Chapter 3: Another Way

"Okay…" Subaru whispered to himself as he scanned over the audience members with their hands up. "Okay, I'm gonna give the first question to Beako. Beako, you have the floor."

"What we just saw… was it true, in fact?" the Spirit asked, her voice faltering.

Subaru sighed, and spoke in a sad tone. "Yes, Beako. Unfortunately, it's true: I have an ability that allows me to travel back to a specific time should I die."

The Cast was quiet at the revelation. Sure, they saw the episode, and multiple things Subaru said during the viewing made sense given the context, but to actually hear their friends and loved one confirm it… it was painful. But regardless, they had to continue.

"Okay, next question goes to… Ram."

"How does it work?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," the knight said. "The first thing that needs to happen is for me to die, obviously. If there is any other way to activate my ability that doesn't involve dying, I don't know about it," Only Subaru noticed Roswaal flinched at the mention of his power's activation. "Once that happens, my vision usually goes black, until my eyes open up, and I find myself back to these things that I called "checkpoints". They're the time periods where I come back to. That's why every time I die, I don't end up back at the Capital on my first day here."

"I have a question," Crusch asked. "How have you used it?"

"Oh, uh… I've only used it to save lives. In the Capital, I used it to save everyone in the loot house from Elsa. In the episode we just saw, I used it to save the Roswaal Mansion and Irlam Village. I also used it to help defeat the White Whale and Sloth, and finally, during the whole Sanctuary thing, which I am not at liberty to spill any details about. The point is, I have and would never use it for personal gain or to influence the Royal Selection. Felix?"

"If you say you use your ability to save people, then why did you not save Crusch-sama?" Felix questioned with some level of contempt.

"Felix!" Crusch yelled at Felix from even suggesting such a thing.

"It's alright, Crusch. The thing is... I don't have any control over how far I go back. I can only go back to the latest checkpoint, and once a new one is made, I can't go back to the one before. By the time I learned about Rem and Crusch's condition... My new checkpoint was already made after it happened."

Everyone's stomachs, especially the Natsukis', sank as the implications of what Subaru said was that he killed himself yet again to save Rem. And failed.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Subaru coughed into his hand and moved on.

"Okay, who's next? Uh… Petra?"

"Why didn't you tell us?!" the little girl yelled. "Why didn't you tell us you were suffering?!"

"You child, don't you remember?" the Vollachian Matriarch sneered. "The scenario we saw was what would have happened if he COULD speak about it. Meaning… you can't, can you?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right," Subaru nodded, trying to think on how to phrase his next words. "If I tried to speak about it, an outside force would stop me, and, uh… basically give me a heart attack."

"WHAT?!"

"WHA' TH' FUCK?!"

"HOW?!"

"Everyone please, calm down! It's not as bad as it sounds! It's only enough to render me unable to talk about it." Subaru said, trying to calm everyone down. "Okay, thank you. Emilia?"

"How many times have you tried to reveal… your ability?" Emilia asked in worry.

"Quite a few times… What you saw was my first attempt to reveal my power, I hadn't tried before because the thought honestly never crossed my mind until then. The second time was… during our argument at the Capital."

Emilia flinched when she recalled that argument.

"I tried to tell you about it, but I couldn't fight through the pain, and that was when you left."

The silver-haired half-elf felt her heart sink even further than before. All of Subaru's talk of suffering, it wasn't hyperbole. He was actually suffering worse than everyone in this room ever had combined. No wonder he wasn't in the right mind back at the Capital. Any lesser man would have broken long ago, but Subaru just kept wearing his happy mask, for her sake.

Wait… for… my sake…

Was this her fault?

"During the battle against Sloth and the White Whale was when I stopped trying to reveal the ability. Not because of the pain, but because of what happened to… the person I was talking to." Subaru didn't want to say who exactly he was talking about, in an effort to not further upset said person.

"I was ready to fight through the pain, ready to take it… but it never came. The next thing I knew, she dropped dead right in front of me. Her heart was crushed," Subaru explained the cost of trying to reveal his power. "Even if I manage to fight through the pain, the person I'm talking to will end up dead anyway. Otto?"

"Is… that why you were so against us watching this particular timeline?"

"Partly, yes. I was afraid you would all suffer the same fate, but now I just… I don't know anymore. There was also another part of me that thought that you would all see me as a monster because of my ability. Alright, next question, uh… Julius."

"What Authority is it?"

"... Excuse me?"

"The scenario that was given was what could have happened if you could speak freely about your Authority. Before that, you tried to pass of the Authority of Sloth as the one mentioned in the what-if scenario, before that was revealed to be an act of deception," the purple-haired knight said. "So, my question is… Which Authority is it? Wrath? Lust, perhaps?"

Subaru was completely silent, trying to figure out a way out of this. Lying was out of the question with Crusch and Reinhard here, and If he answered truthfully, that would raise more questions. His connections to Satella would be revealed, and Emilia's campaign would be dead in the water. He was thinking of a way out of this, when –

"Hey, guys, look!" Al said, pointing. "We got ourselves our next choices!"

Saved by the fucking bell! Subaru thought to himself, as he quickly ran back to his seat. "All right, we'll save the rest of the questions for later. Let's see what we have!"

What if Subaru was summoned to Elior Forest?

OR

What if Subaru never called for help in the alleway?

"Sooooo," Roswaal smiled. "We haaaaave two new optiooooons…"

"Wuz this about an alleyway?" Ricardo asked.

"I believe I know this one," Reinhard said. "If I'm not mistaken, this was when Subaru called for help, and I came in to save him from three muggers. Am I correct?"

"I think so, Rein," Subaru nodded. "Let's check the conditions to be sure."

Conditions: Subaru arrives seven years earlier.

Emilia's body never grows within the ice.

Conditions: The Capital City's First Day, Loop Four.

"Loop Four", huh? Definitely the Capital, Subaru nodded to himself.

"Well, Barusu?"

"Yeah, Reinhard was right," Subaru said. "I died three times in the Capital, and on my fourth life, Reinhard saved me in the alleyway, and then, back at the loot house."

Everyone was unsettled by how casually Subaru spoke of death, but given what he probably had been through, it made sense. Still, there were a few questions that needed answering.

"Wait, but if you never called for help, then Reinhard would have never shown up at the loot house," Felt realized. "How the hell do we survive Elsa?!"

"That's probably what this episode is all about," the nasty-eyed boy guessed.

"All righ' then!" Anastasia announced. "All those in favor o' th' forest one!"

Ten votes.

"All in favor o' th' Reinhard-less one?"

Fifteen votes.

"Motion passes! Play it, bucket head!"

"Yeah, yeah," Al grumbled, as he selected the chosen option.

And just like that, the lights dimmed.

What if Subaru never called for help in the alleway?

Conditions: The Capital City's First Day, Loop Four.

Flames curled ferociously as they danced and flickered letting out boisterous cackles. Ravenously, indiscriminately engulfing man and beast, beast and man, homes, shops, entire livelihoods; all just gone in a flash. Soot and ash rained down from the sky like a black blizzard, as if hell had come crashing down. It was a horribly beautiful sight to behold, an entrancing whirl of awe-inspiring colors that gorged on the cityscape below.

"What…?" Crusch stuttered, staring in shock.

"Is this…?" Wilhelm spoke, before gulping in nervousness.

"It's the Capital," Julius understood. "It's the Capital, and it's on fire."

Everyone started to internally panic as they saw that. This was supposed to show how Subaru got around Elsa without Reinhard, not… this.

Unless… this is the aftermath of my actions, Subaru realized.

Panicked screams and cries of anguish permeated the air translating straight into Subaru's mind combining into a dissonant sorrowful cacophony. The howls of savage Mabeasts rang out from the distance.

Abruptly, without warning his world shifted. It was rather disorienting, not helped by the lack of physical form. A tugging on something intangible that was him also accompanied his changing world. It wasn't painful or anything, although it was debatable if pain was on the small list of sensations Subaru still had, just disconcerting. Sharp clipped words pierced his veil of confusion.

"Go no further." A cold harsh voice commanded. Directly in front of him stood Reinhard, but it was all wrong, Reinhard was never angry, and here he stood glaring. No beyond glaring, there wasn't even a word for how much hatred it contained. Subaru had never once witnessed anyone hold that much sheer… emotion, and seeing it on Reinhard of all people disturbed him.

"Reinhard?" Felt questioned, while looking confused.

"Why does he… look so angry?" Petra asked, slightly afraid.

The Sword Saint himself asked that question. Why was he angry? He knew of the concept, but never experienced it firsthand. He didn't even know he was capable of such an emotion.

So, what caused it?

"Reinhard, van, Astreaaaa..." A bemused intimately familiar voice replies smoothly. Familiar in tenor and pitch but the inflection was…

"That voice…"

"It can't be…"

"Subaru…?!"

Despite being garbed in a cultist robe, with a twisted grin smeared across his face, and an engulfing deadness to his nasty eyes there was no doubt. Undoubtedly, there before him was Subaru Natsuki. The body of Meili lay nestled in his arms with something akin to ... fondness?

"Meili-chan…?" Petra whispered in terror.

Meili's eyes widened as she witnessed her death in another universe.

Meanwhile, Rem stared in pure horror. "Is… Subaru-kun… wearing –"

"A Witch Cult outfit?" Ram finished, equally distrubed. "Yes. Yes, he is."

Everyone was shocked to silence at the image of Subaru wearing the outfit of the disgusting Witch Cult, most of all, Subaru himself, when suddenly…

"Music again?" Felt asked, as she heard a familiar beat.

"It seems that the "introduction" has been played again," Crusch analyzed.

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.

"This again?" Petra asked, still uncomfortable with the opening image.

"Yeah, this will appear for the beginning of each and every episode," Subaru said. "In my world, each show had their own different opening, with different music and visuals. It was a way to quickly identify if this was indeed the show you wanted to watch."

"But we already know what we're watching," Julius said.

"Well, it could also be used for people who missed the beginning of the show," the black-haired boy said. "And besides, for a show like this, I guess it acts as a reference to the openings in my world, while also getting some people in the mood to watch."

"I guess we'll play along, nyah…" Felix said, exasperated.

"Cool, you do that."

Tales from the Multiverse

As the title faded, seven different Subarus are seen dancing around like idiots.

The introduction continued, showing a flaming capital in the background, all the while there was a dead Subaru lying on the ground, impaled by an ice spear, with an insane smile. Emilia and Reinhard can be seen looking over the dead body.

