Slamming his fists into the ground, the monstrous Garfiel roared loudly as he glared menacingly at the Sword Saint. The earth trembled as tremors shook the ground, with rock and dirt and gravel flying into the air due to the tiger boy's tremendous force.
Reinhard only squinted as he stared up at Garfiel, the dust and dirt doing nothing to dissuade him. Not even the debris that fell from the sky did anything to the redhead, as he simply stood still while massive objects scattered all around him.
Seeing his opportunity, Garfiel pulled his huge claw back before swiping it forward towards Reinhard. This attack however wasn't successful in the slightest, as Reinhard jumped up into the air with no effort at all, easily avoiding Garfiel's claws. With Garfiel's now massive size, his speed wasn't as great as it was when he was in his normal form. As such, his attacks were slower and heftier, leading to Reinhard dodging them with relative ease.
Reinhard knew that he could easily end this fight in a single blow, but he did not want to seriously harm the boy in front of him. He knew that Garfiel was acting irrationally and out of the burning anger from his heart, and not any real malice or ill intent. So if Reinhard did want to end this quickly, he would have to properly hold himself back as to not kill him.
However, with how powerful and relentless Garfiel was, Reinhard found that to be a more difficult task than he would have thought. One wrong calculation and a swipe of his hand could bisect the tiger in two, which was an outcome he very much did not want to come to pass. Sidestepping several feet, Reinhard avoided another slam from Garfiel's fist, scattering rock and dirt from all angles. This attack would normally be unavoidable for the average person. But Reinhard was no average man, as the dirt and dust traversed around him thanks to one of his many Divine Protections.
Garfiel truly had no chance in beating Reinhard in a serious fight. In turn, Reinhard took his best option. And that was to simply run away.
Although not the fastest in the world, Reinhard's tremendous physical capabilities and Divine Protections allowed for him to be much faster than the average man. Dashing at speeds so fast that it could barely be registered by the human eye. Taking a stance, Reinhard pushed himself forward, avoiding another claw swipe from Garfiel, and dashed forward into the forest of trees towards his original destination.
As soon as Reinhard exited Garfiel's line of sight, the enraged boy let out a bloodcurdling roar at what he perceived to be a cowardly move. With only the thought of battle on his mind, Garfiel tore into the forest chasing after Reinhard, his brain overloading with thoughts of defeating the Sword Saint in order to win the Oni's heart that he yearned after so much.
Reinhard of course heard that bellowing roar from behind him, but paid it no mind as he focused himself on his true objective. Thinking back to Ram, Reinhard felt immense guilt swell his heart as he thought about what she would think seeing him and Garfiel like this. Would she instantly take his side, or would she be disappointed at seeing them fight one another? He knew she would never forgive him if he managed to seriously hurt Garfiel, so Reinhard didn't feel any shame at abandoning this battle.
Even with that conviction, not even the Sword Saint could avoid what was about to come next. With his arsenal of Divine Protections, Reinhard instantly sensed a massive object being hurdled his way. Stepping to the right, he managed to avoid a massive boulder that had just been thrown towards him. He didn't have the time to properly register what had happened, as suddenly a large tree trunk was tossed his way as well, which Reinhard easily kicked and shattered. Looking up ahead, Reinhard saw the massive tiger figure of Garfiel holding a tree high above his head, which he then tossed forward with a heavy grunt of exertion. Reinhard frowned as he furrowed his brows in disappointment, clenching his right hand into a fist before delivering a strike towards the wood, splitting it in half.
He was prepared to do the same for the next object Garfiel would throw at him, but he didn't expect it to be Garfiel himself. With his strength, Garfiel propelled himself up high into the sky and launched himself towards Reinhard. Knowing that he couldn't assault the oncoming force in front of him, Reinhard hopped back allowing Garfiel to crash into the ground, sending more debris flying into the air then ever before. The small area had been completely decimated by that onslaught, and Garfiel hadn't even shown ten percent of his true strength.
Although the amount of dust that had been kicked up was severe, it did nothing to disturb the Sword Saint as he had a Divine Protection which allowed him to see through dust. Though Garfiel was not aware of this fact, and tried to cloud Reinhard's vision by repeatedly slamming his fists into the ground causing a wave of dust to overflow the area and leaving massive craters everywhere.
Reinhard knew that if he didn't stop this immediately, Garfiel could cause even more irreversible damage towards the environment. And if any innocents were to be caught in the crossfire, Reinhard was sure that they would end up dead, even if he focused all of his attention on saving them.
Eyeing the hulking form of Garfiel, Reinhard thought about what action he should take in order to stop this battle as quickly as possible. He could run up and deliver a swift chop to Garfiel's neck, knocking him out and causing the boy to black out. However, he was certain that even with that, Garfiel would likely get back up again and resume his assault. He needed a solution that would prevent Garfiel from fighting him altogether, even though with his current state that seemed impossible.
