"Thank goodness! Julius, I'm so happy to see you I think I'm about to cry!"
". . . ."
To Subaru's surprise, tears budded in the other man's eyes. He must've thought Subaru had been dead too, huh? Subaru couldn't blame him for feeling that way, but that only made him feel more guilty at the inevitable reveal he'd lost his memories.
On the other hand, the astonishment Julius felt had only been overshadowed by a momentary feeling of terror. The main fear being that the person who spoke to him wasn't real. He'd hallucinated Subaru so often in his dreams, Julius wasn't sure if he'd abruptly been knocked out. After all, that scenario was infinitely more possible than the other idea bouncing around in his head.
Subaru was dead. Buried. Forgotten. That was fact.
". . . ."
"O-Oi! Julius, you there!?"
Subaru poked Julius's chest, his own gesture indicating an urgency strong enough to make his voice shake. The contact was so quickly broken, Julius hadn't had the time to acknowledge the feeling emanating from the point he'd been jabbed. Luckily, his six quasi-spirits weren't so oblivious.
The six multi-colored orbs began rapidly spinning around the two of them, circling around the two frozen men. It was like they were overjoyed, cheering spectators at a major league game. They caught the eyes of both Subaru and Julius, who was quickly snapped out of his delusion.
'T-They're here. . . How are m-my spirits in my dream? They never appear when. . . !'
Julius's eyes widened into saucer plates, his legs shaking so much he didn't think he'd be able to stand himself up anymore. The only possible explanation left was something that defied all logic, but. . . if it was true.
If it was true. . .
"Y-You. . . Y-You're real? Aren't you!?"
Julius leapt forward, one hand on each of his shoulders, shaking him with an almost crazed expression on his face. The visage he'd seen in his head so many times, the figure he'd reached out to in so many of his nightmares only to phase through like a ghost. . . he felt contact his hands.
His shoulders were smaller than Julius remembered, and his voice sounded slightly higher pitched, but Julius brushed this off as him simply misremembering him.
"Y-Yes?! U-Uh! Julius-san! It's really important you listen what I have to say. . !"
Subaru started to feel a little bit uncomfortable with the man's unpredictable behavior, but once again, nearly all of this could be explained by the fact that, by all accounts, he should be dead. Perhaps the two of them were really close friends before his death. . .
Oh crap. He's being really insensitive here.
". . .-hk!"
Julius heard Subaru begin to swap to a serious tone, and he immediately knew what was about to come next. There was nothing else to talk about, was there? The fact that Julius was a monster. . . that he would be facing punishment for what he'd done.
He felt joy for the first time in a long time at the prospect of Subaru punishing him properly for his cruelty. Even if redemption was forever out of reach, closure might be achievable.
Then why?
Why was he also feeling such petrifying fear?
What was he so afraid of?
Julius could only think of one thing, but it was so far out of the realm of possibility, he didn't believe it possible.
"L-Listen. . . I don't have a lot of time to explain right now, but the Archbishop of Gluttony is about to attack this street, I need your help to. . !"
His mouth was agape. Truthfully, Julius hadn't even heard what Subaru had said. He was too deep in his thoughts to translate Subaru's words into understandable messages. But the tone, the jubilant smile with which he said those words. . .
Where was the vitriol? The condemnation? The punishment that he so absolutely deserved?
His fears were becoming reality. For some reason, Subaru might have. . . and he wanted to wretch at this thought. . . forgiven him.
"S-Sor-. . ."
His words were catching in his throat.
"S-S-. . .S-SORRY! SO SORRY! I-I'm. . !"
Before he knew it, he'd fallen to his knees, head level with Subaru's ankles. He screamed out his sorrow to all that would listen. Julius's words were barely legible from all the intermittent sobs, but Subaru somehow managed to make them out.
"I-I beg you! I'm not worthy to ask anything of you. . .! B-But if you could find it in your heart to forgive Emilia-sama, Anastasia-sama, Crusch-sama. . ! I-It was all my fault! Punish me! Judge me! Condemn me! I-I was. . !"
Subaru was not expecting to get this sort of reaction from Julius, as he thought whatever their past relationship was had already been established. He was surprised to hear Emilia's name come up again, making a mental note to ask this guy about her when he got the chance. Right now, however, was not the time for this. . .
"J-Julius, please, g-get up! I-I'm sorry, but we don't have time for this right now! The Archbishop of Gluttony is about to attack!"
Subaru made sure to whisper this in the, still weeping, Julius's ear. He didn't want to cause pandemonium amongst the streetgoers and start the attack early.
It looked like Julius actually heard him this time, as the shaking man suddenly stilled.
"W-What?"
He whispered this question in disbelief. The Archbishop of Gluttony? Subaru?
Was this all some kind of bad dream?
". . . ."
"J-Julius! I need your help! Please! I-If you don't think you can beat him, just know I'll be helping too! I believe in you! Ok?!"
Subaru was desperate. He'd seen this man fight before and he was certainly graceful with a sword. Why was he groveling at Subaru's feet? This guy was leagues above him in every way! He couldn't let this continue, as they'd no doubt draw attention to themselves when everything started going down.
They had 4 minutes left.
"A-Archbishop of Gluttony? I-I don't understand. . . he should be locked up!"
