The first thing that you noticed was a black haze that seemed to cover everything.

"So, is this what the afterlife looks like? I guess that when I die, the me that dies actually dies, and the one from the past keeps living. That sucks... I wish that I could've stayed until the very end."

You looked around your surroundings, but there was only darkness - with a tint of purple.

"Useless. Useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless!"

There was a whisper that crescendoed from nothing, and it seemed to come from everywhere. Unfortunately, you recognized who it came from. Sighing, you mumbled, "Nevermind. I'm somewhere worse."

From the darkness, Satella's silhouette appeared. Well, it would be more accurate to say that this was the Witch of Envy.

"You let him die! Subaru died! He died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died died! You... didn't help him! So useless! Useless useless useless useless useless useless useless useless!"

The Witch of Envy approached you, but you didn't budge. "You know, I'm technically dead now, so you can't really do much to me. And by the way, if you think that I'm so useless, then give me back my regeneration! Did you ever stop to think that I wouldn't die if I couldn't die? Do you have no common sense?!"

As you chastised the Witch of Envy, you found that you couldn't breathe. There was now a shadowy hand that was grabbing your throat, and it was squeezing tighter and tighter by the second.

Of course, you were dead, so this wouldn't kill you, but the pain around your neck and your lungs yearning for air still made for a painful experience.

"Stop that immediately. This boy is mine, so release him at once."

Echidna materialized beside you, and she looked at the Witch of Envy with hatred.

The Witch stared back, and you felt the pressure on your neck disappear. "Subaru..." the Witch of Envy whispered, "I love him. I love him love him lovehimlovehimlovelovelovelovelovelovelove."

She paused as a new thought came out. To Echidna, she rambled, "You love him. Love. Him. Lovehimlovehimlovelovelove. Why?! How?! Unfair! Unfairunfairunfairunfairunfair!"

Echidna stared blankly at the crazy Witch. "I have no idea what you mean. Now, begone. You are not welcome here."

Satella openly wept as the scenery slowly changed and she faded away. "Subaru... Subaru Subaru Subaru SubaruSubaruSubaruSubaruSubaruSubaruSubaruSubaruSubaru..."

Her voice disappeared as the shadows whispered away, revealing a small, green hill with a small table on top of it.

This was Echidna's tea party, or to be more exact, this was the current manifestation of her Castle of Dreams.

"You know, I'm not saying that I'm not happy that you made her go away, but how in the world am I here?! I'm pretty sure that I died." You looked at Echidna with a puzzled expression, and she was ready to answer.

"Subaru died moments after you did, so that Witch chose to keep your soul from returning Od Laguna, which can be described as the 'God' of this world. Actually... would you soul go to Od Laguna? Would it return to the deity that precedes over your world? Would it simply fade into nonexistence? I would love to find out, but I am afraid that this experiment would be too dangerous." Getting back on track, Echidna continued, "As I was saying, the Witch of Envy pulled your soul into her Shadow Garden, and I brought your soul into my Castle of Dreams before it could disappear."

"Ah, I see."

You didn't really understand everything that Echidna said, but it made enough sense. You died, and your soul is now here.

"So, now what? Do I just stay here forever?" This wasn't too bad of an idea, but it left a bitter taste in your mouth. If everything was over now, then there were so many regrets that you still had.

Echidna paused before she answered your question. "I do not believe so. Time here is currently moving at an infinitely slow rate compared to the real world, so it is only a matter of time until reality is rewound, and Subaru is effectively resurrected. You, along with him, will return to your body during his last 'save point.'"

You clasped your hands together and nodded your head. "That sounds about right. So, before I'm taken away from you, we should try and come up with a way to beat Kurgan and Theresia. I'm sure that we can beat them if we expect them."

Echidna sat down at her table, and you followed her example as she considered the fight that had killed you.

"Before I even begin to formulate a battle strategy, I would like to address the first issue," Echidna said.

You nodded her head, signaling for her to go on.

