Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.

And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!

3 months later. Margrave Mathers Mansion. Daytime

"...Wake up"

"Ugh...Five more minutes"

Shadow, standing with an annoyed expression, was trying to wake up Subaru.

Three months have passed ever since the Snow Festival that resulted from Puck's Magic Release Period, and not much has changed, aside from Subaru still training under the guidance of Shadow on how to use Demons and Demon Magic, as well as Reinhard, Natsumi and Felt visiting a few days every week, either to chit chat or to join in the training.

And surprisingly, Otto, who became the minister of internal affairs of the Emilia Camp, joined in...Or it was more like he was dragged by Subaru into all of this with him, with Subaru stating that 'he was weak like a twig'.

In addition to this, The Emilia Camp had a new addition two months ago, in the form of Petra, who decided to join in as a maid-in-training, guided by Frederica, Rem and Ram, who trained her alongside Shaula.

Speaking of the humanoid Mabeast, Shaula was improving in her maid work, as well as her mannerisms, thanks to the hard work of Frederica, Rem and sometimes Ram, considering the fact that Ram mostly did little to nothing around the huge mansion. However, when around Subaru, she was still her usual childish cheerful self. All in all, it could be said that the three maids did a very decent job reforming Shaula even if it was a little.

And now, we go back to the present.

"...You must prepare yourself. Haven't you already got used to waking up early? If you insist on this, then you'll miss the Royal Selection that will take place tomorrow" Shadow said.

"...Ugh. Did you have to step on the damn nerve?" Subaru grumbled his question, before kicking off the blanket from his body. He then jumped to his feet, before releasing a long yawn, scratching his refined abs, before slowly walking outside his room to head to the bathroom, passing beside Shadow.

"G'morning, Shadow" Subaru said.

"...Good morning" Shadow replied back, before using Chaos Control to flicker out from Subaru's room.

"Damn. I have to ask him to teach me that" Subaru grumbled, before walking along the length of the corridor, aiming for the bathroom. And while he was walking, he began reminiscing the events of the past.

He studied Magic, met Shaula, who for some reason mistook him for someone he didn't know, reunited with his twin sister, assisted in the defeat of a Sin Archbishop that was a member of a weird and dangerous religious cult, saved an entire village from impending doom, and lastly, he was currently training for the sake of a bloody war that will take place three years from now.

"Damn...All this, and my relationship with Emilia-tan haven't advanced..." Subaru groaned while mumbling these words. He then suddenly slapped his face with both palms, causing stinging red hand marks to appear on both of his cheeks.

"No, Subaru. This white knighting of yours is stupid and useless. This ain't a videogame. This is the real world. Any false move and everything will go down the drain to the point of no return. If you keep on thinking of these stuff, then you'll eventually make a fool of yourself. So the only solution is to be patient. Everything will come in its fated time" Subaru said before taking a deep breath, and proceeded to continue his journey to the bathroom.

"Hm?" He then suddenly stopped upon hearing the faint sounds of moaning.

"Huh...I could swear that I felt the moans of Otto whenever Shadow practices a new spell and uses him as his guinea pig..." Subaru mused before following the sounds of the moaning. As the sound increased, Subaru then heard an additional voice: The voice of a female moaning.

"Uhhh...What the hell? I think it's coming from Otto's room..." Subaru mumbled as his cheeks were unconsciously turning red, having an idea what was that thing that was making these sounds.

Reaching Otto's room door, Subaru took a slow, deep breath, before ducking slightly to peek from the keyhole, and the moment he did, he instantly regretted it.

Right in front of Subaru stood both Otto and Frederica, both were making out, locking lips and sucking on each other's tongues, and they looked extremely in heat, with Otto sliding one of his hands inside Frederica's skirt, moving his entire palm in the area between her legs, causing juices to drip and trail down the length of her legs.

"I've seen something that I shouldn't have!" Subaru thought, yanking himself away from the scene, before resuming his journey to the bathroom, his cheeks still flushed.

To be honest, he already expected both Otto and Frederica to be in a relationship already. Both were completely compatible with each other ever since day one. Or to be more precise, from that day at the night of the Snow Festival three months ago.

"...Ugh...Damn Otto...So lucky..." Subaru muttered before entering the bathroom, closing the door of said room behind him.

At the same time. Astrea Household

"Ugh...Stupid damn dress!"

"It's for the sake of the Royal Selection tomorrow, Felt-sama. You have to reconsider please"

"Honestly, though. I think the dress suits your theme, Felt-chan"

As Felt complained about the tightness of the beautiful yellow dress that Reinhard and Natsumi helped her in dressing, the former gave his apologies while the latter gave her compliments.

If there was anything that was obviously known about Felt, then it was this: She hated nobility, and anything connected to it. And the fact that she was chosen by some form of a stupid insignia to be a King candidate was pissing her off beyond any level of temper that was known, not to mention the body trap that was called a dress that she was forced to wear.

She tried running away from both Reinhard and Natsumi, but no matter what place she hides in, those two always manage to find her. Truly, they were creeping her out.

"Is it good like that?" Reinhard directed his question at Natsumi, considering the fact that she was the one out of them all to have the fashion sense.

"Hmm...I think that it needs to be tighter" Natsumi said, inspecting Felt's walking posture while she was wearing the dress.

"More than that?! Do you plan on choking me to Death, Natsumi Onee-chan?!" Felt screamed her protest at Natsumi.

"As much as I hate to say that, but Red is right, Felt-chan. This meeting that will take place tomorrow is very important. Not to mention that those nobles tend to be rude when it comes to their opinions about others even when not asked to express it. They will immediately judge you because you came from the slums, and Red's reputation will be smeared" Natsumi explained to Felt.

"This actually reminds me of the day when I recommended you to join the Royal Guard" Reinhard said with a smile at Natsumi, causing said female to grunt upon remembering the bitter memory.

"Ugh. Don't remind me. When that bastard Bordeaux saw me in my old outfit, he literally called me a slum whore. Thank goodness that both Marcos-san and Mikolotov-san were on our side" Natsumi said while scratching the back of her head. Reinhard then placed a hand on her shoulder, which in turn caused Natsumi to look at him, only to see his smiling face that radiated light and sparks for some reason. And while that would've normally blinded Natsumi, her mind was still busy trying to sort out her rapid heartbeat and the red blush that rivaled Reinhard's vibrant red hair in color radiance and intensity.

"It's okay, Natsumi. I know that Bordeaux-sama was mean to you, but it didn't require you blasting a hole in the walls behind the throne" Reinhard said, causing Natsumi to pout cutely, before crossing her arms underneath her ample chest while casting her eyes to the side, with the blush still not leaving her cheeks.

"Hmph. That asshole deserved it. Besides, that hole that I blasted was the thing that made Marcos-san recommend me for the Royal Guard. I still think that Julius is a dick, though" Natsumi said.

"What exactly brought Julius into the conversation?" Reinhard asked with a sweatdrop.

"Well, he said something along the lines of 'Your appearance is rather unsightly', or something like that. He pissed me off at that day. He should be thankful that you were there to hold me back from lashing at his pretty face and plucking out his precious hair" Natsumi answered, causing Reinhard to chuckle at her cute expression, with Felt falling on her back, bursting out in laughter the more Natsumi said about her past with the Royal Guard.

"HAHAHA! Wish I could see that hole! HAHAHA!" Felt exclaimed while holding her sides from all the laughter she released. Natsumi then sighed and used all of her mental willpower to hide the blush, to which she partially succeeded, considering the fact that there was still a faint rosy blush on her cheeks. Felt then stopped laughing and stood up, but then her eyebrows perked up upon seeing a strange mark on Natsumi's neck.

"Hey. Onee-chan" Felt called out to Natsumi.

"Yes?" Natsumi asked.

"What's that mark on yer neck? Did ya get injured while training with Rein or something?" Felt asked, and at that moment, both Natsumi and Reinhard's bodies jolted up comically, before Natsumi used her hand to hide the 'injury', with the blush returning immediately, and this time, Reinhard was also blushing while casting his eyes to the ground.

"Uhh...Yes...Hehe...I got...A few injuries...Here and there...Hehe..." Natsumi nervously said to the blonde girl, who blinked in confusion. She then looked at Reinhard, only to see the rare sight of him being as nervous as Natsumi, and this somehow sparked the seed of doubt within Felt, causing the girl to narrow her eyes at her two Knights.

"Hmm...Suspicious..." She said, before closing her eyes and shrugging her shoulders shortly afterwards.

"Well, not that I care now. All that I care about is to get the frick out of this trap of a body" Felt said before she started to take off her dress. Moments later, she changed to her usual outfit, before walking away from the room, but not before waving goodbye to both Reinhard and Natsumi, leaving said two inside the room.

The room was silent for a few minutes, before Reinhard decided to break the ice.

"Umm...Natsumi..." He muttered.

"Y-Yes, Red?!" Natsumi asked with a startled expression.

"I think that...I need that now..." Reinhard answered, causing Natsumi to blink, before she silently marched to Reinhard, took his hand, and then started to run towards his room. After entering the room, she peeked from the room to make sure no one saw them, before she closed the door shut. And moments later, moaning could be heard from the room.

{Warning: 18+ Lime Scene. If you don't like sexual content, fell free to skip by scrolling down to 'Lime End'}

Inside the room, Reinhard and Natsumi could be seen, hugging each other while standing on their feet. Natsumi was wrapping her arms around Reinhard's neck, and Reinhard was wrapping a hand around Natsumi's slender waist, while the other hand was positioned behind Natsumi's head, pushing it towards his own face to deepen the kiss that they were entangled in. Both kept on kissing and sucking each other's tongues in a rather arousing display, drowning in pleasure as their cheeks flushed deeply, from both lack of breath and the sexual hormone surge that increased furiously by the second in their bodies.

"Mmmm...Ahhh...*Suck*...Red..." Natsumi moaned as she kept on locking her lips with Reinhard's, sucking his tongue and the insides of his mouth as saliva began to drip from the spot that their lips shared.

"Natsumi...S-Sorry...Mmmm...I almost...*Suck*...blew our cover...Mmmm..." Reinhard moaned out his response, all while using his lips and tongue to inspect Natsumi's mouth and pushing her head even further to deepen the lip lock between both of them.

"That's...*Suck*...That's okay. It was...My fault...Ahhh...For not hiding that hickey...Mmm..." Natsumi answered back.

"But still...I...*Suck*...Asked you...To do...Ahh...To do that again...It's the 15th time already this week...Mmm...How many times...*Suck*...Did we do it...?" Reinhard asked, and at that, Natsumi broke the kiss, moving back from Reinhard, causing a trail of saliva to appear between both their tongues, glittering under the sun rays that entered the window frame of the room, before disappearing, leaving the two Knights looking at each other with flushed faces, breathing heavily from the long kiss that they were locked in.

"That's...That's nothing for you to worry about. I told you to be selfish around me. Also, we're doing all of this for your sake" Natsumi said to the red haired Knight.

"But Natsumi...You really didn't have to-" As Reinhard was speaking, Natsumi placed a finger on his lips, stopping his speech midway.

"What did I just say, Red? Be selfish with me and only me. I proposed the idea of making out for the sake of releasing your pent up emotions, so you need not to feel neither shame nor regret, and don't hesitate as long as it's going to make you feel comfortable shortly afterwards. Besides, what we're doing isn't sex. It's just foreplay...Even though I'd love that idea..." Natsumi said, muttering the last part.

"Hm? What was that, Natsumi?" Reinhard asked, causing Natsumi to jolt up.

"Ahh! N-Nothing! Anyways, let's get back to where we left off! Where were we?" Natsumi asked, causing Reinhard's already deep red blush to become even redder.

"Umm...After kissing comes...T-The...B-B-Blowjob..." Reinhard stuttered, feeling completely embarrassed from just thinking about the word.

However, that did nothing to hide the sly grin on Natsumi's face as she slowly fell to her knees, before reaching to Reinhard's pants, she then slowly slid his hard shaft from beneath his pants and boxers, before starting to implant kisses on it, causing Reinhard to throw his face backwards from the intense waves of pleasure that impacted him.

It's been already three months ever since they decided on doing this kind of secret daily routine, and yet Reinhard never got used to the combination of embarrassment and pleasure that always found its way to surprise him.

For all his power, Reinhard Van Astrea was powerless against this woman.

He then suddenly gritted his teeth and was snapped out from his thoughts upon feeling Natsumi's tongue slowly licking up and down his member, torturing Reinhard with seemingly never ending waves of pleasure.

"N-Natsumi...This is...Amazing..." He muttered out.

"Glad you like it, because what's coming next will be even more intense" Natsumi said, before moving her mouth to Reinhard's balls. She then opened her mouth and took one of them in it, causing Reinhard to gasp, having felt a lightning bolt strike him directly, before he gritted his teeth as Natsumi used her now non-gloved hand to stroke his dick slowly while sucking and licking on his balls at the same time.

"N-Natsumi...I...I want to..." Reinhard gasped out his request, but the pleasure was too overwhelming that he couldn't speak out his mind. This made Natsumi release her grasp on his balls, removing them from her mouth, but she still stroked his dick in a slow manner.

"Yes, Red? What is it?" She asked while looking at him in the eye, still stroking his member at the same time.

"I...I want to cum...In your m-m-mouth..." Reinhard stuttered in his request, feeling both ashamed and powerless from the pleasure.

"I see...Well, that's a good idea. It's healthy for a boy to come, especially an extremely healthy one such as yourself" Natsumi said, licking her lips in anticipation. She then shifted her attention to Reinhard's dick that was pulsating from the heat and hormone rush that it was plagued with. She then brushed a hair strand behind her ear, before opening her mouth and placing Reinhard's dick inside of it, immediately causing Reinhard to nearly fall from the sudden wave of pleasure.

"I'll never get used to this...!" He thought, before shifting his attention to the girl that was pleasuring him.

"Um...Natsumi...Can I sit down...? I feel like I'll fall on my back from all of these sudden overwhelming jolts..." Reinhard said to Natsumi, causing the girl to release his member from her mouth, leaving it covered in her saliva. She then stood up and suddenly pushed Reinhard with both hands, causing the Sword Saint to fall backwards towards the bed, right on his back. He then saw Natsumi undressing slowly as she approached him, taking off her Knight outfit, leaving her with nothing but the black tank top that held and covered her breasts and the black panties that now had a wet patch on them.

"Looks like we'll need to wash up after this therapy session of ours..." Natsumi giggled out these words, before climbing on top of Reinhard. She then started to take off her panties in a slow fashion, causing Reinhard's eyes to widen and for his breath to fasten up. After Natsumi took off her panties completely, she then lifted up her tank top, revealing her D-cups breasts to Reinhard, and at this moment, the Sword Saint's nose started to bleed.

"Uhh...Can you please stop staring...? It's embarrassing" She asked with a pout, causing Reinhard to chuckle lightly, his nose still bleeding. Natsumi, seeing this, puffed her cheeks in annoyance, before she shifted her position such that her ass was facing Reinhard's face, before she sat on his face, shoving her pussy his mouth. And the moment she did this, she gasped as Reinhard suddenly started using his tongue to lick between her legs.

"S-so...You want to play like that, huh? Well two can play that game..." She said before she leaned forward towards Reinhard's erection. She then placed it between her breasts and started to move them up and down, followed by licking and sucking on his dick, which in turn made Reinhard's mind completely blank from the pleasure as his licking started to become even faster, causing Natsumi to close her eyes tightly and moan from the increased pleasure, which in turn also made her increase the speed of her tit-blow-job, and a few minutes later, both were nearing their end.

"Mmmm...!" And with a loud muffled moan from both of them, both Natsumi and Reinhard climaxed in the faces and mouths of each other, with Reinhard lapping out her juices with his tongue and Natsumi taking in Reinhard's seed inside of her mouth, where some of it which she couldn't swallow fell on her breasts.

Both then released each other, falling on the bed, panting heavily with their flushed red faces.

"..We're gonna have to wash up for that one" Natsumi muttered, still panting.

"You...Already told me that" Reinhard replied back, also panting.

{Lime End}

A few minutes later

"D-Don't look at me like that!"

"Hehehe...What's wrong with doing that?"

While they were walking in the hallway of the mansion to head for the exit, Reinhard was actually enjoying his time teasing Natsumi.

The actions that literally happened a few minutes ago was due to something that Natsumi suggested. Having seen Reinhard always maintaining fake smiles around the people, all while enduring the harsh treatment from his bastard of a father, and his elegant-looking, yet dumb excuse of a grandfather, not to mention the fact about his mother that was mysteriously trapped in a Sleeping Beauty state, Natsumi decided that he had to 'relieve the stress around himself'. So she decided to this method.

Strange? Yes. Bizarre? Absolutely. Crazy? Maybe. Useful? Definitely. Beneficial? Totally!

The fact that Natsumi herself had ulterior motives. As a girl who just fell heads over heels for a boy, but was too much of a coward to admit her feelings, Natsumi felt like with this method, she could kill two birds with one stone: She relieves Reinhard of the stress that he was accumulating inside of himself, and at the same time, she can have an 'appetizer' of her crush, considering the fact that she didn't want to push it even further to the point of them having sex...At least not yet, that is.

If only she knew that Reinhard was thinking actually the same, considering the fact that he was also a chicken to admit his feelings for her...Even though it was very obvious that even a child can say that they're both drowning in love...

"Still, though...Even if it's bizarre...The fact that you thought about my wellbeing makes me really happy, Natsumi" Reinhard said with a small blush, causing Natsumi to look at him with a rosy blush on her face.

"Well...Y-Yeah. I have to do that. I always thought of ways to repay you for helping me when I first arrived in Lugunica. But...I always thought that I could never repay you, even after all of this, and this is all that I can do..." Natsumi muttered out, her blush disappearing and her eyes cast down with a gloomy expression on her face. Reinhard, noticing this, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him that her head touched his chest, which in turn caused Natsumi's eyes to widen in surprise, and her blush returned to her face, but this time it was redder than Reinhard's hair.

"H-Hey! W-What are you doing?!" Natsumi asked in shock and embarrassment.

"If I...Told you that your presence by my side is more than enough to make me truly happy, will you...Believe me?" Reinhard asked, causing Natsumi to gasp and for her blush to deepen. Her eyes then were casted downwards to the ground, not even looking at Reinhard, who was still hugging her with one arm.

"But...I'm a troublemaker. I'll cause lots of trouble to you. You might even hate me and abandon me..." She muttered in a low voice, but Reinhard was able to hear her clearly.

"Trouble me all you want. All of this trouble that you're causing is the thing that makes my life even more interesting. Also..." Reinhard said, before trailing in his speech. His face suddenly had the same blush that Natsumi had, and he was scratching his face with his finger while casting both his face and eyes to the side.

"...I...Can't imagine my life...Without your loudness and troubles, Natsumi...Truly...I'm glad that you appeared in my life" He said, causing Natsumi's eyes to widen even further, before she closed them and puffed her cheeks.

"...Stupid Red. Don't talk to me for an hour" She muttered, causing Reinhard to gasp and release Natsumi from his one armed hug.

"W-What?! What did I do?!" He asked in shock, as they both continued walking.

At the same time, An old maid was looking at both Knights retreating to go to the Margrave Mathers Mansion. A smile cracking into her aged face.

"Natsumi-sama...Felt-sama...Please keep taking care of the young master..."

At the same time. Margrave Mathers Mansion

"So, Ros-chi said that he was heading out today with Ram, while Otto is with Petra, Shaula and Frederica to go to Old Man Rom to buy rum for the Pina Colada deal that Otto will have"

"Yes, and it seems that Puck is with Beatrice in the Forbidden Library"

"So today it's only Rem, Shadow-kun, Emilia-sama and...Subaru...san..."

"Hey! Why did you pause dramatically while mentioning my name?!"

"...That's quite a convenient action to take for someone like you, Subaru"

As they were talking, Subaru, Shadow, Emilia and Rem were sitting together in the dining hall, cake and tea on the table.

"It might be a little lonely, but please endure" Emilia said.

"I could never be lonely with both Emilia-tan and Shadow around me" Subaru said with a smile.

"...Are you gay or something?" Shadow asked with a cold expression, before taking a puff from his vape and blowing the smoke out from his mouth.

"I'm straight! Thank you!" Subaru yelled.

"A world without Nee-sama would look drabber" Rem said with a smile.

"Your love to your sister is so admirable, Rem" Shadow said, causing Rem to giggle cutely.

"Ugh...This tea really tastes like leaves...Say, Does Ros-chi put that makeup on himself?" Subaru commented on the taste of the tea, before asking about something else entirely.

"...I was wondering the same thing too. He looks like a clown in that makeup, and the outfit doesn't really help at all" Shadow commented, releasing another smoke puff from his mouth.

"Yeah. You're right about that. But then again, that makeup makes one hell of an impact. Like, Ros-chi always has the makeup on except in the bath, right? I've seen him without it, so I was thinking: Who makes it? Some nobleman in these parts?" Subaru asked, before blinking as Shadow casually blew a puff of smoke that had the scent of mangos in it.

"Dude. That's mango. Where do you even get these flavors?" Subaru asked the Zero-Class Highest.

"...I make them. But we're getting off the track here. Anyways, I think I know about that thing regarding the Clown's makeup. See, it's not as if all important people put on makeup like Roswaal. That's actually Roswaal's specialty. Right, Rem?" Shadow explained, before shifting to the blue haired Oni maid, to which said person smiled sweetly before speaking.

"Yes. When Roswaal-sama became recognized as the magician of the court, he was given the privilege of arriving with his makeup as a reward" Rem answered.

"Huh?! He got to wear that makeup as a reward?!" Subaru asked in shock.

"I suppose that's due to his impressive magical abilities, which in turn gave him the privilege to wear that makeup whenever and wherever. I heard that he was researching Arcane Magic. He might have reached little success, but nevertheless, it's actually rather remarkable" Shadow said.

"Makeup is that big of a deal to him? Does it have some magical properties or something?" Subaru asked.

"Who knows? Roswaal-sama leaves everything concerning his person to Nee-sama and Rem, but Rem puts nothing special into it" Rem answered. It was then that Subaru's eyes were casted onto Shadow, causing the Highest to raise an eyebrow in confusion, and a slight shiver ran down his spine.

"Say, how about...We try the same makeup as Roswaal and see how will to be like on Shadow?" Subaru suggested, causing Shadow to stand up, his eyes wide with fury as blood vessels popped in his eyes while glaring at Subaru, who immediately ran and hid behind Emilia, shivering in a comical manner.

"That's a great idea, Subaru! Shadow, if you try it on, you and Subaru might look at it differently, right? And Roswaal and Ram aren't here to get angry at a copycat" Emilia exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Ugh! Not you too, Emilia!" Shadow yelled, throwing his head backwards while gripping on his hair with both hands.

"Nobody uses 'copycat' anymore, Emilia-tan..." Subaru muttered, still hiding behind Emilia.

A few minutes later

"Is this...Me?"

"Yes! You look wonderful, Shadow-kun!"

"Whoa! No kidding! He looks like Roswaal II!"

Rem smiled sweetly while holding a mirror to Shadow, who literally transformed into a copy of Roswaal, causing Subaru to stare in shock and disbelief at Rem's handiwork.

"You can't fool me! Anyway you look at it, this is total overkill!" Shadow yelled out, causing Rem to giggle cutely at Shadow's out-of-character reaction.

It seems that even the coldest of hearts have a warm side to them after all.

"Rem was right, Shadow-kun. Some of Roswaal-sama's clothes fit on you somehow" Rem said while still smiling.

"Well obviously. I'm 1.8 m, while Roswaal is 1.86 m. A 6 cm difference. Not a significant one, though" Shadow said while crossing his arms under his chest.

"With that look, Nee-sama might see you in a new light" Rem said to Shadow, causing said person to sweatdrop at the Oni maid.

"...More like she'll do anything to see me in Hell" Shadow grumbled out his response.

"Fufufufufufufu...I'm dying...You're killing me...Fufufufufufufufu..." Everyone turned around to see Emilia placing her arms and head on the table, her body shaking rapidly from laughing.

"Whoa! Emilia-tan is laughing so much!" Subaru exclaimed in surprise. This caused Shadow to blink coldly, before taking a pose that resembled Roswaal.

"Is my appeeeeeeaaaarance that apeeeeeeeeaaaaling?" Shadow asked, mimicking all of Roswaal's facial features, smile, voice and even his talking pattern, which in turn made Emilia's laughter even more harder.

"Shadow! No fair! That's cheating! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Emilia exclaimed while laughing furiously.

"You know, Shadow. It'd be a shame to keep that just to us. So I think it's probably the best if you ignore your shame and dignity for once and get Puck and Beako to crack up like crazy too. Don't you think?" Subaru suggested, before shuddering upon seeing Shadow glaring daggers at him.

"I think that means that you plan to be on my dinner list for tonight, Subaru" Shadow said calmly, but his glare said that he was super pissed. Fortunately, Rem came to the rescue, albeit unintentionally since she just wanted to talk to Shadow.

"Roswaal-sama and Nee-sama will return in the evening so you can maintain that appearance until then" Rem said, still smiling while looking at Shadow.

"...No thank you. I don't want to see Raspberry blowing up an Al Fura into my face...Even though it won't even do a scratch, it'll still be annoying to deal with her rampage" Shadow said.

"Hff...Hff...Ahh...That was so funny I almost died...Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh that m-Pfft...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Emilia, who just started wiping her tears from laughter, burst out in laughter once again upon seeing Shadow still in Roswaal's disguise.

"Well...That's no good. Subaru, Just stay with Emilia until you fix the pipe of laughter for her, okay?" Shadow asked the white haired boy, to which he nodded at this, before sitting beside Emilia, rubbing her back gently to try and make her stop laughing. And at that, Shadow walked towards the door of the dining hall.

"Ah! Shadow-kun, wait! Rem will go with you!" Rem exclaimed before running behind Shadow with the makeup box in her hands. As both of them exited to the hallway, Shadow noticed the makeup box in Rem's hands.

"Why did you bring the makeup box with you?" He asked.

"Your makeup could be ruined before you show it to Beatrice-sama and Puck-sama. You're unused to that face and have not yet mastered it" Rem answered while puffing her chest in pride.

"...FYI, I never agreed to show anyone myself while I'm in this pathetic state. I only played along to kill some time, that's all" Shadow said with a sweatdrop.

Suddenly, Shadow noticed a glimmer from the windows, promoting him to look at it, and not a second later, a bright white light engulfed both Shadow and Rem, and the next thing that happened, both disappeared from the hallway.

Unknown Location

"Rem? Are you alright?"

"Umm...R-Rem is a-a-alright, Shadow-kun...But can you please p-p-p-put Rem down...?"

While inspecting the unknown location that he and Rem were suddenly teleported to, Shadow was holding Rem bridal style, which in turn caused Rem to blush deeply while requesting from Shadow to put her down to her feet.

And for some reason, Shadow had a small rosy blush on his face while he was seeing Rem.

"Oh. Sorry" He apologized before placing Rem on her feet, before diverting his attention to their surroundings.

"Where is this? It can't be some place connected to the Forbidden Library" Shadow noted.

"Indeed, Shadow-kun. Neither Rem nor Shadow-kun have touched a door to trigger it" Rem said.

"Yes, and I can't feel Beatrice's Magic signature around this place, so this place is definitely not the Forbidden Library" Shadow said.

"So...What do you think we should do, Shadow-kun?" Rem asked, before Shadow took off the wig he was wearing and used it to wipe off the makeup on his face.

"Well, I think it's for the better. Because I think that this is probably an attempt of someone trying to interfere with the Royal Selection. So it's a good thing that they didn't capture Emilia and instead captured us. So in order to proceed, we must foil their plans, and in order to do that, we must first investigate this place" Shadow instructed, before looking at Rem.

"By the way, you look really calm, Rem" He noted.

"No. Rem's quite agitated. But with Shadow-kun on Rem's side, Rem's managing to hold it together. That's Rem's Shadow-kun for you!" Rem exclaimed with a smile, causing Shadow to instinctively turn around and place a hand on his mouth, a deep blush forming on his place.

"Goodness...My heart just did a 360 flip just from seeing this smile...Seriously, what the hell is happening to me?" He thought before composing himself quickly, taking a deep breath and releasing it out, and then he turned around again to face Rem.

"Anyways, there's an iron door here, and it seems that it might lead to somewhere" Rem said.

"Hmm...I see" Shadow said before looking around, having noticed three other doors around the room.

"Four iron doors in the middles of four walls. From that it means that each door links to another space. I can feel Mana signatures from each door, so my best guess is that we either have four traps or four enemies...The question though is: Now what? I'm confident that I can take on whatever is behind those doors, even though one of them actually have a power signature that is way more powerful than the other them, but even so, I'm afraid that Rem might get entangled into this..." Shadow was deep in thought, and then he was snapped out of them when he saw Rem staring at one of the doors.

"Rem? Something's wrong?" Shadow asked, causing the blue haired Oni maid to look at him.

"Ah! I'm sorry. A strange space. Four doors...It bothers Rem for some reason" Rem answered.

"Hm. Indeed. There is only one door here in front of us, but judging by the four walls surrounding us, there is bound to be three more doors. I think that in order to proceed, we must enter through this door" Shadow said before advancing to the door, with Rem by his side. They then opened the door and entered the room, only to see that it was blank and white just like the space that they first arrived in, except for a light blue crystal ball lying in the middle on a small stone pillar.

"Hm. It appears the same as the space that we arrived in" Rem said.

"No. This space has only one door. The space that we arrived in holds four walls with three invisible doors" Shadow explained.

Suddenly, the door behind them got shut, trapping them inside. Rem then noticed the crystal ball positioned in the middle of the room glowing rapidly, causing her to turn to Shadow.

"Shadow-kun! Grab hold of Rem!" She called out, causing Shadow to hold onto her hand.

And the next thing that happened was a massive wave of water suddenly bursting out from the crystal, instantly engulfing both Shadow and Rem, filling the entire room with water.

"Water?! This crystal must be a Magic item! Is that a Metia or something?! Wait! No use thinking about that right now! I can normally breathe in space and underwater, but Rem can't. She can hold out for so long before she dies from suffocation! I have to do something!" Shadow thought before looking up, only to see that the ceiling was already occupied, considering the fact that the room was already filled completely with water. He then looked at the iron door, and thought about blowing it up, only for this idea to vanish instantly upon seeing the crystal ball in the center of the room still glowing, which in turn meant that even if he blew up the door, the crystal ball will still fill up the entire space that they arrived in, meaning that nothing will be solved.

What Shadow wanted was to make sure that Rem was safe. If it was only him, then it'd have been alright, but now, he didn't want to risk Rem being harmed.

"Rem" He called out, causing the blue haired maid to gasp in shock, before she immediately closed her mouth with her hands to prevent the sealed air to escape from her lungs.

"Yes. I can breathe and talk perfectly underwater and in places with no air. But that's not what I want to talk about. Look" He said, before pointing at the crystal ball underneath them.

"See that crystal ball? If we destroy it, we can end this torrent of water. Now then...Show me what you can do" Shadow said, causing Rem to blink, before smiling confidently.

Shadow was testing her in a task that he would normally pass with flying colors. Well...She won't fail him and will live up to his expectations.

She then opened her mouth slightly, muttering something, before a massive icicle appeared. Rem then grabbed Shadow's hand, before she planted her feet on the icicle, and pushed herself and Shadow towards the crystal ball, but their advance was slow due to the water pressure, which prompted Rem to created even more icicles to step on, but every time she created an icicle, she had to open her mouth to chant. Even if the chant was short, Rem was already opening her mouth, which in turn caused her lungs to be slowly filled with water and for the air to decrease inside of her body, which in turn resulted in her vision becoming blurry from the lack of oxygen, something that didn't go unnoticed by Shadow.

"Rem's already at her limit. I don't think that she can hold out much longer...Her Rune Stone had made her develop ageless immortality, but had yet to develop her body structure to allow her to breathe in airless environments...Very well. I think I'll give her a hand..." Shadow thought, before pulling on her arm, gaining her attention. She then looked at him, before he presented the cosmetics box that she brought with them. Shadow then opened the box, causing its content to float out of it, but also allowed a few air bubbles to escape, to which Rem unintentionally breathed in. This made Rem become wide-eyed in surprise and realization, before she smiled.

"That's Rem's Shadow-kun..." She whispered, before she brought her attention back to the crystal ball. She then started to chant with the limited air that she gained from the air bubbles she breathed in, before extending her arm to the ground.

"Al Huma!" She roared out, causing a massive icicle to appear and lodge itself into the floor of the room that was filled with water. Rem then used that icicle as a footing, before she summoned her morning star in her free hand, since her other hand was holding Shadow's hand. And with one mighty horizontal swing, Rem sent the spiked ball of her weapon towards the crystal ball, shattering it completely alongside the pillar that it was placed on. This action caused the water to rapidly be flushed like the flushing system of a toilet, and just then the door opened, and Shadow and Rem were ejected somehow from it, returning to the central space that they first arrived into.

"Hah...Hah...We somehow got through that...Hah...Hah...Thanks to you...Shadow-kun..." Rem panted out her words to Shadow.

"No. It was thanks to you, Rem" Shadow said while standing up, being soaked from head to toe. The water causing his hair to rest from its spiky form, revealing that his hair was originally reaching to right before his shoulders.

"Well, at least we had a free cold shower. Not complaining" Shadow said before looking at Rem. He then suddenly developed a rosy blush upon seeing Rem completely soaked, and it seems that her maid clothes were semi-transparent, since he could see a flash of her E-cups breasts, and even see a glimpse of her nipples.

This caused Shadow to immediately take off the coat he was wearing, and place it on Rem's shoulders, causing Rem to blink for a few seconds, before realization struck her, followed by a massive red blush forming on her face.

"Rem's sorry for this shameful appearance!" Rem immediately said while hugging the coat on her body.

"H-Hey. That's okay...We both were soaked after all. So no big deal. Anyways, can you stand up?" Shadow brushed Rem's embarrassment off, before asking her of her wellbeing and extending his hand to her

"R-Rem's fine. Thank you for asking, Shadow-kun" She answered, taking his hand and standing up to her feet. She then saw as Shadow brushed his still soaked hair backwards, with his six packs abs being bare for her to see. This made Rem unconsciously drool in a comical manner while looking at the piece of art in front of her, which didn't go unnoticed by Shadow.

"What's wrong, Rem?" Shadow asked.

"...When we get out of here...Can Rem touch Shadow-kun's abs...?" Rem asked, causing Shadow to gasp and his blush increased to extremely high levels. He then turned around towards the new door that appeared at one of the walls.

"...I'll...Think about that..." He reluctantly spat out his words while marching towards the new door, with Rem following behind him with a sweet smile on her face.

"Hmm...Why do I feel like there's something else in all of this?" Shadow asked.

"Indeed. It feels like as if we're being tested...Ah! Rem now remembers. This is most likely the work of a Metia. The White Fox's Nest. A Metia that captures its target and imposes a magical trial on them" Rem explained.

"A Metia that projects an isolated space, huh...I heard that Metia are tools for people with the inability to use Magic, so those with Defective Gates can use it just fine, but then...If such a Metia creates a pocket space, then that would mean that it would either require massive amounts of Mana, or at least activates itself at the cost of rendering the user unable to use Magic" Shadow said.

"Furthermore, four doors are present, meaning four trials. The first one was water, meaning that the trials are based on the basic four Magic affinities: Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. We cleared the Water trial, which leaves us with the Fire, Earth and Wind trials" Rem said, before she saw Shadow opening the new door. She then wore the coat around her and closed it. Even though it was a little big on her, it did the right job on covering her see-through clothes that were still soaking wet.

"Sorry, Rem. I'm gonna have you stick with me even longer now. Show me what you got" Shadow said with a smirk to Rem, causing her to grin back at him.

"Yes! Leave it to Rem, Shadow-kun! Rem will support Shadow-kun no matter what!" Rem exclaimed with vigor as both her and Shadow entered the room, only for the temperature of the room to increase rapidly, and soon they saw a crystal ball on a stone pillar in the middle of the new room they entered, but this time, it was crimson red in color with fire curtains coming out from it.

"So, after a war with water...Is a fight with fire" Shadow muttered before smirking in confidence.

"Alright! Bring it!" He exclaimed.

At the same time. Margrave Mathers Mansion

"I've finally done it! I've captured Roswaal L Mathers 'The Colored'! Finally, with the trials of this Metia, I'll expose you as a fraud who bought his titles!"

The hooded boy with brown hair smirked as he held a small box within his hands, and as he did that, he failed to notice the approaching Emilia and Subaru from behind.

"How...Might you be...?" She asked, which in turn caused the kid to gasp in shock and look at both of them.

"Yo, Emily and Bro"

"Good afternoon, Emilia-sama and Subaru"

"?!"

The boy suddenly gasped once again up hearing the voices behind him. Turning around slowly, his fears were confirmed.

"The Sword Saint and The Iron Lady?! What on earth have I placed myself into?!"

At the same time. Inside the White Fox's Nest

"That's a Magic trial alright, but don't you feel like it's easier than it looks?"

"Hm? Yes. Rem thinks the same as Shadow-kun"

Shadow gave out his theory regarding the trials, with Rem immediately agreeing with him.

"I think that it doesn't need Magic to solve it, so...Do you get what I'm trying to say?" Shadow asked, causing Rem to grin lightly at him.

"Yes! Leave it to Shadow-kun's Rem!" Rem exclaimed before whipping out her morning star. She then swung it at the crystal ball, only for the fire to form itself around the crystal ball as a shield, causing Rem's weapon to bounce off the fire shield.

"I think it would be better if you used your Rune Stone Skill, Rem" Shadow suggested.

"I see. Leave it to Rem!" Rem exclaimed, before taking a deep breath. She then closed her eyes, concentrating on the glowing stone that took the place of her heart. Inside of her, the Rune Stone glowed rapidly and pulsated just like her heart. And then, Rem felt a surge of power coursing through her, a power that she never felt before.

A power that made her feel like that she could take on the whole world.

"Alright. I successfully connected with the Rune Stone" Rem said, before she then took aim to throw her weapon towards the target. She focused the power of her Rune Stone Skill through the weapon, causing it to be encased instantly in ice, before she she threw it towards the crystal ball. The fire around the crystal ball then reshaped itself as a shield to protect it, but it couldn't do anything to melt the ice around Rem's spiked ball of destruction, causing said weapon to meet absolutely no resistance, bypassing the shield of fire and making contact with the crystal ball, demolishing it instantly, which in turn caused light to engulf the room, and the next thing that both Shadow and Rem knew was them being teleported back to the space where they first arrived.

"Alright. I guess that confirms my theory. Thanks to Rem, I was able to figure two things out" Shadow said.

"Two?! That's amazing! That's Rem's Shadow-kun! You have Rem's admiration!" Rem exclaimed with a smile and sparks appearing around her while look at Shadow.

"...I've barely said a word" Shadow said with a sweatdrop, before he suddenly witnessed as Rem's flail shattered completely.

"Oh my" Rem said while looking at the remnants of her morning star.

"Seems like that weapon of yours couldn't handle the power of your Thermo-Operator any more than that. Well...I think that I have just the right thing for you" Shadow said, before a Space Store opened to his side. He then placed his arm through it, before shortly retrieving it back, revealing something in his hand as the Space Store closed and vanished.

It was a large beautiful hammer that was around the same height as Rem. It had a long blue handle, with the hammer head having a snowflake drawing on its center, with the two sides of the hammer head having small spikes surrounding the circular frame of their flat round ends.

"This is the Frost Maul, a hammer/flail that works the same as your morning star, but it gives you even more advanced control towards the element of ice, and it can easily adapt to your Rune Stone Skill, so you won't have to worry about it shattering at all" Shadow explained, causing Rem to blush and smile sweetly towards Shadow as she took the flail hammer from him.

"Rem shall treasure this for the rest of her life" She said.

"Well, you have an infinite lifespan now...So won't saying 'For all eternity' be better than 'For the rest of her life'?" Shadow thought before shrugging off that thought, before they both proceeded to the next door that appeared on the third wall behind them. Upon entering, they were greeted by another crystal ball resting on a stone pillar, but this time, the crystal was light brown in color, the same color as sand.

"By the way, Shadow-kun. What were the two things that you figured out from the past trial?" Rem asked while looking at Shadow, who was at her side.