Julius finally revealed something that Subaru wasn't aware of. He knew that Julius had some sort of history with the Archbishop of Gluttony, which he'd overheard while the two of them fought in a previous loop. Subaru also had some history with this person too, if what the Sage Council had told him was true. Maybe they were both victims of his power?
"I-I can't tell you how I know this, but he's broken out. Please help me! Friends help each other out, don't they?"
Subaru decided to gamble a little here, inserting that 'friend' statement to gauge Julius's reaction and maybe get his help. In truth, Julius had no reason to help Subaru and risk his own life against that monster, but seeing how he'd valiantly jumped in the save Plum, Subaru believed the man had a noble character.
"W-Wha. .t?"
It was only with Julius's despair filled expression that Subaru realized he gambled incorrectly. Maybe they weren't friends. . .
'Damn, he seems like a good guy too. I guess I must've been a jerk to him when I first arrived here. . .'
"OI! Kid, the hell are ya' going!? What do ya' think this is?"
To break the lengthening awkward silence between the two men, the voice of a fuming Appa Salesman pierced the crowd. The cloaked up Kadomon was angrily storming up to Subaru, wanting an explanation for his completely erratic behavior. Didn't they both just agree that now was absolutely the worst time to be drawing attention to themselves? Pulling stunts like this was the perfect way to get the two of them caught!
"E-Eh?! O-Oh Kad-. . ."
"Names?! Did ya' already forget we aren't supposed to use our real names!?"
Julius looked up at the hooded figure speaking those words, suddenly piecing together how Subaru had managed to avoid detection for so long. For some reason, his survival was being kept secret.
"I-I apologize for my buddy's rude behavior, so if ya' don't mind, we'll be going no-. . ."
"H-Hold on a sec! I-It's really important you let me. . .!"
"No! You've already caused enough trouble for today!"
Kadomon grabbed Subaru's arm and started trying to drag him away, whilst Subaru aggressively resisted, imploring Kadomon to hear him out. Subaru had been counting the seconds in his head since he'd started this loop, and they were now down to three minutes. If they didn't turn around right now, they'd both be doomed.
"Wait!"
Julius yelled out to the man fleeing the scene, causing the both of them to turn around.
"I-If you don't mind, Subaru and I w-were. . ."
Julius spoke these words out carelessly, but Kadomon immediately realized how serious their situation had just become.
Subaru had only been gone a moment, odds are, he never had the chance to properly introduce himself to this man. The boy was stupid, but he wasn't THAT stupid. This meant that. . .
"H-How do ya' know his name. . ?"
Julius explained what little he could, trying to keep the details vague out of a sense of embarrassment and not wanting to retread over the actions he'd committed. He'd only ended up telling them he used to work as a knight for one of the Royal Candidates, and as a result, knew Subaru before he'd originally passed away.
Kadomon's brow furrowed, as this meant that they'd basically blown their entire cover by pure happenstance.
And after all the trouble his family had been put through too. . .
"Listen sir. This kid's got no memories of anything regarding the royal selection, so if ya' could do the both of us a favor and just. . ."
Kadomon's words trailed off, as the impact his words had on the stationary knight were visible to anyone in earshot. Julius's almost hopeful expression had morphed into several different faces, each containing a feeling more potent than the last.
". . W-Wh. . at?"
This couldn't be. His crimes. Everything he'd done. Everyone he'd touched. All the people he'd inspired. . . It was all gone. . ?
"A-Are you sure it's true!? I heard Subaru call my name. . ."
Julius looked at Subaru, now almost hopeful that the black-haired knight would give them both the answer he was looking for. Instead, the young man shrugged his shoulder and turned away from him, almost ashamed of his own existence.
'E-Emilia-sama. . . Beatrice-sama. . . he's forgotten it all!?'
He knew it was his fault. This had to be.
How was he supposed to fix this?
He needed to find a way. He HAD to.
"S-Sorry to interrupt! B-But we don't have much time! In two minutes, we'll be attacked!"
Subaru yelled this out, causing some bystanders to look on in suspicion, and whisper amongst themselves. Subaru had pushed back his shame and embarrassment to lay out the ever-approaching doom that awaited them, and this time he wasn't about to let himself get interrupted. They only had one chance of making it out of here, and that took priority over everything else.
"W-What do ya' mean kid?"
"I'm saying that the Witch's Cult is about to ambush us all and kill us! That's why we need your help, Julius-san!"
Kadomon's eyes widened and he, once again, realized the gravity of the situation they were in. Mere minutes ago, they were strolling through town, preparing to pick up groceries and return to the Loothouse. And now, their cover was blown + the Witch's Cult was poised to attack. Great. This just goes to show how quickly things can go to shit.
"You said the Archbishop of Gluttony? I believe there was another Archbishop locked up alongside them. If they've broken out, it's likely the other one has too. . ."
Julius whispered these words, but still struggled to believe them, as it meant their situation was even more bleak than they'd originally thought. Subaru didn't know that there were any other Archbishops in the Capital, so this news only made him even more dejected.
"Kadomon. . . I didn't say anything earlier because I didn't want to alarm you, but I think your wife and daughter are out here too. Use the little time we have to go find them and hide somewhere, ok?"
Kadomon took this news like any protective father, suppressing the urge to scream out their names and instead asking Subaru one more question.
"I wouldn't wanna waste time asking ya' how ya' know all this, but I need to know. . . Will ya' be alright?"