Garfiel couldn't be spoken to reasonably at the moment. The only way for Reinhard to end this fight right now were to either knock him out or kill him. He most certainly couldn't do the latter, and the former seemed like a solution that wouldn't last very long.
As Reinhard continued to dodge and avoid the many attacks by Garfiel, his mind was turning as he thought of the best possible way to solve this. With a sad look in his eyes, Reinhard examined Garfiel's behavior as that of one who was heart-broken. He knew there was no condolences or apologies that could satisfy the boy now. It would probably only anger him more.
If Ram had been stolen from him by someone else, he was sure that he too would be furious. Reinhard understood the feelings of love all too clearly now, as well as the possessiveness that came with it. And since Garfiel knew Ram much longer than he ever had, he was certain that Garfiel's anger and sadness would have been much greater than Reinhard's if he were in his situation.
So although Garfiel desperately tried to attack and harm the Sword Saint, the only emotions Reinhard felt towards the golden tiger boy were that of pity and sympathy.
Realizing the scope of Garfiel's feelings, Reinhard decided on what to do.
And that was to do nothing.
Ceasing his movements all together, Reinhard sighed and closed his eyes as he held his arms at his sides. If this is what it took to appease Garfiel, then he would follow through with it no matter what.
Garfiel, who was still very much enraged and in an unreasonable state, did not hesitate as he slammed his massive fist against the Sword Saint's head, sending him crashing to the ground. With Reinhard now ignoring all of his Divine Protections that allowed him to avoid all attacks, Garfiel repeatedly punched the Sword Saint into the ground, sending shockwaves throughout the air for every blow he landed.
As ridiculously strong as Reinhard was, not even he was necessarily invincible. As evident with his battle with the Sin Archbishop of Greed, it is possible to harm him and even kill him, as borderline impossible as that was.
Thanks to his complete stop in movement however, nothing could prevent Reinhard from facing the brunt force of all of Garfiel's subsequent blows. Even without dodging or blocking though, Reinhard's Divine Protections went to work in lessening the force on each of the hits he received, allowing him to survive every single one of the attacks that would have undoubtedly killed a normal person.
Still, even with his enhanced durability and defense, Reinhard felt a dull ache every time Garfiel landed a hit on him. Despite the damage that was being done to the redhead, Garfiel's fists actually took the worse of it. Because of Reinhard's Divine Protections, his body was peak superhuman. Even if someone were to land a successful punch on him, the attacker would come out of the ordeal more injured than him. If his body was strong enough to bend steel and leap high distances, then it would make sense for his durability to be on that same scale as well. To the point where even the thick hide of Garfiel's tiger form was beginning to swell and bleed from punching the Sword Saint non-stop.
In the deepest parts of Garfiel's mind, even in his scattered state he managed to cobble together some reasonable thought that reminded him that he was not invincible. If he were to continue this relentless attack, his fists would be so broken and bloody that it would be difficult to use them properly. So Garfiel took a different approach, and delivered a devastating kick to Reinhard, which sent the knight flying hundreds of meters away. The impact of the blow was enough to completely shatter Garfiel's leg. His bones being mangled as his opponent's body was flying through the air, crashing through every tree and rock like a natural disaster.
Taking a breather for a moment, Garfiel activated his healing magic on himself, healing his wounds on his fists and legs restoring himself back to his peak condition. Leaping forward, Garfiel sprinted across the forest towards the trail of destruction Reinhard left, only to find the redhead standing up almost perfectly fine, with only a few bruises and scratches marking the damage inflicted upon him.
Even without fighting back, even without using his Divine Protections, Reinhard was nigh invulnerable and almost impossible to kill.
After seeing how little Garfiel's attacks had injured him, he took a different approach as he then grabbed Reinhard with his paw, before flinging him high into the air in a curved line.
The wind was blowing fast in Reinhard's ears. His red hair flying through the wind as he was sent multiple kilometers across the forest. Even with such a powerful throw, however, he managed to find his bearings in less than a second. Normally if an enemy performed a move like this on him, he would be able to recover instantly. However with Garfiel, Reinhard opted out on taking any action, and instead let the force carry him through the air as he anticipated what would happen next.
He then heard a roar. A roar so loud that it could deafen anyone close to five meters away from the source. He then felt the presence of Garfiel who had leapt up after him, and saw him raise his arms up into two fists that he used to slam into Reinhard's body. Sending him crashing down to the ground with such force that it would have completely eviscerated any other opponent that wasn't on his level.