"Well, the first thing is that judging by the way that we cleared the two past trials, the solution for it was to do something about both the water and fire respectively. Apparently, the crystal is obviously the main objective, and by destroying it the trial ends. The second thing is rather interesting, and it ties with the first thing that I figured out. Rem, you used brutal force to take down the crystal balls, which in turn caused the trial to end, despite this trial being a Magic trial. Sure, you used Magic for side support, but then again, brutal force was the way that you used to clear the past two trials, which sets me to a conclusion" Shadow explained.

"Which is...?" Rem asked.

"It isn't necessary for us to use Magic. The trial itself is Magical when it comes to the elements that we're facing. However, the main objective is to escape the trial by destroying the crystal balls of each respective element of the four main elements. So the user using Magic is unnecessary. All that we have to do is to find a solution around each trial to bypass it. In short: A combined test of intelligence and strength" Shadow finished his explanation, causing Rem's warm smile to widen even more.

"Shadow-kun...You're amazing" She muttered.

"W-Well...It's not a big deal...A-Anyways, let's get this over with. I'm starting to get annoyed from this place" Shadow stuttered out his words, a rosy blush briefly found itself on his cheeks before it faded shortly afterwards to gain focus towards their objective.

And the moment they sat foot, mud covered the floor, before that mud rose to make mud puppets.

"Hmm...Lots of mud dolls here. Too many to count" Shadow noted.

"Then Rem shall begin by reducing the numbers" Rem said while holding the Frost Maul with both hands, entering a fighting stance with said weapon.

"Very well! Take them out so that I won't waste my time counting! Show me what you're made of, Rem!" Shadow exclaimed with a grin.

"Right! Leave it Shadow-kun's Rem!" Rem exclaimed back before she swung her flail hammer horizontally, causing the hammer head to be sent flying and hit the horizontal row of mud dolls, demolishing them instantly.

"Alright. All that's left is to hope that Subaru protects Emilia and the others..." Shadow muttered.

At the same time. Margrave Mathers Mansion's Back Garden

"Whew! I finally finished preparing the tea! Sorry to keep you waiting...Umm...Ezzo, was it?"

"Y-Yes! Pay me no heed!"

"Why are you so tense, man? You're a guest, so chill"

As Emilia placed the cup of tea in front of the brown haired nervous boy, now known as Ezzo, Subaru grumbled his words at him due to the former's apparent nervousness, with Reinhard, Natsumi, Puck and Beatrice drinking tea around the small table located in the back garden of the mansion.

"How did it turn out like this?! Why is the Witch warmly welcoming and serving me tea in Roswaal's back garden?! I want to leave without a moment to spare, but I can't for two reasons! One, I can't use Magic while the Metia is active! And Two..."

As Ezzo was panicking in the inside, he looked at the people surrounding him.

"I wonder where're Shadow and Rem? I told them to tell me if they're going out...So thoughtless of both of them" Emilia pouted.

"But thanks to Lia, our guest hasn't been neglected" Puck said with a smile while sipping his tea.

"Teehee~. You're right" Emilia said with a smile.

"Seriously, can you politely accept your warm welcome from us, I wonder?" Beatrice asked of Ezzo, staring at him with a bored expression.

"But seriously, Where are Shadow and Rem-rin? Surely they couldn't have vanished?" Subaru asked while taking a sip of his tea.

"Well, it's Shadow that we're talking about. He can take care of himself. Not to mention that ever since Subaru-nii saved Irlam Village with Shadow, and Rem-rin became stuck to Shadow like glue, so I bet you that she's with him. In short, we have nothing to worry about" Natsumi grumbled while resting her cheek on her black gloved fist, with her elbow resting on the tea table, which had her cup of tea next to her arm.

"But you can never be so sure, Natsumi. Nevertheless, if it's Shadow, then I trust that he can keep Rem-san safe if anything happens. After all, I've seen Shadow's power and experienced it firsthand" Reinhard said while drinking his tea, having remembered their fight against Belphegor, and how he was still grateful for Shadow to have interfered to save Natsumi from her Death.

"...That small cat understanding Human speech...No doubt, this is a Great Spirit. The Elf and the Spirit probably have a pact. In other words, the Elf is a Spirit Mage. And also, this little blonde girl is no ordinary child! Her looks belie her great talent...A Super-Child that's overflowing with genius and talent! Not to mention the existence of both the Sword Saint and The Iron Lady here, as well as that mysterious white haired man who seems to be a veteran adventurer and fighter, and it also seems that he's the Iron Lady's brother! This is bad!" Ezzo thought, before swallowing the lump that formed in his throat and forced a bashful smile onto his face.

"Maybe I'm nervous being welcomed by such lovely ladies. Haha..." Ezzo chuckled with a smile.

"My. So smooth" Emilia said back with a smile of her own.

"Seriously, though. Even with a guest here, the maid sisters, the scorpion klutz of a maid, the maid Demi-Human and the little apprentice maid are not present here at all, in fact. Is Roswaal too lax with his servants, I wonder?" Beatrice huffed out her question in annoyance. It was at these words that Ezzo started to release cold sweat.

"What the hell?! There are more people here?! A Demi-Human and a Scorpion Maid?! I'm completely surrounded then! This is enemy ground!" Ezzo thought in a panic. He then stood up from his seat, having finished his tea.

"My business is with the lord of the manor, Margrave Mathers-sama, The Colored. But he's absent so I'll take my leave" Ezzo said, before he started to walk away. he then saw that a few more individuals were coming their way.

"Oh! Frederica, Petra, Shaula and Otto have returned already!" Emilia exclaimed, causing Ezzo to gasp.

"Shit! More enemies!" He panickily thought.

"Forgive us for being late, Emilia-sama" Frederica said while giving a courtesy bow to Emilia.

"I-I'm sorry too for being late, Emilia-sama, Subaru-sama!" Petra exclaimed before also giving her courtesy bow to both Emilia and Subaru.

"Aww~ Petra, you're so cute!" Subaru exclaimed with a smile upon seeing Petra dressed in maid's clothes.

"Hey Master! Won't you praise Shaula?! She got the job done! The Big Brown Hulk agreed to have a deal with the Crybaby Merchant! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed with her childish smile, before she marched to Subaru and bowed her head to him, urging him to pat her, to which Subaru did while having a nervous smile due to Shaula's awkward obedience towards him.

"Can you please stop calling me a Crybaby Merchant?!" Otto yelled out while literally having tears streaming down his eyes in a comical manner.

"So, how did it go?" Emilia asked.

"Rom-san agreed to have the deal with rum trading in exchange for a monthly payment of 10 Gold Coins for every shipment of rum delivered to Otto-sama. And Otto-sama had the money for the first shipment in preparation for this" Frederica answered.

"Well, I guess that the money that you got from me for giving me and Shaula a ride to Lugunica did come in handy, eh Otto?" Subaru asked with a grin to the merchant clad in green, to which the latter smiled brightly.

"Yes. It's thanks to you, Natsuki-san! I also have to thank Terios-san for the brilliant idea of the Pina Colada drink! I'm sure that it'll turn out to be a great success!" Otto exclaimed.

"Speaking of which, Where is Shadow-sama and Rem-Neesama? I know that Roswaal-sama and Ram-Neesama are out in the Capital, but isn't it strange that Shadow-sama and Rem-Neesama are nowhere to be found?" Petra asked.

"Ah! It's Roswaal!" Emilia exclaimed while looking ahead, causing Ezzo to gasp in shock.

"So it is! Welcome back!" Puck greeted, which in turn caused Ezzo to turn around rapidly, only to become completely dumbstruck upon seeing both Roswaal and Ram walking towards the group.

"Yes. I've returned, Emilia-sama, Great Spirit. My greetings to everyone else as well" Roswaal said, with Ram walking by his side. He then saw Beatrice sitting on the table and his smile widened.

"For Oooooonce, Beatrice has come to welcome meeeeeeee?" Roswaal asked.

"Limit your jests to your face and mannerisms, I suppose" Beatrice said while waving him away.

"...It...Can't be..." Ezzo muttered in shock and disbelief, which didn't go unnoticed by Roswaal, who glanced at him, before giving him a calm smile.

"Oh my, a gueeeeest. To be suuuuuddenly showered in jeeeeeers upon a first meeting...Quite a greeting. An experience to be treeeeeeeasured. Not that I miiiiind" Roswaal said to the shaken Ezzo.

"I...I was sure that I caught him in the Metia! Along with the maid attending at his side...This is impossible! After all...The Metia is still active!" Ezzo thought.

"Incidentally, Roswaal-sama, Rem and Shads are nowhere to be found within the mansion" Ram said to her master.

"Hmm..." This caused Roswaal to hum in response, and for Ezzo to notice her words. It didn't take him a second to figure out what had happened.

"No! Did I caught Roswaal's double?! Was it a trap?! One lying in wait for when I tried to expose him?!" Ezzo thought in shock.

"Uhh...Well...I was trying to have a private audience with Margrave Mathers, but I think that it's not the right time, so...I shall take my leave and visit some other time...Thank you for the tea..." Ezzo siad before turning tails and marching to leave, only to be stopped upon having a hand placed on his shoulder which caused him to jump slightly in his place from both shock and fear. He turned his head around slowly, only to gasp upon seeing the angry glare of Subaru threatening to dig daggers into his skull.

"Oi...Are you trying to fuck with all of us?" Subaru asked from behind his gritted teeth.

"H-Huh...? What do you...?" Ezzo stuttered out his question, shaking violently from Subaru's killing intent being visible around said white haired boy.

"Hey, guys...You all felt it, didn't you...?" Subaru asked everyone else.

"Goodness, in fact. Did no one else think him a strange guest, I wonder?" Beatrice asked while scratching the back of her head.

"I thought so, but now I think I get it" Puck said.

"Eh? What?" Emilia asked in confusion.

At this moment, Ezzo looked around him, only to see everyone from the Emilia Camp, including Otto and Petra, as well as Reinhard and Natsumi, glaring at him with Death written all over their eyes.

"Now then, Dear guest...Would you state your business...And the location of my adorable servant and precious camp member?" Roswaal asked Ezzo, his playful elongating tone completely gone as he glared menacingly at Ezzo, who by now was a comical show of a sobbing wreck.

Suddenly, the box in Ezzo's hands glowed brightly, before a brief burst of light engulfed the garden, and seconds later, Shadow and Rem were sitting on the grassy ground in front of everyone present in the garden.

"Mission Accomplished, I guess" Shadow said casually, before taking a puff from his vape, and released a small cloud of smoke.

"Yes! That's Rem's Shadow-kun! We did it!" Rem exclaimed happily at Shadow. Said person then looked at the occupants of the mansion, as well as Natsumi and Reinhard.

"Hey guys. Are you alright?" Shadow asked in a casual manner.

"Umm...Yes. But where did you pop out from?" Emilia asked in confusion. A the same time, however, Ezzo was smirking while looking at his Metia.

"Heaven has not abandoned me! This is my only chance!" He thought before turning towards Roswaal.

"Mathers! Now you're mine! Depraved Magic user, drown on your empty titles!" He yelled out, before his box lit up, and the next thing that happened was Roswaal disappearing within the Metia in Ezzo's hands in a burst of light.

"Roswaal-sama!" Ram called out in worry for her master, but it was too late as Roswaal was already gone.

"I-I won! I've completely turned this around!" Ezzo exclaimed with a smirk.

"Uhh...What?" Natsumi asked with a raised eyebrow, still sipping on her tea before eating a biscuit from the tray on the table, not caring that an important person like Roswaal vanished in thin air. Ezzo then showed them all the box in his hands.

"This Metia gives the challenger a test proportional to the wielder! In other words, if the challenger can't escape the Metia, the he's inferior to the wielder. 'The Colored', The Court Magician in name only...Will be proven inferior to 'The Gray'! Gahahahahaha!" Ezzo exclaimed while trying to laugh like an evil guy, only for it to come off as a cute kid laughing, which in turn caused Natsumi to giggle lightly, but she was able to hide it by covering her face with the hand that didn't hold her teacup.

"...Nah. That's not gonna happen" Subaru noted with a bored tone, causing Ezzo to whip his attention towards him.

"What was that?!" The kid yelled at Subaru in anger.

"...Yes. I sort of get the situation now. You're not swift on the uptake, are you?" Shadow added his question while releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth.

"...Me?" Ezzo gasped with gritted teeth.

"Not passing the trials means being worse than you does it? Then...Even though I'm superior to Roswaal when it comes to Magic..." Shadow trailed in his words, before he took Rem's head and pulled it gently closer to his face, causing the blue haired Oni maid to blush furiously.

"...Rem here did all the job. All I did was to give advices for her to clear the trial. That means that she's above you, right? And The Clown taught Rem about Magic. Think he's beneath her?" Shadow asked, which in turn caused Ezzo to gasp in realization.

"It's only because Rem had you with her, Shadow-kun! This was mostly your doing!" Rem exclaimed with a beaming smile.

"...Rem, you busted through the entire trial with brute force, so how was that my doing?" Shadow asked.

"But you helped Rem when she almost drowned in the Water trial by opening the makeup box to allow for air bubbles for her to breathe, and you also gave Rem pointers on how to use her Rune Stone Skill with even more proficiency, which allowed her to easily pass the trial of Fire and Earth. Not to mention that the Wind trial was all thanks to you, Shadow-kun! You thought of looking at the shadows to find out which pillar and crystal ball were real" Rem exclaimed with a sweet smile directed at Shadow, which caused him to blush slightly and look away from Rem.

"Uhh...That was nothing to be honest. So pay it no heed" Shadow muttered his words, and Natsumi, Subaru and Reinhard were chuckling at Shadow's blush.

If it's obvious that Rem is heads over heels for Shadow, then it's super obvious that Shadow is drowning for Rem.

"Certainly. It's as they say...Then having escaped while the Metia was running, the boy and girl are better than me? If so...Then Roswaal..." Ezzo thought while looking at the Metia in his hands, which started to emit bright light, before it faded the moment it came, revealing Roswaal standing on the grassy ground.

"Has thiiiiiiis dispelled the doubts you haaaaaaaarbor?" Roswaal asked Ezzo.

"Passing my trial in such a short time...So Roswaal L Mathers' ability truly is...Genuine?" Ezzo thought, having surrendered to the fact that Roswaal was the real deal.

"You appear to a skilled Magic uuuuuuuuser, but aaaaaare you?" Roswaal asked from Ezzo.

"O-Of course...I'm Ezzo Cadner, 'The Gray'..." Ezzo introduced himself.

"Gray? There's no such color as that..." Ram noted.

"That's why this title is a disgrace to me! And the suitably worthy colors to wipe away my shame were taken by the Margrave!" Ezzo exclaimed.

"So you challenged Roswaal-sama? Yet why did you mistake Shads for Roswaal-sa-" Ram was speaking and while she did that, she looked at Shadow, only for her eyes to twitch upon seeing him dressed like Roswaal.

"Oi, Shads. Is that attire some kind of a joke?" Ram asked while glaring at the Angel in front of her, who shrugged his shoulder at her anger.

"...Don't speak to me. It was Subaru's idea. He was the one who wanted to see if I looked good in Roswaal's outfit and makeup" Shadow said, which caused Ram to shift her glare and anger at Subaru, who gasped before running to hide behind Emilia.

"Coward" Natsumi said with a snicker.

"Shut up!" Subaru yelled at his sister.

"I still don't get what's going on" Emilia said in confusion.

"Well, Emilia. Here's the thing: Relying on brute force instead of Magic was the right answer. Rem simply busted through the trials with nothing but her raw force. Sure, she used some Magic and her Rune Stone Skill, but it was only for minimum support. That is all" Shadow explained.

"Hmm...I see. If I were in your shoes, I'd have probably did the same" Emilia said.

"Emilia-tan's more powerful than her looks suggests, huh" Subaru said while walking towards everyone.

"Dealing with him any other way would be problematic, in fact. He fell for the rumors of buying titles, so Roswaal toyed with him, I suppose" Beatrice said while hugging Puck.

"You mean this whole crisis that Shadow and Rem had to go through was like 'Roswaal's Theater presents...'?!" Subaru asked in shock, since the same could have happened to him if he was the one to wear Roswaal's outfit at that time.

"Theater? Presents? I've not heard those teeeeeeeerms, but I can surmise the meeeeeeeaning..." Roswaal trailed in his words before he flashed a cool boy smile of his.

"Precisely!" He exclaimed, finishing his sentence.

"Hey, Shadow, Rem! Won't you guys say anything?! You could've died there, you know!" Subaru yelled.

"...But we didn't" Shadow said in a cool tone while taking a puff from his vape.

"That's not the point! Don't you care about your li-!" Subaru was still yelling, only to be stopped midway upon feeling a tight grip on his shoulder. He turned his head around to see Ram glaring at him with a comical Death glare.

"I ask again, but this time, I ask of you, Barusu...What's with that outfit that Shads is wearing? What is the meaning of this?" Ram asked in a calm tone, but her facial expression, combined with the killing intent that she released was anything but calm.

"Scary eyes! And you're also pretty damn strong!" Subaru gasped before inching himself away from Ram, but the pink haired Oni maid simply marched slowly towards him, wind gusts forming around her, and they were getting even stronger with each step she marched towards the scared Subaru.

"W-Well, Shadow turning into Ros-chi's double saved the master of the mansion, so no biggie?!" Subaru asked with comical horror in his eyes, but it didn't make Ram less angry. In fact, the wind around her howled even more intensely.

"No good! She ain't listening! Roswaal, take responsibility for this already!" Subaru yelled.

"I see. Veeery well. Come flee within here" Roswaal said while holding the White Fox's Nest Metia with one hand.

"Huh?" Subaru asked.

"Relax. One cannot die from the trial given by this Metia. It will only make you lose and lose until you feel like a beaten dooooog" Roswaal said.

"...That's reassuring" Shadow said while releasing another puff of smoke from his mouth.

"It's anything but reassuring!" Subaru yelled.

"I'll never forget you, Natsuki-san" Otto said while fake-crying.

"Subaru-sama! Don't worry! I'll make sure to get you to the best doctors when you arrive safely!" Petra exclaimed.

"Subaru-sama! It was nice that we got to know you in that short while!" Frederica called out.

"Karma's a bitch! Eh, Subaru?" Natsumi called out with a sly smirk.

"Good luck, Subaru!" Reinhard called out as well.

"Wait! No!" Subaru yelled, but it was too late, as Roswaal activated the Metia and it started to suck Subaru into it. Fortunately, however, help was in its way for the white haired boy.

"Master! Over here!" Shaula called out, extending her arm while running towards Subaru.

"Shaula!" Subaru yelled with comical tears in the corners of his eyes, before he reached out to take Shaula's hand.

"You're always rescuing me...Thank you, Shaula!" Subaru thought as he took Shaula's hand. Shaula then squeezed his hand gently.

"Don't worry, Master! Shaula will help Master in these trials! Let's work hard and escape, together! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed with a sweet smile, causing Subaru to blink a few times before they both got sucked into the box.

"WAIT! THIS ISN'T A RESCUE?!" Subaru yelled out as he and Shaula got sucked completely into the Metia, and the box was then sealed shut after they were sucked into it.

"Now they're taking the trial. Although Rem and I had it on Easy Mode, Subaru and Shaula will experience the Hard Mode" Shadow said before releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth.

"This is...A story for another day, I suppose" Beatrice said with a sweatdrop.

"That a wrap~" Puck said in a sing-song tone.

"And they lived happily ever after...Right?" Emilia added her own words.

To everyone here, this was nothing short of a normal day.

Indeed...A normal day...Before the nightmare...

The Next Day. Margrave Mathers Manor. Early Morning

"...Wake up"

"Ugh...Five more minutes..."

"Seriously..."

Shadow grumbled at the Deja Vu scene that happened yesterday.

"Wake the fuck up...If you don't then you will be late for the Royal Selection meeting" He grumbled, which in turn caused Subaru to snap his eyes open and immediately sit up on his bed.

"Whoa! It's that time already?! I couldn't sleep a wink last night!" Subaru exclaimed in surprise.

"...Shaula and Rem are waiting outside in front of the dragon carriage" Shadow said as he turned tails in front of Subaru, before vanishing in a white flicker.

"God...I want him to teach me that..." Subaru grumbled

A few minutes later. Outside The Margrave Mathers Manor

"Oh! Good morning, Shadow-kun, Subaru-san! Otto-sama!"

"Master! Edge Lord! Crybaby Merchant! G'morning!"

"...Good morning...Did you have to call me by that nickname...?"

"Good morning, Shaula, Rem"

"Good morning...Also please stop calling me Crybaby..."

Subaru, Otto and Shadow exchanged their morning greetings with Rem and Shaula, who were waiting in front of the dragon carriage that will send them to the Royal Castle for the Royal Selection Attendance that will take place in the Royal Capital of Lugunica. Just then, Emilia walked towards them while wearing her normal attire, but also in addition to a white cloak that had two long ears that resembled that of a rabbit protruding from the top of the hoodie.

"Good morning, Subaru, Shadow, Rem, Shaula. Are you ready for the departure?" Emilia asked with a smile on her face.

"Yes! Totally! I don't know why, but my blood is pumped!" Subaru exclaimed with a grin.

"Wherever Master goes, Shaula will go, Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed back.

"I'm also ready, Emilia-sama" Otto said politely.

"...I'm ready for whatever that happens. I promised to support you anyways, Emilia" Shadow said with his calm tone.

"Rem will follow Shadow-kun as well. Rem swears to support Emilia-sama as well" Rem said while bowing to Emilia.

"Who's really the person that you'll follow, Rem-rin? Shadow, or Emilia-tan...?" Subaru asked with a sweatdrop.

"...Whatever. Let's get the hell outta here. We're wasting time by standing here already" Shadow said before marching towards the carriage, with Rem following him.

"Oh. But Subaru and Shadow can't attend the conference" Emilia said.

"Huh?! Why?!" Subaru asked in shock.

"Because I know that Subaru would do very reckless things there, and Shadow already told me that he doesn't want anything to do with politics and gathering attention" Emilia answered.

"Emilia, I'll attend with you whether you like it or not. It's no longer important to hide myself. By now, everyone knows about me, especially considering the fact that Felix and Julius were there, so assuming this pattern, It's most likely that I'm already known to that so-called Sage Council" Shadow said.

"I'll attend too, Emilia-tan...There is something that I need to confirm there" Subaru said with a serious face, before directing his gaze to Shadow, to which the latter noticed while smoking his vape, and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, okay then. I trust that Shadow and Rem will prevent any kind of reckless behavior that comes from Subaru, right?" Emilia asked, to which both Shadow and Rem nodded.

"I'm not a kid!" Subaru yelled.

"Ehehehe~! Master indeed is reckless! So Shaula agrees on looking after him! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed in a sweet manner with a childish smile.

"I just wanted you to admit that I'm not reckless!" Subaru yelled at the humanoid Mabeast.

"Heh...Reckless Natsuki-san..." Otto snickered in a comical manner while casting Subaru a sideway glance.

"Oh Shut up, Crybaby!" Subaru yelled at Otto.

"Oh myyyyyy. It seems that you've all gathered heeeeere" Everyone turned around to see Roswaal, accompanied by Ram.

"So soooooorry. I won't be seeing Ram for a short tiiiiiime, yes? I wanted to go over some deeeeeeetails" Roswaal said.

"Sure. Oh! Ram, Will you, Frederica and Petra be okay handling everything without Rem and Shaula backing you up?" Subaru asked the Pink haired Oni maid.

"Barusu...People can survive three or four days without food after all" Ram said.

"Uh...Nee-sama?! What are you saying?!" Subaru yelled in shock from Ram's statement. She, however, ignored him and went to Shadow, who was standing beside the entrance of the carriage. She then stood in front of him and then pulled him closer to her by the collar, inching his ear towards her mouth.

"Keep a firm grip on the reins so that Rem doesn't fall, okay? Shads?" Ram asked, causing Shadow to blink, before taking a deep breath, looked at the pink haired Oni maid and nodded slowly. It was at this time that Frederica and Petra came from inside the mansion to watch them depart. And after a few minutes, Otto sat in the driver seat alongside Rem, where Subaru and Emilia entered the carriage and Shadow sat on the roof of the carriage.

"Uh...Why are you sitting up there?" Subaru asked.

"I enjoy the wind. Besides, I can balance myself while on moving objects. Normally, I'd have used my Motorbike, but..." Shadow scratched the back of his head.

"Oh...I almost forgot about that one..." Subaru said.

"Well, Shadow-kun. It's okay. Next time we can use that MootourBaike of yours" Rem said while smiling sweetly at Shadow.

"I think you spelled it wrong, Rem-san" Otto said with a sweatdrop.

"...Go and die, Otto-sama" Rem said while shifting both her tone and facial expression to a scowling growl while looking at Otto.

"What did I do wrong?!" Otto yelled.

"It seems that Beako is not here, huh..." Subaru noted before looking towards the mansion, only to see the loli Spirit from behind one of the large glass windows.

"Oh! So she did appear!" Subaru exclaimed with a grin, before waving to her, causing the Spirit to sweatdrop at his action.

"Have a safe trip, everyone" Frederica said while giving a courtesy bow to the group of travelers.

"Come back safely!" Petra said while also giving a courtesy bow.

"Yeah. Be safe you guys! You too, Ram!" Subaru said.

"Barusu, at least be a Human Shield when something happens. You do have a talent for being a decoy, I must admit" Ram said while looking coldly at Subaru.

"I pretty sure have more uses than that! I can fight and I already can use all the elements of Magic! Not to mention that I can use Demon Magic as well, so please give me some credit!" Subaru yelled at the pink haired Oni maid, to which she shrugged off his protest with a mocking smirk.

"Well, we'll be off, Nee-sama" Rem said to her elder twin sister.

"Yes. Take care, Rem" Ram said with a smile to her younger twin sister.

"We'll be off, Frederica-san" Otto said while looking at Frederica with a smile and a light blush on his cheeks.

"Y-Yes...Have a safe trip, Otto-sama..." Frederica said with a bright blush and a smile directed at Otto.

"Ugh...Let's get going already before you two decide to suck faces in front of all of us" Shadow grumbled out his words, causing both Otto and Frederica to gasp comically.

"Let's take off!" Subaru exclaimed, causing Otto and Rem to focus on the reins of the dragon carriage, and moments later, they were off, heading to their destination, that is the Royal Capital of Lugunica. And while the carriage was departing, Ram looked silently at the carriage, before giving a courtesy bow of her own.

"I'm counting on both of you...Barusu...Shads"

A few hours later. Royal Capital of Lugunica

"Ah...It's been a long time ever since the fight against Belphegor"

"...Yeah. We've finally arrived to the Royal Capital. Still boring, it seems"

Subaru gave his amusement, while Shadow complained about his boredom.

"Uhh...Say, Emilia-tan? What is the meaning of this?" Subaru asked in confusion as he saw Emilia holding Subaru's hand.

"This to prevent you from roaming around and doing reckless things" Emilia said with a slight scowl.

"I'm not a kid...Seriously..." Subaru grumbled.

"Hey, Subaru. Bringing both you and Shadow to the Capital is so you can keep your promise to me and not try to do anything reckless" Emilia said.

"You said 'reckless' three times already this day, Emilia. Repeating words in a speech will indicate that you're shaken, and it won't do when they ask of you to speak in the Royal Selection conference" Shadow noted while releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth.

"I understand...Still, it should have been me dealing with the Mabeasts at that time! Why did you two do that?! I don't want you to push yourselves anymore!" Emilia exclaimed to both Subaru and Shadow.

"...Don't say that, Emilia. I promised to help you anyways, and I suppose that Subaru is no exception to that case" Shadow said.

"Yes! I wanted to help you! I always have and always will!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Why do you push yourself that hard for me? I...Don't understand" Emilia said solemnly, but only got Subaru casting his eyes to the ground.

"...Ugh...Let's just get going already. Hey, Rem, Otto, let's get going already. Reinhard, Natsumi and Felt told us to meet at the slums. I shall accompany both of you two to Rom so that we end the deal of the rum, as well as reunite Felt with Rom" Shadow said.

"Yes, Shadow-kun! Shadow-kun's Rem will follow Shadow-kun!" Rem exclaimed.

"Alright. Let's get going. See you later, Emilia-sama, Natsuki-san, Shaula-san" Otto said as he, Shadow and Rem departed.

"See you later, Edge Lord, Blueberry, Crybaby Merchant!" Shaula exclaimed while waving to the three as they walked away.

"Alright. The garrison is right here behind those doors. Subaru and Shaula, you wait here" Emilia said to both Subaru and Shaula.

"Huh? Why?" Subaru asked in confusion.

"Well, it's just...I don't want to subject you to something that you'll hate, that's all" Emilia answered, causing Subaru to blink before sighing out.

"Okay, Emilia-tan. I'll just take a stroll around with Shaula while waiting for Shadow and the others to return then" Subaru said.

"That's better. Shaula, please look after Subaru while I'm gone. He can be reeeeeeaaally reckless" Emilia said, causing Shaula to give her an army salutation.

"Aye Aye, Sir! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed.

"Hey! I'm not a kid! Stop it already!" Subaru yelled.

"Well then, I'll go now. Don't go too far" Emilia said before entering through the garrison's gates, leaving Subaru and Shaula alone. Subaru then gasped in surprise when Shaula grabbed his arm and shoved it in between her ample E-Cups breasts.

"Alright! Let's go on a date, Master!" Shaula exclaimed happily.

"Hey! We're not a couple!" Subaru yelled out.

"Oh my. If it isn't the unsightly man and woman that were with Emilia-sama"

"?!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Subaru scowled in annoyance and anger, turning to the voice behind him to meet face-to-face with Julius as he and Shaula didn't even bother to hide their detest of him.

"Is that a way to talk to people, O great Knight?" Subaru asked sarcastically.

"Well, it may sound rude, but...That attitude of yours is a poor match for those adventurer clothes of yours. Not to mention that your choice of clothes also degrades you even further. You should take care, for it is not an issue that affects you alone" Julius said with a calm smile, talking as if he didn't even hear Subaru.

"You're talking about being rude, and now you're being rude by ignoring my question to you. Can you just please leave us alone?" Subaru asked, gritting his teeth behind his closed mouth, with a vein pulsating on his forehead.

"My My. How tenacious. Not that it scares me, but I thought of giving you an advice because you two look rather unsightly" Julius said with the same calm smile.

"Why you...!" Subaru growled out, silently circulating Mana around his body and up to his forehead, ready to Glassgow Kiss Julius to the ground, but before he could do anything, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Subaru then turned around, only to see Shadow, with Rem and Otto to his right, along with Reinhard, Natsumi and Felt, dressed in a beautiful yellow dress, standing to his left.

"Subaru. That's enough. He doesn't deserve it" Shadow calmly said to the white haired boy, causing Subaru to stare at Shadow, rage still filling his face, but after a few seconds, Subaru managed to calm down. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before releasing it as slow as he can. He then opened his eyes and looked at the still smiling Julius, glaring at him one last time, before averting his gaze from him. Shadow then marched towards Julius, giving him a silent stare that released a massive amount of killing intent directed towards Julius, who was barely maintaining his calm smile while sweating bullets.

"Listen up, Pretty Boy. Back in my hometown, I was known to always uphold my promises and threats. So let me tell you this: If you ever do something like that again, I'll make sure that you'll be placed as decoration for the grave of your bitch of a mother. And I'll make sure to use your limp dick as an arrow to point to her grave. So you better back off and don't let me see you again or else..." Shadow said in a calm, but threatening tone, where the overwhelming killing intent was pressurizing Julius to the point that he was frozen in his place, and he couldn't even open his mouth to reply.

Moments later, Shadow stopped leaking out killing intent, took out his vape, took a puff of smoke from it and turned towards his companions.

"Alright. Let's go" He said, having noticed Reinhard giving Julius a sympathetic look, which in turn caused Shadow to shake his head slowly.

"...Don't feel sorry for an asshole like him, Reinhard. Just because he was trained on how to use a sword doesn't mean that he can jump on people and tell them that he has a big dick. Leave him to rot while drowning in shame and embarrassment" Shadow said as he walked away, causing everyone to follow him in tow, even Reinhard didn't pat an eye to his old friend, and left Julius gritting his teeth in anger while looking at Shadow's back while said person was walking away.

"Uhh...Shadow? Was it really that necessary?" Reinhard asked the black haired Highest.

"Reinhard...Being polite to assholes like Pretty Boy over there is a complete waste of time. He humiliated my comrade and friend, and I've seen that Subaru did nothing wrong. He called him unsightly, so he got what he deserves. I know that he's an old friend of yours, but when it comes to being rude to others, someone must put him in his place" Shadow answered.

"Shadow's right, Red. Julius has been an ass for everyone around him. Remember the first time you introduced me to him a year ago? He called me hideous! Me! Ugh...I'm still pissed off from him" Natsumi growled, causing Reinhard to chuckle nervously before patting Natsumi's shoulder to comfort her.

"Again, I apologize for what he did to you Natsumi. You too, Subaru" Reinhard said to both siblings.

"Red, It ain't your fault man, so don't go and apologize for that piece of trash. Also, I may even shrug off his insult to me, but I'll never forgive that bastard for insulting my sister. Mark my words on that" Subaru said with a clearly angry face, which in turn made Reinhard sigh, realizing that nothing he say would change anything.

"Anyways, What happened there? You guys returned so quickly" Subaru said, changing the subject.

"...The deal went smoothly, and Rom already had the package done to be delivered to Irlam Village after we return from the Capital. Felt also reunited with Rom and we explained everything to the Giant, so everything's cool, I'd say" Shadow summarized the journey.

"There's also some shocking news: A new Royal Candidate was found in Kararagi" Otto added.

"Whoa! Really?! Now we have six Royal Candidates, including Emilia-tan!" Subaru exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes. Her name is Melty Pristis-sama. She came with her Camp, and her Knight, Tiga Rauleon. According to previous information, Tiga originally was a travelling entertainer in a circus before becoming a Knight for the Church of The Divine Dragon. However, the rest of the information regarding Melty-sama and the rest of her Camp is unknown to even me" Reinhard explained.

"I see. So a new enemy..." Shadow muttered before taking another puff from his vape.

"Dude, we're not here to kill people. So back off of that thought a little bit..." Subaru said with a sweatdrop.

"Really? Then what about Julius?" Shadow asked before taking another puff from his vape.

"Fuck that Pretty Boy! He should just rot in hell!" Subaru immediately yelled upon hearing Julius' name.

"DON'T FUCK WITH US, YOU WENCH!"

"?!"

Upon being alerted to a rather familiar voice, Subaru and Natsumi ran towards the source of said voice, making their way to the entrance of an alley, only to find the familiar sight of the three alley thugs that Subaru and Natsumi met when each one of them first arrived to Lugunica, and those three were surrounding a person that was so familiar to both Natsumi and Reinhard.

"Priscilla?!/Priscilla-sama?!" Both Natsumi and Reinhard called out at the same time, causing the three thugs to look behind them, only to freak out upon seeing the faces of both Reinhard and Natsumi.

"The Sword Saint and The Iron Lady?!" Chin exclaimed in shock.

"Holy shit! Let's run!" Ton yelled before he held the short Kin under one of his bulky arms and the three thugs ran for their lives. However, Subaru and his group suddenly blinked as a black and red blur zoomed past them, heading towards the thugs. The three fleeing thugs gasped as Shadow made his way towards them with neck-breaking speeds, and upon reaching them, he swung his foot upwards.

The next thing that happened was a massive shockwave that blew apart the entire alley and sent the three thugs flying dozens of meters in the air, before they landed in the middle of lots of people who watched Shadow's display of strength in shock, while Priscilla watched the scene operating in front of her in amusement.

"Why the hell did you do that for, Shadow?!" Subaru yelled at the Ultimate Life Form while running towards him alongside the others.

"Yeah! That was too sudden! I know that Big Bro Shad is strong, but ya don' hafta show off like that!" Felt exclaimed as well, feeling a little sympathetic towards the three thugs, who were surprisingly were still alive, even after Shadow performed this feat of his at them.

"...I didn't mean to hit them. I meant to hit this" Shadow calmly answered as he pointed towards the muscular Ton who was sitting alongside his other two companions.

"Uhh...Shadow, what exactly are you pointing at? There's nothing in here" Natsumi said in confusion.

"...That's because you are not activating the Scan function in the Demon Summoning App. Subaru, surely you can see it, right?" Shadow answered Natsumi, before directing a question towards Subaru, who narrowed his eyes, only to gasp in realization upon seeing a pair of large orange arms hanging onto Ton's shoulders.

"Ah! I see it now! Is that a Demon?!" Subaru asked, only for him to hear his sister talking afterwards.

"Oh! I see it too! Then all I had to do was to activate the Scan function in the app! Whoops. Sorry. I forgot to keep it active" Natsumi said while apologizing.

"I can see something. Is that what is called a Demon?" Reinhard asked, slowly unsheathing Zerofuku from his left waist side.

"You can see it too despite not having the Demon Summoning App, Reinhard? Huh...Why am I not surprised...?" Shadow muttered.

"Anyway, what is that?" Subaru asked.

"Why don't you find out by yourself?" Shadow asked sarcastically, causing Subaru to roll his eyes at this, before he activated Royal Judge, where time around him stopped, except for Shadow, who just blinked upon seeing everything still around him. He then took notice of Subaru's left eye being bleached white, causing a small smile to creep to his face.

"I see..." He whispered.

Meanwhile, Subaru was busy reading the information regarding the Demon in front of him.

For its appearance, it looked like a rather weird dark orange monkey with long human hair that covered its eye and was styled like a long black braid. It had swirl marks on each of its ten fingers, his belly, his two elbows and at the center of its two palms.

As for its stats...

[Name: Obariyon]

[Type: Living (Conceptual)]

[Age: Inapplicable. Exists Beyond Time]

[Classification: Demon (Jaki Race)]

[Explanation: A Japanese "piggyback monster" that jumps on people's backs as they walk along grassy paths. It is heavy and not easily removed, but if you can take it back home, it will turn into gold coins. Resists Elec and Dark Magic, but weak to Ice and Light Magic]

[Magic]

1. Sukunda: Lowers a single opponent's Accuracy/Evasion by 1 rank.

2. Sukukaja: Raises self/a single ally's Accuracy/Evasion by 1 rank.

3. Bouncing Claw: A Physical-type Magic that deals versatile 2 to 3 claw strikes to 1 opponent.

4. Patra: Cures a status ailment of self/a single ally

5. Twilight Wave: Magatsuhi Skill. Releases a wave of Magatsuhi that causes massive Physical-type Magic damage to all foes, with the additional effect of inflicting the Sleep ailment.

Subaru deactivated his Authority, and time returned to its normal flow.

"Well...What a weird guy that we have here. Even if it looks weak, it still holds lots of surprises, huh?" Subaru grumbled.

"...Consider this a test for your Demon Magic training that we executed over the past three months, okay?" Shadow asked before unsheathing Dawn's Ballad, his translucent teal blue chukoto blade, from its black sheath, before stepping to the side in order to watch Subaru's performance, having just unsheathed his sword in case things took a worse turn. Subaru, in response, took the Naraka Whip from his waist, preparing for battle.

"We'll join you, Bro!" Natsumi exclaimed, only for Shadow to place a hand in front of her, stopping her from advancing.

"No, Natsumi. This is a test for Subaru. If shit hits the fan, I shall interfere to save him" Shadow said.

"Is...Is that Demon so dangerous?" Otto asked in confusion and worry over his friend.

"Well...I think that you can see the Demon due to the rapid development of your Rune Stone, eh Otto? Anyways, to answer your question, An Obariyon is normally a fodder Demon, but this one is much stronger than the ordinary one. Not as strong as Belphegor, but much stronger than the ordinary Obariyon" Shadow answered.

"Uhh...I have a Rune Stone, too. Why can't I see them without the Demon Summoning App?" Natsumi asked.

"...I guess that means that your Rune Stone is still developing in some ways. So be patient for it, okay?" Shadow answered, which caused Natsumi to to grumble slightly.

"Anyways, Subaru, are you ready?" Shadow asked the white haired boy, which caused said person to nod in response. Subaru then directed his gaze to Shaula.