"Wait, didn't we just see this?!" Otto asked, nervously sweating.

"Yer right," Garfiel gulped. "Th' Capital's on fire."

"Oh, so it DOES show us possible options we can watch, cool," Subaru gulped.

As everyone in the audience watched the opening once more, some of them analyzed each scene after hearing what the trio was talking about. They knew that the start was referencing Subaru's ability, which meant that each scene could foreshadow something in the future.

As the opening came to a close…

Then, the next scene is of the seven Subarus, all of them charging into battle, each of them showing their individuality, all lead by… the original.

"Hey, wait, wasn't one of the Subarus the one were currently watching?" Al asked.

"You mean the one in the Witch Cult outfit?" Priscilla sneered.

While everyone was still a bit uncomfortable at that revelation, Al nodded along.

As the camera zooms out of the scene, it reveals thousands of scenes, all of them playing at the same time, all of them… possible realities, waiting to be seen.

"Everyone, quick!" Crusch commanded. Try and see if any of those images –"

"Contain a Subaru wearing a Witch Cult outfit?" Reinhard asked. "Five, by my count."

"Shit," Subaru hissed. "So, it's pretty common."

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.

Episode 2:

Another Way

"For as dark as this episode might get, the title is pretty fitting," Subaru grumbled.

"Wait, pause, please," Naoko asked. Al nodded, and the screen froze. "All right, I believe I'm going to regret this, but… what exactly is the Witch Cult? We heard it in the last episode."

Looking around, the Cast winced, but Rem decided to take the initiative. "The Witch Cult is an organization that worships the Witch of Envy, a monster responsible for destroying half the world four hundred years ago. They burn villages, slaughter families, and terrorize the world, all for her sake. They can't be reasoned with, and it's recommended to kill any member on sight."

"To put it in our terms, Mom, they're basically religious zealots with a dash of international terrorism," Subaru explained, hoping to give his parents a clearer understanding.

"They are led by the Sin Archbishops, members of the Cult that possess one of the Authorities, in fact," Beatrice continued. "I believe another reason your son tried to hide his… ability… was to make sure he wasn't mistaken for a Sin Archbishop. Another way of detecting them is their smell, which Betty's Subaru also possesses. However, since he has stated that he is against them, and the fact that he does not possess a Gospel, he is innocent."

"At least this version of him…" Al muttered.

"I… see. Thank you," Naoko sat back down, and Al resumed the viewing.

Much to everyone's discomfort.

"It seems that I don't need to introduce myself. I don't have much to say to you, either." Reinhard intoned, jaw set in a thin line, eyes seething, brimming with hatred.

"So you were capable of hating people after all, Sword Saint!" Subaru proclaimed bemused, as if he had been met with divine enlightenment.

Reinhard averted his gaze downward solemnly. "It surprises me as well. I didn't think these feelings were in me."

That interaction confused most of the audience. Reinhard was capable of hating people? Sure, on paper, it sort of made sense, the Sword Saint was still a human, but to see it actually happen felt… off. Like it wasn't supposed to happen.

After all, it was Reinhard! The man never hated anyone.

But if anyone could get him to do it… Subaru seemed like the perfect candidate.

After all, he had as many tries as he needed.

"So you found a new you. Congratulations. Happy birthday, Reinhard." Subaru gave an awkward mocking bow as if to commemorate the occasion. Had there been any doubt in his mind before that this was indeed Subaru Natsuki, the gesture itself would have eliminated them.

"Unfortunately, today is not the day of my birth. But it will be the day of your death." Reinhard's lapse in understanding would have been amusing in any other circumstance.

Subaru hunched his back and jerked his arms out in a psychotic inhuman fit. "Don't make me laugh, Reinhard! Sword Saint! Sword of the Kingdom! You're a knight who protects the Kingdom of Lugnica!? Did you protect any kingdom at all!? How about telling me that!" Saliva flew from Subaru's mouth as he reviled Reinhard. Light from the inferno flickered in his bloodshot eyes off a thin film of water in a way reminiscent of Petelgeuse or….

Petra held on to both Meili and Fredrica tightly. This was wrong. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew her version of Subaru was right beside them, she would have been physically sick. Subaru was supposed to be a hero! Not this… monster.

Rem wanted to go into that world and tell that version of Subaru not to do this, that he was capable of good. But she knew deep down that her beloved in that world was too far gone, and it would be best for everyone that he was put down. Permanently.

Emilia couldn't help but feel something akin to heartbreak. Seeing someone who has helped her so much and has said multiple times that he loved her was now… this. This… villain who wore the face of someone she considers to be among those closest to her. After learning the truth that her knight, her Subaru, has suffered beyond mortal compression… It just made seeing him a villain all the worse.

As Mimi and Tivey huddled close to Ricardo, and the knights stood by their mistresses, Subaru simply looked at the screen in silent horror. He did this. Even if it wasn't himself personally, a version of him who simply chose a different option did this. In other words…

I'm just as capable of doing the same thing.

"This is my gift to you! A trap I set to kill you!" Subaru tipped his head towards Reinhard gesturing to the destroyed area surrounding them. He sounded so sure, so confident, proud even; as if this were something to be praised for, a record beaten, a point proven. How could anyone ever feel the slightest sense of accomplishment from being the cause of so much death?

"To kill me...?" Reinhard replied slowly, his voice trailing off to a mere whisper, seemingly lost in an abyss of thought.

"Yeah, good luck!" Garfiel chuckled, trying to lighten the room with some humor. "Th' Sword Saint is unkillable! He's gonna whoop yer ass for all th' evil shit ya did!"

"Not now, Garf," Otto whispered. Not out of annoyance, but out of fear.

He was afraid that this version of Subaru truly was capable of killing the Sword Saint.

Everyone else also had the same thought. Some of them brushed it off, like Garfiel, while others were extremely cautious. After all, if Subaru figured out a way to make Reinhard hate someone, the idea that he could kill him, too, was… hopefully, merely a bluff.

But some like Roswaal knew better. Even after learning how awful his power was, Subaru still used it. He could fail and try again as many times as he felt like it, until he found the perfect future. And if that future involved him killing the Sword Saint himself, well…

…he would simply have to try a bit harder than usual.

"How many times! Do you think I've tried to kill you!? How many times, tens and hundreds and thousands of times, do you think I've faced you!?" Subaru screeched manically, veins bulging out from his face as his nostrils flared. Trembling as his chest rose and fell haggardly, fluctuant pants and hysteric giggles escaping him. "I'm killing who you are as a knight. I'm dropping your ostentatious name of Sword Saint to the earth, stomping my feet all over it, spewing spit and mucus on it!" Spite and belligerence riddled his voice as he declared his triumph. Light pooled and swirled unnaturally off his imperious eyes and his mouth curved upward into a deranged crescent.

Reinhard's mouth opened as if he wished to say something then closed it, a contemplative look falling over him, his brows furrowed in furious deliberation. "All of this, only for that." He finally settles on. It was more of a sad statement of understanding than an inquiry, but Subaru misinterpreted or perhaps he just wanted to say regardless. Subaru himself mirrored the sentiment of begrudging acknowledgment. The why was far beyond anything he could hope to imagine or so he assumed.

"Only for that! Yeah, I did, only for that! Only for that I used the lives of everyone there was, dropping you to the earth!"

Subaru bent over to gently set Meili's remains on the ground, briefly taking his sight of Reinhard to steal a mournful glance at her body before focusing back on Reinhard. He sharply pointed his finger at Reinhard as if all the death was on Reinhard's shoulder. Reinhard who can't help but to let out a shudder. Despite his attempts to mask the amount that Subaru's words were grating into him, his discomfort and unease were palpable.

"You're a hero, Reinhard. It's not possible for me to kill you. But I can kill a hero. This is how to kill you, Reinhard." But his reputation could be tarnished, and faith crushed. Reinhard was still a human despite his larger-than-life stature and presence, as vulnerable as anyone else to emotion and scorn.

Oh, a thought rang through the audience. That's how he did it. Subaru didn't kill Reinhard, he killed his reputation.

"Why?" Subaru muttered dejectedly, so feeble that it could have been mistaken for a gust of wind. It was as if all of the tenacity, all the fury, all the pride had been forcefully drained from him leaving a gaping hungry void. Feelings that had been cast aside came bursting back to fill the emptiness.

"Why," He repeated, his voice shaking unsteadily, "Are you so strong?"

Is this what this is about? Subaru realized.

In the beginning, before Rem set him straight, he was still under the mentality that he was strong. After all, this was supposed to be an isekai fantasy, he was the protagonist, of course he would have been strong! Thankfully, he had grown out of that mentality…

But this Subaru didn't.

He was still hanging on to that mentality. The Subaru in the audience could see it, his counterpart had the same insane eyes as he did when he challenged Julius, when he got into a fight with Emilia, when he vowed to kill Petelgeuse.

This version of Subaru was nothing more than a whiny man child. A man child, who was armed with the most dangerous power in the world, and a vendetta against a person who had everything the on-screen Subaru thought he was entitled to.

And this? The fires, the deaths… This was just the result of all that.

Tears started to well in Subaru's eyes falling like dewdrops, tiny slivers of his perverted soul. Tears that spoke of all that he had been through. The barriers had been meticulously constructed around his bleeding heart. Empathy that had been cast away. Thousands of deaths that had slowly yet surgically torn him apart. The insanity that had festered in its absence eating at everything that had made him himself.

"Why are you so strong, that I had to let them die, to match it?" he cried, voice hitching. Perhaps unwittingly Subaru's hand drifts towards where Meili lies.

"You," he hissed in detest, in envy, in indignation, in desolation, in mania, in obsession. "I wish I'd been like you. I wish I'd been honest like you, been strong enough to save everyone like you."

To say Reinhard was shocked was, frankly, an understatement. Subaru… was jealous of him? He honestly didn't think anyone could envy him. He was the monster that tore his family apart, who allowed his own grandmother to be murdered. He was feared by almost everyone he met for his power.

But now, after learning the truth about Subaru's ability and what he had truly gone through to save those he loves, Reinhard couldn't help but understand Subaru's jealousy. Had Subaru had similar power to himself, he would've never had to go through such pain and misery.

A part of Reinhard couldn't help but wish he had taken Subaru with him the day they met. He would've made a fine knight with the right training, on top of already being a brilliant tactician if he was able to find a way to best two of the Great Mabeasts and the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.