"I am very concerned as to the reason that those individuals are attacking you. As I have already told you, they are corpses that are only acting on orders and instinct. This means that there is at least one person who sent the two combatants to dispose of you and the others on that dragon carriage. Additionally, they must have somehow gained information as to your location, which is equally disturbing."

Echidna's points were scary to think about. Somebody was ordering Kurgan and Theresia around, and they knew your whereabouts. You died because somebody wanted you dead.

Of course, this was expected, but the dreadful thing was the fact that the assassination was successful. If Subaru wasn't with you...

Then this death might have been final.

"Do not worry," Echidna replied since she could read your mind. "There is a limited number of suspects, so narrowing the identity of the one responsible for your death will be relatively simple. Firstly, they must be a Witch Cultist, and a high-ranking one at that. This leaves only the Sin Archbishops and the one who stands above them."

"Above them?" you questioned. Thinking back to the anime, there was one person who could have been above the Archbishops since she ordered Regulus around...

"You are correct. The head of the Witch Cult is Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory. I do not have intel on her abilities, her goals, or her direct actions, but I can verify that she is the one who stands at the top of the Witch Cult. With that said, I do not believe that she would take direct action to kill you, as she believes herself to be in control of all that exists. Instead, I believe that one of the Sin Archbishops targeted you, seeing that The Crusaders could become a threat. Of course, Petelgeuse has been eliminated, so he cannot have been the perpetrator. This leaves four Archbishops, as Sloth is dead, Pride is vacant, and that monster still holds Envy. You know very well that Greed would not send beings other than himself to kill you, so he can be crossed off, leaving three possibilities. Additionally, Gluttony does not seem to want to allow others to kill for them, so I would also count their chance of involvement as very low. This leaves the Sin Archbishops of Lust and Wrath. I do not know their identities, as they were not revealed to my other self before she died, nor to anybody whom I have come into contact with. Considering their Sins, which one would be more likely to order your death? Wrath seems like an obvious answer, but I do not believe that this would be the case. If Wrath is truly angry and vengeful, they would come for you personally? Seeing as any member of the Witch Cult has a warped view of reality, Wrath would most likely believe that the only way to resolve or act on their anger is to kill you personally. To strengthen that argument, why would Wrath attack you? They would not attack in response to The Crusade, so you would have needed to personally affect them in some way, but all you have done is defeat the creations of Gluttony and aid in the plan to kill Sloth. Wrath would take no offense to the death of the White Whale or Great Rabbit, so the only explanation could be is an unnatural attachment to Petelguese. If this is the case, then Wrath could potentially be the person behind your death, but this contradicts a point that I made earlier. If Wrath had a reason to kill you, then they would not order others to do it; they would do it themselves. Therefore, I believe that the person behind your death is Lust. I believe that one who is characterized by their Lust would have no issue in sending others in their place, but I cannot explain the reason that they would attack you, other than seeing your organization as a threat. They must have learned of your location through surveillance or their Gospel, and that resulted in your death. In conclusion, the most likely person behind the attack was the Sin Archbishop of Lust, and there is a chance that you will have to fight them after or even during the fight with the two corpses."

This was the longest amount of time that Echidna had ever spoken without a break, and it was mentally exhausting to listen to the lengthy speech. You appreciated it, but it would be nicer if she would settle with a summary.

"...So, the Archbishop of Lust is after me and Wrath likes Petelgeuse?"

Echidna sighed, not seeming to be winded after talking so much. "My speculation about Wrath is merely a theory, but I am almost certain that Lust is the one who is responsible for killing you."

"This is just me thinking out loud-"

"Not that the medium of thinking matters when I am the one you are communicating with," Echidna interrupted.

You deadpanned at Echidna, and she let you proceed. "Remember when Theresia first went after Meili after everyone got out of the dragon carriage?"

Echidna picked up on your train of thought. "You propose that she was under orders to kill the mabeast user? Are you suggesting that Lust has a connection to this 'Mama' that those two girls reference?"

You nodded your head. "At least, that would explain why we were attacked if Lust's purpose wasn't to go after me because of The Crusaders. And if she specifically ordered Theresia and Kurgan to kill Meili and Elsa because they betrayed her, that would explain why Theresia tried to go after Meili first even though other people were closer."