"Shaula, I don't want you to interfere unless Shadow orders you to do so, okay?" He asked.

"Aye Aye, Master! Shaula will be like Bing in its boring downloading! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed.

"...How the hell does she know about the Bing browser?" Natsumi asked with a sweatdrop.

"Focus, Subaru" Shadow said, causing Subaru to nod.

"A Human! A Human! Me eat Magatsuhi! Me love more Magatsuhi!" The Obariyon exclaimed, before jumping from Ton's shoulders towards Subaru.

[Nightcore OST - End Of Me]

Subaru dodged to the side, before kicking the Demon to the side. The Obariyon blocked Subaru's leg with its large arm, before picking his leg and swung him to the ground, creating a Subaru-shaped crater, causing Subaru to spit out saliva from the impact.

The Obariyon then attempted to swing Subaru down again, only for Subaru to lash his whip at the Demon's neck, before he countered by swinging the Demon away from him, releasing his grip on his leg. The Obariyon then charged towards Subaru again, lashing its claws at him.

"Bouncing Claws!" It exclaimed before it swung its arms like a whip at Subaru, who gritted his teeth at this, before his legs got enveloped with red lava and his foot had scorching white fangs as toes.

"Vulcan Heel!" Subaru roared out before rapidly swinging his feet to repel the rapid versatile claw swings from the Obariyon. The exchange continued until Subaru managed to gain the advantage by delivering a roundhouse kick to the Obariyon, sending it flying several feet away. However, the Jaki Race Demon didn't stop here, as it bounced towards Subaru and swung its arm at him, only for Subaru to channel Mana to his arms, encasing them in bright yellow sulfur gauntlets. He then threw the Naraka Whip to the air and roared out.

"Brimstone Gauntlet!" He exclaimed before swinging a right hook towards the arm of the Demon, effectively deflecting its attack and making it vulnerable in midair. Subaru didn't stop there, and swung his left fist at the Obariyon's face, and the impact sent the Demon flying with a sonic boom, colliding with a nearby house, and the surrounding citizens scattered away.

The Obariyon obviously looked pissed as it jumped out from the wreckage. It then charged at Subaru, Magatsuhi dancing around its body as it appeared to prepare for a powerful blow. Subaru braced himself as he fetched his whip as it fell towards him, with the lava disappearing from his legs and the sulfur disappearing from his arms.

"Twilight Wave!"

"?!"

The Obariyon then released a dark purple wave of Magic, to which Subaru immediately reacted to by casting a Huma, shielding himself from the impact, but still, the wave of Magic was so powerful that it heavily injured Subaru's left arm, cutting it in five different places and breaking it in three different places as well, causing Subaru to grit his teeth at this.

"Shit..." He cursed as he looked around him, only to see the entire street population completely unconscious, as if the entire street decided to take a nap on the floor.

"It said that it can inflict the Sleep Ailment...Huh..." Subaru muttered out, before he jumped backwards to dodge the Obariyon slamming its fist into the place that Subaru originally was standing on.

"Alright. Let's put an end to this, shall we?" Subaru asked before taking a deep breath as he watched the Demon charging at him once again. The white haired boy then tapped into the Authority of Sloth within him, calling out the power of the former Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

"Invisible Providence!"

"?!"

And upon roaring the name of the Authority, an invisible force slammed into the Obariyon just as the Demon was inches away from Subaru. The arm-shaped force was invisible to all but Subaru and Shadow, where said force erupted from Subaru's chest, with eight other arms sporting from Subaru's back, four on each side. The invisible arm slammed into the Demon charging at Subaru, sending it flying to the air, and as it descended, Subaru was ready with a new spell that he developed within the section of his Arcane Magic spells.

"Frost Needle!"

"?!"

As he roared out the name of the spell, two thorns of pure ice erupted from the ground stabbing into the descending Obariyon, causing the Demon groan in pain as his elemental weakness pierced through its abdomen, pinning him to the air, where the ice thorns pierced him in an 'X' position. Subaru, having realized that the Demon is vulnerable, smirked as he swung the Naraka Whip, cracking the weapon. He then began his relentless assault as he swung his whip at the pinned Demon, and the moment it made contact with its arm, it was instantly encased in ice, causing the Demon to cry in pain as he was hit by his elemental weakness yet again. Subaru didn't stop there, and his assault became even more faster and merciless, and with each successful hit, the Obariyon was encased even more in ice. And with each passing second, the whip danced elegantly like Subaru, as if it was a wave of electrons dancing around an atom, and with each swing, Subaru's roar increased in its volume and the speed of his swings increased by the second, and after a full minute the entirety of the Obariyon was turned completely into a large block of ice. Subaru then threw his whip to the air, before he made a backflip to back away from the frozen Demon. He then drew into the power of the invisible force fields, which in turn caused the nine invisible arms to combine and encase his entire right arm in an invisible dark purple force field that was invisible to all but Subaru and Shadow. Subaru then roared out, before running towards the frozen Obariyon.

"Invisible Providence: Seismic Punch!"

Subaru threw his fist towards the frozen Demon and the moment his fist made contact with it, the Obariyon shattered into countless pieces of ice, scattering throughout the battlefield despite it looking like a small monkey, with the two thorns of ice shattering alongside it. Not a few seconds later, and the frozen pieces of the Demon dispersed to crimson red Magatsuhi, disappearing into thin air as if it didn't even exist to begin with

[Music Ends]

"Master! Are you alright?!" Shaula asked in worry as she ran towards Subaru. Upon reaching him, she started using Water Magic to heal his mangled arm.

"Heh...I'm okay Shaula. So, Shadow...How did I do?" Subaru asked, a smile of confidence plastered on his face despite having a bad injury.

"...Not bad, Subaru. Your Magic training really improved, despite not using any of the Demon Spells that I taught you" Shadow complimented his student, which caused the smile on Subaru's face to widen even more.

"Ah! I finally found you, Subaru!"

"?!"

Turning around to the familiar voice, everyone looked to see Emilia, accompanied by a rather muscular man with a helmet, and he appeared to be missing his left arm and his clothes looked like that of a beggar.

"Ah. I see that you've found your pal, lil missy" The man said, before noticing Natsumi's presence in the group.

"Oh! If it isn't the Steel Girl! Long time no see!" The man cheerfully said.

"And if it isn't the old guy with a weird sense of fashion. It's been a while, Al. And I thought I told you to call me by my name. It's Natsumi, Al. Natsumi" Natsumi said, slightly annoyed at the weird nickname.

"Huh? But you're already called with titles around here. Like the Blacksmith Knight or the Iron Lady. What's the big deal in me giving ya a new name?" Al asked with a rather cheerful tone.

"Ugh...You're just like dad...Always joking around when you get the chance, no matter what the mood looks like..." Natsumi mumbled annoyingly at Al.

"Ah. By the way, did ya find your bro?" Al asked, which in turn caused Natsumi to immediately yank Subaru underneath her arm, which caused him to groan in a comical way.

"Yes! I found him three months ago! Al, meet Subaru, my twin bro!" Natsumi exclaimed happily as she squeezed Subaru underneath her arm.

"Natsumi! My arm's still broken! Please have mercy on me!" Subaru yelled.

"Master is still in pain! Magic can't heal Master's arm! Shaula will have to resort to the First Aid Kit! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed, pulling out a rather comically oversized version of the medical bandages out of thin air, stretching it out with both hands.

"I'd rather not use that method on myself! Also, where the hell did you get bandages from?! And why the fudge are they so freaking big?!" Subaru yelled.

"...I suggest chopping off his arm and turning it into mush, before shoving it up his throat. That way, he'll have his arm restored through digestion" Shadow said, before releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth.

"I don't think that it works that way! Also, are you trying to kill him?!" Otto yelled in comical anger at Shadow, who simply shrugged his shoulders before taking another puff of smoke from his vape.

"The dreadful day has come when Otto of all people defends me! Now look what have you done, Shadow!" Subaru yelled at the Zero-Class Highest.

"I'm trying to defend you here! Try to give me some appreciation at the very least!" Otto yelled, but this time at Subaru.

"Huh...That guy of yours is a bit messed up in the head, missy. To add 'tan' to a name in front of other folks. Not to mention the weird comedy show that he and his pals are giving out" Al said to Emilia, causing Subaru to direct his glare at him.

"Your fashion sense is what's messed up, dude!" Subaru yelled at Al.

"Don't talk trash about people's looks, man. You might have your head chopped off for this attitude" Al commented calmly.

"I'm more than capable of keeping my head on my shoulders! Thank you!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Subaru. I'm shocked by his clothing too" Emilia said.

"Oh yeah. She was really shocked that it was so cute. I was surprised when she asked me to help her look for a lost kid" Al said, which in turn caused Subaru to glare at the group behind him, as everyone, except for Shaula, was desperately trying to suppress their chuckles and giggles. Even Shadow's body was shaking from chuckling and Natsumi left Subaru, burying her face in Reinhard's chest to muffle her laughter, where even Reinhard had trouble not chuckling at the comments of Al that were directed at Subaru.

"Oh come on you guys! Try supporting me for once!" Subaru yelled. But at this moment, the voice of a person that kept themselves silent for the entire duration suddenly rang.

"How perceptive of you to wait for me at my destination. Quite admirable of you, Al" Priscilla said while opening her fan in front of her face.

"You know him?!" Subaru yelled.

"Yeah. He's...Priscilla's companion...Something like that, I guess..." Natsumi said with a sweatdrop.

"The way you say it makes me think that he's some sort of a slave for her!" Subaru yelled.

"To be honest, I want to say that it was dumb luck I happened to be here, but that will put Princess in a bad mood so I'll just agree. Yup! It's just like what you said!" Al said out loud before giving Priscilla a thumbs up.

"Don't talk about what's in your mind out loud, you moron!" Subaru yelled.

"Kuh...Bastards...!"

"?!"

The group then turned around to see the thug trio, back on their feet, with a group of fifteen to twenty other thugs walking towards them with several weapons in their hands.

"Huh...Are they that stupid not to see Rein with us?" Felt asked with a sweatdrop.

"Well...Here's the thing...Natsumi is putting a restraining order on me so that I don't harm people weaker than me or unless it's necessary. I also have to get her permission" Reinhard said with a nervous chuckle.

"Is she your babysitter or something?!" Subaru yelled at the Sword Saint. He then turned to both Emilia and Puck, who was seated on her shoulder.

"Uh...Emilia-tan, Puck. A little help please?" Subaru asked the Contractor and Spirit duo.

"I think it's amazing how you acknowledge your helplessness..." Emilia said with a deadpan face.

"Hey! My arm is broken from fighting a Demon back there! You didn't see anything! Not to mention that both Shadow and Reinhard will not move from their places!" Subaru yelled.

"Well. That doesn't matter. It's not even our show" Puck said as he smiled while looking up. Following his gaze, Subaru looked up on top of one of the buildings, only to see something, or someone descending, having leapt at least a few dozens of meters from the building that they were standing on and were reaching Subaru and co. at astounding speeds.

And before anyone could register what just happened, a shock wave erupted in between Subaru's gang and the group of thugs, courtesy of the figure descending onto the concrete floor and down at Ton, who happened to be in the frontline of the group of thugs. The dustscreen that resulted from the descension of the figure soon cleared, revealing who it was that suddenly appeared.

It was a woman, around a year younger than Natsumi. She was extremely beautiful to the point that calling her gorgeous would be like an insult to her. She had beautiful, glittering, flowing, silky onyx black hair that reached her waist, along with glamourous, ocean blue eyes that could melt into the very soul of any virgin male, and a white, pale skin complex.

Her outfit consisted of a black, short-sleeved, one-piece jacket that reached just past her knees, which was worn above a long sleeved black jumpsuit. Her outfit was finished with a pair of light brown stockings that barely covered her beautiful legs and a pair of black female loafers.

"I felt a faint and pitiful killing intent from a few kilometers away. And before that, I sensed two energy signatures that were clashing. By chance, those signatures happened to fight around you, Shadow-san?" The girl asked, not looking back at Shadow and the group with him. Shadow simply flashed the smallest of smiles in response.

"Well...I know that you'll come in time...Saki Yoshida" Shadow said, causing the girl to look at him. Her beautiful face features sporting a face of calm and cold, yet innocent expression.

"So, Shadow-san...Is there anything that you want to say to me?" Saki asked Shadow.

"Well...The guy's not dead, is he?" Shadow asked while casually pointing his vape at Ton, who Saki was stomping on, and was in the middle of a large crater that Saki created as a result of her stomping him to the ground. Saki simply looked at Ton, and heard him groaning, indicating that he wasn't dead.

"Nope. He's still alive" She answered.

"Good" Shadow simply said back.

"W-What's good?!" Chin asked in shock at the display of power that came from the beauty in front of him.

"I judge that those men are giving you trouble, Shadow-san?" Saki asked while looking at the thugs, causing them to flinch in fear from the girl's cold stare.

"They aren't giving me trouble. They're just annoying. We've just saved them from a Demon, yet they want to beat us up for literally no reason. Do you think that this is a way for someone to say thanks to those who saved their ass?" Shadow asked, which in turn made Saki shake her head slowly.

"Indeed no" She simply answered.

"Just don't kill them, okay?" Shadow requested, causing a small smile to appear at Saki's face, before she gave out a silent nod.

"Kind as ever, Shadow-san" Saki said.

"Not kind...Just Sympathetic" Shadow said as he took a puff from his vape, blowing the smoke cloud to the air.

"Very well. I shall...Half-kill them" Saki said while flashing a heart melting smile towards the group of thugs.

And for the next few minutes, the street was riddled with screams of pain.

A few hours later. Margrave Mathers Manor

"What?! You're leaving me behind?! Why?!"

"Because the deal was to check on the people you know and to not get into trouble!"

"...If you want my opinion, trouble was the one that found him"

Subaru's ears couldn't comprehend what he just heard. Emilia was leaving him in the manor because he 'broke their promise', or that's what she said. And even though Shadow more or less tried to defend him, saying that he was with them all the time, it didn't seem to get through the surprisingly thick skull of Emilia.

"How did trouble even find him?! You're reeeeeeally not making any sense, Shadow!" Emilia exclaimed.

"...If you're out of this world, Emilia, I've been training Subaru for the past few months, and a Demon suddenly appeared in the streets, so I had Subaru test his skills, that is all. Other than that, I don't remember Subaru running into Priscilla by himself, considering the fact that he was with all of us at that time. My group happened to pick both him and Shaula up when we finished our business with Rom. So stop your scolding to him" Shadow said calmly. He then snarled when Emilia pouted and adjusted her cloak, before heading to the door.

"Did that bitch just ignored me?!" Shadow thought, his blood was literally boiling but he did his best to remain calm.

"Anyways, I'm leaving Subaru and Shadow in your care, Rem and Ram" Emilia said.

"So she did ignore me!" Shadow thought as he was literally about to break the muzzle of his vape as he gritted his teeth on it.

"Yes, Emilia-sama. We shall fulfill our duty" Rem said bowing to Emilia.

"Yes, Emilia-sama. We shall accomplish our mission" Ram said also bowing to Emilia.

"Subaru, Shadow...Please. Let me trust you two. I'm not asking for much" Emilia said in a gentle tone. Shadow just glared for a few seconds, but then he released the smoke that he had sucked from his vape to the air, causing the smoke to form a cloud above him, before regaining his cold facial expression. Subaru, upon hearing this, sighed in defeat.

"Alright, Emilia-tan. I'll do my best" Subaru said, slumping his shoulders in defeat.

"...Whatever" Shadow replied with a scoff.

"Thank you, you two. Well then, I'll be going. Take care" Emilia said as exited the Manor.

"...She won't be able to do shit" Shadow said shortly after Emilia left.

"What makes you think so, Shads?" Ram asked, blinking calmly.

"Honestly, do you really believe that someone like Emilia will be able to even say her name straight. Also, knowing Roswaal, he'll just stand still while she's humiliated. After all, he's the Court Magician, and his true allegiance is to this shitty Kingdom. Emilia is nothing but a child. Just because she studied the history of the Royal Empire doesn't mean that she holds the required social skills to put these studies to use. She'll fail...Miserably" Shadow answered.

"Shadow-kun, don't be like that. Have faith in Emilia-sama" Rem said gently.

"...Ugh. Whatever" Shadow grunted before exiting the dining room.

"Um...I'm sorry Nee-sama. If you'll excuse me" Rem said before running after Shadow, leaving Subaru, Ram and Shaula, who didn't even utter a word the entire time as she was just staring blankly at Emilia, where even her trademark cheerful childish expression was nonexistent on her face.

"...By the way, there're guests out there looking for Shads. Shall I send them away?" Ram asked.

"What the hell, Nee-sama?! There's something called 'Hospitality'! Ever heard of it?!" Subaru yelled at Ram.

"Heh" Ram scoffed mockingly at Subaru's shouts.

"Where are they?! We must at least greet them! Shadow's no mood for meeting anyone!" Subaru exclaimed, before exiting the room, to which Shaula followed silently, but was stopped by Ram, who stood in front of the door, blocking her way.

"...Raspberry. Out of my way. I've no time for you" Shaula said, any signs of her girlish and cheerful antics completely gone.

"Before you go, Ram wants to know...Are you intending to stay by Barusu's side no matter what happens? Even if it costs you your life?" Ram asked the humanoid Mabeast, to which caused Shaula to glare at her menacingly.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me, Raspberry?" Shaula asked with gnawed teeth.

"That's not what I said. I'm saying whether you're intending on always taking Barusu's side, even if he's in the wrong?" Ram asked, not even flinching from the killing intent that exuded from Shaula, but her entire body was sweating bullets.

"...Does that even need an answer? Of course I'll be by Master's side, no matter what, because even if Master is not right, I'll be there to correct him. If he's at his lowest, I shall help him to his feet, because it's him and only him that can make a difference" Shaula answered.

"How can you tell whether he can or cannot make a difference? What makes you so sure of that?" Ram asked again.

"Isn't it obvious? Edge Lord even chose him for that war of his. Someone as strong as him choosing someone like Master means that Master is special" Shaula said, glaring at Ram, who upon hearing Shaula's answer, stopped sweating and released a breath she didn't know she was holding, before nodding with a calm look. Shaula then didn't say anything else, and proceeded to walk past Ram, but before she could exit the room, Ram asked her one last question which froze her in her place.

"What if Barusu was not your Master?"

"..."

Shaula just stayed silent, her eyes being shadowed by her hair, and her mouth was fixated to a frown. For a few moments, she said nothing, and Ram simply stood there, looking at her back silently while waiting for an answer. And surely, an answer came to her.

"...That's a decision that I and only I will make"

And upon saying that, Shaula exited the room, leaving Ram, who simply did a courtesy bow to no one in particular.

"I wish you the best of luck...Shaula..."

Unknown to Ram, upon distancing herself from her, Shaula stopped at a corner in the corridor, clenching her fist tightly that her knuckles became white and blood drew from having her nails digging into her palms, and soon after, her eyes started to draw tears, before she collapsed onto the floor, curling into a ball and hugging her knees close to her chest while sobbing as her tears hit the floor.

"Even...*hic*...Even if he isn't Master...*hic*...Please...Please don't leave me..."

At the same time. With Subaru

"Ugh..."

"Is that what you have to say for Betty upon intruding her own grounds, I wonder?"

Subaru groaned as he came face to face with Beatrice. It wasn't that he was annoyed from meeting her. It was just that he was sick from always falling into the Forbidden Library, as it gave him bad omens due to his gruesome first encounter with Garfiel.

An encounter that none but Shadow knows about...

"Oh yeah...I've to get outta here to meet Shadow's guests" Subaru muttered before walking towards the door.

"Why do you care so much about that guy, I wonder?" Beatrice asked out of the blue, causing Subaru to stop in front of the door, his inches away from the doorknob. He stood silently for a few seconds, before a smile formed on his face, and he turned towards Beatrice.

"I'll answer your question if you answer my question, Beako" Subaru said, causing the Spirit to blink at his attitude.

"Why...Why are you always sitting here? You barely get out of here" Subaru asked, his face placed with a sad smile, causing Beatrice's eyes to widen slightly at the question, before it was immediately replaced by her usual frown.

"...What's it to you, I wonder?" She asked, which in turn made Subaru's sad smile widen.

"Well...I know what it means to be alone, Beako. Just watching you like that makes me feel sad" Subaru answered.

"Hmph. Betty could care less about your emotions, in fact. It's not in her interests, I suppose" Beatrice said with a scoff, which caused Subaru to chuckle solemnly, before he seated himself on the floor, causing Beatrice to blink yet again at his weird actions.

"Well...What do you classify the kind of person who helps others but don't regard themselves at all?" Subaru asked, which caused Beatrice's eyes to widen slightly, before she regained her frown.

"...Betty would call them an idiot, I suppose" She answered shortly, which in turn made Subaru chuckle once again.

"Why are you laughing, I wonder?" Beatrice asked, confusion completely filling her face.

"...I guess by that logic, you, Shadow and I are idiots, huh?" Subaru asked with a sad smile.

"Huh?! Why would you bundle Betty with the both of you, I wonder?!" Beatrice asked, spatting her question due to being insulted.

"Well...Remember when we first met? I suddenly collapsed, but then again, when I woke up, I found myself on the bed. Normally, only Shadow, who have the ability to cross dimensions, would be able to get to me in that case, but when I woke up and asked how I got there, they told me that you were the one who brought me to the bed. Not only that, but I also found out that you stayed by my side until Natsumi and Shadow came to check up on me. Now why would you do that to some random stranger?" Subaru explained before throwing another question at Beatrice.

"..." And yet, she just frowned silently at him, which in turn caused Subaru to release yet another chuckle.

"So? Do you understand why are you an idiot as well?" Subaru threw another question at Beatrice.

"..." But yet again, she still stayed silent. This time, however, she casted her gaze to the side, her face suddenly falling to solemnity and apparent sadness, as she clutched the large black book in her hands, hugging it close to her small frame.

"...Betty's...Not an idiot, in fact..." She simply whispered, her voice close to whimpering, to the point that Subaru felt like that she was going to cry.

"I...I never did anything worthy in my life...Because I felt so scared from everything. When Natsumi got separated from me, I felt like the world got dark to the point that I felt like that I won't be able to see anything at all. And actually...That's what gave me the drive to become stronger...Because I believed that she was still there somewhere. And because of that, I got stronger. Then I met Shaula. I met Otto. I met Emilia. I met Shadow. I met Reinhard. I met Felt. I met Rom. I met Rem. I met Ram. I met Frederica. And on top of all of that...I met you, Beako..." Subaru said before his body trembled, and Beatrice gasped in surprise when she suddenly saw tears flowing down Subaru's face.

"And then...Emilia telling me that I mustn't go with her...To be honest, It kinda hurt me...I wanted to be by her side, because she was by mine when I faced trouble the first time I arrived in Lugunica. No one at that time actually had that much kindness within him, so I was touched by that...And then...You with your kindness, Beako...I...I thought that no one will ever look at me...A lowlife...A pathetic excuse of a Human that was afraid of the fact that he might be seated in the shadow of his own father for the rest of his life...Alone...And miserable...And to be honest...I could feel the same for you, Beako..." Subaru said through his sobs, which caused Beatrice's eyes to widen in shock.

"...When I look at how lonely you are...I remember myself...I remember how pathetic and alone I was...And it made me so sad to see you sad. Even if I don't know you that much...It still hurts, you know...And the same goes for Shadow, you know...Have you ever wondered why does he always help others despite not knowing them at all...? Well...Because he's an idiot...Just like the two of us...I'm an idiot because I desperately want to help Emilia...Shadow's an idiot because he's helping those around him without waiting for a reward...Emilia is also an idiot because she's kind-hearted and because she helps people she don't know...Otto's an idiot because he helped me and Shaula out of the kindness of his heart...Frederica, Rem and Ram are idiots because they accepted to help Shaula and Petra in their maid training...Reinhard's an idiot because he helped Natsumi...Natsumi's an idiot because she agreed to help Felt...Felt's an idiot because she cares for Rom...Rom's an idiot because he cares for Felt...And by extension...You're an idiot because you care for people that you don't know, Beako..." Subaru finished his speech, and for the entire duration of him talking, Beatrice's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief, her eyes glittering and were threatening to spill tears out. Subaru simply chuckled at her, before he took a breath and continued.

"So...As I was saying previously...I want an answer to my question for you...Why are you always alone here?" Subaru asked once again, to which Beatrice stared wide-eyed at him, tears starting to fall down her small cheeks.

It was at this moment that Subaru's heart felt uncomfortable watching such a cute existence crying due to pure sadness.

A disease that both of them had that was called Despair.

Despair from today.

Despair from tomorrow.

Despair from judgment from others.

Despair from the past.

Despair from the present.

Despair from the future.

Despair from false hope.

Despair...Just because they were doomed to be despaired.

"Betty..." Beatrice started to talk in a shaky and whimpering voice. By now, her throat was burning, and tears were freely falling down her eyes like a waterfall.

"Betty wanted to fulfill the contract with Kaa-sama...Four hundred years...It's been four hundred years ever since Betty promised Kaa-sama to uphold to the contract..." She started to say, hugging the black book in her hands tightly.

"What was...The contract...?" Subaru asked, fear slowly creeping to his heart, but it was fear from seeing this cute girl collapse due to the overflow of emotions that was about to come.

"...To find...'That Person'..." Beatrice whispered her answer.

"I see...So that book in your hands...It's a Gospel, isn't it?" Subaru asked, having connected the dots upon seeing the familiar book in her hand.

"That's a perfected version of the Witch Cult's Gospel, in fact...The Book of Wisdom that allows its user to see the future, I suppose..." Beatrice answered.

"Then...It didn't tell you about what would happen back then...Did it?" Subaru asked, having reached the conclusion as to why Beatrice didn't move from that place.

It was at this moment that Beatrice suddenly snapped.

"It didn't! It didn't say anything, I suppose! Betty waited for four hundred years, I suppose! But the pages were blank, I suppose! Betty waited and waited and waited, I suppose! She waited to the point that she wanted to die, I suppose! To be free, I suppose! But no one! NO ONE, I SUPPOSE! NO ONE CAME TO TAKE BETTY FROM HERE! FROM THIS HELL, I SUPPOSE! BETTY JUST HATES IT! HATES IT, I SUPPOSE! BETTY WANTS TO BE FREE! THAT PERSON NEVER CAME THROUGH THIS DOOR FOR BETTY, I SUPPOSE! BETTY WAITED FOR SO LONG! SO WHY?! WHY?! WHY DIDN'T THAT PERSON COME TO SAVE BETTY, I SUPPOSE?!"

As she talked, the dam of tears overflowed, and her emotionless facade that she maintained for the past four hundred years came crumbling down.

Beatrice, who endured the most emotional pain in her life, was now breaking down, right in front of Subaru.

It was at this moment that Subaru did something that shocked Beatrice and made her stop yelling.

He ran to her and hugged her.

"W-What are you doing, I suppose?!" She yelled, but she didn't appear to struggle away from his embrace.

"Beako...I'll be lying to you if I told you that I'm 'That Person' of yours...But let me tell you this: I don't wanna be someone who abandons a great girl like you" Subaru said.

"What makes you say that, I wonder...?" Beatrice asked, her voice muffled by Subaru's embrace.

"Because...I need you to help me, Beako..." Subaru answered, causing Beatrice to suddenly break the embrace and look at Subaru in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well...You have everything that I wished for...You're smart, beautiful, charming, strong, cute...You can literally do anything by your own...I, on the other hand...I can't do anything good while alone. I need someone to guide me...Someone like you, Beako..." Subaru answered, before staring at Beatrice in the eye.

"And for that...I want you to choose me...Not as Betty's 'That Person'...But as Betty's Subaru...Can you do that...? Can you choose me, Beatrice?" Subaru asked before extending his arm towards Beatrice, opening his hand for Beatrice to take.

"You'll leave Betty alone when you deem her worthless..." Beatrice muttered her words.

"That'll never happen" Subaru immediately said.

"You'll grow old and die, leaving Betty alone..." She muttered once again, tears still rolling down her childish cheeks.

"Before that happens, I'll make sure to carve our time together into your brain so that you'll never forget me, and when I get married and have children, I'll make sure that they'll never leave you alone" Subaru shot back.

"You might die in Betty's arms..." She whimpered.

"That won't happen as long as I have you by my side" Subaru said, his voice filled with absolute confidence, despite the tears dripping down his face.

"What makes you think that, I wonder?" Beatrice asked, which caused Subaru to smile in the midst of the tear valley that was falling from his eyes.

"It's the answer to your first question..." He trailed in his words.

"Huh?" Beatrice blinked while still tearing up.

"...It's because we're both idiots that'll always help each other no matter what" He continued his words, causing Beatrice's eyes to widen once again, before her eyes narrowed as more tears came out from her eyes and this time, her sobbing could be heard by Subaru.

"So...Beatrice...Choose me" Subaru said to the loli Spirit, causing her to look at him while still crying, not uttering a word in between her sobs.

"I shall 'kill' you by killing off that contract of yours...Of that bitch of a mother that abandoned such a wonderful girl like you...And by doing that...I'll 'kill' the old Beatrice, giving way to the new Beatrice to be born...So...Beako..." Subaru trailed, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Drop that book...And choose me" He finished his phrase, yet Beatrice was still sobbing loudly.

"Choose the idiot that'll never hesitate to sacrifice anything and everything for you"

"..."

"Choose the idiot that'll make you see the outside world"

"..."

"Choose the idiot that'll make you play so hard that your beautiful dress will be caked with mud"

"..."

"Choose the idiot that needs your help to stand on his feet"

"..."

"Choose the idiot that'll help you to stand on your feet if you ever felt like you're falling"

"..."

"Choose me...And drop your sorrows away, Beatrice"

"..."

"Choose me, Beatrice"

"..."

"Choose me!"

"SUBARU!"

And upon raising his voice one last time, Beatrice dropped the book in her hands, causing the blank pages in it to scatter apart on the floor of the library, before she ran to Subaru, throwing her arms around his neck, which in turn caused him to embrace her in a tight hug, where she buried her sobbing face into his shoulder, squeezing him with her petite arms as if she was falling off a cliff and he was her only thread out of the abyss.

"Subaru..." She muttered.

"Yeah..." He muttered back.

"Subaru" She called out his name once again.

"Yes. That's my name" He replied back.

"Subaru! Subaru! Subaru!" She kept on repeating his name, hugging him even more tightly with every time she called out his name.

"Yes! You can say it now!" He exclaimed, feeling happy for his achievement.

And for the upcoming few minutes, both idiots, Contractor Subaru Natsuki and Contracted Great Spirit Beatrice kept on embracing each other, finally finding their way in life.

A few minutes later. With Shadow and Rem

"Shadow-kun...Rem is so sorry for what happened from Emilia-sama"

"..."

Rem was apologizing for something she didn't do, while Shadow simply walked quickly from her.

"Shadow-kun! Please wait!" Rem called out, yet Shadow didn't even look at her as he was making his way to the door of the mansion.

"Shadow-kun! Look at me while I'm talking!" Rem yelled to her crush, catching him by the hand, and this action caused him to stop and look at her, his eyes fixated in a glare of complete anger.

"Rem knows that you're angry. She really does, but being angry alone doesn't solve the problem. Shadow-kun should learn talking to others about his problems" Rem said, which in turn caused Shadow's eye to twitch.

"Problems? Problems?! Who the fuck said that I have problems?! Well, yeah! I have problems of my own! But these problems of mine, and this level of stupidity are two different things! I hate stupid people!" He yelled.

"What do you...?" Rem trailed in her words, unable to complete her question.

"First of all, Subaru and I didn't do anything for her to scold us like children! And I'm not some asshole that she can order around as she pleases! I agreed on helping her because I felt like it! Other than that, I don't need her to treat me like a child! Second and most important, this Royal Selection is nothing but a dud! Something to benefit those noble motherfuckers! Where even if you win, you won't gain shit!" Shadow yelled.

"Huh? What do you mean, Shadow-kun? Do you mean that the Royal Selection is meaningless?" Rem asked, completely shocked from Shadow's words.

"Think about it, Rem! It's all apparent for the eye to see!" Shadow exclaimed angrily.

"Please calm down. Can you just explain it to Rem?" Rem asked, slightly afraid from Shadow's angry expression. Shadow seemed to have noticed this, as he took in a deep breath, before glaring silently at Rem.

"Answer me my questions, Rem. Then you might be able to understand what I'm throwing at" Shadow said, causing Rem to nod slowly.

"First, What is the goal of the Royal Selection?" Shadow asked.

"It's...To choose a new ruler of the Royal Capital of Lugunica" Rem answered.

"Why does this country need a ruler?" Shadow asked again.

"Because the Royal Family died off nine months ago from an unknown disease" Rem answered back.

"Very well. Another question: What is the prize given to the successor of the throne?" He asked again.

"The Dragon Blood" Rem instantly answered.

"What is the Dragon Blood used for? Why is it so special?" Shadow asked once again.

"It's said to grant the desires of those who use its powers" Rem answered yet again.

"Now then, final question: If the Dragon Blood is so omnipotent like it's said it is...Then why didn't the Royal Family use it to ward off the disease that wiped it off nine months ago?" Shadow asked.

"...!" At this question, however, Rem gasped while putting a hand on her mouth, realization striking her instantly like a lightning bolt.

"Did you finally get what I'm trying to say?" Shadow asked.

"Y-You mean...!"

"...The blood doesn't exist. Those Sage Council bastards don't have it"

"?!"

As Rem was about to say the obvious conclusion, she turned around at the familiar sound of Subaru, only to see him with Beatrice on his side.

"Honestly, did no one around here think the same, I wonder? It's really obvious, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"Beatrice-sama...? You mean you knew all along?" Rem asked, shock plastered on her face.

"Naturally. Roswaal even knows about it, in fact. It seems that he doesn't trust his servants, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"W-What?" Rem was completely overwhelmed by the shock of the situation that she found herself in.

"Incidentally, that would mean that Roswaal never told you the reason why you and your sister were with him all this years, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"W-What do you...?" Rem asked, still completely overwhelmed to the point that she couldn't even make out heads from tails anymore.

"As you know, your sister held exceptional power, in fact, and Roswaal sought out that power. Unfortunately, she lost that power when she lost that horn. What you don't know, however, is the fact that Roswaal knew about the Witch Cult attacking your village, yet did nothing to defend you, in fact. He then threatened your sister with you so that he can have a contract with her, I suppose. A contract where he will have her borrowing your horn to achieve the powers of her prime, in fact. And if your sister broke that contract, you would die as a result, I suppose" Beatrice answered, causing Subaru, Shadow and Rem to gasp in shock at the new information.

"That bastard! Who the hell does he think he is to do something like that?!" Subaru yelled in anger.

"Calm down, Subaru. We still need to figure things out" Shadow said calmly, but it was obvious that he was not calm in the slightest.

"What the fudge that you need to figure out?! That son of a bitch indirectly ruined Rem and Ram's lives, and then he has the balls to threaten them?!" Subaru yelled, before stomping towards the door, only for Shadow to catch him by the arm, which in turn caused Subaru to glare at him.

"Let go of my fucking arm, Shadow!" Subaru hissed his words behind his teeth, but Shadow didn't flinch from them.

"...Where are you going, Subaru?" Shadow asked the white haired boy.

"Isn't it obvious?! I'm gonna clobber that asshole! He has to terminate the contract between him and Ram so that they're free, or else he will have to talk to my fists!" Subaru yelled out loud while trying to yank his arm from Shadow's grip, but in vain as Shadow was way above him in strength.

"I just need to know something, Beatrice...Why is Roswaal making a contract with Ram? Why does he need her powers?" Shadow asked the loli Spirit.

"He wants it to kill Volcanica, The Divine Dragon, I suppose" Beatrice immediately answered, causing everyone to gasp in shock and disbelief at the revealment.

"Why...Why does he want to kill Volcanica...? Isn't that the Dragon that's supposed to give them the blood that didn't even exist with those assholes that are trying to trick the winner of the Royal Selection?" Subaru asked, releasing his arm from Shadow's grip, who permitted for that action upon seeing that Subaru won't act rash and charge towards Roswaal.

"Because in order to obtain the Dragon Blood...You have to take it from the last beat of a dying Dragon's heart, I suppose" Beatrice answered.

"T-Then...He's planning on going Dragon Hunting?! And he's putting Ram in the frontlines?! Is he insane?! Why would he do that?! Is that all for those assholes in the Capital?!" Subaru yelled his question, completely infuriated and disgusted at Roswaal.

"Roswaal has no intention of helping the people in the Capital, in fact. He's a rather selfish man, I suppose. He wants the blood for something else...Something of his own, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"What would he want it for?!" Subaru asked, completely consumed by his anger.

"...Subaru, remember when Betty told you about her mother, I wonder?" Beatrice asked.

"You mean the bitch that tied you up into that library to wait for a person that'll never come?! What about her?!" Subaru was literally yelling his question due to his anger.

"Betty's mo-No. That woman...She's Roswaal's teacher. The one that taught him how to use his Magic, in fact. Roswaal adored her immensely, but she died four hundred years ago, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"...Are you trying to say that Roswaal is trying to slay Volcanica to get said Dragon's blood in order to resurrect his teacher?" Shadow asked, to which Beatrice nodded.

"Indeed, in fact. Roswaal is intending to resurrect Echidna...The Witch of Greed, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"T-The Witch of Greed?! Are there other Witches other than the Witch of Envy?!" Subaru asked.

"Yes, Subaru. There are. But Echidna helped Roswaal quite a lot with his Magic, in fact. She was the one to also create Puckie and Betty, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"Create?" Subaru asked.

"Yes. Betty and Puckie are not normal Spirits. Betty and Puckie are Artificial Spirits, I suppose" Beatrice answered.

"...Alright. That's a lot to take in, but I think that this clears everything to me..." Shadow said.

"...Yeah. Indeed. I suppose we have to move very carefully from now on" Subaru said as he and Shadow glanced at each other while talking.

"N-Nee-sama...Because of Rem...She's..." Rem was trembling, color drained from her face completely as she was horrified to find out about her master's true colors. She was indeed suspicious of him all this time, but to hear all of those shocking truths, not to mention the fact that her sister was stranded to him because of her was completely overwhelming for her.

Suddenly, she gasped when Shadow took her underneath her arm, giving her a one-armed hug, which caused her to blush slightly.

"...Rem. Don't worry about your sister. I promise that I'll take her out of Roswaal's grasp...Just...Just don't beat yourself around the bush, okay?" Shadow whispered to Rem, who just snuggled into his embrace, sobbing as she hide her face within his jacket as the entire revealment was too much for her to handle.

"Poor girl, I suppose" Beatrice said with a sympathetic look.

"Yeah. I understand her pain. If anything like that happened to Natsumi, I'd be freaking out" Subaru said while scratching the back of his head, his anger completely gone, but his face still showed the signs of annoyance.

"Ugh...Shit. I feel like crap. What the hell should we do now? How the hell should we make our first move?" Subaru asked.

"...Don't worry. We still have time. Roswaal, The Dragon, The Sage Council, The Royal Selection...Those are the least of our worries. But you're right. We have to proceed with caution. And I think I know exactly where to begin" Shadow said.

"Really? Where?" Subaru asked.

"...Our guests outside are the answer to that" Shadow simply answered, before looking at both Subaru and Beatrice, having noticed a connection between both of them.

"It appears to me that you've created a contract between you and Beatrice, Subaru" Shadow commented, which in turn caused Rem to break away from Shadow's one-armed hug, wiping her tears away before giving a sweet smile towards Beatrice.

"That's amazing, Beatrice-sama! To finally see you outside of the Forbidden Library and now you have a contract with someone! Although Rem feels pity on you that it's Subaru-san" Rem said with a rather cheerful tone.

"Why are you talking about me as if I was garbage?!" Subaru yelled in a comical fashion at Rem.

"Indeed. Betty's Subaru is a hopeless man, in fact. Betty might have to terminate her contract soon with Betty's Subaru, I suppose" Beatrice said while shaking her head solemnly.

"Not you too, Beako!" Subaru yelled at his contracted Spirit in a comical fashion. The two girls just blinked at him for a second, before both of them burst out in laughter, laughing their hearts out.

