A pillar of ice launched from Rem's palm and shot toward the Bowel Hunter. When it got close Elsa turned around and sliced it in half. The newly cut halves shot out in opposite directions. Both missed Elsa by a hair.
Rem and Garfiel moved closer slowly, ready to fight. Elsa wasn't concerned in the slightest. And the little girl, Meili, stared at them with a smile on her face.
"Meili," Elsa said, gesturing to Rem and Garfiel.
"Gotcha," Meili said. At her words, courtesan bears charged Rem and Garfiel. Rem pulled out her flail and swung at the first bear. The steel ball collapsed its skull in. Garfiel slid under the falling beast's legs and ran for Elsa. He hit his fists together, making his shields scream as he attacked. Rem caught a glimpse of Elsa countering his punch before she focused entirely on her part of the fight. She had to give this all her focus.
Thankfully her horn screamed for her to murder the witch beasts. Mana flowed into her from the atmosphere as nine bears descended on her. She yanked her flail back bringing the ball shooting toward her, it missed and ended up flying away from her.
A bear reached for the chain.
"El Huma," she used her free hand to throw forty icicles at it. The beast was smart enough to jump out of the way, or was it being ordered to do that by the girl? Rem didn't care. It needed to die anyway.
She swung her flail forward aiming for whatever beast was ahead of her. The spikes stabbed into its chest and a dull thud rang out from the impact. The bear would be weakened from her attack. It was the one she'd target first. She pounded her feet into the ground shooting after it.
"WITCH BEAST!" giving in to her impulses Rem unleashed a barrage of hits on the creature. After a second she got onto its shoulders and wrapped her legs around its neck. It tried to grab for her legs but she created a shield of ice to stop it from doing so. She held one hand on the handle of her flail and the other clasped the actual ball.
"DIE!" she screamed and slammed the ball into its head over and over again. The other mabeasts all started to try and rip her away. But the bear died before they could.
Two. Rem thought, counting them off.
Another mabeast wrapped its claws around her back, digging gashes into her. Rem had miscalculated and spent too much time on the beast. But she wouldn't die to this disgusting beast. Her horn glowed brightly and she activated her magic.
"Ul Huma!" A spear of ice shot from the ground below the creature. It jumped up and ran the bear through.
Three.
Before she could get herself out of the monster's dead claws, another mabeast punched her in the chest. Her eyes glowed with fury and she grabbed the handle of her weapon in both hands. The mabeast that had been holding her started to fall back as her ice spear melted. But before it did so she raised the flail's handle over her head and slammed it down in an arc.
The spiked ball rose into the sky and stuck itself in the skull of the one that had punched her.
Four.
Five other bears rushed in and tried to grab her weapon's chain. Their hands all grabbed it, they were too smart, at least while under the control of the Mabeast User, but Rem didn't have the time to try and kill Meili. So she had to focus on the beasts.
However, she didn't have the chance as the beast holding her up collapsed onto its back. Now she was on her back atop the creature, though its fingers fell away from her. Five beasts all grabbed on her chain with her morning star stuck in a sixth. Rem yanked back. As soon as she did, the chain snapped.
A growl escaped her throat. She forced herself off the dead bear's stomach and onto the ground. With her feet on the dirt, she eyed the mabeasts who were all readying to attack her. For a second she darted her glance to where Garfiel and Elsa were facing off. The two were engaged in a fierce battle. Rem snapped her eyes back to the courtesan bears.
They all sprinted at her.
Rem's horn called to her. She held against it, trying to think of a plan, but she didn't have the time as the witch beasts all struck at her. Five sets of claws came from all directions, shooting toward her. Rem analyzed as much as she could with her mind and dodged out of the way of each strike. Pain shot into her from the gashes on her back. She pulled as much mana into her as she could, healing her back somewhat.
A claw shot toward her as she was trying to think of a plan. She ducked under it and slid under the legs of a bear.
Another tried to bite down on her as she came out from between the other's legs. She faced her palm toward the back of its mouth, which was coming closer by the millisecond.
"Huma," a spear of ice shot from her hand and stuck into the roof of the bear's mouth. It fell to the ground soon after.
Five.
Another tried to grab her, she shoved her hands into the ground and shot into the air. She flew in an arc over the beast's head. When she landed on the ground she tried to think of a way out, but a third beast slashed at her. She lunged to the side, only to end up in front of a fourth mabeast.
"WITCH CULTIST!" she screamed as her eyes flicked to the girl atop her gabou. That girl's eyes were focused on her.
Rem's eyes flicked back toward the fourth mabeast, it was aiming to kill. She would survive the hit, though it would injure her. Rem took a chance and shot her arm toward the girl.
"El Huma!" a barrage of icicles flew toward Meili.
The gabou turned its massive horn of a head to her and created a wall of fire in front of Meili. All the icicles melted.
Rem shouted as her arm burned. Not from the gabou, but from a bear dragging its claws along her arm, slicing off the skin like butter.
The other beasts all tried to consume or rip her to shreds. She jumped backward, throwing herself into a tree. Splinters stabbed into her partially healed back wounds. Rem grunted from the pain.
Garfiel shot a glance at her. As soon as he did it Elsa slashed him across the chest.
Rem cursed herself. She'd caused Garfiel to get hurt. The courtesan bears closed in on her. She started trying to plan before remembering that she was Rem. She wasn't a planner. She left the burden of planning to more intelligent people, as it was impossible for her to handle it.
That meant she shouldn't plan in a fight. And she shouldn't trust her own instincts.
Her horn screamed. It was the spirit of the oni, maybe she could trust it.
Rem didn't hesitate in her own judgment. Without any more thought, she embraced it. Rage filled her. Her reasoning fell away. She slouched down and stopped thinking entirely.
Rem's horn glowed a sickly pink light. An animal-like scream ripped from her as she attacked.
Roy licked his lips. Otto reached into his pocket. Roy didn't even look at his hand, he only rubbed his stomach.
Too focused on eating, that'll be useful. Otto analyzed the boy's initial movements. He could use the boy's lack of caution.
"You want to eat me, don't you? Not as much self-control as your brother?" Otto probed for weaknesses in Roy's personality.
"Mhm. How could Ley ever wait to eat?" Roy asked.
"Are you mad that I was there when your brother died, and slowed him down long enough for him to be killed?" Otto asked.
"Well, we couldn't eat Ley, sooooooo…" Roy shrugged.
Otto whispered, "There's a Sin Archbishop here. A Witch Cultist."
Roy eyed him, "Huh what'd you say?"
Otto had spoken in a different animal's language. So he had to switch back to human to say, "Nothing much. Anyway, do you want to fight? Your brother was into that."
"Nope!" Roy yelled, "Fighting's boring. Ley was an idiot with his dumb Gourmet."
Otto continued trying to probe Roy's mind, "Do you miss your brother?"
"...W-We already told you we couldn't eat him," Roy said. Otto noted his hesitation.
Otto reached a bit deeper into his pocket and grabbed the makeshift bomb he'd fashioned a few hours ago.
"Do you want to know something?" Otto asked.
Roy tilted his head, his stomach rumbled and he said, "Nope. We're hungry, thanks for the snack."
As soon as he finished Roy dashed toward Otto. When the boy got just close enough Otto squeezed the bomb in his pocket, activating the fire stones. He threw it at Roy, who caught it.
"Huh…?" Roy inspected it, "Did you tie a bunch of fire stones together?"
Otto switched into another language, "Wow, he's actually just holding it. Am I having good luck? Anyway, can you guys come to the explosion?"
He received a positive response.
Roy kept looking at the thing, Otto switched back into the language of humans. All the while Gluttony's green eyes ran over the bomb, his stomach rumbled again, "Nevermind, time to eat," he went to toss the bomb behind him.
Right before leaving his hand, it exploded. Fire bloomed, it singed Otto's eyebrows. The only reason it didn't hurt Otto was that Roy's body absorbed most of the blast. Smoke billowed out, filling Otto's lungs. He coughed while the dust cleared.
In the center of the ash, Roy stood. One side of the cloth covering his torso was gone. Roy's feet rubbed the grass. A bit of soot covered his body, but he wasn't burned, or even hurt in the slightest.
Hunger filled Roy's gaze, "Alright we've waited too long. Time to eat ~TSU!"
Otto's eyes widened. These Gluttonies were…resilient.
"Before you do, I'll tell you what I wanted to," Otto said.
Roy ignored him and ran forward, palm outstretched.
"I made your brother afraid of me."
Roy stopped. His eyes widened and he said, "You…made Ley afraid…how?"
Roy was stunned, almost like he'd never heard of it even happening. Otto smiled, his guess had been right.
Right on time, a buzz echoed through the trees.
Luck was on his side.
Insects screeched.
"Just like this," Otto said and switched to the language of insects, "The boy, attack him."
Bugs of every kind rushed out of the trees and toward Roy. Before Roy could do anything he was covered by thousands of insects. It seemed luck and the forest was on Otto's side. He activated his Divine Protection to its greatest extent.
As the voices of the entire forest filled his mind Otto turned and ran. It was time to make a trap for Roy Alphard.
Roswaal shot his hand forward sending a blast of fire toward the black dragon that was Capella. She beat her wings, twisting her body so she avoided his attack. Roswaal cursed himself for being wounded so much by the trial. It prevented him from being able to kill Capella. It didn't matter, he shook his head and flew after Capella.
He'd brought the fight to the sky so he wouldn't have to worry about Theresia and Kurgan, but Capella wanted to bring it to the ground, so the dragon form melted away from her. She hit the ground as a human woman. Her blonde hair glowed a bit in the moonlight. Roswaal set his jaw and shot to the ground.
Capella's body disappeared. She'd likely turned herself into a bug.