Being close to the clouds in height, Reinhard was suddenly slammed down to the solid earth in less than three seconds. The crater that was formed was large enough to encompass the entirety of Arlam Village. The grass that had settled there was completely obliterated now, with only a five meter deep hole in place that housed the wincing Sword Saint.
Legends have spoken about how strong the Sword Saint was, but none were ever truly witness to the extent of his abilities. Especially against such a powerful foe. The closest anyone got to seeing Reinhard go all out was during his battles in Priestella, in which the Sin Archbishop of Greed was undoubtedly his most dangerous enemy. Even during that battle however, people didn't truly get to see how far Reinhard's powers went. If anyone were to see the amount of punishment Reinhard was enduring right now, even those that were present during his fight with the Archbishop, their jaws would be gaped open in shock.
And even still, after being subject to multiple devastating blows and hits by Garfiel, this wasn't even the full potential of what Reinhard's durability was capable of.
Despite that, Garfiel was now falling through the air with his legs outstretched, intent on finishing this battle. He rocketed towards the ground at neck-breaking speed, almost catching on fire due to how fast he was going through the atmosphere. As the force of his body cut through the wind, he let out one last bellowing roar before slamming down into Reinhard on the ground. His fists were already broken from hitting Reinhard so heavily, but now his legs were completely demolished. Even if he were to apply healing magic on himself, it wouldn't be enough to recuperate him completely. Only the legendary healing magic of Ferris the Blue could do such a thing.
When the dust finally settled, Garfiel panted heavily as he desperately applied his healing magic on himself. Hanging his head low, the exhausted tiger felt his strength begin to wane, as his transformation began to reverse.
Gone was the monstrous, intimidating form of the beast tiger, and replacing that was the figure of a young boy, guilty and ashamed at what he had done. Falling to his knees, Garfiel coughed up blood as he felt the pressure finally settle on him. He collapsed to the ground in a trembling heap, his body trying to not strain itself after all he's been through. During his rest, he then heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him.
He didn't have the strength to lift his head up, but he already knew who it was. All Garfiel could do was grit his teeth as tears welled in his eyes.
"Garfiel-san. Are you all right?" Hearing the calm, compassionate, and concerned voice from the Sword Saint, Garfiel choked on his sobs as he buried his face in the dirt.
Even after pushing himself to his absolute limit, even after Reinhard had ceased dodging and blocking his attacks, he barely injured the redheaded knight at all.
It was all for nothing.
Reinhard knelt down in front of the damaged boy, taking note of how dirty and bruised he was. Reinhard looked down to him in pity, watching as his body trembled while hearing his soft cries.
"'M sorry..." Garfiel croaked. "I'm so, so sorry. I...I didn't wanna lose Ram! I didn't! An' yet... Even wit' how determined I was ta be wit' her, I couldn't do shit! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
Reinhard hung his head as he listened to Garfiel's apologies and cries. The blonde demi-human boy was sure that Reinhard would finish him off now, but instead, he did something that was the last thing he would have expected.
Lowering his hand down, Reinhard patted Garfiel's head comfortingly, before giving a warm smile. "It's all right, Garfiel-san. I understand. But I'm sorry. I'm not giving up Ram to anyone."
After hearing that, Garfiel couldn't help but bawl some more. He took in deep, shaky breaths as he composed himself. "Will ya promise... Will ya promise you'll take good care o'er?"
Reinhard gave a slow nod. "Of course. I promise you that I will take care of Ram, no matter what."
Garfiel managed to smile despite how much pain he was in, and buried his face in the dirt once more. "Tha's good... Tha's good ta hear..." he said softly. Reinhard patted his head again, and Garfiel allowed himself to cry his hear out to its fullest. Having finally accepted the reality of the situation.
After a few minutes, Garfiel managed to have a tiny bit of strength gathered in order to lift himself up. Despite that though, Reinhard still took the measures to lift him up and carry him order to rest him against a large rock. Taking in deep, methodical breaths, Garfiel felt his consciousness slip away, and decided to make things right before he went out like a light.
"Oi... My amazin' self's gotta rest after all'a that. So... I jus' wanna say, sorry again fer evert'ing. I see now t'at yer the best to be wit' Ram. So please, don't e'er give up on 'er."
Reinhard smiled at the boy. "I won't. Thank you, Garfiel-san. You were incredibly strong, you know?"
Hearing those words, Garfiel smiled one last time before he fell asleep. "T'anks. Y're not so bad...yerself..."
Lolling his head forward, Garfiel was finally knocked out. Without Reinhard having landed a single hit on him.
Standing up straight, Reinhard looked down at Garfiel with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Garfiel. May you find happiness in the future."
"Indeeeeed he wiiilll!"
With the sudden exclamation of an extravagant voice behind him, Reinhard turned around to bear witness to the menacing form of the strongest mage in the kingdom. Roswaal L. Mathers, the man currently floating in the air, had his arms crossed while looking down at the Sword Saint.
