Chapter 4: The Spirits or the Sword Saint
Subaru returned with a jolt. He coughed and wheezed as he remembered the savage beating he had received. Then as a feeling of hopelessness began to soak into his soul, he began to sob. After all the ground he had made, after all the things he managed to do, it all got reset because the enemy had an accumulated 400 years of strength. What was the point in even fighting him anymore, it was impossible. Subaru slammed his fists into the ground as he thought about Ninet and Rem trapped in the castle. Even if Ninet had captured and interrogated Subaru, he still considered her an ally.
Subaru: "I can't fight him, but I can't save Ninet and Rem if I don't enter the town, but if I enter the town the citizens won't let me leave, and the only way to get them to let me leave is if Nathaniel Sargas dies. It's a paradox."
Subaru slammed his fists down in frustration again. There was no way he could do this himself. He was just Subaru. The only way he could beat someone like that is if he had someone stronger, someone more capable on his side to fight with him, someone who Subaru knew wouldn't fail. Someone like Reinhart. Nathaniel said that Lugnica is north of here, and Reinhard should still be in Pristella, which is close to the border.
Subaru: "I can get to Pristella, and tell Reinhard to come with me to fight Nathaniel."
Suddenly, Subaru's soul was filled with determination and hope. Subaru had a plan, although he still felt hesitant because his plan required leaving Rem and Ninet behind, but he knew he would save them in the end so he considered this to be his best option. He lept up, dusted himself off, then picked up one of the red-hued stones from the ground. He looked longingly at the castle at the other end of the town, feeling a tang of fear and apprehension.
Subaru: "I will come back, and I will save you."
Subaru made this promise to Rem before setting off towards the north.
Subaru walked through the forest at an efficient pace. His body ached a bit, but that was normal. He could hear the sound of the birds and the rustling of leaves as he walked. The sunlight shown in through the tops of the trees and created a peaceful feeling. Subaru enjoyed a sense of peace that he had not felt in a long time.
Partway through his journey Subaru realized he had no method of acquiring food or water. At the rate he was going, he would likely die before he reached Pristella.
Subaru: "I need some kind of trap to catch animals and some kind of camp to cook them in."
Using his whip, he fashioned a type of noose trap that would catch small animals. Once that was finished, he dug a fire pit and started a fire. He then gathered brush and undergrowth and made a place to rest.
Subaru: "Man, those survival lessons from Clind are starting to get really useful. If he wasn't such a creep I'd definitely want to invite him to the mansion to teach me more."
After a while, Subaru's trap caught a small rabbit. At first, Subaru was hesitant about killing and eating an innocent creature, but after remembering his past experiences with rabbits he was able to swallow his pensiveness.
As Subaru was cooking, cleaning, and seasoning the rabbit he heard a growl from behind his back. Subaru set down the rabbit and supplies and pivoted, only to come face to face with a horrific maw beast. It looked like an elf's guts had sprouted 4 black spider legs from its stomach and was hanging upside down from them. The elf-looking part's legs were curved up in a way that would have destroyed their kneecaps and instead of feet, it had two stingers on the end. Its arms were spindly and tinted gray with long sharp claws stained with blood extending from the fingertips. Its upside-down face looked at Subaru with slitted red eyes, its fangs extended out of its mouth and were spattered with blood and its black dirty hair ran across the ground leaving behind it nothing but death.
Subaru: "-hk"
Subaru felt the urge to vomit after seeing the affront to nature presented before him. Most maw beasts emanate a sense of disgust and revolution, but this evoked its own sense of dread. Maw beasts usually looked like animals but this looked like a person, or was it once a person? It stared at him with a mesmerized expression.
Subaru: "Wait, I've returned by death 3 times already, I must be drenched in the witch's sent."
The horrifying creature unhinged its jaw and revealed the dark red mass inside its large teeth. It gave a horse cry, like someone screaming their last breath. It charged Subaru and swung at him with its claws.
Subaru: "Woah!"