Roswaal thrust his hand out and created a wave of fire. Capella called out from somewhere around him, "You know, Roswaal, this lovely lady can become anything you want. I'll have the perfect looks, and you can love me."
"Is thaaaaat all you think love is?" he asked.
After a few seconds Capella's voice rang out from a different direction, "Of course, and this lovely lady is right. There's nothing more than appearance to love. Those who try to make it more are idiot meatbags. Worse than the other meatbags."
Two swordsmen appeared from the forest. Kurgan on his right. Theresia on his left.
"That's…" Roswaal didn't know what to say, he knew of Capella's actions. But this mindset. His lips twisted into a frown. It was worse than he'd thought it would be.
He remembered teacher saving him. He remembered teacher making his life mean something. He remembered teacher giving him a reason to live.
And recently his gospel had told him of Ram. He still recalled the day she'd wiped away his makeup. All the times her eyes had been slowly shifting away from hate. Once he'd thought she'd only been growing better at hiding it, not coming to love him. That wasn't about his appearance. There was something deeper. Ram was naive, but something lay deeper in her love.
As well as her love for Subaru. There was something more to it than his appearance, after all, Roswaal and Subaru were so different in terms of looks.
Roswaal's hands balled into fists.
"Meatbag," Capella said. Her finger landed on the exposed skin of his neck.
Terror stormed through Roswaal. He was weak. So weak, he'd let himself become engrossed in his thoughts. But Capella's belief. It was so horrible. Reductive. Loathsome. A thought rushed through his mind.
Capella Emerada Lugunica is worse than me.
Roswaal grew angry. The Forest of Kremaldy shook from the force of his mana. A shockwave of wind blasted out, snapping trees like twigs. Theresia and Kurgan braced themselves to survive its impact. Capella didn't. The power cut her to bits as blood sprayed. Her entire torso turned to red mist. The arm that had been touching him was all that remained.
Roswaal tilted his head, mana rushed from his gate into the spot where Capella's finger touched him. His water magic connected with the blood in her arm. It exploded and left nothing behind.
Red liquid covered the side of his face. He didn't care to wipe it away. With hate running through him he turned to Capella, whose body had already reformed.
"This is probably the loop. Time to let myself hate your ideal," Roswaal said.
Capella looked up at him with a tiny hint of fear. It was gone a moment later. A bulbous sac grew out of the woman's stomach. Noxious gas shot from it.
Roswaal waved his hand, dispersing it with a bit of wind, but Capella was gone. A hole in the dirt was what remained, alongside an immense quantity of blood.
Roswaal turned to Theresia and said, "You were a good friend to Carol. Time for you to stop serving this woman."
As soon as the breath passed his lips he pounded his leg into the ground and closed the distance between him and the swordsmen. It was easy for him to grab both. With his water magic, Roswaal confirmed they had blood.
"I know you hated killing, rest now, Theresia van Astrea," as soon as he finished speaking he activated his magic. The blood in both Theresia and Kurgan's bodies exploded just like Capella's had, only on a greater scale.
Covered in the blood and viscera of his old friend Roswaal looked at the hole in the ground where Capella had scurried away into. Roswaal reached for his earth magic and stomped. A massive section of the ground gave way for him to look for Capella.
He'd find her, even if he had to rip apart the entire earth beneath Sanctuary to do it.
Pandora's offer hung in the air. Subaru had no idea how to respond to it. No immediate rejection had come, so where did that leave him? Should he accept…it could make Petra hate him. But…
He opened a door. The handle was cold. Petra's eyeless body spilled out. As he kept moving he found each of the village children, all dead. Their eyes were torn out by men with hoods.
Subaru shook his head, that had been a long time ago. He looked at Pandora. She was smiling.
"What would you make me do?" he asked her.
"Things that will make Petra hate you," she said.
Indecision filled him, overwhelming everything else. Her offer was tempting. He hated himself for not trying to force Pandora away.
"Ah…" Pandora made a small noise, "you're having trouble deciding. Well, then I'll aid you, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru met her eyes, she wasn't lying. He wouldn't either, "I hate the Witch's Cult," there was no conviction in his voice, only a half-remembered conclusion from so long ago, "every single one of you is horrible."
"You merely misunderstand. We're not horrible," Pandora said, "in fact…we're all quite like you."
Subaru froze. She wasn't wrong. He was the worst. The absolute worst, most terrible existence. He looked down at his hands, they were still gray. Then he looked to Pandora, she wasn't. Her platinum hair hung down her shoulders and her blue eyes pierced him.
"Why do you want me?" Subaru asked.
Pandora grabbed his hand again, this time holding it in both hands. She said, "Those eyes of yours. You've been subjected to the Witch Factor and its horrors, you've embarked on the long journey that comes with holding it."
Subaru didn't know what she was saying. And he couldn't. No words could form in his throat.
Pandora continued, "You are one of the rare exceptions, Natsuki Subaru. One of the ones who stand out among the vast audience of the world. Someone whose heart makes sense. It's inspiring. Wonderful. Glorious."
Pandora brought his hand up to her cheek and said, "I want you to hold me close to show me the depth of your resolve. To hug me to show that I do not walk this world by my lonesome. Once I thought another would understand, but he didn't. I know you can understand me, Natsuki Subaru. Because I understand you."
Subaru's eyes widened. He wanted to scream, but he was breathless.
Pandora finished with, "I understand you. I see you, Natsuki Subaru. And I love what I see."
No revulsion entered Subaru. Was this what he'd been looking for with Patrasche? Someone who understood him, yet still loved him.
Pandora glowed with an ethereal light. Her pale skin almost blinded his eyes, which had gotten used to the single-colored world.
Footsteps sounded from the floor above, two sets. Petra and Frederica were coming toward him.
"Ah it seems I must take my leave," Pandora said as she walked away from him. She glanced at him one last time as she opened the door.
Should he call out to her? Stop her from leaving? Should he try to stop her? She had said she was head of the Witch's Cult. Should he try to kill her for that? For all she'd done?
In the end. Subaru did nothing.
Though Pandora didn't have the same struggle. As she left she said one final thing.
"I'll be waiting for you next time, Natsuki Subaru."
As the words left her mouth she closed the door. Subaru finally gathered some form of determination and moved to the door. When he opened it Pandora was gone, nowhere in sight.
Subaru closed the door, he had to hold onto the handle to keep himself from collapsing. That howl kept building and he had breath now. He didn't know why he wanted to scream. It didn't matter. He grit his teeth and remained silent.
Petra and Frederica's footsteps came down the stairs. He cast a look back at them. Petra's colors were just as bright as Pandora's.
He remembered his dream, Petra choking the life from him. That would be a good outcome. He could do it himself if he used Return By Death. Joining the cult wasn't something he needed to do. But…dying that many times…how much quicker would it be if he was a Sin Archbishop?
A lot easier. He'd be dead faster. But thankfully a tiny part of him was still disgusted by the cult and kept him from chasing after Pandora.
Rem dashed forward, poised like an animal going for the kill. The bears all lined up before her. She didn't stop, instead, she dove forward at the first one, her fingers formed into a spear. Her horn screamed.
Kill. Kill. Kill. KILL! Rem obliged. It was a witch beast after all, disgusting. Horrid. It deserved death with no mercy. Rem shoved the points of her fingers into the monster's chest. Mana from her horn added strength to her body. She leaped off the ground and drove her arm all the way through until her shoulder hit the skin of the bear. Her hand poked out the other side.
Rem activated her water magic. She grasped the blood within the creature. Without incantation her horn made the blood turn to spikes, tearing the bear's heart apart from the inside. Rem smiled in demonic glee.
She ripped her hand out.
Six.
The other four mabeasts attacked her. Rem didn't think, all she did was dodge. No thought given. Her instincts did what she needed.
She ducked and weaved through the mabeasts until she found an opening. In that time, as the courtesan bears all had their backs turned, she grasped the mana in the air once more. The temperature started to fall from her sucking away the magic.
"Ul Huma," she said while a spear of ice formed above her shoulder. Instead of sending it flying she wrapped her arms around it.
One of the bears tossed its floral body at her. Rem swung her massive icicle. She hit the thing's neck, caving its windpipe in. The beast tried to breathe but Rem knew it was futile.
Seven. She counted even before it died.
By now the other three courtesan bears were all ready to attack. Rem smiled. Her horn sang. She listened to its beautiful concert.
She threw her body to the side, her feet touching a tree. With her Ul Huma still in her hand she aimed herself at an eighth bear, then jumped off the tree. Bark shook beneath her feet when she rocketed toward the abomination. Rem drove her spear through its chest.
Eight.
Another swung for her. She caught its hand, then let her horn do the work. Her eyes went red. A yell full of fury ripped from her. By the time she was done screaming the beast's wrist was crushed and the other three were lining up to punch her. She ripped off the arm of the beast. Smelling its blood flying through the air, her horn took absolute control.
Kill. She needed to kill that mabeast. Rem descended upon it, ignoring the other. Her nails sheared through it as she launched herself up to its face. Once she got there she slammed her fists into its cheekbones over and over again. Her knuckles ripped when the barrage of blows all struck home.
Another assault from floral fists crashed into her back. Ribs snapped within her. Her vision turned even redder. She smelled her own blood. Her horn grew stronger. They needed to die! DIE! Rem grabbed the bear's head in both hands. When the other tried to claw her off Rem shoved her fingers through the bear's cheeks. It roared at her. She grit her teeth. No pain entered her. Only the desire, the need, the lust to kill this thing. To feel its blood wet upon her fingers. Rem put her feet onto the disgusting animal's shoulder. The other grabbed her leg. The bone snapped under its flowerbloom of a fist.