However, not even Reinhard could change that now. He could only hope to be there for Subaru and help him should he ever ask.

"I think you're enviable. I think you're contemptible," Subaru wailed, face contorting into a hideous snarl. Despite the anger in his tone, tears still continued to stream down his face endlessly not waning a single bit.

"I wanted to be you, Reinhard." That line alone probably bit harder into Subaru than anything else. Reinhard was someone who Subaru looked up to, Reinhard would have the strength to protect. Reinhard would have the compassion to save. Reinhard was everything he wanted to be. Reinhard was untouchable… or was he? The people he looked up to maybe weren't as perfect as he had once thought. Of course they weren't, and he couldn't help the fact that it was almost disappointing, almost a betrayal in a way.

"I don't understand you."

"And yet, now I do," the redhead said, grimly.

The sentiment was shared with everyone in the Theater. Now that they knew the true origins of Subaru Natsuki, something like this made perfect sense.

And that's what terrified them.

Reinhard narrowed his eyes in incredulity, dismissing Subaru's words as falsehoods. Face set in a hardly concealed scowl, Reinhard approached Subaru unarmed, not that Reinhard would ever need any form of a weapon besides his bare hands to wring the life out of him. Subaru stood frozen as if accepting that this was an end as Reinhard poised for a strike. Slowly, slowly, slowly, closer, closer, closer, unflinching.

"You don't think it too soon to be giving up?" came a feminine playful voice. Her blurred figure came rushing in, dagger held ready to bite into flesh, for the perfect strike on Reinhard.

Crack!

The deafening sound tore through Subaru's mind, temporarily drowning out the din of the flames. Metallic fragments scattered in unpredictable arcs skittering as they ping off the ground. Assassin's feet nimbly rushed to meet the ground in a whirl. Subaru's face morphed into one of astonishment and disbelief. Reinhard had not only blocked the blow, with his hand no less, with enough force to shatter Elsa's blade and suffer no perceivable injuries nor had he moved an inch.

"""ELSA?!""" the audience members who knew her yelled in surprise.

"It's th' bitch n' black!"

"Garf, language!"

"Big sis…" Meili whispered, through the tears in her eyes.

"You truly are outside the norm, aren't you."

Elsa mused to herself clearly pleased.

"Apparently I didn't die. Though in this situation, it feels that I've arrived to visit death again," Elsa replied in a sing-song voice devoid of any of the emotions one in a situation such as hers would be presumed to take on.

"Elsa..." Subaru croaked hesitantly, confused.

Elsa's eyes darted over to Meili's corpse, widening minutely. "Then Meili is dead. Her poor sister," she murmured somewhat lamentfully, dipping her head as if to offer condolences. Turning to face Reinhard Elsa hardened her expression.

"Why was she speaking in the third person?" Al asked.

"Is that really what you're concerned with at this moment?" Priscilla asked.

"It seems you're my sister's enemy as well. Shall we dance?" Thinly veiled eagerness oozed from her sultry voice without even a vestige of melancholy.

"You've already lost your weapon. And do you understand who exactly you are protecting?" Reinhard tried, confused in a vain attempt to dissuade Elsa. Honestly, Subaru himself was equally unable to determine what motivated Elsa. It was obvious who would win in this situation and yet... From Subaru's preconceived notions, to Elsa murder was a job, no more no less. Reserved from personal feeling or input, there was no reason for her to stay and fight. Loyalty was something that he assumed Elsa would not… no, should not be familiar with.

Elsa cocked her head to the side a bit, "Difficult subjects aren't my favorite. I do the things I want to do. This man behind me lets me do what I want to do. That makes him a prized customer," she explained a bit condescendingly, as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Oh, great, I hired her," Subaru groaned between his hands.

"This will be the last chance for it. I had fun. It was wonderful." Her voice carried through the air joyously, somehow truly content in the face of death and without a way to change it?

"Elsa! I..!" Subaru stammered, lacking any sort of composure. Whatever he was intending to say, be it a farewell or platitude will remain unknown as Elsa interrupted him. Subaru wasn't sure if it was intended to be merciful, saving Subaru from stumbling over words while giving her own form of acceptance, or if he was reading too far into it.

"Farewell." Fluidly she launched herself at Reinhard once more. Soaring through the air graceful as a swan with the pinpoint precision of a hawk. Even bathed in blood and without a blade, Elsa still held a predatory elegance, could still probably kill him if she desired.

"But, she must know she can't win. Why does she still fight?"

"Because she has nothing left to live for," Subaru answered, speaking from experience. After all, he knew the feeling.

"Fuck!" Subaru's attention is drawn off of the ongoing one-sided fight and back onto Subaru, who is currently sprinting barely managing to keep his balance, away from Reinhard and Elsa, away from death.

Wails echo around him as buildings come crashing down causing embers to violently explode into the air. The sky lay ablaze illuminated by hundreds of thousands of flashing lights, vibrant hues ranging from golds to crimson. Contrasting against the thick stark black layer that coated the ground and sullied the air, blurring the world into a hazy silhouette.

Subaru seemed to wander aimlessly, lost amid the blaze he himself had caused. A small stream of his footprints marked by indentations upon the ash winded behind him. The smoke must have finally begun to take a hold of him as his breathing grew more and more labored and his jog slowed to a walk. A contemplative look fell over his face as if reminiscing while preparing to greet death.

The smoke around Subaru seemed to darken almost if a freakishly familiar black pelted white-maned form streaked out of the stagnant gloom of smoke bounding towards Subaru.

"Y-you're…" Subaru's voice wavered, steeped with fatigue. His whole body looked about ready to give out as he wobbled precariously, stumbling.

"Ssss…" A guttural grief-stricken howl erupts from the bulky Mabeast, which delicately, with haste, scooped up Subaru before he can fall. The lionlike Mabeast jerked its fearsome maw up flinging Subaru onto its matted fur. Subaru grabbed onto the Mabeast digging his blistered fingers into its muscular sides as it carried him through the smoldering carcass of the capital.

"You're... but Meili's… already dead…." Subaru stuttered at a loss for words as if unable to comprehend why the Mabeast was trying to save him.

"Please, find her. She has... to be somewhere..." He pleaded with the Mabeast, barely lucid. It sounded more as if he was trying to convince himself of the fact.

"He still… cares?"

"What do you mean, nya?"

"This version of me still cares about Meili," Subaru explained to Felix, gaining the audience's attention. "Even after seeing her dead, this Subaru is in denial. He WANTS her to be alive, and his broken mind thinks that maybe her Mabeast has a better chance at that than he does."

The Mabeast's steady footfalls pounded off the ground rhythmically while Subaru fell in and out of consciousness lulled by the faithful strides of the mabeast.

"That's enough." A familiar voice rang out resolutely, like silver bells chiming in the breeze, causing Subaru to stir.

No, Emilia thought to herself. Please, no. Not like this.

The half-elf was silently praying whatever god was listening to her, that she would not have to see her kill him. That she would not be responsible for ending her knight's life.

Deadly skewers of ice struck the still moving Mabeast with unquestionable accuracy, embedding themselves firmly into its side. A guttural, ear-piercing shriek erupted from the Mabeast as it tilted and swayed, tripping over its own feet and harshly flinging Subaru into the hardened ground.

Subaru let out a small, pitiful, whine, grimacing at his harsh awakening. Precious, fleeting seconds passed as his eyes refocused. Perhaps, even if just for a moment, Subaru looked vulnerable, almost innocent. As if the atrocities he had committed had been forgotten and spite that he had held so close dimmed. He just looked… sad and lost.

"Ghau... what, was..." Subaru groaned, confusion flickering across his ashen features, concealing the brief lapse of his facade. His left arm protruded at an odd angle that undoubtedly had to be painful, but he gave no indication that he noticed, instead observing what had become of the fearsome Mabeast.

Impaled with several jagged pikes of ice, and limping, the mabeast struggled to rise to its feet. Even as ichor gushed down its side, a once pristine coat speckled with a forest of crimson, and splintered bones peeked out revealing toned muscle barely clinging onto what could hardly be called flesh. The shredded tapestry of fur, skin, and ice was more a liquid that bubbled and twitched erratically, every wild beat of its heart reflected upon the desecrated surface. While its legs trembled in exertion, it still steadied itself. Subaru could only watch in sheer disbelief as the Mabeast wrangled its own mangled flesh into an aggressive posture; rearing up to charge at the obscured figure of Emilia. Bloody and battered, kicking and struggling all the way down, out of pride, loyalty, or a mixture of both.

The fearsome beast seemed intent to fight to its last.

With a roar that could rival one of the great Mabeasts, and in its damaged glory, it charged, unsightly paw raised, ready for a singular strike with power and fortitude that could level buildings easier than a knife to butter.

Suddenly the Mabeast came to a shuddering halt. Flecks of blood and other assorted viscera splattered, bathing the area in a scarlet. A singular spear of ice had stopped the beast in its tracks, entering through its massive, broad maw and once again piercing it through the chest. A gossamer sheath of white crept through the Mabeast from where it had been struck, letting out little crackles and whistles. A horrid sound that could be described as not quite a gurgle or hiss screeched out as the hungry frost met gaping open wounds, sizzling upon contact. Agony and fear filled the poor beasts' eyes, as the ice crept inwards slowly to its core.

Even though Subaru very much disliked Mabeasts, especially the Big Three, he couldn't help but feel pity for them. He was rather fond of animals back in his own world, and he developed a bond with Patrasche, so to see one brutally murdered while in a 3rd person perspective was more unsettling.

Subaru couldn't help but to pity it. Frozen in place, its own body now a prison, eye to eye with death itself. Cornered like him. How ironic, it's funny almost, finding comradery among beasts. Even if the whole process only took seconds, it felt as if it were hours as the process came to a rapid end, another layer of ice beginning to bloom over. Hate it as he might, it was beautiful, the way that the fire shone through the glistening ice like a prism, dancing upon its surface. And in its own right, it was something to marvel at.

A singular crack formed. Entering the world with an ear-piercing squeal. The sculpture, unable to support itself, collapsed under its own weight. Fractures spider-webbing out, spreading across the now frozen mabeast, chunks of ice falling as solid debris onto the ground accompanied with little plinks and thunks.

The area was once again plunged into a cold silence give or take the occasional snap of flames.

Subaru slowly rose to his feet, staggering like a wounded animal. His left arm dangling limply, unresponsive to his will.