Subaru jumped and rolled out of the way, he got to his feet right behind the monster. Subaru prepared to slash the monster with his whip but the elven feet started flailing around wildly trying to impale him. As Subaru dodged that attack the monster spun around quickly and slashed at him again.
Subaru: "Damn it's deceptively fast."
The monster howled again and tried rapidly kicking Subaru. He managed to get out of the way but he stepped into the range of the claws. Subaru quickly grabbed his whip and pulled it taught to parry, then sidestepped out of the way.
Subaru: "Damn and it fights with tactics. I need to think."
Subaru thought to himself as he dodged the monster's attacks. he tried his best to study the monster for strengths and weaknesses, all while fighting it off.
Subaru: "The weakest part of a humanoid body is the stomach area, as it is the least protected by bone, if someone with a sword were fighting it they would have to get past its fangs, claws, feet, and spider legs just to get there, seems like the best weak-spot candidate to me."
Subaru said all this as he blocked and dodged his way through the battle, however, traveling all day and not eating had sapped his strength and he was beginning to feel it.
Subaru: "Luckily for me, the whip is the perfect weapon for this. It's long-range, fast, and can cut so deep they had to use it on people's backs so their guts wouldn't spill out when they were slashed."
Subaru had his plan and as the monster screeched at him and charged, he acted. Subaru slashed his whip along the ground and dirt sprayed into the monster's eyes. It was caught off guard for only a moment, but by the time it recovered Subaru had bounded off the ground jumping off of trees to get higher. As Subaru soared through the air, well out of range of the creature, he extended his whip to full length. And, with all his strength, he swung the whip down at the exposed stomach of the creature. The whip gouged deep into the monster's stomach. It howled and screamed and dark red blood poured out of the wound. Subaru landed hard and tried to roll but fumbled. He had used all his strength.
Subaru: "Huff, huff."
Subaru lay helplessly as the blood spurting gnarled creature lumbered toward him. Its eyes, fixed on him as if drawn by madness, peered down at Subaru.
Subaru: "Damn it, I was so close."
Then the monster fell on top of him with a thump. the sudden and unexpected increase in weight forced the air out of Subaru. Subaru quickly realized that it had bled out and died. As dark red blood dripped onto Subaru, he managed to get over his initial shock.
Subaru: "Aaaagh!"
Subaru yelled and kicked himself out from under the creature. It lay there, with a shocked look on its human-like face. Subaru sat in the dirt staring at the grotesque creature. Now that it had stopped flailing about Subaru realized, it looked very similar to Emilia. that thought horrified him to the point of puking as he stared into the dead eyes of the creature he had slain. He knew if he continued to look at it he'd starve to death, so he pried his eyes off of it and lumbered over to the fire to retrieve his rabbit. He sat down next to the fire as the sunset filled the forest with a calming orange tint. Subaru could barely enjoy the atmosphere as his adrenalin continued to affect him.
After he calmed down a little he pulled out the red-hued rock from his pocket to see if it had been damaged. Some of the red had faded making it more white than red, but it appeared to be doing what Ninet said it would.
Subaru: "Still not even close to a worthy replacement for Beako but at least I haven't died from mana poisoning."
Subaru put the rock back in his pocket and looked back at the dead maw beast. it still looked as horrifying as ever, and Subaru hated thinking about it.
Subaru: "I can probably just leave that there. As horrifying as it is, it can't do any more harm now that it's dead."
As Subaru settled his thoughts he began to think about his time in Redrock and tried to devise a strategy for Reinhart to use.
Subaru: "Let's see, Nathaniel Sargas has an entire city of innocent people that does whatever he says and…"
Subaru's voice trailed off as he realized something important. Nathaniel Sargas, Sargas, it was another name of a star.
Subaru: "How did I not think of it before. The key to beating Regulus was found in the meaning behind his star's name, if there was a similar situation with Nathaniel it would significantly turn the tide. Subaru thought for a while before he found the memory.
Subaru: "Sargas means "Seizer" and "Smiter", it's also known as "The Tool of the War God". So his authority has three parts, "Seizer" which lets him drain energy from people and use it for himself, "Smiter" which lets him convert energy into purple sparks like the shield and the bolts, and his "Tools" which is when he takes over peoples minds."