And while all of that was happening, Shadow was simply watching the astounding sudden change.

Just a few seconds ago, they were arguing, but now...Subaru's very presence changed everything to the best and the tension was completely gone.

This caused a small smile to creep on Shadow's face.

"Subaru...You're amazing...I was right in choosing you..." Shadow thought, before coughing in his hand, gaining the attention of the three around him.

"Alright. We made the guest wait for so long, don't you think? Let us go and meet them" He said.

"Oh yes. Right, Shadow-kun" Rem said, composing herself and adjusting her appearance so that she won't appear that she was crying.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Shadow said to Subaru, Rem and Beatrice.

"What we talked about shall remain a secret between the four of. Not even Puck or Emilia should ever know about this. Get it you guys?" Shadow asked, causing the three to give out a serious nod each to Shadow.

"Hey! Master! Whatcha doing?!" Subaru turned around to see Shaula running towards the hallway at neck-breaking speeds, which in turn caused Subaru to gasp comically as she was heading towards him like a rocket.

"Hit the brakes, Shaula! Hit the freaking brakes!" Subaru yelled to the fast approaching humanoid Mabeast, but to no avail as she slammed her head headfirst to his abdomen. Everyone with Subaru watched as his eyes bugged out from their sockets in a comical fashion, before he was sent flying in a comical fashion like a thrown ragdoll, before he fell off the stairs. Shadow, Rem and Beatrice winced with every grunt and thud sound that they heard with each step that Subaru descended while rolling on the stairs leading down the reception hall of the mansion.

"Uh...I'm okay...But are my legs supposed to be bent like that?" Shadow, Rem and Beatrice looked in pain as they looked at Subaru, who finished his painful journey down the long staircase.

"...Betty's going to fix her idiot contractor, I suppose" Beatrice said before descending down the stairs, with Shadow and Rem following her.

A few minutes late, Subaru's leg returned back to its normal angle and Shaula was apologizing non-stop, despite Subaru telling her that it's okay. All that happened as the group of five that consisted of Subaru, Shaula, Beatrice, Rem and Shadow made their way to the door. When they went out, they found themselves face-to-face with Saki and another three new individuals. One was a male, while the other two were females.

The male in the group had shoulder-length blonde hair, dark skin complex and yellow eyes. He was wearing a Middle-Eastern-like getup with a black short shirt, gold eyes-like belts around his chest waist, a blue bandana on his head, and bandages on his hands.

As for the two females, one of them had short purple hair slightly tan skin and rose red eyes. Her outfit looked like that of a secretary. She was wearing a light purple tight skirt, black leggings with vertical strips on it, light purple high heels, and a light purple beretta.

The second female had shoulder-length crimson red hair, slightly tan complex and turquoise eyes. Her outfit showed that she was a veteran warrior, consisting of a silver armor plate that held her C-cups breasts and covered them, silver shoulder armor pads, red belt fastened to the middle of her waist and silver armor plates fastened to her forearms, just above her wrist. All of that was worn above a black tank top that covered her breasts underneath the chest armor plate, a piece of black cloth that she wore on her waist like a lower part of a cape which had an exposed front that revealed her legs, and also revealed the pair of red shorts that she wore underneath, which was fastened by a simple black belt. Her outfit was finished with a pair of long black gloves that reached past her elbows, leaving only a part of her upper arm and shoulders exposed, along with a pair of black, slim combat boots. She also had a katana on her left waist, which had a white handle, a golden and deep navy blue, octagonal guard with two trapezoidal halves, each with gold dot pattern patches and in a grove like motif with gold rings, inside of which are various circles in clusters of three, arranged in triangular patterns, two blue cords with golden dot accents on them extending from the bottom of the hilt that tied the katana to the girl's left waist and a black scabbard.

"Hmm...It's been a long time, Saki, Kaylin" Shadow hummed his greetings to the two girls, who immediately smiled at him.

"Indeed. How long has it been, Shadow-san?" Kaylin asked with a sweet smile.

"Around one year, I'd say. How's your training going?" Shadow asked the two girls.

"Good, actually. Thanks to you, it went easier than we thought. We also have Halibel-sensei to help us whenever anything goes south" Saki said with a smile.

"I see. Good. Then how are you two doing? I mean, mentally? Is everything okay?" Shadow asked once again, which in turn caused the two girls to have their smiles vanish, and for both of them to look down solemnly to the ground.

"We...Manage..." Kaylin muttered, while Saki didn't say anything.

Suddenly, everyone, including the seemingly cold dark skinned man, felt chills running down their spines. Even Shadow felt a dreadful feeling from behind him. He then slightly jumped in his place upon feeling a hand on his shoulder, and upon turning around to look at the bearer of the hand that touched him, he realized the reason of the change in the atmosphere.

"...Rem...What's the matter...?" Shadow muttered his words, swearing that he saw an Arch-Demon of Sharpness threatening to take his life away.

"Shadow-kun...Do you know these girls?" Rem asked with a sweet smile on her face. Though the aura of Death manifesting around her seemed to contradict that smile.

"Uh...Well, you see, Rem...Those two are...Well..." Shadow trailed in his speech, not wanting to say what he wanted to say right now as he glanced at both the dark skinned man and the purple haired woman, who were looking in silent anticipation.

"Oh! Rem-chan! You're the lady that Shadow-san was talking about a lot!" Saki suddenly inserted herself in the conversion with a sweet smile on her face, drawing Rem's attention immediately, where the aura of said Oni suddenly vanished and she blinked at Saki, before registering her words and blushing furiously to the point that her face became even redder than Reinhard's hair.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-What?! Rem's Shadow-kun...Talked about Rem...?!" She stuttered out her question, placing her hands on her beat red cheeks.

"Yes. He said that he met someone so sweet and lovely. He also said that he loved her so much" Saki said.

"R-R-R-R-R-R-REALLY?!" Rem suddenly screamed out the question, and Shadow had to place his hand on his ear due to the fact that Rem literally screamed in his ear.

"He sees you beautiful and kind to the point that he doesn't want to get separated from you" Saki added.

"...Saki, that's enough" Shadow grumbled out his question to the girl, but she seemed to have ignored him on purpose.

"He also said something soooo big..." Saki said with a smile, to which Rem's eyes widened in anticipation.

"Y-Yes...?" Rem whispered her question, waiting for Saki's answer.

"...Saki...Don't you dare..." Shadow hissed his warning while glaring at Saki.

"...He said that when the time comes...He wants to marry you!" Saki exclaimed.

And at this moment, Rem froze in her place for a few minutes, causing everyone to blink, except for Subaru, who fell on the grassy floor from laughter, howling loudly while spinning on the grass. The next thing that happened was that Rem fell to the ground on her back, fainting with a smile on her face as Shadow, Saki and Kaylin could swear that they saw a comical ghost version of Rem floating out of her body.

"...Is that what Humans call 'Death By Moe'?" Shadow asked with a sweatdrop.

"Teehee~. It is" Saki said while giggling.

"MY STOMACH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Subaru yelled while laughing his heart out.

A few minutes later after Rem woke up, she entered the mansion and after another couple of minutes, she came out with a tray of Pina Colada glasses, along with Ram following her.

"OMG! Pina Colada?! Here?!" Saki said while gulping the drink.

"Don't drink it that fast to savor it. Also, take it easy while drinking" Kaylin advised her friend.

"Hmm...I have to admit. It is delicious. Not like anything that I tasted here" The purple haired woman said while sipping from her glass.

"..." The dark skinned man just kept silent as he drank his drink.

"Oh come on, Salum. It looks delicious. Try to give out some emotions"

"?!"

A new voice alerted everyone except for Saki, Kaylin and Shadow. Moments later, something came floating from behind the dark skinned man's shoulder.

It was a small squirrel, a female judging by its appearance, with her fur mostly light brown in certain spots and wore blue shoes, a blue scarf, and adorns a yellow flower on her head.

"Cute...Even cuter than Puck..." Subaru said while staring at the floating squirrel.

"Hey Shadow-kun. How do you know our Dear Guests?" Rem asked.

"Oh. Well, Rem...I've been in frequent visits to both Kararagi and Vollachia in the past year before I joined the Emilia camp three months ago" Shadow answered.

"Shadow-san helped us quite a lot in the past. Without him, I don't think we would have survived" Saki said.

"Indeed that is. He was the reason we met people like Halibel-san, before we met Melty-chan and the others" Kaylin said before taking another sip from her drink.

"...I believe we haven't been introduced" Shadow said while looking at the three newcomers.

"Oh. This is Salum Pristis, Melty-chan's elder brother, Pooka, his contracted Spirit, and Sakura Element, the secretary of the Melty Camp" Saki answered.

"Pleasure to meet the infamous Black Angel of Irlam" Sakura said while bowing politely to Shadow.

"..." Salum just stared silently at him.

"Not the talkative type now, are we?" Subaru asked while sipping his drink. He then felt a tug on the sleeve of his pants. Glancing to his side, he saw Beatrice glancing with a serious expression at him.

"Subaru..."

"H-Huh? What's that? I can hear your voice in my head, Beako"

"Betty is using Yin Magic to communicate with Subaru through his mind, in fact. However, this isn't what Betty wants to say, I suppose"

"Then what is it?"

"This red squirrel...She's an Artificial Spirit, just like Betty and Puckie, I suppose"

"Whoa! Seriously?!"

"Yes. Betty is sure of that, in fact. Just be careful around them, I suppose"

Nodding to her, Subaru shifted his glance to the pair of Salum and Pooka, who simply drank their beverages in silence. Subaru then noticed Saki staring at him without even blinking.

"Uh...What's the matter? Everything's okay?" Subaru asked.

"No way...Is that you, Subaru?" Saki asked.

"Uh...Sorry. Do I know you?" Subaru asked in confusion.

"It is you! Don't you know me?! It's me, Saki! Saki Yoshida!" Saki exclaimed, and it didn't take Subaru a few seconds before his eyes widened in realization.

"No way! Saki?! From the days of elementary school?!" Subaru asked in shock.

"Goodness! You changed so much I barely knew you! What happened to your hair and clothes?!" Saki asked with a surprised smile on her face.

"I could ask you the same, girl! Just look at you! Four years ago, you looked like the nerdy type! With the long braided hair and thick glasses and all, but look at you now! You've became a top-notch beauty! I'm amazed to see you now!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Hey! I just realized it now! The girl that was with the Sword Saint back when we first met in the alley...Was that Natsumi?" Saki asked.

"Yup! It's her alright! She and I got teleported to that world together all of a sudden!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Wow! How the world is so small! I can't believe that we got to see each other after five years! I bet you that Natsumi would be surprised when she recognizes me!" Saki exclaimed.

"Yup! She will! Ehehehe!" Subaru chuckled.

"Hey, Subaru. Who is that woman, I wonder?" Beatrice butted in the conversation, which in turn made Saki kneel to her and smile.

"Hey, little one. Judging by your aura, you're a Great Spirit, just like Pooka-chan, right?" Saki asked, causing Beatrice to blink at her.

"Betty is amazed. This girl here knew from first glance that Betty is a Great Spirit. She is the perfect partner for Betty, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"I am your partner! We've just made a contract!" Subaru yelled in comical anger.

"Teehee~. I guess that means that I'm better than you, Subaru. And of course, Betty. I'll be glad to be your contractor instead of Subaru" Saki said with a smile while patting Beatrice's head, to which the loli Spirit smiled while puffing her chest up.

"Mmhmm...This Human also understands how Betty is cute, in fact. Betty will have to terminate her contract with Betty's Subaru in order to form a contract with Betty's Saki, I suppose" Beatrice said with a proud smile.

"I just can't believe how you would sell me off that quickly!" Subaru yelled comically.

"I accept. Teehee~." Saki said before giggling, still patting Beatrice's head.

"Don't 'Teehee' me! What the fudge are you doing, Saki?! Let go of Beako!" Subaru yelled at his childhood friend.

"Hah! It's obviously clear to everyone here why Beatrice-sama would choose our Dear Guest over the useless impotent incompetent Barusu. Ram is amazed by Beatrice-sama's extreme intuition and perception" Ram said while giving Subaru a mocking smug smirk.

"How the hell is that intuition and perception?! Also, why would you include 'impotent' in the insults?! I'm pretty sure my masculinity is working just fine!" Subaru yelled at the pink haired maid.

"...Is that what they call 'Switching Sides'?" Shadow asked.

"It's called 'Shameless Treason'!" Subaru yelled.

"Yup! Rem's Shadow-kun is always right!" Rem exclaimed with a sweet smile on her face.

"Don't just agree with him on everything!" Subaru yelled at the blue haired maid.

At that moment, no one, aside from Shadow, had noticed that Kaylin had a downcast expression on her face, while casting her eyes down to the floor.

"You're not gonna join them?" Shadow asked, causing Kaylin to have a sad smile on her face.

"No...I...Don't deserve being with them" She whispered.

"...Don't push yourself too hard. I already told you that he is in Vollachia, but he doesn't know that you're here in this world" Shadow said.

"I know, but...What will he say when we meet again? Will he still be hating me?" Kaylin asked.

"Kaylin Astrea...You're no longer your past self. You and Saki were reincarnated in this world, but unlike Saki, who reincarnated as her own self, you reincarnated in your parallel world self of this world here. You're no longer Miyuki Akagami. You're Kaylin Astrea" Shadow said.

"...The illegitimate daughter of that bastard" Kaylin hissed those words in hatred.

"He ain't here. However, he's gonna be at the Royal Castle for the Royal Selection Conference. It's his job after all, considering the fact that he's the Deputy Commander of the Royal Guards of this fucked up country" Shadow said.

"Heinkel Astrea...It's not about the mother of mine that I had from this world...This is personal...For both my lives here...And back there in my old world..." Kaylin whispered, her expression darkened with every word that she blurted out.

"Say, what's the reason for your visit?" Shadow asked Kaylin.

"Well, we wanted to see you of course, and also to tell you about the latest movements of Lust" Kaylin said, making sure to lower her voice while keeping an eye on Sakura, which didn't go unnoticed by Shadow.

"...I take it that this woman over there is acquainted with Lust, right?" Shadow asked, to which Kaylin nodded silently.

"I see. Mind giving me the full details later?" Shadow asked, to which Kaylin nodded silently once again.

"Incidentally, can you guys take us with you to the Capital? We have business to attend for" Subaru said so suddenly.

"Huh? It's about this lady called Emilia, right?" Saki asked.

"W-Well...Yeah...But she told us not to go. So I'm a little hesitant..." Subaru trailed in his speech.

"Betty will just have to go to, I suppose. Betty will say that she wanted to see the Capital and requested both Subaru and Shadow to accompany her, in fact" Beatrice butted in.

"Aww...Beako, you're the best!" Subaru exclaimed before lifting Beatrice up and hugging her.

"Hey! Don't hug Betty, I suppose! It's not like Betty doesn't like it, but it's not like that, I suppose!" Beatrice yelled in Subaru's embrace.

"...Make up your mind already" Shadow said with a sweatdrop.

"Hehehe...They sure do get along. Are you sure that they just got contracted?" Saki asked while giggling at the sight of Subaru and Beatrice cuddling with each other.

"Is that what mortals call 'Tsundere'?" Shadow asked.

"Y-Yeah...It actually is" Kaylin said while chuckling nervously.

"Anyways, if you guys want a lift, then up you go. The cart is just outside the mansion grounds" Saki said.

"Very well. Rem, Ram. You two come as well" Shadow said to the twins.

"Ram can't leave the mansion because Roswaal-sama might return at any time" Ram said, causing Shadow to look at her for a few seconds, then at Rem.

"...Rem, tell Raspberry that if she came with us right now, I promise that I'll help both of you in that thing that we talked about earlier" Shadow said, which caused Rem's eyes to widen slightly, before she turned to Ram and whispered something in her ear, which in turn caused Ram's eyes to widen for a second, before she closed her eyes and released a deep breath she didn't know that she was holding.

"...Very well, Shads. Frederica and Petra are with Otto-sama in the mansion and they can both handle the work anyways. And if you know what to do, then Ram will take you up on your offer" Ram said while bowing her head to Shadow.

"Heh...Shads and Barusu...It seems to me that Shadow-san and Subaru are treated uniquely here..." Saki said with a comical mischievous grin on her face directed to Shadow, who had an annoyed look as he took a puff from his vape.

"...She just changed our names to insults. How the fuck is that a unique treatment?" He grumbled out his words.

An hour later. The Royal Capital of Lugunica

"That was faster than last time..."

"...I still wish that I could use my Motorbike though"

"Well...Ninjas always move fast, y'know"

Subaru was in awe regarding the fact that they reached the Capital within an hour, where he reached the Capital a few hours ago in a much slower time, Shadow was simply complaining about not being able to use his bike again, and Saki was simply showing off her carriage riding skills.

"This is rather convenient for time saving. It's good. We have two hours before the Royal Selection Ceremony Conference begins" Ram said.

This caused Subaru to glance at Shadow, to which he nodded quietly, with Rem, Ram, Shaula and Beatrice doing the same as Subaru gave them the same glance as Shadow, as they all advanced towards the gates of the Capital. As they entered, Shadow called for both Kaylin and Saki.

"We're going to bring some things for Emilia. I'll go to the slums. Anyone to accompany me?" Shadow asked, to which Sakura raised her hand.

"I'll go with you. Can I? I want to go because I've got things to ask of you on our way, Shadow-san" She said.

"...Very well" Shadow said before casting a sideway glance towards Rem and Ram, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Nee-sama, let's go to buy some supplies for the mansion" Rem said to Ram, to which she nodded, before bowing to the others and taking their way to the main street.

"Alright. I wanna see the Capital because I didn't have time when I first arrived here. Say, Salum-san, mind joining us?" Subaru asked.

"...I'll pass. Thanks for the offer, though" Salum answered calmly.

"Oh come on, Salum. Not being able to unwind every once in a while might make you die from stress, you know. Just join them, and don't worry. Tiga, Saki and Kaylin are taking care of Melty" Pooka said, to which Salum looked at the Spirit with an annoyed look, before sighing in defeat.

"...Very well. Where are we going?" Salum asked.

"A restaurant near the Royal Castle. Shaula and Beako will accompany us too" Subaru answered.

"Very well" Salum said.

"Saki, Kaylin. You two wait for us there at the Royal Castle. We won't take long" Shadow said, causing the two girls to nod at him, before they witnessed the two groups departing.

"You think that they'll be alright?" Kaylin asked Saki.

"Don't worry about it. This is Shadow-san we're talking about. Also, you do realize that Subaru is also included. So there's nothing to fear, Miyuki" Saki answered, causing Kaylin to roll her eyes.

"...I thought I told you not to call me that anymore, Saki. It's Kaylin now" Kaylin said as she and Saki walked to the Royal Castle.

A few minutes later. With Subaru's group

"Subaru-dono...Why are we in the slums?"

"..."

Subaru, Beatrice and Shaula walked silently with Salum and Pooka tailing them as they walked to a deserted sight in the slums.

And after a few more minutes, the three suddenly stopped, causing Salum and Pooka to stop as well, before Subaru, Beatrice and Shaula turned towards the pair of Spirit and Contractor. Serious glares on their faces.

"Now then...Can you call off the bullshit and tell us the truth?" Subaru asked.

"What...?" Salum whispered his question.

"Betty can sense that this Spirit with you is an Artificial Spirit, in fact. However, Betty knows that its existence is impossible, I suppose" Beatrice added.

"W-What do you mean?" Pooka stuttered out her question, despite still holding her calm smile.

"Betty is one of the three Artificial Spirits to be ever created, in fact. Puckie and another Spirit, as well as Betty were the only Artificial Spirits that were created by Moth-The Witch of Greed, I suppose. And the Artificial Spirit known as Pooka was never one of us, I suppose" Beatrice said, glaring at Pooka.

"What do you mean? I'm a normal Spirit" Pooka objected to Beatrice's claims, but the Great Spirit of Yin still kept her stance firm.

"What Betty means that you, Pooka, are an Artificial Spirit that was created by someone else other than the Witch of Greed, in fact. Because the Witch of Greed died four hundred years ago after creating Betty, Puckie and the third Spirit, I suppose. So someone else created you, and Betty feels the Miasma of a Witch Factor emanating from you, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"Yeah! Shaula could also smell it too! The Miasma is thick! Yup~! This squirrel was created by an Authority! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed.

"An Authority that creates Artificial life forms...? That's really scary" Subaru muttered, glaring at both Salum and Pooka.

"Betty feels no hostility from the Contractor, in fact. But it seems that the Artificial Contracted Spirit Pooka is showing hostility to us, I suppose. Subaru, what is the best course of action?" Beatrice informed her party, before asking her partner for advice on the next move.

"If we can just talk it out and avoid fighting...Then that would be the best thing, but just to make sure, place a soundproof barrier around a large radius. Can you do that, Beako?" Subaru suggested, causing Beatrice to nod, before she raised one of her small arms above her head and opened her hand, muttering in a low voice.

"El Ruhe"

"?!"

And just then a white transparent dome instantly expanded from Beatrice and covered a 10 km radius. The dome disappeared just as it came shortly afterwards.

"What was that spell?" Subaru asked in amusement.

"A Yin spell that creates a dome that covers up to 10 km radius. The dome works on erasing sound on the specific designed area, in fact" Beatrice explained, which in turn caused Subaru to smirk as he took out his Naraka Whip from his waist, giving the whip a crack while he glared at both Salum and Pooka.

"Well. I'll just have to hear your explanation regarding that spell, because I've never heard about it before. However, right now, we have something else to do" Subaru said as he saw Salum suddenly grasping his head with both hands, grunting as if he was in pain.

"Sorry Salum, but Mother's orders are absolute..." Pooka muttered with a serious glare directed towards her three opponents. And just then, Salum was engulfed by some black energy of sorts, and shortly afterwards, the black energy adjusted itself into another entity that replaced Salum, the blackness fading to reveal the new figure.

It was a hulking figure that wore a yellow uniform with a black overcoat that touches the ground, black gloves and boots, and wore a total of eight masks that had several expressions that were attached to his cloak, with his entire face being wrapped with the cloth of his overcoat behind the mask that had a smirking face.

"Shaula, Beako. Try not to kill both of them. From what I've seen, Salum seems to be controlled by that squirrel. So be careful not to kill Salum, and also don't kill Pooka as we still need her for information" Subaru said.

"Right!" Both Shaula and Beatrice exclaimed with a grin on each of their faces.

"Aye! Time to test the Demon Magic Spells that I learned throughout the last three months!" Subaru exclaimed, giving his whip an extra crack.

[Guilty Gear STRIVE OST - Ky Kiske Theme - The Roar Of The Spark]

For a few seconds, both opposing sides were silent, before...

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion as Pooka fired out a massive Al Goa towards them, causing Shaula to retaliate with a Hell Snipe, causing the death beam of light to collide with the massive fire ball heading towards them, causing both attacks to be cancelled upon contact. And from within the smokescreen, The possessed Salum burst through, heading towards Subaru and his party.

"I, Wolf, shall incinerate all of you!" The newly named Wolf exclaimed as his extended his arm and his opened palm towards Subaru, who in turn noticed that said right arm had an eye on it.

"Watch it, Master!" Shaula shouted before firing another light beam from his finger, causing Wolf to jump back and avoid the light beam that made the smoke subside.

"Flaemis! Aquanos! Aeros! Erthys!"

"?!"

The four names exclaimed loudly in Subaru's voice echoed out loud, yet no one in the distance of 10 km away from Subaru could ever hear it due to the El Ruhe spell that Beatrice casted. However, aside from that, Four humanoid figures appeared floating around Subaru. One was red as if it was made from flames, One was blue and looked as if it was made from water, One was green and appeared to have small currents of wind circling its form, and the last one was yellow and appeared to be made out of a large spiky lump of rock, with what appeared to be electricity crackles dancing around its body.

"Let's start with some Demon Spells and Demon Summoning!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Agi!" Flaemis called out, before shooting a small fire ball from its fluid-shaped arms towards Wolf, only for said person to use suddenly show the ability to absorb the approaching attack by opening the palm that had the third eye in it, to which the spell was immediately absorbed and the fire ball vanished.

"That's an Evil Eye Tribe member, in fact" Beatrice said while gritting her small teeth.

"I read about those. Aren't those the people that holds some mysterious abilities resembling Divine Protections that they hold access to through an additional third eye on their body?" Subaru asked, causing Beatrice to nod, not taking her eyes off their enemies.

"Beako!" Subaru yelled out before snatching the loli Spirit from the ground, saving her from the fire ball fired by Pooka at her direction.

"Sneaky little pest" Subaru hissed his reply at Pooka.

"Let Betty take her down, in fact. Subaru and Shaula should focus on the Evil Eye Tribe member, I suppose" Beatrice said as Subaru placed her down on the ground once again.

"Are you sure, Beako?" Subaru asked in concern for his newly contracted Spirit.

"Hmph! You underestimate Betty, in fact! Let Betty show you her full glory, I suppose!" Beatrice exclaimed before raising her arm once again, and the next thing that happened was the appearance of 30 purple stakes of Mana hovering above the heads of Subaru and Beatrice.

"Minya!"

"El Goa!"

In unison, both Beatrice and Pooka launched their attacks, with Pooka firing out fire arrows that were the same number as Beatrice's stakes of Yin Mana, causing the two opposing attacks to cancel out each other.

"Uh...Okay. I think you can fair off yourself for quite some time. Just tell me if you need any help and I'll send either one of my Demons or Shaula for assistance" Subaru said before focusing his sight on Wolf.

"Hmph! Like Betty said, you underestimate her, I suppose!" Betty exclaimed with a grin, before creating even more Minya stakes to repel the fire balls coming towards her from Pooka.

"Hell Snipe!" Shaula exclaimed before firing beams of light at Wolf, only for the entity to dodge skillfully. He then took out a mask of his own collection, and placed it on his face, and that mask held a smug smirk on it.

"Boohoo~. Ya missed me, bimbo jack! Gotta do better than that if ya wan' ta hit me! Na na na na na!" Wolf called out to Shaula in a rather childish manner from behind his mask, infuriating Shaula even further, which in turn caused her to fire even more beams of light, but Wolf just simply dodged from the way rather easily, laughing and mocking Shaula, angering her even more. Shaula then blinked in surprise when a whip lash caused Wolf to be distracted. Shaula saw this as an opportunity, and in response, wasted no time and fired multiple beams of light towards Wolf, only for him to use his Evil Eye to absorb the attack.

"That's strange" Beatrice said while continuing to trade attacks with Pooka.

"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.

"This kind of Evil Eye must be the Evil Eye of Avarice, which allows its user to absorb Mana from the opponent, and even upcoming Magic attacks, but I can sense some kind of force field around him, in fact" Beatrice answered, conjuring a barrier around her to protect her from a fire ball fired at her by Pooka.

"Barrier, eh? Let me handle this" Subaru said, before activating Royal Judge, causing time to skid to a halt as his left eye became completely blind white. Subaru then focused on Wolf.

[Name: Salum Pristis/Wolf]

[Type: Living]

[Age: 23]

[Classification: Evil Eye Tribe Member]

[Explanation: An Evil Eye Tribe Member that is plagued with a Split Personality Disorder. Currently, his sister is in danger because Capella Emerada Lugunica, The Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Lust, has sealed her throat, preventing her from eating normally, where she has to be fed through Mana Injection, a method that only Sakura Elemental, one of Lust's so-called 'children', can provide. Upon knowing that Salum's sister is a Royal Candidate for the 42nd throne of Lugunica, Lust took this opportunity to threaten Salum and Melty, sending them in order to kill off the Royal Candidates]

[Magic]

1. Goa (Spirit Arts): The user unleashes a blaze that turns the victim to ashes.

2. El Goa (Spirit Arts): The user fires multiple arrows of fire at the opponent. The amount of arrows depend on the amount of Mana used on casting the spell.

3. Ul Goa (Spirit Arts): The user fires a large amount of powerful fire bullets. A powerful flame scatters when the bullets land.

4. Al Goa (Spirit Arts): The user lets loose a massive fireball, scorching away everything in its path. The bigger the caster's skill, the fireball hotter and bigger the fireball.

[Special Abilities]

- Evil Eye of Avarice: An Evil Eye that can steal mana from an individual or the area around the user. Steal too much mana and the user could kill the individual. The user can also drain upcoming magic attacks.

[Rune Stone Skill]

- The Preta Path: A Rune Stone Skill that allows the user to create a force field to absorb any kind of energy source, be it Mana or any other arcane source of energy. The field can be either big enough to engulf the user, or can be big enough to engulf both the user and his allies, no matter how many allies there are. The user can also conjure the force field around specific people if they want.

Subaru closed his left eye, deactivating his Authority, causing time to return to its flow.

"This guy...Holds a Rune Stone Skill...Just like Natsumi..." Subaru whispered.

"What, I wonder?" Beatrice asked while blocking Pooka's attacks, causing Subaru to look at Beatrice.

"Beatrice! You deal with Pooka! I have a plan to take down that guy!" Subaru exclaimed before turning to Shaula.

"Shaula! Don't fire Magic at him! Use brute force!" Subaru yelled to the humanoid Mabeast, causing her to stop firing the light beams, and look at her Master.

"You got it, Master! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed with a cheerful smile, before turning towards Wolf, a toothy grin plastered on her face as she cracked her fists, before slamming her fists together, causing a small shockwave to erupt from the point of impact between her fists.

"Aight! I'll show you a performance of power far more greater than Brock Lesnar himself! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed, before charging towards Wolf.

"How the hell do you know that?!" Subaru yelled at her, but she just focused on the fight, with Subaru groaning at her before sprinting towards her to join the fight.

Upon closing at her opponent, Shaula swung a right hook at Wolf, who proceeded to dodge, before extending his left hand towards her, only for his eyes to instantly turn to ice. He looked in shock from behind his mask, only to see Subaru with his whip in his hand, a grin plastered on his face.

"Oh whatever!" Wolf yelled out before a massive spherical field expanded from him, engulfing both Subaru and Shaula. Not a moment later, Subaru and Shaula gasped as the Mana inside of their bodies was forcibly sucked. Subaru gritted his teeth as he tried to power through the sensation of sleep. The sleep that will be followed by Death, which will result in Last Second Resort to be triggered, something that the white haired boy didn't want to right now.

"Sorry! But you ain't killing us!" Subaru yelled before his four Elemental Race Demons appeared around him, and not a second later, each one of them glowed intensely.

"Agi!"

"Bufu!"

"Zan!"

"Zio!"

Flaemis, Aquanos, Aeros and Erthys fired their respective spells that were, while low-tier, the weakest tier of the Demon Magic Spells, when combined together, they created a considerable devastation that not even the strongest of mages can escape, and even if they did, they will still have grievous, fatal, life-threatening injuries.

However...

"Ha! Useless!"

"?!"

The field that expanded from Wolf proceeded to immediately absorb the Magic spells. Subaru knew that even with the four spells fired together in unison, he couldn't bypass the field that absorbed Magic, so that meant that their opponent was nigh-invincible.

Keyword: Nigh-invincible.

"Invisible Providence!"

"?!"

Just then, Wolf gasped as an invisible force of some sorts slammed into his stomach, knocking all the air from his lungs, causing him to lose concentration to the point that his control over the abosrption force field was disturbed and it was deactivated.

"Time to teach ya a lesson!" Subaru exclaimed, before charging at him with Shaula beside him as well. Wolf gritted his teeth from behind both the mask and the cloth wrapped around his entire head. He then used his frozen arm to block the swing from Shaula's transformed scorpion claw that was directed towards him. The attack contacted with his frozen limb causing the ice to immediately shatter, freeing his arm in the process.

"Ha! Fools! Time to end this!" Wolf yelled, sensing that victory is finally within arm's reach.

"Yeah right!"

"?!"

Suddenly, Wolf witnessed as Subaru suddenly teleported in front of him, where he had no time to react as Subaru took out his Dark Elf dagger that he was secretly hiding in his pocket instead of the Space Store to intercept such moment whenever faced in close combat. Wolf had no time to react as Subaru stabbed his Evil Eye that was in his left hand with his dagger, causing blood to splatter from the impact, and for Wolf to wince as his Evil Eye was taken from him.

"Tch! Damn you!" Wolf cursed, but then gasped as Shaula slammed her fist into his face, shattering his mask and sending him flying. However, he didn't have time to take his backwards flight as Subaru skillfully caught him with his whip, before dragging him back, and just as he was about to close at them, Shaula slammed her foot into his stomach, causing him to cough out blood from behind his clothed face, before he was slammed into the ground by Subaru swinging his whip downwards, creating a small crater in the process.

"Alright! Let's end this!" Subaru exclaimed, withdrawing Naraka Whip and Dark Elf, before he jumped backwards a few steps back. He then extended his arm and opened his arm, before the four Elemental Demons started circling around his arm, shrinking enough to do so, as their respective elements spun beautifully around Subaru's arm, before the four colors of fire, ice, wind and lightning mixed into a light gray color with a hint of dark purple. The energy of Almighty Demon Magic gathered in Subaru's palm, waiting to be launched.

"Our Powers Are For Our Master To Use! Use It To Walk Forward Fearless!" The four Demons exclaimed, before Subaru proclaimed the name of his attack.

"Desperation!"

A massive explosion engulfed Wolf, covering a diameter worth of 5 km, and while the explosion appeared to have the slums blown off the map, no one noticed a thing due to the El Ruhe spell concealing both sound and perception.

The smoke of the explosion faded, revealing Salum lying face first, unconscious in the center of the crater that resulted from the explosion, and Wolf having disappeared into thin air.

"I'm sorry for this, man...I promise that we'll help you and your sister..." Subaru muttered sadly, before he suddenly felt the temperature going up to unimaginable degrees, his throat going dry at a rapid pace, and the humidity rising to unbearable levels.

"What the...?" He whispered his confusion, unable to properly take his breath, with bullets of sweat falling from his entire body. He then looked to where Beatrice, only for his eyes to widen in disbelief.

Right in front of him was a building-sized squirrel with crimson, glowing red eyes, streams of fire dancing around its behemoth form.

"No way...Pooka?" Subaru whispered in shock, and just then, memories of the hulking form of Puck appeared in Subaru's mind, remembering how that selfish Spirit that didn't want to admit to his own mistakes, froze everyone around him upon him freezing Emilia, blaming Subaru for her Death, despite the fact that it was his fault. This scene installed fear in Subaru ever since then...

"Grrrrrr...!"

...But above all, it placed unimaginable anger within him upon remembering the bastard of a Spirit.

While he indeed hated him from his guts, Subaru knew that Puck was an irreplaceable ally. His powers would come in handy along the road. But if only he could use his powers when needed, not when Emilia is already dead. Subaru also saw that Puck was a pathetic lowlife, as he immediately blamed Subaru for her Death back in his first loop at the loot house, even though it was Puck was the one that froze her to Death back then.

Such frustration and anger were boiling inside of Subaru, and he wanted to get it out.

"Beatrice!" Subaru called out to his contracted Spirit as he and Shaula ran towards her.

"Subaru! This is bad! Pooka had reached the levels of Puckie at full power, in fact! It will be impossible to take her down now, I suppose!" Beatrice exclaimed, desperately trying to hold her barrier to protect herself, but Subaru soon knew that she will eventually run out of Mana.

"I know. I felt the extreme levels of Mana. I experienced it before after all" Subaru said, causing Beatrice to look at him with wide eyes.

"Huh...What...?" Beatrice asked in shock.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Berserk Pooka's roar alerted Subaru and the two females with him. And not a few seconds later, a massive Al Goa found itself being fired towards them.

"No! Betty won't be able to defend from that because of her current depleted Mana level!" Beatrice thought in panic, fearing that she, her contractor and her contractor's companion would have a flaming Death.

However...

"King And I!"

"?!"

Just then, Subaru blurted out the name that came into his mind, and not a second later, massive snowmen with a cartoonish clown-shaped faces came descending like rain at the battlefield. One snowman descended in between the fire ball and Subaru's group, blocking the fire ball, and upon contact, the fire ball disappeared into steam as the snowman's frost was more overwhelming than the scorch of the fire ball, causing it to dissipate as if someone blew on a match stick. The rest of the snowmen fell like rain on Pooka's hulking form, and with each snowman falling, a small portion of her huge body was freezing.

In a desperate attempt, Pooka's berserk form made a mad dash towards Subaru's group, and the snowmen kept falling and aiming at her, freezing her even further. Subaru gritted his teeth, as he didn't have anything else to do. So all that he did is to pick Beatrice up and hug her with one arm, before wrapping his other arm around Shaula, as if hugging them out of harm's way.

"You're not harming them!" Subaru yelled as Pooka still charged towards them, which caused Subaru to close his eyes shut, bracing himself for the incoming Death, with Beatrice clenching on his clothes with her small hands, tightly closing her eyes as well. Shaula also hugged Subaru tightly, a tear falling from her eye.

And then...

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence.

Nothing came. Pain didn't come. Death didn't come.

Subaru could still feel Shaula and Beatrice's warm embrace around him, so that meant that he didn't Last Second Retreat.

Slowly opening his eyes, Subaru finally realized the reason.

Pooka was inches from them, but she was completely frozen, her teeth merely inches away from Subaru's face.

Seeing this, Subaru released out a breath he didn't know that he was holding. Beatrice and Shaula also noticed this, releasing sighs of relief as well.

However, the moment of relief was short-lived, as the frozen hulking form of Pooka suddenly had cracks on the ice. Subaru gasped upon realizing that the squirrel Spirit was trying to thaw herself from the ice.

"Shaula! Back away!" Subaru exclaimed, causing the humanoid Mabeast to grab Subaru, who was still holding Beatrice in his arm, before jumping a few meters away from the monster that released itself from the ice, causing chunks of ice to fly away, but instead of the berserk, building-sized squirrel, Pooka, in her small squirrel form emerged from the aftermath, albeit she was completely exhausted, glaring tiredly at the trio.

"You...Time to die..." Pooka said, before shooting an Al Goa towards Subaru, Shaula and Beatrice. Subaru was now clueless. Even if he used the same spell that he used from earlier, his Gate is already shattered once again, and he was afraid that if he used Beatrice as his Gate to execute the spell once again, he might kill her from Mana exhaustion. So he hugged both of the two girls again, silently promising himself to do better.

However...

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Is that really the person that defeated me?"

"?!"

A familiar voice echoed. It was the same voice that Subaru heard three months ago. He couldn't believe his ears. How did he get out of the Space Store?

He opened his eyes, and his thoughts were confirmed.

Right in front of him was Petelgeuse...Or Geuse, with a wall of sand that blocked Pooka's fire ball.

"...Geuse?" Beatrice whsipered in shock upon seeing the familiar man, who simply turned around to look at her, on his face was a gentle smile.

"Beatrice-sama...It's been so long" Geuse said gently as the sand wall fell down, and Pooka's small form charged towards them, and she looked extremely angry, with fire engulfing her, making her appear like a fire ball.

"I shall kill you!" Pooka yelled, which in turn made Geuse turn around to face her approaching form, his expression changing from a gentle smile to a calm and cold scowl, before he placed his left hand on his right bicep, pointing his opened right palm at Pooka's charging form.

"Sand Prison!"

"?!"

And upon roaring his attack out, Geuse summoned sand from thin air. The sand surrounded Pooka in the form of a giant sphere of sand, and it was completely closed to the point that not even a sliver of light could enter it from inside, making it impossible for Pooka to escape.

Geuse was about to clench his opened palm when...

"Wait, Geuse!" Subaru called out, causing Geuse to avert his eyes to the side to listen silently to Subaru, not turning his head from his target.

"Don't kill her! We still need her for information!" Subaru exclaimed, which caused Geuse to sigh, before turning his eyes to his target that was trapped into the sphere of sand.

"Very well" He quietly muttered, before spreading his arms wide to his sides, causing two massive claws of sand to appear at the sides of the sphere of sand.

"Sand Burial!" He exclaimed before swinging his arms in front of his chest, causing the two sand claws to rocket towards the sphere of sand, before they slammed into it, crushing the sphere of sand and causing a shockwave that carried sand with it to erupt from the point of contact, causing Subaru to cover his face with his arm, while the other arm was holding Beatrice.

And after this happened, Pooka fell to the floor, lying unconscious in the sandy floor.

