ate a bit, danced, and went to sleep. She invited me to her room, I fell asleep in her lap, and I ended up here.
Kanku: So that's your story of how you spent a year in another world?
Subaru: Yup. That's all the important details. Anything else and I would'a started my own Autobiography series and expose very, very, secret things.
Kanku: And that brings me up to speed in The Tale of the soon to be Knight in another world?
Subaru: Yup.
…
Kanku: She should be waking up any t-
Emilia started to move a bit, finally waking up in her new environment. She groggily wiped her eyes and looked around.
Emilia, in Japanese: S-subaru. Wh - *yawn*- ere are you? Wh-where are we? This doesn't look like Annerose's guest room. And why are you st- wait, is it morning already?! And who is that boy?
The boys stared at the confusing woman on the floor, and looked back up at each other. They non-verbally agreed on who should explain.
Subaru, switching back to Japanese: Good morning Emilia-tan. I don't exactly know how to say it, but we aren't anywhere in the mansion or Lugunica. More specifically, we aren't even any where on the map. We're sort of in my homeland.
Emilia: Is this that Juh-pan place you were talking about? Then where's your house? Your parents? Do you have any siblings?
Subaru: Not exactly. We're in another country, near the border of another country. We're in a nation to the far West of Japan.
Emilia: Who's that? Has he realized?
Kanku, in fluent Japanese: The name's Kanku Hisakata Kagirinai.
Emilia: You have a 2nd name? Are you a Noble? Do you care for someone like me?
Kanku: Not a Noble. He gave me brass tacks. He's of unknown origin, and he's the Knight of the Half-Elf, you. You also bear resemblance to the ultimate evil being, Satella.
Emilia, shocked slightly: Y-yes. Your clothes are strange. They vaugely remind me of Subaru's "track-suit." Subaru, have you noticed the thin mana density? Mr, your skin, you a laborer?
Subaru: Emilia! Please don't b- wait… poor mana density?
Kanku: Its alright. But in a sense, yes, I am a laborer. Hey, Subaru, be cause of you're unusual circumstances and condition…
Subaru, uncertainly: Yesssss?
Kanku's eyes darkened. The air around him felt ice cold. The faintest trace of murderous intent began to ooze from him.
He looked at them with a calm and blank face, staring them down of any doubts or hesitation.
Kanku: Everything I'm about to say is a National Secret, classified to the highest degree. Sensitive information that will endanger all life if leaked in any way, shape, form, or quantity.
Emilia slowly stood up, relying on Subaru to help wake her legs up. They stared at him with the utmost attention. Their hair stood up like needles as their blood became ice. Their impulses were screaming over each other to start running away, but their bodies were frozen in his frosty aura.
Kanku: You are now assets of the Central Intelligence Agency Branch of the Research, Containment, and Understanding of the Supernatural. We do not exist in any extent. We are nothing. We are the outliers of existence. We live and die in the dark to protect those in the light. We are everywhere and nowhere. We are the most secretive division of Intelligence in the world. We are the shadows hiding in the dark. We are the ghosts of every past, present, and future. We are the devils in the details of details. We protect the world from all existential threats that may threaten humanity and its survival. Our foes and the whispers know us only as ghosts. We are the ethereal. We investigate and engage with the weird and strange. We are C.I.R.C.U.S.
A/N: This Fic will be a mix of Si-Fi, Si-Fantasy and supernatural with a very small touch of realism