"I see..." Echidna considered this theory, and she seemed to like it. "You reverse-engineered the problem instead of looking at it linearly. I looked at the conflict from the past, directly to what could have led to the reason behind it. You looked at the result, skipped several steps, and created a reason that could loosely relate to a certain occurrence that happened in order to create the answer. In short, your lack of understanding helped you generate an answer that would have been impossible to find through conventional means! How intriguing!"

But in this revelation, Echidna's face darkened. "If you are correct, then your situation is dire. The leader of the largest assassin organization in the world is targeting you, and their strength can only be described as fear-inducing. If you are to defeat the powerful corpses and then proceed to fight her, you will most likely die. Your group's fighting prowess is not yet a match for those opponents."

"So what you're saying is that I better hope that the save point is sometime before we get in the carriage so that we can bring some strong allies or so that we can avoid going on that trip?"

Echidna shook her head slowly. "No. I do not recommend running away, as you will still be found. It is best to hold a battle when and where you expect one. On the other hand, you can bring stronger allies if you are fortunate enough to find yourself back at Miload Manor, but I suggest something else."

She leaned forward and stared deep into your eyes. "I will teleport to you and decimate those fools before you are harmed."

You grinned, because with Echidna by your side, then there was almost no doubt about victory. But then... "Echidna, I just realized two things: you'll have to reveal yourself before you can do the illusion, and you said that you can't safely teleport yet."

The Witch of Greed did not care. "I have a large enough mana capacity to teleport, cast a short-term illusion, then fight, but my only issue would be my control over my spells. There is a sixty-percent chance that my teleportation spell will send me to you, and an eighty-percent chance that my illusion will not collapse before I am able to escape the battlefield. These chances are worth taking in this situation."

"But what about those two girls that you found? I'm glad that you want to help me, but I'm worrying about you too."

Echidna broke eye contact and sat back, crossing her arms. "Do not waste your time worrying about me. No matter the situation, the girls and I will not be in considerable danger. You are in a far worse predicament, so you need to allow me to use my resources to assist you."

You found that, when women won't budge in an argument and they were arguing to help you, it was best to let them help. If they suffered for it, then the guilt could be placed on you instead of them.

"Fine," you sighed. "Do what you want, but I just want you to be careful in case things go wrong. Cast that illusion before you teleport, because I know that you're forgetful about details like that."

Echidna grinned slightly at that accusation, and she finally looked you in the eyes again. "I will keep that in mind. Now, as to how you will defeat the corpses, you should begin by casting Akra on the demi human and the curse doll who does not die. Have my Artificial Spirit cast El Vita on both of the targets, as that effect of greater gravity will substantially benefit your party. Next, you must-..."

Her grin dropped as you were no longer sitting across from her. It seems as if Return by Death had caused your soul to go back with Subaru's at a bad time.

"I wish you the greatest of fortune, as you will need it in case of my absence. The world is not as kind to Witches as we would hope it is."

Time Skip

Subaru gasped awake as you took over the reins.

Beatrice pouted, as she had to make the effort to make you get in the driver's seat because he was asleep. Now, that effort was wasted.

"Subaru, make up your mind, I suppose! If you are going to sleep, stay asleep, in fact!" Beatrice crossed her arms and plumped down next to him, but she paused when she noticed his distressed expression.

You noticed his face too. It was wide from shock, and it looked like he had just felt something painful.

"What's wrong, Subaru? Did you have a nightmare or something?" you asked.

He shook his head silently. "I-I just realized that I have to redo something," he commented.

Redo.

He just used the codeword for Return by Death. 'Echidna, am I in a loop right now?'

'Yes, you are. However, I find your current situation problematic. You are unable to touch the pendant and visit me without suspicion, so I suggest that you find a way to separate yourself from Subaru. If you cannot, then I will have no choice but to describe your death and our conversation afterword by speech.'