"It is done. Thank you" Geuse said calmly before bowing towards the defeated Pooka.

[Music Ends]

"Geuse..." Beatrice whispered as she released herself from Subaru's embrace, and walked towards the former Sin Archbishop of Sloth, who smiled warmly and knelt towards her.

"Beatrice-sama..." He whispered, with tears rolling down his eyes.

"Oh! It's Crybaby Geuse! Are you now sane enough to talk?!" Shaula exclaimed cheerfully as she also approached Geuse, whose eyes widened before even more tears fell and his face was an entire mess that resembled a waterfall of tears. Beatrice then marched to him with a gentle smile and hugged his head closer to her chest, stroking his chest as tears rolled down her face.

"It's okay Geuse...Betty is also glad that you're here too, in fact..." Beatrice whispered, with Shaula joining in, gently patting Geuse's back with her cheerful smile still on her face.

"Uh...Okay...I could leave you guys for a few minutes if you want..." Subaru said, unsure of what to say.

BOOM!

"?!"

Just then, a massive explosion erupted from the other side of the slums, causing everyone to look at that direction.

"That must be Shadow! We must go and aid him!" Subaru exclaimed, before looking at Geuse.

"You're going with us too, right, Geuse? We'll talk later about what happened three months ago, but for now, are you gonna help or not?" Subaru asked, to which Geuse nodded immediately, followed by both Beatrice and Shaula nodding to the white-haired boy, before they sprinted towards their next destination.

However, as they were approaching their other allies, something was bugging Geuse as he was looking at Subaru.

"He looks rather familiar...Where have I seen him before...?"

An hour ago. With Shadow

"Is that our destination, Shadow-san?"

"...Yes. It is"

Upon Sakura asking this, both her and Shadow stopped in the middle of an area in secluded part of the slums.

"Tell me, Shadow-san...Is it true that you repelled lots of invasion attempts at Irlam Village from Gusteko's infamous Assassination Organization?" Sakura asked, looking at Shadow's back with narrowed eyes.

"...Yes" Shadow answered calmly.

"Is it also true that you know about the identity of the leader of the Assassination Organization?" Sakura asked again, where unbeknownst to her, a small smile flashed on Shadow's lips.

"...Yes. Capella Emerada Lugunica, the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Lust" Shadow answered.

"Is it also true that-"

"Is it true that you were sent by Capella to take me down?"

"?!"

Upon being interrupted by that question that came from Shadow, Sakura recoiled back slightly with a shocked face. It was soon replaced by her calm expression.

"Yes and no. It is true that Mother has sent me for you, but she just wanted me to secure you to her. So if you know what's good for both you and your companions, then please come peacefully" Sakura said.

"Is that a threat?" Shadow asked.

"Take it as you like, but those are Mother's orders, and her orders are absolute" Sakura shot back her answer, where lots of wasps suddenly appeared and gathered around Sakura.

"Why does Capella want me?" Shadow asked.

"She said that she's interested in you. That's all I know" Sakura answered.

"...And if I refused?" Shadow asked, his hand already tapping the hilt of Dawn Ballad.

"Then I'll have to take you to Gusteko by force" Sakura answered once again as the wasps started to gather around her in massive quantities, which in turn caused Shadow to sigh.

"...Mankind...Nay...Mortals..." He whispered before grabbing the hilt of his sheathed sword.

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Mortals knew that they cannot change society. So instead of reflecting on themselves, they blamed the Beasts..." He said as he proceeded to unsheath his sword slowly, before taking out the last bit of his blade in a swift and fast motion.

"Heaven Or Hell" He said glaring at Sakura, who for some reason felt a little tense.

"Ul Huma!"

"El Fura!"

"?!"

Just then, two voices called out the names of their spells, and that caused Sakura to use her wasps as a shield to protect herself from the two surprise attacks, and around half of the wasps were obliterated by the mixture of icicles and wind blades. Sakura gritted her teeth upon seeing both Rem and Ram landing on their feet in front of her, on both sides of Shadow.

"Shadow-kun. Sorry to keep you waiting" Rem said, not taking her eyes off Sakura.

"We wanted to finish her off by that attack. Unfortunately, we will have to resort to the hard way" Ram said, brandishing her wand.

"An additional force? How did you-?!" Sakura asked about the sudden anticipation, before gasping in realization, and then gritted her teeth.

"Those damn bitches..." She spat her words as if they were venom.

"Nobody talks trash of my companions and gets away with it" Shadow said calmly. He then saw Sakura spreading her arms to her sides, causing additional massive amounts of wasps to emerge from her body.

"Alright girls. A word of advice..." Shadow said, to which the girls looked at him from the corners of their eyes.

"Cast your fears aside" Shadow said, as the three of them took their fighting stances with their respective weapons.

[Krewella OST -Nightcore Version - Come And Get It]

The swarm of wasps shot towards the trio, which in turn caused Shadow to make a beeline towards it, before swinging his sword in a fluid motion at them, destroying the wasps. To everyone's eyes, it appeared that he was dancing elegantly, even Sakura, the enemy was at awe at this for a brief moment before focusing once again.

"Such petulance and persistence!" She shouted, sending even more wasps. Rem then swung Frost Maul, causing its head that was connected to the handle by a long chain to fly towards Sakura, only for the wasps to protect her. However, the wasps instantly froze upon the contact of the hammer head with them.

"What?" Sakura gasped in shock.

"Pay attention to your surroundings!" Ram exclaimed, before swinging her wand, causing invisible winds of blades to be shot towards the wasps, shredding a handful of them on impact.

"Rem! Flames!" Shadow called out as he was slaying wasps around him. Rem, in response, picked a fist-sized rock. She then took a deep breath, before using her Rune Stone Skill to channel heat towards the rock, heating it until it became completely white.

Rem's Rune Stone Skill, Thermo-Operator, gives her the ability to manipulate temperature to her liking. She can heat objects to the point of making them hotter than a supernova, and can freeze objects to make them colder than Russian Winter. By freezing objects to Russian Winter temperatures, one can induce frostbite and flash-freezing. However, by heating objects to supernova heat levels, the result will be...

"Take this!" Rem exclaimed before throwing the rock at Sakura, who was still protected by the wasps.

"Futile! I can simply create infinite amounts of the wasps that Mother gave me! What's a rock going to-"

BOOM!

"?!"

And upon the contact of the rock with the wasp, a nuclear explosion found itself erupting right in Sakura's face, engulfing both her and her protective wasps completely. After a few minutes, the aftermath of the explosion faded, revealing the wasps around Sakura to have been annihilated. Sakura herself, while having survived, didn't escape unscathed, as her clothes were completely in tatters, and half of her face was burned and scorched to a nasty brown color.

"Bastard..." She spat while glaring at the trio, before suddenly gasping and falling to her knees, alerting Shadow, Rem and Ram.

"Ugh...Gah...No! Mother! Wait! I can...Still fight! I can defeat them!" Sakura gasped as she spat saliva with each word she blurted out. She looked like as if she was in pain. Suddenly, her entire body shone light, blinding the trio and causing them to cover their eyes. A couple of seconds later, the light faded, and the trio gasped at what they just saw.

It looked like a light black, house-sized face with around five hollow holes in it, two for the eyes, one for the mouth and the other two holes were located underneath the mouth. The head of the face had a massive bundle of dark blue hair, and six tentacles appeared from its form, three from the holes of his mouth and the holes underneath its mouth, and the other three protruded from holes located at its hair-filled head.

"Shadow-kun...What is that?" Rem asked, her eyes wide in horror.

"That's...A Demon" Shadow said from behind his gritted teeth.

"I Am Lahmu. I Am Here To Seek What's Originally Mine..." The Demon introduced itself, before noticing the trio in front of him, and then directed his attention at Shadow.

"Ah...A Highest, And A Zero-Class At That...I Was Seeking On Taking My Knowledge...But It Will Not Harm If I Take The Power Of A Highest At That!" Lahmu exclaimed, before suddenly, he threw his tentacles at Shadow, in an attempt to capture him. However, Ram came in time and swung her wand at the tentacles.

"Ul Fura!" She yelled before a plethora of wind blades burst from the tip of Ram's wand, intercepting the blades, slicing two of them down, and Lahmu was roaring in pain from the impact.

"Imbecile Mortal! How Dare You Harm My Magnificent Self?!" Lahmu roared out in anger before the weather around him started to grow colder.

"Bufula!" He exclaimed before a trail of ice raced towards the trio, to which Ram prepared for another spell, only to gasp as she fell to her knees while clutching her stomach, specifically where her Gate is, having realized that she had just hit her Mana limit.

"Ram!" Shadow called out before running towards her, positioning himself in front of her with his sword gripped with both hands.

"Aerial Number: Black Wind Mountain Mist!" Shadow called out before swinging his sword in an upwards slash, releasing an arching slash of wind towards the icicle trail traveling. The two attacks collided, causing a massive explosion of both mist and wind. Lahmu took this chance and lashed his tentacles from behind the curtain of mist at the trio.

"Holy Number: Blinding Severance!" Shadow's voice roared out from the other side, before a horizontal arc of white light traveled towards Lahmu, severing two more of his tentacles, causing the Demon to roar out in pain. He then recoiled away when Rem's Frost Maul's hammer head came flying towards him, hitting him square in his face-shaped body. This gave Shadow the chance to charge from the mist, causing wind to blow around him, dispersing the mist away from the battlefield. Shadow then jumped towards him in the air.

"Imaginary Number: Hundred Steps Fence!" He exclaimed before a huge blue-white energy rod found itself manifesting in Shadow's free hand, before he threw it downwards at Lahmu. The rod then multiplied instantly to a hundred rod of the same size, before it pierced Lahmu, causing the Demon to grunt as he was pierced and pinned to the ground. The Demon then gasped as Shadow landed downwards at him, curbstomping his face and causing a crater to appear beneath Lahmu's pinned body.

"Jiwald"

"?!"

Lahmu gasped in pain as a beam of light pierced one of his two remaining tentacles.

"Jiwald"

"?!"

Another beam of light fired out from Shadow's finger, annihilating Lahmu's remaining tentacle. Shadow then jumped back a few meters. He then held Dawn Ballad in a reverse grip, before slowly releasing its grip on it, to which it surprisingly levitated in front of him. He then lightly hit on the bottom of the blade, causing it to spin in front of him like a fan. After a few seconds of spinning, Shadow grapped the hilt back in a sudden motion, grasping it in a reverse grip.

"Aerial Number: Vigorous Tempest!" He roared out before a powerful, widening blast of wind fired out from his blade, engulfing Lahmu, making the Demon roar in pain as he was unable to break from the energy rods pinning him to the ground. The tornado lasted for a few minutes, shredding Lahmu completely, causing the Demon to nearly disperse to Magatsuhi, barely holding himself through sheer willpower. The tornado faded shortly after a few minutes, leaving Lahmu in a really bad state.

"Lahmu's weaknesses is Wind and Light Magic. Even the Magic system of this world, while inferior to the Demon Magic system, is still effective and deals nearly the same damage" Shadow said to both Rem and Ram, where the latter was already exhausted, with the former helping her on her feet. This caused Shadow to sigh.

"I see...I'll take care of the rest you too. Don't push yourself too hard" Shadow said, before he saw Lahmu finally breaking free of the energy rods pinning him down to the ground.

"Y-You..." Lahmu gasped his word at Shadow, before suddenly, something white that looked like a rope, with something weird attached to it came out from Lahmu's mouth hole. To Shadow and the two girls, it looked like an oversized sperm with freakish short hands and legs.

"This Is My Trump Card, Highest! I Shall Show You How Awesome I Can Be!" Lahmu exclaimed before the humanoid sperm-like thing started gathering Magatsuhi, causing it to twitch uncontrollably, glowing bright red by the second, and once it was completely crimson red in color...

"Silt Of Ruin!"

"?!"

And upon Lahmu roaring out his strongest attack, the strange entity protruding from his mouth fired a greyish white thin beam of Almighty Magic towards both Shadow and the two Oni girls behind him. This caused Rem to hug her sister protectively, while Shadow simply looked at the beam approaching them with a cold bored look on his face, before sighing in annoyance.

"They never learn, do they?" Shadow asked no one in particular, before raising his sword, still held in a reverse grip, in front of his face, before placing his free hand on the edge of the blade, while his other hand was gripping on the hilt.

And as the beam of energy approaching him, being mere inches away from him.

"Imaginary Number: Divine Eight Mirror Sword"

"?!"

And upon the energy beam making contact with the blade of Dawn Ballad, it was all over.

"..."

Lahmu stayed silent, not even uttering a word. It was all silent. The fall of a pin would be heard from here.

"...It is done" Shadow muttered before turning around and slowly sheathing his sword, and right behind him, the final outcome was revealed.

Lahmu was pierced in eight different spots from the reflected beam that Shadow's spell has reflected at him.

Imaginary Number: Divine Eight Mirror Sword.

One of the most powerful spells, combining absolute offense and defense in one. The moment of contact of either a projectile or an energy beam in Lahmu's case with a solid object, the attack is instantly reflected on the opponent, dividing into eight, hitting the opponent into eight different directions without fail, ensuring the bypassing of all kinds of defenses, slaughtering the enemy with their own power without fail.

"H-HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHEST!" Lahmu roared, and with the last of his power, made a mad dash towards Shadow, who casually turned around for him, his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to finish him off.

However...

"...Huh?"

Suddenly, a blur passed from beside Shadow, heading towards Lahmu. On closer inspection, it was...

"Ram!" Shadow yelled out to the pink haired Oni maid, but she didn't even pay any mind to his call. Shadow felt a massive surge of power emanating from Ram. A power that could rival a First-Class Highest. A little more than a few seconds, and Shadow realized what Ram was doing.

"She's using the power of her horn!" Shadow exclaimed, having realized that she was about to kill herself with that action.

However, Ram pressed forward, a pseudo-horn finding itself on her forehead where her original horn was. She roared out, using the power that she long lost, breaking her shackles, even if she knew that something like that could kill her, she still did it. For the sake of her pride...For the sake of her sister...For the sake of everything she holds dear...

And for the sake of...

"Huh..."

The image of a certain black-haired man with a weird outfit and a seemingly fixated scowl appeared in front of her. In her mindscape, Ram saw herself, while being young, looking at the black-haired man. Her horn having been torn in front of her, and her sister being on her knees behind her with her face riddled in tears.

Ram was gritting her teeth, her small, child body was shaking due to the fatigue of having lost her horn. And suddenly, the man's face sported a smile that replaced his scowl.

"...You're the only one that gave Ram true hope in only a short time..."

But it wasn't a normal smile. It wasn't a smile of evil. It wasn't a smile of desire. It was completely unlike the smile that she saw Roswaal give her every time she came to his service, and every time she went for their own private sessions of transferring Mana to her body.

It was a gentle and kind smile.

"...If it was you that gave your hand to Ram and Rem at that time...Would it have been different...?"

He extended her hand to her, and slowly, but surely, the cild version of Ram extended her own small had to him, followed by Ram herself turning to the child version of Rem extending her hand to her, to which Rem took immediately, trusting her sister, before the three walked away.

"From the moment that she met you...Ram just wanted to tell you...That she...No...That I, Ram...Just like Rem for you...Have..."

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And as the mindscape faded into bright light, the scene changed to Ram charging forth with all of her might at Lahmu.

Lahmu, who have thrown his full weight at the blind charge that he made, couldn't stop himself as Ram thrusted her arm, with her hand placed in a claw-like motion, piercing through Lahmu. Her arm didn't meet any resistance, as Ram's thrust immediately made a massive hole into Lahmu's body, before she landed on the other side on her knees, not moving as Lahmu's body was completely frozen right behind her back.

"Ah...I see...A Highest...And The Oni God Herself...To Think...That I was...So...Foolish..." Lahmu's last words echoed as his entire body rapidly vanished in crimson red Magatsuhi, scattering into thin air, before Sakura dropped after Lahmu completely vanished, falling face first to the ground.

The Battle...Was Over.

[Music Ends]

"Nee-sama!" Rem yelled as she ran towards Ram, who fell on the ground with a pool of blood increasingly forming underneath her. Rem then took her in her arms, trying to wake her up, tears forming in her eyes as she yelled her name.

Shadow ran towards them as well and knelt to Ram to examine her. He then gritted his teeth afterwards, before closing his eyes and averting his face away from Rem, who looked at him with tears staining her face.

"Shadow...kun...?" She whispered, her heart filled with fear and horror at what Shadow might tell her next.

"Hey what happen-?! Oh shit..." At that moment, Subaru, accompanied by Shaula, Beatrice, and Geuse who was holding a bed of sand that was floating in the air which had the unconscious Salum and Pooka on it, arrived at the scene, only to witness the outcome. Beatrice placed a hand on her mouth with wide eyes, Geuse silently looked with an expression of grief on his face, and Shaula was wide eyed, tears rolling down her face as she saw the dead Ram, the one who at least verbally helped her a couple of hours ago to reaffirm her own self and to have more self-trust, lying emotionlessly in a pool of her own blood, held by her younger sister that was hysterically calling for her to no avail.

"...Why...?"

"?!"

Shadow heard the whispers of someone familiar behind him. He turned his head around to see Sakura, still burned, battered and bruised, but still alive nevertheless, standing on her own shaky feet.

"Why did she...Throw herself for you...? You...Didn't need any help...You could have...Taken that abomination down...All by yourself..." Sakura coughed out her words due to the lack of oxygen in her lungs.

"..." Shadow simply stared at her, not uttering a word, before turning his head towards the sad scene of a girl losing the last member of her family, becoming completely alone. He then saw from the corner of his eye that Subaru was holding Dark Elf to his throat with a shaky hand.

"He's planning to rewind..." Shadow thought.

"Why...Just...Why...? Why did this Oni...Threw herself to Death's embrace...Why did she do that despite knowing that she's going to die...Why did she have that look that Elsa had whenever she tried to protect that Mabeast controlling kid...?" Sakura kept on barraging Shadow with questions, not caring that Rem was literally wailing at the dead body of her elder twin sister, with everyone else grieving her silently.

Suddenly, Shadow's expression changed from a sad stare to a look of determination.

"...Because she wanted to. Simple as that" Shadow answered all of Sakura's questions, causing the spy to gasp and her eyes becoming wide in shock, as she saw Shadow approaching Rem and Ram. Rem then noticed this and looked at Shadow, who stood silently in front of her.

"Shadow-kun...?" Rem called her name, tears still staining her buffy eyes. She then saw as Shadow silently marched towards Subaru, before grabbing his hand that held the dagger positioned to slice his own throat.

"...I can bring her back" Shadow muttered, but they didn't go unheard by everyone, including Sakura herself.

"H-How, I wonder? She's dead, I suppose. The only spell in the world to revive back the dead is the Immortal King's Sacrament, in fact. But even so, not even Karsten's Knight, the best healer in the Capital, could execute it right to fully revive people. It will only reanimate her to a mindless zombie, I suppose" Beatrice said, clenching her small fists, silently cursing her uselessness at such a dire situation.

"...Who said that I'll use that spell?" Shadow asked, alerting everyone at this.

"What do you mean?! Do you happen to have an Arcane Magic Spell that can resurrect the dead?!" Subaru asked, completely desperate for any chance to bring back Ram.

"While something like that does exist, there is another way. Another system of Magic that fits the equivalent of Water Magic of this world" Shadow answered, to which Subaru gasped in realization.

"You mean...Demon Magic Spells do have these stuff?!" Subaru asked in shock, causing Shadow to raise an eyebrow at his stunned stance.

"Honestly, Subaru. I may not have told you about it, but you should know already...Any kind of Magic system must have a Healing Magic basis, no matter what the method might be" Shadow said, before approaching Ram's body, which was being held by the grieving Rem.

"...I promised you, didn't I?" Shadow asked while looking at Ram's body, before closing his eyes. He then held a handsign with his right hand positioned in front of his chest, before extending out both his pointer and middle finger towards the sky. He then started muttering.

"hifumi yoimu naya kokonotari..."

As he started chanting, the air shifted around the entire world, each and every single being could feel it, even higher beings of existence could feel the Mana drawn from the Tree of Knowledge to execute a forbidden spell.

"...furube...yurayurato furube"

And upon finishing his chant, Shadow swung his extended arm horizontally in front of his chest, causing a golden colored aura to emerge from him. The next thing that happened was a golden lotus flower appearing around Ram's body, to which it floated slighty with her motionless body above Rem, promoting Rem to release her unwillingly. The golden lotus then closed on Ram's body, isolating her from the outside world. This alerted Rem and made her extend her hand towards the golden lotus entrapping her sister, but Beatrice placed a hand on her shoulder, giving blue haired Oni maid a gentle smile to reassure her.

The golden lotus then shone brightly, emitting a white light that blinded everyone, except for Shadow, where everyone waited with ragged breaths.

Unknown Location

...

...

...

Ram's eyes snapped open.

Looking around her, she saw that she was in a white void. It appeared to be stretching infinitely, with no end to it.

Looking at herself, Ram saw that she was still in her maid outfit, but there was no injuries at her, as if she didn't risk her life a few minutes ago.

Suddenly, she saw a familiar building. It was right in front of her. Its familiarity was so thrilling to Ram that her heart started jumping up and down inside her chest. The feeling from ten years ago came out to her, which in turn made her run as fast as she could towards the building. It took her a few minutes to reach the building, but she reached it eventually. She opened the door of the house, and her eyes became wide in disbelief, with tears streaming down her eyes, as right in front of her stood two people that Ram thought that she would never see again while alive.

"Father...Mother..." She whispered, promoting the two figures to smile at her.

"Oh! Ram! It's you!" Ram's father, Quark, exclaimed joyfully upon seeing his daughter.

"My, Ram! Look at how grown up you've became!" Ram's mother, Temae said with a warm smile.

This made Ram smile geninely for the first time in years, before her feet darted towards her parents, throwing her arms at them, embracing them while balling her eyes out.

"Father! Mother!" She called out while hugging them tightly as they gently returned the embrace back, patting her lightly at her back to calm her down.

A couple of minutes later, Ram managed to calm down, and not long afterwards, both her and her parents sat around a small table to drink tea.

"But how is Ram here? How are you two alive?" Ram asked while sipping her tea.

"Ram, sweetie. Since you already arrived here, and we have departed from the living world ten years ago, then you already know where we are" Temae said with a smile, causing Ram to blink in realization, before casting her head down to her cup of tea, seeing her reflection that showed a sad expression on her beautiful face.

"I...Died..." Ram muttered, discarding her usual third person way of speech.

"Ram...Can we talk to you about something?" Quark asked, making Ram look at her father, and nodded her head silently.

[Naruto Shippuden OST - Sadness And Sorrow]

"You have walked through a really long road...And it was extremely rough for you...You suffered through thin and thick trying to protect your sister Rem along the way...The obstacles that you faced were extremely harsh and you suffered along the way...Is all of that familiar to you...?" Temae asked, to which Ram placed her teacup down and cast her eyes to the side while hugging her arm with her other hand. Flashes of her life up until this point came to her.

Being born as twins with Rem.

Getting discovered for her potential by her clan and crowned as the Second Coming of The Oni God.

Living her life peacefully with her parents and Rem for seven continuous years.

Having her peaceful life shattered when the Witch Cult burned down her village and killed everyone in her clan.

Saving her sister's life at the cost of losing her own horn.

Having her and her sister's lives changed when Roswaal came and picked them up, and Ram getting angry upon knowing that Roswaal left her entire clan to be slaughtered, and only saving them due to that Book of Wisdom that gives him instructions that he follows blindly.

Developing a feeling of deep hatred for Roswaal, which changed to feelings of love over the years.

Living as a maid alongside her sister and Frederica, their senior maid.

Seeing Rem growing up by the day and seeing her taking care of her.

Witnessing the arrival of new people...The people that completely changed their lives over the course of a few months.

All of that passed through Ram's mind as countless images.

"...Yes" She whispered.

"But in the end, with each hardship that you face, there's bound to be a happy moment in your life, right?" Quark asked with a gentle smile.

"No matter how much big the hardship is, the fact that you were alive up until this moment means that you've overcame it and managed to move through it. Of course, you had help along the way, and through people that you met throughout your life" Temae said, giving Ram a motherly smile that could make any heart melt and cry.

"We just wanted to say that you've suffered long enough, Ram. For your sister, Rem...For people you hold dear to you...For yourself" Quark said.

"And that's why we are telling you...Not yet" Temae said.

"W-What?" Ram asked, raising her head towards her parents to look at them, to which they showed her their smiles, before pointing towards the door of the house, which made Ram slowly turn her head around to look at what her parents were pointing at, before her eyes widen in shock.

"Hey! Ramchi Nee-sama! Come on! Whatcha waiting for?!"

"Nee-sama is extremely strong! Rem knows it very well, because Nee-sama is Rem's Nee-sama!"

"...It's fine to rest once in a while...As long as you're going to eventually stand up and move forward again"

"I know that you don't work that well...But still...You're irreplacable, Ram. Just like everyone here. As your senior, I know that very well. Also, Garf will be upset without you being around, you know"

"Ram Nee-sama! You don't work much, but you're still an amazing person!"

"Ram-san has words that can sting a lot on me, but I've already gotten used to them, and they became words of encouragement to me!"

"You've given Shaula the words that made her start moving again! Shaula knows that it will be a long time for her to reach the answer, but thanks to you, she knows where to begin searching! Yup~!"

"Your existence is remarkable. Do know that. Admiration"

"Ram! Ma' amazin' self knows that no one can replace ya! It's like Reid replacin' his sword with small sticks!"

"Ram-bo...Don't give up...Never..."

Ram witnessed the people that she met throughout her life. Each person that made an everlasting mark in her existence, and from each one of them, she learned lots of valuable things.

It was like a jigsaw puzzle. Ram was the empty square, and those people that she met and made a remarkable change in her life were the pieces that filled the empty square.

"Not yet...You can't meet us...Maybe even not anymore because of what's happening outside...However...Know this, Ram..." Quark said as he and his wife stood up and walked to Ram, who was still looking at the images of her friends smiling at her. She then gasped in surprise as her parents knelt down to her sitting form and embraced her in a hug, trapping her in between their dual embraces.

"...No matter what path you choose with your friends...Know very well that me and your mother...Will always be by the sides of you and your sisters...No matter what" Quark finished, and not long after, Ram's eyes watered once again as she bit her lower lip, with tears streaming down her face, as she returned the embrace to her parents, and even as she closed her eyes shut, the tears refused to stop falling from her eyes. She gripped on the kimonos of her parents, as if they will go away the moment she lets go of them.

After a few minutes of embracing, Ram and her parents broke the group hug, before Ram stood up, readjusted the hem of her skirt, and bowed politely towards her parents.

"Thank you" She said with a smile.

"Not at all...After all...You're our daughter, Ram" Temae said with a gentle smile.

"Now go...You're friends...No...You're other family is waiting there...Besides...I think you have something that you want to say to that black haired man over there...Right?" Quark asked with a teasing smile, making Ram blush a light pink color while casting her face to the ground.

"It's okay...Just tell him that Quark, Ram and Rem's father, is watching over you, and will come out to place your life in a living Hell if you dared harmed his two precious gems" Quark said with a smile while patting Ram's head, to which she raised her head and smiled at her parents gently.

"Ram will do so, Father" She said.

"Now go...You're family is waiting" Temae said, to which Ram slowly turned around to face the images of the precious people that she met throughout the past ten years of her life, before she walked towards them. And just as she was about to exit the house, she turned around to face her parents.

"Father...Mother..." She started to say, to which they looked at her with gentle smiles, waiting for her words.

"Ram...No...I love you" Ram said, to which the smiles on the faces of her parents increased even more.

"We love you and your sister too, Ram" Both Quark and Temae said at the same time, before Ram resumed her march towards the images of her other family, the people that she will trade nothing for.

As she walked outside the house, the structure suddenly disappeared in thin air, as if it never existed, but Ram wasn't bothered by it. She simply continued her walk towards her friends, and upon reaching them, she saw everyone smiling at her, including Shadow himself, who was beside Rem, and then she saw both of them extending their hands to her, where Ram had a look of surprise on her face upon seeing Shadow's smile, as she never seen it on him ever since they met. But that didn't matter at all, as she knew that that was her own personal image, to which it brought a smile to her face.

"One of these days...Ram would love seeing your smiling face...Shads...After all...You're the man that captivated both Rem...And Ram's hearts" Ram said with a gentle smile as she took the hands of both the images of her true first love and her precious sister.

"Yes...One of these days..."

As Ram thought that, her entire vision was replaced with blinding white light.

[Music Ends]

Real World

The golden lotus stopped glowing and slowly descended onto the ground, right in front of Rem, before opening, revealing Ram, with no injuries or blood whatsoever, as if nothing had happened in the first place. The golden lotus soon disappeared, leaving only Ram in the kneeling Rem's arms.

"W-What happened?" Rem gasped in confusion, before looking at her sister. She then placed her ear close to her chest, hearing her beating heart, which made her yank her head upwards to look at Ram's unconscious face, with everyone looking on in anticipation.

"...I did everything that I could. The rest is up to her" Shadow whispered out his words, and not long after, the miracle happened.

Ram slowly opened her eyes, where the first thing she saw was her sister's crying face.

"Nee...sama..." Rem whispered, before she covered her mouth with one of her hands, as tears fell even more her eyes.

"Nee-sama!" Rem exclaimed before placing her sister in a tight hug, wailing like a child while burying her crying face in her clothes, soaking her wet. This made Ram smile gently at her sister, hugging her back gently.

"It's a miracle...Truly a miracle, I suppose..." Beatrice said while tears rolled down her cheeks as she was smiling at what she just witnessed.

"Ram...*hic*...I didn't think...That I'd cry on someone like that..." Subaru said while openly sobbing, rubbing the tears that continuously ran down her face.

"Amazing...Really amazing..." Geuse whispered with a gentle smile on his face.

"Raspberry...Shaula...Shaula is...*hic*...Really happy...*hic*...That you're alive..." Shaula said while also crying as hard as Subaru.

"...Welcome back, Raspberry" Shadow said with a silent cold stare, before he looked at Sakura that was behind him from the corner of his eyes.

"See? That's the reason why she threw herself in for us despite it being unnecessary. It's because there are people...Who she loves and they love her as well. It's because of something like this that we want to sacrifice ourselves...Because the sensation of a true family is rare" Shadow said while reverting his eyes to scene of everyone being glad to see Ram back to them, with all of them, except for both of Geuse and Shadow himself, bawling their eyes out at her.

Sakura saw this scene unfold in front of her, and a plethora of emotions rose from inside of her.

Emotions that she never thought that she will retain ever again, especially after Mother killed off her entire village, including her own parents, and forced her to do her bidding.

It was at this moment, that Sakura's shocked face turned to a gentle and geniune smile. An expression that she has never shown in the past two decades of her life.

"Hey...Shadow Terios..." Sakura called out to Shadow, who spun around to face her. It was at the same time that everyone wiped their tears away, and Rem and Ram stood up on their feet. Everyone, except for Shadow who was standing in anticipation for any move that Sakura could make, stood around Ram protectively, brandishing their weapons in both Rem and Subaru's cases, their Magic in both Shaula and Beatrice's cases, and Rune Stone Skill in the case of Geuse, all surrounding Ram like a protective shield.

"..Yes?" Shadow asked.

"...Kill me" Sakura said.

"What?" Was the collective confused and shocked question of everyone, including Shaula, but excluding Shadow.

"...Why is that?" Shadow asked.

"For...For 20 years I've been fighting ever since I was only 3 years old...Moth-No, Lust had invaded and killed my entire village, including my parents. And she picked me as one of her 'Children'. She would torture us with her 'Love' if we failed to do whatever she wanted. And by the time I noticed it...I was doing everything she ordered without any objection. That's when I realized that I had no way of freedom. But now...I've seen your power...I've finally realized that not even Lust can stand against you, and now...I have nothing to live for, so please...End my life. Make me face Death...And reunite with my loved ones..." Sakura said, to which Shadow blinked and sighed.

"I see...So...You made up your mind..." Shadow said before slowly unsheathing his sword and moving towards Sakura.

"But before you claim my life...There's a piece of information that you might want to hear" Sakura said, causing Shadow to stop, and for everyone else to focus at Sakura.

"Lust was the one...That led the crusade that slaughtered the Oni village" Sakura said, causing both Rem and Ram to gasp in shock, before expressions of fury found itself on their faces.

"Also...The Witch Cult is planning on something else, in case the plan of myself and Wolf killing off the Royal Candidates have failed" Sakura said.

"...Which is?" Shadow asked.

"They originally planned on releasing the White Whale near the Flugel Tree, but for some reasons unknown, The White Whale didn't listen to their bidding. In addition, they planned on releasing Greed and Gluttony at the Royal Candidates as well, a week from now" Sakura said.

"Greed and Gluttony?" Shadow asked.

"The Sin Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas, the strongest Sin Archbishop to ever exist, an invincible man of complete bloodlust that nothing could kill him. Anything that comes in contact with him doesn't even move a hair, even throwing a sword or a spear at him would cause the weapon to snap into two, and anything that he throws cannot be guarded against, as it can bypass every kind of defenses, be it physical or magical" Sakura said.

"...And Gluttony?" Shadow asked.

"There are three Sin Archbisops of Gluttony: Lye Batenkaitos, Roy Alphard and Louis Arneb, representing the aspects of Gorment, Bizzare Eating and Satation respectively. Lye is the one stationed to be with Regulus in the Lifaus Highway, just around the Flugel Tree. And from what I've heard, Louis Arneb is nothing but a soul trapped in the Pleiades Watchtower located in the Augria Sand Dunes. Lye and Roy, however, are forces to be reckoned with. They have the ability to eat both the names and memories of people by touching them and licking their palms, and before they do so, they call out their names. I've seen instances of that, as Roy is under the lead of Lust, and every time he ate either the names or memories of someone that he called out their names wrong, he gets a severe nausea and vomits uncontrollably. So, if I have to guess, their ability requires them to both touch and know the real name of their victim" Sakura said.

"What happens to those who have their names and memories eaten at the same time?" Shadow asked, despite having a thought of the answer.

"They turn into an empty shell, eternally placed into suspended animation, neither aging, eating, nor even excreting waste" Sakura finished.

"What about the other Sin Archbishops? And the leader of the Witch Cult?" Subaru asked.

"There is the Sin Archbishop of Wrath, who can manipulate the emotions of others and reflect injuries and Death back at anyone within their vicinity, and Lust can transform into anything she likes, including a Dragon, and can transform anything humanoid to anything she likes, and only her can reverse the effects" Sakura said.

"I see. What about their leader?" Shadow asked.

"The co-founder was Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, but their leader is the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora. She's an Eldritch Abomination in the form a bewildering beauty. You should worry more about her, as she's even above Greed himself in power" Sakura answered, where Subaru and Beatrice glanced at Geuse, who was tensing a little at Sakura's words, with his fists clenched tightly.

"Very well. Anything else you want to say?" Shadow asked, which in turn made Sakura cast her glance at the ground, a sad smile forming on her face.

"I have two wishes...First, please don't do anything to Pooka. She's an Artificial Spirit created by Lust, but all what she did and her following of Lust's orders was for the sake of Tiga, Melty and Salum. So please forgive her actions" Sakura said.

"...Very well. I shall do as you say. What about the second wish?" Shadow asked, to which Sakura bit her lower lip, and her body shook slightly.

"Please...Please take down the entire Witch Cult. They are irredeemable scums that need to be purged. For the sake of everyone that they killed, and for the sake of the living crying on their dead families...Please put an end to them" She said, to which Shadow closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath, letting it out as slowly as he could.

"...Very well. Your wish is my command" Shadow said before he swung his sword to his side. He then positioned himself in a swordsman stance, and a few seconds later, her jumped to the air, streams of water appearing out of thin air and spiraled around him, before he caught his sword in a reverse grip. He then dove down towards Sakura, closing at her.

"Aqua Number: Post-Drought Blessed Rain"

"?!"

And just like that, Shadow passed by Sakura like a blur, appearing behind her as a stream of water danced behind him. The stream of water seemed to have passed through Sakura's neck, and she had a shocked look on her face. She then saw light in front of her, as if the sun was shining brightly, despite it being already the afternoon. Light began engulfing Sakura's vision as a tear rolled down her eyes, with a soft and gentle smile appearing on her cold face upon seeing two people extending their hands to her. People that she never thought that they would appear in her life anytime soon.

"Father...Mother..."

As those were her last thoughts, Sakura's head rolled off her shoulders, the gentle smile still plastered on her face, and the tear rolled down her face, hitting the floor, signing her swift, yet peaceful departure from life.

"...Rest in peace" Shadow muttered out a prayer for Sakura, before sheathing his blade.

"H-Hey...Shadow. What was that move?" Subaru asked in confusion, before seeing Sakura's headless body falling on the floor shortly afterwards next to her head.

"Aqua Number: Post-Drought Blessed Rain. An Aqua Number spell that involves gathering water around a certain weapon. Any living being hit with the weapon infused with Magic Water is instantly killed, but they're given a swift, painless Death. I prefer using this technique if the opponent either surrendered, or if they amused me. Consider it some form of respect to an opponent" Shadow explained.

"Oh...I see...Well, I think we shouldn't leave her body like that. Let's give her a proper burial" Subaru suggested, causing Geuse, Ram, Rem and Beatrice to nod at this.

"Betty agrees. Even if she was the enemy, she was still manipulated, in fact. She also helped us with useful information regarding the Witch Cult, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"Agreed. The best thing we can do is to give her a proper burial as a sign of respect, Desu" Geuse said, before they witnessed Subaru rolling up his sleeves.

"Alright. Let's get to work. We still have one hour before the Royal Selection Conference begins, so let's finish this quickly" Subaru said, to which everyone walked beside him to finish their job quickly.

An hour later. In front of the Royal Castle Gates

"It's almost time. Do you think that they couldn't make it?"

"Oh please. I told you earlier. They have Shadow-san with them, and I think that Subaru is also someone with such surprises"

As they were waiting for their allies, Kaylin expressed her worry over how late they were, and Saki tried to casually reassure her.

"They're not weak, Kaylin. Shadow-san is super powerful. We have seen his power beforehand, and Subaru looks like that he also became a strong guy. I just want to enter quickly to see Natsumi. I've missed her so much" Saki said, brushing off Kaylin's worries. However, Kaylin was startled by something else.

"Hey! Did you hear that?" Kaylin alerted Saki, who blinked at her, before her ear picked out the sounds of...Moaning?

"What is that? I think it's coming from behind the castle wall" Saki said, before she beckoned Kaylin to follow her towards the source of the voice. It took them a few minutes to reach the rear wall of the castle, and what they saw while peeking from a corner made their eyes widen in shock.

Right in front of them was a man with flaming red hair and ocean blue eyes, making out with a rather familiar black haired girl with black eyes, and they looked like they were really going at it, given how rough their lips were locking together and their tongue vigorously fighting each other for dominance.

"We've seen something that we shouldn't have!" Both Saki and Kaylin thought at the same time, their faces fixated in a comical shocked expression and a beat red blush.

"Hey...*Suck*...Ahh...Red..." Natsumi moaned in between the kiss that she and Reinhard were sharing.

"Y-Yes...Ahh...*Suck*...Natsumi...?" Reinhard gasped for breath as he pressed his lips into Natsumi even further.

"Don't you...Hahh...Don't you think...That we should stop...? It's not like...*Suck*...Ahh...It's not like I don't like doing that with you...But...We're in the streets...*Suck*...Ahh...And anyone could...Hahh...Spot us now...*Suck*...Hahh..." Natsumi gasped through her moans, only to gasp as Reinhard pressed a finger in the spot between her legs, which made Natsumi throw her head backwards from the sudden jolt of pressure, but more pressure bolts struck her afterwards as Reinhard started planting kisses on her neck and collar bone, nipping and sucking at said areas.

"I'm sorry...Hahh...Natsumi...But I couldn't hold it in any longer...I don't understand what's wrong with me...It never happened before...But if you want me to stop, then-OOMPH?!"