His eyes reflected what seemed to be a seriousness that Subaru rarely saw from the fruit merchant. The man had always had an unreasonable amount of faith in Subaru's judgments, no matter what loop Subaru found himself in. It was clear that Kadomon felt grateful for Subaru freeing him up to go protect his family, however that question was something he couldn't leave unanswered. If Subaru believed he could win, then Kadomon wouldn't be stuck worrying about him once he left.
"Hmm? You care about me that much do you? That makes my heart flutter you know!"
Subaru said this with a teasing grin on his face, which had its intended effect.
"Kid, ya' can be really annoying when ya' want to!"
Kadomon frowned and looked away, too embarrassed to hold eye contact with him anymore. Subaru got a little chuckle out of this, but quickly regained his composure and slapped Kadomon's back.
"Hurry! There isn't much time left!"
Kadomon gritted his teeth and slowly turned away from the frozen Julius and uplifted Subaru. Worrying scenarios raced through his head and before he ran off Kadomon stopped himself, balled his fists, and called out to Subaru one last time.
"Promise me. . ! Y-Ya' won't die. . . ok kid?"
"Sorry about him, that guy's like the dictionary definition of a Tsundere. . ."
Subaru casually said this indecipherable word towards Julius, a trademark oddity of his that carried over from his time on Earth. Subaru being weird was just about as natural as water flowing through a river, so Julius wasn't flustered by it. However, it did catch him off guard that Subaru was so quick to talk to him like they did in the old days.
". . . I suppose so."
The black-haired kid turned around and saw the dejected face of his buddy Julius staring straight at the ground. Subaru frowned and scratched the back of his head.
"No need to be so down! I may not have my memories of you from before, but we are still friends, ok?"
Subaru said these words hoping to cheer Julius up, but they only made him even more pensive. What was going on with this guy? Julius clearly wanted to help him! What was so wrong with the two of them becoming friends?
"Thank you, S-Subaru. I'll do my best."
Julius's thoughts were in a scattered state. He was still flustered upon learning Subaru no longer possessed his memories. This feeling was only compounded when Subaru decided to misunderstand his guilt for shyness. He didn't deserve to think of himself as Subaru's friend, nor absolve himself of what he'd done. So why then? Why did the universe taunt him like this?
Would it be more cruel to turn away Subaru's offer of friendship, or to accept it?
By all rights, if he accepted, their entire relationship would be built on a falsehood. If he didn't, he would be denying Subaru a relationship he seemed to want.
What should he do?
". . .He'll be coming soon, we need to think of a strategy."
Subaru tapped Julius on the shoulder, indicating that the two of them should move themselves to an area where there are less people. If they fought Gluttony here, there'd be countless innocents caught up in the collateral damage.
"Can you give me a quick overview of your abilities? It'll help me to figure out a plan. Also, since you've fought Gluttony before, let's trade information. . ."
Subaru put his hand up before Julius could ask him how he got his information, instead waiting expectantly for Julius to layout their enemy's capabilities and the best mode of attack.
"W-Well, I'll start with my own abilities as I have no doubts about those. Do you see these six spirits hovering around us?"
Julius called all of them to the palm of his hand, where they arranged themselves into a circle and becoming visible to any person regardless of their affinity. This piqued Subaru's interest, as he'd never seen any spirits before.
"O-Oh! Those are spirits? I thought they'd be more like ghosts!"
Subaru laughed at the stupid expectations he'd had for this world, but Julius didn't seem to find what he said very funny.
'Ah, right. . . maybe I should avoid talking about ghosts when people still think I'm dead.'
The spirits communicated something to Julius, which Subaru heard as unparsed noises. It sounded like several people were trying to talk over each other at the same time, ending with nobody understanding what the other was trying to say.
"I-I forgot, you have an unusually high spirit affinity. It seems my buds are looking forward to working with you again."
Julius reminisced to the excursion they had against Sloth, feeling almost prideful at the carnage the two of them managed to pull off when they worked together. It was where they'd first acknowledged one another as friends.
He shook his head quickly, reminding himself that he'd long since burned that bridge.
"Spirit affinity? That sounds awesome! So you're saying I can be just like you?!"
"If you wish it, I'll make it reality."
Subaru was already really beginning to like this guy, but this sealed it! This Knight was willing to train him? He'd expected his request to be brushed off as a joke, but Julius's reply indicated he was serious.
"I-I. . . !"
Suddenly, images of Reinhard and Felt flashed into his head. He'd promised the two of them they'd stick together until he got his memories back. . . was it right for him to make a decision like this so lightly?
"D-Don't worry about giving me an answer right now, I apologize for getting us off track. You wanted to hear my abilities, right?"
Subaru nodded his head, a little bit annoyed that the conversation had moved back to the topic he very much wanted to forget.
"Each of my buds correspond to an elemental attribute, wielding those types of magic with high proficiency. Ia wields fire magic, Kua controls water magic, Alo uses wind magic, Ake summons earth magic, In commands Yang magic, and Nes utilizes Yin magic."
At each of their names, Julius pointed to the spirit he was referring to, causing Subaru to nod his head with understanding. That was, until the last two.
"Yin and Yang elements? What kind of magic is that?"
Julius looked dumbfounded and decided to take a moment to think about his answer to that question. There was no doubt in his mind that Subaru knew how to use magic during their duel.
"Shadow and Light spells. I believe you have a Yin Element affinity, as I've seen you use shadow magic before."