Subaru pondered this as he ate the rabbit, determined to defeat Nathaniel.
Subaru: "So he drains people of their strength and then turns them into slaves, talk about impossible to fight."
As Subaru lay down on the pile of soft brambles he looked up at the stars. He thought about his friends and his time in this other world. He thought about the stars and their meanings.
Subaru: "My stars name means, "Unity", maybe that will come into play someday.
Soon after that, he fell asleep.
Pain surged through Subaru's body like a thousand daggers. He jolted awake feeling the intense pain course through his body. It felt like a writhing mass was making its way through him, sapping all his strength, and leaving behind nothing but pain. Subaru looked around to see what was attacking him and found nothing.
Subaru: "Ack- the hell is this?"
Subaru writhed on the ground in pain, his head felt like it had a drill running through it. Subaru slammed his head against the ground, over and over. Tears began to stream from his eyes, snot poured from his nostrils, and he could feel his brain trembling. Then, slowly, it subsided and Subaru could finally relax.
Subaru: "What the hell was that?"
Subaru looked around the area in a daze before tripping on a rock. After falling over back onto the ground, he inspected the rock to find that it was the red-hued rock he had brought with him. However, now it was a pure white color, and pieces of it had begun to flake off.
Subaru: "It's full of mana, meaning I'm dying of mana poisoning."
The realization was startling at first but Subaru quickly steeled himself. Part of Clind's survival training was, don't panic, keep a level head.
Subaru: "He said if you find yourself in a situation where you begin to panic, calm yourself before thinking so you can make reasonable decisions."
Subaru took a moment to breathe deeply and calm his mind. He pushed all his fears and worries out and focused on what he could do right now.
Subaru: "Okay, I will die by the end of the day if I don't find someone who can help me, I could also return to Redrock, but I'm closer to Pristella at this point. If I can get to Pristella and get Reinhart he can travel at high speed to get back to Redrock, then the stones there can help me. Also, I've got this rock full of mana, meaning I can probably use it to cast a spell."
Subaru could feel yin mana stored in the stone. He'd learned how to detect mana in objects from Beatrice, and he knew how to cast spells through an outside source.
Subaru: "I won't be joining in the fight with Reinhart so I'd be better if I used my one spell to get to Reinhart faster."
Subaru gathered up his things then stoked the fire. Once he was ready to leave he chanted his spell.
Subaru: "Murak!"
Subaru could feel his weight decreasing, like the world was releasing it grip on him. The mana in the stone slowly began to fade and as it did the stone began to crumble to pieces.
Subaru: "Guess there's no chance of me filling it up twice."
Subaru said that as he watched the stone crumble to dust. Then Subaru prepared himself before leaping into the sky. He rose above the trees and burst into the open sky. The sun and the fresh air felt amazing to Subaru and he even managed to see the city of pristella on the horizon. The city shown with the light of the rising sun and painted a picturesque scene of the city on a lake. Subaru landed softly on the ground before continuing his journey.
Subaru: "Man, I can move a lot faster when I weigh less."
Subaru jogged at a rapid pace, trees and animals blurred by in his field of vision. He weaved his way through the undergrowth and around trees until he came to a field. It was a familiar field with a lake at the far side, and on that lake was Pristella. Subaru began to run towards the city when the pain in his brain started again.
It drilled, it gnawed, it burrowed. It sent sparks through his brain that he could feel along his body. It was far worse this time. He was dying a slow painful death and he knew it. It felt like it lasted for hours, Subaru writhed on the ground and yelled as it stabbed at his brain. His body screamed for salvation, but it felt like it would never come. Then, thankfuly it subsided. As Subaru lay panting on the ground he tried to collect his thoughts.
Subaru: "Gotta...find...Reinhart."
Subaru muttered this as he lumbered towards the city.
Guard1: "Who's this guy, he looks like he's dressed for the dessert."
Guard2: "Yeah, did you fail your epic quest to the watchtower and come back to cry to your mommy like everyone else."