Knowing Echidna, she would never stop talking if you let her have the opportunity, so you decided that it would be best to see her in-person and get your memories by drinking her tea.

"Hey Subaru, I need to go think about what's happened, so give me a minute or two, okay?"

He shakily nodded his head, and you carefully went back inside the carriage as Beatrice looked at the two of you, puzzled. Everybody was still asleep, so at least you didn't have to worry about them.

After making sure that Subaru wasn't looking, you put your hand under your new fantasy-adventure clothes and grabbed the black pendant that linked you to Echidna.

Your body pulsed, but it was no longer something that caused nausea. Reality began to pulse along with your body, and the darkness became less dark as it was being replaced by a green hill.

"Tea?" Echidna asked, holding a cup out towards you.

"Of course, my lady," you answered with a grin. It was best to have some playful fun before you remembered whatever horror just killed you, Subaru, and probably everyone else in the carriage.

You carefully took the tea from Echidna's hands and sipped all of it out of the cup, bracing yourself for whatever you were about to remember.

As the last drop went down your throat, the memories rushed back in.

Carriage destroyed

Robed figures

Kurgan

Theresia

Getsuga Tenshou

Blood

Death

Witch of Envy

Echidna talked a lot

Sudden darkness - Subaru's soul must have been pulled back in time, taking yours with it

"So, as I was explaining before you were taken away," Echidna said without giving you a break, "You will have to cast Akra on your allies and the Artificial Spirit will have to cast El Vita on your opponents before any other action can be taken."

You nodded your head since you had heard this part of the explanation before.

Continuing, Echidna asserted, "You will have no choice but to fight the multi-armed clansman in close quarters, as you need to land attacks that implement concentrated amounts of mana. I will let you decide which spells to use, but make sure that you are safe before acting rashly."

"Same to you. No matter where you end up teleporting, make sure that you're keeping yourself safe. Of course, you're one of the most powerful mages in this world, so that shouldn't be too difficult."

Echidna smirked. "That is a given. Against the slender swordswoman, I cannot suggest anything but hoping that the Bowel Hunter can defeat her after the initial spells are cast. Your attacks will not reach her, and a single hit from her blade is fatal. Now, in the case that Lust makes an appearance or an unexpected enemy enters the battlefield and I am not there, here is my advice: 'debuff' them, and then work with your allies and utilize the strengths of each member to their fullest. You will need the full strength of your group in order to defeat any foe who could have sent the corpses after you. I will update my suggested strategies as I spectate the fight."

Sure, this advice might have seemed obvious, but it was the best strategy that Echidna could suggest, as she had no idea what opponent you might face later, if you even face them. Until she saw what you were up against, she couldn't effectively make a game plan.

"Now," Echidna said, "After this moment, I will have my physical body teleport near your location. I do not want to immediately appear next to you, but I want to be able to be in the vicinity, as it should not be more than an hour until you are attacked. If my teleportation fails, I will notify you immediately, and in that case, tell the Artificial Spirit to be weary of attacks. She will defend the dragon carriage when the first strike arrives."

"That's good and all, but what happens if your teleportation fails? Do you stay where you are, or can you end up inside of a wall or a tree or something?"

"There are two possibilities. The first is as you mentioned: I will not have moved from my location. The other, more likely, possibility is my location being randomly assigned anywhere along a radius, with the radius being the distance between me and you."

You looked at Echidna with worry, since the news that she just shared wasn't the best. "Doesn't that mean that you could end up literally anywhere in an area that covers about a third of this country?"

Echidna shook her head as if that was ridiculous. "Of course not! The area is much closer to seven-twenty fourths of the country! This is less than a third, so do not worry."

You deadpanned, since 7/24 was probably just a number that was pretty close to 1/3.

"Now there," Echidna said, "Don't worry. Everything will have a pleasant result." She reached out and patted you on the head, which felt unexpectedly nice...

Echidna smiled, and warmth spread throughout your body. "You better get going now," she sighed. "And remember to call me by my alias."

You nodded your head. "And remember to cast that illusion before you teleport," you called back as the world began to spin, ejecting you back into reality.