Rem didn't care. The smell of more blood only further enraged her. Energy flowed into her. It was power. Strength. A way to spill more blood.
"WITCH BEAST!" she ripped its head off. Blood spilled all over her leg's which were still being torn apart as she ripped a part of this thing's spine out.
Nine.
Rem grasped the blood with her water magic, fashioning it into a spike. Then she struck at the other bear. The blood burst on contact but left the bear stunned.
Rem used the time to run over to a corpse. Once there she reached down. There was a steel ball full of spikes buried in the shoulder of a dead courtesan bear. Rem pulled it out. She wound up her arm.
The final mabeast sprinted toward her. She threw the morningstar as hard as she could. Her arm popped as she sent the ball into the snout of the witch beast. Its nose caved in.
Rem giggled as some of its blood landed on her tongue. She licked it off.
Ten. They were all dead.
Rem readied to try and kill the gabou but her legs were messed up too much. She couldn't stand. More of the atmosphere's mana pumped into her body, healing her injuries. Along with that, she began healing herself with her magic.
While her bones reset and healed thanks to the strength of her magic Rem watched Garfiel and Elsa's battle. The two were both bloody. Garfiel was full of gashes and Elsa was perfectly fine. Though she was covered in so much blood. More blood than was probably in both Garfiel and Elsa's bodies. Subaru had explained a tiny bit of Elsa's healing to Rem so that didn't surprise her too much.
"Meili!" Elsa yelled, "Kill that girl."
Meili nodded as her gabou began walking toward Rem. Heat rose from the creature's horn. Even though the gabou was still a few meters away, Rem began to sweat. Meili's smile grew wider, and even more fake. Rem's horn screamed for blood, but the pain got to her. The horn's hold on her shattered.
Rem realized just how much blood was covering her. Disgust rose in her mind until her sweat started to boil on her skin. Her eyes shot to the gabou. Flames ran along the beast's horn. Meili shied away, she moved her butt further back. She was almost at the very rear of the horse part of the gabou. Sweat poured down Meili's face.
No sweat came to Rem's face. Or if it did it all boiled away. Pain seared Rem. She was screaming, she hadn't noticed till now, but she was. Out of the corner of her sight, Garfiel was trying to reach her, but Elsa was getting in the way.
"Kill her, fire horsey," Meili said.
A massive wreath of fire built up along the gabou's horn. In a second it would breathe down on her, burning her. Rem struggled. It was meaningless. Her healing wasn't working fast enough. She breathed in. It felt like her lungs caught fire. Her nails dug into her fists, the blood boiled before it could pour out. It was so hot. So unbelievably hot.
She was burning. Dying. This damned gabou. It was going to melt her. Her brain would pour from her ears. Her teeth would fall down her throat as her gums evaporated. It was so hot. She couldn't think of another way to describe it.
Garfiel yelled. Elsa moaned as metal clashed. Rem didn't move her eyes to get a glimpse of what was happening. If she did that her eyes would fall out of her skull. Rem was crying, but there were no tears. They'd all burned away.
The world started to turn black. It began at the edges. Tunnel vision set in. Black closed in on the world. Until she saw nothing more than a pinprick. It was the fire of the gabou, about to burn her to nothing. Meili hid from the fire, only saved by the gabou's control over its temperature. Rem wasn't nearly as lucky.
She tried to conjure up an image of her sister in her final moments. But it wouldn't come. Rem's mind was aflame. She didn't know whether it came from the agony or from her brain melting. The blackness finished its consumption of her vision. Rem couldn't see a thing. Death was coming.
A bright blue light shone at the center of her vision.
The gabou screamed.
"No! Don't kill it, I don't want Mama to punish me!" Meili screamed. A moment later the gabou's screams cut off.
Rem blinked. The heat vanished. It was replaced by icy cold. Finally, the pain was fading. Was Rem dead?
Something stood above her. Silver danced in the wind. And dozens of blue lights swirled around that thing above her.
"That was close," they said, "don't worry anymore, Rem-san. You did reaaaaaaally good holding out there, sorry for not coming to help sooner."
Otto sprinted through the forest, as he passed he ordered groups of insects to wait in specific points. He'd make Roy afraid like he made Ley afraid, then he could use that to better exploit any weaknesses Roy had.
"Has he broken out of the first group yet?" Otto asked.
"Nah, doesn't look like it," a squirrel answered.
Otto kept running. After a few minutes, he got to the right spot, "Alright, here's the place," he told the forest.
A hundred voices all responded. Blood dripped down from his nose at the strain from translating them all. He gripped his head, then shook it, he didn't have time to waste. He pulled some bombs out of his pocket and laid them around in a circle, covering them in a bit of dirt. He had more fire stones in his other pockets, so he could light these bombs off with one of those.
He'd use the bugs to corral him into this one spot then hit him hard. If one bomb hadn't been enough then, his eyes jumped back to the circle, these five might do the trick. Or at least put a dent in him if he wasn't expecting them.
Switching languages he asked for bugs to get ready. A few hundred, some of the last that hadn't become a part of the effort, did so. They buzzed and crawled around on nearby trees. When they were ready Otto crouched down and waited for his plan to fall into place.
"Roy's made it past the first group," a few spiders whispered.
"Tell me how he reacts to the rest."
While the spider scampered off Otto continued to speak to the forest. His vision jumped to the left, there his plan was beginning to take shape, literally. He looked back at where Roy would come. He'd ordered the animals to either scare him or whatever they needed to. If scaring him didn't work they still needed to get Roy to come to him.
"Where is he?" Otto asked whatever animal was here now.
"Uhm," it was a cricket, "almost here."
Otto's head snapped to the cricket. He had no chance to say anything more before branches snapped and leaves crunched. Otto's eyes darted to the source of the noise, and there was Roy Alphard. The boy cut through tree branches with his swords as he dashed through the treetops toward Otto. Roy's green eyes shot to Otto's trap.
Roy leaped down into it.
"ATTACK!" Otto ordered in the bug's language.
The bugs streamed out of the trees. Their cacophony deafened Otto as he called for the help of as many other animals as he could. While his larynx worked his hand moved to one of the fire stones in his pocket. All the while his eyes remained on Roy.
The Bizarre Eating stood in the center of the bombs Otto had lain. The bugs encircled him. They rushed around him, trying to confuse Roy. After a second they descended upon him.
Roy's lips fell open, saliva dripped to the dirt. He opened his mouth further, almost unhinging his jaw.
The bugs closed in.
Roy leaped at them without closing his mouth.
Bugs streamed down his throat. Roy shut his mouth then gulped. The sound remained clear in Otto's ears, even from all the way over here. His eyes widened as Roy turned on the other bugs and pursued them like some animal. He drove his swords into the ground then jumped around the trees on all fours, hunting down each one of the bugs. There was absolute glee on his face when he did it.
Within a few seconds, he'd consumed all the bugs.
Roy turned to him, his green eyes full of an eldritch desire to consume that made Ley seem tame. Ley had wanted to fight, to enjoy a good meal. Roy wanted nothing more than to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat. Neverending feasts, that was what Roy was after. If there'd been any doubt of it before it was clear now.
Roy rubbed his stomach, "Mmh, those made Ley afraid? He was pathetic, caring so much about the taste. He'd never eat bugs like this, so he was terrified," he stepped toward Otto, his lips twisting into a smile, "they may have tasted bad, but they were so filling! SO FILLING! A nourishing feast."
Otto was forced to take a step back as Roy grew a tiny bit nearer. Even with the distance, Otto knew this wouldn't end well. Roy opened his mouth and spoke words with a faint touch of sadness, "You may be able to scare Ley, but we are not Ley."
Otto had been an idiot to ever think his luck had turned good.
Subaru's fingers grazed the wood of the door. The tiny bit of disgust remained a strong enough emotion to keep him from chasing after Pandora.
Petra and Frederica spoke to him, but he wasn't listening. Their words were just words…he didn't bother to interpret them or understand them. He didn't entirely care. Right now if his bit of revulsion for the cult disappeared then he would be numb.
That was a lie.
His eyes flicked to his fingers, they were gray, he couldn't trust himself.
A hand, so full of color, rested on his own colorless hand. Petra looked up at him and smiled.
"We need to go, right Subaru?" she asked.
Subaru observed Petra. What if she didn't have to hate him?
Tears threatened to well up. He didn't hold them down and they didn't come. The emotions behind the tears ran out on themselves. Crushed by the deep emptiness in his chest. He wanted to grab at his heart, but he didn't have the energy. That wouldn't help teach Petra to hate him…
Teach Petra to hate him… why did she have to hate him?
Who'd decided all this?
Subaru looked down at his own hand again.
"EXCUSE ME!" a voice screamed as the door blasted open.
A perfectly ordinary man, so normal you'd lose him in a crowd, stepped into the mansion.
"That was a horrid offense and violation of my rights. Locking the door? When I've been asked by the gospel to come here? Absolutely awful," Regulus threw up his hand, "you should be ashamed of yourselves. ALL OF YOU, ASHAMED! HORRIFIED! DISGUSTED! SORRY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ILL-THOUGHT OUT COURSE! You locked the door even when I needed to come in. It was well within my right to break the door down."
Subaru heaved a deep sigh, it didn't matter what he'd been thinking about earlier. Now he needed to grab Petra and run. He needed to find some way out of the mansion for Petra. If he didn't get her out then she wouldn't be able to care about him or hate him and kill him.
Using the remnants of his contract with Echidna, Subaru summoned up all his memories of fighting Regulus. Nearly a century of experience filled him. He'd used Return By Death to figure out a way to defeat three Sin Archbishops without a single casualty to the city of Priestella. In the end, he'd achieved that aim, but it had taken a while. He brought all of that recollection to the forefront of his mind.