"R-Roswaal-sama?" Reinhard exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Narrowing his eyes, Roswaal gave a menacing grin before announcing his conviction. "Why..."
Before Roswaal could even finish his sentence, Reinhard already took a defensive stance.
"To slay you of course!"
—
"Subaru-kun! Tend to Micah-kun immediately!"
After hearing that declaration, Subaru clenched his fists together as he stared at Neil, sensing the menacing aura radiating off of him.
"W-What about you, though?" Subaru shouted out. Rem gave a serene, sweet smile as she turned her head to face him.
"Rem will be okay, Subaru-kun. Please, do not worry," she said.
Subaru nodded and smiled back, clenching Beatrice's hand in his own. "All right. I'll leave it to you then."
Turning back to the impaled inn-keeper who was now bleeding all over the grass, Subaru and Beatrice picked him up in order to carry him farther away from the battle that was about to ensue.
"Daww. That's sweet. You're a real sweetheart, you know that?" Neil mocked. "Risking your life for someone you barely even know..."
Rem's sweet, innocent face switched to that of furious determined demon. "Silence. Rem would rather not listen to your disgusting voice any longer."
Neil clicked his tongue. "Harsh. Maybe you're not as cute and wholesome as I thought you were." Scratching the back of his scruffy hair, Neil absent-mindedly swung the hilt of his blade casually. "Regardless, I'll have ya killed in no time at all. So, better get prepared to have your guts spilled out!"
Rem grimaced at his cheerful demeanor. "How morbid... Scum like you does not deserve to live."
With her Morningstar drawn, Rem was prepared to send the spiky ball of steel towards her opponent with lethal intent. Before she could act on that however, she was caught by surprise when Neil effortlessly closed the distance between them and slashed his blade forward, nearly cutting Rem in two and making her gasp in shock.
"Surprised, huh? I've always been revered as one of the strongest members of my squad. Let's see if I can exterminate the Oni clan today." Raising his blade high into the air, Neil slashed it downwards almost cleaving Rem again. The blue-haired maid rolled to the side just in time to avoid the attack however, but Neil continued his assault. Not giving Rem a chance to retaliate as she had to block each and every clash from his bald with her mace.
The strength of the shaggy-haired knight wasn't to be underestimated either. As each blow was enough to push Rem back, grinding her shoes against the ground. When she used her mace to block an attack from his sword, she pushed back against Neil but was overwhelmed by the surprising strength that Neil harbored.
When Neil struggled against her, he saw an opening near her stomach. So he then raised his leg up to kick her square in the stomach causing Rem to gasp and reel back in pain. He delivered another kick, this time to Rem's face, making her fall back on the ground.
Neil swiped his sword down, which Rem only narrowly dodged. Managing to collect herself, Rem finally threw her mace towards Neil, which he managed to block by using the flat side of his blade to repel the attack. He then grabbed onto the chain of Rem's Morningstar, before yanking it forward sending Rem Neil's way. Before he could slice her in half, however, Rem rolled forward and delivered a clean uppercut to Neil's jaw, almost breaking it. The knight was sent flying several meters, and despite the force behind the punch he stood up instantly afterwards.
"Fuckin' bitch!" he snarled. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Neil wiped his lips before readying a battle stance once more.
Rem dashed forward, swinging her Morningstar at Neil fully intent on eviscerating him. Neil parried the attack with his blade before sprinting towards her, and the two exchanged blows as their mace and sword respectively clashed. Steel against steel, sending sparks everywhere.
As the two engaged in combat, Subaru and Beatrice tried their best to tend to Micah, who was unfortunately bleeding heavily onto the grass.
"Ah... Jus-Just leave me be... I'm a fucking goner..."
"Shut up! You're gonna be all right!" Subaru shouted. He looked to Beatrice with a desperate look, who shared the emotions of her contractor as she used healing magic on Micah. Unfortunately though, the mana within both Subaru and Beatrice was incredibly limited, so even a simple healing spell was draining for the Great Spirit.
"B-Betty... won't give up now... in fact!" the spirit exclaimed, panting heavily.
Seeing the spirit try so hard to save his life, Micah lifted his hand up before overlapping it over his wound, trying to ease the pain as he felt his strength slip away.
"Are you feeling any better?" Subaru asked. He felt Micah's other hand clutch onto his tracksuit, the sympathy within the spirit knight evident for all to see.
"Heh... A little..." Micah weakly said. Despite that, he couldn't stop himself from coughing up some blood.
"Beatrice! Up the healing magic! Now!" Subaru demanded.
Using all of her strength, Beatrice was determined to save the life before her. Using all of the mana she had in store, Beatrice funneled it towards healing magic in order to save the innkeepers life.