"I will."

Your eyes opened, and it took a moment for them to adjust to the darkness. The sun hadn't come up yet, so the total darkness was a sudden contrast to the bright hill that you just came from.

'(Y/N), a problem has occurred.'

'What?! What happened?'

'...I don't know who I should make myself look like.'

'... ... ... Are you serious?! Just make yourself look like... umm... huh... You have a good point. I don't know either. I would suggest some anime characters, but I don't know what Subaru's seen in his alternate world. But at the same time, we can play it off as you looking exactly like that character...'

'I have chosen. And as a surprise, I will not tell you of my decision. You will find out when you see me next.'

'I'm kind of worried by that... there are a lot of sketchy characters out there, so I really hope that you took it seriously.'

'I take most things seriously. Now, I will see you soon, as I will teleport now.'

Echidna stopped talking, and you decided to go up to the driver's seat again so that you could talk to Subaru.

"(Y/N)," he whispered as you came closer. "We might be screwed."

"Only if you give up," you replied.

"What are you talking about, I suppose." Beatrice inserted herself into the conversation, feeling left out.

"You see," you told her, "We're pretty sure that someone's going to attack us anytime now since we're probably really high on someone's hit list. It would be a good idea for us to keep an eye out for oncoming attackers." Echidna told you to say this to Beatrice only if she failed her tele

"Betty thinks that is ridiculous, in fact." But after looking at Subaru, who nodded his head, she sighed. "But I will look around, I suppose."

'Teleportation success.'

Subaru shook his apprehension away and patted Beatrice's head. "Thanks Beako! I knew that I could count on you!"

'Teleportation failed. I have no idea where I am.'

"And now that that's settled, I think that we need a gameplan in case something happens," you said, ignoring Echidna at this point. She was not going to be with you, so you needed to make sure Subaru knew about the initial plan.

Subaru homed in on your words, not paying much attention to Patrasche anymore.

"First, I'm going to cast Akra on everyone on our side who's physically fighting. At the same time, we need Beatrice to cast El Vita on anybody who's attacking us."

Beatrice didn't seem to like this, because she protested. "I have a precious amount of mana, I suppose. It would be much better to save what Betty can and use Vita instead, in fact."

You and Subaru both shook your heads at the same time. The two of you knew that Kurgan defeated Garfiel when both Garfiel was buffed with Akra and Kurgan had Vita, so everybody had to give everything they had.

"I understand the pain of using up our mana Beako, but we reeeaaally need to use it. You don't want me to die, do you?" he asked playfully.

Beatrice puffed, not willing to argue that point. "I suppose that your life is the most important thing to Betty. Fine. I will cast El Vita if anybody happens to attack us, I suppose."

You gave her a thumbs-up. "Great! And when, I mean if, we are attacked, we need to work together and use our strengths while exploiting their weaknesses."

"I'm sure that we will win!" Subaru exclaimed. "Now stay up here and get some rest, (Y/N). I'll drive and Beako will let us know if anything suspicious is coming."

You took Subaru up on his offer and leaned back into the seat, closing your eyes while making sure not to actually fall asleep. This was a good opportunity to talk to Echidna.

'Echidna, you failed? How much longer will it take until you have enough mana to cast another teleportation spell?'

'If my calculations are correct, it will take me three more hours to regain enough mana to teleport again. However, that will completely drain my mana, leaving me without a way to defend myself and leaving me weakened from mana deficiency. I am currently in a forest, but I believe that I can see the edge of it. When I emerge from it, I will attempt to identify my location. Taking into consideration the time that you have traveled and the route you have taken, I can calculate your rough location. If I am lucky, I am within riding range of you, so I may 'borrow' a dragon carriage and arrive at your location shortly after you are attacked.'

'But if you're not, then I'll just have to use my brain and my body to the max and hope that we can win and not die. This respawn point isn't the best, so we'll have to do our best with what we have.'

'Indeed.'

There was silence as Echidna walked out of whatever forest she was in.

