Chapter 5: Believer In Love
As the Astrea men still sat in their seats, each of them shedding a single tear, everyone else was busy talking about what they just saw. One certain nasty-eyed knight was standing near a wall, when he saw the Shield of the Sanctuary approaching him.
"Oi, Cap'n," Garfiel asked. "How d'ya think yer other self went about fuckin' th' Witch?"
"Jesus Christ, this again…?" Subaru hissed under his breath, before he put on a cheery face and talked to the crude blond idiot. "Well, Garf, considering Satella wasn't the Witch yet, she would have been like any average girl. Kinda like Emilia-tan."
"Oh, yeah? And how is that working out?"
"Better than you and Ram."
"THA'S A LOW BLOW, CAP'N!"
Still, no one is Subaru's so-called "harem" was over the fact that Subaru married Satella in the timeline they just watched. Emilia and Crusch felt sexually confused about it, while Rem and Petra wanted to kill.
Meanwhile, Naoko and Kenichi were still over the moon about hearing their son getting hitched. Sure, it wasn't actually their son, but the thought still counted. From what the Warlock version of their son had said, him and Satella clearly had something special. Plus, they had high hopes for their actual son, given how in the last three episodes, he always had some romantic interest.
Seeing this, Subaru couldn't help but wonder what would happen if everyone found out he promised to save Satella.
Moreover, he thought about the realization he had during the last episode. If he truly was the second "Subaru" to arrive in this world, and if Pandora truly had something to do with him being here now, then did that mean that mean that… Pandora was the reason he met everyone here? The same Witch that ruined Emilia's childhood and was, apparently, responsible for what happened to the previous Sword Saint, may have done something that would allow him to exist in this time period. There was no way Satella was the one who summoned him, right?
Right?
I'm only here… because of Pandora. The more Subaru thought about it, the more it made sense. Maybe Satella wasn't the one that summoned him, maybe Pandora did that as well, and Satella gave him Return by Death as a safety measure.
Then why? What does Pandora want with me? Subaru thought, unable to get an answer. He didn't have enough information on the Witch, and apparently his "sources" didn't either outside of her existence. Emilia was the only one with personal experience as far as he knows, but Subaru doubts she wanted to talk about it. Beatrice may know more, but he wasn't holding his breath. As for Roswaal… no, just no.
Maybe, just maybe, he could get an answer through these episodes.
Subaru decided to put those thoughts away for the moment, and enjoy the good company.
Overall, everyone was in a fairly good mood, and had forgotten some of the more questionable things that happened in the previous episodes, such as Satella attacking Subaru in Japan, or the younger Subaru referencing Return by Death.
"Hm?" Tivey hummed, as he noticed the screen changing from the corner of his eye. Reading the options, he gasped, then yelled, "EVERYONE! LOOK! THE NEW OPTIONS!"
Everyone's head immediately whipped to the screen.
And just like that, the good mood evaporated.
What if Subaru survived Rem's attack?
OR
What if Subaru refused to kill himself?
It was at that moment that Subaru knew that his situation was now F.U.B.A.R. aka "Fucked up beyond all repair". There was no fucking way in hell he would be able to explain away either one of these scenarios. Everyone would have to be major idiots, and he couldn't even lie about it because of Crusch and Reinhard. He was sure he'd have to give an explanation at the end of one of these episodes, and everything would be revealed.
In short: He was officially a goner.
"Wh-wha…?"
"Sissy…?"
"Killed himself…?!"
Everyone began whispering to themselves, re-reading the options, thinking that their eyes were either playing tricks with them, or that this was some sort of joke in poor taste, but no, it was right there, in big print, right there for everybody to see.
One option implied that the maid Subaru loved so much murdered him in their reality, while the other one implied that the black-haired knight actually did the unthinkable.
Felix, Petra, Rem, Naoko, and even Emilia, they were all tearing at the thought of either one of them killing Subaru, or, God forbid, Subaru harming himself in some way.
Beatrice was also in that camp, but for a different reason. She knew. She had seen the scars on her contractor's arms, and he saw how he slept at night.
Honestly, killing himself wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
"M-maybe it's out of c-c-conext?" Otto asked, trying to make himself appear calm. "Al-san, could you p-please take a look at the Conditions?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," the usually loud knight said in a quiet tone.
Conditions: The Tumultuous Week, Loop Three
Conditions: The Tumultuous Week, Loop Four
Now Subaru knew he was totally fucked. The first one referenced how the timeline diverged right where Rem and Ram murdered him, and for the other one, it was in his next loop where he jumped off a cliff to prevent the death of the girl who tortured him in the previous loop.
It was at that moment Subaru decided to give up.
He sat back into his chair, and stared at the screen with an empty look in his eyes. He should have realized sooner that his attempts to make sure his secrets stay his own would have backfired on him. He could already imagine the Warden laughing his disembodied ass off.
As everyone else read the Conditions, they recalled the first selection of episodes, how it also said "Tumultuous Week, Loop Four" in one of the Conditions. It was the one they didn't select, but now, it appeared that it had returned, along with a variation.
Emilia looked over at Subaru, who seemed to want to be anywhere but in the Theater. Approaching her knight, she asked, "Subaru…?"
"Hmm."
"Are you okay?"
"Mhm."
"You're lying," Crusch called him out.
"Frankly dear, I don't give a damn anymore," he sighed. If he was going down, he would go down on his own terms. "You guys pick what you want. I can't bring myself to care anymore.."
That did not fill the rest of the Cast with confidence, as they all saw Subaru's eyes gloss over. Julius decided that he would have none of his attitude, and said, "Subaru, explain yourself this instant! Why are these options implying that you have died?"
"Prolly 'cause I have."
Silence, once again. It took them a few seconds to realize that Subaru just nonchalantly admitted to having died before. No one knew what to say, or even what to think, but one question did persist.
How?
How had Subaru died? How did they not know about it? Did something happen before he met them? Could he… resurrect himself? Pandora and his Warlock counterpart displayed such an ability, but…
But… that was a result of their Authorities. Then, everyone recalled the first set of options.
"What if Subaru could speak freely about his Authority?"
They all recalled that option. The one they didn't pick, and it had the condition as one of their current options.
Deciding to test this horrifying theory, Rem stepped forward, and spoke. "Subaru-kun," she said, her voice trembling with fear. "Be honest with us… have you died before?"
"..."
"..."
"Yyyyep," he said, making a popping sound with the 'P'.
Everyone's eyes widened in horror at what he said. Some people, like Naoko, Emilia, and Petra, began crying, while others, like Felix, Otto, and Garfiel, were angry to hear their friend talking about his own mortality so casually. And then, there were those who were completely stone-faced, like Roswaal, Kenichi, Al, and Meili.
"S-S-Subaru-kun…" Rem continued. "D-did… did I ever… k-kill you?!"
"..."
"..."
The black haired knight gave a sigh, "Yes."
And at that, there was an uproar.
"NO FUCKIN' WAY!"
"CRUSCH-SAMA, PLEASE TELL US HE'S LYING!"
"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"
"Hey!"
Everyone immediately quieted down, as Subaru looked at them, with dead eyes.
"Here's the deal: I'll tell you guys everything AFTER we sit through this episode. All you guys have to do is pick something, sit down, shut up, and watch. Can't be too hard, can it? After all… you've all seen me die before, so it's nothing new."
Everyone looked at Subaru in horror. The nihilism radiating off of him was tangible. They were confronting him about something serious, and he was making a joke out of it.
"FINE!" Priscilla snapped, grabbing the remote from Al, and selecting one of the options. "You want us to play your game, Witch lover?! We'll play it!"
Oh, that's my new insulting nickname? "Witch lover"? That may as well be a compliment at this point, Subaru apathetically thought.
"Hey, wait!" Mimi yelled out. "We didn't even choose –"
"Mimi, let it go," Anastasia said, holding back the small demi-human.
The lights dimmed, and everyone prepared themselves for something truly horrifying.
What if Subaru survived Rem's attack?
Conditions: The Tumultuous Week, Loop Three
Subaru Natsuki could not help but wonder what had gone wrong.
His first loop in the mansion had ended abruptly as he died in his sleep to some unnatural and, as of yet, unknown curse. The second time he lived through those five days, Subaru was brutally slain by an unseen assailant wielding only a flail. Said attacker was also probably the person responsible for his previous death.
Upon hearing the narration, everyone's breath hitched.
That was it. That was their confirmation.
Subaru had died before.
Not many noticed the sniffling coming from the blue-haired maid. The narration said that he was slain by a flail. That was HER weapon. She murdered her beloved.
Subaru, meanwhile, watched the episode with little interest.
Having gathered all this information, Subaru had prepared himself to locate the attacker and, difficult as it may be, dispose of them. On a lookout post with view of the mansion and armed with his trusty phone (with a whopping 83% battery left) and a kitchen knife (he really hoped he wouldn't get blood on it; he'd never hear the end of it from Ram), Subaru had prepared himself and awaited the murderer's arrival.
Subaru's stay at the lookout was cut short after he was ambushed by the same flail from his previous loop. There was no doubt about it: The killer had come for him first, and Subaru would stop them no matter the cost or method. If he needed to run back to the maids while screaming his head off, so be it.
Of course, the "fight" (if it could even be called that) between him and the enigmatic flail-wielding psychopath he had come to detest was cut short when the attacker's identity came to light.
