Subaru woke up in his bed, shaking uncontrollably. He had just died in one of the gruesome ways possible: being swallowed alive and dissolved in stomach fluids.
He couldn't find it in himself to get out of bed. Instead, he started sweating profusely and curling up, trying to comfort himself.
After ten minutes of this, there was a knock at his door. "Subaru-kun, can I come in?" Rem's voice made it to Subaru's ears, but he only mumbled something in response.
She could faintly hear him, so Rem entered Subaru's room. As soon as she did, she gasped and dashed to his side. "Subaru-kun! What is wrong? What happened?"
She took hold of his hand and looked at the disturbed boy with worry. This only served to make Subaru start crying. "I'm sorry, Rem..." he sobbed, "I'm sorry. I failed. Again."
Rem only looked even more worried after he said this. "D-did you have a nightmare?"
Subaru kept on crying, his mind on the verge of collapse. He couldn't handle the combination of stress, pain, fear, and anxiety that he was experiencing, making it obvious to everybody that his mental health was completely destroyed.
Seeing Subaru like this pained Rem, so she did the only thing that she knew to do. She sat up and wrapped her arms around Subaru, giving him a deep hug from behind.
This calmed him down, as his crying lessened. He started sniffling, and was finally able to talk again. "Sorry, Rem. I can't explain this to you, but I'm just having the worst time right now. Can you stay here for a while?" He didn't want to admit it, but her hug calmed him down some, and her presence, her living body, being there made him feel less crazy.
"Of course." She warmly said, willing to do anything for the boy that she loved.
"Thanks." They stayed in that position for the better part of an hour, with Subaru trying desperately to come up with a plan that would not end like his last one did.
Suddenly, after a long period of silence, Subaru had an idea. "Hey Rem, I think that I'm better now. I just needed to calm down. Let's go to the courtyard and sit in the sun. I'll tell you about what had me worried so much when we get there."
Rem broke the contact between them, and nodded. She then followed Subaru through the halls of the mansion, and out onto the yard in front of the gates.
Subaru sat down in the middle of the grass and patted the ground next to him, gesturing for Rem to sit there.
She did, and expectantly waited for Subaru to explain why he had been acting crazed earlier.
"Well, first off, I'm sorry for worrying you, Rem. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I broke down. I'm better now, so I'll let you know what happened." Of course, he wasn't going to tell her the truth, but he had something close enough to it.
"I learned that Witch Cultists will be attacking Roswaal's domain in three days, and if we try to take the highway back, the White Whale will kill us."
Rem looked back with shock. "Witch Cultists?! Are you sure?!" There was anger in her voice, making her hate for the evildoers apparent.
"Yes, I'm sure. And if we don't kill them in time, then not only will the villagers die, but everybody in the mansion will die too."
Rem gasped and stood up. "We need to tell Crusch-san about this immediately!"
Subaru shook his head and stayed put. "No. That won't work. There's nothing in it for her, so she won't help us. Instead, there's somebody else who might be able to do something."
She looked confused, wondering how Subaru came to those conclusions. "And who will help us then?"
A motion caught Subaru's eye, and he smirked. "He just pulled up to the gate." He slowly stood us, groaning as his body objected to the movement.
At the gate, he greeted Reinhard, who immediately bowed. "I am sorry. I didn't stop that meaningless duel from happening. I failed both you and Julius as a friend." Subaru had heard this before, so he waved it off.
"Don't worry about it. I'm over that, because there's something way more important happening now. Witch Cultists are-"
He was interrupted when Reinhard swung his upper body up. "Please slow down. First, I am glad that you hold no grudge against Julius, but I still believe that you need to talk to him. Now, please continue about the Witch Cultists."
"Well, they will be attacking the Mathers domain in three days. They will kill everybody there, which means that Emilia is in danger. Will you help us fight them?"
Reinhard was taken back, and was obviously conflicted. "I would love to accept your offer, but there may be a few issues. I believe what you say, but others may not. I have scheduled a courtesy call outside of the capital that is supposed to take place in the following days, and cancelling that will take good reasons on my part. I will also need Felt-sama's approval before I aid Emilia-san. As much as it saddens me, I cannot help another candidate unless Felt-sama gives me permission to do so."