'Ha! The world is kind to me! I have arrived at the best possible location! Unbelievable! I cannot have asked for a more ideal place to fail!'

'Wait, where are you? Is it really close?'

'Range will only be a slight issue. I have arrived at the Karsten household, your destination!'

You tried not to let your joy show on your face as you pretended to try to sleep.

'No way! If you can get in there and convince them to get here as soon as possible, I'm sure that Wilhelm can- oh shoot. That's his wife that's trying to kill us, isn't it?'

'Not anymore~ She is dead.'

'That doesn't help! You know, I don't care. If you can get them to send reinforcements, that would be amazing. And bring yourself while you're at it.'

'That will be no problem. I will see you soon.'

'The sooner, the better.'

Time Skip

An hour later, Echidna broke the silence that had surrounded you for a while now.

'I was successful in approaching the residence and convincing the Candidate to send several soldiers to your location via dragon carriage.'

'You make it sound too easy.'

'That is no fault of mine, for it was very simple. I claimed to be interested in joining The Crusaders and I feared for your safety, as I heard word of a powerful person attacking your dragon carriage. All of this is true, so the Dutchess' Divine Blessing made her believe in my words. Once she had reason to believe that your group's safety was jeopardized, her alliance with your camp gave her no reason to refuse. Now, the Sword Demon and several other soldiers have been dispatched along with me, and we will arrive at the battlefield in approximately two hours. She is fortunate that I had no ill intentions, for fooling her in this forgetful state would be a very easy task.'

'I'm glad that you're on my side... And two hours? Isn't that going to be a little late?'

'Yes, the battle will have begun, but we will arrive within half an hour of its initiation, so you need only to persevere for that length of time. Follow my basic plan, and do not die.'

'It looks like we're on the same page. I don't plan to die.'

'I know. Now, this phrase sickens me, but we have recently been fortunate, so good luck.'

'Thanks. It seems like this world really demands some good luck if you want to do anything other than die.'

And just like that, Echidna went silent again. Well, since she's physically coming, you have to call her Omega.

You noticed that thinking was getting harder to do and your eyes were becoming heavier, and the reassurance of Omega and Wilhelm coming let you relax enough to finally let sleep overtake your body.

The next thing you knew, sleep was being denied because Subaru was shaking your body with one arm, his gaze fixed behind the dragon carriage. "They're here!" he yelled. "Everybody, wake up! We're under attack!"

At this point, the sun was rising, and Elsa and Meili woke up while Garfiel was still under the influence of a good dream.

Elsa, hearing the word 'attack', grew excited. Bolting up, she told you, "(Y/N)! This is perfect! I'm going to go kill now, so goodbye!"

You held back Elsa and her bloodthirst by grabbing her wrist as she tried to jump past you. "Not yet! There are two people back there, and we need to come at them together if we want to have a chance of beating them. You can kill them once we're all on the same page."

The Bowel Hunter reluctantly backed down, visibly disappointed. "I want to feel some blood, so tell me what to do!"

You nodded your head, and Subaru worked on waking up the slumbering Garfiel.

"First off, Beatrice is going to cast a spell that will increase the force of gravity on them!"

"El Vita!" Beatrice chanted, the invisible spell firing toward its targets.

"That spell? The one that she just casted?" Elsa asked impatiently.

"Hold on. Now that she's done that, I'll cast Akra on me, you, and Garfiel. Subaru, Beatrice, and Meili will fall back once we get out of this carriage and provide support when we need it."

"B-but I can't help at all without the beasties!" Meili called out fearfully.

"Don't worry about it," Elsa said to her. "Your big sister will kill them before they can do anything!"

"No, I'm gon'a kill 'em!" yelled Garfiel, who had finally snapped out of his sleep. "Cas' tha' spell so we c'n do sum' damage!"

You closed your eyes and imagined a bright light shining on the three of you, and channeled mana into the thought. "Akra!"

El Akra would have been more powerful, but you didn't have enough mana to be able to cast that spell and sustain it before the fight ended, so Akra would have to do.

Now that this was done, there was only one thing left to do. "Garfiel, you got the big one, right?"