Subaru stood at the front gates of Pristella, trying to gain entrance to the city and assistance in finding Reinhart. However, the arrogant guards were making his life harder than it needed to be.
Subaru: "Please help, I'm friends with Reinhart, I need to talk to him."
Guard2: "Sure buddy, your friends with Reinhart, let me guess, you're also one of those people born beyond the waterfall too, and you've come to sell your inexplicable knowledge of the future to us and befriend all the ladies. Yeah right kid, I'm not an idiot."
Subaru was starting to grow impatient, and the guards weren't helping by making fun of him.
Subaru: "Stop kidding around! My name is Subaru Natsuki, I'm a royal spirit knight and I'm on an important mission, open the door!"
Guard1: "Hey! We can overlook the other stuff, but don't go impersonating Subaru, he was the hero that stopped this whole town from killing each other. I would have been dead if it wasn't for him, so leave now or I'll arrest you and make sure you get the longest sentence possible."
?: "Ah, Subaru. It's good to see you again."
Suddenly, the sword saint, Reinhart Van Astrea approached from behind the guards to greet Subaru. The guards turned around in shock at the arrival of Reinhart. Then, as they realized who they'd been talking to, they turned back to face Subaru.
Guard1: "Um, Sir Natsuki, please don't be angry with us, we didn't know it was you. You understand right, you never expect to meet the ones who save you, you know."
Guard2: "What are you saying, don't you remember all the stuff we said to him. You know what they say about him right, they say he can crush hearts with his mind, that he's talked to witches, that he can send people to other dimensions. I would struggle to fight one cultist, he killed 2 archbishops, we're so dead."
Subaru: "Okay guys calm down, I'm really nothing special, and I'm not going to hurt either of you. I just need to talk to Reinhart, so if you guys could just-"
Guard1: "You want us to get you anything? We'll pay, seriously."
Subaru: "No I'm good, I just need to be left alone with Reinhart right now. Okay so if you don't mind…"
Guard2: "Okay, right sure, we'll leave you be. C'mon, we've got to go tell the guys."
The guards left Subaru alone with Reinhart after pestering him. Subaru likely would have had a further conversation with them, where he would question his own claim to fame, but there wasn't time for that.
Reinhart: "It would seem your deeds carry more weight than you intended them to. You should know you've grown quite famous here, your heroic acts have far surpassed anything I'll ever do.
Subaru: "You know I didn't really do all that much."
Subaru became flustered from Reinhart's praise and lost his train of thought. He tried to denounce his words but Reinhart shook his head.
Reinhart: "You gave them hope when they had none, I couldn't have made that broadcast, none of them could relate to me, but you showed them you were just like them, and they all thank you for it. By the way, where is the rest of your party? Did your trip to the watchtower end in failure?
Subaru: "No actually, we conquered the tower and killed one of the archbishops of gluttony, but the real sage wasn't there. I can explain more on the way but I need you in Vollachia."
Reinhart shook his head at Subaru's request before responding.
Reinhart: "It's against the law for me to leave Lugnica, especially if the destination is Vollachia. Last time I was there... it didn't go well."
Subaru: "Please-"
Before Subaru could finish his sentence, it happened. A thousand voices cried out in agony, pain could be felt throughout the world. Spirits appeared in the sky and began flying about before being snuffed out of existence. The wails of pain and desperation were defining like the whole world was dying. Reinhart appeared to be reacting to it worse than Subaru, he was kneeling on the ground, clutching his chest and wincing in pain.
Reinhart: "What is… happening?"
Subaru: "All the mana… is… ugh, being drained from the world. C'mon, I… I know how to stop it."
Reinhart nodded and in a flash, he ran off and returned with a ground dragon. He helped Subaru onto the dragon and Subaru directed him towards Redrock. As they traveled the screams of pain and drowning only got worse and Reinhart seemed to be in genuine pain.
Subaru: "What's wrong? Are… are you hurt?"
Reinhart: "My gate… bends mana around me… as the mana… is drained from the air… It's like a piercing pain in my chest."