Deciding to see how bad it was, Micah craned his head up to look at the wound Neil gave him. Lifting his hand over the open wound, he saw not just blood pour out, but a strange purplish liquid that coated the inside of his skin.
"W-Wha-?"
"Huh?" Looking down at the wound, Subaru's eyes widened in horror.
Micah grimaced. "Oh...that doesn't look good."
Beatrice's body trembled as she looked at the open wound with devastated eyes. "No... It can't be, I suppose!"
"W-What is it?! Beako what is it?!" Subaru yelled.
Micah weakly chuckled, somehow finding humor in the situation. "Well uh... looks like that bastard's blade has some poison lining it. Hehe... looks pretty lethal, as well..."
Subaru clenched his fists together, gritting his teeth. "Dammit! Dammit!"
Micah gave a warm smile, giving a tired thumbs up to the knight-spirit duo. "Hey, don't sweat it, all right? You guys did your best. But now, what you guys gotta do is warn that maid over there."
Subaru bit his lip, unsure of what to do. He couldn't just leave this innocent civilian here. He had to find a solution to save him. He could possibly Return by Death to save him. However...
Looking down at the man, Subaru weighed his options. He couldn't just let him die. There was no way he could allow that. So he decided that he would have to die instead.
Standing up, Subaru turned to Beatrice before giving her a stern order. "Beako, continue healing him. I'm gonna go warn Rem."
The spirit nodded, unaware of Subaru's true intentions. Looking down, Beatrice continued to pour her heart and soul into her healing magic, trying her best to heal the open wound of Micah's. Subaru meanwhile then ran ahead, his conviction surging throughout his entire body.
He managed to find Rem and Neil in no time, witnessing them clash as their weapons exchanged blows that would terrify the average person.
Clenching his fists, Subaru was prepared to dash into the fight and allow himself to be fatally wounded. That way, he would be able to fix all of this.
Before he could even take another step however, he was knocked to the side as a figure pushed him to the ground.
Subaru grunted as he fell, and looked up to see the other knight that had accompanied Heinkel rushing towards the battle. The knight, Isaac, had his blade drawn, and was dashing towards Rem and Neil with the intent to kill.
With his eyes widened to their fullest, Subaru screamed as loud as he could. "Rem! Look out!"
Hearing the sound of her beloved, Rem took notice of the other knight rushing towards her, but instead of attacking her, he attacked his comrade instead.
Neil blocked the would-be lethal blow from Isaac and was propelled backwards, annoyed and disgruntled.
"I see you've sided with the losers now, Isaac?" he snarled.
"I've sided with honor," Isaac repeated. "As a knight of the Royal Guard, I swear that I will have you defeated and placed behind bars."
Squinting, Neil eyed Isaac as he readied his blade. "Ehh? Is that so?"
"Rem! Look out! That knight's blade has poison running from it!" Subaru shouted. If he couldn't use Return by Death now, then he would have to settle with hope that the innocent would survive and that Rem would win this battle.
"Thank you, Subaru-kun!" Rem shouted back. She had worries regarding Neil's sword, and now knew not to be cut by it whatsoever.
Turning to Isaac, Rem nodded towards her now fellow comrade. "Where's Heinkel-sama?" she asked.
"He's still at the manor. I came on my own free will. I won't allow such disgusting knights to be in the Royal Guard."
Neil growled, getting more and more furious by the second. "All right, all right, all right! I get it! I'm the bad guy! But guess what? That doesn't change the fact that I'm gonna kill every last one of you."
"We'll see about that," Isaac responded. Readying his blade, the sturdy knight raced forth towards Neil ready to strike. When their blades clashed, Rem took the opportunity to attack Neil from behind, with Neil only barely managing to parry the attacks while dealing with Isaac.
As their battle continued, Subaru looked back in the direction of Micah. If he couldn't die to save him, then he would have to do something else to be useful.
And so, Subaru pulled out his whip, and uncoiled it so that he could become useful in battle as well.
Despite his looks, Neil was incredibly strong. Managing to repel both Rem and Isaac as he swung his blade wildly. Before he could strike Rem, his hand wrist was then wrapped by the whip belonging ti Natsuki Subaru. Using all of his strength, Subaru yanked back causing Neil to lose his balance and become susceptible to attacks.
Even with that handicap, Neil still managed to be a competent fighter, parrying and dodging Isaac and Rem's attacks, and even landing a hit on the former.
Once Isaac gasped in pain due to the cut, he noticed the poison take effect immediately. And before he could even retaliate, Neil sprung forward and sliced Isaac again. In what seemed like no time at all, the honorable knight fell to the ground defeated.