Although he had perished in various ways during the past week, Subaru was unsure if he could inflict the same pain to another living being. The best-case scenario he had hoped for was to capture the attacker or wound them in such a way that would make dragging them back to the mansion possible. Much as he might hate the person that snuffed out his life twice, Subaru was still apprehensive about killing another living being.
Now, however, his doubts had disappeared. In their place, a pool of dark emotions had been born: Rage, despair, and disregard.
"Even knowing who it was, it still hurts to watch this," Meili winced.
"Yeah," Petra nodded.
"Rem..?"
As he stared at his would-be killer, Subaru could only look at her in shock.
The maid swung the flail back towards her and readied a second attack. With the cold eyes of a killing machine, she looked at her victim and spoke, "If you know what is good for you, Witch Cultist, drop your weapon and surrender. I will grant you a painless death afterwards."
"Rem? Rem, why ar– "
"Enough, cultist. I will not repeat myself."
"How can she say that?" Frederica asked in horror.
"Probably because I smell like a Witch Cultist."
Everyone turned around to look at Subaru. Seeing Al reaching to pause the remote, the nasty-eyed boy groaned and explained, "The more I die, the more the smell of the Witch increases on me. I could even increase it by attempting to speak about my ability."
"HOW?!" Felix screeched. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS?!"
"Guess you could say that accumulated trauma increased my mental fortitude," Subaru said matter-of-factly. "Plus, I've been busting my ass all day making sure you guys chose the options that wouldn't spill my secret, but now that I've been forced to spill, I guess I'm a little cranky."
The Cast were shocked to hear that Subaru had been… manipulating them in order to not find out what his secret was. Each one of them, from friends to family, was slowly losing their image of Subaru, and slowly but surely… it was being replaced with something else.
A monster.
Rage. Subaru felt rage towards the maid. Had she been planning to hurt him from the start? Did she hate him so? He had been nothing but kind to her!
"It seems you will not surrender. Very well, you will answer my questions one way or another."
Despair. He felt despair tug at his heart. Was he truly fated to die like this? To be killed by the one he thought a friend? No, he would not follow Fate's fickle wishes anymore!
As Rem swung her flail once more, Subaru dodged it and charged at her with his phone in hand. Using the camera, he activated consecutive flashes from the device that left the blue-haired maid stunned.
Once the maid, no, the killer, lowered her guard at the unexpected "attack," Subaru lifted the kitchen knife.
Upon seeing himself attack Rem, Subaru's eyes widened once more.
No…
He was so worked up over the fact that his secret was revealed that he had forgotten about the damn viewing ITSELF. This one was about how he had SURVIVED Rem's attack. A small part of him that actually cared about the damn show figured that he would have run away, not fucking ATTACK her. This was wrong. This was so fucking WRONG.
Disregard. He felt a disregard for her life as he brought the knife down on her chest and sliced downward in a diagonal line. How would he explain what happened here? More importantly, would Rem die from this wound? It didn't matter anymore to the young man as he removed the knife from her body and struck again.
A second slash, aimed at her arm.
A third slash, cutting the front of her knee.
A fourth slash, opening a wound almost perpendicular to the first.
A fifth, which he aimed at her uncovered left eye.
Everyone was shocked to see Subaru actually attack someone, even if it was in self-defense. Otto and Garfiel did their best to hold their lunch in, Felt and Reinhard held their hands to comfort one another, while Petra and Meili began crying on Frederica.
Rem was deeply hurt to see her hero attack her, but she couldn't blame him in the slightest. She tried to kill him. She tried to kill her hero, the man she loved. She deserved to die for that.
Ram's was extremely conflicted beyond comprehension. Most of her wanted to tear Subaru into pieces upon seeing him attack and slice at her sister, but a part of her knew it was in self-defense and that Rem initiated the situation, and thus couldn't bring herself to hate him.
Subaru, however, was absolutely furious. He loved Rem almost as much as he loved Emilia. Even after what she did when they first met, Rem pulled him out of his darkness, gave him the strength to fight back against Sloth and the White Whale. Now, seeing himself attack her… his self-hatred and his hatred towards his counterpart were greater than ever.
It was Emilia who could take her eyes off the screen, that heard… bone cracking? She turned to Subaru, who she saw gripping hand so hard his nails were actually breaking through the skin of his palm. She saw his jaw clenched and his eyes bloodshot as she saw that he was… angry.
Without a sixth slash, Subaru Natsuki took off sprinting as far and as fast as he could. He could never return to this house now, right? No! He needed to. Once this all blew over, once – like the criminals on those TV shows said – the heat died down, he would explain things to someone.
Maybe his dear Emilia-tan would understand, or perhaps that redhead (Was it Rainhast? Reinyard?) would help him somehow. He was a knight, maybe he could investigate this and absolve him of all guilt!
But, as he left behind the manor and ran southward, towards Arlam, he knew. Subaru knew that, in the end, he would never be absolved of the guilt.
He would never be free of the guilt of killing another person, one who once might have been a friend.
PLOP!
"SUBARU-KUN!"
Immediately pausing, Al, along with several others, turned around to see Subaru had collapsed from his seat, his hands were bleeding, and was now on the floor, with Emilia and Rem healing him, all the while repeating the words, "I'm sorry," over and over again.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry –"
"FELIX!" Crusch yelled out. "HELP HIM!"
"Ryight!" the catboy nodded, rushing over to help.
"Why should he?" Priscilla asked. "He's nothing more than a manipulative liar!"
"BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE FULL STORY, YOU PSYCHOPATHIC BITCH!" Felt barked.
"Oh! Is that so, gutter rat?! Well, I think we make him talk so you see him for the fraud he is!"
"Priscilla." The temperature in the room dropped significantly, with the source coming from an upset, yet barely composed half-elf, "Subaru is my knight, and I will see to it that he is treated properly. Whatever secret he is hiding, I know that Subaru has done it for a good reason, and he has said he will tell us after this episode. You have absolutely no say in the matter."
"You dare!?" Priscilla looked ready to kill her rival right then and there, "You dare to speak to mineself in such a way, half-devil?! I ought to smite you and your knight down right now!"
"Priscilla-san." A new voice, one scarier than Emilia's rang out.
It belonged to none other than Naoko Natsuki.
Immediately, everyone in the Theater understood Subaru's comment about how terrifying the matriarch of the Natsuki household could be, dropping her warming smile the moment she became angry. And right now, she was pissed beyond all comparison.
"I lost my son once, and it hurt more than you can imagine, and now I find out that he somehow died before. I know for a fact there is no worse feeling than having your child die before you." Naoko spoke softly, but it was all boiling beneath the surface. "So, listen to me and listen well. I swear on my family name that if you so much as touch a hair on my son's head, I don't care what kind of political figure you are. You could be an empress or a goddess, it means nothing to me. I will find a way to get to your world myself and dedicate the rest of my life to yours a living hell. Do I make myself clear?"
The majority of the audience who wasn't helping Subaru was stunned in silence. The gentle, if a bit air-headed Naoko, suddenly became someone everyone made sure to NEVER make angry, for fear of retaliation, Priscilla included.
The strawberry blonde gulped, and quietly said, "I… understand."
Everyone else gawked at what they heard.
Priscilla – motherfucking – Barielle, arguably the most stubborn person on the planet, who would chop people's heads off for the most minor of offenses, just SUBMITTED to someone else. And that someone else was a fucking HOUSEWIFE and mother from another world.
Truly, Hell hath no fury like a mother's wrath.
It was at that moment Beatrice decided that Naoko Natsuki made for a better mother than Echidna ever did, and it was that moment everyone else came to a reasonable conclusion:
NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, FUCK WITH THE NATSUKI HOUSEHOLD.
As the stand-off between the nasty-eyed woman and the generally nasty woman ended, everyone saw that Subaru's hand was completely healed, and Rem was now comforting the black-haired knight. "Feeling better, Subaru-kun?"
"Yes… thank you, Rem."
Felix, having finished fully healing his fellow knight's hand, returned to his seat, when suddenly, Crusch stood up from hers and walked over to where Subaru was sitting.
"What are you doing?" Subaru asked.
"It looked to me like you needed a few more friends to sit next to you."
"But… both the seats next to me are already taken –"
"That's fine," Crusch smiled. "I can just sit next to Emilia-sama."
"Oh… okay…"
"Thank you," the green-haired woman smiled, as she sat in her new seat, with Emilia sitting to Subaru's right, alongside Crusch, Rem on his left, and Beatrice on his lap.
Cap'n, you lucky bastard! Garfiel internally swore.
Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Al grabbed the remote, and decided to resume with the episode, while thinking to himself, We haven't even gotten to the intro yet…
The mansion's residents were starting to grow restless in their search for the missing maid. Almost two hours had passed since Rem simply vanished and every inhabitant of the manor, minus the Spirits, had torn the massive house apart in search of her, and there was not a single trace to be found of either her or the mysterious yet kindhearted boy who had stayed as a guest for the past couple days.
The three individuals had split up to search the various areas of the mansion simultaneously, and all of them were growing more restless as time progressed and there was no sign of the missing girl they so desperately wanted to find.
Emilia, who was currently searching around the garden, could not be more worried. She might not have been close with Rem, but she would not give up looking for her. The younger maid might not consider herself Emilia's friend, but she hoped they could grow closer over time.