Subaru was surprised to hear he had any other powers aside from his Return By Death, but he didn't have the time to ask Julius for details. Right now, the clock was ticking and they still needed to find a way to take out Gluttony.
"Ok, so what applications do those elements have?"
"Fire magic and wind magic are self-explanatory, I'd hope. Water magic can be used for healing. Earth magic can create barriers. Yang magic can boost strength and speed. Shadow magic can be used to distract and weaken targets."
Most of his excitement got extinguished, as Subaru realized Shadow magic was mostly debuffs. Regardless, being able to use any magic at all was something he should be grateful for, as it certainly saved his life at some point.
"Lastly, aside from being able to wield these powers in conjunction, I'm able to using a high class magic called Nect, which temporarily allows me to share senses with an ally."
As he took stock of these abilities, Subaru nodded his head with renewed understanding. If Julius had this many unique powers, they might have a chance of catching the monstrous foe off guard. All they'd need to do is feign weakness long enough to land a killing blow.
"Maybe if we combo those attacks to create a smokescreen we can. . !"
"Sorry to say this Subaru, but Gluttony already knows most of my abilities."
Subaru tilted his head, both shocked and disappointed by Julius's frank assessment of their situation. Subaru had completely overlooked the fact that the two of them already fought once. No doubt, he'd witnessed these attacks firsthand.
"That also brings us to the troublesome abilities that Gluttony has."
Julius spoke out the Archbishop's name with nothing but contempt in his voice, his purple hair getting brushed to the side with a sigh.
"He can eat the names and memories of others, which means he can find out all our secrets before we even begin fighting should he target the right person. This was why I was unsuccessful at fending him off during our previous bout."
Gluttony had eaten his name, Subaru's, and his brother's memories. This stacked the odds overwhelmingly in his favor as they fought. He dodged everything Julius threw at him, predicting every attack before he could even use it.
To Subaru however, this information was even more scary than he first realized.
"W-Wait a minute, I just remembered something. I also think he's able to use his victim's abilities by transforming into them. I have it on good authority that this heals him too. . ."
Julius's face sagged, as this meant that even a successful ambush likely wouldn't be enough to deal with this monster. Their options were certainly dwindling by this point, and with another Archbishop wandering the Capital, their situation might already be completely hopeless. Julius could work up the nerve to fight if it was simply his own life on the line. He'd been in peril several times since he started working as a mercenary. However, he was now responsible for the lives of everyone in this area, including Subaru.
Dying wasn't an option.
"Do you need all six spirits to use your strongest attacks?"
Subaru broke the silence with this question, staring intently at Julius with a look of determination in his eyes.
It was just like during the battle with Sloth.
"Yes, but he's seen them both. I doubt I'd be able to hit him with it without some kind of surprise attack."
For the first time, he saw Subaru with an evil grin on his face. No doubt, this was accentuated by the nasty eyes Subaru always wore, but Julius couldn't help but feel reassured. This was Subaru's way of projecting strength to others.
"I've got a plan."
"Plum! Oi! PLUM! Where are ya?!"
Kadomon ran breathlessly through the crowds of people in the street, praying to every deity he could think of to deliver his daughter to him, safe and unharmed. He had less than a minute left before the Witch Cult launched their attack, if Subaru was to be believed. And instead of doing his duty, he flaked to go help his wife and child. It's not like anyone would judge him for it. In fact, most people would do what he did if they were in his shoes.
Despite all this, however, Kadomon felt ashamed.
"PLUM!"
He'd abandoned his duty the moment when he was needed most. Now he wouldn't even be successful in rescuing his family.
What a sick joke. . . .
"P-Papa?!"
It was then that Kadomon heard the voice he'd desired most. There was no doubt, that was his daughter alright! She was somewhere in the crowd of people in front of him, so all he'd need to do is shove his way through and hide her away somewhere. Then he could return to help Subaru and Julius. . .
'W-Wait! What about Raksha. . .'
Plum had a habit of wandering away from her parents when she was left unattended, but Kadomon was certain his wife would be out here searching for Plum as well. So that begged the question, where was she?
"Plum! There ya' are! C'mere!"
Kadomon found the crying girl hiding in the middle of the crowd, seemingly lost and too afraid to ask for help. The girl couldn't be more happy to be reunited with her father, but she was also angry at him for suddenly disappearing a few days ago.
"P-Papa! Where were you? M-Mama was so scared. . !"
He picked her up and sat her on his shoulder, groaning as he realized how much of a scolding he was in for when he eventually did return home. He would be sleeping in the guest room for a month!
"Listen, I need ya' to go find a place to hide. Some very bad people are about to attack this place, so remain hidden until I come get ya', alright?"
Plum nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, supporting herself into a seated position. Her next question was the same as what Kadomon was about to ask her.
"Where's your mother?"
*BOOM*
The sound of an explosion rocked the two of them forward and into the people in front of them. This support was just enough to keep Kadomon from falling over, however, he knew that this meant he'd run out of time.
"A~h! Delicious, regal, satiating, gorging, delectable, gourmet~! This~! This is gourmet cuisine, right ni~san?!"
A voice rang out from behind the father-daughter duo, and they both used the dispersing crowd as a distraction to hide in a small alley. They would definitely be found if that monster decided to take its time, but there was always the chance they got distracted by something else.