Reinhard was apologizing and was intending to stop their make out, only for Natsumi to grab a handful of his hair, albeit gently, before crashing her lips at his, giving him a rather deep kiss. Reinhard's eyes were wide in shock at the sudden impact, before his eyes slowly narrowed from the soft impact of pleasure that brutally attacked him in a gentle manner. After a few seconds of their tongues dancing and twirling together, Natsumi released Reinhard's head, before breaking the kiss between him, creating a thin trail of saliva that connected their tongues together. Both Knights stared at each other with narrowed eyes, ragged breaths and flushed faces that radiated deep lust for the other.

"I...Hahh...I don't mind at all, dummy. I already told you that you can do whatever you want with me whenever you want...Just tell me in advance, okay?" Natsumi said, before seeing Reinhard smile gently at her, to which it felt lie a metaphorical arrow had pierced her heart, and her blush became even redder than her crush's hair, which promoted her to pull his head once again towards her, crashing her lips against his for a second time, closing her eyes shut to bask into the sea of pleasure.

"Hey! Isn't that Natsumi?!" Kaylin whispered to Saki so that they won't be heard.

"Yeah! It's definitely her! Who's the guy that she's making out with?! Is that her boyfriend or what?!" Saki whispered back, as the two girls were blushing deeply.

"Seriously! That's something that we shouldn't have seen!" Kaylin whispered while covering her face with both her palms, with Saki doing the same.

"What's that that you shouldn't have seen?"

"?!"

The two girls jumped immediately upon hearing the voice of Shadow behind them, before turning around, to which in turn their hearts jumped inside of their chests when seeing Subaru and the others arriving to them, accompanied by a strange man in black clothes that resembled the clothes of the Witch Cult members, who had a floating bed of sand that seemingly had both Salum and Pooka lying unconscious on it.

"O-Oh! H-Hey, everyone! Finished already?!" Saki stuttered in her greeting.

"...Yeah. Dealt with everything. Ram died and we brought her back to life. Other than that, everything was cool. Actually, way better than we've expected it to be" Shadow said.

"You're talking about Ram's Death as if it was your everyday routine!" Subaru exclaimed in comical anger.

"Say, why are you two standing here?" Rem asked, to which the girls jumped slightly, before instantly sweating bullets.

"Uhh...Umm...Well...You see..." Kaylin said her words in a panic, trying to get a proper phrase out for the sake of protecting her friend as to not have her brother see his sister making out with a stranger.

"Oh! That's right! Subaru! Don't you know who is that?!" Saki suddenly said to Subaru, pointing at Kaylin while raising her voice in a rather odd way. Shadow blinked upon noticing this, before looking towards the corner, using a Divine Protection that he copied from a member of the Assassination Organization that he killed months ago, which allowed to see through objects. One look at the corner, and his eyes widened upon seeing both Reinhard and Natsumi readjusting their uniforms in a hurry, before he chuckled silently at his fisted palm.

"Huh? She honestly looks familiar...She looks like..." Subaru trailed in his speech, before his eyes widened upon focusing on who Kaylin was.

"OMG! Is that you, Miyuki?! Wow! Even you got transported here?!" Subaru exclaimed in shock as he took both Kaylin's hands in his own. His face having a bright smile.

"It's been a long time, Subaru...I see that you gave your hair a new color" Kaylin said with a smile.

"Oh? This? Nah...I happened to activate my powers for the first time, and it kind of weighed at me considerably to the point that my hair became white from stress" Subaru said, releasing Kaylin's hands and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Barusu looks like an idiot no matter what hair color he has" Ram suddenly butted into the conversation.

"Yes! Nee-sama is always right!" Rem exclaimed while hugging her sister's arm as if she was going to escape if she left her free, a cheerful smile appearing on her face.

"Hey! What does my hair color have with my being an idiot?!" Subaru yelled at the two sister comically.

"Saki? Miyuki?"

"?!"

At the voice of Natsumi, everyone's attention was grabbed, and Saki and Kaylin turned around and stared wide eyed at their childhood friend, and not long after, both girls were tackled to the ground by Natsumi.

"Oh my gosh! It's you girls! Long time no see! I can't believe that you two came into this world as well!" Natsumi exclaimed happily while hugging the two girls tightly, to which they gladly returned back the hug.

"Are those people that you know, Natsumi?" Reinhard asked with a smile, to which Natsumi, immediately broke the hug with her two friends, appearing beside Reinhard.

"Hey girls! This is Reinhard! He's the man that helped me ever since I entered this world! He's really a nice guy!" Natsumi introduced her crush to the two girls, but for some reason, they cringed upon looking at him, which confused both Reinhard and Natsumi. Natsumi herself looked at the others, only to see everyone having different expressions.

Shadow had his head casted down, with his palm covering his face as if he was disappointed of something.

Ram had her trademark smug smirk on her face.

Rem was smiling warmly in an odd manner at both Natsumi and Reinhard.

Beatrice was giving the Knight duo of the Felt Camp a comical deadpan stare.

Subaru had a shocked expression on his face, with his eyes twitching uncontrollably.

Geuse was desperately trying to stiffle his laughter by pressing his fist towards his mouth.

Shaula was looking at Natsumi with stars in her eyes, as if she liked whatever she saw in front of her.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Reinhard asked in confusion, to which he saw Shadow calmly reaching his hand inside one of his pants pockets, before taking out a red and black handkerchief that had his red motto sign on one of its edges, and gave it to Reinhard, who blinked in confusion at it, but accepted it shortly afterwards, still not understanding what happened. Natsumi, however, looked at him, before gasping and instantly blushing beat red, with Reinhard looking back at her, blushing beat red as well, as both of them understood what was going on.

It turns out that after their session, both Reinhard and Natsumi forgot to clean up their smeared mouths that were stained with red from Natsumi's light red colored lipstick.

"Fufufufufufu...Youth these days, Desu" Geuse chuckled, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Hah! Impressive! Was the Sword Saint and The Iron Lady happy while doing their 'Knightly' duties?" Ram asked with a smug look on her face.

"Ahh~ How Rem would love a passionate moment like that with Rem's Shadow-kun~" Rem said with flushed cheeks.

"Repulsive, I suppose" Beatrice muttered, still having her deadpan expression while looking at the Knight duo in front of her.

"...Is that what mortals call 'Horny Mode'? Also, Rem...What the fuck?" Shadow asked two questions with an annoyed look. One to himself, and the other to Rem.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!" Subaru yelled in shock, before glaring angrily at Reinhard, who panickinly rubbed his mouth with Shadow's handkerchief, before looking at Natsumi.

"Here, Natsumi. Let me help you" Reinhard said, before placing a hand on Natsumi's cheek, with the other had gently rubbing her mouth with the handkerchief, to which it made Natsumi go wide eyed as she stared at Reinhard, who delicately cleaned her smeared face, which in turn caused her to blush deeply as she was mesmerized by the beautiful and handsome man cleaning her mess of a face. And when Reinhard realized what he was doing, he was just about done, and when he was done, his face went full throttle at the deep red blush that rivaled the color of his hair.

"...Anymore than that, and you two are going to have a fever" Shadow pointed out.

"REINHARD, YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU SEDUCE MY SISTER?! I'LL FREAKING KILL YOU!" Subaru yelled in comical anger, whipping out his Naraka Whip and charging at Reinhard, only for Shadow to stop him by pulling on his green blazer with one hand.

"SHADOW! DON'T FUCKING STOP ME! I NEED TO KILL REINHARD!" Subaru yelled.

"...I'm not stopping you from killing him. I'm stopping you from killing yourself, you idiot. I can't afford on bringing someone back to life again" Shadow muttered in annoyed tone.

"Hah! You're the worst, Shads. You're so cheap on bringing back someone else back to life, even if it's the worthless, dickless Barusu" Ram said to Shadow with a smug smirk.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, NEE-SAMA! ALSO, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO CALL ME DICKLESS?! ISN'T THAT RUDE?!" Subaru yelled at the pink haired Oni maid.

"Hah!" Ram laughed off in a smug manner.

"Stop it, Subaru...That's the Sword Saint that you're trying to kill...Not that you'll be able to kill him anyways..." Shadow muttered, to which Kaylin's eyes widened in shock.

"The Sword Saint? From the Astrea Household?" Kaylin asked in shock while looking at Reinhard, with everyone, except for Shadow and Saki being unaware of the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

"Yes. I'm Reinhard Van Astrea, the current Sword Saint. Pleasure to meet you" Reinhard said while bowing to Kaylin, who still had her shocked expression.

"...The son of Heinkel Astrea..." She muttered to the point that no one heard her, except for Shadow and Saki.

"Hm? Excuse me?" Reinhard asked, not hearing what she just said. This in turn caused Kaylin to gasp, realizing the situation she was in, before her shocked expression was replaced by a friendly smile.

"Oh! It's nothing! I was just surprised to have met the Sword Saint Reinhard-dono himself in person! My name is Kaylin! Pleasure to meet you as well!" Kaylin said bowing elegantly to the person that was her half-brother, unknown to all but Shadow and Saki. The latter, realizing that the situation was about to go south if they stayed any longer, decided to interfere.

"Hey guys! Come on! It's ten minutes before the Royal Selection Conference starts! Let's enter!" Saki called out, before taking Kaylin's hand, and rushing towards the castle doors. Everyone saw this, and followed them silently, with Subaru still glaring comically at Reinhard, who chuckled nervously at him.

"Umm...Natsumi?" Reinhard whispered to the girl beside him.

"Y-Yes, Red?" Natsumi stuttered, still embarrassed from the event that just transpired a few minutes ago.

"Does Subaru...Hate me now?" Reinhard asked, with his face showing a sad expression, which made Natsumi's heart make a quick somersault, seeing that a sad Reinhard is so cute.

"Umm...No, Red. He doesn't hate you. Don't worry. I'll talk to him when this is over" Natsumi answered, to which Reinhard sighed in relief, before his smile returned to his face. A few minutes later, the entire party arrived in front of the castle doors. It was then that Subaru turned to face Geuse.

"Hey, Geuse. You need to lay down and hide. Everyone will see you and your attire, and will see you as a Sin Archbishop. I know that you're no longer our enemy, but the public will not understand that. So you need to lay down until we figure things out" Subaru said, to which Geuse nodded understandingly, before Subaru opened a Space Store, and the former Sin Archbishop willingly entered it, but not before casting a warm smile at Beatrice, who looked with a worried expression on her face at him, before seeing him enter with both the unconscious Salum and Pooka, and the portal of Yin Magic vanished behind him. Subaru, seeing his newly contracted Spirit in a state of sadness, patted her head gently.

"Don't worry, Beako. Once all of this is over, I'll definitely help you in your problems" Subaru said gently to the loli Spirit, to which her expression soon turned from a sad look to a smile, giving full trust to her contractor.

"Alright. Let's go" Shadow said, before the doors opened after Reinhard and Natsumi talked to the guards standing in front of the doors, permitting the group to enter, and Subaru's eyes laid at Emilia, who in turn noticed the group entering.

"Subaru? Shadow?" She said in surprise, before her expression of shock turned into anger as she stomped forward towards the group, and upon reaching them, she glared at both Subaru and Shadow.

"Why?! Why are you two here?!" She yelled at them.

"That's a long story, Emilia! I'll tell you about it!" Subaru answered, but Emilia didn't give him time to breathe.

"I told you two to wait!" Emilia yelled at them again, only for Shadow to step in with a glare that indicated that he was furious at her, which caused the Half-Elf to recoil slightly.

"...And I already told you that I'm not a fucking child...Drill that through your skull, Emilia" Shadow whispered, a slight killing intent came out from him, which caused Emilia to shiver slightly.

"Oh myyyyy. So you came after aaaaaall"

"?!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice, and saw that it belonged to Roswaal, who advanced towards them with a rather calm smile on his face. The Court Magician then noticed Beatrice standing next to Subaru, and his smile widened even more.

"Oya Oya~. If it isn't Beatrice! To think that I would seeeeeee you out of the maaaaaaaaansion! What could be the caaaaaaaaaaase?" Roswaal asked, his face beaming with excitement upon seeing his old friend walking in the outside world.

"Betty is now Subaru's Contracted Spirit, in fact. And before Emilia yelled at him, Betty was about to tell her that it was Betty that wanted to go to the Royal Selection Conference, in fact" Beatrice explained, which caused Emilia to blink at this, but nevertheless, she directed her glare at both Subaru and Shadow once again.

"That still doesn't explain why did you break my promise with you two! You could've just refused!" Emilia yelled at the two again, to which Subaru sighed in slight annoyance, and Shadow's eye twitched uncontrollably.

"Emilia-tan...Just calm down. Beako already told you that she wanted me to go with her. So I couldn't refuse" Subaru said, trying to reason with the Half-Elf.

"...And I think that I already told you that I do NOT take orders from anyone...You're not someone that can give me orders. Not you. Not that clown over there. Not anyone of those bitches that are fighting over the throne of this shitty country. Not the so-called Council of this shitty country. Not anyone. Get it?" Shadow said while glaring at Emilia all the time, to which it alerted everyone in the party, including Reinhard and Roswaal, with the latter having his smile getting shaky with each passing second. And in the end, both the Sword Saint and the Court Magician decided to defuse the situation.

"Oh! Sword Saint Reinhard-sama and Natsumi-kun! May I have the pleaaaaaaaasure to know whyyyyyyyy that not only two beautiful maiiiiiiiiiidens and my precious Camp meeeeeeeeeembers, but also my two adorable maids are with youuuuuuuuuu?" Roswaal asked Reinhard, to which he got the message clearly.

"Oh! Rem-san and Ram-san accompanied us alongside Subaru and Shadow, and those two are Saki-san and Kaylin-san. They are Natsumi's friends, and also members of Melty-sama's Camp" Reinhard said.

"I seeeeeee. Good for you, Natsuuuuuuumi-kun. To find not only your broooooooother, but also your frieeeeeeends. It must be your biiiiiiirthday" Roswaal said with a smile, to which Natsumi sweatdropped at his rather weird way of stretching words.

"Uhh...It ain't my birthday, Ros-chi, but I'll swing with it" Natsumi said.

"See? Even Betty's Subaru's sister sees you repulsive, Roswaal. You should really change that rather weird speech manner of yours, I suppose" Beatrice said, haivng understood that they had to change the subject really quickly so that Shadow won't explode on them all.

"...Nice job in defusing the situation, guys" Shadow said, before taking out his vape and taking a few puffs from it, casually blowing the white smoke from his mouth to the roof above him.

"He saw through it!" Everyone, sans Emilia and Shaula yelled in their minds.

"All have been assembled! The Sage Council shall enter now!"

"?!"

Everyone got alerted to the call of Marcos Gildark, and turned around to look at him.

"The Sage Council..." Subaru muttered, his expression getting darker, followed by Shadow, who had the same expression. This made Emilia recoil back once again, having never seen Subaru show this expression on his face before.

It was then that four figures came out from a room beside the throne. The first one was a rather aged man with long white hair. He looked as if he had a glimmer of wisdom in his light blue eyes, followed by a rather bald man with wrinkles, black eyes and big blue eyebrows, followed by another two elderly men.

"The one who stands in the fore is he who leads the Council...Miklotov McMahon!" Marcos exclaimed, before he and all the Knights bowed, including Reinhard and Natsumi, who had already went to the front of the throne with some amazing speeds that only Shadow could perceive.

"Emilia-sama, please return to the center. And as for Shadow-kun, Subaru-kun and the others, please go stand with the Knights in front of the helmeted men" Roswaal ordered, to which everyone nodded silently. However, as they were walking, Kaylin glanced and saw the one man that she loathed in her life standing straight beside Marcos.

"Heinkel Astrea..." She spat his name in a whisper, only to snap from her calm anger when Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Not now, Kaylin...But soon. Just...Not now" Shadow instructed, to which the redhead swordswoman reluctantly nodded at this, before continuing to walk.

However, one person didn't move from their place.

"Roswaal! Wait! You can't do that!" Emilia objected to the idea that both Subaru and Shadow joining into the Conference, which in turn made Shadow groan at her childish persistence.

"What a pathetic bitch..." He thought.

"Emilia-sama. If facts came to light right noooooow...You shall part from them here for a veeeeeeery long time. Surely, you don't wiiiiiiish this" Roswaal said, to which Emilia glared at him silently for a second, before marching towards both Subaru and Shadow, stopping them before they joined the Knights and the others.

"Subaru! Shadow! We will speak about this later!" She exclaimed to both of them.

"R-Right!" Subaru immediately said.

"...I'm not your goddamn servant, you knife-ear" Shadow spat his words in annoyance, but Emilia was already long gone, having walked towards the center, with the party having arrived at where the Knights were standing.

"Oh! Subaru-kyun! Natsumi-chyan!"

"?!"

Everyone was startled when they saw Felix, in his Knight uniform, smiling and waving at them.

"Oh! Hey, Ferris! Long time no see! And Reinhard-kyun with you guys too! Also, it seems that the members of the Melty Camp that had just appeared recently are also with you!" Felix exclaimed waving to the newcomers.

"My name is Saki Yoshida! Nice to meet you!" Saki said with a sweet smile, lightly bowing to the Felix.

"My name is Kaylin...Just...Kaylin. Pleasure is mine" Kaylin said with a tone of hesitation.

"Oh! The Royal Candidates!" A voice exclaimed, to which Subaru turned around to see Julius, who noticed him and gave him a calm smile, which Subaru realized that it was a smile of mockery, which made him scowl at the Knight for a few seconds, before his attention was directed to Emilia and the four women beside her facing the members of the Sage Council.

Subaru knew about Crusch, Anastasia and Priscilla, considering the fact that he had a rather awkward encounter with her and her Knight. However, one look at Melty and he felt so...Nostalgic.

She was a beautiful young lady, around both of Subaru and Natsumi's age, with long purple twin-tail hair that is a centimeter off the ground with a small ahoge and amber-colored eyes. Her outfit screamed 'nun' all over, with Arabian aesthetic that made her similar to her brother Salum, consisting of a slit-blue dress and white knee-high boots, with both of the tails of her hair being wrapped around with gold chains, and her outifit was finished with a gold necklace that is the shape of the so-called Divine Dragon.

"Huh...How weird..." Subaru muttered.

"What is weird, Subaru?" Reinhard asked, having heard Subaru.

"Well, this style of clothing is rather...Extraordinary for this world" Subaru said.

"Well, that's obvious, considering the fact that it's from Kararagi. They follow the same era of that of the early feudal Japan, along with several influences from other eras and regions such as the German Hanseatic League" Al answered, alerting Subaru.

"Wow! Really?! I've to someday visit it then! It'll be amazing!" Subaru exclaimed with excitement plastered all over his face.

"Hey, Mr. Captain. How long will ya keep us waitin'? In Kararagi, we say 'Time is money', ya know" Anastasia said with a bored tone.

"She has a point. The storied Sage Council has entered. Why have we not begun?" Crusch asked, clearly having her patience running out.

"...Ugh. Impatient persistent bitches" Shadow muttered while rolling his eyes with a bored expression, to which it made Subaru, Natsumi, Saki and Kaylin chuckle lightly at his remark.

"My sincerest apologies. One of the Royal Selection Candidates is yet to arrive" Marcos said while giving a bow to the Candidates.

"Hmph! Quite rude of you to make me wait" Priscilla said with a scowl.

"Oh! They're waiting for Felt, right?" Subaru asked in realization.

"Yes. And she should arrive just above now" Natsumi answered.

"The final Candidate has arrived!" A voice shouted.

"And she has arrived" Reinhard said with a smile while looking at the doors that slowly opened, only to reveal Felt, dressed in a beautiful yellow dress, accompanied by two twelve-year old kids that had short peach color hair, yellow eyes and slightly tan skin, wearing white and pink hair. The only difference that could distinguish both of them from each other was that one of them had a straight fringe in her clothes, while the other had a lateral fringe on theirs.

"Oh! Felt has arrived with both Flam and Grassis!" Subaru noted with a smile upon seeing the two cute twins walking on the sides of Felt. And as Felt passed them, she gave a smile to them, causing them to smile in return, except for Shadow, who gave a calm nod to her, before she walked towards the other women.

"Been a while, Big Sis!" Felt exclaimed to Emilia.

"Mhm! It is" The Half-Elf said with a smile.

"Now, all the Royal Candidates have assembled. I, Captain of the Royal Knights, Marcos Gildark, alongside The Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights, Heinkel Astrea, shall oversee the proceedings. I motion that all the Candidates and the Sage Council commence the Conference on the succession of the throne!" Marcos said, not noticing the glare that Kaylin casted towards Heinkel.

And as he said that, Marcos talked about the history of the Kingdom of Lugunica. How the former king Farsale Lugunica made a covenant with the Divine Dragon to protect the Kingdom, how a mysterious plague struck the Royal Family half a year ago, and that since the time of the covenant, the Kingdom relied on the words of the Dragon Tablet to determine its fate, and now, the tablet said...

"...'When the covenant of Lugunica is broken, a new bearer of the Dragon shall lead the nation!' is what the propechy said on the Dragon Tablet" Marcos finished, before casting his eyes towards Heinkel, who scoffed at his former best friend, before looking towards the Candidates.

"Now then...Can the Candidates show their Dragon Jewels?" Heinkel asked with an almost non-caring tone, to which each woman of the Candidates, including Emilia, presented their insignias, causing the room to erupt in a bright white light, which made everyone, except for Shadow and Reinhard, cover their eyes from the blinding light, and not a few seconds later, the light faded to show the six women having their glowing insignias in their extended opened palms.

"I see that all the Candidates seem to be qualified to be Dragon Maidens" Mikolotov said with a small nod, to which Shadow scoffed at this, while Subaru sighed in disappointment.

"Hm? Shadow, Subaru, what's the matter?" Reinhard asked.

"Oh...Uh...It's nothing, Red. It's just...*Sigh*...This is just stupid" Subaru said while shaking his head.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Reinhard asked in confusion, but didn't get an answer as Mikolotov called for the Candidates to present their goals.

"Very well...Allow me to speak first. Ferris, come over here" Crusch said, before calling to her Knight, who ran towards her as she stood in front of the Sage Council, facing them with her back, while facing every single noble and Knight to speak.

"First, Crusch Karsten-sama will speak of her claims! Her Knight is Felix Argyle!" Marcos exclaimed, to which only Shadow noticed the bald man with thick eyebrows glare at the Demi-Human Knight, which only made Shadow scowl at the baldie.

"My name is Crusch Karsten! Duchess of the Karsten House! Now then, I strive to be fully aware of what everyone expects by having me take the throne! The Karsten House has carried great authority and influence for many years! Should I succeed as monarch, national policy shall continue without so much of a ripple, am I correct?" She presented herself and asked, before taking in a deep breath, allowing the spectators to digest her words in their minds, before she resumed.

"However...I cannot guarantee you such thing" She said, to which all the nobles gasped in shock. However, Crusch still continued talking.

"The dragonfriend Kingdom of Lugunica has remained prosperous over the the years due to the covenant of Dragon. In the main, the prosperity given by the covenant is a good thing. The Dragon has guided us to glory through many hardships. But I ask you..." And as she trailed in her speech, Crusch took another deep breath, before casting a deviant stare of incredible willpower towards everyone in the castle.

"...Do you not think that it is shameful?!" She roared out, causing everyone to look at her wide-eyed. Even Shadow had to blink at her rather sudden outburst.

"Our reliance on the covenant has made us weak! Have we no means to resist save for the words written on the Dragon Tablet?! We live in stagnation, and so court depravity! And depravity draws the end near! Thus, I believe...If we shall crumble without the Divine Dragon, then crumble we should!" She roared out, before taking in another deep breath, and then she continued.

"When I become king, I will make us forget about the Covenant with the Dragon until now, come what may. The Dragonfriend Kingdom of Lugunica belongs not to the Dragon, but to us. Hard times await us. Perhaps there will be disasters we averted in the past due to the Dragon's power, or perhaps even greater calamities. But I do not wish to live in a manner that shames my very soul. I have long harbored doubts about the state of the kingdom. I believe that this course of events is a Heaven-sent opportunity to set it right! That is all!" Crusch exclaimed, finishing her claim, and leaving everyone to ponder upon it.

"I see. I understand your opinion, Crusch-sama. Now, Knight Felix Argyle, is there anything you wish to add?" Mikolotov asked the Demi-Human.

"Thank you for asking, but I don't have anything to add. History and my service to her shall prove Crusch-sama correct" Felix said with a smile and then he bowed to his mistress, making her smile warmly at him.

"Well then, next one please" Mikolotov said, causing Marcos to nod.

"The next in line would be Anastasia-sama" Marcos said.

"Wait. Let me go first" Priscilla said with a comical glimmer in her eyes.

"Hey, Al! It's Hyper Priscilla Time!" Priscilla exclaimed.

"Did she just say...Hyper Priscilla Time?" Subaru asked with his eye twitching, and Shadow was facepalmming himself, while Natsumi was burying her face into Reinhard's chest, muffling her laughter as the Sword Saint chuckled while patting her back.

"Mhm! She used it just like I taught her!" Al exclaimed while buffing his chest upwards, before marching towards his mistress.

"...Why the fuck am I always stuck with the idiots?" Shadow hissed his question that would never be answered...At least for now.

"Forgive me, Anastasia-sama..." Marcos apologized to the purple-haired woman with a sweatdrop, to which she puffed her cheeks in a cute manner, obviously looking annoyed.

"Anytime is fine with me..." She muttered.

"Very well! Priscilla Barielle-sama, if you please!" Marcos called for the woman.

"Priscilla-sama, if I may...I have not seen your Knight among the Knights of the Royal Guard. Would he please introduce himself?" Mikolotov asked while stroking his long beard.

"Ah. I've never been in anything high up like the Royal Guard. I was in Vollachia, now I'm a wanderer. Call me Al" Al casually introduced himself.

"Are you now satisfied, you gnarled tree? I shall begin then" Priscilla said, not waiting for Mikolotov to answer, before she wiped out her fan from her cleavage, before opening it and pointing it to everyone present.

"It is providence that my selection of Al, and my path to become king, shall both shine in accordance with my glory! But of course. After all, nothing happens in this world that is does not benefit me! Furthermore, 'tis I who is worthy of becoming king, and no other! You need only bow before me and serve! Tis very simple! Serving me means siding with the winner! You may have anything you desire; I allow it! But I shall not permit you to serve anyone else! That is all!" Priscilla exclaimed her claim, which was not a claim to begin with. It was more like raising your nose up to the sky for literally no reason.

And as everyone had sweatdrops and cringed expressions on their faces, Subaru, Natsumi, Rem, Ram, Saki and Kaylin were doing their best to prevent a now furious Shadow from drawing his gun and shooting Priscilla in the spot from where she took out her fan.

It was normal for someone like Priscilla to be too arrogant, but what was abnormal was the fact that even when she said that, her face didn't have any kind of a shred of doubt or shame on it.

"You may not like what she says, but what Princess says is on the money. Well, don't mistake that as working hard for the people, okay? Princess's guesses are on the mark, like she's some kind of a genius. She's simply right about everything. No Ifs, Ands, or even Buts. Well, if you're under Princess, you can just do whatever you want. I think it's best to ride the winning horse sooner rather than later. And that's a wrap" Al finished his supportive speech, causing Mikolotov to nod, before giving a silent stare towards Marcos, making the Knight nod, before calling for the next Candidate.

"Next is Anastasia Hoshin-sama! Her Knight is Julius Juukulius!" Marcos exclaimed as Anastasia and Julius came up to the stand.

"So, Pretty Boy is supporting a Royal Candidate too" Subaru said with a glare to the purple-haired Knight.

"...I wish he falls on his face and breaks his fucking nose" Shadow said.

"Hehe...So do I, Shadow" Natsumi said with a small giggle.

"If ya don' mind, I, Anastasia Hoshin, shall speak!" Anastasia exclaimed.

"I'm her Knight, Julius Juukulius. Please be gentle with her" Julius said with a bow.

"...Fuck you and her in one day" Shadow muttered before taking out his vape and started smoking it, his statement caused Subaru and Natsumi to chuckle.

"Sadly, I don' have any high ideals like Miss Crusch...Or the huge confidence that Miss Priscilla has. I can only say that..." And as she trailed in her speeck, she smiled as she raised a finger in front of her chest.

"I'ma smidge...Greedier than others" She said, causing everyone, including Shadow to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Back in the day, I was a maid at a little company. I made a little suggestion to the owner, and it was a huge hit. Little by little, the business got bigger and bigger. And at some point, I lived comfortably, enough to forget ever being poor. It shoulda been fun, but I felt less and less free" Anastasia said.

"And why is that?" Mikolotov asked.

"The more you get your hands on, the more you wanna get your hands on. That's da scary thing 'bout Greed. I want this...I want that...More...More...More...More...Before I realized it, I was the president of the Hoshin Company, the biggest in all of Kararagi. But...It still wasn't enough. I never had that feeling of satisfaction. I wanted more. Something bigger. Something much bigger...And that was this country!" As she kept on chanting with her rather omnious voice, Anastasia finished her sentence with a rather sweet smile, to the point that it gave shivers to people around her, sans Shadow and Reinhard, of course.

"So you want the Kingdom to sate your avarice. But what if you obtain the throne, yet it holds no value for you?" Mikolotov asked, which caused Anastasia to look at him.

"I'm greedy, so I want anything around. But I'm not satisfied yet. I don't know what real fulfillment feels like. So I want a country of my own. Hey, if that smashes my scale to bits, smash away. I'll be real happy to have my fill and be totally satisfied. But if gettin' my hands on the kingdom isn't enough… I'll probably use this country as a stepping-stone to get even more. I told you, didn't I? I'm greedy. So once somethin's mine, it's mine through thick and thin. And if I get an even stronger hankering, I use whatever I have to satisfy it. My life in Kararagi, the Hoshin Company, and all the people who work there, they're all part of my drive for fulfillment. I would never throw them away. So… How about you just relax and become mine?" She finished her speech with a sweet smile, causing everyone to stare at her in stunned silence, before Mikolotov broke the silence.

"Do you have something to add, Knight Julius Juukulius?" He asked the purple-haired Knight.

"Yes, Mikolotov-sama. Anastasia-sama used the word 'Greed' to express her desires. But put another way, this reveals the depth of feeling behind her ambition. An indispensable quality in a statesman. Furthermore, this nation desperately needs her brilliance as a businesswoman. And thus, I, Loyal to the Kingdom, solemnly declare...It is Anastasia-sama that is worthy of the throne!" Julius exclaimed proudly, causing his mistress to smile at him, before both descended from the stairs.

"Very well. The next Candidate...Melty Pristis-sama!" Marcos roared out, causing Melty to take a deep breath, before she and another figure walked towards their destined spot.

The new figure was a man, around the same age as Subaru. He was rather handsome with a slightly tan skin, golden yellow eyes and cyan green hair. His attire consisted of a long violet suit with gold highlights and black pants and boots. He adorned himself with a jet-black bowl-shape hat, a purple rose on his coat, and a gold necklace that is the shape of the Divine Dragon, along with a rapier strapped to the left side of his waist.

"Huh? Who's that?" Subaru asked.

"That's Tiga Rauleon, Melty-chan's personal Knight" Kaylin answered.

"And her loverboy...Don't forget about that" Saki said with a sweatdrop and a nervous chuckle, which caused the same expressions to find themselves on Kaylin's face.

"Hehe...Yeah...That too" Kaylin said.

"Hi, everyone. My name is Melty Pristis. And I would love to say something before proclaiming my claim. So please bear with me" Melty said while slightly fidgeting.

"And I'm her Knight, Tiga Rauleon. Pleasure is all mine" Tiga said with a smile and a bow.

"Before arriving in here, I was a normal girl in Faradar. At some point in my life, I noticed that I was completely abnormal, as people treated me with extreme kindness and did everything that I told them about...However...I soon realized that it was the cause of...A special power that I had. You can call it a Divine Protection or whatever...But I called it a curse" Melty said.

"And why is that, if I may ask?" Mikolotov asked.

"Because...Because it made people kill themselves. My power allowed them to be enchanted and controlled by me. All that I wanted was for everyone to get along with each other...But that didn't work. Soon, I saw the people of my hometown fighting over me and slaughtering each other. I never had anyone by my side. Only my brother raised me and Tiga was there to assist me everytime I felt down. And then I decided to become a nun to make everyone feel peaceful and ease their pain. However, that wasn't enough, as only I alone couldn't save everyone. And that's when the opportunity came...In the form of me being accepted as a Royal Selection Candidate" Melty said, before stopping so suddenly, fidgeting as she felt afraid that everyone might find her words kind of foolish, and this caused Tiga to place a hand on her shoulder, smiling warmly at her and giving her a nod, urging her to continue. Melty smiled at him, before mustering up all courage inside of her, and then she stared ahead of her, a look of confidence and willpower plastered on her pretty face.

"That's why...When I become King, The first thing that I'll do is to make a peace treaty with the other three Great Countries. It will be a long road, I know that. It will cause lots of differences, I know that as well, but I believe that by pushing forward and overcoming the obstacles in front of us, we can become better people. We can bring forth a new era! I'm not independent like Crusch-san, or confident like Priscilla-san, and I don't think that I have the same boldness and courage like Anastasia-san. I'm not ashamed when I say this...I need all of you to help me! Even if I become King, A King is nothing without his own followers! A true King learns from his own followers! And I can't go through all the way by myself. So I won't be ashamed to say that I want you all to help me bring every single kind of being in existence together! Because if we all became one hand, then nothing, not even the Demons themselves, could stand in our way! That is all!" Melty exclaimed, before releasing out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding, and after a few moments of silence, Mikolotov spoke.

"Do you have anything to add, Knight Tiga Rauleon?" Mikolotov asked the young man, to which he shook his head with a smile.

"None, Mikolotov-sama. Melty-sama has said every single word that I wanted to say. Howver, if there's anything that I wanted to say, it will be this...Even if the whole world chooses to oppose my mistress, I shall fight as her sword and shield against the whole world. Even if she doesn't become King, I'll make sure that Melty-sama's dream shall come to fruition" Tiga finished, causing Mikolotov to nod, and for Melty to blush a small rosy blush at what Tiga had said, before both of them descended from the stairs.

"...Impressive" Shadow whispered, to which Saki and Kaylin nodded with smiles on their faces, both giving Melty a thumbs-up, which made her blush even more and smile gently at her two friends.

"Alright then. The next Candidate...Emilia-sama!" Marcos called out, causing Subaru to gulp a lump that formed in his throat, and for Shadow to narrow his eyes while sucking on the muzzle of his vape, before releasing another puff of smoke.

"Yes!" Emilia exclaimed, making her way to the stairs in front of the Sage Council, where Roswaal was waiting with a rather calm smile on his face.

"A silver-haired Half-Elf?" A murmur from the nobles was heard.

"A Demon? Here? How filthy" Another murmur was heard. And those murmurs made Subaru's blood boil, but he just decided to keep his cool.

"It's all right, Subaru. Believe in Emilia-sama" Reinhard said, startling the white-haired boy.

"Hey. No reading my mind without permission, okay?" Subaru grumbled to the Sword Saint, causing the red-haired man to sweatdrop, having been caught in the act.

"Myyyyyy. To come after aaaaaaaaaaaaall these Knights. I feel so teeeeeeeeeeeeeerribly out of place" Roswaal commented calmly.

"Emilia-sama and Margrave Mathers! Please address the chamber!" Marcos roared out, to which Emilia, who was already shrinking of the ill will of the majority of the people in the castle, shakily opened up her moth to speak.

"G-Greetings to all assembled...M-My name is E-E-Emilia...I-I have n-n-n-no family name...So please call me Emilia..." She said in a shaky voice.

"...This is bad" Subaru, Rem, Ram, Beatrice, Saki, Kaylin and Shadow all said in one whisper.

"ROSWAAL!"

"?!"

At that moment, the bald man, Bordeaux Zellgef stood from his seat and yelled out Roswaal's name.

"Do you understand?! Just having this silver-haired Half-Demon here enter the throne room defiles it!" Bordeaux yelled.

"Bordeaux-san, your words go too far" Mikolotov said.

"But isn't it true, Mikolotov-san?! Isn't she the spitting image of the Witch of Envy who swallowed half of the world four hundred years ago?! How much do you think that the sight of here makes us tremble?!" Bordeaux yelled out, glaring daggers at Emilia, who had a completely downcast expression.

"...It seems that you understand peeeeeeerfectly well, Bordeaux-sama" Roswaal said, causing everyone, except for Shadow to gasp in shock.

"What do you mean, Roswaal?!" Bordeaux asked.

"As you have said, it will be diiiiiificult for the populace to acccccccccept her. However, that makes her a vaaaaaaluable piece upon our cheeeeesboard. Perhaps it is a pooooor choice of wording, but...Would you think of heeeeeer as a sacrificial pawn?" Roswaal asked with a completely cold smile, which in turn made Subaru grit his teeth in anger, but then he calmed down as he saw Beatrice gently squeezing his hand, shaking her head calmly at him.

"In other words...The Royal Selection is, in fact, a four-person contest..." Mikolotov said in realization.

"Precisely...Mikolotov-sama" Roswaal said.

"...That's it. I can't take this anymore. I'm leaving" Shadow said before turning tails and walking towards the doors of the castle.

"Hey, Shadow...Wait up. I'm coming with you. This is stupid" Subaru said as he, Shaula and Beatrice followed Shadow silently.

"Hang on, Shadow-kun! Rem will come with you!" Rem called out before she marched towards her crush.

"Ram will also be going. If you'll excuse us" Ram said before bowing to Reinhard, Natsumi, Saki and Kaylin, before following the departing group, which the former four were looking at them with sad expressions.

And just as they were about to reach the doors...

"Hah! Indeed! See! I told you! No one would even nonimate such a Devil to rule all of us!" Bordeaux yelled.

"Bordeaux-sama is right. If such an existence ruled us, then damnation will fall upon us all" A noble said.

"I wonder how did she even form her Camp? I bet you that it was all made out of horrid lowlifes and Devils just like her!" Bordeaux yelled out with a smirk.

And this statement caused the departing group to stop in their tracks, their eyes being shadowed by their hair.

"...Hey, guys" Shadow whispered.

"...Yes? Shadow?" Subaru whispered back.

"...Did that asshole just badmouthed us?" Shadow asked.

"...It seems he did, I suppose. He called us lowlifes, I suppose" Beatrice whispered her reply.

"...Barusu, Shads...What do the two of you think of such transgression?" Ram asked, clearly angry if her gritted teeth was nay evidence.

"...I don't know. What do you think, Rem?" Shadow asked.

"...I think, in the words of Shadow-kun and Subaru-san...Let us give them...A piece of our minds" Rem answered.

"...Agreed, I suppose" Beatrice said.

And just like that, the group then turned around and headed towards where the Sage Council was seated, slowly drawing their weapons as calm glares of absolute anger were plastered on their faces.

"Hm? What is that?" Mikolotov asked while looking at the group, causing everyone presented to look at them as they advanced towards them. A few seconds later, they arrived to their destination, stopping in front of the stairs that led to the Sage Council.

"How are you?! State yourselves!" Bordeaux yelled as multiple Knight came and pointed their swords at the figures, who apparently appeared reaedy to attack at anytime.

"...We are the 'lowlifes' that you were spouting bullshit about" Shadow calmly answered, releasing a cloud of smoke from his mouth, courtesy of pulling smoke from his vape.

"Seriously?! You imbeciles just showed up at the call of your names?!" Bordeaux arrogantly yelled at them, before noticing Roswaal, shaking and sweating bullets while still holding his signature smile.

He was scared...Nay...Horrified.

"Bordeaux-sama...I suggest you reconsider your words...Those fellows here...They are not people to be messed with" Roswaal said, his elongating tone completely gone.

"W-What...?" Bordeaux asked.

"Mankind...Nay...Mortals..." Shadow said as he slowly marched towards the Sage Council.

"What?" Bordeaux asked, now visibly shaken.

"...Mankind knew that they cannot change society..." Shadow continued on talking as he advanced towards the four elderly figures.

"DIE, SHADOW TERIOS! AL GOA!"

"?!"

Roswaal's panicked roar came out, followed by a massive fire ball headed towards Shadow.

"Shadow-kun!" Rem yelled.

"Shads!" Ram yelled.

"Shadow!" Subaru yelled as well.

And as everyone watched with wide eyes as the strongest form of Fire Magic headed towards the black-haired Highest, Shadow simply whispered one phrase. A phrase that showed that he was the strongest. A phrase that made him deserve to earn the title of the Ultimate Life Form.