"Subaru?" Petra stared up at him, no doubt seeing wrinkles and a deep age in his visage.
The more memories he recalled at a time the older he seemed. He'd used it against Roswaal at the start of this set of Sanctuary loops. Now he would use it against Regulus. It was the only way to keep Petra alive.
"Regulus Corneas," Subaru said with the voice of a thousand oaks.
"HEY YOU JUST TOOK AWAY MY RIGHT TO INTRODUCE MYSELF!" Regulus screamed.
Pulling on old knowledge Subaru formed a plan in his mind.
"This maid has quite the good face, don't you think?" Subaru gestured to Frederica.
Regulus focused on her.
"For a journey to be made fulfilling for you the most satisfied existence then taking another would be necessary," Subaru said.
"Hm," Regulus went from speaking to Subaru to Frederica, "you, come over here."
As Frederica moved over to Regulus, Subaru whispered in her ear, "No other way out of this situation."
Frederica's eyes widened. Subaru positioned himself and Petra so that Frederica was in between them and Regulus.
"Alright so, Regulus," Subaru said.
"I don't want to be disturbed," Regulus waved him off, "let me inspect in peace."
Subaru backed Petra slowly away from Frederica and Regulus. She started to say something. He raised a finger to his lips, shushing her. Petra stared for a second, before showing her assent with a small smile.
He got as far away from Regulus as he could before the man's yellow irises darted to him and Petra.
"Hey where are you going?" Regulus asked, "I don't remember letting you walk away your footsteps are trampling on my right to inspect in peace."
Subaru didn't say anything. He knew from prior experience that Regulus was too invested in appreciating Frederica's face to stop him.
At the moment when Regulus became fully engrossed in Frederica, Subaru bolted with Petra to the edge of the hallway. He stopped when he got to the entrance of the corridor.
Regulus parted his lips, not even paying a single bit of attention to Subaru and Petra.
The Sin Archbishop began to ask, "Are you a—"
Subaru pounced on this perfect opportunity, "Hey Regulus!"
Regulus' attention shifted to him and annoyance bloomed, "HUH?"
Subaru didn't care for the unyielding rage in them. Regulus wasn't angry enough yet.
So Subaru clapped back, "HUH?"
"STOP! YOU INTERRUPTED ME WHEN I WAS ASKING A PIVOTAL QUESTION! THIS IS A DIRECT AND UTTER VIOLATION OF ALL MY RIGHTS!" Regulus screamed. Frederica flinched at his voice and turned to Subaru.
Subaru readied a trick he'd spent years developing. Well, not developing. He'd spent most of it trying to figure out the factual information behind this trick. Though with all of it perfectly in his memories Subaru readied it once more then yelled, "Your first wife fucking despised you and laughed when she died because she was finally free from you!"
Frederica's eyes widened.
Regulus froze. There was a palpable tension.
Everyone in the room stayed frozen. Except for Subaru. He picked up Petra.
"What…" Regulus began to speak, "...you…"
Regulus' mouth worked. He couldn't speak. But not from sadness. Not from despair. Not from fear. The emotion he really felt remained crystal clear in Regulus' body language.
Incomprehensible fury stormed through Regulus. He was so angry that even he himself didn't know how to respond. A moment later Regulus breathed in.
Then he screamed as his entire body twisted in rage.
"YOUUUUUUUUU DARE VIOLATE ALL OF MY RIGHTS!" As soon as he was done screaming Regulus bashed his foot into the ground, all the while throwing his hands up and shoving them down. At the same time, all his breath blasted from his lungs.
The entire entry room of the mansion exploded. Frederica along with it. Her body melted under the strain of Regulus even yelling so close to her. When those sights reached Subaru he turned and sprinted down the hallway.
Each footstep slammed into the carpet while quakes from Regulus' tantrum responded. His breath stormed in and out of his mouth. With each second his heart pounded over and over again in his chest, it was a drum within him. But he couldn't slow down. Not with the entire mansion behind him evaporating.
He pushed his body to its absolute limit so he could cross the corridor to some window where they could escape.
Debris poured down as the mansion's foundation began to give way. He ducked under a falling chunk of wall and dashed by the kitchen. The smell of spices entered his nose for a second until his heaving breath shoved it out. His eyes flicked to the kitchen door. He couldn't use it to escape. It was possible Beatrice could be there, and she wasn't trustworthy in the slightest.
He banished the notion of using doors from his mind and kept running. Petra cried into his shoulder, but he couldn't focus on it, because there at the end of the hallway was a window. Finally. As he drew closer and closer to the window Regulus' screams got louder. Subaru knew Regulus would destroy the place before even calming down a tiny amount, but if Subaru got out into the open it would be easier for him and Petra to hide.
However before he could, a few spirits yelled at him. They tipped him off to Regulus standing only a few meters behind him. Subaru snapped his head around. Regulus' hands dug into the walls and shot a massive amount of projectiles right at Subaru.
In response, Subaru forced all the spirits in the atmosphere to aid him. He scrounged together as much mana as possible to teleport him and Petra. He tuned out Petra's screams and cries of fear as he cut a hole in space. He had no idea how far he was going, that didn't matter right now. He shoved all his mana into the world and activated his teleportation. When he did so the pyroxene crystal blinded him.
"BEATRICE!" he screamed. He had no idea why he was screaming. Or what he was trying to convey.
The blue light controlled his vision.
When it cleared Subaru got a whiff of the musky smell of old books. His shoes pressed against mosaic tile, not red carpet. And the light from the crystal on his neck disappeared.
The Forbidden Library replaced it.
Beatrice clutched at the black book her mother had bestowed upon her. She clung to its empty pages. Yet still, there was a tiny bit of hope within Beatrice, for Natsuki Subaru had given it to her. Even if she'd tried to smother and destroy that hope Subaru had still made it bloom.
She didn't cry while she held the gospel, as she'd used to do so often when she held it. She hadn't cried while holding it in a long time. Two months to be exact. For some reason, her tears had always held back. Was it that hope? From the man who'd promised to find what she needed? Is this what hope really felt like? Beatrice knew there was a tiny bit of hope in her, but she had no idea what that meant.
Hope was a foreign concept to her.
Well… maybe that was wrong. There was once a time Beatrice knew hope.
That time ended when Ryuzu Meyer had sacrificed herself. Since mother had left. Since Roswaal A. Mathers fell into deep despair and died from his injuries. Since she'd spent the past four centuries without anyone coming. Once there had come a person who might have been her they.
Tosca Astrea. He'd come to her at the behest of Roswaal D. Mathers.
Tosca hadn't been that person.
Which now Beatrice didn't care for as much, but still she knew that Tosca hadn't had that answer.
Only one being could possibly hold that answer.
That answer.
She had no idea what it would possibly be, only that it would come from Natsuki Subaru. If it ever came at all. No, it would come. Her heart debated on it for a while, but in the end, she was left with that same quiet hope, thrumming deep within her.
A pale woman stood in front of her.
Beatrice dropped the gospel. This woman…she hadn't appeared. She hadn't manifested. She hadn't opened the door and walked in. She simply stood in front of her. She just was here. The world didn't argue with her. This dimension couldn't resist her as Echidna hadn't been able to take the time to ward against this thing.
So Beatrice was left to defend. She clenched her fists and got ready.
With only her magic and her wits, she would have to defend against Pandora the Witch of Vainglory.
Her mother had considered Pandora as not even a threat if the trick was known. She'd always said to Beatrice, "If Pandora ever tries anything then there exists a person who can take advantage of her trick. Until that man is dead, there is nothing to fear. Now worry about Hector, instead of that idiotic vain child."
But that man was not here. Beatrice was certain of it, for once she'd asked her mother about that man.
"Who is the man that can stop Pandora, mother?"
Echidna had gazed down at her, judging her for worrying about the issue of Pandora. Though after a moment, she'd spoken.
"Flugel, they knew each other."
"Why does that matter, mother, I suppose?" Beatrice asked.
Echidna's face made her regret ever asking that question.
"Don't bother me with Pandora anymore, in any case, tomorrow I will be going to the east. Your question reminded me of something," Echidna said.
"Of what, I suppose?"
Echidna stood up, not answering for a while. The Witch of Greed didn't say anything until right before she walked out of the door.
"Taygeta remains unfinished."
Beatrice had never discovered what she meant by that. Coming back from the memory Beatrice once again had to face this reality. She was up against Pandora. With zero way to resist the unparalleled power of the thing called the Authority of Vainglory.
Yet still, something in Beatrice moved her hand up, pointing her palm at Pandora.
"Ah," Pandora said, "Miss Beatrice, that would be unwise."
"El Minya!" forty crystals of mana shot from Beatrice's palm and went flying toward Pandora. Each one hit home. The woman began to become crystal. As the purple spread along her skin, Pandora tilted her head.
Her lips never lost their upward tilt.
Beatrice got off her stool and backed away from where Pandora was. Even with the magic consuming her Pandora didn't grow displeased. Her calm terrified Beatrice. But still, it didn't do a thing to dampen the hope in her heart.
The crystals consumed Pandora fully. A statue remained in her place. There was no difference in expression. Pandora was exactly the same. Whether a sculpture or a…human.
Pandora tipped over. When her forehead hit the ground she exploded. The sound surprised Beatrice, even though she'd been watching Pandora the whole time. The fragments of the woman scattered, many landed at her feet.
Beatrice knew that wasn't the end of the woman. Once her mother had mentioned something about Pandora under her breath.
"That Reid Astrea," she'd whispered, "an idiot for thinking he could go up against Pandora. She may be weak if you know her trick…but if you don't…"
She hadn't said more. She'd noticed Beatrice at that point.