Subaru looked angry when Reinhard said that. "What?! Aren't you a knight? Aren't you supposed to help all people, not only those that your little lady approves of saving? What kind of joke are you?"
Reinhard stiffened at this. "I will forget that you just insulted me, but I cannot forgive you until you take back what you have said about Felt-sama. She is not just 'a little lady', and the only people who I need to ask to save are the other candidates, so please do not insult her."
Subaru sneered, about to say something rash, but Rem stopped him. "We are sorry for our rudeness, Reinhard-san," she said.
Rem glared at Subaru, who reluctantly submitted to her. "I'm sorry, Reinhard. I shouldn't have said that about Felt. I'm just under a lot of stress right now, so please understand."
He hated the fact that he sounded like that one coworker that keeps messing stuff up, but Subaru didn't have an explanation other than that for Reinhard.
The Master Swordsman understood. He nodded his head, and accepted the apology. "Now, I still believe that you need to have a discussion with Julius. The two of you need to make up as soon as possible. You even said that you are over your anger towards him, so all that is left is to communicate that with him. Of course, I will contact Felt-sama on the way there, and if she approves of me assisting you, I will cancel my previous appointment."
Subaru saw this as a win, so he accepted the offer, even though there was one thing that he didn't want to do.
Talk to (Y/N), the one who didn't give him good enough instructions in order to actually succeed. The reason that Subaru's had to die multiple times through trial and error. The reason that Rem died.
Of course, he would do almost anything to have Reinhard on his side, so he would go to the Hoshin residence like Reinhard wanted him to do. "Okay, I'll go."
Time Skip
Subaru and Rem sat in the back of the carriage while Reinhard steered it while talking to Felt via conversing mirror.
"Should he be calling and driving?" Subaru mumbled.
"What?" Rem asked. Subaru just shook his head and mouthed 'never mind."
The two of them sat in silence as they listened to Felt's faint voice. "Why do I care? Just go help her! That political crap that I'm supposed to care about doesn't matter!"
Subaru smiled faintly when he heard Felt explain her reasoning. She didn't care about power or political gain, making her perhaps the best candidate behind Emilia.
Reinhard raised his voice so that Subaru and Rem could clearly hear him. "In case the two of you did not hear that, Felt-sama just approved my assisting you in defeating the Witch Cult. As you talk with Julius, I will cancel my prior appointment."
"Thank you Reinhard-sama!" Rem exclaimed.
With less energy than Rem, but more than he had been showing recently, Subaru thanked Reinhard.
"It is no problem. It is my honor to be able to help you." Reinhard responded.
Soon afterwards, they arrived at the Hoshin mansion.
This time, Subaru didn't bother to act surprised at the magnificence of the structure. Instead, he walked off towards the pool, where Julius had just gotten out to greet them.
"Hello, Subaru. What are you doing here?" he politely asked.
Subaru pointed back to Reinhard, who had caught up with him. "Hello Julius. If you don't mind, I would appreciate it if the two of you would have a civil conversation and get over your conflicts."
Julius looked at Subaru, who nodded. "I'm not as angry at you as I was, so I'm willing to talk."
This seemed to surprise Julius, who gestured to the pool. Subaru waved his hand in rejection. "If you don't mind, can we stay out of the water? I have plans after this, so I don't want to end up spending too much time here."
"I understand. In that case, let's go over there." Julius pointed to an open field, where he led Subaru to.
In the pool, (Y/N), who was clad in chainmail armor, noticed their arrival. You got out of the water, and approached Rem and Reinhard, who were still near the carriage.
"Hey Rem, Reinhard. Did you guys bring Subaru here to make up with Julius?"
Reinhard was talking to his mirror, so Rem answered. "Yes. That is why we were here, but I believe that there is something that you need to know. Witch Cultists will be attacking Roswaal-sama's domain in three days, so Reinhard will join us and help us defeat them."
This news shocked you, because this meant that Subaru must have died several times to reach this point. "Really? So, what are you guys planning to do?" You hoped that Subaru wasn't doing anything stupid, and would stick to your plan.
Rem fidgeted, and debated with herself over whether she should tell you about the plan, or if she should wait until Subaru came back. It looks like the first one won, as she explained, "As of right now, we are going to travel with Reinhard-san to the mansion, where we will defeat the Witch Cult."