With the Mabeast neutralized and crisis averted Emilia addressed [Subaru] once more. "That's enough, villain." Silver bells rang out once more, laced with determination and resentment. Furious amethyst orbs were met with an overjoyed sanpaku gaze oozing with adoration love, desire, obsession, devotion. Contentment spilled across Subaru's face alight with joy.

Subaru partially calmed his expression, though his eyes still shined like beacons. "Emilia." Breaking the awkward quiet, the word slipped out of his mouth with a reverent whisper, as if the name itself was holy. His eyes wildly darted around Emilia's lithe and angelic form, drinking every little detail. But did it go any deeper than surface level? The way Subaru looked upon her so adoringly, as if she was a goal, a prize for winning the game, a vessel for the Witch.

"You don't get to call her that, monster," the real Subaru growled. Oh, how he wanted to rip his counterpart's throat out so he'd choke on his own blood, or maybe use Invisible Providence to squeeze and crush his heart in a form of irony.

Using his Divine Protection of Emotion Detection, Reinhard was able to see that Subaru clearly had a great amount of malice towards his counterpart. He briefly chalked it up to seeing himself as the villain, but something told him this felt more… personal.

Something about his last thought felt off. But the other option that came to mind was utterly incompatible, the mere idea that there was no ulterior motive. Something was missing, crucial unsaid context, a single piece of the puzzle. Something that would make this all make sense, so wrong it becomes right? It was at the tip of his fingers but his thoughts were too chaotic, it hurt. So before the idea could truly manifest itself Subaru clamped down upon his mind. 'There's no use speculating the intent of monsters.' It didn't really bring any respite.

"You know me?" Dumbfounded, Emilia raised her eyebrow, off-put by [Subaru]'s reaction. Her facial features screwed in befuddlement out of surprise of being called by name or maybe an effort to recall him. Subaru just opted to heartily laugh in response, frame shuddering in jubilation.

"Is something funny?" Emilia sounded almost as confused as he was.

Giggles occasionally stumbled into Subaru's jittery apologetic tone adding unneeded levity. "No, I'm sorry. Just, how to say, I'm happy. It's that thing, where you're, well. You haven't changed a bit, so it feels like I've been rewarded."

"You know, now with the context of why you say such random things…"

"Yeah, I agree. It's disturbing," Subaru nodded with his half-elf liege.

"What do you mean? When did you and I ever...?" Emilia desperately grappled for words as her voice wavered.

"You're..." Dreadful silence filled the area as whatever Emilia was going to say was lost. Regardless, it probably wasn't in the nature of what Subaru had wanted to hear.

"Lia, it's no good. Don't take anything he says seriously." A catlike presence called from its newly manifested perch on Emilia's shoulder. Subaru shifted on his feet, tensing ever so slightly before forcing his form to lax.

"Puck, huh." Subaru let out with a huff, popping the P, as he shot Puck a lazed grin.

He could have sworn Puck's mouth inclined ever so slightly, but it was likely just a distortion caused by the surrounding heat.

"How nice of you to call my name so casually. With how flamboyant your crimes are, how are you thinking of paying compensation enough to settle them?"

Spoken in his own mockery of communication with a hint of snark he replied, "I'll be paying compensation. Exactly what you want." Emphasizing the "you" he gauchely gestured to himself with his good arm, the other dangling uselessly, limp, as if he was an offering, a sacrifice.

"There's no way for me to escape anyway," he added, awkwardly, as if an afterthought to furth assuage or appease Puck. His dark eyes kept flittering up to Puck's blank expression, squinting ever so slightly, trying to read any tells for Puck's reaction.

Without much bite, Puck replied in jest to the madman's delusions. "That's rather sporting of you. Suspicious." Subaru's lips curled upward, seemingly satisfied with Puck's placation. Though they had barely spoken, Puck and Subaru had reached a silent but mutual understanding. As long as Subaru held no ill will towards Emilia, Puck wouldn't act.

As much as Subaru hated to agree with the rat, Puck was right. There was no strategic value in him staying. Why wasn't this version of him not trying to escape. He was so desperate to get away from the fight between Reinhard and Elsa, how was this different?

Why does he even want to be there in the first place –

That's when it hit Subaru.

He WANTED to be there.

This was the maniac's plan from the beginning. He wanted to meet up with Emilia-tan, to get to her, and Reinhard was merely an obstacle in his way. But why? Did he want to talk? There were a million better ways to go about it than to set the Capital alight. It made no sense.

If he even touches a hair on Emilia-tan… I swear I'll find a way to kill him.

Puck, who he had a lot of thoughts on, very few being anything that could be considered positive. This was just beyond unforgivable, worsening his already highly negative opinion on Emilia's enigmatic companion.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Subaru unclasped and discarded his Cultist robe, letting it drift lazily to the ground revealing what had previously been hidden away. The track suit, his track suit from when he had first come to this world. It was a little worse for the wear, blood staining it from when Subaru had impacted the ground, tiny rips and tears ribboning through its wrinkled surface, but besides those few blemishes it appeared in almost pristine condition. As unsettling as it was to see himself flaunting the attire of a Witch Cultist, this was worse. So very much worse.

With shaking hands he reached down, fingers brushing against the zipper gently. Subaru gave it a nostalgic look before closing his eyes and clumsily, with a single jerking motion, he tugged. And that was how he stood for a moment, basking in indulgences and self gratification, a warped, mangled semblance of that day.

Emilia just stared at him, repulsed but more confused by his nonsensical actions. Unsure of what to do in this situation. Unsure of what she could even do. Subaru took her muteness as an indicator to keep going. Regurgitating words that meant absolutely nothing in a half-baked attempt to explain the whirlpool of ideas and distorted colors that he called reason. "Everything I'm about to tell you is a crazy person rambling. Please don't remember it."

"Huh?"

Subaru inhaled deeply, once, twice, bracing himself before he spoke cursed words once more. "I'm the one who set the Capital on fire. And it's not just the Capital, this fire's meant to burn down the whole country. No one could safeguard against it. That's the nation, and knights who protect this nation, mishandling the situation."

"Reinhard's prestige as Sword Saint's fallen to earth. Since we don't know what started the covenant which meant to be protecting the Dragon's Kingdom of Lugnica, the Dragon's a no-rescue, either. That's something I tested heaps of times so it's definitely right. In the end, Reinhard and the Dragon are equal."

Everyone was horrified by what Subaru had just said. He hadn't only set fire to the Capital. He had lit the entire nation ablaze for his mad scheme. And all because he didn't call for help?

What's worse, they now knew that if a situation like this were to ever happen now, the Divine Dragon wouldn't come to save them. Not until a new King was selected, and the covenant was reforged, if it would ever be reforged.

Naoko held her husband tightly as she shed a tear. She wanted to deny it, to say that her son wouldn't be capable of such a thing, but there he was, wearing his iconic tracksuit, all while admitting he was the one who burned down an entire country.

Subaru himself felt sick to his stomach. He saw how his on-screen counterpart reveled at the idea of wearing the same clothes he wore the day he met Emilia. The way he was talking, the way he was acting, the way he planed all of this, it made Subaru come to one conclusion:

The other me isn't planning on getting out of there alive.

Emilia sounded hysterical, her visage disheveled, eyes harrowed, widened, like a doe caught in a headlight. Grasping at straws while trying in vain to wrap her mind around what could have possibly motivated this. "Burning the country? You're burning the country? To try and destroy this nation?"

Subaru gave her a pitying shake of the head, unaware of the turmoil that Subaru felt. "No, wrong. I'm doing this to make you the Ruler. It's the only single way how." Emilia stiffened, frozen upon hearing his incomprehensible babble, unable to even start to process his declaration. How could she, though, how could anyone? In the deepest part of his heart, he had to have known. The way he had looked at her was far too fond. He had known, he knew, he did, but to hear it outright said, to be proven definitively right, he hadn't wanted it. To see that no matter how wrong he went that that goal would stay, that the goal itself wasn't noble in its own nature. That no matter what, his adoration, no it really was an obsession wasn't it, for Emilia was a constant even if it manifested in the worst ways possible.

"Flames of demise driving the nation to its destruction – the one to slay the culprit behind it won't be Reinhard, won't be the Dragon, it'll be you. None of the Selection Candidates left can achieve anything to top this. The hero who broke through four centuries of standstill and saved the world is you!" The drivel being spewed at this point was barely even intelligible.

As everyone heard the ramblings of this Subaru, they couldn't help but be horrified that all this was done to make Emilia, someone who was discriminated against for resembling the Witch, the ruler of Lugunica.

One would think such an act would be done out of hate, and perhaps part of it was, but it was mostly done out of a twisted sense of love. As it would seem, love and hate are more closely intertwined than one might imagine.

The Royal Candidates began to realize just how much Subaru, despite being practically powerless in combat, was able to leave such an impact on the Royal Selection and the country in general. If he went through all this trouble just to make their rival queen by eliminating all competition…

"That isn't... What on earth are you saying!? Stop it, I don't understand! I don't understand anything you're saying!" Puck did nothing but hover aimlessly, useless as Emilia made panicked, inefficient attempts to block the world out. Fraught with guilt her hands rushed to cover her ears. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut attempting to conceal any weakness from Subaru. Against her will tiny tears formed, running down her sunken pale cheeks and falling like miniature raindrops.

Subaru recoiled. Harshly. Shock overtook his face, seemingly taken aback at the sight of Emilia's emotional distress. Completely crushing his air bravado, his mouth moved up and down but no words were expelled. Something that could be called guilt flashed in his eyes only to be smothered and violently purged.

Once again finding his voice he continued, not meeting her gaze. "You don't have to understand. It's fine that you don't understand. Everything that comes next will be settled when others boost you up of their own accord. Then you just have to grant your wish. That is the only reason I set the country on fire. All of it was for you." The words flowed from Subaru's mouth, instantaneously, like a gushing torrent that had been suppressed for ages.

NO, Subaru's mind went into a panicked frenzy. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO –

"SUBARU! SUBARU, BREATH! SUBARU, PLEASE STOP!"

"Huh?" the black-haired boy uttered, snapping out of his spiral.

"You were scratching again, in fact." Hearing this, Subaru immediately noticed what he was doing and forced his body to stop.

While almost everyone heard Beatrice yelling, only those closest to Subaru and Beatrice heard what was said. Nevertheless, they decided it would be best to continue watching.