"No!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, Rem swung her Morningstar at Neil which he managed to parry by deflecting the mace with his sturdy blade. As Neil dashed to deliver the finishing blow to Rem, Subaru wrapped his whip around Neil's neck, causing him to choke and drop his sword as he clawed at the whip, trying to free himself.
Subaru looked at the body of Isaac, and closed his eyes in respect. Even though he knew that now they had won the battle, he still considered it a loss due to the other knight's defeat. And was fully prepared to use Return by Death in order to save him.
"B-Bastards!" Neil choked out. "BASTARDS!"
Rem stared at Neil with seething hatred in her eyes. As she recovered her Morningstar, Rem prepared herself to land the finishing blow. Taking a step forward, Neil then gave a weak smile as his eyes wavered in fear.
"Is it too late to say... Let's talk about this?" he grinned.
Rem didn't even humor him with a response, as she thrusted her mace forward, completely obliterating Neil's torso.
As Subaru tore his eyes away from the gruesome scene, Rem ran over to Subaru to make sure he was okay.
"Subaru-kun! Are you all right?" she asked worriedly. Subaru gulped and nodded as he placed his whip back on his hip.
"Y-yeah... but..." Looking back to Isaac on the ground, he couldn't help but feel guilty. "I feel like... I failed."
Rem bit her lip before cupping Subaru's face in her hands. "Subaru-kun, you didn't fail. We didn't fail. We'll win. Rem just knows it."
Before Subaru was about to tell her the horrible news. That Micah would likely die soon and they'd have three casualties on their hands, he noticed Beatrice walking over the hill.
"B-Beako!?" he exclaimed. As Subaru gazed at her, he saw two more figures right behind her.
One was the very much alive Micah, and the other was Heinkel Astrea.
"I want to make things right..." the shabby old knight said guiltily. Gesturing to his pocket, he revealed some vials that were strapped to his hip. "I've know about Neil's dirty tricks for a long time now, but I never thought he'd go this far."
Subaru exhaled heavily as he saw that Heinkel had an antidote of sort. Looking over at Isaac, he saw that the honorable knight was still breathing. "C-Can you...?"
Heinkel smiled, and nodded. "Of course. Let me make up for all that I've done."
—
The carriage Otto was steering was going as fast as it possibly could. Ram, Emilia, and Otto were heading towards the booming sound they had heard less than a minute ago, and were prepared to be thrust into a conflict that may very well kill them.
"It sounds like Roswaal-sama has already encountered Reinhard-san..." Otto said warily.
Ram grimaced at that sentence. She could clearly hear the sounds of Roswaal's spells and magic being casted in the distance. Her lip trembled, fearing the worst for both Reinhard and Roswaal. The absolute last thing she wanted was for the two of them to fight over her. And if things turned really serious, she was sure that one of them would die.
"How much longer do you think it'll be until we get there?" Emilia asked.
Using his Divine Protection, Otto tried to gather as much information as possible, managing to gain a reasonable estimate as to where Roswaal and Reinhard were.
"Just a few more minutes! We'll encounter them soon!" Otto called out. Ram clenched her dress as she readied herself.
"Three minutes, until the decision of Ram's life comes to pass."
As the trio were heading closer towards the conflict, both Reinhard and Roswaal were busy with their current battle. Similarly to how Reinhard dealt with Garfiel, Reinhard only dodged and blocked all of the magic attacks that Roswaal sent his way.
"What's the maaaaatter, Swoooord Saint?!" Roswaal mocked. "Not going to fight baaaaaack?"
Reinhard had no response to that accusation as Roswaal sent a fireball towards his way. As Reinhard sidestepped the attack, the area Reinhard was in was utterly decimated by the fireball. Scorching the earth and turning everything in its path to ash. Roswaal didn't let up with just that, as he then sent numerous ice spears towards Reinhard which the redhead destroyed with his bare fists.
"How loooong do you plan to keeeep this up?!" Roswaal called out.
"Why are you doing this?" Reinhard shouted. Instead of entertaining Roswaal's banter, Reinhard tried to see what the issue was with Roswaal and why he had attacked him so suddenly.
"Isn't it oooobvious? I find your tainting of my preeeecious Ram to be revolting! And soooo... I deciiiiided to end your life!" After finishing that exclamation, Roswaal sent a torrent of wind towards the Sword Saint, as well as a devastating array of destructive spells that could easily destroy a small town each.
As Reinhard ran across the battlefield, he leapt up to a pillar of rock in order to speak with Roswaal.
"I do not want to fight you, Margrave Roswaal. But I will not let Ram go. I plan on making her mine." After hearing that declaration, the already pissed off Roswaal grew even more furious.
"Ohhhh? Is that soooo?" Summoning four colorful orbs of mana, Roswaal sent them rocketing towards the Sword Saint destroying everything in their path. "Wellll you'll haaaaave to try haaarder than what you're doing right nooooow."