You narrowed your eyes. "Don't you think that you could use more help, or at least get some carriages to evacuate the villagers?" By now, you could tell that something must have happened in Subaru's previous attempts, and this time around would either end up as a failure or with a result that changes everything.
Rem shook her head. "With Reinhard-san, we will be able to defeat the Witch Cultists, who will appear in three days. If I had to guess, I would think that Subaru wants to move the villagers to the mansion or other safe place, which does not require transportation. There will be some people defending the villagers, and some attacking the Witch Cultists."
This made sense, but it wouldn't do. Subaru needed to kill the White Whale, and then make positive relationships with the Hoshin and Karsten houses.
But then again, if he's successful, then Rem won't be attacked by the Archbishops of Greed and Gluttony.
At the same time, Subaru won't have the ending where he saves Emilia and risks his life to get rid of the explosives.
As far as you could think, the goods seemed to outweigh the bads, so you wouldn't try and change Subaru's plan. Of course, you'll have a conversation with him and find out what happened, but you don't plan to convince him to follow the original route.
"Ok," you tell Rem. "If any of you need help, feel free to ask anybody. That can mean me, the Hoshins, or even Crusch. I'm sure that, with the right words, you can convince anybody to help."
Rem looked uncomfortable. "Of course. Thank you, (Y/N)." It seemed like she was hiding something, but you didn't press on.
At this time, Reinhard finally finished his call. "Sorry about that, (Y/N). I had to cancel an appointment in order to help defeat the Witch Cultists. I'm sure that Subaru has a plan, so if we need additional assistance, we will be sure to ask for it as soon as he gets back."
All of you look over to where Subaru was sitting next to Julius. They looked like they were having a non-violent conversation, so that was good.
"Speaking of Subaru, can I talk to him alone once he is finished with Julius? There's a few things that I want to talk to him about." You know that they would let you talk to Subaru, but you asked because it was polite.
"Of course," Rem replied.
Reinhard nodded. "(Y/N), if you're not too exhausted, would you like to have a practice bout to pass the time? I am sure that I can give you a few suggestions in order to help you improve your swordsmanship."
You looked surprised, but it was a pleasant kind of surprise. "Sure. Just let me take this armor off and grab some wooden swords."
Reinhard shook his head. "There is no need to get the swords. I have some in my carriage."
You shrugged your shoulders, and proceeded to take the chain mail off while Reinhard retrieved the practice swords. He tossed you one, and you backed away a few steps, away from the driveway and into the grass.
Reinhard followed you, and stopped about five feet away. You know that there is no way that you will even be a challenge for this guy, but you're going to try your best anyway.
You took your stance; feet apart and both hands on the sword, which was pointed forwards. Reinhard simply stood where he was, and held the sword at his side.
You took a deep breath, and summoned strength into your legs. With a burst of speed, you dashed at Reinhard. He dodged the attack with speed that you couldn't even register.
While protecting the front side of your body, you turned around, and found him directly behind you. "Ok. Advance again." Reinhard said.
You grinned. You might be outclassed, but it was still awesome to see Reinhard's skills in person. He is probably the strongest person in this world, and stronger than a lot of other anime characters. And you get to fight him in a friendly match.
You charge at him again, and miss once again. This time, Reinhard called for you to stop. "From what I have seen, you tend to leave your left side open when you strike. To fix this, don't arch your back so much when you strike. This will take away unnecessary movement, and minimize your vulnerable areas."
You take a moment to visualize those changes, and you once again take a stance, ready to charge Reinhard again. He nodded his head, and you dashed at him. This time, you did what he suggested, and didn't arch your back like you had been doing. Julius had been telling you to fix your posture, but it seemed like it locked in better when Reinhard was instructing you.
You used the power from your hips, shoulders, and arms to deal the fastest, most powerful blow that you had ever delivered. Of course, it missed Reinhard, but it was a huge improvement.
Reinhard nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, just make sure that you reduce unneeded movements, and work on becoming stronger. That is all the advice that I can give you until you reach a higher level."
You grin, glad that you were making improvements. Rem cleared her throat, turning all attention to her. "Subaru-kun seems to have finished his conversation. He should be back soon."