Emilia and Rem however, were looking at Subaru with deep concern, especially when Beatrice said "again", implying this wasn't the first time this had happened.

Almost apologetic, but enthused rambling, akin to that of a preacher to an agnostic, only Subaru understanding what he was explaining, even so, it was messy, hasty. Uncomposed words slopilly slurred into one another. His overeagerness to get everything out scrambling the message. Perhaps in another, kinder world it could have been the excited but innocent explanation of radio calisthenics, or a lecture on the delights of mayonnaise.

And yet there was only one thing Subaru could focus on, drowning out in the cesspool that was his mind. Washing over his other thoughts, dominating – demanding his attention. Violently squeezing out his rage. Subaru wanted nothing more than to gag at the other's words, dismiss them as gibberish, as lies.

Shrieks "Liar, liar, liar! I mean, I... you, how come, you..."

"Watch me, Emilia. See me, detest me, remember me." A young Subaru Natsuki slumped against a wall, knees drawn into himself, nasty eyes downcast and presence unnoticed.

Emilia shook, trembling, holding firm with legs that traitorously swayed uneasily. Subaru advanced upon her singular arm held wide awaiting embrace, eyes closed as if to parody some romantic gesture where Emilia would bestow upon him a kiss.

"Who are you? Who in the world are you...?"

"My name is Subaru Natsuki."

"No, you're not," the real Subaru hissed, his eyes glaring daggers. "You are nothing but an imposter. My parents never raised a monster like you, and they never will."

Kenichi and Naoko didn't say anything to what they heard, despite wanting to say something about their own son disowning himself. On the one hand, they were grateful that their version turned out all right, but on the other hand, all of this destruction was still horrifying to them.

So, they decided to stay silent, as the scene kept playing.

Things he kept reaching for always slipping right through his clammy, shaking, fingers like sand into oblivions he could not comprehend.

"Su, baru..." His name trailed on the wind softly, almost tenderly, utterly unfitting and undeserving of the situation. But it had a profound effect on Subaru, invigorating him, bliss flooding into his ochre eyes luminously gleaming, filled with pure ecstasy. Subaru practically melted at the sound, posture perked up in delight unable to contain his overexcited erratic movements.

The perversion of emotion that had graced his face vanished quickly as he started his introduction. "Witch Cult's Cardinal of Sin, the Sin Archbishop of PRIDE," Subaru paused, almost certainly for dramatic effect but it allowed wretched memories to seep in.

At that declaration, everyone's hearts shattered.

The majority of the people in the audience knew about what happened during the end of the Demi-Human War. Especially one Wilhelm van Astrea. He was there, after all.

Stride Vollachia was the Sin Archbishop of Pride. A complete monster who summoned a dragon to try and destroy the Kingdom. Someone who was responsible for the death of family and friends alike, and was only stopped by Wilhelm and his comrades.

And now, the boy he considered his grandson wore that title with sickening glee.

Meanwhile, Subaru remembered the words Petelgeuese spoke to him. There was no Pride, and now, this version of him filled that seat. Despite the fact that he didn't have the Authority of Pride, the Cult treated him like an Archbishop, and now he knew why. And now he also knew what would have happened if he joined those sick bastards.

Emilia wasn't any better. Subaru told him about the Sin Archbishop he was forced to kill to save everyone. She remembered how Pandora manipulated the lovable Geuse into a horrifying monster. She was glad that he was finally put to rest. But now… her heart ached, as she knew she was about to witness herself killing the boy who proclaimed his love to her.

Rem was horrified. Both she and Crusch recalled the destructive capabilities of both Greed and Gluttony. And to imagine someone kind-hearted like Subaru joining forces with those monsters, and with his sort of power, to boot… it tore their hearts apart.

Meanwhile, a certain helmeted knight was sweating bullets.

"Cardinal...!" Emilia cried out, fear and bewilderment threading their way into her silken voice.

Subaru finished with bombastic fervor, shrieking out. "Natsuki Subaru!" With more strength, more speed, more energy, more power than Subaru thought anywhere near possible for someone with his composition, he ran. Straight for Emilia, focusing everything he had on her and only her.

"I'm the man who burned the world, rocked the country, killed the hero, and —"

A sharp intake of air escaped him as something stabbed through his chest.

SHUNK!

He gurgled, straining, mouth rasping out strained croaks.

"— the one you will kill…" Subaru finished as he collapsed to his knees. A labored sigh of content slipped from Subaru's lips accompanied by the intertwining telltale strands of red velvet and saliva forcing their way out of his mouth as he tumbled anticlimactically. Subaru closed his eyes, accepting the death which had long been knocking on his door slighted time and time again.

Everyone was shocked into silence by what they heard.

This was Subaru's plan all along? To get Emilia to kill him?

But to Subaru, it made complete sense. He was an expert on himself, and he could understand the depths of his counterpart's insanity. He still wanted to help Emilia, just like how he did, ever since the two of them were saved in that alleway. It was just that the two of them went about it in different ways. One of them decided to play the hero, and the other decided to play the villain.

And his plan was… cunning. Shockingly so.

If Subaru was in his counterpart's position, of course he would burn down all of Lugninca. Everyone would be afraid of him. But then comes Emilia, the silver-haired half-elf everyone was naturally afraid of, who slew the big bad monster, guaranteeing her the throne. Subaru wouldn't be surprised if his counterpart bumped off the other Royal Candidates while he was at it, make sure no one else could secure the throne.

He did all of that to become the ultimate villain, and when Emilia killed him… she would be the ultimate hero. One better than Reinhard. One so good, that the public would have no choice but to give her the crown. But that did leave Subaru with one question…

"Why?"

Emilia looked absolutely miserable and utterly exhausted, but through her determined resolve, mustered the willpower to ask. Her eyes were glossy and distant though her gaze was still trained on Subaru. Her face was contorted in a mixture of more emotions than he could place. Creases lined her face from the tensing of her facial muscles and the rigidness of her jaw.

Tears slid down Emilia's pale face giving it an almost heavenly sheen. "Why?" She repeated. There was more she wanted to say, unexpressed words curling on the tip of her tongue just begging to be said. It didn't really matter if they were vocalized or not, questions apparent on her face. Things like: Why me? Who are you? How? I can't understand. Why would I have wanted this? Why go this far for me?

"I love you." With a single frail breath wrought with affection, he murmured the one thing he had been diligently waiting to say, as if that answered everything. The words were quiet, so quiet, quieter than death itself setting its sights upon them, yet loud, so very loud, louder than the constant jumbled wails blaring in his mind.

"..."

"..."

"That was it?"

Everyone looked toward the Japanese teenager, who had a look on his face. One that could have best been described as a mix of horror and disgust.

Sensing that something big was about to happen, Al decided to pause the viewing.

"What do you mean, Subaru?" Emilia asked.

"That was all it took. All the deaths, all the chaos, just for that. All because a version of me took your compassion as a sign of affection, and decided that you were worth everything to him. He was too prideful to ask for help, thinking that he was capable of "repaying" you all on his own. He felt entitled to you, he never grew out of that mentality, and rather than growing up, rather than changing himself, he condemned the world to being at fault and decided to destroy it, all in an effort to have whatever you wanted," he said, his voice hoarse.

Everyone looked at Subaru in a form of sadness, as tears began to spill out.

"Emilia…" he cried, turning his head. "I am so sorry –"

"Stop that."

"Wh-wha…?"

"You're not responsible for what some other version of you does, no matter how evil," she huffed. "You had no control over his actions. And while, yes, what he did was unforgivable, you didn't do it. It was him. Not you. I want you to say it."

"..."

"..."

"It's… it's his fault. Not mine." Subaru almost wanted to throw up by saying that.

"Thank you, Subaru."

"Wh-what for?"

"For being a good person," she answered, while hugging him.

While everyone else now felt a little clamer, a certain-one armed man coughed for attention.

"Heads up, guys. We're not out of the woods yet," the helmeted knight informed everyone.

Everyone braced themselves, ready to see what new horrors await them.

Once again Subaru woke up a week before he set the capital on fire.

He was in one of the Witch Cult hideouts.

A small house within the capital.

Once again he planned his coup.

This time I need to have him distracted. Perhaps unleashing Mabeast in the Capital before setting it on fire would work. There are many of them nearby. I should just push Meili to gather some, he planned for the thousandth of times.

Upon hearing the narration, everyone's eyes widened once more.

Thousandth.

He had been doing this thousands of times. Over, and over again, he tried to destroy everything, and he kept trying again, re-living the same week for decades on end. He was so obsessed over defeating Reinhard and crowning Emilia that he kept doing it for that long…

How old was he, at this point?!

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results… Subaru thought grimly, gulping at the idea of doing that himself.

His mind inadvertently turned toward his companions.

Blue, Meili, and Elsa were with him in this place.

The Spirit was there too.

Hovering in concern.

That same Spirit sacrificed itself to save him just the loop before.

So, that's how he did it, Julius thought grimly. He used a Fire Spirit to light the entire nation aflame. I knew his Spirit Affinity was greater than mine, but this…

Elsewhere, a certain blonde Spirit felt sick at the idea of her contractor with another Spirit, and using them for something as atrocious as burning down the entirety of Lugnica.

Meili died to save him.

Blue who burned.

Elsa fought the Sword Saint for him.

For a minute he doubted.

The feeling of being burned alive dismembered for over a hundred thousand times filled him.

Was it worth it?

Wasn't it enough?

He killed the Sin Archbishops.

Emilia earned the merits.

Julius Juukulius died.

Priscilla Barielle was presumed dead.

Crush was erased.

Only Felt and Emilia were left.

Everyone was silent at that Subaru's accomplishments. Even if he didn't do some of them, the idea that he had done so much, while looking like he hadn't even aged a year was scary.

Subaru felt a pit in his stomach at his counterpart's achievements, even if he really wanted to see how he took down the other Sin Archbishops. But now he also knew the rest of that psychopath's plan. Killing off the other Candidates would have been too suspicious, so he also made sure to credit the destruction of the Witch Cult to Emilia, to make her even more favorable. Now the line of her being "the hero who saved the world" made more sense.

Well played, evil me, Subaru thought. Well played, indeed.

Julius' eyes widened at the narration. He had died? A part of him wondered if Subaru played a hand with that. He figured that this was probably some sort of karma for the duel between them in this reality. At the very least, it sounded like his lady was safe.