It was almost surreal to learn that there was something that could hurt Reinhart, especially with his divine protections active. Although Subaru did not have much time to ponder this as they soon reached the town of Redrock.
Subaru: "hk."
There was a massive purple whirlpool draining all the mana in the world and pouring it into the contraption in the center of town. As the mana was drained it filled the red-hued rocks, permanently staining them white. Subaru could see Nathaniel Sargas standing in front of the contraption with his arms outstretched in front of his crowd of "Tools". But Subaru's eyes were quickly drawn away by something else.
Subaru: "Ninet?'
Subaru could see that the avalanche still took place, though it was foiled again by Nathaniel. On top of one of the rocks was the mangled body of Ninet. Subaru could feel himself filling with rage.
Nathaniel: "Yes! YES! Die you wicked spirits, and take pride in your deaths. Die knowing that your deaths were not in vain, die knowing that you died so the witch's desires could be fulfilled, so that I may be etched into history. TAKE PRIDE!"
Tools: "TAKE PRIDE! TAKE PRIDE! TAKE PRIDE!"
Subaru dismounted and collapsed to the ground, the drilling in his head went deeper and deeper, making its way to his core. Reinhart dismounted and knelt by Subaru.
Reinhart: "I shall defeat him, then I will help you. Please hold on until then."
Subaru nodded meekly then Reinhart turned to face Nathaniel. As Reinhart approached, it did not take long for Nathaniel to notice him.
Nathaniel: "And just who are you to think it's acceptable to proudly and boldly stride towards me. You think too highly of yourself to believe you may approach me during my moment of triumph and attempt to claim a higher position in life for no other reason than greed. You should take pride in your position in life and help to raise up those above you as that is where you belong. Now answer me, who are you?"
Reinhart: "Although I don't think of myself as a particularly bold or envious person, I do think it is important to take pride in one's achievements if those achievements are for the greater good."
Nathaniel: "You see? I'm glad you understand that pride does not deserve to be called a sin. You-"
Reinhart: "That being said-"
Reinhart removed Reid from his waist. Although it stubbornly remained in its scabbard it was still the most powerful weapon in the vicinity. Reinhart stood in a ready stance and stated his name.
Reinhart: "I am the sword saint, Reinhart Van Astrea. Your deeds here have been vile, and are not, in any way, deserving of pride."
Reinhart slammed the sword into the ground with such force it shook the land for miles. The resulting shockwave completely destroyed the structure in the center of town, sending up a plume of debris. However, both Nathaniel and the purple whirlpool remained unharmed.
Nathaniel: "I suppose someone whose only purpose is to swing a sword was never meant to be very bright, the fact that you take pride in that and fulfill that role is commendable. As a reward, I shall inform your meager brain that once the spell has been cast, only the power of a witch can stop it. I cannot, however, overlook the grave insult that you've directed towards me with that attack. So, you must be slain, though I do hope you take as much pride in your death as you do in your life. You should take pride in knowing that your death will put you in the position you belong in. But first, I must introduce myself, I am the sin archbishop of the witch's faith, representing pride, Nathaniel Sargas, I'm certain you feel overjoyed to be lucky enough to die by my hand."
Nathaniel gathered purple sparks around him and the fight began. Almost immediately Reinhart closed the distance between them. Reinhart swiftly swung his sword at Nathaniel which flung him against the wall. Nathaniel gave no resistance to the attack and didn't even move from the position he landed in, he appeared to be concentrating. Subaru watched as Nathaniel received blow after blow without seeming to worry at all.
Subaru: "He's not even fighting back, what's happening?"
With superhuman speed, Reinhard battered Nathaniel with blow after blow with no signs of stopping and Nathaniel just seemed to sit there and take it.
Subaru: "Is he trying to turn Reinhart into a "Tool", no… that can't be it, he's dead set on killing him. Maybe he's using "Seizer" to drain Reinhart of energy so he's an easier target."
Soon Reinhart began to slow down and Nathaniel's eyes filled with purple lightning. A wicked smile stretched across the archbishops face and Subaru shouted out in despiration.