You look over to where Subaru had been talking to Julius, and indeed, the two of them were making their way towards you.
Julius came along with Subaru, and talked to Reinhard while you took Subaru to the side. He looked irritated, but you weren't sure of the cause. Was it Julius, or something else?
"What do you want, (Y/N)? Just let me go so I can get to the mansion as soon as possible." Subaru asked, though spat would be a better way to describe it.
"What happened? Why are you acting like this and not following our plan? What went wrong?" You asked sincerely, hoping to understand what Subaru was going through.
Instead, this made everything worse. "What do you mean, what went wrong?! Everything went wrong! Your plan sucks, and I died. The first time, I had to commit suicide, and then I got swallowed alive! So of course I'm going to try something else! I don't want to go through that pain! I just want to live the easiest, safest route. Is that too much to ask for?!" At this point, Subaru was almost yelling, so you shushed him, not wanting the others to pick up on the conversation.
"Okay, calm down, Subaru. Let me know what went wron-"
"Everything went wrong! Not a single thing works out!"
At this point, you're getting frustrated too. "Well, why don't you try again, or at least try to stick to something close to the original plan? You didn't have enough information the first time around, so maybe it'll work the next time around!"
He shook his head violently. "No, it won't! They only care about themselves, so nobody will help us! If you remembered what they said to me, you would realize this!"
It is your turn to shake your head. "Well then, if nobody will help you, why is Reinhard standing right there?"
His eyes twitched. "He doesn't count. It's the others that are the problem, so that's why I'm only leaving with him."
You sighed. "Just so you know, you'll probably get Anastasia mad since you're not going to be there for the meeting you told her about. If you're going to leave without her then I'll just let her know. I won't stop you from doing this, but promise me that you'll tell me everything again and listen to me if things go wrong this time."
Subaru scoffed, and walked away without responding. All you could do was sigh. He will probably die, but if he didn't, things would turn out different than they did in the anime, and probably for the worse.
You watched as Subaru entered the dragon carriage, with Rem and Reinhard following him. They soon left, and you couldn't help but felt sorry for whatever it was that Subaru has, and will go through.
"(Y/N), put that chainmail armor back on! You still have water training!"
Time Skip
Subaru, Rem, and Reinhard are currently on the Liafus Highway, heading to Roswaal's domain. Subaru didn't didn't want to waste any time, so they left as soon as they were finished at Anastasia's mansion.
The ride was quiet, both Rem and Reinhard made uncomfortable with the almost menacing air that was coming from Subaru.
"So, I heard that you and Julius are on good terms now..." Reinhard tried to start a conversation, but failed as soon as Subaru opened his mouth to respond.
"Yep."
Once again, the carriage went silent, but it was Rem that broke it a second time. "Subaru-kun, what will our strategy be when the Witch Cult attacks?"
Subaru looked confused. "Huh? What strategy? We can just have Reinhard kill the Witch Cultists, and all other capable fighters can fight them too. As long as nobody dies, I don't care."
This statement alarmed the two listeners. "Subaru-kun, are you sure? Is there not a better way of going about this?" Rem asked.
Subaru sighed. "There probably is, so you do it. You come up with a plan that'll work. I'm done trying to figure everything out."
Rem shifted uncomfortably, but nodded her head. The rest of the ride was silent, nobody wanting to start another awkward conversation.
It was barely past midnight when they arrived at the mansion, the White Whale being absent from their route.
They rode up to the front door of the mansion, where Rem knocked on the door.
While they waited for it to open, Reinhard made a mental note to make awkwardness evasion another one of his divine blessings. Earlier, his Master Teacher blessing allowed (Y/N) to quickly improve his swordsmanship, so this new ability would obviously work without a hitch.
Ram opened the door, stopping his train of thought. With mild surprise, she exclaimed while bowing, "Reinhard-sama, for what do we owe you the pleasure of your company?" She then looked at Rem and Subaru. "Sister, Barusu, I did not expect you to be back so soon."
Reinhard was the one to explain. "Actually, the Witch Cult will attack this domain in three- no, it is two days now. Subaru here was the one to ask for my aid, and Rem has kindly accompanied us."
Ram's eyes flared when Reinhard mentioned the Witch Cult. "The Witch Cult? Is the source of the report credible?"