Inside the mansion, Roswaal was opening door after door, checking storage closets and even the attic in search of his missing employee. Since Subaru Natsuki asked to leave the mansion, Roswaal had been checking his Tome and awaiting instructions. All the book had said was to let the boy go. Clearly, something was amiss; the key to his plan was that missing boy, and every second he spent looking for Rem was a second he lost. This was a plan four hundred years in the making; if that damned maid had somehow ruined it now, Roswaal would have to try VERY hard to keep up that smile of his, and even harder to not just disintegrate whoever gave him the news.
"You knew?" Otto asked, his voice growing cold. "You FUCKING knew?"
"No," Roswaal spoke, his drawl gone. "If I did, I would have never gone through with that."
In the area between the mansion and Arlam, Ram sought her missing sister. Ever since that burst of emotion from her Synesthesia, Ram had spent a long time looking for her sister, and something told her that her dear Roswaal would not be very happy if Rem had done something rash. She cursed herself; she knew her sister did things out of passion rather than logic, but it was her own fault that this occurred. She should've been more observant, paid more attention to her twin's behavior. If she had done so, then maybe…
"Si… sister..?"
Ram turned to the voice. It was one she recognized from birth, one she could never forget, and the one she wanted to hear the most right now.
But when she turned to the voice, that relief she felt was completely overshadowed by a whirlpool of feelings she could never hope to describe.
For there stood Rem, more dead than alive, with the glowing blue light of healing Water Magic illuminating her once-blue hair, which was now matted with spots of crimson. The once white-and-black uniform that had become like a second skin to them was torn and dirtied in such a way that it painted the attacker as a psychopath who had made it their life mission to kill all maids they crossed.
In seconds, Ram was by her side and helping the injured girl walk towards the mansion. The two walked in silence for some time; Rem unable to speak from exhaustion and Ram from worry. Finally, the pink-haired maid asked, "What happened, Rem? Where were you? Who did this?"
Rem sighed and spoke in an almost inaudible whisper, "Wit… Witch… Culti…st."
"Oh my fucking god."
Opening Theme: Bursty Greedy Spider
Subaru is seen rising from the floor of the screen, as if time itself was reversing a fall, all while blood seems to be returning from a wound on his chest.
"The blood… it's almost as if time is turning back…"
"So… that's how it works," Roswaal muttered under his breath.
The third image is of three individuals: A red-haired man wearing an eyepatch, a large blue dragon, and a brown-haired woman wearing a bikini and hotpants.
"It's kinda odd to imagine how that lady is actually the closest thing we have to the actual Great Sage is this sexy lady," Mimi said, trying to lighten the mood.
It didn't help one bit.
Tales from the Multiverse
The next scenes are various still images, as the music and lyrics keep playing, starting with Zarestia and Halibel, then a shot of Kenichi and Naoko, followed by Theresia van Asterea in a realm of shadows, Reid Astrea relaxing with Volcanica, Vincent and Cecilus, a younger Emilia who is crying, an attacking Elsa and Meili, Fortuna and a sane Geuse defending Elior Forest, and an image of Shaula, tapping her foot.
Emilia remembered the time Pandora showed up in Elior Forest. A part of her wanted to grit her teeth at the memory, but now, she had more important things to deal with. Specifically, the idea that her knight had died multiple times.
The scenes become a light brown in color, as it's revealed that the camera is zooming out of Subaru's eye, revealing that he's bleeding and wounded, but still smiling with his classic maniacal smile, and ready to keep on fighting.
As everyone saw the final shot of the opening, everyone winced at the new-found context. The wounds were obvious references to the multiple times Subaru no doubt had died, and the determined smile, it was the fact that he kept coming back for more.
Which did being up the question for certain members in the audience:
Why did he not leave?
Episode 4:
Believer in Love
"Welcome! Welcome, disciple of the Witch! How I have expected your arrival!"
Upon hearing that voice, a certain number of people's breaths hitched.
For Emilia, Beatrice, and Roswaal, that was the voice of a lost friend.
For Subaru, Julius, and Otto, it was one of the Witch Cult's, one of Pandora's, puppets.
A dark and humid cave.
"I take it your trip to the Sand Dunes has been a success? It has to have been! To fail in that task would have been truly slothful!"
Groups of robed devotees.
"Onto other matters, our diligent scouting of Flanders has yielded results! Yes! Soon, the Witch Cult will raze, obliterate, crush, destroy, and decimate the city! Such an act of love will call the Witch's attention to us!"
Ten special individuals, all reunited in front of the conglomeration.
"I see you have brought a new ally, Archbishop of Gluttony! How magnificent! Your diligence continues to put me to shame, yes!"
Leading them all, a sickly green man clutching a black book.
At the cave's entrance stood the Pleiades Watchtower's two keepers, Subaru Natsuki and Shaula. Outside of the cave, sitting against one of the stone walls, was Elsa Granhiert, the notorious Bowel Hunter. To top it all off, a mere kilometer or two away from this hideout, lay Margrave Mathers's mansion.
Everyone froze in absolute shock to see Subaru and even Shaula with the Witch Cult.
"Wha' th' fuck?!" Garfiel gaped. "Why is big boobs workin' fer th' Cult? And how th' fuck is Shaula still alive?! Iz she like Granny? Also… WHAT?! WHY IS CAP'N A FUCKIN' CULTIST?!"
Rem felt a hole in her stomach seeing Subaru with the Witch Cult. To see that Subaru joined those monsters hurt her almost as much as finding out she killed him, but that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part is that it was all Rem's fault. Because of her fear and insecurities, she drove Subaru to become the very thing she hated so much, and she was apparently very close to making this episode their reality. She… did this.
Meili, meanwhile, stared at the screen with a pained expression. Elsa…
Meanwhile, Subaru's mind was trying to answer the crude blond's questions. Was Shaula immortal? Probably, given that bastards like Pandora and Regulus still roamed the world looking the same as they did a hundred years ago. Follow-up question, why would Shaula join them?
And that's when it hit Subaru.
She recognizes me.
Shaula recognized him. It made sense. Subaru recalled the previous episode that showed him and Shaula to be very close, and if he met her now, she would likely recognize him as her "Big Bro". Which meant that, if his theory on this being his second coming to this world, Shaula would have instantly recognized him. But why join the Cult with him? Why not try and stop him?
And that's when it hit Subaru a second time. If the previous viewing was accurate, and he used to be the Sage's apprentice, then what if… he completed his training and inherited his Master's position.
If he was in that position, then Shaula's loyalty would go to him by default.
Or… was she lonely?
Pandora's plan went through… and everyone was gone as a result. The other six Witches died, Satella was sealed away, Reid died of old age, and the orignal Subaru died, too, or whatever Pandora did to him. They all ended up leaving Shaula alone for centuries in the Pleiades Watchtower. So, when Shaula sees her supposedly dead friend after four hundred years of isolation, she would be desperate to keep him, going so far as to follow him into the Witch Cult, just to no longer feel alone.
It was at that moment, Subaru decided he would save Shaula, just like Satella. Maybe I could ask Reinhard to come with me to the Watchtower? Hey, wait a minute… Pleiades… that's my name… the Pleiades Watchtower… Subaru's Watchtower –
"SON OF A BITCH!" Subaru yelled, startling the rest of the cast.
"S-Subaru, are you okay…?" Emilia worryingly asked if something was wrong.
"I'm… not sure, Emilia-tan."
"What does that mean?"
"I… may have come to a realization that answers a lot of questions I've been having lately. I'll share it with the class later, until I'm sure about it." Subaru gave as good an answer he could give without going into details. While it was far too coincidental to not be connected, Subaru needed to make sure he was right about this.
"Maaaaaaster," Shaula (tried to) whisper. "Who's the green guy? He creeps me out, yep."
Subaru, and by extension everyone else, went into silence. Shaula had called Subaru "Master", not "Big Bro". Just like how she called the Great Sage "Master" in the previous episode.
Well, there's my proof, Subaru thought. He didn't expect it to be so soon, but he wasn't complaining.
OH. SHIT, Roswaal gulped. He realized that his theory from the previous episode now actually held some water. Multiple Authorities, all-knowing, and having Shaula and Reid of all people recognize and respect him, it all came to one conclusion:
Subaru, somehow and someway, IS the Great Sage.
And he had been trying to manipulate him from the start. If the rest of the Camps, hell, if his own Camp figured out the connection, along with Roswaal's scheme…
Heh-heh, I'm in daaaaanger.
He ignored her and spoke, "Petelgeuse, I'm honestly surprised you came to pick us up. Seeing how it was supposed to be Roy's job to recover me, I take it there's something you want me for."
"Yes! You are quite bright, Archbishop! See, the Margrave hosts a silver-haired, amethyst-eyed half-elf! That girl is fit to undergo the Ordeal!"
Oh, fuck no, Subaru immediately cringed
"I take it this 'Ordeal' isn't a good thing."
"You are correct! It is beyond good, it is excellent! If the girl passes it, she will make for a suitable host for the Witch! If she fails, then she will be discarded!"
Although he had expected Petelgeuse's answer to be disturbing, Subaru found himself barely managing to contain his rage at his fellow Archbishop's words. "You…you would gamble with her… life… just like that? You… you… you…"
"It is why I brought you here today, disciple! I have great need to conduct this Ordeal, and I am aware of your mission to the manor, so I wish to ask for a repayment of my good will: Bring us the girl, and you will wipe away your debt!"
"My debt?"