"Hm? Where did all of you go~? Where? Where? Wh~ere? Where~? We are soo very hungry, very very very very very very very very very ve~ry hungry!"
Plum shook in Kadomon's hands, but he covered her mouth and silenced her breathing. He'd likely go after the first person he saw, so as long as they kept their cool, they had a decent probability of escape.
". . -hk!"
A woman's voice creaked out a fearful sound. Some unfortunate soul had just rounded the corner and earned the ire of the ragged child roaming the street. The guards had all been killed in the initial explosion, so the chances of anyone stepping in were low. Kadomon knew this and prepared himself for the horrible scene he was about to witness. The woman's voice, however, struck him in a way he didn't expect.
"Miss~? Yes, that is you, isn't it? We are ec~static to meet you! Happy, overjoyed, jubilant, joyous, thrilled, pleased, delighted! Offerings should always be accepted, yes~? Isn't that right? That's right! That's correct~! It's correct because its right! It's right because it's correct~!"
The woman screamed at the monstrous figure, which caused the ragged child to begin uncontrollably laughing. It was possible he did this simply because he was a sadist, but his laugher came off more deranged than anything else. Almost like he wasn't even present in this moment to begin with, or like he was remembering something completely different. The only person who seemed to be affected by that woman's scream was Kadomon.
He knew the owner of that voice.
"R-Raksha. . !"
Kadomon, still holding his daughter in his arms, was now torn between his love for his daughter and his love for his wife. If he went to help Raksha, Plum might end up wandering out there and into danger. Not to mention the fact that she'd undoubtedly be discovered the moment he exited their hiding spot. However, if he protected Plum, Raksha would. . .
". . -hk!"
He weighed the options in his head, trying his utmost to figure out an optimum solution that allowed him to rescue both his wife and daughter, but he was unable to think of anything. All he was left with was the impossible decision between saving Plum or Raksha. If only he'd hidden somewhere else, if only he'd left a couple seconds earlier. . .
"Thanks for the meal~!"
Gluttony whipped out two of his blades and prepared to go eviscerate Raksha.
Kadomon realized he'd run out of time, and now the decision had been made for him. The only thing he could do was charge out there and pray he made it in time.
"Foolish of you to turn your back to me, you scum."
Another man's voice pierced the air, and instead of being greeted with the corpse of his defenseless wife Raksha, Kadomon looked out and saw Gluttony felled to the ground, a sword slash having pierced directly across his back. That voice belonged to the man Subaru met only a few moments ago, Julius Juukulius. Kadomon could see Raksha still frozen with fear, but with the added time and a new formidable fighter, there was a chance for him to grab her and hide her away with Plum.
"Oi! Raksha! Snap out of it!"
Kadomon grabbed the woman's shoulders and shook her a moment, before pointing to the place where he and Plum were hiding.
"We need to leave right not! C'mon, follow me and. . ."
"K-Kadomon. . ?"
He hadn't exactly told her what he'd been doing the past few days and Raksha was beginning to think about filing a missing person's report for him. For him to emerge right now, in her moment of need, seemed almost too convenient.
"H-Honey! Go and watch the kid, will ya'? We'll deal with this guy, alright?"
Raksha could only stare at her newfound husband in astonishment, as his side profile appeared to her like someone superhuman. The strength to block such an attack, to fight such a monstrous opponent. . . she was captivated by it.
An unknown voice shouted a something to Kadomon, but Raksha was too busy running to where Plum was to pick up on what it was saying.
"You~? It's you~? Yes, it's you~? That's right, it's you~! We remember! It's Ni~san! We love ni~san! The 'Knightliest Knight' who's not a Knight~!"
Julius struck at him with his sword, but it was easily parried by Gluttony's daggers. In terms of speed, this was basically no contest.
Without the element of surprise, the only chance Julius had to land an attack was boosting his stats with Yang magic. However, for some reason, he'd decided to keep his spirits obscured from view. Gluttony didn't seem to notice this, instead focusing on landing a kick into Julius's open flank. It connected into his side, launching him in the direction of a nearby building with frightening force.
However, before he could made contact. . .
"Dona!"
A rounded wall of Earth protruded from the ground, catching and enveloping Julius's body, which redirected most of the energy into a roll instead of a direct collision. No doubt, the damage received from this attack had been severely mitigated.
"Hmm~? What's this? Someone else wants a bite of us~? What a fun day this is ~tsu!"
The voice that cast that magic was none other than Kadomon's, who'd somehow cast a magic spell capable of slowing Julius's speed despite his unnaturally slow reaction time.
"Oi! Appa bro, take this!"
Another familiar voice spoke up over the carnage, which was soon accompanied by the tossing of a sword that had been picked off the corpse of one of the royal guards. That man was Natsuki Subaru, slayer of Sloth and Greed, and subjugator of the White Whale and Great Rabbit. Gluttony could recognize this voice immediately and did his best to hold back a sickeningly wide smile. In this place he'd come across three interesting opponents, two of which he'd eaten before.
"Hey kid! What's with the stupid nickname!?"
Subaru heard Kadomon's offended remark, and groaned as he realized he'd hadn't had the time to explain the plan to him at all.
"He eats people's names and memories, remember? If he doesn't know your name, that makes you immune to his ability!"
Kadomon paused for a moment, and soon felt a smile across his face. He'd at least have some use in this fight then! Even if things did go south.