Subaru tried to hide his sneer, but only partially succeeded. "Yes. It is. Trust me. The Witch Cult will attack."
Ram still looked skeptical, but she didn't let that interfere with her maid duties. "Well then, if you would like to, please come inside. We have places to sleep, and can provide food if you are hungry, as well as a hot bath." She mainly directed this to Reinhard, but it still applies to the other maid and the 'butler'.
They all went inside, and Subaru headed to his room. As bad as he wanted to talk to Emilia, he didn't want to wake her up. Instead, he would sleep for a few hours, then talk to her as soon as he woke up.
While he went to his room, Rem helped Ram escort Reinhard to his room. He claimed that he didn't need anything, so they insisted that he should sleep.
"Ram-nee, where is Roswaal-sama? I thought that he was here with Emilia-san," Rem asked after Reinhard had settled into his room.
"He is currently at the Sanctuary, making one of his scheduled trips." Ram told her.
Rem nodded in understanding, but knew that his absence would only make the upcoming battle even more difficult.
Time Skip
Shortly after dawn, Subaru woke up. His subconscious alarm clock knew that he needed to wake up as soon as possible so that he could sort things out with Emilia.
He dashed out of his bed, and threw the door open. Once in the hallway, Subaru ran to where he knew Emilia was currently studying.
Once he arrived at her room, Subaru brought his hand up to knock, but he hesitated. Their last conversation didn't go so well, so he would have to make up for that.
Taking a deep breath, he lightly rapped the door with his knuckles. Surprisingly, Emilia opened the door, and gasped when she saw who was on the other side.
"Subaru! What are you doing here? You are supposed to be healing with Felix!" Emilia was upset, but wanted to hear Subaru's reasoning for coming to her. She wanted to understand him. She wanted to believe him.
"Emilia... you are in danger. The Witch Cult is already here, and will attack in two days. I came to save you." Subaru spoke earnestly, hoping that she wouldn't push him away.
Emilia looked sad when he said this. "Couldn't you have sent a letter? Why did you come here? If you wanted to save me, then there are better ways than coming here when I asked you to heal. Please. Help me understand."
Subaru felt a wave of hopelessness go through him. This was already going to a place where he didn't want it to go. "Well... I brought Reinhard. I-I wanted to help, so I came too."
Emilia looked even more shocked when he mentioned Reinhard. "What!? Why did you bring him? This just makes things even more complicated! Why are you doing such rash things!?"
Emilia seemed to keep on asking 'why', so Subaru answered her. "Because I love you! I don't want you to die! I don't want anyone to die! So of course, I brought the only one who would help me, and that happened to be Reinhard! Just accept the help, or you're going to die!" He was screaming at this point, and it horrified Emilia.
"I still don't understand why you say you love me. I didn't do anything..." She looked down, and looked like she was about to cry.
Seeing this, Subaru realized that he was scaring her, so he took a different approach. With a gentler voice, he said, "Emilia, you don't have to understand it. Just know that I care about you, and I don't want you to die. So please, let me stay here and help you."
She was still full of questions, but instead, she replied, "I knew that the Witch Cult would be attacking me. In fact, I was going to go to the village and warn the people that they would be in danger and invite them here. I still can't understand you, but I will let you help."
Subaru looked happy, but Emilia was still wearing a sad expression. "Just know that you have disappointed me." Emilia gently pushed him out of her room, and closed the door.
Subaru didn't know if he just failed or succeeded, but there was one thing that he knew: there were some people that needed to be killed.
Time Skip
Once Reinhard had eaten breakfast, Subaru immediately told him his 'plan'. "Reinhard, go into the forest and kill as many Witch Cultists as you can. I'll try to get the villagers to come here, so you can fight without worrying about them. Rem, Ram, and Puck will defend the mansion if anybody attacks it, but come back if you can tell that things aren't good here."
Reinhard didn't really like this plan, and he voiced his concern. "Are you sure that you don't want me protecting Emilia-sama? Would she not be in danger if an Archbishop came?"
Subaru didn't really know what an Archbishop was, but he didn't tell Reinhard that. "No, we'll be fine."
Reinhard reluctantly sighed. "In that case, I will be back as soon as I have eradicated the foe."