Not even Reid Astrea could kill her, and she knew of the Heavenly Sword. The famed power of the Stick Swinger.
Beatrice kept four hundred years of mana at the ready, she turned in a continuous motion, never letting any part of the library remain unseen for too long. It wouldn't be long until Pandora returned.
A hand landed on her shoulder. Even though she'd been waiting, Beatrice still hadn't expected it. She activated her magic once more, "Ul,"
"You're too loud. Please be quiet." Pandora said.
Beatrice's mouth disappeared.
"So easy to change reality so that Echidna never gave you a mouth," Pandora said, "though there are many applications to this power you don't think of. Flugel taught me many unconventional uses. Like bending reality in such a way that the light bouncing off your body doesn't touch the retinas of anyone else. Or in such a way that the sound from your words cannot enter the eardrums of any other."
Beatrice struggled.
"Both are quite useful."
The forbidden library quaked. An intruder was in the mansion. Beatrice only now noticed their presence. Their abilities were now destroying the mansion. A spell activated on the outside. Teleportation. Beatrice sensed the magic-user.
Natsuki Subaru. A man with a pyroxene crystal hanging around his neck. Her pyroxene crystal. Beatrice grasped it with her magic and began to teleport Subaru to her. With how much mana he was using it would take longer than normal but she needed to do something. The hope in her heart would not let her be still. She had to act. She had to stop Pandora in some way.
"Well," Pandora said, "I've rambled too long. Bishop Corneas has begun his work. I must do mine."
"Your memories…"
As soon as Pandora said memories Beatrice tuned her out and created a mantra in her head.
Betty is teleporting this crystal and everything connected to it. She repeated it over and over again, trying to make it as vague as possible so when Pandora altered her memories she'd still carry on with it. She hoped Pandora was cutting out something specific.
Betty is teleporting this crystal and everything connected to her.
Over and over again the phrase sprinted through her mind. She needed to make sure it stayed. She had to teleport Subaru to her.
"...deceive you."
What was she doing?
Betty is teleporting this crystal and everything connected to it to her.
That was odd…why was she doing that? She had no idea what reason she had to do it. But the mantra continued to repeat in her head. And for some reason, the process had already begun. Beatrice took it up and began to finish it.
As she was on the cusp of completion a voice whispered into her ear, "Natsuki Subaru deceive-"
Beatrice finished.
A massive blue glow lit up in the middle of the library.
The girl behind her said one final thing, "Ah…my timing was off. No matter. The seeds have been sown. Only a matter of patience."
Then she was gone. Almost like she'd never been there in the first place.
Beatrice stood confused. The blue light faded. Natsuki Subaru and an orange-haired girl waited under that light. Now it no longer hid them.
Why had Natsuki Subaru returned? He wasn't her they!
Subaru stared at her…that look in his eyes. On second thought.
Maybe he was they.
Beatrice met his eyes. Gray met gray, and Subaru clenched his fist, his lips quirked down as he let Petra off his shoulder. Tears filled Petra's eyes as she gazed at him. Petra was so colorful.
"Subaru…" Petra started, "why did you…what did you do?"
A bit of anger entered her voice.
Subaru's lips fell open, as did his fists. Was it that easy? Really? Was it so easy to teach her to hate him? Tears of his own welled up.
He could make Petra hate him.
The question he'd pondered earlier now had an answer. Now he knew it would be so much easier to teach Petra to hate him than to try and get her to care about him for the rest of his life. There was too much risk involved in the latter answer.
So it would be better… Something caused him to hesitate. Why did his heart want to stop him? It came from something so deep within that he didn't remember it. That caused him to lose certainty. He wanted to push past it, to choose. But it held him. It held him.
He blinked. A garden of shadows lay behind his eyelids. It was gone in the next blink. The hesitation in his heart grew. What was it?
Something…something engraved deep.
So deep. A pit of memory loss in his mind. A deep scar where he should have remembered. Veins popped out of his forehead, he strained to remember.
He had to remember. His heart finally pushed for something. The despair retreated. He had to remember. He had to remember.
REMEMBER!
He confronted that pit of stolen memories. He shut his eyes. A presence formed in the garden of shadows. REMEMBER!
Sa…Sat…REMEMBER! He was rushing through the mansion. Shadows made up his being. A seal held him, no her in. REMEMBER! He grasped Ram. What was this?
It didn't matter. He was so close to remembering.
The Forbidden Library cracked. Petra yelped. Petra. Subaru's eyes snapped open. He reached for the girl, in an attempt to protect her. While he wrapped an arm around her shoulder the Forbidden Library started to erode.
"Beatrice-chan," Petra said, "what's happening?"
"What is that name, I suppose?" Beatrice asked, then said, "Nevermind."
Subaru held onto Petra, to protect her in case any shelves tumbled down. Beatrice's eyes darted around.
The reality of the situation finally set in for her and she said, "No…mother…I'm sorry."
The Forbidden Library was going to be destroyed. There was nothing any of them could do to stop it.
"Huh…" a bit of cold numbness flowed through Subaru. It was acceptance. This wasn't the loop.
Petra sobbed. That numbness faded. He wouldn't let Petra die without him trying. As the seconds progressed his resolve weakened. But while he still had it he would make sure Petra was safe.
"Beatrice," Subaru said, turning to the girl, "we need to get out of this place."
"But…mother," Beatrice said.
Subaru hated the fact that he had to interact with Beatrice, but for Petra he tried to set aside all his personal feelings. His cold voice spoke to Beatrice again, "Look we need to get out of here, otherwise we'll all die."
"But Betty's contract, I suppose…" she looked up at Subaru and a tiny hint of hope glimmered.
She started to speak, but a massive shadowy crack tore apart the walls. The floor began to fall into a deep void, and the ceiling had long since disappeared. Petra clung to him. He kept his weak arm around her.
A part of him just wanted to sigh and let them fall into the void, but he held it down and said, "Beatrice, we need to get out of here."
Beatrice's eyes lost all emotion, and she said, "Are you Betty's they?"
Subaru forced a word out of his mouth, "Yes." He hadn't hesitated because he didn't want to be her they. It was because he could barely keep himself standing in a loop this doomed. He'd have to repeat. Why couldn't this have been the one?
Beatrice asked one more question, "Will you liberate Betty?"
Subaru considered it for a few moments. If he killed Beatrice Petra would hate him more. Maybe this could be the loop.
"Yes," he said. He would liberate her.
"Then Betty supposes we have to walk through the door."
Subaru cast one last glance at the rest of the library. They were standing on a tiny patch of ground. This and the path to the door were the only things left. At Beatrice's words Subaru picked Petra up in one arm then grasped Beatrice's hand with his.
As soon as both girls were accounted for Subaru sprinted forward. He aimed his shoulder toward the door, he didn't waste time trying to open it. He'd bash it straight down.
This could be the loop. While he was running Subaru couldn't stop himself from getting that little bit of hope. He threw himself, Petra, and Beatrice forward. They burst through the door with a flash of purple light as the library was finally consumed.
Subaru's senses vanished. He only registered collapsing onto hard ground. A dull hum lit in his ears after a few seconds. Beatrice's hand was still in his. As soon as he regained that sensation he took his hand from hers and wiped at his eyes. Tears of hope. A hope that was beginning to thrum in his heart. With a deep inhale he set Petra down and stood up. With both hands he scrubbed at his eyelids and the rest of his face. After doing all that he opened his eyes.
Ryuzu Meyer's crystal tomb floated in front of him.
Subaru was not deterred. For there was a growing hope in his chest. One he could no longer suppress.
Emilia created an icy prison around Meili, then put her hands on Rem's wounded leg. Healing magic flowed into it. Rem used her own and the power of her horn to make the healing finish in a few moments. While Rem's muscles reformed, Garfiel and Elsa were still battling. Both were covered in blood by now.
As soon as Rem was done healing she stood up with the help of Emilia.
"Can you stand, Rem?" Emilia asked.
"Yes, and fight," Rem responded.
"Alright, let's help Garfiel," Emilia said.
With those words hanging in the air Rem activated her horn to its greatest potential and charged into the battle. Emilia followed alongside her, spirits floating around her. Rem's minor injuries continued to heal thanks to her horn, and by the time she reached the fray her wounds were practically gone.
Elsa's eyes flicked to them and she tried to strike at Rem. Rem attempted to raise her hands to turn the attack away, but her arms were slow and her eyelids were heavy. Deep fatigue held her. Thankfully though, Emilia was able to create a shield of ice for Rem. The ice chipped when Elsa's blade hit it, but it didn't give. Elsa's knife lodged in the ice. When she tried to yank it out Garfiel attacked. He punched her in the back of the head. Her forehead slammed into the wall. Fragments of the frozen water exploded out. Those that hit the corpse of the gabou turned to steam as soon as they touched it.
More blood came from Elsa. The woman gripped her head. Emilia and Garfiel attacked her. Rem had been wrong, she couldn't fight.
But Garfiel and Emilia still could, they both struck at Elsa, who dove to the ground. She slunk past their defenses using all of her speed but didn't attack. Instead, she ran for Meili. There was an angry glare on her countenance.
The two of them ran after the Bowel Hunter, but they weren't nearly fast enough. Rem was too tired to pursue her, Emilia wasn't ready to deal with how fast Elsa was, and Garfiel had already been fighting her the entire time. While he and Rem were out of energy, Elsa wasn't, not yet.
When she got to the small prison around Meili she broke the walls with her shoulder, then slung Meili over her shoulder. From there she bent down and readied to jump, but right before that she turned and said, "I'll come for all of your bowels soon, so keep them ready for me."