"Chaos Control"

"?!"

And just as the fire ball was inches from Shadow, the entire world became white and blue as a sphere of white and blue erupted from Shadow, engulfing the world, and around him, everything came to a halt as it was also stopped in time.

Everything...Except...

"Huh? What's that?"

"?!"

Shadow whipped his head to the side, only to see that the only one unaffected by the time-halted world was none other than Subaru, who was walking and talking freely in the stopped time.

"...Amazing. You can move in my stopped time?" Shadow asked.

"Huh? You can stop time? Is that even possible?" Subaru asked, slightly in awe as he already was surprised from lots of stuff that Shadow has shown him.

"...Well, I'll worry about that later" Shadow said, before slicing the fire ball in half, causing it to be frozen in time while being in two halves. Shadow then moved towards the frozen Roswaal, who was frozen in a panicked state and expression of horror. Shadow spat on his face, before stabbing through his heart.

"...The show's about to begin" Shadow whispered as time then slowly returned to its normal flow as the white and blue colors slowly faded, and everyone was shocked upon seeing Shadow's sword stucking to Roswaal's chest, traveling to his back from the other side.

"...So instead of reflecting on themselves, They blamed the Beasts" Shadow finished his phrase.

"W-What?!" Roswaal gasped in shock before blood came out from his mouth. Shadow then took out his sword, causing Roswaal to fall to his knees, before falling face first on the ground.

"You can come out now, Puck" Shadow said before a swirl of frost manifested in thin air and from that swirl Puck manifested in his small cat form.

"Geez, Roswaal. Shadow was right to worry about you. I knew that you were scum, but not to the point that you insult my dear daughter" Puck said, glaring at Roswaal's fallen form.

"Just heal him. I stabbed him at a non-lethal area, but he may die from the shock" Shadow said, causing Puck to cast a rapid healing spell at Roswaal, which in turn made his wounds close, and not long after, Roswaal gasped in shock before standing up on his feet, sweat drippling from his entire body.

"W-What just happened?!" Roswaal half-yelled in panic.

"...Nothing. You were just dead for around 5.3 seconds because you tried to kill me" Shadow casually said before taking out his vape once again from his jacket pocket and released a puff of smoke from it.

"Shadow...Terios..." Roswaal hissed Shadow's name like it was venom, but Shadow simply waved him off.

"The Beast of The Apocalypse...?" Mikolotov whispered in shock.

"Ah, some have called me that. You seem to be informed for a youngin" Puck said with a small smile towardds Mikolotov.

"Shadow. What was that for? Why did he attack you?" Subaru asked the black Angel.

"...I'll tell you later. I have a hunch as of why he did that" Shadow answered, to which Subaru nodded, deciding to lay that info down for now.

"You...What do you want?!" Bordeaux yelled at them.

"...Shut the hell up. Open your mouth one more time and you will be silenced for the rest of your life. Get it?" Shadow said with a glare towards Bordeaux, making him gulp down a lump in his throat. Roswaal, however, saw this as an opportunity, and started to speak.

"It is as you surmise, Mikolotov-sama. This is The Beast of The Apocalypse, one of the ancient Four Great Spirits, and is currently forming a contract with Emilia-sama" Roswaal said.

"Absurd! One of the Four Great Spirits would never serve a-"

"I thought I told you...TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"?!"

As Bordeaux was about to protest and insult Emilia once again, Shadow roared out in anger, before an Al Jiwald beam fired off from his palm and headed towards Bordeaux. Fortunately, he was saved by a massive slab of stone that blocked the beam, but the beam of light was so strong that the stone sheet got instantly vaporized upon contact.

"I may have lost my Gate, but Beako still serves my in that regard. Also, calm down Shadow. I know he's pissing you off, and he pisses me off too, but try to hold it in for a while longer, okay?" Subaru said to Shadow, who scoffed, before sheathing Dawn Ballad back to its scabbard.

"Hohohoho..." Mikolotov then suddenly started chuckling, alerting everyone.

"An interesting heart-stirred ploy, Roswaal-san. Shame that it backfired on you in the last second, but nevertheless, it served its purpose without any kind of casualities" Mikolotov said, which in turn caused Shadow to smirk.

"This was all an act to demostrate the Great Spirit's power to us and to show us that Emilia-sama holds considerable power at her disposal. However, it seems that by doing so, your act has caused a higher level of power to rise up against you" Mikolotov said as he looked at Shadow, who was still holding his smirk on his face.

"And to think that this figure of power is none other than the infamous Black Angel of Irlam himself. I've heard about your name, Terios-dono, and it amazes me that you are with the Emilia Camp. And even so, it is really a great honor and pleasure to meet you in person" Mikolotov said with a calm smile.

"...Pleasure is all mine, Mikolotov McMahon" Shadow returned the greeting.

"I knew it! You went too far, Roswaal! And it seems that it was that close to costing you your pants and diginity!" Puck said.

"W-Well...I never thought that Shadow-kun would interfere, though...Honestly, you have such a temper, Shadow-kun" Roswaal said.

"...Come and stand in my own shoes, hear yourself being called a lowlife and an imbecile, and then let me see what would be your reaction" Shadow groaned in annoyance at the Clown-faced Magician.

"Apologizes, Roswaal-sama. We were infuriated when our entire Camp was being badmouthed so we reacted irrationally" Ram said while bowing to her master, but she was actuallly forcing those words out of her mouth.

"That's fine, Ram. What's more important that all of this is oooooooover" Roswaal said, his elongating tone having returned.

"Wow...We were that close to falling for his ploy" Subaru said.

"Hmph! You should praise Betty, in fact! She's the one who held you in your place! You would've been useless and hopeless without Betty, I suppose!" Beatrice said while puffing her chest up in pride, which caused Subaru to pat her head.

"Oh myyyyyyyy. Beatrice! What a pleaaaaaaasent surprise to have you outside the liiiiiiibrary!" Roswaal exclaimed with a smile directed towards the Great Spirit of Yin, to which she gave him a glare.

"Shut your mouth, Roswaal. Isn't it more than enough that you tried to humiliate Betty's Subaru in front of her, I wonder?" Beatrice asked, which caused Roswaal to blink, before his eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! You made a contract with Subaru-kun?!" Roswaal asked in surprise, but from the inside, he was boiling with rage.

"Indeed, in fact. And I asked Betty's Subaru to accompany Betty to see Puckie, in fact. It's just that Emilia didn't have enough patience to even consider Betty's words, I suppose" Beatrice said before she ran towards Puck and both of them cuddled, completely abandoning the world around her.

"Roswaal! Do you even comprehend what you've just done?!" Bordeaux yelled at the Court Magician.

"I apologize, Bordeaux-sama. But we would not be having this conversation...If it wasn't for Emilia-sama's warmth and kindness" Roswaal answered.

"...Is that a threat, Roswaal?" Bordeaux asked, and at that moment, a vein popped on Shadow's forehead, and both Shaula and Subaru had to hold him back from firing off a hole in Bordeaux bald head.

"Can you please stop talking?! He's already at his limit!" Subaru yelled at the old bald man.

"Yes! I'm threatening you!"

"?!"

The commotion stopped to a halt when Emilia threw her claim towards the Sage Councilman.

"Lia?" Puck called for his Contractor in concern.

"I'm sorry, Puck, Roswaal. I'm alright now" She said, before facing the four councilmen.

"Allow me to make my case once more to the esteemed Sage Council. My name is Emilia. Just Emilia. Yes, I'm threatening you all, but I demand only one thing: Fair treatment! Fair treatment is exceedingly valuable to me. That is why I will not breathe one word about using my Contracted Spirit to unfairly seize the throne! I'm inexperienced compared to the other Candidates. There is so much that I don't know, and a mountain of things that I need to learn. That's why I'll continue to strive. Today, I know the summit that I must reach! I do not know if my efforts are worthy of the throne, but none of the other Candidates' feelings run deeper than mine! That's why, please look at me with fair eyes! My claim when I become King is for absolute equality! No discrimination! No differentiation! No conflicts about one's races or blood! That is all!" Emilia finished, and silence reigned supreme for a few seconds. However, in those few seconds, lots of expressions changed. Felt and Priscilla were grinning, Crusch was glaring at Emilia, Anastasia was blinking while calculatingly staring at Emilia, Melty was smiling at Emilia after hearing her claim, and the rest of the Emilia Camp members, who were already on the stage, were staring silently at Emilia, not showing any kind of noticeable emotion.

"...Lady Emilia" Bordeaux called for the Half-Elf, gaining her attention.

"My opinion will not change. When considering the effects of your appearance on the people, your tenuous position in this Royal Selection is unchanged. However...I do apologize for my earlier rudeness, Lady Emilia. Forgive me" Bordeaux calmly said before bowing to Emilia, causing her to blush slightly and widen her eyes at Bordeaux's action, before witnessing the old council member turning to Subaru, Shadow and the others, before bowing his head to them as well.

"I also apologize for my rudeness towards the members of the Emilia Camp. Please accept my apology" Bordeaux said once again, to which Subaru and Shadow looked at each other for a few moments, before sighing.

"Damn...It actually ain't hard now to hold a grudge against you, Gramps" Subaru said, causing Bordeaux to blink at this.

"Even though you look like a walking egg that got rotten due to the rooster fucking the chicken so much to the point that its pussy got soiled, I think that I'll pass on fucking you and the others up" Shadow said calmly, before everyone witnessed Felt falling on the ground, thrasting as she was bursting out in laughter, where Natsumi was clutching Reinhard's coat while muffling her laughters by burying her face in his clothes, with Al shaking completely while trying to stiffle his laughter behind the helmet, where Saki and Kaylin were desperately trying to hold their laughter, but were still snickering.

"Umm...Excuse, Shadow Terios, but why do you have to be so vulgar?" Crusch butted in, causing Shadow to look at her with a cold blank stare.

"...I call it straightforwardness, She-Man" Shadow said.

"She-Man?!" Crusch yelled in shock, which in turn caused Felt to bang her finst on the ground while laughing even harder, with Al now chuckling and Natsumi gnawing at Reinhard's shirt to stiffle her laughter, while Saki and Kaylin were finding it even harder to stiffle their laughters.

"Wow. Someone with culture here" Anastasia noted with a smile on her face, causing Shadow to shift his stare at her.

"Nobody asked you for your opinion, Fox Butt" Shadow said.

"Fox-Butt?!" Anastasia suddenly yelled in shock, her calm facade completely collapsing down, and this caused Felt to laugh even harder while holding her sides and rolling on the ground, with Natsumi literally chewing on Reinhard's shirt, Al bursting into a full blown laughter behind his helmet and Saki and Kaylin's tongues literally drawing blood from trying to desperately holding their laughter.

"My My. This attitude of yours could cause enemies to form against you, you know" Priscilla said.

"And I didn't permit you to talk, Harlot Dung" Shadow said.

"Harlot Dung?!" Priscilla gasped at the insult fired at her, and Felt was already breathless from laughing with Flam and Grassis trying to calm her down, Natsumi having finished laughing with Reinhard patting her back gently while smiling as well. Al was already putting a finger inside the visor of his helmet to wipe the tears falling from his eyes as a result of laughter, and Saki and Kaylin were tended to by Felix, who was healing their tongues that bled due to the two biting at said organ.

"Excuse me"

"?!"

And as if on cue, Julius stepped in and called for Shadow, his expression tells that he wasn't happy.

"It appears to me that you lack capacity and common sense. Have you ever thought that your comments might hurt those around you?" Julius asked Shadow while glaring at him.

"..." Shadow remained silent, ushering Julius to continue speaking.

"You're speaking in a rather arrogant manner, as if you had the power packed behind those words of yours. Sure, you've shown an impressive level of power, but that alone doesn't mean that you can do anything special. I can't say that you're strong enough to support your Camp unless I see it with my very own eyes" Julius said.

"..." Shadow still remained silent. However, he was glaring daggers at Julius this time.

"In addition to this, not only that your words hurt the people you speak to, but also hurts the pride of us Knights. We, who have trained ourselves in both body and spirit, are ridiculed by someone like you, who behaves like an outcast. If anything, I can see that you are even less than a lowly thug with that attitude of yours" Julius said.

"..." Shadow still remained silent, and even more annoyed. But this time, instead of Julius speaking, it was Subaru who came into the scene.

"Hey, Pretty Boy! Don't you dare talk shit about my friends!" Subaru yelled at Julius, who turned to face him.

"Oh? And who are you to talk to me like that?" Julius asked with a glare, but Subaru stood tall, not afraid of Julius' intimidation.

"Who I am is none of your fucking business! What's important, however, is the fact that you talk about Shadow as if you know anything about him! Don't you dare badmouth him when you don't know shit!" Subaru yelled angrily.

"Oh? And do you?" Julius asked again, still glaring at Subaru.

"I do! I do know how much Shadow has suffered! While I don't know much about his past, I can clearly tell that he suffered a lot! I know the faces of suffering when I see them! But you and everyone else, while having trained your asses and dungs for all of your lives, you still don't know shit about the world and how it is dangerous! You're talking about being strong and packing up your words with strength as if you think that Shadow is weak! What the hell do you know about the weak?! You weren't born poor! You weren't born hungry! You weren't born in a war-riddled world where you ahve to face Death every single second! You don't know what it means to kill and steal just to survive! However! Shadow did his best in his life to survive! Through sheer force of will, following his own set of rules! And with his own hands, he managed to take his own life back and be with us here! And not only that...He also managed to get strong enough to take the lives of those who dare to take his life away from him! So don't you dare talk bull about my friend! You get it, asshole?!"

And by the time he finished his speech, Subaru, who was glaring at Julius, had his face riddled in tears that were flowing freely down from his eyes. Some were wide-eyed, some felt sympathy, and even Julius was shocked by Subaru's sudden outburst and his act of crying while trying to protect his friend from being insulted in an unfair way.

Even Shadow himself was shocked at Subaru's reaction.

"Subaru..." He muttered while looking at the young man, who literally declared him a friend of his just now, despite not knowing him for that long.

And it made Shadow truly...Happy.

"Subaru...That's enough. Please wipe your tears" Shadow said while rubbing Subaru's shoulder in a gentle manner, and it was then when Shaula came to also comfort Subaru, placing a hand gently on his other shoulder.

"Master..." She whispered with a sad face as Subaru was wiping his tears with his sleeves, not caring about the people watching him.

"Knight Julius Juukulius. That is enough" Mikolotov ordered, trying to defuse the situation. However, it seemed that Julius didn't want the topic to end and wanted to add more fuel to the fire.

"No sir. These bunches of hooligans still don't get it, and this act of shedding tears in front of people is shameful enough and I won't get fooled by it at all" Julius said before turning his glare towards Shadow once again.

"Do you think that your feelings are stronger and purer than those who have worked for their qualifications? Spitting out blood in their drive to always do their best, ready to throw their lives away for the sake of the greatness standing behind them...That's what qualifies to be a true Knight...No, a true warrior!" Julius exclaimed while glaring at Shadow.

"...I don't care about those kinds of stuff. I've chosen to accompany Emilia and Subaru to make sure that Emilia achieves her own goal. Subaru also chose to do the same as well, regardless of the situation. Even if none of us are considered Knights, I know very well that we are warriors. A true warrior survives the ordeals presented in front of them, and we did survive up until now. We're fighting for the sake of the goal that we want to achieve. What makes a true warrior is not only their ability to survive, and not only their strength...But by overcoming your obstacles in life, only then you can be called a true warrior, and that's what we were doing. Our lives and futures...Are not yours to decide just because you misjudged the people around you and accused them to be inferior to you, Mortal"

After finishing his speech, the room was also left speechless at Shadow, and Mikolotov was amused, having sported a smile on his aged face. A true warrior indeed.

"Subaru! Shadow! That's enough!"

"?!"

Just then, as Julius was about to speak once again, Emilia called out for both of her Camp members to stop, causing them to look at her with shocked faces, before she turned towards the Sage Council members.

"Lords of the Sage Council, I'm sorry for such a waste of time" Emilia said before bowing towards the elderly men. However, Mikolotov simply smiled at her.

"I call that time well spent, Emilia-sama. Both Subaru-dono and Terios-dono have shown that you're not an existence that should be feared. You truly have such fine vassals" Mikolotov said to Emilia, to which she had a downcast expression on her face, before her expression turned cold and she raised her head and said the words that shattered Subaru's heart completely, and infuriated Shadow to the point of blowing up.

"Neither Subaru nor Shadow are vassals of mine"

"...That's it. I can't take this bullshit anymore" Shadow said before he marched towards the doors of the castle, with Subaru following him with a completely downcast expression on his face, to which Beatrice and Shaula followed him by his side, sad looks on their faces for how Subaru was broken, and all the while, everyone was silent, with Julius smirking at their retreating forms.

"See? That's how a lowlife for you. Retreating when everything falls down the drain for them. Such imbeciles" He said, but neither Subaru nor Shadow gave him any attention or even the slightest of glances, but Beatrice and Shaula glared at him with pure hatred and malice, before they tended to the man that was their Contractor and Master respectively, and a few seconds of walking and they reached the doors and walked outside the castle.

All the while Felt and Natsumi glared at the scene in front of them, while Saki, Kaylin, Melty and Reinhard looked with downcasted expressions at the retreating forms of their two friends.

A few minutes later. In front of the doors of the castle

"...Ugh. I feel like shit"

"...You ain't the only one, but perhaps the reason is different"

"You both are beating yourselves up for no reason, I suppose"

"..."

Subaru cursed himself, while Shadow shared him the same sentiment, with Beatrice reassuring both of them that they weren't at fault. All the while, Shaula was looking at her Master silently.

"I feel that I've let her down, Shadow. I really just wanted to help her. Did I do anything wrong?" Subaru asked the black haired Highest, his face completely showed a heartbroken expression.

"Subaru, you didn't do anything wrong at all. If anything, I'd call this case a high level of stupidity" Shadow said, causing Subaru to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Huh?" Subaru asked in confusion.

"Shadow's right, in fact. If there's anything that you were at fault at, then it's the fact that you happened to be in the wrong place, I suppose. But even then, this cannot be counted as a mistake on your own part, I suppose. This Roswaal and his stupidity, those Knights and their arrogance and this Emilia kid and her stupid habit of pushing people away from her...Those are not your fault, I suppose" Beatrice said.

"Yes! Master did nothing wrong! Yup~!" Shaula spoke up for the first time, which in turn caused Subaru to sigh while holding his head in his palms.

"Ugh...Again, I feel like shit" Subaru repeated.

"Well, it's obvious. You were in the right, yet you got rejected for saying the right thing. Quite the norm for such a world of idiots. In Lugunica, your assets and rank are the only thing that matter. In Vollachia, it's the survival of the fittest. In Gusteko, everything is determined by the Holy Church of the North, not to mention that they are not opposing to warming relations with other countries, so that's a point of relief" Shadow said.

"What about Kararagi?" Subaru asked.

"Well, by so far, Kararagi is the best for a living. They encourage equality, and it's such a warm place, considering the fact that it reminds me of the early feudal era of Japan" Shadow said, before Subaru took a deep breath and then stretched himself, before forcing a smile on his face.

"Well, time to do the most favourite thing of mine!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Which is?" Beatrice asked.

"Creating spells of course! Not to mention that Beako is now with me and will provide additional power to me!" Subaru exclaimed, before picking Beatrice up and hoisting her on his shoulder.

"Master! Master! Let Shaula help you too!" Shaula exclaimed, to which Subaru nodded towards her. All the while Shadow was looking with a solemn expression on his face at the ground.

"Subaru...Thank you" Shadow said, to which it made Subaru immediately stop smiling, and then turned around to stare at Shadow.

"For what, man?" Subaru asked, feigning ignorance.

"Nobody...Has ever stood up for me like how you did. Not to mention...No Mortal has ever considered me a friend of his before. The fact that you cried tears for me has actually made my heart tremble. Thank you for putting your trust into me" Shadow said, to which Subaru blinked, before a smile formed once again on his face, and he gave a thumbs up to Shadow.

"Oh man! It's fine! That's what buddies do for each other! Don't sweat it at all!" Subaru exclaimed with a toothy grin.

"Say, Shadow. Betty heard from Betty's Subaru that you can create Arcane Magic spells and even use them, in fact. So Betty was going to request your help in creating spells along with Betty's Subaru and Shaula, I suppose" Beatrice said, causing Shadow to blink, before a small smile appeared on his face and he stood up to face them.

"Alright. Very well. What are the spells that you want to create?" Shadow asked.

"They are spells of this world's Magic system" Subaru answered.

"What are you gonna call them?" Shadow asked, to which Subaru opted a smirk of confidence, before exclaiming the name of his new set of spells.

"I call them...The Pleiades Series!"

Half an hour later

"Woot! That hits the spot! I feel rejunevated!"

"...Indeed. That was a nice way to release off some steam"

As Subaru stretched himself, Shadow had to agree on the rejunevation part, as in just half an hour, they managed to make Subaru create seven Yin Magic spells that were extremely extraordinary, and they were able to create such spells in such a short time thanks to combined efforts of Shadow and Beatrice assisting Subaru in the task.

"I think that the Conference is over, right?" Subaru asked with his hands behind the back of his head.

"Indeed. It is over. The Royal Candidates are just discussing the smaller details" Everyone in Subaru's group of four was alerted by the sound of Reinhard, making them turn around to see Reinhard, accompanied by both Natsumi and Felix.

"Oh! Hi guys!" Subaru exclaimed with a smile, but Natsumi seemed to have a worried face as she marched towards her elder twin brother.

"Bro, are you alright? You were crying so hard there" Natsumi said with an extremely worried expression on her face, placing her black-gloved hand on his cheek to check up on him.

"I'm fine, lil Sis! Don't worry about your Bro! He's tougher than steel!" Subaru exclaimed with a grin and a thumbs-up to his sister.

"...Yeah, right. You were crying like a kid when one of your spells got malfunctioned, I suppose" Beatrice, who was still on Subaru's shoulder, huffed her response, which caused both Reinhard and Felix to chuckle in their fists.

"Did you really have to embarrass me like that, Beako?! Whose side are you in?!" Subaru yelled at his Contracted Spirit with a comical angry expression.

"...Pretty much sure that she's on the winning team" Shadow casually said before taking a puff of smoke from his vape and blew the smoke up in the air.

"Mmm~. That's a really nice scent, Shadow. How can smokes bring forth such a nice smell?" Reinhard asked, becoming amused by the scent of the Pina Colada-laced smoke that calmly invaded his nostrils.

"Indeed. This scent is meowtiful!" Felix expressed his delight on the smell.

"Still, Shadow, you think that I'm growing stronger?" Subaru asked so suddenly of Shadow, to which the black-haired Highest blinked at him.

"Why ask this question all of a sudden, Subaru? You're already growing stronger. I know that already, considering the fact that it's me who is training you. Don't worry. You just have to take it easy" Shadow answered.

"Well, I know. It's just that...I feel like that I'm causing everyone trouble no matter what I do..." Subaru muttered.

"Then if you lament yourself on your own powerlessness, then I believe that leaves you with a single, proper choice"

"?!"

Just then, everyone looked to see Julius with his arms crossed while leaning on a pillar, a scowl was formed on his face.

"You! What the hell are you doing here?!" Subaru yelled, with Natsumi, Beatrice and Shaula surrounding Subaru protectively.

"Julius..." Reinhard whispered in a sad tone.

"Subaru Natsuki, Shadow Terios, I have business with both of you. Come to the training ground" Julius said, to which both Subaru and Shadow blinked at.

A few minutes later

"Julius. You should stop this. This isn't like you"

"While normally, I would refrain from such acts, Reinhard, my friend, those two imbeciles have belittled us Knights"

"They didn't belittle the Knights! Also, is it wrong for someone to express their honest opinion?!"

Reinhard, who calmly tried to defuse the situation before it could escalate, was turned down as Julius refused to comly, causing Natsumi to lash out at him.

Right now, Julius was in front of both Shadow and Subaru, holding his unsheathed sword as he was facing both of them, with Beatrice being on Subaru's shoulder.

And around them were...

"...I understand that you're willing to protect your so-called Pride here...But was it necessary to bring forth not only the Knights, but also both the Royal Selection Candidates and the Sage Council?" Shadow casually asked, having seen the entire population of important people around them.

"Oh! Don't worry! I'm just here to know how much money that I'll be paying for the Emilia Camp for the damage on both of your corpses!" Anastasia exclaimed with a sweet smile that completely contradicted her statement.

"I see...Wait. Did you just say...'Corpses'?" Subaru gasped in shock upon realizing what Anastasia had just said.

"Subaru Natsuki, Shadow Terios, I, Julius Juukulius, in front of the witnesses of the Royal Selection Candidates, the esteemed Sage Council and the entire battilon of the Royal Knights, hereby sentence both of you to Death" Julius exclaimed while pointing his sword at both Subaru and Shadow.

"...Are you serious?" Shadow asked in a rather poor manner, seeing everyone around him looking in anticipation, with Subaru looking at Emilia standing in the front rows, staring at both him and Shadow coldly, which made him feel like hot knife was stabbed through his heart.

"Indeed I am. Your disgraceful and foul words and actions has caused shame to everyone presented here. Furthermore, your words carried complete humiliation that was directed towards the Knights that have dedicated their lives for the sake of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica. So I, Julius Juukulius, have decided to sentence you to Death. May your souls find retribution in the afterlife" Julius said, with six balls of six different colors suddenly appearing and floating above him.

"What the hell?! 'Retribution', my ass! Just who the fuck are you to decide a person's fate?!" Felt yelled angrily from the rows.

"Y-Yeah! This is completely wrong! Why would you judge them as guilty based on their words?! They didn't do anything but say the right thing! Even the Sage Council didn't seem to be bothered by it so much!" Melty said with a rather cute angry look.

"So right now, you're simply deciding on their fate just because they simply said the right thing?! Are you screwed up, Julius?!" Natsumi yelled, trying her best to protect her brother and her friend.

"Natsumi..." Subaru whispered his sister's name, before looking towards Felt and Melty, smiling at both girls warmly, before turning to Emilia, who still had that cold look that spat 'hatred' from it towards him, and it actually hurt him, but despite that, he took a deep breath, before glaring at Julius.

"...That's enough" He finally said.

"Huh? What do you mean, Bro?" She asked, her heart suddenly beating so fast, having guessed what her brother meant.

"I'm not a coward. I won't run and I never will run. If it's Death, I can fight over it. I fought it several times, and I can do it again. No big deal" Subaru said, slowly taking out his Naraka Whip from his waist, before swiftly giving it a crack.

"Hey! You're not serious, are you?!" Natsumi yelled, literally freaking out for her brother.

"...So, are you going to execute us one by one, or both at the same time?" Shadow asked Julius, tapping on the hilt of Dawn Ballad.

"Not you too, Shadow!" Natsumi yelled at the black-haired Highest.

"I shall execute you two together" Julius answered.

"Are you sure that you only you will be more than enough?" Subaru asked.

"Yes. I alone am more than enough to take both of you down" Julius said.

"How arrogant, I suppose" Beatrice said in a tone of disgust.

"I can take both of you down here and now. So I suggest that you say your prayers now" Julius said.

"Hey, Subaru" Shadow called to the white-haired boy.

"Yes?" Subaru asked.

"...Try to use your Demon Magic spells, as well as your newly created spells in this battle. Consider this testing the fruits of your training" Shadow said, to which Subaru grinned upon seeing Shadow unsheathing his sword slowly.

"Mankind...Nay...Mortals..." Shadow started.

"Mankind knew that they cannot change society..."

"Fell Goa!"

"?!"

[Guilty Gear Strive OST - Smell Of The Game (Full)]

As Shadow was chanting, Julius immediately sprung into action, firing a fire tornado towards both Subaru and Shadow, to which Subaru stomped on the ground against, causing a massive stone slab to erupt and shield both him and the black-haired Highest from the fire storm.

"Damnit" Julius cursed as his targets were not swiftly taken down.

"...So instead of reflecting on themselves, they blamed the Beasts"

"?!"

Just then, Julius gasped and coughed out blood as without noticing, Shadow's entire foot found itself buried deeply into his guts, before a sonic boom erupted from the point of contact, and Julius was sent flying backwards, but he was able to readjust himself midair. He then landed on his feet, and saw Beatrice landing on the floor.

"You're so persistent on dying, I suppose. Let Betty give you your wish, I suppose" Beatrice said, before she raised her pettite arm to the air, with her palm opened, before forty purple stakes of Yin Mana manifested out of thin air.

"El Minya!" She exclaimed, before the Mana stakes soared towards Julius, who jumped backwards to dodge the stakes, and swung his sword at any stake that was close to aiming at him. Seconds later, and the stakes were destroyed, where Julius landed and gritted his teeth.

"Heaven...Or Hell" Shadow finished his chant, before a bloodthirsty grin found itself on Shadow's face, a grin that brought meant absolute Death and eternal suffering afterwards. and it caused everyone to have a massive shiver to be sent down their spines.

"Agilao!" Subaru exclaimed before firing a football-sized fire ball at Julius, which he simply dodged by jumping away, only to be left vulnerable in midair as Shadow zoomed towards him with a burst of speed, and he was so fast that Julius couldn't even react, as his face burst into blood as Shadow's knee made contact with his face, breaking his nose completely, before he was sent flying towards the wall of the training ground, crashing towards the wall and falling to the ground. However, he didn't have time to rest as the insult still came relentlessly.

"Minya!"

"Zionga!"

"Chaos Spear!"

Julius then had to use Ake, his Quasi Earth Spirit, to summon a massive stone slab to protect himself from the stakes of stagnant time, which upon contact with the stone shield, it became completely crystalized, before it shattered apart, giving path to the lightning bolt that was fired by Subaru to travel towards Julius, promoting him to use Kua, his Quasi Water Spirit to cast a Huma to create a light blue spherical barrier to shield himself from the yellow lightning bolt. The barrier vanished, but it did its job to protect Julius. However, Julius was too late to protect himself from the yellow bolt of mysterious energy that followed soon after, hitting him straight into the face, nearly knocking him off his feet. However, before he was about to fall on his back, Subaru threw his whip and it latched on Julius' leg, before pulling him up into the air. Julius, who was now in midair, tried to cut the whip with his sword, but when he struck it with his blade, it felt like he was hitting an iron bar with his bare hands, despite it obviously being a whip.

"Time for a party in air! Another Mana-infused move that I created!" Subaru exclaied, before raising his whip in the air, and then spun it rapidly with absurd strength, and not long afterwards, and Julius, who was stuck in the whip, found himself in an upside down, spinning top-shaped tornado. Everyone was in awe at what they were seeing, and Shadow simply flashed a smirk at this.

"Winds Of Change!" Subaru roared before slamming down his whip alongside Julius, with the tornado created through sheer arm power, propelling Julius downards at neck-breaking speeds, slamming him down with a thunderous boom sound to the ground, causing the earth of the training grounds to explode into rock and dust.

Subaru's new Mana-infused move: Winds Of Change.

It works by infusing Mana into his arm, before using his whip, which is an essential catalyst for the move to be executed, and then when the whip catches its prey, Subaru would use Wind Magic to speed up the movement of spinning his arm that is holding the whip, where the arm is infused with Mana to not only increase the strength of the slam-down, but also to protect his arm from being ruptured by the Wind Magic accelerating the spinning speed of his arm.

And Julius was the first to experience the lethality of that move.

"Huh...You're tougher than I thought" Subaru muttered as he saw Julius standing up to his feet, his clothes tattered, but his head and limbs suffered damage, bleeding a considerably moderate amount of blood, considering the power of the move that the Spirit Knight was subjected to. Blinking at this, Subaru realized what had just happened upon seeing the small green ball floating above Julius, right above the light blue ball that was using Water Magic to heal Julius' wounds.

"Ah...I see. You used Wind Magic and fired wind bursts to soften your impact with the ground at the last second. Impressive thinking, indeed" Subaru concluded, smirking at Julius' state.

"...Can you still move? Good, because the fight is just beginning" Shadow said, before snapping his fingers, causing bolts of crimson red energy to form above him.

"Chaos Lance" He muttered before the bolts of Chaos Energy soared towards Julius who managed to barely jump away, which in turn caused Kua to be disturbed on the process of healing her master, and the sudden movement caused Julius' freshly closed wounds to reopen once again.

"Nect"

"?!"

And upon landing, Julius closed his eyes, and not long afterwards, both Subaru and Shadow felt a sudden flux of Mana surging around them. They looked around, only to see all the Knights having the same eye color as Julius.

"Shadow..." Subaru called for his friend, who nodded at this.

"Yes...He's sharing his senses with them. Heh...Asshole. He said that he didn't need any help on taking us on together. Even though I'm holding back" Shadow said, scoffing at the man that called himself the Finest Knight, and now, he was breaking his promise to do anything he can to kill both of them.

"Alright. Time for the second level, then!" Subaru exclaimed, before seeing Julius charge at them. Subaru was prepared, as nine invisible arms appeared from his body.

Julius closed in the distance, and swung his sword in a horizontal arc, only for Shadow to easily block it with his sword. Julius was then caught off guard as some sort of an invisible force slammed onto his left side, causing him to skid back, and for the Knights to wince in pain as the combined Yin and Yang Magic spell made them share even the pain with their fellow Knight.

"What is that...?" Julius thought before suddenly feeling another invisible force crashing into his face, causing even more blood to burst from Julius' face and forehead. Shadow followed by distorting space around his left fist, the fist that wasn't holding the sword, causing a pale pruple sphere of distorted space to form around Shadow's fist.

"Chaos Nightmare" Shadow muttered before throwing a left hook at Julius' face, causing the face to burst into even more blood, and for Julius' cheek bone to shatter in a sickening cracking sound, which made the Royal Selection Candidates and the Sage Council members to shudder at the sound of bones breaking echoing in their ears, and this was due to the effect of distorted space, where it repels anything directed towards it with incredible force. It was just like two similar poles of magnet. When the same poles meet, they repel each other, and that was literally the same in terms of the concept.

Shadow didn't stop there, and he then stabbed Julius' left shoulder, causing him to wince at the ethereal blue steel piercing his appendage, and right after that, another invisible force slammed itself into Julius' guts, causing him to cough out blood as well, and then Shadow grabbed him by the hair, before lifting him up with one hand above his head while clutching his hair, then slammed him to the ground, causing him to cough out even more blood, and that made Julius' eyes widen in shock from the pain, with the Nect having been cancelled and all the Knights falling unconscious from the strain and pain.

"Holy Number: Seven Benzaiten"

"?!"

And right after being slammed into the ground, everyone's eyes suddenly widened in shock as massive seven white nun statues suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Julius, and not a second later, seven dark red Shichishito blades erupted from the ground and pierced Julius' back, causing him to widen his eyes from the pain and for even more blood to erupt from his mouth and wounds. The seven statues then fired beams of light from their fingers, each statue firing a light beam from each finger in its hands, making it a total of ten beams per statue, and a complete total of seventy light beams of Death raining down on Julius.

A few seconds after the second massive boom resulted from the light beams colliding with Julius, the dust screen faded, revealing Julius, completely mutilated, burned, battered, bruised, stabbed, bloodied and his clothes all nearly torn to shreds, barely covering his body. Julius was barely standing, using his sword as means of support. He knew that he couldn't defeat the two. He has already used most of his Mana and his Spirits were tired, and on the other hand, his two opponents didn't even break a sweat against him.

"If I die...I shall take you two...Down with me..." Julius whispered, before using what left of his strength to lift his sword with both hands, before his six Quasi Spirits appeared around his sword and started to spin rapidly, before rainbow-colored light started engulfing Julius, and after a few seconds later, Julius smirked weakly at his two opponents.

"Have pride that you...Pushed me this far...Now it's time to end this" Julius said weakly as the bright rainbow light get even more brighter, and then Julius charged towards both Subaru and Shadow, who stood firm while looking at the charging Julius.

"Al Clarista!" The Spirit Knight roared from the top of his lungs, using what left of his strength to decimate his opponents.

"Huh...A fool to the very end, I suppose...Subaru, if you please..." Beatrice simply scoffed at him, before Subaru smirked at her. He then gave Shadow a thumbs-up and a toothy grin, causing Shadow to smirk back at him.

"You're the star of the show! Go get 'em, friend!" Shadow yelled for his friend, pumping him even more as he walked towards the mark of Julius' attack, looking at him with absolute anticipation.

And just as Julius was about to reach Subaru...

"Astrope!"

"?!"

Julius' ultimate attack came into impact with what appeared to be a massive spherical dome of Mana manifesting around Subaru, Shadow and Beatrice, blocking the sword from reaching Subaru where the weapon was by a hair's length away from Subaru's head, to which it made Subaru smirk.

"I can expand this field of interference in time and space to a spherical dome of about 10 meters in radius, but I don't think I need that right now with you" Subaru said, before slamming another Invisible Providence fist into Julius, sending him flying upwards in the air, and causing him to topple onto the ground upon landing. Julius then struggled to stand up, with every single ounce of his energy gone. And in a desperate way to change the tides, he called for Ia, his Fire Spirit, and telepathically ordered her to fire an Al Goa with what remained of her Mana, causing a massive fire ball to soar towards Subaru.

However...

"Celaeno!"

"?!"

Just then, a spherical field of ten meters expanded around Subaru. However, the fire ball passed through it and wasn't blocked. Julius smirked at this, but his smirk soon turned to an expression of horror upon seeing the fire ball immediately disappearing, making him come to the realization.

"No way...A Mana nullification field...?" He gasped in shock.

"Heh. So much for being the 'Finest Knight'. We never ridiculed the Knights, you know. But if you're considered one of the strongest Knights here, then I'd that I feel so sorry for Reinhard that he has to take all that burden on his shoulders if you and others like you are that weak" Subaru said with a mocking tone, which caused Julius' blood to boil at this, and without thinking, he was seeing so much red, to the point that he blindly charged at both Subaru and Shadow.

"SUBARU NATSUKI! SHADOW TERIOS!" He yelled their name as he charged sluggishly towards both of them, and that proved to be his downfall.

"Alcyone!"

"?!"

Subaru then fired a light gray, almost white ball of Yin Mana at Julius, which hit the Knight head on, and upon contact, Julius' colors were changed to black and white, and he was completely frozen. And upon being frozen, everyone's eyes were wide in shock at such display of Magic, with Subaru smirking as he calmly walked towards the frozen form of Julius.

"I had this idea when I saw Shadow's ability to stop time. So I thought: Yin Magic revolves around manipulating space and time, so why the hell not? And that's when I came up with the idea of creating a technique that stops time around a certain area. I have to admit that I also have large Mana reverses, and that it regenerates faster than the average person to the point that I can regenerate all of my Mana in just about a few minutes, so the most that I can hold this ability to stop time around an object is...1 hour. But I'm generous, so I will tone it down to 30 seconds...However..."

As Subaru spoke those words, he cracked the Naraka Whip, where a glare was fixated on his face directed at Julius, the Authority of Pride acting on his influence.

"Those will be...ThIrTy SeCoNdS oF hElL!"

And upon roaring that out, everyone gasped at that sudden outburst of Subaru, before they saw him slamming whip strikes at the frozen Julius, who didn't even appear to be shaken in the slightest by the attacks as Subaru relentlessly attacked him, not activating the freezing effect of the Naraka Whip, making him only deliver normal, but powerful whip strikes. Not a few seconds later, and Subaru started roaring from the top of his lungs as his swings became even more faster, stronger and ferocious, and after twenty seconds, Subaru withdrew his weapon, before jumping a few feet backwards, then channeled his left leg with Mana, before charging towards Julius, and upon being a few feet from Julius, Subaru stopped in his tracks, and swung his left foot in an axe kick attack, aiming once again at Julius' head.

"Kinshasa!"

"?!"

Subaru then slammed his foot into Julius' face, and at the same time , the effects of Alcyone vanished and Julius returned to the normal time flow, which in turn caused the accumulated whip strikes that Subaru delivered to kick in, causing Julius' body to recoil several times violently, as if he was assaulted once again by an invisible force, before the axe kick that Subaru delivered to his face sent him crashing towards the wall, creating a hole that the unconscious Knight poked from.

"...A word of advice: Never blame the Beasts on a Mortal's fault" Shadow whispered as he and Subaru sheathed their weapons, signing the end of the battle.