His final word resounded within the cave, and even the lowliest cultists could tell that the atmosphere had shifted.
"What debt, Petelgeuse? I never asked for your help, did I? No, I called for my brother, and you came to put me in your debt. This kind of thinking makes you as vile and sick as the color of your skin."
"OHHH, SICK BURN!" Al whooped.
Ironically, that is how I killed him, Subaru thought to himself.
One of the Fingers, an elderly man with a short beard, stepped up and attempted to speak, but he was cut off.
"You know, Petelgeuse, I considered you the most approachable of the Sin Archbishops, my brothers excluded. Sirius acts like only you exist in this world, talking to Regulus would drain me of my will to live, and I would much sooner spit at my father before even considering approaching Capella out of my own free will."
He could hear a chuckle from outside the cave.
"At least someone appreciates my humor," Subaru chuckled.
"Who's Sirius and Capella?" Petra asked.
Meili secretly wondered if she should outright explain herself.
"From what other me said, I'd say the Archbishops of Wrath and Lust. Hard to say which is which for now," Subaru harbored a guess.
Did none of them notice that he said, "my brothers"? Priscilla thought to herself.
"But, as it turns out, you're as twisted as the rest of them. You're all a sorry sight, a perfect example of the dangers of blind faith! What do you know of Emilia!? Have you seen the way she acts when others compare her to that Witch!? And you want to kill her because of some crush you have!?"
By now, several of the cultists closest to him had moved away, and Subaru noticed he was practically spitting at them in anger.
"She has a kind heart; can you say the same for that monster you revere!? She's hated for things outside of her control; can you say the same for your 'beloved!?' Answer me, Petelgeuse! The only reason Shaula hasn't shot you yet is because I've no idea how to kill you, but if you won't answer me, then I'll just find a way to do it. Even if it kills me, Petelgeuse!"
Emilia couldn't help but be shocked, and even touched, that even if Subaru was a Cultist in this reality, he still came to her defense.
Even if it's tucked under anger, Subaru still can't get rid of that spark of kindness in his heart. That's just who he is.
"Tsk, tsk. I can see your attachment to the half-elf blinds your sight from reality, young Gluttony! To ignore the call of the Witch is… absolute sloth."
Every cultist between the two, Fingers excluded, began to shift and clear a way. They knew a fight could erupt at any moment, and they would all very well be collateral damage.
Petelgeuse and Subaru stared each other down. One with madness in his eyes and another with endlessly building rage.
For seconds, the entire cave went silent save for the soft breathing coming from the two Archbishops who would, at any moment, rip each other into pieces.
"Huh, I woulda figured tha' th' Archbishops would work together," Garfiel said.
"No, they don't," Al explained. "None of the Sin Archbishops actually care about Satella, Sloth excluded. If what we saw from the last viewing is true, then they do whatever their little books instruct to achieve whatever they desire, unless Pandora tells them otherwise."
As everyone in the Theater mumbled different agreements and understandings, Subaru was once again thankful for Al secretly supporting him in proving Satella's innocence.
Knowing full well that any wrong move would bring forth the wrath of not one but two Archbishops, one of the Fingers stepped in between the two of them. She was a woman Subaru remembered from the cathedral meeting, a redhead with freckles.
"Sirs, please," she said to both of them. "I realize that this is a… difficult situation to deal with, but I strongly suggest that neither jump to violence. No matter who wins, the Cult as a whole loses if we fight. The Witch loses if we fight."
It seemed as if the last part managed to get through to the green man, who finally calmed a bit. Subaru also relented, and the fury in his gaze subsided somewhat. The ginger Finger (heh) noticed this, and continued speaking.
"Lord Archbishop Romanee-Conti, I understand the importance of the Ordeal, but to place ourselves against another Archbishop is too much. The half-elf's time will come, as all is as the Witch desires, but to put ourselves against another of her disciples would only harm all involved."
She turned to Subaru.
"Lord Archbishop Subaru, you will find Lord Archbishop Romanee-Conti much more willing to accept your mission if you swear the girl will not be harmed."
"I swear it on my blood, sweat, tears and all the rest. Happy?"
"Then, I see no reason for us to continue this argument. I propose we part ways here, and let each other complete the tasks set before them."
"I knew that girl," Subaru muttered under his breath.
"Subaru?" Emilia asked.
"Oh, uh, in one of my loops, I fought against that Finger, and lured her into the forest, which was, like, infested with Mabeasts. Shame that I had to try again afterward."
All around him, everyone winced at the idea that Subaru had died before.
Various cultists nodded, and the other nine Fingers looked at Petelguese for confirmation as to how to proceed.
The Archbishop of Sloth stood straight at an uncomfortable angle and with such a rigid posture that, if he had any spine problems, they were fixed instantaneously. "To fight now, to put one another in the ground, would be the very definition of sloth, disciple. Let our paths diverge, and may your diligence continue to impress me!"
With those words, Petelgeuse and his small army of cultists marched past Subaru and exited the cave. Only one remained: the redhead.
"Lord Archbishop Subaru, do not mistake my interference for kindness. My loyalty is to him and him alone, and I know a lost battle when I see one. Farewell, sir, and if your path and mine entwine again, I hope it is in a better situation."
His response came in the form of a nod, and she departed the cave with her comrades.
Shaula, who had been silent the entire time, just blew a raspberry at her. "That's right, yep! Get out!"
"Shaula…"
"Hah, alright master, but you're being reeeeeally unfair right now."
Seeing no point in remaining within a humid and obscure cave devoid of life apart from some moss on the walls, the two made their way outside and found Elsa Granhiert spinning a kukri knife on her fingertip.
Upon seeing her, many people in the audience were tense.
"Big Sis…"
"The Bowel Hunter…"
"Th' bitch 'n black…"
"Wait, who is that?" Naoko asked.
"Elsa Granhiert, aka the Bowel Hunter. She was a serial killer and assassin who liked removing people's internal organs. That is, until Garf here took care of her."
Julius turned to Subaru in surprise. "You never told us that."
"I never told you a lot of things."
"What took so long? Even from out here I could feel the tension between you and Moss Man."
"'Moss Man?'"
"Ah, that's what Mother calls him. See, he's green, like moss, an–"
"Elsa, you cut open my stomach, but you didn't damage my brain."
"Well, you never know. Maybe the lack of blood affected you?"
"Wait, cut open your stomach?!" Kenichi yelped out.
"Multiple times."
Reinhard looked confused at that. "But she only cut you open… once…"
Slowly enough, everyone was starting to see a pattern here.
"Stop being mean, lady," Shaula interrupted. "Master's head works just fine, yep!"
Elsa chuckled, and it brought back memories of the loot house. "Well, I see your friend here is a bit into you, yes? How nice to have someone that likes you. Is she going to leave you like the girl with the cat?"
"Did you come along to be useful or just to laugh at me?"
"Mmm, well, why can't it be both?"
Although, to an outsider, it would seem like Subaru was joking with Elsa, all he felt towards her was spite. Being killed by a person several times is not something one can so easily forget.
He would not be forgiving Elsa anytime soon, even if her actions were no longer part of this world.
And the same went for Rem.
As quickly as that thought came into his head, he felt a surge of emotions much like the one from that fateful evening in the forest. Now, he was finally back. Now, he had a chance to settle things.
"Look, Elsa," he said. "Can we cut the chatter now? The manor's right there, and I'm sure Capella only gets more pissed off the longer you take."
Hearing her… "employer's" name made Elsa shift uncomfortably and stop spinning the blade. "It's like you say, yes. Mother, however, will be even angrier if we fail. I trust you have a plan?"
So, Subaru analyzed. There was someone even Elsa was afraid of…
The black-haired knight turned to look at Meili, his mind already connecting some dots.
"I do, but aren't you the one that's been scouting this place out for days? Shouldn't you be giving a plan?"
"Well, it's a simple plan: Go in and kill everyone."
"Uh-huh… I'm sure Reid could come up with something better."
Only Shaula chuckled.
"Wait a minute, did I fucking meet Reid in this timeline?"
"It certainly sounds like it from that sarcastic remark, Subaru-dono," Wilhelm nodded. "It would make sense that you found both him and Shaula in the Watchtower, and why your opinion of him would be so low, while the rest of us would have held such a legend in high esteem."
"Wait, didn't he die like four centuries ago?" Ricardo asked, puzzled.
"That certainly does complicate things," Crusch responded.
"Elsa, did you consider for a second that there are four people in the mansion?"
"There's more than that, but yes, I did."
"You failed to kill four people at the loot house. How will this be any different?"
Even if her smile remained, the subtle edge of wrath it gained did not go unnoticed.
"May I remind you that the Sword Saint was there, hm?"
"What makes you think he isn't here, hm?"
If the standoff with Petelgeuse had been tense, this was rapidly nearing that same level. Unfortunately, there was no redhead to stop a fight between the two.
Fortunately, there was Shaula.
It seemed like the presence of an unknown individual like the Pleiades Watchtower's previous keeper was enough to make Elsa reconsider her usual "fight or fight more" response.
"Shit, the narration confirmed it," Otto cursed. "Natsuki-san made it to the Pleiades Watchoter."
Of course I did, the black-haired knight groaned. That tower is basically my headquarters. I must've designed the damn thing.
"Alright. Mother wouldn't be unhappy if my hand 'slipped' but… your brother would be, and everyone knows he's looking for any excuse to take names. Mine seems to be near the top of his list, unfortunately."