Subaru nodded his head, and Reinhard left.
"Now," he muttered to himself, "we just need to get the villagers here."
He didn't know if Emilia would talk to him, so he let the twin maids know that he would go to the village himself and persuade the villagers to stay in the mansion for the next few days.
While he was walking down the road, Subaru could hear explosions ringing out from the forest. This was undoubtedly Reinard fighting the Cultists, and he knew which one was winning.
He grinned, but halted when a ring of robed figures suddenly came out of the ground and created a circle around him. They bowed, and disappeared as suddenly as they had come.
"Were those Witch Cultists?" his body shook. They emanated creepiness, but this led to him realizing something.
If they could appear from the ground, then they could go wherever they wanted to go.
Subaru made a mad dash back to the mansion, not bothering to complete his trip to the village. Emilia was the priority.
He ran as fast as he could, the sounds of battle making him more anxious. From what he could tell, Reinhard was fighting a large number of them, so that meant that there could still be a lot more that were attacking the mansion.
As he approached the front yard, Subaru felt relieved. There was no sign of invasion yet, but he needed to warn everybody.
After opening the front doors, Subaru yelled, "Rem! Ram! Beatrice! If you can hear me, go to Emilia's room! This mansion isn't safe!"
He started to run up the stairs when Ram appeared at the top of them. "Barusu, what do you mean, this mansion isn't safe?" She glared at him, waiting for an answer.
"The Witch Cultists can come in whenever they want, so we need to protect Emilia!" Subaru exclaimed through gasps.
Ram nodded her head. "I see, but where are the villagers?"
Subaru felt a stab of guilt. "W-well, I never got to the village. There were some Cultists on the road, so I came back as fast as I could."
Ram scoffed at him. "Barusu, you are responsible if any of those people die. Remember that." With this, she made her way to Emilia's room.
Subaru tried to follow, but his body wouldn't comply. He wasn't in the greatest shape, so there was a limit to how much he could run, especially if it was running up stairs.
Panting and jogging, Subaru finally arrived at Emilia's room. Rem and Ram were already there, but Beatrice was nowhere to be seen.
"Subaru, what happened?" When she saw him looking so exhausted, Emilia felt both worry and anger.
"Don't... worry..." he gasped for some air. "I'm just... not suited to... be running... so much."
"You are not injured?" Rem asked him, sharing Emilia's worry for him.
Subaru shook his head, which made them feel a little better.
"Subaru, what happened to the villagers?" Emilia asked.
He looked at Ram, who didn't even make eye contact with him. Still feeling guilty, he confessed, "Actually, I never made it to the village. Witch Cultists came out of the ground and surrounded me on the road, then they suddenly vanished. When I realized that they could pop up here, I ran back as fast as I could."
Emilia was disappointed once again. "What will happen to the villagers? If you didn't warn them, they will just stay there, and they might die!" Emilia looked frustrated, so Rem spoke up.
"I can go to the village. If I am attacked, I can defend myself and the villagers."
Ram didn't like this idea. "Rem, there is no need for you to go. It is far too dangerous. I'll go instead, so take care of Emilia-sama."
Rem wanted to protest, but Ram left before she could utter a word.
All that was left was silence, but it was broken by Puck, who had been silent so far. "Subaru, I can understand your feelings, but I'm not sure if you have been taking the right actions."
Subaru was confused. If Puck understood his feelings, then his actions made perfect sense.
Puck saw the confusion, but didn't explain. Instead, he threatened, "So if you're going to be obsessed with my daughter, you better make sure that she doesn't die. If she dies, so will everybody else in this world."
Subaru could tell that Puck was dead serious, but he already intended to keep Emilia alive. "You don't have to tell me that. I have no intention of letting Emilia die."
Time Skip
It had been about an hour since Ram had left, and Rem was worrying. The sun was already at its peak, and the daylight would be gone after a few more hours.
The room had been silent ever since the exchange between Subaru and Puck, but noticing Rem's distressed expression, Emilia broke it. "Don't worry. Your sister is going to come back. Maybe the villagers just needed some time to get ready..."
Her attempt at reassuring Rem wasn't reassuring at all, so the next hour was spent with an even more uncomfortable silence.
Subaru kept on straining his ears, and constantly looked out of Emilia's window, searching for any sign of the Witch Cult.