"Julius Juukulius...You are powerless" Subaru whispered as well.

[Music Ends]

A few hours later. With Subaru and Shadow

"Haaah...I feel rejuvenated"

"...Same here"

"You two are so easy to please, I suppose"

Subaru, Shadow and Beatrice were inside a room in the Knight's battalion, having been given to them by Marcos to rest their bones following their fight against Julius.

It's been already a few hours since the battle against Julius and Subaru was sitting on the bed inside the room assigned for him and the black-haired Highest, with Beatrice seated on his lap, and Shadow leaning on one of the walls with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Well, if there's anything that broke my heart, it was Emilia's stare at us during the battle..." Subaru said with a sad smile, which promoted Shadow and Beatrice to stare silently at him.

"...Damn. That was so cold. I don't know what we did. And even then, despite being shocked for a few moments when we fought Julius...She still returned to the cold look that spat 'hatred'..." Subaru muttered, before throwing his head backwards, releasing a deep sigh.

"Subaru..." Beatrice whispered in slight sadness for her Contractor, unable to find words to comfort him.

"It's times like these that I miss both Mom and Dad...I wonder if Natsumi also remembers them...Bah! Who am I screwing with?! Of course she remembers them!" Subaru suddenly mentioned his homeland in front of both Shadow and Beatrice, which in turn caused Shadow to have a downcast expression on his face. It took him only a few seconds of silence before he responded.

"...I believe that she remembers them. I hear that twin Mortals think in sync. At least more than 50% of them, that is" Shadow said, to which it made Subaru chuckle at this, before his sad expression changed to a calm smile as he looked on the ground while patting Beatrice's head.

"Yeah...Natsumi and I...We're inseperable. You might think that just because we have different preferences, and the fact that we are of the opposite gender that we are completely different. Sure, we fight here and then, but in the end, we're siblings, you know. And that's the norm. In the end, we always make up and end up even closer than before" Subaru said to which Beatrice blinked at him and Shadow simly stared in silence.

"Ugh...If only our lives didn't go south back then..." Subaru muttered, and at that moment, the door to the room swung open, gaining the attention of the room's occupants.

"Emilia..." Subaru whispered with a small smile, but it soon vanished upon seeing Emilia's angry expression, with Puck floating beside her while glaring at the three companions.

"What's wrong?" Subaru asked, knowing well what is the answer.

"Seriously, Subaru. You're asking the silliest of questions while knowing the obvious answer? You truly are something" Puck said, obviously not happy. Shadow simply glared at the two silently, his hand unconsiously reaching for the hilt of his sword.

"Why...Did you two fight Julius?" Emilia asked calmly while looking down on the ground.

"He's the one who started it. He called for us and said some crap about 'unfinished business' with us. Besides, we wanted to give him a piece of our minds for saying bullshit about us while not knowing anything. He also said that we were powerless. I don't know about Shadow, but he promised to help you. But for me, I couldn't bear the fact that that asshole said that I was unworthy of you, but even then, I showed him. Shadow helped me a bit, but I'm pretty sure that I could take him down by myself" Subaru said, all the while Shadow and Beatrice were silent, with Puck's glare even hardening at Subaru.

"...Is that all?" Emilia asked, to which it made Subaru, Shadow and Beatrice become wide-eyed while looking at her, before Subaru looked at the ground while gritting his teeth.

"No, Emilia. You just...Don't get it" He whispered.

"Yes. I don't get it" She whispered, before looking at the three occupants in the room.

"Subaru, Shadow...Roswaal, Ram and I will be returning to the mansion tomorrow. You two, alongside Beatrice, will be staying in the Capital with Crusch-sama to receive treatment" Emilia said, causing Subaru to gasp in shock, while Shadow's eyes became wide in rage.

"Rem will also be with you two. So you'll have nothing to worry about" She continued.

"Hey! Wait a sec! We never agreed to any of that!" Subaru yelled.

"Betty must also agree with Betty's Subaru, in fact. Betty was the one that wanted Subaru to accompany her in the Capital, I suppose" Beatrice said, trying to defend her Contractor, only for Puck to shift his glare at her, causing her to flinch while being seated on Subaru's lap, to which Subaru wrapped an arm around her protectively.

"...You disappointed me, Betty" Puck said with a low tone.

"W-What...?" Beatrice whispered in shock.

"You came up with that lame excuse? Seriously, why would even want to go to the Capital? That's not like you. In addition, why would you even make a Contract with someone like Subaru?" Puck asked with a glare, spitting out his words as if they were venom, and this caused Beatrice's small body to shake uncontrollably, looking at Puck with wide, shocked eyes, and trembling lips.

"Hey! Stop that! Don't talk like that about her!" Subaru yelled at Puck, hugging the trembling Beatrice even closer.

"And why would you make a Contract with Beatrice, Subaru? Did you trick her into making that Contract with you? Did you perhaps seduce her or used some form of mind-washing Magic to bring her to your side? Because it's completely implausible for Beatrice to even think about making a Contract with anyone, let alone an inferior like you" Puck said, and by now Beatrice's face was riddled with tears, with her tiny hands blocking her ears, refusing to hear and believe those words from her beloved brother.

"Shut the hell up! Beako made the Contract willingly with me! Because I helped her!" Subaru yelled, hugging Beatrice even closer to him.

"Oh? And how is that?" Puck asked with narrowed eyes.

"In the manner that you didn't! At least I was by her side to comfort her! What about you, Puck?! Obviouslyn since the two of you are brother and sister, then you already know how much Beatrice was suffering! She waited for four hundred years in that damned library, waiting for a person that will never come! All for the amusement of your bitch of a Mother! The bitch that created you and her, yet held no motherly love towards any of you! She saw you as nothing but subjects, and even you, Puck! You saw Beako as nothing but a method to reach ends meet! Sticking to Emilia, yet not appearing when it mattered the most! By now, I'm sure that you'll even kill everyone here, including Beako, for Emilia's sake! Well allow me to give you a fucking piece of my mind!" Subaru yelled before standing up. He then placed the sobbing and shaking Beatrice on the bed, before marching towards Puck, his face twisted in fury, yet Puck didn't even flinch.

"At the very least...I did the thing that you failed it. I'm not someone who abandons those in need" Subaru whispered, which caused Puck to narrow his eyes at him, but didn't say a word to contradict Subaru's statements.

"Even so..." Emilia whispered to which everyone looked at her.

"Whenever I'm around, you guys keep pushing yourself too hard. First at the slums, then at the mansion, and now..." Emilia whispered solemnly.

"I've been doing all of that for your sake!" Subaru yelled, to which Puck scoffed at this, enraging Shadow even further, yet the black Angel didn't say anything and kept on watching.

"For my sake? No...It's for your sake, isn't it? Both you and Shadow helped me a lot...Breaking your promise to me...Coming to the Castle...Even fighting Julius...All of that was for my sake, you say?" Emilia asked, her voice starting to rise, before she glared at both Subaru and Shadow.

"I never once said that I wanted any of that! Why are you two even helping me in the first place?! What did I do for you two to deserve that?!" She yelled her questions out loud. Subaru was stunned by this, and Shadow simply remained silent.

"You...You saved both me and Shaula back then...When we were in the alley...It's because of you that I was able to reunite with Natsumi too" Subaru answered.

"This still doesn't answer me! How did I save you?! What did I do?! The first time we met was back in the alley in the Capital three months ago! How on earth would that mean that I saved you just because we met there?! We never met before that!" Emilia yelled.

"...The fact that you only reunited with your sister doesn't even explain the fact that I helped you. It was only mere concidence. So stop saying that you're doing all of that for my sake! Because it's obvious that you're holding ulterior motives!" Emilia yelled, causing Subaru's eyes to widen in disbelief at Emilia's false accusations, and, being overwhelmed from having his crush wrongfully accusing him for things he doesn't have, Subaru hung down his head silently, looking down on the ground. Emilia simply stared at him while glaring. Puck, on the other hand, didn't seem to want to give everyone a breather, and he turned to Shadow.

"And what about you, Shadow? Why did you help my Lia?" Puck asked the Ultimate Life Form, to which he glared at him with wide eyes, indicating how much he was furious.

"...I just happpened to be in the Loothouse where you all met. That is all" Shadow answered smoothly.

"Then why are you sticking around? You've done your job already. Why are you hanging around Subaru and even teaching him weird Magic? Obviously, you two are working together, so it's obvious that you two hold the same ulterior motives" Puck said, to which Shadow simply gritted his teeth behind his closed mouth, but decided to stay calm.

"...I have nothing of the sort. I just happened to pass by at that day, and Subaru just wanted my help" Shadow replied.

"...Y-You're not lying...Still! The fact that you're here up until this moment clearly means something! Why would you stick around in Irlam Village?! What is your motive to begin with?!" Puck yelled, to which Shadow scoffed at him.

"Heh...To think that the Beast of The Apocalypse would be in this state. Honestly, are you that desperate to prove me wrong? To prove your Contractor right despite it is the other way around?" Shadow asked.

"My Lia is always right!" Puck yelled out in defense.

"From the way I'm seeing it, it's you who wants to prove her right, not wanting her to face her own mistakes head on. You're talking about being a parent to her, but from the way I'm seeing it, you only take pity on her" Shadow said.

"No! I would never-!" Puck was then interrupted by Shadow, who continued talking, disregarding any kind of counterattacks from the cat Spirit.

"Wanna know why, Puck? The proof is lying all over the place. You simply agree with her on every decision, you always help her in the stupidest of things, yet you were never there for her when she needed the most. You say that you dot on her, yet from what I'm seeing, this is only pitiful pity. And not to mention that you intend on being completely selfish by favoring her over anything in the world. You're sorely mistaken, Puck. Even your Contract with her says it. If knife-ear over there died, then obviously you would freeze the whole world, and on the other hand if you died, then everything around her, except for her, would be frozen. What else do you call that but selfish? Tell me"

And for the duration of Shadow's speech, Puck was completely stunned, unable to retaliate, with Emilia being equally as shocked at Shadow's words, but soon, her shocked face turned into fury.

"YOU'RE A LIAR! SHADOW IS A LIAR! PUCK CAN NEVER HURT ME! PUCK CAN NEVER HURT PEOPLE AROUND ME!" She yelled, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"...Why don't you ask him then?" Shadow asked, to which Emilia gritted her teeth, tears now flowing down her cheeks freely, before she wiped her face towards Puck.

"Puck! Is it true what Shadow said?! Tell me it isn't!" Emilia called for Puck.

"..." And the Spirit just wiped its head to the side, looking down at the floor beneath him with a downcast expression.

"Puck? Puck?! Please tell me it's not true!" Emilia yelled at her Contracted Spirit, but he still kept silent. Emilia then wiped her head back at Shadow.

"NO! YOU'RE A LIAR! A BIG LIAR, SHADOW! PUCK COULD NEVER DO THAT TO ME OR TO ANYONE ELSE!" Emilia yelled once again at Shadow, to which he snorted.

"...You're so annoying" Shadow said while rolling his eyes.

"LIAR! SHADOW! YOU'RE A LIAR!" Emilia yelled, even more tears flowing down her face.

"Emilia! You have to wake up now! Shadow's right! I'm not trying to make you hate Puck, but it's the truth! Puck would do just that! He doesn't even think with his brain at all!" Subaru exclaimed in defense for Shadow, to which Puck glared at Subaru meancingly, yet Subaru stood his ground, not even a hair in his body was shaking in fear.

"And you! Apologize to Beako right now!" Subaru yelled at Puck, pointing at the trembling Beako, who hugged her legs to her torso, muttering something unheard by the occupants in the room, tears still streaming down her lovely face, completely broken from Puck's false and cruel accusation.

"WHY SHOULD I APOLOGIZE?! IF ANYTHING, IT'S YOU THAT SHOULD APOLOGIZE AND TERMINATE THE CONTRACT WITH BETTY!" Puck yelled, to which Subaru found himself marching towards the cat Spirit, his body suddenly bursting into golden sparks of electricity, startling Emilia, Puck and the Royal Selection Candidates.

"AND I SAID THAT I WON'T! NOT ON YOUR GODDAMN FUCKING LIFE, YOU PIECE OF CAT DUNG!" Subaru yelled fearlessly, even when Puck's aura of anger and killing intent was literally freezing the air and causing everything around the room to become frozen. However, Subaru didn't appear to be affected in the slightest, because the defensive mechanism of the Authority of Pride was protecting him.

"WHAT DO YOU TWO KNOW ABOUT US ANYWAY?! I HAD TO SUFFER FROM DISCRIMINATION THROUGHOUT ALL MY LIFE! YOU TWO CAN NEVER KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SUFFERING!" Emilia yelled at the two.

And it was at this moment, everyone suddenly heard the sound of something snapping, and right afterwards, Emilia was grabbed by the throat by Shadow and then she got slammed into the wall, causing an Emilia-shaped hole to be created.

"LIA!" Puck yelled instantly creating icicles and aiming them at Shadow.

"El Vita"

"?!"

And as Shadow muttered the name of the spell, Puck's flying form instantly fell like a huge rock onto the ground, causing a small crater his size to form underneath his gravity-increased body, and the icicles dissipated in thin air.

"Listen to me very well, knife-ear...If you think that you've suffered the most, then allow me to tell you this..."

As Shadow whispered this, his face suddenly turned demonic, with his sclera turning deep black, his irises turning pale golden, his teeth became pointy and sharp and what appeared to be golden-colored blood came oozing out his eyes. Along with the creepy smile and Shadow looked like an Eldritch Horror.

"YoU kNoW nOtHiNg AbOuT sUfFeRiNg! YoU dOn'T wHaT iT mEaNs To Be NeVeR gIvEn MeRcY! yOu DoN't KnOw WhAt It MeAnS tO sEe YoUr LoVeD oNeS kIlLeD oVeR AnD oVeR! iT nEvEr EnDs! YoU kNoW nOtHiNg! So StOp BuLlShItTiNg Me, YoU bItCh!"

Shadow's roar completely contradicted his own grin of madness, and everyone, sans the broken Beatrice, were wide-eyed at what they have seen, even Subaru himself was shaking from his friend's outburst. It only took him a few seconds to realize, and Shadow's horrifying features blinked away, replaced by his normal, shocked face as he saw Emilia shaking in his hand, promoting him to release her throat a take a few steps back from the shock. It was then that his cold face returned to him after another couple of seconds, and he marched towards the door, to which the Royal Selection Candidates scrambled away and returned to their assigned rooms. However, before reaching the door, Shadow stopped.

"Subaru...I'm sorry, but...I can't take this anymore...I have had enough stupidity in my life enough to make anyone insane...I can handle any kind of stressful situations, but when it comes to someone insulting my dignity, even going as far as to say that I need medical treatment for my sanity...Then this is where the straw is split in half for me...I need some time for myself, so...I won't be helping you during the incoming crusade...I'm sorry...And good luck"

And as he said those words, Shadow exited the room, and afterwards, he disappeared in a white flicker.

Subaru stood there, stunned, unable to comprehend what just happened, and not a few seconds later, when Shadow's words finally sunk inside his brain, he gritted his teeth before wiping his face to Emilia and Puck, anger completely filling his eyes as he glared at Puck, who was comforting the shaking Emilia.

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?! BECAUSE OF YOU, WE'RE ALL DOOMED! I REALLY CAN'T COMPREHEND THE STUPIDITY THAT YOU LOUTS HAVE! YOU SHOULD ALL JUST GO AND FUCK YOURSELVES FOR ALL I CARE! I MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Subaru roared in anger at both Puck and Emilia. He then marched towards the still heartbroken Beatrice, carried her in his arms and stomped outside the room, but before exiting, he turned around to say some last few words to Emilia.

"Shadow was right about you! You may have studied about being a ruler, but you never studied about being a proper person! You really got an A+...For keeping others away from you!" He exclaimed, before marching towards the door, exiting the room and leaving the terrified Emilia with Puck, who was trying to comfort her.

Three Days Later. Duchess Karsten Mansion

"Ugh...I already told you! I'm alright!"

"We cyan't be syure, nya~! You have a shattered Gate, nya~! Ferri-chan will treat nyow nicely and smyouth, Subaru-kyun~!"

"...Vulgar and pathetic...I've been cheated on, I suppose"

"Shaula has been cheated on as well..."

Subaru was given the most comical torture of his life. A torture in the form of one Felix Argyle.

It has been three days ever since the fight between Emila and Shadow and Subaru, and Subaru, for the best part, decided to at least accept the recommended medical treatment, but on his own terms, as it will be for the sake of clearing his mind off of things, getting to make Beatrice feel better after the severe shock that her so-called brother has given her, and for trying to piece together a plan in order to repel the attack landing on them from two sides.

And as Felix was busy healing his body and finding any kind of impurities, Subaru's mind was in another world.

On a side, they have the White Whale, a beast that Subaru read about on the first day when he arrived at Crusch's mansion. As his name suggests, the White Whale is a massive whale the size of a massive fortress ship, from the kind that the military use to carry fighting aircrafts on sea. The Mabeast holds the ability to manipulate mist, and two types at that. The first type is a mist that can affect the minds of its victims and even cause mental pain to them, and the other type is used to erase people from existence, and even erase them from the memories of others, rewriting history itself. Subaru saw that the second version of the mist was the most extremely dangerous one, while the first version was the most annyoing one, as it will cause hinderance in the battlefield.

There is also the fact about what Sakura said back then about its controller. Normally, the Witch Cult would be the one to control the White Whale to arrive at the Flugel Tree. However, they made a sudden change in plans when they realized that they, for reasons unknown, could no longer control the White Whale. This alerted Subaru about the fact that a third force is playing in the scene, and that the White Whale might even attack them suddenly. However, if the Mabeast didn't appear, then that would be one nuinsance out of the bat.

On the other side, however, the problem that came with the Sin Archbishops.

Gluttony functioned the same as the White Whale, except that the moment they eat your memories or name or both at the same time, Hell would break loose from there. And judging by the fact that they held the Gluttony Witch Factor for God knows how long, that would mean that Gluttony had accumulated lots of skills and abilities, essentially making them a walking arsenal, or arsenals, in plural, if what Sakura said was true about them being three, where one of them was in the tower that he was summoned in a year ago, and one of them will attack the Royal Candidates as a countermeasure for lacking the power of the White Whale.

Then, Greed comes into the picture. And from what Subaru heard, he was an invincible force. His Authority gave him invincibility to the point that weapons were repelled from his body and got completely shattered upon contact. Nothing could hurt him, and on top of that, he was a monstrosity, a walking harbinger of Doomsday with unparalleled prowess.

Subaru was racking his brain to find the answer to all of this but found none. He felt like something was missing to solve the puzzle, yet the more he thought, the more his head hurt him.

So many questions, yet so little answers.

Subaru had his hands full already. He was plagued with Shadow not being on their side due to Emilia's unreasonable and unwanted anger, as well as Puck's humiliation to both him and Subaru. There was also the fact that they were about to face Sin Archbishops four days from now, and not to mention the Mabeast running amok with no direction and no sense of reason, with only bloodlust roaming around it.

"God dammit! My head is killing me!" He mentally screamed inside his mind.

"Master! Don't lose sight! You look hurt! Shaula will tend to you! Yup~!"

"?!"

Snapping him out of his thoughts was Shaula taking his head and shoving it between her ample breasts, causing Subaru to release muffled screams, with Felix taking this chance to affectionally rub his chest on Subaru's back while healing him.

"MMF! MERCY PLEASE! UNCLE! UNCLE!" Subaru yelled while trying to take his breath as he was assaulted from the front by a blissful, yet suffocating sensation, and by a weird He-Girl, crossdressing, and possibly transexual cat man from the back.

"BEAKO! HELP ME!" Subaru yelled to his Contracted Spirit, who just stood there, giving her Contractor a comical deadpan stare, before turning tails in front of him and heading towards the door.

"You're on your own, I suppose" Beatrice said before marching quietly to the door of the room.

"TRAITOR!" Subaru yelled before he was muffled once again by Shaula's breasts.

Half an hour later

"Phew...Man...That was supposed to heal me up, but for some reason, I feel beat..."

Subaru sighed, having felt more exhausted than comfortable due to the session that happened just now.

"It can't be helped, Master. The mold and junk inside your body needs to be flushed out, ya know! Yup~!" Shaula said with a sweet innocent smile.

"Can't you put that nicer?" Subaru asked with a sweatdrop, which caused Shaula to giggle.

"...Hey, Shaula" Subaru called for the humanoid Mabeast, gaining her attention. She blinked upon noticing the weird serious look on her Master's face.

"Yes? What is it, Master?" She asked.

"Do you...Think I'm pathetic?" He asked her, to which she stared at him for a second, before answering with a calm smile.

"I do" She answered.

"Whoa! No hesitation! Not even a shred of sympathy!" Subaru exclaimed in comical shock at Shaula's brutal honesty, before sighing and continuing to talk.

"Then...Why are you always staying with me? Even up until this moment?" Subaru asked Shaula, to which she smiled gently at him.

"Master being pathetic makes Shaula want to stay with him. Shaula's not contradictory, either. Shaula is staying with Master because she wants to. Yup~!" Shaula answered, which made Subaru's eyes widen slightly at her response, before he chuckled lightly.

"...You're amazing, Shaula" He whispered.

"Master is way more amazing than Shaula! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed.

"Can't understand why you have me on that pedestal..." Subaru sweatdropped, before standing up from the bed that he was seated on.

"Alright. Let us meet up with Crusch. We still have time before our mission begins. In the meantime, we can think about what to do with Beako" Subaru said.

"Okay! That sounds great!" Shaula exclaimed with a smile.

And a few minutes later, both Subaru and Shaula met up with Crusch.

"Oh? You want to have a spar?" Crusch asked in amusment.

"Yeah. Can't let my body lose all the training that I learned in the past year and few months" Subaru answered, to which it made Crusch sport a small smile.

"Very well. But while you're at it, why don't you have Wilhelm as your sparring partner and instructor?" Crusch asked.

"Oh! I heard that Wilhelm was a member of the Crusch Camp! He's here?!" Subaru asked in surprise as he saw Wilhelm approaching them with a calm smile on his face.

"It's been a little while, Subaru-dono. Ever since that performance you had in the training grounds of the Royal Knights battalion" Wilhelm greeted the white-haired boy.

"Oh yes. That was quite the performance, Subaru Natsuki. I was rather amazed. The speech that you give to Anastasia Hoshin's Knight was rather amusing and heart-warming. Not to mention that I was moved from you defending your friend with tears. You weren't even ashamed to shed them for the sake of your friend back then" Crusch said with a smile.

"Ugh! Please don't remind me! That was so embarrassing!" Subaru yelled while putting his beat red flushed face in his palms.

"Fufufufufufu. You were amazing there, Subaru-dono. And you being able to back up your words through actions was most amusing. Not to mention your skills at combat alongside Terios-dono. How I wish to meet him" Wilhelm said.

"Well...I don't think that it's possible..." Subaru said with a solemn look while rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh. I see. I heard from Crusch-sama that a rather harsh debate between you and Emilia-sama has happened, and he departed from the Camp briefly. I am deeply sorry for what has happened" Wilhelm said to Subaru.

"Nah. It's fine. Though in the past few months that went by, I never thought that Shadow was that emotional..." Subaru muttered, before shaking off these thoughts from his head.

"Anyways, that aside, I would love to spar with you, Wilhelm. If I may ask, can I?" Subaru asked.

"Sure, Subaru-dono. I also would love to see your strength for myself. Seeing and experiencing are two different things as you already know" Wilhelm said.

"Sure. Let's do this!" Subaru exclaimed.

A few minutes later

Subaru and Wilhelm were in the training field, with Shaula looking over at them, and Crusch and Felix watching them while sitting at a distance.

"Please approach me with your full strength. That way, I can assess your full strength" Wilhelm said while having a wooden sword in his hand, and Subaru also having one as well.

"Please wait a moment" Subaru said, causing Wilhelm to raise an eyebrow at this, before he saw Subaru snapping the sword in two, causing everyone, sans Shaula, to raise their eyebrows in surprise at what Subaru has done. They then saw him catching the two broken pieces off the wooden sword in reverse grips.

"Why did you do that, If I may ask, Subaru-dono?" Wilhelm asked Subaru.

"Sorry. But I see myself wielding every single kind of imaginable weapon sans a sword. So please bear with me" Subaru answered, to which Wilhem immediately nodded in acknowledgement.

"Very well. Come anytime" Wilhelm said, which in turn caused Subaru to nod, before taking a deep breath, and all of a sudden, he vanished from Wilhelm's view, startling everyone looking at him, including Wilhelm himself. Suddenly, he felt a rather menacing presence behind him, only to turn around in time to block an attack from Subaru, who was inches from slamming the makeshift dagger into Wilhelm's face, causing the man to push him away and jump backwards to keep his distance.

Subaru didn't stop there, and channeled Mana into his feet, increasing his speed and approaching Wilhelm and closing the distance between both of them. This promoted Wilhelm to catch the sword within his two hands, and parry the swift and fast strikes that Subaru delivered to him, and judging by the sweat dripping from Wilhelm's forehead, he was having a rather hard time in this spar.

"Most impressive, Subaru-dono. Your physique is rather amusing, as well as your ability to maintain your calmness and remove any tension in your body. I see that you are the real deal indeed" Wilhelm complimented his sparring partner as he was barely parrying the white-haired boy's strikes.

"I'm a little hurt, Wilhelm. Did you honestly think that I was relying only on Shadow's assistance? Even without Shadow, I could've defeated Julius rather easily. Though that would've taken more time than usual, even with Beako's help" Subaru said as he kept on delivering strikes and kept on placing Wilhelm on guard.

"Betty's Contractor is obviously hopeless without Betty, I suppose" Beatrice said while walking towards the tea table where Felix and Crusch were seated. Felix then poured some tea to Beatrice, and she silently accepted it.

"Heh...Harsh as ever, Beako" Subaru said, before making a dive downwards, sliding between Wilhelm's legs, catching the man off guard as he groaned upon feeling the left side of his torso being struck by a considerably powerful force, causing him to nearly get knocked off his feet. Wilhelm then reaffirmed his position and charged once again at Subaru. He then made an upwards swing, only for Subaru to block it by placing his makeshift wooden daggers in an 'X' position.

"Impressive, Subaru-dono. To think that you're only thinking of your own battles and your weapon in the battlefield. I condemn you on your abilities" Wilhelm complimented Subaru with a smile.

"Heh! That's not all! I'm full of surprises!" Subaru exclaimed as he continued exchanging blows with Wilhelm.

An Hour Later

After the spar ended, Wilhelm retreated back to the mansion, while Shaula tended to Subaru. And while passing towards the mansion, he met Felix by the doors.

"Hmm...Rare for Wil-ji to have interest in someone" Felix said.

"A terrible misunderstanding" Wilhelm replied.

"Is that so? Nyow way nyow are not interested in people...Though nyow like cutting them more than talking to them" Felix said, to which Wilhelm held a deadpan stare on his face while staring at the cat Demi-Human.

"An even worse misunderstanding" Wilhelm replied shortly once again.

"Is that so? Nyow like him that much? Is Subaru-kyun actually that talented? Ferri-chan didn't knyow" Felix said.

"Well, he sure has skills with lots of weapons, and even extreme survival instincts. However, that's not what was interesting about him" Wilhelm said.

"Then what was?" Felix asked.

"Those eyes of his...It's as if he had returned from the realm of Death several times over. Many have come to the edge, stopped and turned back, but that boy doesn't seem to not even think about giving up" Wilhelm said.

"I see..." Felix muttered.

"Well then, Felix, I shall depart for the day" Wilhelm said before bowing to the Demi-Human Knight, before marching inside the mansion. All the while, Felix was looking at the back of the middle-aged man.

"Subaru-kyun sure is walking on a rather difficult path...After all...Having the Sword Demon, Wilhelm Trias himself taking a liking to nyou...Is the same as the Witch falling in love with nyou"

As Felix muttered these words, winds blew past him, rustling his hair.

Three days later

After taking their leave from the Crusch mansion to the Capital, Subaru, alongside Shaula and Beatrice, headed towards Roswaal's mansion in order to set things right with Emilia.

And possibly try to find Shadow. They're already 1 day before the deadline approaches, and Subaru was already at a loss for plans, so the only thing to do was to try and at least apologize to Emilia, even if they did nothing wrong. Subaru just wanted to get this over with and save everyone.

And the fact that it took longer for them was due to two reasons: One, because Saki was not with them to make their travel faster, and two and the most important, was the fact that the Lifaus Highway, the road that Subaru took to reach the Capital in less than a day, was closed due to the mist engulfing it, most specifically the mist of the White Whale, so they have been traveling non-stop, where Subaru was the one to rest due to him, while having a better stamina than an average Human, he wasn't as energy-pumped as Shaula, let alone having infinte stamina like Beatrice due to her Spirit psychology.

And so, they were closing on to Irlam Village, the beginning of the domain of Roswaal.

"Shaula, Beako. Be careful. We'll have to talk to Emilia in order to set things straight" Subaru said to his two female companions, to which Beatrice gave him a weird look.

"W-What's that look for, Beako?!" Subaru yelled.

"Betty doesn't understand why would you need her help for regaining the favor of this Half-Elf child, in fact" Beatrice said.

"W-Well...You already know that there are stuff that I can't do alone, Beako. So I'll need your help for it, ya know" Subaru said while scratching his cheek with his finger, causing Beatrice to blink at this, before puffing her chest proudly.

"Hmph! You're so hopeless without Betty, in fact! Be thankful that Betty is more than willing to help your sorry state, I suppose!" She exclaimed, to which Subaru chuckled.

Suddenly, both Subaru and Beatrice were yanked off the Dragon Carriage as the carriage suddenly went out of its way and completely turned upside down. Fortunately, Shaula managed to save both Subaru and Beatrice from being turned to mince meat. And as Subaru stood on his feet, he gasped in shock and horror upon seeing the Ground Dragon's head completely cut off.

"What the...?!" Subaru's eyes were wide in shock, but then his attention was brought towards a group of figures that surrounded him, Shaula and Beatrice, all where wearing black cloaks and had glowing red eyes.

"Witch Cultists..." Beatrice hissed out their name.

"Shaula...Beatrice...Prepare for battle" Subaru said before summoning both of Dark Elf and Brimstone Fang into his hands.

The Cultists then jumped towards the trio, swords brandished. Shaula fired beams of light at them, blowing down three of them. Beatrice began to conjure Minya and spam it, and Subaru was in a dead lock with a Cultist, where one behind him rushed towards his unprotected back.

"Flaemis!"

"?!"

Just then, the Cultist that was aiming at Subaru's back was scorched alive in an instant, to the point that not even his ashes remained. All that was left of him was the sword that he brandished, as Subaru's Elemental Race Demon emerged around him protectively.

"Minya!" Beatrice roared out as thirty Mana crystal stakes appeared around Subaru, before they shot at the Cultist in front of him and two other Cultists. A Cultist appeared behind Beatrice, aiming to loop her head off, only for him to halt midway when Subaru threw Brimstone Fang at the Cultist, hitting him straight in the heart, and causing him to drop dead on the spot.

Shaula was also busy taking down some of them, as three approached her. One from behind and the other two in midair. Shaula just took a deep breath with her hair shadowing her eyes and a scowl apparent on her face, before she suddenly vanished from the sight of the Cultists. And the next thing that they knew was the two Cultists being sent away, the one to the right received a punch to his face that was strong enough to sever his head off his shoulders, while the other to the left was kicked to a nearby tree with tremendous force, and was sent flying towards a tree, meeting his end when he was stabbed by the branch of the tree that he was sent flying to. The third on the ground, on the other hand, was stunned for a second, but that was all what Shaula needed as she morphed her right arm to a massive orange and black scorpion pincer, before diving towards the last Cultist with neck-breaking speeds, and sliced him in half, making him meet his maker instantly.

"Are you two alright?" Subaru asked his two female companions as he approached the dead Cultist that he threw his dagger at, before swiftly retrieving his dagger from his dead body.

"Betty's fine, I suppose" Beatrice answered.

"Shaula's also fine! Yup~!" Shaula exclaimed with her usual cheerful tone.

"Let's go and check on the village! I have a bad feeling!" Subaru yelled so suddenly, before he ran towards the direction of Irlam Village, to which Shaula scooped Beatrice under her arm and bolted behind her Master.

And as he neared the village, and saw light in the distance...

"..."

"...!"

"...?!"

The stunned reaction of the three was of shock, disbelief, horror and another plethora of unexplained emotions swirled uncontrollably inside the three.

Of course, how would they not even comprehend the other emotions that danced violently inside of them when the entire Village of Irlam was completely slaughtered in the most brutal ways possible?

Whoever was their made sure of two things:

One: To see that no one remained alive in the Village.

And Two: To make sure that everyone killed in the most horrible ways that are known and unknown to any sane mind.

"W-What the hell...?" Subaru could only whisper in shock as he saw lots of bodies, lots of blood, lots of expressions of horror and despair.

The bodies were mutilated, torn, shredded, disembowled, burnt alive, sliced to pieces and even more.

Subaru just walked with his expression of shock and disbelief plastered in his eyes, tears in the corners of his eyes as he passed through the sight of hideous sight of bodies around him, before he tripped on something, probably another body.

But when he saw who it was, it was definitely a body, but it was that of Petra, whose limbs were cut off in a rather gruesome way.

Subaru said nothing. He didn't even react, even when Beatrice was gasping and placing a hand on her mouth, and even when Shaula saw the people who she spoke to and interacted with, the nice people that treated her kindly, being mutilated in a rather gruesome way. Even when watching Subaru taking off his green blazer and covering Petra's petite body with it, Shaula and Beatrice were shell-shocked from all of this.

"H-How...Ram, Frederica, Otto, Rem, Roswaal and Emilia...Should be there...I don't think that they would...Let anything happen to the Village..." Subaru whispered, a creepy smile appearing on his face. Beatrice had an extremely worried look on her face, seeing her Contractor becoming completely broken and entering the state of absolute Despair as she slowly marched towards the mansion. It took them a few minutes to reach the courtyard of the mansion, but it only took Subaru a few seconds to break down.

How he could not break down as he saw Ram's body pinned to the ground with three swords, two pinning her from her hands, and the third one piercing her back?

"Aaaa..."

He whispered, as Shaula fell to her knees upon seeing one of the few people that she respected being humiliated and dead in one of the most worst ways possible, with Beatrice staring wide-eyed with tears falling down her eyes, color drained from her face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Subaru screamed from the top of his lungs, finally letting loose of whatever emotions left within him after witnessing all of this insanity suddenly unfolding in front of him.

"H-How...We're still had one day left..." He whispered, unable to comprehend what had just happened in front of him.

"Ahh, seriously..."

"?!"

And just then, the trio whipped their faces to the new voice that was coming from the main doors of the mansion.

It was a kid who appeared to be roughly twelve or thirteen years of age with a high-pitched voice that denoted his apparent youthfulness. He had long, disheveled dark brown hair, along with emerald green eyes that are yellow in the center and have a poisonous glimmer to them. He also has a young look, a mischievous smile with sharp teeth, and wore a piece of cloth around his body. In his hands was what appeared to be balls connected to his hands by what appeared to be a rope.

"W-What...?" Subaru whispered while looking at the kid as Beatrice and Shaula approached him protectively.

"No matter how much we eat, it's not enough! This's why we can never stop living. Eating, feeding, chewing, biting, eating down, eating up, chewing up, chewing down, licking, lapping, sucking, inhaling, devouring—Guzzling! Gobbling! Ahh—thanks for the meal!" The kid exclaimed before raising his arms to the sky, and the trio of Subaru, Shaula and Beatrice all widened their eyes in shock and disbelief.

The 'rope' was nothing but hair, and the 'balls' were nothing but...

"N-No way..."

...But the heads of Otto, Frederica and Emilia, all having extreme faces of shock and horror.

"Y-YOUUUUUUUU!" Subaru roared through his already ragged throat that was already dry from yelled a few moments ago.

"Love! Chivalry! Hatred! Tenacity! Accomplishment! The utter satisfaction of feeling that for so long, long, hoarded, piled, simmered and boiled, passing down our throat! Guzzling! Gobbling! Any and everything! Our heart, our stomach, trembles in delight and fullness!" The kid simply roared out in pure ectatsy despite being around the carnage that surrounded him.

"Guzzling...? Gobbling...? No way! You are...!" Beatrice whispered in shock as the boy threw the heads away from his hands, causing them to roll over towards Subaru, who just stared wide-eyed at the heads of his dead friends.

"Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, representing the Aspect of Bizzare Eating, Roy Alphard" The boy introduced himself, with his grin showing his sharp teeth, as his smile stretched so much that the trio felt that his face would be split in half.

Suddenly, a colassal figure appeared from the mansion's top, obscured by the shadows, where only its golden yellow glowing eyes appeared while staring menacingly at the living four individuals.

"It looks like that this is our queue to leave, tsu" Roy said before looking at Subaru.

"Hey...Pride...Try harder next time, tsu" He said, before a black portal appeared behind him, and he then jumped backwards entering the portal, before it closed the moment he jumped into it.

As for the massive figure, Subaru knew exactly what it was, considering the fact that this was the first entity that introduced him to Last Second Retreat.

"Puck..." He whispered as the wind and snow suddenly appeared and howled firecely, and the next thing that happened was Puck glaring at Subaru.

"Sleep...Along with my daughter..."

Those were the last words Subaru heard, before a massive blast of ice erupted from Puck and hit the trio, causing Beatrice and Shaula's bodies to instantly turn to ice and crumble. For Subaru, however, everything was in slow motion for him. His body froze slowly corrosponding to his perception. He watched in silence as his body was completely engulfed in ice.

And right before the second that the ice completely crumbled his entire body...

...

...

...

Black.

...

...

...

"GAHK!"

"?!"

Subaru gasped as he opened his eyes. He found himself standing while sweating bullets in front of Wilhelm as the pieces of the wooden sword fell from the white-haired boy's hands. Felix, Crusch, Wilhelm, Beatrice and Shaula looked in confusion at Subaru's stunned and confused state. And despite being in shock, Subaru realized that he had just rewund to the time where he had just finished training with Wilhelm, specifically three days after parting ways with Emilia in the Capital and three days before the...Massacre...

"Master?" Shaula called in concern.

"Subaru-dono?" Wilhelm called for the white-haired boy, and Beatrice marched towards her Contractor, worry creeping into her heart as she felt some emotional disturbance from her Contractor's side.

"Huu...Hee...Legs...Arms...Heads..." Subaru suddenly muttered as his body shook and a creepy smile appearing on his face, where suddenly tears appeared in the corners of his eyes.

"Subaru? What's wrong with you, I wonder?" Beatrice asked in concern, having reached her Contractor, who looked at her.

"B-Beatrice...?" He whispered.

"Master? Are you alright?" Shaula asked, having also approached him as well, which made Subaru look at her from the corners of his dilated and shaking eyes. Even Crusch and Felix ran towards him, where everyone looked at him in concern and confusion.

"Sh-Shaula...?" Subaru whispered once again.

Realization struck Subaru like a lightning bolt from the Heavens.

He had just Last Second Retreated.

And just then, Subaru's legs became unable to support him, and he fell face-first to the ground, completely out cold.

"Master!/Subaru!/Subaru-dono!/Subaru Natsuki!/Subaru-kyun!"

The last thing Subaru heard was the cries of the people around him before he completely blacked out.

Despair...Was indeed a disease...That drove to Madness.

And Subaru Natsuki just took a small sip from its large spoon.

And Done!

Wow! My longest chapter ever! Over 65k words! I already outdone myself with those lengthy chapter, right?!

Now then, my loved moment of the story is when Subaru ended the malfunctioning of Return By Death at Arc 7, and not to mention that it's already apparent that a huge change is about to happen in future arcs. Oh, I cannot wait to see Chisha Gold's face smeared into the ground!

On another note, I noticed that none of you guys commented on the chapters posted. Please do. I want to have even more support, guys. It's making me heartbroken that you guys aren't commenting. Maybe even an idea or two would pop out from you guys in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on the story and how to make it progress even more.

Next Chapter: Subaru's Merciless Battle Against Madness.

Until Next Time And Next Chapter!

Jude Warble, Out.