Puffing his chest out, Subaru proudly proclaimed, "That's right! Little payback for the loot house!"
Shaula copied the gesture as best she could.
"Life hard, titty soft."
"AL."
"Sorry."
"So, is there anything important I should know about the manor? Been a while since I left, heh."
"Mmm, which of the people there do you know?"
"Well, the twin maids, Emilia, and Roswaal. There's two Spirits but I doubt they'd pose a large threat."
"So, you are not acquainted with the two new maids, yes?"
"Two new maids!?"
"Mhm. One of them is a blonde demi-human, and another is a human child with a ribbon on her hair."
Hearing about Petra again made his joy overflow. "Got it. That adds some trouble to the equation but I doubt it's anything you can't handle."
Upon hearing those descriptions, and Subaru's reaction, said maids tensed.
Sitting on Frederica's lap, Petra began to sweat. Subaru wouldn't hurt me… would he?
In the back of her mind, a traitorous voice told her that he also wouldn't hurt Rem.
"Anything I can't handle?"
"Well, yeah. I can't fight, remember? You almost sliced me in half back then, what makes you think I'm any stronger now?"
"Noted. Then, I believe I can ease your fears somewhat: Earlier this morning, a carriage with the pink maid, the Margrave, and the half-elf departed the manor."
"For real!? Then… there's only one thing to take care of!"
Since he did not explain what said thing was, Elsa tilted her head in confusion.
"Oh, there's something I wanna take care of," was his explanation.
"Alright…if that is the case, then what plan do you have, Subaru Natsuki?"
Hearing his name coming from Elsa only served to make him more unsettled. "Okay! My plan is simple!"
"The plan is going to be anything but simple," Ram deadpanned.
The plan, as the Bowel Hunter would find out, was anything but simple.
"Called it."
"Nee-sama, please quiet down, there's a scene change."
As another ordinary day went by in the Mathers manor, Rem wandered the hallways.
Frederica and Petra were cooking in the kitchen, so she had no one to converse with.
Luckily, she was not in the mood to converse.
Less than ten minutes ago, she felt the Witch's scent enter the manor, which only meant one thing: The Cult was here.
How foolish she had been to believe that boy's espionage would be a one-time thing!
Of course, he had set them up for an attack!
Now, she wandered the hallways, flail in hand.
If the Cult came, she'd end them.
Simple.
Was it that simple?
She failed to eliminate one meager Cultist in the forest.
She was wounded.
The scars of that incident were still on her body.
Upon hearing about her scars, the Cast internally cringed. The memory of Subaru stabbing her repeatedly was… vivid. And the visuals showing how she looked now were…
Ram wanted to throw up at the sight of the scar on that version of Rem's face. It was… awful.
How dare he… How dare he. How dare he! How dare he! HOW DARE HE HURT MY REM! Subaru wanted so badly to get into that reality and snap his counterpart's neck. He didn't care how many tries it took, he didn't care about the pain, the death, and the horrors he'd witnessed.
The black-haired boy, knight of Emilia, chosen one of Satella, and somehow the Great Sage, demanded penance from his counterpart.
Now, the scent grew stronger.
And it was here.
In the mansion.
In the hallway.
Behind her!
With her flail, Rem swung behind her and struck something.
She heard the wall break, and realized she'd missed.
But she had been right.
There was someone!
"Ah, Rem, careful where you aim that thing! You could cut someone's arm off, hehe!"
"No. No, no, no. Don't you dare go there you son of a –" Subaru stopped himself mid-sentence, not wanting to insult his mother, "You… bastard."
"I can assure you, you were born in wedlock, son."
"Not helping, Dad."
A man.
A man with an orange overcoat and black cloak.
A man with a cross-guarded dagger in his right hand.
A man with mean eyes and black hair.
"Oh, Rem, seeing the flail come at me in this hallway brings back memories! Not that you'd know what I'm talking about, of course, but still!"
She recalled the flail, and assumed a battle stance.
"Rem! C'mon, I thought we would be friends now, you and I! Don't tell me you've grown to loathe me in the days we've been apart!"
"So, I was right!"
"No, Rem. You could not have been more wrong that day. But, I suppose, heh, I ought to thank you! Your actions brought me to the Cult! Without your intervention, I would never have become the man I am now!"
"He's genuinely enjoyin' this…" Anastasia whispered.
Everyone around her looked at the crazed smile of the other Subaru. It was the same one the Warlock of Envy and Wrath had while he was burning Pandora alive.
This was the sadistic satisfaction of revenge.
"Save your breath, cultist! Your taunts won't work!"
The man gave her a toothy smile.
"'Cultist,' 'cultist,' do you even remember my name, Rem? Because I remember yours! Names are important, see, because, like memories, they define a person."
"Cease! Not a single step further!"
"Alright, so you don't remember my name, then. How hurtful!"
"Remember mine, cultist. I am Rem, former maid of Roswaal L. Mathers and, in his absence, I will hand out your death sentence!"
"Good! Great! Excellent! Such tenacity, such vigor, such… flavor! Your scars have done nothing to your spirit, Rem! Now, it's only fair to thank the host for providing such a magnificent banquet!"
With those words, the cultist imitated Rem's curtsy.
"I, Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, representing Famine, Subaru Natsuki, thank you for this feast!"
"I'm sorry, the WHAT?!"
"Two Gluttonies?!"
"I don't like how he said the word flavor…"
As everyone else was freaking out over the idea of multiple Gluttonies…
Wait, Priscilla thought to herself. Those brothers of his he mentioned… those must be the other Sin Archbishops of Gluttony! Perhaps I shall tell these mongrels later…
"Come now, Rem, I thought we were on a first-name basis! Or, well, you don't have a last name, so…have we always been on a first-name basis?"
While Subaru Natsuki ponders on this crucial question, Rem takes advantage of his distraction to strike again. Taking into account the flail's strength and velocity, it should seriously wound the Archbishop if it hits.
It does not hit.
Once again, Subaru dodges the attack, so the flail only hits and ruins a door to his right. In the second that the flail is being retracted to Rem's hand, he steps on the chain and wags his finger like a scolding parent.
"Seriously, is this how you treat guests? Wait, never mind. You tried to assassinate your last guest because he smelled bad! Man, if this was a hotel, it'd get zero stars from me!"
"Keep your mouth shut, Archbishop!"
"For once, I agree with the maid," the Vollachian Matriarch sneered.
"And for once, I agree with you," Subaru hissed. He ignored Priscilla's death glare.
Ignoring his words, Rem retrieved her flail. As she prepared to strike, a grin appeared on the madman's face. She would have ignored it, but there was a problem with that grin.
He was smiling at something behind her.
Before Rem could turn to see what made the Archbishop smile, she heard a voice call out to her. "Rem! Are you injured! Who is this!?"
Frederica. Petra must be here with her as well.
That assumption was answered when Subaru said, "Petra! Oh, how long's it been! Have you been well!? Are you getting enough sleep!? You know, a proper teen like you needs to be healthy to grow! You don't wanna stay small forever, do you now!?"
"Am I fucking taunting her?" Subaru looked ready to pop a vein. Sweet, innocent little Petra being taunted? No. No, he wouldn't stand for this. He didn't care what his counterpart must've felt with the betrayal, NO ONE taunts his friends and gets away with it.
Well… Except for that time in the Capital… Fucking council o' dicks.
Actually, if I am the Great Sage, then would I be able to replace them? Give power to those that deserve it? Subaru pondered the possibility. If he was the Great Sage, then he should have greater authority than the Council. If not, then maybe he could find Volcanica and talk to him about it, depending on how good of terms he and the Divine Dragon were on.
Terrified by the cultist's words, Petra hid behind Frederica as best as she could.
The demi-human, in turn, only faced Subaru with a look of rage. "That is far enough, intruder! Identify yourself!"
"Oh! You're the other maid! Well, identifying myself is easy, but wouldn't it be rude? C'mon, ladies first."
"My name is Frederica Baumann, head maid of Roswaal L. Mathers."
"Ah, Frederica! A pretty name, I admit. I like your teeth, too! Pointy! Sharp!"
The three maids were silent as he laughed at his own statement.
"Freddie, tell me, have you heard about what Rem here did? Why, she's now supposed to say 'former maid' in a self-introduction? See, I was a guest here. When I chose to leave the manor, and Ros agreed to it, dear Rem hunted me down, called me a cultist, and tried to murder me! I lost my tracksuit because of her!"
"You are a cultist!"
"Well, yeah! Subaru Natsuki of Gluttony, representing Famine! But… I joined the Cult after you attacked me, Rem. Isn't that funny? It was YOU who created a new Archbishop of Sin."
No response.
There was no response from the Rem in the Theater, either.
This truly was her fault. Why? Why did she have to be such an idiot? After what the Cult did to her village, her parents, and her Sister, Rem wanted to make them pay. She wanted to slaughter every last one of them. She wanted them to feel exactly what she felt.
And now, Rem found out she wrongfully directed that anger and inflicted pain on the love of her life. Now, more than ever, did Rem truly want to die for that. She would let Subaru pick whatever punishment he desired, because she deserved it.
She truly wa- "Rem!" the oni was snapped out of her daze and self-loathing thoughts by her hero. He looked… concerned? No. No, that isn't right. He should hate her! He should see her as a monster!
"Rem, I forgive you."
"..."
"..."
"What…?"