Priscilla was not happy at all at the thought that she could be dead. Unfortunately, the Sin Archbishop was well out of her reach to punish. She briefly turned to Subaru, but knew that it would only cause more trouble than satisfaction. Besides, it would be a hollow victory at best.

Crusch, just like the rest of her Camp, felt their stomachs sink at the idea that she had been forgotten. It seemed that Subaru truly was essential in bringing down the White Whale, and without him, she would have been forgotten by the world.

Felix now understood why his counterpart was following that psychopathic Subaru. He wasn't being brainwashed, not in the traditional sense. He had forgotten Crusch, someone who had such a massive impact in his life, that his mind broke. It only made sense that the evil Subaru would come along, pick up the pieces, and mold them into something he could use.

All in all, everyone felt pretty miserable now, all thanks to that Subaru.

But if he left her she'll never know of him.

Did that even matter?

Was it his wish to be remembered?

Blue, Meili, Elsa and his Spirit.

Those people were loyal to the end.

They belonged to HIM.

Why should he sacrifice them? To satisfy his love? For his pride?

Why should he let Reinhard kill them? He spat in his mind.

Still the need to destroy the Sword Saint burned within him.

But did he need to destroy the Capital to succeed?

Perhaps he should change his plan.

A knock on the door interrupted him.

"Onii-chan come on, it's time for breakfast !" Meili yelled. She was hungry, but the others didn't want to eat without Subaru.

"I'm coming, Meilii!" He responded, not wishing to be fed to her pets.

"I would neeeeever!" Meili said, looking offended.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Okay, not anymore."

It's not like it would work on you…

He came out of his room.

"Finally! " She shouted with impatience.

"Sorry sorry I'll make you a new plush to make it up to you," he offered to appease her.

They both made their way to eat.

Blue and Elsa already were seated.

"Ara, ara you finally decided to join us," Elsa spoke up.

Blue looked at him with hazy lost eyes like always.

"Good morning to you too, Elsa," Subaru rolled his eyes used to the murderer's antics.

Still, this gesture brought a small smile to her face.

She wondered what was this warmth that seeped till her bones.

Warming her so thoroughly each time she interacted with this prideful man.

Such warmth she usually seeks in the bowels of those she killed.

With him next to her she felt that she did not need to hunt for bowels.

It was an utterly new feeling for her.

With Mama dead she was free.

Meili's eyes widened at the notion. Mama is dead?

Sure, she had heard that all of the Sin Archbishops had kicked the bucket thanks to Subaru in this reality, but she forgot to add Lust into that category. The idea that she would ever be free from that woman outside of death sounded like a dream.

Speaking of death, she now realized that her plan to avenge Elsa was now moot. She couldn't kill Subaru, and trying to kill his friends would only make him go back.

So instead, she decided that he would help him bring an end to Mama.

She no longer needed to head to his words.

And yet she remained here along with her sister.

In this house happily playing and smiling.

Truly she wished for this happiness to never end.

A family that was what she had now.

And for them, she would burn the world to ashes.

Subaru watched Elsa smile warily.

"Aaah. Let's eat now," Subaru declared while taking a seat.

Blue can actually cook pretty well, Subaru thought while eating pancakes.

He had taught the recipe to the cat-eared healer out of nostalgia.

"That's pretty good," He muttered.

Blue smile rivaled the sun.

Subaru looked around and saw his companion's smiling face.

His guts churned at the sight.

Isn't it enough? He thought feeling lost.

Burning alive again and again, having the Sword Saint gut him so many times.

Isn't it over? If I want to secure Emilia-tan rise to the throne I just need to kill Felt. Reinhard would be crushed. That perfect knight falling to save his mistress would be ridiculed for the rest of his life, he groused in his mind.

Felt shivered at the idea of Big Bro planning her death, but remembered that her Big Bro wouldn't do such a thing.

Reinhard, meanwhile, felt absolute dread. If this happened in his reality, he wouldn't be able to know. How would he be able to stop an assassin capable of predicting his every move?

No, stop that, he ordered his mind. The real Subaru would never do that.

Madness shone in his eyes, an ear-splitting grin cut his face. Bloodlust could be felt.

Elsa smiled, turning towards him.

"Truly I love that smile," she sighed dreamily.

Subaru snorted.

"Of course thought of murder would excite you," Subaru muttered derisively.

"More work?" Meili asked petulantly.

Subaru rose from his seat.

"I have a plan." He announced it to the group.

"Oh, dear," Roswaal spoke. "Another sceeeeene change."

As the scene changed, everyone in both the Emilia Camp and the Felt Camp tensed. They knew what building they were looking at, and given the previous scene's context, they had a good idea of what they were about to see.

In front of the Astrea Household, Subaru smiled.

Killing Felt had been an easy task.

So easy compared to destroying the capital that it was almost laughable.

All had to do was order Meili to gather Mabeast from the Auguria Dune and set them to attack the nearby cities.

The Sage Council had immediately dispatched the Sword Saint to deal with the horde of Mabeasts.

Leaving his mistress defenseless.

The Gray could not kill Elsa.

Carol and Grimm, the old war heroes, were poisoned.

Blue had gone to them to see his friend or so he had pretended.

Felix wilted as he heard the narration. It didn't help that the images provided were so… detailed.

He was a healer, and yet he did this. It felt like he was responsible for what happened, even if he knew that his counterpart wasn't operating out of his own free will.

Sensing her knight's distress, Crusch decided to hold his hand.

He had touched them for a second.

A mere second was enough for a mana bomb to be placed within their Gates.

Said bomb detonated before Elsa entered the manor.

Now all Elsa had to do was kill Felt.

She succeeded.

None could stop her, the Gray and Cromwell died oh so quickly.

It was an amusing thing for Subaru to know that Old Man Rom had been a leader of the demi-human rebellion.

Upon hearing that, everyone in the Theater was quiet.

"Wh-what?" Felt asked, forgetting for a bit she was murdered.

Elsewhere, Wilhelm couldn't help but feel so stupid.

Valga Cromwell… Old Man Rom… it was so obvious…

He had almost changed his plan to discredit Felt by revealing this fact and spreading rumors about how she was a puppet used by demi-humans to take control of Lugnica.

The hatred against demi-humans was strong enough to remove or thoroughly shake Felt's standing. Ultimately he chose the plan that would hurt Reinhard the most.

Felt had to die. Subaru sighed.

A figure appeared beside him.

"Is it done?" he asked, fully knowing that Elsa had killed them.

"Of course,'' Elsa answered immediately.

"Well then, let's go."

Two figures walked back towards their hideout.

The whole scene disturbed the cast even more than the flaming Capital, and no one could bring themselves to say a word.

Well, no one except for Priscilla, that is.

"So, is it true, then?" she smirked. "Your grandfather really is an insurrectionist."

Ah, shit, Al swore to himself. Sensing an incoming fight, he paused the viewing.

Wilhelm spoke first. "Priscilla-sama, that is highly uncalled for –"

"But you're a veteran of the Demi-Human War, are you not, old man? What, are you going to let an enemy of the Kingdom slip away merely because they are related to one of the Royal Candidates? Or… maybe it's due to their relation to your grandson?"

"Priscilla-sama, that is highly inappropriate!" Ram spoke out. "It's obvious from the previous viewing and this one that Felt's grandfather has changed his ways!"

"Oh, just like your sister has?"

At that moment, several other members from the other Camps began barking and yelling at the strawberry blonde, who merely smiled smugly at them, until Subaru stood up.

"Pris."

Everyone's attention was turned to the Japanese teenager, for various reasons. For most, it was due to his tone, but for Priscilla, it was his audacity to address her so informally.

"I'm going to say this once, so I'm going to say this very clearly: Never, ever, attack anyone for something they have no control over, whether it be their heritage, their associates, or for any actions they caused in a previous loop of mine."

"Hmph, and what if I don't listen to your stupid little request?"

"Probably because I have plenty of skeletons about you, too. I know about the things you've done in the previous loops of mine. Every single, horrible, little, thing, you ever did. It would be a shame if I were to… oh, I don't know… accidentally blab to everyone here?"

"Try something like that, and I will chop your head clean off," she angrily hissed at him.

"Then I'd simply return the favor when I come back," he replied, ignoring the horrified gasps from everyone else. "We both know from this viewing that you're not as invulnerable as you claim to be. And no matter how good you plan your defenses, we both know that it would only be a matter of time until I counteracted them, and finally got to you."

Upon hearing that, Priscilla became so angry, she was calm again. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

The entire Theater was silent. It was a battle of wills. On the one side, the Vollachina Matriarch had a look on her face that expressed that anyone who dared defy her would suffer a fate worse than death, while on the other side, the nasty-eyed knight had a look that expressed the idea that no one would ever truly know how far into the depths of hell he was willing to go to achieve his objective, and neither one of them was willing to surrender to the other.

It was like seeing an unstoppable force challenging an immovable object.

But eventually, one of them faltered.

"Tsk," was the only word out of Priscilla's mouth, before she plopped back into her seat.

Subaru, in return, quietly went back to his seat, too. He was glad his bluff was successful, but he couldn't show any emotions. Meanwhile, everyone else sat back down, both amazed at Subaru of all people managed to make Priscilla yield, while also being terrified of his thinly-veiled threat.

After all, they knew that such a threat could also apply to them, too.

The next morning the Sword Saint would come to see a scene of carnage: His beloved mistress had been slain.

In a strange moment of clarity, Subaru had released Rom's identity. And had given Elsa enough directive to disguise the crime scene.

Blue was the one who autopsied the corpse yet even he could not lie before the grief-stricken Saint.

Poison was administered to Grimm and Carol post-death. With Blue's skills, such a thing had been easily hidden.

Officially the war heroes had been fed a poison that had disturbed their mana flow leading their gate to explode.

Gray and Felt had been killed by Elsa while using a club, Cromwell's club.

As for Rom, his body had been removed from the scene. No one would ever find it. Meili's pets had enjoyed their meals thoroughly.

Elsa had grumbled hearing his order but she had obeyed.

Subaru had manipulated the rumors with Roswaal's help.

WHAM!

"BROTTO?!"

With Al quickly pausing the show, everyone turned to see the green merchant, standing over the clown, with said clown having a bruise in the shape of a fist on his cheek.

"How far?" he hissed. "How far would you go to achieve your goals?!"

"Otto! That's enough –"

"NO, NATSUKI-SAN!" the ashen-haired merchant barked back. "This bastard was willing to work with the Witch Cult in that reality! He's no different than our Roswaal! You know very well he would have done the same in our reality if that damned –"

"OTTO-SAMA, PLEASE STOP!"