Avoiding the balls of destruction, Reinhard considered leaping towards Roswaal and delivering a quick chop to his neck. The battle would be over instantly, but he could sense the bloodlust emanating from Roswaal that dwarfed all of Garfiel's hostility. The clown mage was truly intending on killing the Sword Saint, no matter the cost.
It made Reinhard think that maybe killing Roswaal was the only option.
If Roswaal truly wanted to kill him, then his devastating attacks could affect millions of innocents. And all of those deaths would be on Reinhard's hands. The mage was furious and filled with murderous intent. And unless Reinhard stopped him right now, his dangerous abilities would reach those not even apart of this conflict and cause untold destruction.
It was this thought that finally motivated the Sword Saint, as he looked up at Roswaal with his piercing blue eyes.
"Ram, forgive me..." he said softly. Clenching his fists together, Reinhard was prepared to deliver a blow that would defeat Roswaal. He didn't want to kill him unless there was absolutely no other alternatives, so he was intent on knocking him out for now.
Using his leg muscles, Reinhard jumped forward and was ready to finish things and outstretched his hand. Before he could attack Roswaal however, dozens of earth pillars shot out from the ground in order to defend Roswaal. With the mage's mastery of earth magic, he managed to defend himself and attack at the same time as he sent spikes of rock towards the Sword Saint. Reinhard parried each of them and continued his assault, breaking through the hard rock with his bare hands.
As Roswaal flew through the air, he continued to cast spell after spell, each one as powerful as the attacks he used against Puck. The landscape was now in danger in becoming completely changed due to the devastation, and Reinhard managed to avoid all of it. Although he had no ranged weapons, Reinhard still tossed many rocks and trees towards Roswaal's way, which he then incinerated with his fire magic.
"Would you mind letting me kill you already?" Roswaal snarled. "I proooomise it'll make things muuuuch easier for Ram!"
Reinhard furrowed his brows up at Roswaal as he stood in a forest of fire. "I'm sorry. But I cannot allow such a thing. I swear to stay with Ram forever. And I plan to make her my wife."
After hearing that conviction, the enraged Roswaal laughed at the gall of the man before him. The gall to declare that he would take away his precious servant away from him. To Roswaal, Ram only had one home, one where she would serve him for all of eternity. He would be damned if he would just hand her off to someone else. Especially if that someone was the Sword Saint.
"As if I will let you defile her anymore!" Exclaiming loudly, Roswaal shot a beam of destructive light that evaporated all in its path. Reinhard evaded the attack as he hopped across the floating rocks in the sky. As he made his way towards Roswaal, the mage used wind magic to blow the redheaded knight away, before using one of his most powerful attacks which nearly devastated the entire fighting space they were using.
Unlike the battle with Garfiel, the destruction was much more immense and devastating that whatever Garfiel could have done. Nearly the whole forest area was gone and replaced with a charred wasteland.
With the amount of destructive power that Roswaal was using, Reinhard knew that he would have to end the battle soon. He couldn't allow this powerful force to get any further than where they were at this moment. Reinhard looked up at Roswaal sadly, fully prepared to use whatever lethal force was necessary.
However, even with that conviction, Reinhard couldn't shake away the fact that Roswaal meant a lot to Ram. He was her first love, and someone she had known for most of her life. While he only truly knew Ram for a few months. Compared to the amount of time Roswaal spent with Ram, he could see why the mage was so angry.
Reinhard could understand the reasoning behind Roswaal's actions completely, and he didn't want to disregard him at all for that. Looking down at the demolished ground, Reinhard closed his eyes as he thought about what to do.
Either kill Roswaal. Or let Roswaal kill him.
Both options would be horrible. And something he couldn't let come to pass. Yet because of Roswaal's determination, he knew that one of those options would have to be.
And he couldn't allow himself to see Ram cry. If he killed Roswaal, even in self-defense, everyone in the Kingdom of Lugnica would hate him. And that would include Ram. She would probably cry, and hate him with every fiber of her being. And seeing Ram hate him wasn't something he could bear to witness.
If Ram were to hate him, he'd be better off dead anyways.
And so, Reinhard made his decision. He didn't dodge anymore of Roswaal's attacks. Nor did he attempt to attack him. Instead, Reinhard stood still as he prepared himself.
Roswaal was several times stronger than Garfiel. He was sure that if the mage used one of his strongest attacks, it would be an instant death.
As Roswaal noticed the lack of the Sword Saint's movement, he prepared to end it all right then and there. Preparing his absolute strongest attack, Roswaal was prepared to completely vaporize Reinhard until there was nothing left. He didn't care about the consequences. He was acting completely on emotion right now. The small embers in his heart just didn't want anyone to take away one of the few people in the world Roswaal felt actually cared about him. The truth was...