"I sure 's h'll do!" he grabbed his shields and put them on his arms, ready to pummel the life out of his target.

"I'll get the big one too," you told the demi human. "And before you can say no, I don't care. If you want to prove yourself, then do more damage than I do."

This was intentionally worded in a way that would make him even more motivated to give his maximum effort from the very beginning, and it worked. "Challenge 'ccepted! I'll show Cap'n that I'm th' stronges'!"

"What about me~" Elsa begged. She was itching to fight, and the two robed figures weren't even moving. Easy prey.

"You get to fight the other one by yourself. Just make sure that she doesn't land a single hit, okay? Just like Clind said after that fight that we had. Be agressive."

Elsa nodded violently.

"Man, I'm feeling left out..." Subaru commented.

"And Subaru, you and Beatrice can cast some spells like Minya if you see an opening. All help is welcomed and wanted," you added. "Now, let's get them!" you yelled as you found your sheath with the three swords in it. You took one out, ready to fight.

Subaru pulled Patrasche's reins back, making her come to a halt.

Elsa leaped out before the carriage even began to slow down, and Garfiel followed not too long after. You hopped off as it was almost at a stop, and Meili stayed with Subaru and Beatrice until they walked out.

Before Elsa could die again as she charged at the enemies, you sent out a ranged attack that would separate the Witch Cultists.

Using the sword in your hand, you yelled, "Crescent Moon!"

A crescent-shaped attack streaked towards Kurgan and Theresia, and the latter dodged while the former blocked the attack with two Demon Cleavers. This time, he blocked the entire attack, so his cloak did not rip.

Theresia was now successfully separated from him, so Elsa was able to dart to her without being decapitated.

Garfiel was ahead of you, and he only ran faster after the Crescent Moon was blocked. "Ya got sum' big blades, but they ain't mean nothin' ta me!"

Using his Divine Protection of Earth Spirits, Garfiel shifted the ground that was underneath Kurgan, and the large figure lost his balance at the moment that Garfiel propelled himself towards him.

The demi human blocked one Demon Cleaver as it came toward him, and he twisted his body to dodge the other one. The path was now clear for him to land the strongest blow that he could deliver.

He was sent flying backwards as he took a direct hit from below.

"Th' h'll 's that?!" Garfiel screamed in frustration.

Kurgan had ripped his cloak apart in order to free his other arms in order to avoid getting hit by Garfiel. His reaction was slower because of El Vita, but he was still able to bat Garfiel away before he was hit.

"You see, that's why I'm here!" you said to Garfiel. "Let's attack together! And don't get hit!"

Garfiel scoffed as he picked himself off of the ground. "No sh't," he replied. "This 's Eight-Arms Kurgan, an' he 's a War God 'f Vollachia! He w's one 'f th' stronges' people ever!"

Seeing that the War God was now wielding four Demon Cleavers, you unsheathed your second sword.

"I don't care 'f he's powerful! I'll get 'im from th' front, so you get 'im from th' rear!"Garfiel ordered.

Without even seeing if you were ready, Garfiel charged at Kurgan with excitement. Since the both of you were enhanced by Akra, any distance was closed almost immediately.

Garfiel went to the front, where he was forced to switch to defense. At the same time, you swung your two swords at Kurgan's nape, which was exposed.

Three arms, two holding Demon Cleavers, rose to meet you from the back.

Kurgan couldn't adjust his stance, as Garfiel would be given an opening, so he had no choice but to block you without being able to see you.

When your blades came down, you chose not to use a concentrated attack, as you didn't have a good opening. Instead, you charged your swords with mana, and at the moment of impact, you yelled, "Crescent Moon!"

This spell has been used a lot recently, but there was a good reason for it. This attack could only be used with swords, and it didn't exhaust too much mana.

That, and it was powerful when used in close range.

Two Demon Cleavers came into contact with your swords, and two Demon Cleavers were shattered.

Before Kurgan could strike you, you jumped back as soon as your feet had solid footing.