Otto fell silent as he saw Frederica. He didn't know why, but seeing here eyes, those green eyes, begging for him not to say anymore, made him calm down.

Looking down at Roswaal he said, "Pick yourself back up." Walking away from him, he was about to head back to his seat, when…

"Otto-sama," Frederica spoke. "Please, sit next to me."

The merchant paused for a bit, before nodding. Looking at everyone else in the Theater, he bowed down, and said, "I apologize for my behavior." As he sat down next to Frederica, who had both Petra and Meili sitting on her lap, she held his hand.

"Well, that happened," Al said, as he resumed the viewing.

But now, all of the Emilia Camp's rivals knew one thing for certain:

Roswaal L. Mathers has done something to warrant his Camp's hatred.

As far as the people of Lugnica were concerned, Cromwell had manipulated young Felt to impose demi-human supremacy.

Felt had rebelled against him.

And in a fit of fury, the giant had killed all in her Camp.

Crushing his beloved granddaughter's head with a club.

Poor Felt had been a hero. One who died far too young.

Wow, without the fingerprints no one can know the culprit.

Reinhard had been suspicious of Felix.

But Blue had easily convinced him.

That one is a good actor, Subaru thought amused.

All Blue had to do was concentrate on his grief about Fourier to make Reinhard believe that he was truly sad.

There is more to deception than lying and feeling. Then again even with all his cheats that monster can't understand humans, Subaru thought viciously.

Crush has been erased, Priscilla Barielle disappeared, Felt is dead. Hoshin is left but I did kill her knight. Still better safe than sorry, he nodded to himself.

Julius winced at the confirmation that Subaru was the one to do him in within that reality. It was fine for him if he died, but if he succeeded in killing his lady… he wouldn't forgive himself.

Anastasia, meanwhile, was breathing laboriously. She was afraid. If the others found out about Echidna, the one thing that was still keeping her alive would be compromised. Ans in the eventuality that Subaru truly went rogue… he would know how to kill her.

"No… please, no…" Ricardo begged, under his breath.

Subaru prepared himself. Here comes the scene change…

Anastasia Hoshin died of mana poisoning in Kararagi.

Mimi and Tivey hugged Ricardo as they heard the narration.

Anastasia was pale, while Julius looked like he was about to vomit.

It took Subaru a few dozen loops to determine her weakness.

From Blue, he had learned that her Gate was defective and yet she could still live.

Killing that scarf had been annoying, he mused.

With all her mercenaries always surrounding her, killing Anastasia Hoshin had been a pain.

Subaru had used Meili's Mabeast and some witch cultist to distract her merry band before he had Meili order a Mabeast to steal her scarf.

Without mana, the Spirit had been defenseless.

"My lady…"

Anastasia couldn't hear Julius. She was too busy trying to focus on her breath. They knew. All of her rivals now knew her weakness, and how to kill her. And worst of all, Subaru of all people would be able to do it with ease. He saw how he threatened Priscilla. How he did that with ease, too. She realized that if he wanted something, absolutely nothing would stop him.

Her eyes noticed her knight's worry, so she said, "I'm fine."

But that was a lie.

She wouldn't be fine for a long time.

Elsa had easily killed it.

Subaru hummed happily to himself.

Ahhh, everything is as it should be, a grin split his face.

Reinhard's standing had immensely fallen after his mistress' death.

Carol and Grimm had been the Demi-Human War heroes they should have without a doubt recognized Cromwell.

In people's minds, Reinhard had left a criminal with access to his mistress.

Truly a disgrace among knights.

Now only Emilia-tan can become King. Ahh, outliving your enemies is truly the best kind of revenge, he cheerfully hummed an old song.

"What should I do now?" Subaru muttered to himself lost.

His goal had been attained what was left for him.

Subaru sat on a sofa in the common room of their safehouse within Lugnica capital.

He had remained there to witness Emilia crowning that would happen in a few days.

"Perhaps you should finally reward me for my hard work?" Elsa popped behind him.

"Damn super-assassin and their sneaking skill," he muttered slowly. "What do you want?" He asked dryly more loudly.

Elsa hesitated, she started to fidget.

Subaru's eyes opened in shock, he then quickly put on a poker face.

What now? That never happened before, he thought quickly.

"Do you want my guts? If that's it then it's fine!" Subaru announced.

"Your guts…?" Naoko asked, as the color drained from her face.

"She's called the "Bowel Hunter" for a reason," her son answered, grimly.

That did not help his mother's condition.

Truly he no longer cared, his goal had been accomplished.

Emilia was now King. Reinhard's name had been dragged through the mud. Truly he was done, the happy ending he had wished for had been achieved.

Elsa shook her head.

Huh?! Subaru yelled in his mind. The gut fanatic refused. She refused?!

Subaru confusion was written on his face seeing this, Elsa chuckled.

" Oh fear not I still enjoy people's guts warm, but…" she trailed off.

While speaking she touched Subaru's stomach to prove her point.

Subaru shivered.

"But...?" He asked the murderer.

"But the idea of removing your guts disgusts me. I have only need for your guts when they remain within your stomach," she admitted almost shyly.

Subaru's eyes widened like a plate.

Wait, that almost sounds like a confession coming from her, he hissed within the confine of his mind.

"It better fucking not be," the black-haired boy hissed.

"Nah, don' worry, Cap'n," the blond tried to reassure his bro. "There's no way tha' psycho –"

Elsa took a breath.

"I love you." She looked at Subaru's face knowing that his whole attention was turned toward her she smiled.

At that, all cognitive function in the theater stopped for a full minute.

Everyone who has ever met the Bowel Hunter personally knew how insane she was, and almost everyone else knew of her reputation. Her disgusting reputation could easily be boiled down to the fact that gutting people was what she lived for, and she had no time for things like romance.

So, naturally, hearing that, even on a screen, took a bit to process.

And when it was done…

"""WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"""

"... spoke too soon."

"The time I spent with you and Meili within this house was the best of my life. I love the way your eyes shine when you plot. I love how you smile when your goals are accomplished. I love the way you take care of Meili. I love the way you keep sewing dolls for her. I love how willful you are. I admire your drive and the length you can go to accomplish your goal," she continued more energetically.

"You know, if it wasn't for all the fucked-up shit we saw earlier, this would be kind nice," the helmeted knight whispered to his mistress.

"Shut up," the Vollachian Matriarch said, her tone still dead.

Her mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that she could have possibly died.

"We both know from this viewing that you're not as invulnerable as you claim to be."

It took Priscilla's entire willpower to make her hands stop shaking.

"I love you," she once again confessed.

"..."

"That's why now that your goal has been accomplished I ask of you one thing." She spoke seriously, her tone leaving no room for doubt.

"..."

"Allow us to remain by your side for the rest of your life," she declared, blushing like a maiden in love.

Subaru's mind glitched.

"Is it a marriage proposal?!" He blurted out.

Elsa's cheeks burned.

"Well if that's what you wish..." she trailed off shyly.

"No. No. Fuck no. Please, for the love of God…"

"Subaru, you know that this is not you, right?" Emilia asked, concerned for her knight.

"He has my face. He has my mannerisms. He has my ability. It's pretty hard to separate the two of us when the guy can practically be my self-insert," Subaru said, trying to hold the bile in his stomach from escaping. "Oh, God, I think I'm gonna throw up…"

Subaru's mind stopped functioning.

A few minutes were spent in silence.

"Elsa, I had been planning to sacrifice all of you in a last-ditch effort to accomplish my goals," he admitted hesitantly.

"Technically speaking, you already did, nyah," Felix said in a dull tone.

That still earned him multiple unamused stares.

"I know. But you did not, why?" She asked seriously.

She had known that Subaru would have discarded her after she was no longer useful.

Yet she was still alive and her Master's goal accomplished.

Hope had shined within her that perhaps Subaru had come to care about her as much as she did for him.

"I… I…" He struggled to explain his course of action. "I woke up one day and realized that I didn't want to lose all of you. I saw the ways you all smiled and wished for more time. Time to share with you."

"..."

"That's why I accomplished my goal without losing any of you." He finished.

Elsa smiled.

"I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. Regardless of the path, you walk. For I know that as long as I remain by your side, you will light my life," she spoke softly.

Subaru hesitated.

"I don't know."

"..."

"It's finally over. After so many deaths so many times. I'm done."

"..."

"I did it," he spoke incredulously.

"..."

"I won not that damned Sword Saint or all those cheats I did." He continued madness, tainting his tone.

"..."

"But now I don't know what to do..." he trailed off.

"..."

"Do I even have a reason to live anymore?" he asked no one in particular.

"You don't need one."

"Emilia-tan?!"

"You don't need a reason to live, Subaru. You, and every counterpart of yours out there," the half-elf said. "Your life is not solely about making me King, or tearing down Reinhard, or whatever "mission" any version of you decides to do. You can just live for the people around you. Whether they be us… or even irredeemable monsters and murderers."

Everyone's heads turned as Emilis spoke to her knight, amazed by what she said.

"She's right!" Rem nodded. "Subaru-kun's life is not based solely around success!"

"Yeah, Natsuki-san!" Otto agreed. "It's about sharing experiences, and making others happy!"

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," Al added.

As Subaru looked around the Cast, each of them giving him words of encouragement, he realized they were right. Working so hard to achieve a goal, while nice, wouldn't give him true happiness all on its own. Being with his friends and family, and forming bonds, making each other happy, THAT was what living life was for.

Having a goal in life was just a bonus.

"You don't need a reason to live," Elsa spoke up.

"..."

"And if you don't know what to do then come with me?" She asked teasingly.

"We'll have to leave the country then, " he told her curiously.

"Let's go to Kararagi it is the best place to be for us," She replied.

"You'll have to stop killing. That and we'll need a way to make a living," he explained.

"You can keep on creating inventions and selling them. That mayonnaise you created was quite good." She answered immediately, not deterred by Subaru's question.

Subaru seemed proud to hear the last part of her speech.

Damn right, mayonnaise is awesome, he thought sagely.

He then sobered up.

"Can you even give up on killing and gutting people?" he asked genuinely curious.

"For you, I can," she replied, her eyes shining with resolve.

And for the second time, the Cast was stunned to silence by the on-screen Elsa.