"We are the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop's of Gluttony, Roy Alphard! We've introduced ourselves to you now, right~? It's proper for one's opponent to do the same, correct~? That's fairness~! That's decency~! That's civility~! That's integrity~! Is it not? Gluttonous drinking ~tsu! Gluttony tsu~!
Roy jokingly taunted the two of them with the Knightly custom which had undoubtedly been responsible for the losses of countless fighters, and tried baiting Kadomon into giving his name out with some good old fashioned guilt tripping. Needless to say, that didn't work.
"O-Oh! Close call kid! By the way, how was I able to cast that spell just now?"
Kadomon looked over to Subaru, who wanted to know what the plan was that he'd concocted for defeating Gluttony, but Subaru didn't have time to answer, as Gluttony had already begun to charge at them, arms outstretched.
"Can't eat you again~! We are sad! Despondent! Despairing! Discouraged! We'll just eat them instead, alright~?"
Gluttony was unable to eat either Subaru or Julius's name again, and odds are, their memories were likely impossible to eat too. This meant Gluttony had no indirect ways to find out Kadomon's name except going after the woman he'd seen pass by moments earlier in the street. He'd been too preoccupied with Julius to hear the name she'd uttered out, but he was certain she'd said it.
"Rent-El Goa!"
A large ball of fire manifested itself at the palm of Subaru's hand and launched itself at the incoming attacker at mach speeds. The further it traveled away from his hand, the larger the attack grew. Not only was this due to the nature of the attack, but also due to the air being funneled into the flames accompanying its fast launch.
". . -tch!"
Gluttony quickly maneuvered his way out of the path of destruction, only barely managing to dodge the fireball by slamming the ground with one of his fists to launch him high up into the sky. It was undoubtedly one of the move's he'd stolen from a previous forgotten fighter, but Subaru didn't get to hear him speak the name of this ability.
"That was one of Julius's spirits. I had him send one off to track you down before the attack started."
Subaru's plan was deceptively simple.
Nearly all of Gluttony's displayed attacks had required him to close the distance with his foes. This was true in every single loop that Subaru had encountered him and it was also true from Julius's past experience with him. This meant, as long as they were able to divide his attention, he'd be forced to focus his attacks onto one of them at a time. Julius, with his six spirits, would only lose two of his close combat abilities by splitting his spirits up among several other people. Assuming he still had his Yang spirit to boost his abilities and his Water spirit to heal damage, he could act as their brawler and continually keep Roy at bay while the two of them launched long distance attacks.
It was ingenious, and the luck of their situation hadn't ended there.
With Subaru and Julius's unique circumstances, neither of them were at risk of having their memories eaten. So long as they kept Kadomon's name a secret, Gluttony's most dangerous ability couldn't be activated. The plan was as optimized as they could've made it, given the time constraints they were under.
"I see, ya' haven't lost your craftiness, have ya' kid?"
Subaru grinned at Kadomon's praise, but he realized he was raising a flag and immediately decided to put a pin in that sort of behavior until after the battle had ended.
The facts were, even with this strategy, they were at a slight disadvantage.
Gluttony's durability and unknown moveset left them at risk of being countered at any point in the fight. His endurance would probably last longer than theirs as well, which meant they were on a time limit. Should they falter for even a moment, Gluttony could take the upper hand and eat one of Kadomon's family, which would spell doom for them all. He could also pull out some weird attack from someone who'd been forgotten by this world and kill all three of them with ease. Finally, he had intel on literally everything Julius was capable of and had previously beaten him in a 2 vs. 1. This 'cheap shot' strategy wouldn't work forever. They'd need to finish him off quickly.
Oh, and this wouldn't be an easy task either, as he possessed ungodly healing capabilities.
'Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. . .'
"Julius! Now!"
Out of nowhere, Julius boosted his speed with In's Yang Magic, and blitzed the falling Roy with a sword strike. He wouldn't be able to dodge this attack as he was still falling through the air and unable see it coming because it was behind him.
". . -!"
The strike was set to pierce straight through Roy's head, which would mean instant death for the Archbishop of Gluttony. He would not be given the chance to regenerate from those wounds by transforming into another person.
"Palm of the Fist King~!"
Gluttony shouted out the name of this ability, but Julius was still well out of range for being hit by this attack. However, Subaru realized his true intentions immediately after, as he saw the ragged child's fist change directions and make contact with his own stomach.
". . -hk!"
Roy was launched into the side of one of the buildings lining the streets of the Capital, crashing through a ceiling and wall with a loud boom. What he'd just done was a testament to his battle experience, or perhaps the experience he'd stolen from others. Rather than accept the lethal blow from Julius's sword, Roy had used one of his own attacks against himself to launch his body out of the way of the attack. This wouldn't come without cost, though.
"W-What happened!? Is he dead!?"
Kadomon shook the sword he'd just been tossed, seemingly relieved, but also a little disappointed he didn't get to use the sword himself considering he'd just been handed one.
"Stop raising flags! I doubt he'd knowingly inflict a fatal on himself!"
Subaru wagged his finger at Kadomon, disappointed in him for his unknowingly triggering a cliché that had become all too common in battle shounens, but also because he'd hoped Kadomon would've blocked his path of escape using Ake's Earth Magic.
"Hey, Appa bro! Please tell your wife and kid to flee to the Astrea Manor and get Reinhard! I really don't want to leave this fight up to chance!"