He was almost sure that Reinhard had killed all of them, but he could never be too safe.
All of a sudden, he noticed a motion just beyond the trees. "Rem, look!" he pointed at the location of the disturbance, and Rem came alongside him.
They strained their eyes, and Rem began to despair when she saw who was coming to the mansion.
They weren't Witch Cultists. No, it was even worse. It was some of the villagers, accompanied by Reinhard, not Ram.
Her eyes began to tear up, and Emilia's curiosity got the better of her. She also looked out of the window, and it took a moment for until the implication settled in. Ram was not to be seen. She was...
"She's not dead. I'm sure of it..." Rem whispered. "Ram-nii wouldn't die to some Witch Cultists!" she screamed the very last part, her pain making Subaru feel more and more guilty. It was his fault that Ram went out on her own. It was his fault.
He sat down on the ground, and tried to reassure himself that everything was going to be fine.
Emilia hugged Rem, trying to comfort her. The maid only began to cry even louder, shattering Subaru's soul.
If it wasn't for this distraction, they would have noticed the quiet footsteps that crossed the hallway.
Of course, they didn't hear them. The only thing that they saw was a blade suddenly appear in Rem's head.
Everybody looked at the doorway, where several Witch Cultists stood. Emilia readied her ice magic, and Puck materialized. "Don't you dare lay a hand on my dau-"
Puck's sentence was cut off when Subaru reached out for Emilia, and screamed, "Noooo!" He could see a black hand, similar to the ones that grab his heart when he tries to tell anyone but (Y/N) about his ability, reach for Emilia.
He couldn't do anything, as Emilia suddenly became limp, blood gushing through her mouth. Subaru ran towards her and Rem, and held the two of them in his arms.
There was laughter coming from the Cultists, and one man made his way to the front. "She couldn't even withstand the Ordeal! How slothful!"
Subaru looked with horror at the Archbishop of Sloth, the monster who just killed Emilia.
Said person looked straight at Subaru. "Thank you. If it wasn't for the love that hangs onto you, it would have taken longer to find her. How diligent!" He began to squeal, tearing his hair out in the process.
Subaru was horrified. If he hadn't been with Emilia, Reinhard could have made it back in time to defeat them. "W-who are you? How dare you kill Emilia! How dare you kill Rem!"
Subaru was crying, his frustration and sorrow too great to be contained. He was being covered with the blood of both girls, the blood of the people that he failed to protect.
The man in question cackled with laughter. "Oh? You don't know my name? How slothful! I am Betelguese Romani-Conti, the Archbishop of Sloth!"
"Then die, Archbishop." Subaru turned his head towards Puck, who's anger was being unleashed. The room was becoming frozen, Subaru along with it.
Betelguese only laughed, marking himself as a true madman. The other Witch Cultists flooded the room and tried to stop Puck, but they became frozen statues.
Subaru was still holding on to the two girls, and he could feel his body becoming ice. With his last breath, he cried, "Betelgeuse!"
His last words reached no one, as everybody was now frozen, and Puck was too enraged to pay heed to the useless human who failed.
"With my daughter dead, I will follow our contract and freeze the world over!" Puck grew in size, destroying the mansion. He was no longer Puck, the cute and cuddly cat spirit. He was now the Beast of the End.
Unbeknownst to him, all of the villagers that Reinhard had escorted had all died, but the knight was very much alive.
With a heavy heart, Reinhard unsheathed his Dragon Sword, and prepared to slay the Great Spirit of Fire. He knew that Emilia must have died, and Subaru's plan failed.
"Great Spirit, I cannot allow you to destroy this world. Yield, or you will die!" Reinhard yelled, which got the spirit's attention.
"I have no intention of yielding." That is all that he said, and all that he would ever say again.
Reinhard frowned, and brought his sword up. A bright beam came from it, and it pierced the clouds. It was obvious, even to the beast, who the victor would be.
Reinhard brought his blade down, and all of the ice disappeared. The Mathers Domain was no more, death being all that is left of it.
Hey guys, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!
Subaru's going through some dark times, but the light is just ahead! (Hint, hint)
If you have any suggestions, comments, or critiques, let me know! I'm open to anything.
With this said, I'll see you next time!