It wasn't as shocking as her confession a few minutes earlier, but it was still amazing. Subaru, someone who, by all outside perspectives, just seems like a normal guy, managed to CONVINCE the legendary Bowel Hunter to stop killing and gutting people.

And all because he spent some time with her?!

"Smooth, Natsuki-san. Smooth."

"Aaaaah, I see..." he muttered looking at the roof.

Elsa looked nervous waiting for his answer.

He turned toward her.

"Well then let's see where the future will lead us," he smiled softly.

"Even after murdering countless innocents, your smiles are still pure sunshine incarnate," the purple-haired knight joked.

"Not now, Julius."

"Let's go, Elsa."

Elsa smiled brightly.

After Emilia was crowned, Subaru left Lugnica, taking Elsa, Meili, and Felix with him.

Their destination: Kararagi.

"You know, minus all of the horrible murders and other things we just saw, this was pretty nice," Frederica smiled. "Especially that public conronation."

The Royal Candidates agreed with the maid, mostly due to the fact that they could imagine themselves getting that crown, while also making them feel a little better, after all of the nightmare-inducing crap they just spent twenty minutes watching.

"Oh, hey! There's a scene change!" Kenichi pointed out.

Meanwhile, Rem felt a little sick to the stomach seeing a Subaru (no matter how evil they are), running away with a girl that wasn't her to Kararagi. No… we've already made our choice…

A little girl happily hummed. Today her father and mother were going to tell her of the way they met.

"Aww, that's so precious!" Naoko cooed at the narration.

Dad and Mom are so in love their story must be a happy one! she thought energetically.

""Aww…"" a majority of the audience cooed.

It was definitely far more wholesome than what they saw before.

Her father was a great merchant and inventor while her mother was a beautiful powerful fighter.

Suddenly, everyone tensed, as their minds all became one with dread.

Said girl had black hair and slanted purple eyes.

Oh.

She had mostly inherited her mother's looks.

Oh, no.

Her eyes definitely came from her father's, though.

OH, NO.

"YA FUCKED ELSA?!" Garfiel screamed in horror at the idea.

SMACK!

"OW! WHA' WUZ THA' FOR?!"

"LANGUAGE, GARF!" Frederica screamed, equally horrified at the concept.

Meanwhile, Rem's face made it look like her soul had left her body as she watched the Natsuki child, while Emilia felt a mix of confusion and sadness at seeing the child. Various other women, including Cursch, Anastasia, and even Priscilla, were uncomfortable watching that, too.

Meanwhile, Kenichi and Naoko didn't know whether to gush about their new grandchild, or be horrified by who the mother is, or the events that transpired to get that child conceived.

And finally, there was Subaru himself, who was pretty much catatonic. First, he wasn't even the one to get laid first, it was some psychopath from another reality. Second, of all the people to do the deed with, it had to be the woman who had gutted him repeatedly. And third, apparently, it was good enough that he did it multiple times, if this kid's existence was anything to go off of.

Even as he felt this metaphorical kick to his balls, he examined his possible daughter. On the one hand, yes she was absolutely adorable, and that smile of hers was a blessing on that world, but on the other hand, the things that had to happen for her existence to be a possibility, and given who in the fucking hell her parents actually were, made this beyond cursed.

Hence, we sagely decided to call her existence "blursed".

Suddenly she was raised up by arms catching her from behind.

"What are you so happy about Andromeda?" Meili asked.

"Aunt Meiliii!" She squealed in happiness.

"Huh, that's what I look like in the future?" the blue-haired assassin spoke, as she saw that her older version was a whole lot taller, and WAY more mature-looking.

"I think you aged great!" Petra said encouragingly.

Oh, the innocence of children. Obviously, they didn't think much of the implications of what had to have transpired in order for such a future to actually come to fruition.

At least, not much.

"Mom and Dad are going to tell me how they met tonight," Andromeda Natsuki happily explained.

"Oh, I see. That's quite the tale. A good bedtime story for sure," the ninja replied.

"Is it?!" Andromeda squealed.

Meili smiled.

"Let's find your parents now." Meili started to walk toward the Natsuki compound with her niece in her arms.

And so after a few hundred thousand of time, Natsuki Subaru had found happiness.

As the lights lit up again, everyone was silent for a moment.

Then the screaming began.

Starting with Subaru, of course.


Author's Note: Sweet nightmares, everyone.

The first half was from the story, "Droplets Cast to the Sea", by Dracozion, also known as Arouwuctine. The link's s/13782125/1/Droplets-Cast-to-the-Sea, on , and /works/28426329/chapters/69656871 on Archive of Our Own. The second half is from "Another Way", by mayachen. The link is s/13906447/1/Another-way on , and /works/31867246 on Archive of Our Own. Now, for the comments, and hoo boy, were there a lot of them this time around.

DashingSalyer101: Dude, the title is literally "Tales from the Multiverse", so it would make sense that they're not watching the past. Yeah, I wondered who would be a good addition to the Cast, and the Natsukis were perfect! Also, yes, I too am fairly certain that I'll finish this before the Reactionist is off his hiatus.

RandomGuest: Of course everyone would have questions. Unfortunately, we can't give them all of the answers just yet! We still have plenty of shockers in the wings! And I agree, there is now way this Subaru will ever have a drop of confidence

Raijinmaru: Well, you got something close to an insane Subaru worshiping Emilia.

Guest #1: I hope you're amused with the Sin Archbishop of Pride, you sicko.

Guest Alt: While I don't agree with the idea that some people were out of character, I do agree that the reactions were… lacking. But the thing is, I honestly have no idea what to put in some of the scenes, hence why I'm not doing this alone. And while I can understand why you think some people are out of character, there is a reasoning behind my madness. For example, now that his secret is out, Subaru doesn't feel like he needs to hide anything. Still, I'll do my best to try to improve on them. Hope you stick around!

Guest #2: You're not voting, the Cast is.

Milord800: The good news is, you can see both options! And of course Subaru will freak out at seeing one of his many different versions of him in the Witch Cult. That is half the fun! And I'm glad that you liked the chapter, overall.

OnePunchPlayer: There's two stories. The idea is that by the end of both of them, the Cast will see life, the world, and Subaru, in completely different lights. And yes, I get the idea that Lugnica has weapons of mass destruction, too. Also, I understand your confusion at the opening, that was just my original creation so Subaru just doesn't begin the episode with "Several times before now, I have died".

Raider301: While I would have loved to add Re: Avenger, if I did that, it would open the door to multiple other crossovers, and I didn't wanna do that.

zard 428: I know that most people wanted the second choice, I got it.

AviaZaryx: Aha! The magical power of cutting right off at that!

FishEyes101: Well, given how one of our endings is now scrapped, these recommendations could work, especially the one with the Books of the Dead. Except anything from Re: Forgotten, because we already have two of those ready to go.

Kick Bubblegum: Glad you found this awesome! Here's some more!

ThatRabidPotato: I'm not adding Petra into Subaru's "caused death" list because one, that's a child, and two, he chose to end his life, not her. Glad you look forward to it, and no, the second choice isn't always going to be completely terrifying. And of course I gave credit to the authors! I even asked permission from the ones I could get into contact with!

AiriMage: I knew I wanted to do something creative with the series, and I'm glad that it paid off. I'm planning on adding a bunch of major stories into this, including two Re: Forgotten-inspired ones. However, I will be avoiding "Lone Star" like the plague. (DAMN RIGHT! -Infinite)

Jpx0999: Glad to see that you love both my stories!

Griffith Moses:

Scattershot98: See?! This guy gets it! The emotion, trauma, and bitterness coming from Subaru! Also, I'm glad that I helped you find a new story! See you in this one?

KingLAO2964: Technically, they're both fanfics, so…

Cracken1244: I'm not going to be using too many fancy words to cover up for "said". I'm just gonna use them whenever "said" has been used too many times.

tiny taru: Here's your Pridebaru, truth-teller.

BigSmokeYeet: At the moment, Naoko is trying to rationalize her trauma, and seeing that her son pretty much turned on his own friends already, she didn't have to. Also, I'm planning for Al's Authority reveal to be dramatic, so I'm gonna hold onto it for now.

MerryZap: I'm planning to try and update this every week, but I can't promise anything! And yes, the idea was that the reactions were toned down, because everyone was still stunned that this was happening under their noses. Plus, since this wasn't technically "their" Subaru, they didn't react normally towards him. And don't worry, the idea of Subaru's power will sink in further to everyone as the story progresses.

ASKL: Glad to see that you're so enthusiastic.

NeeldeDealer: Hate to break it to you, but the Cast won't actually be reacting to the Ifs. They'll be reacting to fics based off of the Ifs. Hope you still like them, though.

SAMBICOXD: Your response is in the upper paragraph. Also, stop chanting.

Sploosh: Not the actual Pride If, and you're not the one voting.

halt_and_catch_fire: There are so many people I agree with in one sitting, and you, sir, are one of them! Also, if such an error does exist, I'm too tired to correct it!

ekzesh: Stop chanting on this throne of half-truths.

James_S_o: Yes, Shion is gonna make an appearance. Two of them, hopefully.

Guest #3: I actually never considered having Subaru tryb to hide it until the bitter end, mostly because in so many of the following stories, his power will serve as a plot device, so it's best that everybody got used to it now. Also, Subaru has always tried to tell people about it, so the whole "out of character" thing feels more like a coin toss to me.

SenSlice: I actually never considered that, but dang.

leymax2021: Your chapter is in another story.

King_maximilian_412: The trauma train has already crashed. Plus, this is more like two different fanfics based on the Pride If merging into one, if anything.

Rairin: The continuity works like this: Since the choice split the timeline, the Cast will never watch the other option. But you can surely read it! And yes, Option One, they will always pick the first choice, and Option Two is always the second choice, regardless.

JustaPasserby: I have already talked about both subjects. Next!

Idiotwriter: I sure hope this was a badger for you!

FakeA: And now, my ears are bleeding. Thanks.

Flex_on_writer: While I won't show the episode where Subaru says he hates himself, they might see something similar in one viewing. Or, I might write him saying that to the Cast, who knows? Also, these stories are going in a roughly chronological order of when Subaru was summoned, so this story was coming soon rather than later, anyway.

A special thanks to Infinite the Celestain for helping me in making this story, and for being an all-around great guy! Thanks for reading, and we'll see you all next time!

- Ernalore


Next time:

What if the Witch of Envy never existed?

OR

What if Subaru Natsuki was born the opposite gender?