Kadomon growled a little at Subaru's silly nickname for him, but eventually relented and turned towards the alley that contained his cowering wife and child, yelling for the two of them to come out. He had a message he needed to give them.
"There ya' are!"
As the two of them emerged from their spot, they peeked the corner and saw a cloud of dust surrounding the place where Gluttony had been launched off to, which gave them the confidence to round the corner and step out into the street.
"K-Kado-. . ."
"Don't say my name! That bastard's got the power to erase people from existence with just a name!"
Raksha looked down in embarrassment, but soon regathered herself and put a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath.
"W-What can we do to help?"
Kadomon smiled for a moment, but the gravity of the situation didn't allow for him to waste time complimenting his wife's beauty. He needed to act now, before Gluttony had the chance to recover.
"Run. Both of ya', run to the Astrea Manor and get Reinhard. Tell him Natsuki Subaru is in danger, and that we're under attack by an Archbishop of the Witch's Cult!"
He spoke the title of 'Archbishop' with a shaking voice, almost like he still couldn't believe he was fighting one of those monsters in the first place. Many of them had the reputation of being literally unkillable, which certainly didn't bode well for them.
"A-Alright. When this is all over though, we'll be having a chat about you disappearing with absolutely no warning. . ."
Somehow, despite the horror of this situation, Raksha had managed to make Kadomon even more scared than the monstrous Sin Archbishop sitting in front of them. Served him right for acting without any regard for his family the last couple weeks, but still. . . he didn't look forward to it.
"Now get going! He's only going to be out for a couple more seconds!"
"S-Stay alive. . . I beg you!"
The mother-daughter duo ran off into the distance.
"Amazing~! Superb~! Magnificent~! Splendid~! Marvelous~! Wonderful~! Glorious~! We commend your teamwork, it has been quite some time since we feared for our life! We are very very very very very upset we can't make you into worthy offerings ~tsu!"
As the dust cleared, the battered and bloody Roy staggered out of the cloud of debris, still smiling like he'd found his favorite prey he'd every encountered. The hunger he felt had become insatiable to the point he'd started to consider attempting to eat either Subaru or Julius a second time. Maybe if he was lucky, their memories would still be possible targets!
"You're a psycho! How the hell can you smile after being hit like that. . !?"
Subaru yelled this out to the still grinning Roy, but when his eyes settled onto Subaru's, he lost his nerve and couldn't force any more words out of his mouth.
"Ah~! We are happy, yes? That is why we smile! Such worthy meals don't often present themselves to us without prompting, get it? Our Gluttony almost feels satisfied, tsu!"
He leapt down from the second floor of the building, gripping his chest where the self-inflicted wound had been struck. Blood leaked out of a small hole in his body and his mouth had been dripping blood too. The damage he'd inflicted onto himself had been severe.
"You won't get away this time!"
Julius appeared behind the ragged child's body and, with his sword raised over his head, brought it down into a vertical slash through the young child's body.
Both Subaru and Kadomon, anticipating him trying to dodge the attack, launched simultaneous spells from both their Earth and Fire spirits, encompassing both Roy's left and right escape paths. He would be unable to dodge this attack, and this would mean the end of him.
At least. . . that's what should've happened.
"You think we'll fall for that same trick twice~? Very naïve ~tsu!"
When the words left his mouth, a similar phrase exited Gluttony's maw, one which only Subaru could recognize.
"Solar Eclipse!"
Both the flames and earth reached their intended destinations, leaving Roy only with the option of meeting Julius's attack head-on.
He chose this bath explicitly, and the form he took had been enough to shake the conviction of Julius Juukulius's strike.
"Hmm, ve-y ea-y -o -ead!"
Julius's sword had been caught between the teeth of a man who perfectly resembled that of Natsuki Subaru. This went from his clothes, his eyes, and even to his voice. He was virtually indistinguishable from the man standing 100 feet behind him, who could only stare upon the scene in shock.
"Bad move~!"
With Julius's sword strike having been weakened, Gluttony's original strength had been enough for him to catch it in his maw. And judging by the trembling pupils of the man before him, he'd made the right decision on who to turn into from when he'd received his sword strike.
"Palm of the Fist King!"
The now fully healed Gluttony launched a devastating attack onto Julius, who was in no position to dodge or brace himself for the impact of his barrage of fists. He'd been sent flying before either Subaru or Kadomon could realize what had happened, and when they tried to cast a spell, Julius's body had been slammed through the wall of a shop and into a dust cloud of its own.
"Very smart~! If Ni~san didn't hesitate, we would've died~! Scary~! Scary~! Scary~!"
Subaru screamed out to Julius, hoping he'd been able to tank the attack with enough strength to get up and continue fighting, but the silence he'd been greeted with was deafening. Right now, Kua was probably healing Julius's wounds, so they needed to switch directives to stall tactics until he could get back in the fight.
"Kadomon! I need you to cast a high level Earth spell!"
Kadomon glanced over at Subaru, and he could see that he had some sort of plan in mind, so he relented and prepared to cast.
"Just so ya' know, I think this spirit's running low on mana, so this might be its last spell. . ."
Subaru didn't feel good with this news, but he understood that Ake wasn't used to working with people other than Julius and that Kadomon hadn't wielded spirits before either. This was most likely a result of that lack of experience.