Subaru gave a sigh. He knew that look, and he could tell what Rem was thinking, "Rem, I understand how much you hate the Cult. After you told me what they did in your childhood, and you want revenge against them. I get that. Then Emilia-tan, a half-elf, brings me home one day reeking of that Witch Scent, and you suspect me of being a Cultist."
"B-but I –"
"You did what you thought you had to in order to protect the people you care for. You were afraid I would end up killing you all in your sleep, and you thought that you needed to stop it before it happened. I can't blame you for that." Subaru didn't give up on Rem back then, and he sure as hell won't give up on him now.
"B-but, Subaru-kun –"
"Rem, you always put others before yourself, you have done so much for everyone, and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gone back to save Emilia-tan from Sloth and we wouldn't have bested the White Whale. You, Rem, are my greatest strength to keep going."
It was at this point that Rem couldn't hold herself back anymore, and held Subaru as much as she could and cried her heart out to him, while apologizing over and over again.
"Ahem."
Looking up, both Subaru and Rem saw that everyone was staring at them, and that Al had paused the viewing. Blushing, Subaru asked, "Uh, how much did you guys see?"
"I paused it when you were snapping your girlfriend out of whatever trance she was in."
"Oh… uh…" Starting to blush, Subaru tried to figure out how to get out of this. "Al, could you…?"
"Yeah, sure," he said, turning around and clicking the remote.
Meanwhile, a certain half-elf couldn't help but feel jealous hearing what Subaru said to Rem, but she also couldn't help but wonder why she felt that way. Subaru was her knight, but they weren't in a relationship. In fact, Emilia hadn't even given a response to Subaru's affection.
She needed to figure this out.
"Well, taking into account that Ros-chi, Emilia-tan and Ram left a while back, I presume everyone is gathered here now! Oh, yeah, the girl's still in the basement… oh, well, I'll free her when I'm done here."
The only sound that could be heard was Petra crying out of fear.
"Oh, no, no, no… don't cry, Petra! See, the maids here are gonna play a game with me! Yes! Just a game! You don't have to play, Petra. After all, losing the game can be… devastating…"
While Rem continued to guard against his possible counterattacks, Frederica turned and lifted Petra, preparing to leave the fight.
Subaru made a groan. "Ah, you're no fun, Freddie. If you take one step away from me, you'll lose the game!"
"Let Petra go, and I'll play," was her response.
"Alright! Consider it done! Petra, shoo. Only adults are permitted to play this game."
Frederica put Petra down and instructed her to run as far as she could from the hallway. Once she left, the demi-human turned back to him.
Good, Subaru thought to himself. Taunting Petra was one thing, but actually threatening her life is a low blow, even for us.
Elsewhere in the Theater, Reinhard's brain was kicked into high gear. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, representing Famine. Such a title insinuated that there could be multiple Sin Archbishops of Gluttony, and the extra title was a way to separate them. But then the real question was this: How many Gluttonies were there? Was there any actual difference between all of them? And which one was the one that attacked Crusch and Rem?
"What are your game's rules, Archbishop?"
"They're simple, don't worry. In fact, you have quite a chance of winning! All you have to do is hit me!"
Both the maid and the former maid were actually confused at this.
"Yeah! Hit me! You have three chances! If you miss all three… I might just BLOW up the manor!"
His crazed giggles filled the hallway.
"Yep! The whole place will go 'BOOM' and everyone inside, except little Meili in the basement, will be ashes! And, just to show I'm not bluffing…allow me to show you my latest trick: I call it Hell's Snipe!"
With his hands outspread and held over his head, Subaru brought forth the fury of his arsenal's latest addition. For a second, there was nothing. Then, there was blinding light, as the manor's garden was instantly incinerated in a white flash.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Roswaal yelled, surprising many.
Rem and Crusch felt a pit in their stomach as they watched the destruction. It reminded them too much of Greed, as he wiped out their comrades with nothing but a lift of his arm. The only positive was that they now knew that his Authority could technically be bypassed.
Well, that is if your name is Subaru Natsuki.
As Rem's face twisted into pure anger at her home being vaporized like nothing, he chuckled again. "Well, now that you know I'm serious about this, let's begin, shall we? And the three attempts thing, by the way, means three attempts per player; you technically have six tries to hit me, girls."
Frederica's demi-human blood was now truly showing, as her arms had fur and her nails were claws. She took a tentative step toward Subaru, who stepped toward her.
"Frederica… Come on, come closer! I don't bite… often…"
"Is it just me, or do his teeth look sharper?" Rem asked.
"Yes, you're right. They kind of remind me a bit of the actual Sin Archbishop of Gluttony…"
As Crusch responded to the oni maid, Subaru was sinking into his seat. "Please, for the love of God, tell me that I didn't actually sharpened my teeth in this alternate timeline to make myself look more like one of those sick fucks."
"Yeah, I think the right term is "cultural appropriation", bro," Al unhelpfully added.
"Oh, fuck off, Al."
Those words seemed to do the trick, as the maid moved toward him at an incredible speed. In seconds, she slashed him various times.
Not a single one of those strikes hit him.
In return, Subaru dodged a final slash from her claws and sunk his dagger into her stomach. "Tsk, naughty girl. That was more than three tries!"
Now unarmed, he pointed to Rem, as in inviting her to come try as well.
She did.
Mindful of the distance between the two, Rem swung her flail in various patterns, making it impossible for anyone untrained in combat to predict where it would go next. The spiked ball went up, down, left, right, and in every possible direction as it sought out its target.
A target it did not find.
"Okay, how th' fuck did he dodge all that?" Ricardo asked.
"They're dealing with a Sin Archbishop whose powers have made them all practically undefeatable, and this version of Subaru-dono is no exception," Wilhelm said.
"Rem, have you gotten rusty? I remember you were much better with that flail back then… maybe it was because I was poisoned, who knows?"
As she recalled her weapon, Subaru walked over to Frederica, who was recovering from the surprise counterattack.
He knelt by her side, smiled, grabbed the dagger's hilt, and spoke, "Frederica, was it? Gotta say, it sure is… knife to meet you!"
""""BOOOO!"""" the Natsuki family and Al booed at the easy pun.
"GET OFF THE STAGE!"
"I thought it was clever…" Mimi grumbled.
And with that, he pulled out his dagger and kicked her wound.
"Now, as for you, Rem… you lost this game. I should do the sensible thing and burn down this place. Of course, however, I am going to give you another choice to make."
From behind her, Rem heard someone struggle, and two sets of footsteps approached. She stole a glance, and the sight that greeted her was one she had expected, but not desired, to see.
Petra was being forced along at knifepoint by a woman in black who, on her shoulders, carried the now-freed Meili, who saw Rem and waved at her with childish innocence.
"My, Subaru, is this the maid who so savagely attacked you? She doesn't seem so threatening up close…"
"Of course you get to say that, Elsa! You're the damn Bowel Hunter! What cool nickname did I get!?"
Bowel Hunter.
The most infamous assassin in the world.
Paired with one of the Witch Cult's Archbishops of Sin.
"Yeah, that is a pretty bad combination," Mimi gulped.
"Also, you literally have "Sin Archbishop of Gluttony" as a title, nyah!" Felix hissed. "What more do you want?! The Serpent? The Solitary One? Hare? Sea Monster? Take your pick!"
"What was that?" Tivey asked Felix, looking confused.
"Don't know, it just… sounded right?"
Using her wrath toward these cursed monsters, Rem began to lose her sense of self as a reddish horn appeared on her forehead.
She did not get to use her oni mode, however, as Subaru tsk'd at her and spoke, "Now, Rem, I need you to choose: Before I burn down the manor, who should I take with me? Personally, I think bringing Petra along would be nicer, but I'll settle for Frederica as well, though I suppose Elsa would be happier then."
"What kind of twisted joke is this!? I choose to kill you both!"
"Wrong answer, Rem. You have one more chance: Who do I take with me when I leave?"
She answered by swinging her flail at the Bowel Hunter.
"Okay, I know Bro's question was sadistic, but that's still not an answer," Al pointed out.
"Shut your mouth, you bucket of bolts."
"Ahh, Ram. Never change."
"I do not know you."
Heh, about that…
Subaru had already proven capable of dodging attacks, and she was not about to risk another miss. Elsa, however, was slowed down by Petra and Meili, so she should be easier to hit.
Once the flail's ball was underway, a blinding white light struck the space between Rem and Elsa, reducing the former maid's weapon – along with that part of the hallway – into nothing more than atoms.
Now she was unarmed.
"Shaula's a good shot," he commented.
"Holy shit, that was SHAULA?!" Felt yelped.
"Such power…" Meili whispered in awe.
"Why is she listening to him, of all people?!" Priscilla gaped.
Everyone began glaring at her, before Subaru said, "No, no, she has a point."
The attack from this unseen third threat had completely obliterated everything in its path, and there was now a hole that stretched all the way to the end of the manor.
"Since you tried to attack my accomplice, I'll take it as though you want me to keep little Petra, am I correct?"
"You! You monster…"
"Ah, as eloquent as ever!"
He nodded at Elsa who, with Petra still at knifepoint, began making her way toward back toward the main entrance.
"Jesus, he's the type of villain you just love to hate…" Subaru grumbled to himself. Just like Voldemort. Or the Joker. Or Darth Vader. Wait, do people actually love to hate him, or do they just love him? Yeah, bad example. Who else is there? Pong Krell? Yeah, fuck Pong Krell!