"Bitch!" Garfiel shouted while he slammed his foot into the dirt. A pillar of dirt shot toward Elsa, but she leaped into the trees and escaped before it could reach her.
As soon as Elsa was gone Garfiel heaved a deep sigh and nearly collapsed. Emilia raced over and began healing him. Rem wanted to help, but she had no mana left to use. Her body was at its limit. She couldn't draw in too much more mana before she collapsed herself.
"That…" Garfiel whispered, "...fucking crazy bitch."
Rem didn't say anything. And Emilia was too focused on healing to speak.
When Garfiel's healing was finished he broke the silence, "The hell do we do now?"
Emilia held her hand to her chin, "Follow her?"
"Yeah," Garfiel stretched his arm, "les do that."
The three began shambling after where Elsa had gone, but before they could get very far a pink-haired girl—dressed in black robes—stepped out.
"Young Gar," she said, "there's something you need to know of."
"What is it, granny?"
The woman spoke.
Despair settled over them at her words.
IDIOT! That's what he was. An idiot. Otto Suwen was an idiot. An idiot for daring to hope his luck would be good. Now he was stuck, Roy Alphard standing above him, poised to eat.
"Need some help here," Otto said in the language of animals.
"What do you need?" So many animals spoke that blood poured from his nose and even a little from his ears. His head pounded. Roy's saliva dripped onto his shirt. The boy licked his lips.
Otto responded to the animals, "A distraction."
There was something he needed to get to. If he did then he would have a chance. One he knew would probably go bad, but it was still worth a shot. He waited for the animals to say anything. It wasn't until a second later when a bear jumped out of the trees that he knew there would be no verbal response. But as raccoons, squirrels, and a few bears attacked Roy he knew the answer was a yes.
A bear jumped onto Roy, intent on mauling him.
"UL GOA!" Roy snapped his palm out and shot a blast of fire from it. The bear melted from the heat. That didn't stop the others.
"DIE CULTIST!" all the animals screamed so loudly it deafened Otto.
A squirrel clawed at Roy's ear. He grabbed it and put its head between his jaws. A crunch signaled the animal's death. A boar screeched, Roy ripped one of its horns out. Otto scurried away while Roy battled the creatures. He made his way over to where his best chance was.
Once there Otto stood straight. Roy's saliva dripped off his shirt. As soon as it touched his objective it sizzled. Otto eyed the white orb that waited for him.
The strength of the forest.
He shoved his hand into it, drawing the mana into himself.
"Al!"
Roy snapped around, his eyes widened. He attempted to move but the last bear of the forest pounced on him.
Otto took this opportunity, "DONA!"
The massive wall of earth blasted toward Roy. It chewed up trees and everything else in its path. Most of the animals escaped, but Roy was unable to. A few of the more ferocious had continued to attack Roy so that he stayed in place.
Roy tried to block the rolling wave of earth, but it consumed him. Otto watched as Roy's features twisted in agony while the attack's full brunt hit him.
Dust, dirt, sand, and wood sprayed everywhere, forcing Otto to cover his eyes. The cloud of debris hung in the sky for a few moments before falling back to the ground. Once it settled Otto wiped his eyes and searched for Roy.
In the epicenter of the attack stood a fat man. His head was bald, and his gut extended a good way out from his body. He reminded Otto of a butcher.
"Who are you?" Otto asked. His question was futile.
Otto recognized this. It was Roy, using that same ability Ley had demonstrated. The one that had allowed his powers to all become greater. So Roy could use it to. Just his shitty luck.
"We are Louis Arneb, Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, representing Satiation," they said.
Otto's eyes widened. A third Gluttony. A third. Otto giggled. His luck was so awful it made him laugh.
"A third Gluttony," he said, then continued to chuckle.
"Ah, laughter, how wonderful it must be to laugh with your own lungs. With your own lips. With your own throat. With your own teeth. With your own face. With your own self. How wonderful must it be," the new Gluttony mused, "We will have it, but for now, Roy must return."
The fat man melted back into Roy. When his green eyes returned they were full of terror. Roy rubbed his arms and shivered.
"Stop stealing our body. Ley let it happen, but we're not Ley. He was an idiot. You're a…monster…stop stealing our body," Roy whispered.
Otto tried to back away from Roy.
The dirt beneath Roy's feet exploded. Some horrible worm-mole-centipede thing emerged. Its form soon shifted into that of a petite blonde woman with fiery red eyes.
"Mama," Roy said.
"Roy bring the rabbit. NOW!" Capella screamed.
"Oh…yes, Mama," Roy said. Otto let out a tiny noise at the Rabbit's mention. Capella's eyes snapped to him and the woman bounded toward him, destroying the distance between them.
She reached for him, "Shut up," her hand landed on his shoulder.
"That's enough," Roswaal's voice rang out from above, "time for death, Capella." The clown hung in the air with wind magic flowing around him. Lightning jumped between his fingers. Capella pushed herself back into the ground.
Roy tried to run, but Roswaal's form blurred. Before Otto could react the clown held the nape of Roy's neck.
"DIE!" Roswaal shouted. A blinding light exploded in Roswaal's hand.
"We did it, Mama," Roy said right before Roswaal's magic burnt his neck to nothing.
Roy's head hit the dirt and Roswaal tilted his head.
"What did he do, Otto?"
"Summoned the Great Rabbit."
"Ah…" Roswaal said, "I'll go handle it."
Otto didn't say anything. All he did was wonder how his luck would turn bad next.
Roswaal shot through the forest. He moved at the speed of a winged dragon. Just like the one he wanted to kill, though Volcanica probably moved faster. He was the Divine Dragon after all. But Roswaal didn't care about Volcanica right now.
Right now all he was focused on was killing the Great Rabbit. He needed to work with Subaru to destroy the threats to Sanctuary, then he and Subaru could overcome the future together. It would be so easy for them to destroy Volcanica with all their strength consolidated. Ram would be able to operate at an incredible level. They could defeat Volcanica. Then he could use the blood of his last heartbeats to save his teacher. They could have their final conversation, and Roswaal could die.
Finally.
But still, this wasn't the time for the future. Not with animals screaming, not with the stampede of retreating life crossing the forest. Behind the herd of animals was a horde of white death. The Rabbit streamed across the land hopping, running, chewing, ripping, gnashing, tearing, and consuming. Roswaal shot down toward them. With his wounds, he would need to get close. Blood shot into the air as the Rabbit ripped through all life in their path. Any bugs, birds, eggs, and anything with blood was ripped apart. Until Roswaal got close enough.
Their teeth tore through bone and blood, but when Roswaal got close enough they stopped. They all turned their red eyes to him. For a second they hesitated, each one frozen. Red liquid flowed in little streams along the ground.
Roswaal's mana no doubt enticed them to no end. It flowed about his body from the force of his anger. Capella's twisted beliefs filled him with rage. The Rabbit's teeth chittered together in a horrible symphony.
Then their hunger overpowered them and they all ran toward him. They got to the spot under his floating body and climbed on top of each other. Some ripped into the others as they all piled closer and closer toward them. A plan formed in Roswaal's mind. With his weakened body he couldn't outright destroy the rabbits unless they were all lured into one spot. This would achieve that.
With this mass all coming together Roswaal, if he used enough mana and channeled it into lightning, could electrocute their connecting bodies with enough force to leave each one as piles of ash. Strong enough lightning would chain through all of them.
Roswaal weighed it against his other solution, which was a six-fold Al Shario, after a second he decided against that. He didn't want to turn the entire area in a three hundred kilometer radius into a hellish wasteland of lava, fire, and ash. The resulting consequences of that could bring the entire world to its knees.
So the lightning was the solution he decided on. But Roswaal couldn't let the lightning touch the air, its strength would decay then. He had to zap the rabbits directly. Once enough were biting into him he could destroy them.
But for now, he had to really get them lured in. He exerted his mana. The very air around him trembled. The rabbits screeched as they writhed around as a single mass. They climbed higher and higher, a tower of white. Their hunger overcame many, and they constantly cannibalized the others as they climbed higher. It wasn't a tower of white. It was a tower of red and white. Red blood poured to the ground as white climbed toward him.
It reached, desperate, like a worm.
The Great Rabbit approached.
Roswaal readied the appropriate spell to disintegrate each one. He'd have to wait until enough were chewing into him, then he could execute his plan.
The first rabbit bit into his leg. He electrified his toes so that any rabbit would burn away before it ate them. They couldn't be replaced if he lost them, and he'd like to have toes for his meeting with teacher. But he let the rest rip into his heels and dig through his calves. The rabbits chewed through him. He ignored the pain, reaching Echidna was more important than it.
While preparing the spell Roswaal noticed a single rabbit was standing on him. Right in a spot where his clown suit and bandages had been eaten away. The rabbit's paws remained dug into his bloody wound.
The rabbit almost seemed to be smiling. He ignored it, he had to complete this spell before he lost too much blood.
"Six fold—"
Right before he could finish that same rabbit opened its mouth but didn't bite down, instead it said, "You lose."
Roswaal's body changed into a piece of meat. He lost all control of his magic, and his sentience eroded rapidly. Pain overwhelmed him as rabbits continued to eat him.
Terror exploded in his mind. In his final moments Roswaal heard a single thing.
"Idiot clown, this lovely lady always wins."
Subaru set his jaw. He was back here. Sanctuary. With Beatrice. The person who'd betrayed him. Killed his trust in everything. His fists tightened. Blood dripped onto the floor. The hope within him grew. This could be the loop. All it needed was a bit of work. After a few seconds, he breathed out and met Petra's eyes.
He said, "Hey Petra, can you get me a big rock?"
Petra stared at him for a second, hate mixing with fondness. The fondness won out after a moment and she went to get the rock he'd asked for. There was confusion on her face as she walked out into the forest.