If it weren't for Ia's continuing persistence to work with him, Subaru would be in a similar position too.
"El Dona!"
A dome of earth rose up out of the ground and circled around the still stationary Archbishop, enveloping it in a nearly-foot thick wall. Before it finished closing, Subaru rapidly cast two spells of his own targeting two different areas.
"El Goa! Ul Goa!"
The first fireball made its way into the dome, just barely impacting before it got sealed off, and exploding on the inside of the stone prison. The second spell, which was cast at a higher level, overlaid flames on the shell and surroundings of the dome. This way, if he somehow escaped, he would still be stuck in a forest of flames before he could make his way over to them.
". . .-hk!"
The sound indicated to Subaru that their plan had been a success. Roy was certainly fast, but by restricting his movement, they didn't need to worry about him as much, as they knew that Gluttony only had short distance attacks.
'W-Wait a minute. . . that wasn't. . .'
Subaru realized all too late that the sound wasn't coming from Gluttony. No, it had come from Kadomon!
"Too slow~! We don't plan on dying here, yes!"
In one fell swoop, Roy had escaped their prison and sped past Subaru's incoming fireball before he'd even registered it. No, actually, it's more likely he'd already disappeared before the Earth spell had been cast. But how?
It was almost like he'd teleported.
"No! K-Kado-. . . -hk!"
Subaru cut himself off at the last second, realizing he'd almost carelessly said his name and doomed them both. Kadomon's body had been launched backwards several feet and he'd crumpled to the ground in an unconscious mess.
"Hmm~? Think you're helping him~? It's too late, you already shouted his name a few moments ago, right~?"
Subaru's eyes widened, as he realized that he'd indeed called out to Kadomon when launching their initial attack, and he felt fearful at the implications this mistake would have on their fight. What should he do? What could he do?
Gluttony approached his unconscious body with a slow foreboding pace, licking both his hands as he prepared to enjoy snacking on both Kadomon's names and memories, leaving him a husk of his former self. Subaru couldn't allow this to happen, but he'd exhausted pretty much all his options aside from attacking recklessly and using up the rest of the spirit's mana.
But luckily for him, a moment of revelation shone through. . .
"I-Invisible Providence!"
Subaru shouted out these accursed words with a surprising amount of energy. The invisible hand couldn't be dodged and was very difficult to detect. At the distance between him and Roy, there wouldn't be enough of a disturbance in the air for him to sense its presence.
". . -gh!"
Gluttony was launched backwards, having taken a serious blow to his head and rolled backwards across the cobblestone road. The top right part of his skull had been completely bashed by whatever attack Subaru had just used.
". . .-hk!"
Subaru's nose, eyes, and mouth all began to leak blood. A headache of unbearable proportions had immediately caused Subaru to fall to his knees in pain. He couldn't speak, much less think. All he could hear was the sound of his own blood pumping behind his ears.
"S-Subaru!"
Julius had finally recovered, but now Kadomon had been put out of commission, and Subaru wasn't doing much better.
He would have to act now if they wanted any chance of victory.
But, those hopes were about to be shattered. . .
"There you are! I finally found you~! My dear Petelgeuse!"
A woman, covered head to toe in bandages, had been watching the battle take place for an unknown amount of time. Her smile was wicked, and her voice relayed a mania that made her seem almost androgenous.
"Oh! How rude! I can get really shy, you know? Please forgive me for not introducing myself! I'm the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Wrath! Sirius Romanee-Conti!"
Author's Note
Wow! That chapter was super long! Sorry bout the month long hiatus, but that just sorta is how I do things, so yeah nothing else to really say about that. I think these next few chapters are going to be extra long because I REALLY want to get to the point where I'll be satisfied jumping back to The Secret. I'm really close! I just need to get a bit further along! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, as it definitely has been a pain to write all the action scenes here, but honestly, I'm glad I'm getting more practice with this kind of thing. I'm not exactly sure when the next chapter will come out, but I hope I can get it out in the next two weeks or so. Cast Reacts Ch 3 is pretty far along and I'm pretty sure Arc 7 is getting pretty close to finishing! Let's go! I've been waiting for this for a while now!
My poll for the next chapter will be basically who's POV you want more.
The next chapter will swap between both Astrea Manor POV and Subaru/Julius POV. Which do you wanna see more? That will be the one I lead with (but don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot of both!)
Vote A for Astrea Manor and B for Subaru/Julius.
Also, there will be a great payoff at the end of next chapter, so for everyone who's been sticking around waiting, don't worry, you'll finally receive what you want!
I also wrote a fic for the Reactionist Fic Contest, so that'll be out whenever everything is done, look forward to that!
Finally,
I've started taking commissions for anyone who's interested in my writing style and wants me to write them a short fic! I charge $40 for 5K words, which is pretty cheap relative to everyone else I see on there! I don't really have any rules regarding what I write either, I just ask that once you receive the document you don't put my name on it unless I say its ok. I don't wanna start beef with people over something I got commissioned to write. It doesn't just have to be Re:zero either! If it's something I'm familiar with, I'll write a fic for you to the best of my ability! If you are interested, check out this link:
continuer123?up_rollout=true
I also have a discord server for anyone interested in getting updates for when new chapters are releasing. We've got roles, a lot of active members, and an overall good vibe going on. It's pretty decked out by this point, so I suggest you check it out:
/tgMtCvdasb