Emilia and Crusch looked at each other with concern over the fact that Subaru called himself a villain. And yes, while that was technically accurate, it was still himself.
Now, the two enemies faced off again.
Subaru was the assailant this time around.
"Well, wouldya look at that: I don't see Beako anywhere. 'Protector of the Manor' my ass, she's not even here!"
"Who's not here, I suppose?!"
From a door behind the cultist, a small girl with blond hair and twin drill-like ponytails stepped out of her library.
"Alright," he commented. "Now that you're both here, we can really get the party going! Since Rem and I already know each other sooooo well, I thought it was only fair if I gave Beako here a friend too!"
Now, he turned his deranged gaze at Beatrice.
"During my long and arduous travels, I happened to meet a certain blonde, tsundere, shut-in Spirit! Well… I'm not sure if she acts mean or if she actually hates me… but I don't really mind, since I finally get the chance to introduce her to you all."
"That's… oddly specific," Beatrice spoke.
"Uh, Beako, quick question: Did you actually hate me when we first met, or was it a tsundere act?" Subaru asked his contracted Spirit.
"Betty wasn't sure if you were "that person", and Betty did not want to become attached in case I was wrong, I suppose." Beatrice was suddenly hugged by her contractor.
"But it happened, anyway," Subaru smiled as he hugged his little sister, who merely blushed in response.
Subaru grabbed his head with both hands, and Beatrice took the opportunity to lob a couple of Minya crystals at him: Barely a fraction of her power, yet strong enough to kill any normal person.
In the time it took for the crystals to hit him, Subaru was now next to Rem. With a quick movement, he swept her legs and kicked her into the ground.
"Well," he spoke. "We knew brother Natsuki would be foolish enough to get into this situation, but we did not anticipate he would provoke a Great Spirit, tsu. How troublesome."
"That's a little girl's voice."
"Tha' voice should NOT be coming outta Natsuki-kun."
As Petra and Anastsia spoke to one another, Subaru was busy trying his best to figure out what in the absolute fuck was going on. How was he being possessed by a Spirit? Was it some sort of symbiotic relationship, like with Petelgeuse's Fingers? Some weird magic? What the fuck?
Meanwhile, Al was sweating bullets. Again.
He knew who that voice belonged to, and he did NOT like her.
The cultist's grin was different, and so were his eyes. They did not hold a madness so intense it seemed theatrical, but they held hunger.
"Great Spirit Beatrice…yes, we recognize you, tsu. Some of the manor's visitors have become our meals, so it is only natural we know all there is to know."
"You have no right to speak, Witch Cult minion. Your presence has harmed the manor, and I cannot allow you to harm Betty's library, I suppose."
"Harm the library, yes, tsu. Do you suppose that if the manor burns, the library burns with it?"
"As if I'd let you live long enough to do that!"
"Is it not clear? The fact that you are talking to us shows you are not exactly itching for a fight, tsu."
At this, Beatrice grew furious, and several more Minya crystals shot from her open palm. Subaru dodged them all and used his momentum to break into one of the rooms nearby. He sprinted toward the window and jumped out of it.
The next second, the room was filled with light.
The second after that, it was gone.
Everyone was tense for a moment, but then, Garfiel broke the silence.
"Nothin' happened!" he yelled. "Wha' gives?!"
"I'm sorry, did you WANT your sister and coworkers to be murdered?" Frederica asked her half-brother, looking offended. Next to her, Otto began sweating bullets.
"No, not that!" the dumb blond tried to defend himself. "We… jus' don' know wha' happens next!"
"There's a scene change, if that helps," Naoko said.
"Really? Cool! Thanks, Cap'n's Ma!"
Sis wuz about ta kick ma ass…
This is Subaru's Natsuki's plan.
He knows Rem. He knows of her hatred toward the Cult. Thus, he can exploit it. Simple enough.
When he enters the manor, he will put on an act. To anyone else, he would appear deranged and insane, but he knows it is fake.
Or is it?
His hatred for Rem is burned into his memory. He has not forgotten his experience in the tunnel underneath the tower.
Can he bring himself to kill a person?
Is his anger so strong that he is willing to end someone's life over it?
She was willing to end his.
But there is a small part in the back of his mind that tells him something else.
Rem must live.
So, this is Subaru's inner monologue… Crusch confirmed her suspicions. Looking at the black-haired knight, a small smile crept on her mouth. Even after becoming a literal Witch Cultist, he wasn't willing to kill someone.
Not because he cares for her, or because he has forgiven her.
She must live so he can prove her wrong.
Spite is the greatest motivator.
Rem's death would only make matters worse, would it not?
She would not even realize her mistake.
…I retract my previous thought. Crusch went from feeling somewhat hopeful, to having said hope crushed. Subaru wasn't keeping Rem alive because of mercy or lack of willingness to kill, It was because he wanted to prove her wrong. That she was responsible for the situation, for creating another Sin Archbishop.
He wants to break her… Crusch realized. She saw that much like the Warlock before, this Subaru had given into hatred, and he won't let her die until she realizes the truth.
So this is Subaru's Natsuki's plan.
He will act the role of a crazed intruder, whose only desire is revenge.
With his presence as bait, he will draw all of the manor's guardians to him.
Everyone looked towards Subaru, as the narration was going on.
"What?" he asked suspiciously.
"Why is it that every one of your plans, you play the role of the bait?" Rem asked.
"Uhh… maybe it's because I'm expendable?"
""WHAT?!"" several members of the audience yelled out.
"What? I literally am! I can't die after all, so if something goes wrong, I'll just reset and try again."
"Don't say such things!" Emilia yelled at her knight.
Then, he will use his Mabeast control on Shaula, and order her to fire upon the manor's garden as a display of his power.
Elsa will use the Hell's Snipe's distraction to enter.
Hold up, Mabeast control? Subaru wondered to himself. He looked around and saw that no one else noticed that piece of narration. However, it did get Subaru thinking.
Is Shaula a Mabeast? That would explain how she's lived for so long. So, is the reason she follows me is due to the smell I emit? I need more data to make a solid theory…
She will retrieve Meili and, if possible, capture Petra.
Subaru will continue to act his part until Elsa is safely away.
At some point in time, Beatrice would most likely emerge.
Subaru cannot deal with her, so Louis would take over.
"Okay, so the evil Spirit is called Louis, gotcha."
With Shaula to cover his escape, he will vanish from the estate like he did before.
There will be no casualties.
All in the manor will live, so Subaru can one day prove to them that they were wrong about him.
When that day comes, he'll decide whether to forgive them or not.
A part of him already knows the answer to that.
While the manor's residents recover from the attack, Irlam is visited by a certain black-haired boy, who spins a fake tale and returns Petra to them unharmed.
"THIS IS LOW, EVEN FOR US!" Subaru yelled to his on-screen counterpart.
"Uh, Subaru? The last you destroyed half the world out of revenge," Petra said, worryingly.
"Yeah, but that was a crime of passion, this is just me being a petty bitch."
In one of the roads leading out of Roswaal L. Mathers's land lies an inn.
Naturally, the inn would not have admitted the two scantily-dressed women, the child they brought with them, and the man whose clothes had blood on them, but the four were willing to pay handsomely.
"This is equally horrifying, with or without context," Otto gulped.
"Looks like a standard D&D party, I suppose," Beatrice said.
The green merchant looked at the Great Spirit and stuttered out, "What?"
"A joke from Betty's contractor, Betty will enlighten you later, in fact."
Subaru was still wondering where the hell Elsa stored her weapons and wallet. Given that her outfit left little to the imagination, he decided it was best to not ask, lest he end up sliced in half.
Due to the inn's size, Elsa had to rent two rooms. Since each had two beds, he had absolutely no problem with it. In fact, he was just happy to not be sleeping near the woman that killed him multiple times in the past. Sure, he was going to share a room with Shaula, but how bad could that be?
Very.
Apparently, being stuck in a tower for centuries gave Shaula a lot of energy. This was only made more problematic when she helpfully revealed that she had not slept in a bed for the entire duration of her stay at the tower. Add all that to the fact that she had never been in an inn and the results were… overwhelming.
"Okay, so wha' did we learn from dis piece o' narration?" Anastasia asked her crew.
"That Shaula's basically a child in a woman's body?" Tivey suggested.
"No, more than that," Julius whispered. "This confirmed that she has been living in the Pleiades Watchtower for the last four hundred years, meaning there's a good chance that she's still alive in our timeline. Not only that, but we now have confirmation from multiple different versions of Subaru that made it to the Watchtower."
"... And what does that tell us?" Subaru asked, not sure what Julius was getting at.
"It means that Reinhard was doomed to fail from the start," Crusch hissed. A part of her wanted to yell, to scream at the idea that Shaula refused to let anyone into the Tower who wasn't Subaru or some other eldritch entity, but she didn't. They still didn't have all the information, and they probably wouldn't until after the viewing ended, until after Subaru came clean.
In the two minutes that he had spent in the bathroom, Shaula had managed to turn the entire room upside down, burn a chair, rearrange the beds several times, punch a hole in the wall (luckily, it did not go into the next room), and for some reason throw out the time-keeping crystal in the room, which Subaru could see had landed in some bushes outside.
He was in awe at her efficiency.
Considering that he was very tired, the first thing he did was tuck himself into his bed and try to sleep by ignoring Shaula's supersonic zoomies.