Garfiel was not so lucky, as he was harassed by five arms. Once again, he flew backwards, and this time, one of his shoulders was shattered.

"Ya got lucky 'cause you got the' back," Garfiel grunted. "But ya destroyed two 'f them swords, so we just gotta' keep on attackin'."

He said this too late, as Kurgan had finally taken an offensive stance. Before, he hadn't seen you and Garfiel was worthy opponents, but now that he acknowledged the two of you, he wasn't holding back.

Kurgan charged at you, but his movements looked slow. "I have the front this time, so you get the back!" you told Garfiel.

"No! I've got it!" Garfiel yelled. With his Divine Blessing, he shifted the ground that Kurgan was stepping on, turning him around right before he reached you. "I gotta' prove tha' I'm strong! I ain't weak!"

Seeing a new target didn't faze Kurgan. When Garfiel lunged toward him, he met Garfiel without missing a beat.

Garfiel deflected one hand, dodged another, and parried a third one. You sprang towards him, but that didn't stop three more arms from attacking Garfiel from the sides and the front.

The demi human blocked the two attacks from the side, but a Demon Cleaver was going straight towards his face.

It was stopped by Garfiel's teeth. Blood was dripping from his mouth, but Garfiel didn't care. He was going to win this battle, and pain only got in the way.

He had to win.

Garfiel's body began to glow a faint yellow, and you saw his form began to bulge. He was transforming into a large beast that couldn't think logically.

That is what you thought, anyway.

"Gwarghaah!" Garfiel shouted as he crushed the Demon Cleaver with his teeth. "I'm gonna' kill ya'!"

He was still thinking, even in this form.

How?

He only partially transformed. Garfiel was able to harness the devastating power of his other form while still being able to think, and the result was another Demon Cleaver gone. This time, you weren't able to deal any damage to Kurgan, so Garfiel's teeth were the only thing that did anything during this wave.

Garfiel backed away from Kurgan, not wanting to take any more heavy blows without regrouping.

He transformed back into his usual form, and he gave you a weak smile. "He ain't got bu' one sword lef'. We're gonna win!"

"Of course we are! Now, who's got the front?"

Garfiel smirked. "The back's yours. I c'n take th' fron'! He migh' beat me up, bu' I'll take it on!"

You sheathed your swords and prepared to switch to using nothing but your fists and magic. "Let's go!"

Garfiel charged at Kurgan, who was now using two of his hands to wield the Demon Cleaver, leaving six others to attack and defend.

When Garfiel was approached by a Demon Cleaver and two more arms, he let his instincts take over as he weaved in between all of the lethal blows. When he saw a brief opening, he transformed his arm, which grew and punched Kurgan in the face with enough force to create a large cracking noise from the corpse's jaw.

At the same time, you confronted the three arms that came at you with a new spell. "Chidori!"

This was not the same as the original Chidori, but it followed the same concept. Instead of electricity, you gathered mana in your hands and hit Kurgan's arms with them as forcefully as you could.

Blood sprayed everywhere as Kurgan lost a jaw and two arms at the same time.

The large figure stumbled to the side as he was hit by two devastating attacks simultaneously.

It was now time to go in for the killing blow.

"Kyahahahaha! You rotten meats think that you're so strong, beating up dead meats! How pitiful!"

Seeming to come from nowhere was a petite figure who wore very little clothes.

You had suspicions about who this was, but there were two people who knew exactly what this person was.

Elsa, who was sporting two wounds while fighting Theresia, and Meili, who was shaking by the dragon carriage, both whispered, "Mama."

Hey guys! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

I'm sorry about this, but I probably won't be able to upload another chapter for about three or four weeks, since I will be taking time off of writing because I'm going to be spending time with family during the holidays.

If you want to read some more from me, you can check out the new story that I released, which is called "Re;Living Their Past." I wrote it for the Re:Zero Fanfic Gift Exchange, and it is dedicated to perf ( perfArt on Twitter). It's a short story, so if you haven't checked it out and want some more from me during this little break, then feel free to check it out!

Well, I'll see you next time!