Subaru: "Reinhart! WATCH OUT!"
Reinhart lept back and Nathaniel consolidated a mass of energy and fired it directly at Reinhart. Supposedly, one of Reinharts divine protections makes any projectile miss him, however, this was not the case this time. Reinhart believed that the bolt would miss him, as all projectiles had in the past, this one however slammed right into him and launched him back several feet before he crashed into a nearby building.
After the collapse, the building lay still as the residual bolts fizzled away. Subaru was shocked by what he just saw. Blood painted the white stones as Nathaniel let out a deep breath.
Nathaniel: "Now he is where he belongs, I hope he takes pride in that."
Subaru: "You're an idiot."
Nathaniel: "What?"
Nathaniel turned to face Subaru who was still sitting on the ground. Subaru stared back with a smirk on his face.
Subaru: "No one can kill Reinhart, at least not for good."
Reinhart: "It's not a surprise if you spoil the ending Subaru."
Nathaniel: "WHAT?!"
Rising from the rubble, the sword saint stood in a battle ready stance. His uniform had a hole in the front and an identical one in the back, implying that the bolt had peirced streight through him. Nathaniel staggered back in surprise from the development.
Reinhart: "That was a clever trick, you drained my energy then attacked me using only the energy you stole from me. You tricked my divine protections into thinking it was me who was attacking me. However, I must warn you, that trick won't work twice."
Nathaniel: "No, wait, this is cheating, you can't expect it to be a fair fight if you're an unkillable god."
Reinhart stepped towards Nathaniel as Nathaniel stepped backwards in fear. However, Nathaniel had one last trick.
Nathaniel: "My people, prepare to kill yourselves if he takes one more step."
Tools: "Yes, oh great one!"
As the Tools gathered sharp objects from the ground, Reinhart stopped in his tracks. Nathaniel looked at him with a victorious smirk.
Reinhart: "What happened to fighting with pride."
Nathaniel: "I'm evening the odds, no one would be proud of the fight if the fight wasn't fair."
Subaru looked at the situation with growing concern, if it continued like this, they would never beat Nathaniel without sacraficing the innocent people.
Subaru: "If only there was a way to make them unable to receive commands."
Then Subaru realized what he had to do. He placed his palms on the white stones and felt all the yin mana in the world within them. He connected with it and then chanted.
Subaru: "Ul Shamak!"
A dark mass engulfed the "Tools" and pulled them out of this world temporarily. They were effectively living in a void.
Subaru: "Reinhart now!"
In a flash Reinhart covered the distance between him and the archbishop and in one slash, dispelled the last bit of energy left in his shield. Knowing that there was no victory in sight Nathaniel spread his arms.
Nathaniel: "I take pride in my death knowing I succeeded in my-"
Nathaniel's speech was interrupted when reids sheith broke through his ribcage, punctured his lungs, heart, esophagus, and spine and exited the other side. With that the archbishop was no more.
Unfortunately so were the spirits, and so was Subaru.
Subaru: "Ugh… hk."
The drilling in his brain was about to kill him, he could feel it. Reinhart rushed over to Subaru.
Reinhart: "Don't worry I can save y-."
Suddenly, a blue blur knocked Reinhart off his feet. Reinhart landed in a battle stance and drew the pale blade, reid. The blade shown with a brilliant light and it seemed to sing with joy at being freed.
?: "I told you if you ever returned to Vollachia I'd shred you faster than you can think."
The strange blue haired man appeared to be holding two katanas. As Subaru's vision blurred his saw as the two engaged in the most high speed battle Subaru had ever seen. However, soon he slipped into unconsciousness, and, while unconscious, died.
Subaru slowly awoke on the red-hued stones outside of Redrock. His brain had returned to normal and the screaming had stopped. But, once again, everything was reset. Subaru lay on the stones, looking up into the sky, pondering over his predicament. He lay there for what seemed like an hour before a knowing smirk was drawn across his face. He finally found a weakness, one that only he could use, which meant.
Subaru: I have to fight him alone."