His rest lasted half a minute.
By the time Subaru opened his eyes, there was a hole in the ceiling (from a punch, duh), a carved drawing on the door, and Shaula was holding a kukri knife clearly stolen from the Bowel Hunter.
How did she even…?
Al looked around, and decided to ask, "Okay, I know everyone is still tense from the atmosphere I'm getting here, but I gotta ask… is Shaula dumb? Like, she can't count, and she finds mass property damage entertaining, her taste in jokes suck ass, and her only moral compass is basically Bro in, like, both stories we saw her in. Speaking of which, why does she listen to only you?"
"Well, I've been having suspicions about it since the last episode," Subaru began his explanation, "And I think that she… recognizes me."
Subaru could see that everyone was confused and surprised, but he knew it wasn't the best time to elaborate, "I'll explain what I know so far after this episode, and after I tell you guys about my ability."
Subaru had promised them answers, and they could only hope he would stick to it.
As any sane person would do, and clearly in line with Elsa's bloodthirsty tendencies, Shaula used the knife to disembowel one of her two pillows.
Elsa knocked on the door a couple of minutes later and kindly asked for her knife back.
Being unarmed did nothing to hinder the keeper's uncontrollable urge to… do everything. For a while, it even seemed like she was going to answer the question of "Is this hotel room fireproof?" by setting fire to it.
Subaru would be lucky if the receptionist at the front desk did not kill him in his sleep. Maybe he should swap rooms and sleep next to the wanted assassin; she was probably more relaxed than Shaula and would at least let him get some sleep.
He remembered her… slight… obsession with cutting people open, and decided it would be best to stick to the uncontrollable pillow-killing, wall-punching maniac who proudly proclaimed that beds were the greatest invention in history.
Before she could brutally murder her other pillow, Subaru tossed her one of his and told her to go to sleep, which she did by hopping on his bed, kneeing him in the stomach (by accident), and cuddling up to him as if she did not possess enough strength to crack a train like an egg.
"Whaaaaat's a train?" Roswaal asked.
"Think of a car, but longer," Kenichi said.
"How much looooonger?"
"Imagine a giant metal snake."
"I get the picture," Roswaal quickly said. The idea that Shaula was capable of destroying such a thing like an egg was not a pretty picture, and he had a feeling that it would be easier for his head to be cracked over a train.
Maybe Subaru will be kind enough to tell Shaula not to violently murder him. Hopefully him being Emilia's sponsor will be enough of a deterrent to keep Subaru from having him killed.
When he kindly asked her to use the other bed, she responded by turning it to ash with a miniature Hell's Snipe and complaining that, since there was now only one bed, they would be forced to share.
Trying his best to ignore the fact that Shaula's sleep consisted of turning in her bed every three seconds, Subaru attempted to get some rest and shut his eyes. Once he focused only on his breathing, he found that sleep overtook him rather quickly, considering the spinning keeper next to him.
Once he was asleep, Shaula giggled and clutched him closer.
Her ruse had worked flawlessly.
Oh, great, she has a crush on me, Subaru grimaced. It was just the thing he needed to complete this terrible day.n As the lights came back on, the Japanese teenager stood back up.
"I think it's about time for a break, and the truth," Subaru said, deciding to just go ahead, get the reveal out of the way, and have his life ruined forever. Maybe, since he was doomed anyway, the Warden and Satella would let him go home once everyone turned against him or, hell, send him to the Watchtower out of everyone's reach. There, he can find out the truth of his past and save Shaula and Satella.
But for now, The black-haired knight got out of his seat, turned to the Cast, and prepared himself for what could be his final betrayal.
"Now, let's get this over with."
Author's Note: Alright, I'm gonna be honest with you guys; I went in over my head with this. Alright, it was a given that I am writing twice as much as usual, but for a frame of reference, I started posting "The Otherworldly Sage" when I finished, like, the fifteenth chapter. So, yeah, I'm already out of chapters. This is the official end of Wave One!
I'm gonna be writing the next wave for the next month, and I'll be back on November 3rd! I'm not abandoning this! I'm just preparing for the next wave during all of October. I'll be trying to improve my writing and make the story generally better.
So, this is an official announcement: Both versions of "Re: Tales from the Multiverse" will be back on November 3rd! Hope you can all be patient for the second wave!
The original story is called "Believer In Love" by Prophellwinter. The link is /s/13926315/1/Believer-In-Love, while the ArchiveofOurOwn link is /works/35723677/chapters/89075788. Now, the comments!
Random Guest: Everyone either has three ideas for Subaru and Shaula's relationship, so that Alabama joke was bound to happen. Glad you liked it, though.
Reglulus'-Rights: I actually never played the "Devil May Cry" series, so that was Infinite's joke. And I'm glad that you liked how everyone reacted to the last chapter. (I remembered the quote from the DMC 5 Special Edition trailer, and thought it would fit Subaru and Satella's situation in this timeline. -Infinite.)
Chuck B. Winanaki: You can pretty much blame Pandora for all the bad things happening in their world. Yeah, their world is totally full of seemingly invincible characters, though I'm not too sure how this would affect Subaru's relationship to Beatrice. Also, whose attack are you referring to? Rem's or Satella's? Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! (I think he's referring to this chapter revolving around Subaru surviving Rem's attack. -Infinite.)
Pembaca Sampah: Credit where credit is due, Infinite knows how to write characters in love. And yeah, Satella will definitely show up in one of the stories, I guarantee it. (Aw shucks, I'm just doing what I can. -Infinite.)
5queso: The theory behind Subaru's origin was originally a mix of mine and Infinite's, but it mostly ended up becoming mine. Hope you enjoy the future chapters coming soon!
TheOneWhoSimulatesFantasy: Sorry, but Re:Sealed isn't one of the stories the Cast will be reacting to. While it would be interesting, it doesn't really fit anywhere.
Pryd: I'm glad so many people like my humor. I mean, technically speaking, yes, Subaru is in love with Satella already, since he existed four hundred years ago. (Rem ain't gonna take that well. -Infinite)
12GC12: Yup, everyone will now know about Subaru's looping. (They say the truth will set you free, but in Subaru's case, the truth can have fatal consequences concerning his loved ones. Looking at you Envy! -Infinite)
Scattershot98: To be fair, they aren't all completely aware of all the horrible things Pandora has done, plus the idea that the happy-go-lucky Subaru could be capable of doing something so "bad" is enough to make everyone unsettled. The Cast will soon understand how desirable to women all over the world Subaru truly is. (Don't worry, everyone's hate boner for Satella will soon be replaced with a hate boner for Pandora. -Infinite)
Deathenglegamers1144: Yeah, Subaru has a lot to think about, and a lot to confirm. I'll let Infinite know that he has a loyal reader in you! ( has stopped responding. Cause of issue: That compliment knocked him the f*ck out. -Infinite's AI assistant)
Jpx0999: Imagine how the Cast will react to the theory Subaru has in his mind! (Insert the cast collective mind blowing up here. -Infinite)
leymax2021: I have actually read "Path of the Blessed Stars", and I decided that I would –
guestius maximud: One man's "cursed decision" is another man's "interesting decision". Also, I'm pretty sure you're a sadist if you wanna see Subaru get crushed.
Synicall: Thanks for the praise! I'm not going to be doing a fanfic based on the Greed If, but I am going to be doing a fanfic centered around Echidna, and her relationship to Subaru. And don't worry, while I am going to take a break, I am not going to drop this.
Mo11an_4an: You were correct, it was "Believer in Love"! And don't worry, I'm not going to kick you out. In fact, I love it when people guess which stories are coming up next! (Very good on guessing correctly! -Infinite)
Squishy_The_Lucky_Devil: I hope you liked everyone's reactions to the titles!
Gomy_el_camaleon: Glad you love the story so far! And as for the name, I think the "Zeroverse" is a pretty good placeholder for the time being. ("Zeroverse", eh?... I love it. I definitely have to use that! -Infinite)
Ten: I figured it would be more juicy to watch Subaru just give up and confess to everything rather than watch him fail to keep his secrets. Hope you liked the chapter!
Delicious_PanCakes: I have no idea who that is, so I don't get the joke. Also, considering your profile pic and your username, I guess you're a fan of Persona 5? (I'll explain the joke later. -Infinite)
Don_Tico11: I have no idea what any of those initials mean, maybe you could give me a brief description of each one? Also, what exactly is "Once Upon a Time in Lugnica"?
IsseixAtalanta77: I'm not gonna be doing "Re:Sealed", unfortunately. I have no idea how to show them that Sirius is Fortuna, but it is referenced in this story that Shaula is a Mabeast, and I will be showing that Hector is not sealed away at Elior Forest.
guestius maximud: ("Get crushed"? Dafuq? That sounds very unpleasant. -Infinite)
SenSlice: Well, good news, both reveals shall happen in the next chapter!
Banananaboy: This fic is gonna last for as long as a season of anime, by my count.
And that's a wrap! A special thanks to Infinite the Celestain for helping me in making this story, and for being an all-around great guy! If you want to join my Discord server, the link is /u23PTjYM. You can chat with others, post memes and fan art, and I'll drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! If you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! If you want to read more, check out my other stories! Thanks for reading, and we'll see you all in November!
- Ernalore
Next time:
What if Subaru contracted the Divine Dragon?
OR
What if Subaru was adopted by the Astrea family?