Beatrice didn't speak. She stared at the floor. Her form was gray. Somehow more gray than everything else. He'd staked his entire being on Beatrice. His teeth pressed against each other, and his gums bled. Maybe hope wasn't the only thing motivating this.
Petra returned with the rock. Her arms quivered a bit. The rock was a tiny bit too heavy for her. It was an old rock, caked with mud on the bottom and overgrown with moss on the top. Subaru's eyebrows turned down. His nostrils flared. Petra got next to him, then offered him the stone.
"Here S-Subaru-s-sama," she said.
"Thank you. Petra."
Petra shut her eyes and shied away from him. He ignored it and grabbed the rock. It was so light in his hand.
"Hey Beatrice," he said.
Beatrice looked up at him, her eyes flicked to the rock in his hand, she said, "Betty…Betty d-doesn't want it to hurt in fact."
Subaru's lips curled into a sneer. They'd all fucked him over. Trampling on him. He just wanted to help them. And they all had to try their best to torture him. Now Beatrice, the worst one of them all stood there and wanted mercy from him. After all this? Subaru was done. This was his limit it seemed. He smothered the part of him that felt any guilt. Hope and fury twisted together.
"You don't want it to hurt?" Subaru asked. He'd make it hurt. She'd hurt him. And this would make Petra hate him. This would be the final loop.
"No…B-Betty wants it to…" she trailed off when she looked into his eyes. She choked up then finished, "Betty wants it to be painless… I don't want to hurt, I suppose. I want to be liberated."
"Beggars can't be choosers," Subaru said, taking a step forward.
"But Betty doesn't…please don't make it hurt Betty."
"Subaru!" Petra screamed.
"You come begging for my liberation then pull this?" he asked.
"Betty just wants it to be painless."
"Then ignore the pain."
"It's not that simple, in f-fact."
"Not my problem."
Subaru bashed her over the head with the rock.
She tumbled to the ground like a sack of bricks. He followed her there. Her hands shot up over her head in an attempt to brace herself. He ignored it and shoved the rock into her exposed face. The impact shoved her onto her back. Subaru straddled her and bashed the rock down into her face.
Beatrice wept.
"PLEASE STOP!" Petra screamed. Hate was showing in her voice. Good. This could become the loop.
"Betty doesn't want to be liberated anymore!" Beatrice gave a yelp of her own. She thought she could get away from her sins easily.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DIE!" Subaru bellowed as he hit the rock down onto Beatrice over and over again.
This was the hope that he could finally die.
This was the hope that Petra would be honest in her hatred.
This was the hope that Petra would strangle him.
This was the rage of every loop in Sanctuary.
This was the rage he got from Ram shearing off his leg and causing Elsa to kill him.
This was the rage he got from Otto's failure and his death at the hands of the immortal king sacrament puppets.
This was the rage he got from EVERYONE betraying him and causing his death at the hands of Capella.
This was the rage he got from Rem and Emilia murdering him.
This was the rage he got from Otto leaving him to be ripped to shreds by the Great Rabbit.
This was the rage he got from BEATRICE turning him into a crystal statue.
This was the rage he got from Emilia letting herself die so Puck could torture him.
Subaru was pissed. He was angry. He was filled with hope. He was mad, in more ways than one.
Spurts of mana shot from Beatrice's mouth as he hit her over the head again and again. Her arms had fallen to the side. Her ever-present crying for him to stop had faded. Petra was trying even harder to rip him off. Red covered his vision. It was the first color he'd seen that wasn't from Petra in a while. He trusted it. He let it take control. Hope faded in place of rage.
Petra grabbed him again. She was so annoying. She hadn't even grown a pair and stabbed him yet. She wasn't choking the life from him, fucking weak coward. Petra pulled on him again.
"GET THE FUCK OFF!" he screamed as he spun around and slammed the stone into Petra's head. The crack of her skull rang out. When she hit the ground some of her brain spilled out onto the testing room floor. He sneered, then turned away from the mass of dead child and kept beating the life from Beatrice.
Her body kept shooting mana, for a full minute Beatrice suffered his constant beating. Until finally her tears stopped and her body ran out of mana. In the next moment, she fizzled out, becoming mana herself. She disappeared after that.
Subaru forced himself to stand. He dropped the rock. It crushed a couple of his toes. He didn't even flinch. It rolled off to the side of his foot, where behind his back a pool of blood was spreading out. It was pure red. The red haze over his vision began to fade. His rage subsided, leaving in its place that bleak emptiness. That mix of self-loathing, melancholy, despair, and a small bit of hope.
He heaved a deep sigh and turned around. Petra's body was splayed out there. One side of her head was completely caved in. Her skull had shattered in that spot, leaving some of her brain to splurge out. It rested in the growing pile of blood. Petra's dead eyes stared up at him.
Subaru had killed Petra.
Bile rose in his throat and he vomited. All the contents of his stomach sprayed out onto her dead form. Tears leaked down his face. The more he looked at Petra's bleeding corpse, now covered in his vomit, the more disgusted he grew.
Disgust for himself.
He sprinted out of the testing site. He didn't stop when he got out the door. He picked a direction and ran in it.
He didn't pay attention to the animals running alongside him. Or the screams and gnashing of teeth.
Natsuki Subaru had let himself hope once more.
This was the result.
"I come from Miss Ram," the Ryuzu had said, "she says that Roswaal has fallen and that the Great Rabbit is on its way."
They'd all fallen to despair until Rem had embraced something her sister had said to her once. If there was still something to do, then despair was a waste of time. She'd forced aside her self-doubt, it wouldn't help her stand as her sister and Subaru wanted. So now she, Garfiel, and Emilia ran toward the church. They needed to make it before the Great Rabbit did. If they got there they'd be able to put up some kind of defense. It would probably fail.
But it was running toward a probable failure or giving up and accepting definite failure.
So the group dashed through the forest while a stampede of animals surrounded them. None of the animals were wounded, which surprised Rem at first until she thought about it a tiny bit. If any animal was bitten then the Rabbit would smell the blood and pursue it relentlessly. Once blooded no animal could escape the Great Rabbit. A few days ago Rem might have lost hope at that and found some way to sacrifice herself to give Emilia and Garfiel some extra time, but that was then and this was now. Now Rem knew that her sacrifice would be a waste. And Ram wanted Rem to stand with her. Rem wouldn't deny her sister that.
So she ran.
The cacophony of rabbit screeches built and built. Rem cast a glance over her shoulder. The Great Rabbit was on their heels.
"Emilia!" Rem shouted.
Emilia snapped around and waved her hand, which was surrounded by spirits, creating a wall of ice behind them. The Great Rabbit ate away at it, devouring the mana held within the attack. They'd stay on that for a few seconds, giving them more room to escape. Garfiel slammed his foot into the ground harder than normal, reinforcing Emilia's ice wall with his own earth.
Rem decided it would be best to save her small reserve of mana so she didn't attack. With the Rabbit slowed down they continued to sprint toward the church. Their breath was quick as their feet crunched down on the hordes of insects that crawled along the ground. The entirety of the forest's animals ran with them.
After another half-minute of running, they passed an odd building, inside was a glowing crystal. The Great Rabbit diverted its course and ran inside. The crunching of teeth on crystal followed.
"Shit the floating granny, fuck fuck FUCK!" Garfiel screamed.
Neither Emilia nor Rem asked what he was talking about. It would have been a waste of breath. A few seconds after Garfiel had said it the ripping and tearing began once more. Curiosity overcame Rem. She turned her head back once more.
Blood awaited her. A river of it. All the red liquid spilling from the Rabbit's thousands of mouths poured down in streams through the uneven terrain of the forest. Every single animal behind her was in the process of getting ripped apart. The rabbits devoured everything. Everything. Each hare was stained with so much blood.
This was the Great Rabbit unleashed. A calamity. A blight upon the world. The blood snow which crossed the earth time after time. With each rotation devouring the world anew. The beast that the Valkyrie of the Karsten Lands had barely even diverted. The reality finally set in for Rem.
It was here.
But still, Crusch Karsten's stand against the Rabbits not long ago proved one thing. The Great Rabbit could be diverted. It didn't matter what had happened. They still had the strength to do it. As long as they could get to Ram. Sister would have a plan.
Rem turned her head back to the church and kept the race going. Emilia and Garfiel were similarly determined.
Screams chased them, animals ripped to nothing more than bone, rabbits sprawling across the land.
Yet still, hope existed in Rem's heart.
For a few minutes, the sprint continued unchanged until the three spotted someone in their path.
A harrowed man, clad in a suit, his head held back, face to the sky. Blood covered one side of his outfit. His black hair waved in the breeze. His mouth hung open, and tears dripped down his face.
"Subaru!" Rem shouted, crossing the distance to him. Rem grabbed Subaru's arm and got a look at the rabbit. It was only a few moments behind. She needed to think of something.
"Emilia," she had something, "can you and Garfiel distract the rabbit while I get him to the church."
"Alright," Emilia said.
"What fer?" Garfiel asked.
"He can help plan," Rem said.
"Fine, les get goin', Emilia," Garfiel said.
Emilia summoned as many spirits as she could and activated her mana. She brought her hand to the sky creating a curved wall of ice to lead the rabbit along with her.
"Alright Subaru, we need to get to sister," Rem said.
Subaru wept in response. Rem looked at him.
He collapsed to the ground and stared at the Rabbit.
"Why…" he whispered.