He didn't want to be alone.
And so he flew toward, ready to blow Reinhard away with one final move.
As Reinhard prepared to die, he noticed something that caught his attention. Small, white flakes falling through the air. It was snow.
Except... What was snow doing here? He didn't remember Roswaal casting a spell like this. Unless-
Before Roswaal could fully kill Reinhard, he saw someone step in front of the Sword Saint right in the nick of time.
"That's enough!"
In an instant, Roswaal stopped in his tracks right in front of Reinhard, being separated by a short, pink-haired maid. The final attack Roswaal had prepared fizzled out into nothing, as the fire surrounding them was snuffed out by the snow that was now falling freely.
Emilia panted as she held her hand out, having made it in time to prevent anything horrible from occurring. She sat down on the ground, exhausted after running for so long. Since they coulnd't ride the carriage into the battlefield, they had to get close on foot, narrowly avoiding the destruction that piled around them.
Otto held his hat in his hands, before collapsing on the ground as well.
"It's up to you know... Ram-san," he said weakly.
Ram stood in-between Reinhard and Roswaal with her arms outstretched, staring up at Roswaal with an unwavering expression.
"R-Ram!" Taking a step back, Roswaal found himself thinking a bit more rationally at seeing the pink oni.
"Yes, Roswaal-sama. It is I, Ram."
Both the greatest knight and the greatest mage stood in shock at the boldness of the oni. Ram then turned to Reinhard with a soft smile on her face.
"How are you, Reinhard? Are you okay?"
Reinhard gulped as he stared down at Ram. "I'm fine, but… Ram! You could have been killed! Don't you realize how reckless of an action you took?!"
Ram giggled. "Of course Ram is aware. But for you, Reinhard, Ram was fully prepared to die. Because… I love you…"
Reinhard felt himself blush at her statement, feeling his heart swell with pride and joy.
As Ram turned to Roswaal, she stood her ground as she faced him. "Roswaal-sama, I apologize greatly, but the man I love is Reinhard. I understand you are upset as you believe this means Ram will no longer see you again, but I assure you… Ram will still work under you, if you permit it."
Seeing Ram being so forgiving to him, and seeing her declare her love so fervently, it made the guilt and shame overwhelm the mage to an absurd degree.
"Oh Ram. I had no idea you had fallen for the Sword Saint this much. I… I didn't want to lose… One of the three good things in my life. I thought you would have left me for good. But…"
Turning to Reinhard, Roswaal gave an apologetic look. "I was arrogant. I was prideful. I was foolish. I was selfish. But… I see now."
Yes. He saw now.
He saw the truth. He saw what he should really be doing.
"I see that… out of all the men in the world, you Reinhard-kun, are the best for Ram."
Reinhard gave a sad smile towards the mage. As Reinhard attempted to reach a hand out towards him, Roswaal began to levitate into the sky.
"R-Roswaal-sama?!" Ram exclaimed. Roswaal gave a sad smile towards the two.
"I… I need to properly atone for my sins. So for now, you likely won't see me for a while…" As the clown said those ominous words, Reinhard and Ram looked at each other in worry.
"Do not fear. I will be back eventually. But…"
Roswaal thought to all that he had done in the four hundred years his soul has traversed this earth. He thought about the pain, the suffering, and the agony he had caused. He thought about every wrongdoing, every horrific act that he had carried out or let happen. All in suit of his goals.
And he had dragged Ram, Rem, and Beatrice into those goals. He had become so attached to them, that he feared going through his goals alone. He at least wanted one of them by his side, and with Rem and Beatrice glued to Subaru, he felt as if Ram was the one them holding his sanity together.
But now… she wanted to be with the Sword Saint. And now… Roswaal could see that it's the best for her. He now realized that as long as she was happy, he'd be happy too.
"I know you won't forgive me for what I've done, but I promise I'll do my best to make up for everything…" With those final words said, Roswaal floated high up into the air, before dashing into the distance at lightning speed.
Reinhard and Ram stood alone together in the crumbling wasteland, both fearing for the mage as their compassionate hearts reached out towards him.
Their eyes then locked together, and as they stared in each other's eyes, they felt their heartbeats quicken.
"I love you, Ram."
Reinhard spoke those words softly and carefully. Enunciating them perfectly so Ram could hear every syllable crystal clearly.
Ram smiled as a tear fell down her cheek. "And I love you, Reinhard van Astrea."
The two then hugged as the snow fell around them, Even with the decrease in temperature, they stayed warm as they huddled close together.
Their love now open for all to see, the two swayed side to side in a silent dance, with their heart's racing being the only sound the two heard during their passionate embrace.