Rem took a step back. She'd never seen Subaru in a state this poor. Deep bags hung under his eyes. Blood and vomit stained his lips. His nails were broken and one of his feet had been crushed. Within his pupils was such immense guilt that Rem didn't know how to respond. Her lips fell open, air flowed through into her agape mouth. Emilia and Garfiel shouted as they continued to draw the rabbit away using their mana. Subaru had told them about that quirk in the Rabbit before leaving.
"Subaru," Rem said, "we need to get to sister."
"Why…I…why? Ram doesn't want me with her. Ram hates me. She hates me so much! And she's right. She's right to hate me!" Subaru screamed and gripped his hair. He tore out a few strands. Rem had no idea what to do. Her eyes jumped back and forth across Subaru's body, self-doubt sapped her strength and forced her deeper into inaction.
But she was able to force out a few words, "Subaru…what do you mean?"
"STOP LYING!" Subaru screamed, ripping his hair out and hitting his head into the dirt. With his forehead on the ground, Subaru sobbed and asked, "Why…please…someone tell me WHY EVERYONE HATES ME!"
After that, he didn't speak. He only cried. And cried. And cried. Rem's lip quivered. Subaru had told her to stand up so many times. What was she going to do if he was wrong? He wasn't even standing up…why wasn't he standing up?
"We'll be there the whole time," Subaru's words from a few days ago returned, still so stark and clear, "and if you stumble," Rem stopped shivering, "we can catch you."
Rem's hands balled into fists. She kneeled down, grabbing Subaru's shoulders. Then she pulled him up to his feet.
"Rem what're you doing?" he asked as he looked down at her.
"Subaru. What did you say about sister?" she asked.
"She hates me."
Rem punched him in the chest.
Subaru's back hit the ground. The breath knocked from his lungs, he tried to pull it back in. To breathe. But he couldn't. He wheezed for a few moments before finally getting a breath of fresh air.
Rem stood tall above him. Her eyes were full of rage, her fists ready to strike. Finally, she was hating him out in the open. She'd kill him now.
He wanted her to do it.
"Say that again," Rem said.
"Ram hates me!" Subaru yelled. KILL ME, REM!
Rem kicked him in the chin. His head shot back into the dirt.
"Say that again about the woman who stayed up night after night to make sure you slept well," Rem said.
What?
"Say that again about the woman who made sure that I didn't kill you when you first came here."
"STOP LYING! Ram hates me and you know it!"
Rem stomped on his stomach. He rolled to the side and vomited.
"Say that again about the woman who supported you in the capital when Roswaal left you behind with her."
"She was just doing what Roswaal told her! She hated every second of it because it was time with me!"
Another kick to his chin. His head began to ache. Though by his standards it was barely even noticeable.
Rem's face burned with a rage that made her attempt to kill him in the mansion look tame. Her knuckles were white and her lips had pulled back into a sneer. "Say that again about the woman who trusted you with her everything so you could defeat Gluttony!"
"That was just her protecting you and herself. She didn't care about me!" Subaru yelled. Why was Rem making him doubt? WHY? It made no sense. What was she doing? Was she planning on torturing him after this with all the secrets she'd pulled from him? Ram didn't care about him. SHE DIDN'T! It made no sense. None at all.
Rem pounced on him, straddling him. She punched his face to the side.
"Say that again about the woman who made sure to save you from Gluttony. You could have died! And when she finished the fight she could have left you to die, and say Gluttony had gotten to you," Rem grabbed his collar.
Why was she doing this to him? Why did they all have to do this? Why couldn't Rem just murder him and be done with it? Now that she mentioned it…why hadn't Ram?
"Because she wanted to keep me alive. To torture me!" Subaru yelled, giving himself an answer. But his heart still throbbed. It still ached. This was the answer. It was!
Rem's rage finally overcame her calm exterior.
"WHY WOULD SISTER DO THAT?" Rem screamed.
"Because she's a liar!" Subaru yelled.
"When does sister lie?"
"When she tries to pretend she doesn't hate me. She despises me. She thinks about murdering me every second of the day. Of course she's lying!" Subaru wanted to scream something else. But he couldn't find the words.
"Sister is kind," Rem said, "but you overestimate her kindness. Sister has no interest in torturing you. If she hated you that much she would kill you."
"Well, she hates me more than everyone else then! She hates me!" Subaru screamed. Tears filled his eyes. The pain in his heart was worse than Capella's torture. He tried to get Rem off of him, but she bashed his head into the dirt again. With one movement she brought all his protests to a screeching halt.
"Sister would never waste her time on someone she hated so much!" Rem shouted, "You told me yourself. That sister would never do what she did for me if she hated me!"
"I WAS WRONG!" Subaru yelled.
"No, you weren't. Sister doesn't hate me."
"OF COURSE SHE DOESN'T! RAM LOVES YOU! BUT SHE HATES ME!" Subaru screamed, "AND SHE WOULD TORTURE ME! SHE HAS!"
Rem headbutted him. It sent his world reeling.
"Sister doesn't hate you," Rem said.
"Then how do you explain it, HUH?" Subaru asked, "How do you explain Ram staying with me at night? Other than her watching me to gain information? HUH?" the agony in his heart pushed against him.
Rem said nothing. He almost broke down into a sniveling mess, but his heart wouldn't let him.
It shoved a loose messy jumble of words into the world, "And her always walking by my side. How do you explain that other than her always wanting to keep an eye on me?"
Again, Rem said nothing.
"And her always supporting me! Why would she do that if not to torture me herself?"
For the third time, nothing.
"Why would she help me, keep me alive, support me with every part of herself, and trust me if she wasn't going to torture me afterward?"
For the first time, Subaru realized what he was saying. The horrible ache in his chest worsened.
He was consumed by the pain, until finally, Rem spoke.
"I can explain it, Subaru," she said with warmth and confidence on her face. Her anger was gone. She stood up and pulled him to his feet.
"I know why sister stayed with you at night. Because you had nightmares, and her heart couldn't bear to see you in pain like that."
Subaru's face scrunched up. He clutched at his chest. Stop.
"I know why sister always wanted to keep an eye on you. Because she enjoyed looking at you. The way you moved. Everything about you was something enjoyable for my sister to watch."
Subaru's bottom lip quivered, "No, p-please…" he sobbed, "stop, s-stop."
Rem didn't listen, "I know why sister always supported you. Because she wanted to help you stand, so you could walk alongside her. She wanted to see you succeed. And I know she's always been waiting for the day she'll be able to see you genuinely smile."
"No," Subaru whispered, "s-shut up."
"She helped because if she didn't it would have hurt her heart. She supported you with every part of herself because you made every part of herself better. She trusted you because sister knew why you did what you did, and she cared about what she saw."
Subaru put his head in his hands and began to cry.
Rem let him, for only a moment, before peeling off his hands and gazing into his eyes.
Her eyes were a pure blue, as blue as he remembered the sky being. For a single moment Rem was full of color, then gray, then color, then gray, then color. She shifted between color and no color with every millisecond. A flashing beacon. A lighthouse in this sea of pine trees and enemies.
"Sister would explain it better than I," Rem said, "but I can say with all of my being—"
"No, its w-wro—"
"That Ram just loves you."
All protests died on his lips. Subaru didn't say a word. He was silent. With each beat that terrible twinge in his heart grew. His mind revolted against the words. But there was more to him than just his mind.
Rem flashed between vibrant hues and drained dullness.
"I…" Subaru kneeled down, then fell onto his back.
He stared up at the moon, hanging there in the sky. Guilt rose in his throbbing heart. Rem kneeled down next to him.
Tears stopped falling from his eyes. For a second a single moment of clarity existed.
"Can I really believe…that Ram just loves me? That she isn't a liar. That she doesn't want to torture me and see me suffer. Can I really believe that?"
"Natsuki Subaru," Rem whispered, "Of co—"
"SUP MEATBAGS!" Capella Emerada Lugunica tackled Rem to the ground.
A horn manifested on Rem's forehead. A chill came on the wind as mana drained from the atmosphere. The two wrestled for a moment.
"AL HUM—" Rem's horn disappeared.
Capella pinned her to the ground. Subaru tilted his head to get a better look. The Sin Archbishop of Lust was turning Rem into nothing more than a sack of meat.
Rem screamed as Capella bent her shape.
Capella turned to him and smiled, "C'mon meatbag, let's have some fun this time."
Rem fought against her. Blue hair. Then gray hair. Rem kept shifting back and forth between colors. Subaru curled up further and further.
Subaru screamed, and Rem's colors solidified. Her hair was a brilliant blue, and it stayed.
Subaru forced himself to his feet. His teeth ground against each other.
He sprinted over to Capella, summoning spirits as he went. Right before he got to her he stretched his hand out, spirits circled it, hundreds.
"Ul Minya!" he shouted.
A gray ring expanded around Capella. She jerked back and forth, but couldn't move. Subaru gave Rem one final glance.
"Rem…" his guilt didn't let him continue.
Rem looked at him. There was terror in her expression, but set in the little tilt of her lips was care for him.
Subaru shoved his tongue through his teeth and bit down.
His tongue went flying.
"NO!" Capella screamed and tried to escape his spell, but she was trapped, stuck. She was stuck until the spell fired. It was charging up right now and wouldn't do that for a while, so Subaru waited as his blood poured onto the ground. In this span of clarity, all his emotions remained at bay. His guilt no longer threatened to tear his sanity to dust. For this moment his head was above water, and he wasn't drowning. Everything but Rem stayed gray.
His blood poured down his chin and his consciousness faded. His life was coming to an end, so much blood hemorrhaged out of him.
What if Rem is right…?
Is she?
I… don't know… Subaru thought as he fell backward. Now his blood slid down his throat, blocking his airway and dripping into his lungs. He didn't choke on his blood, as he wasn't trying to breathe.
Life faded and ended, leaving Natsuki Subaru unsure.