Chapter 5: Brave as a Knight
"Subaru? Subaru!"
Subaru slowly opened his eyes once again.
'Ah. Back here again, huh?'
"Are you okay, Subaru? You keep on zoning out. Is something wrong?"
"Paimon…" Subaru muttered, gazing at the floating fairy loli beside him. Slowly, he chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny this time?" Paimon interjected.
"Ah, nothing," Subaru replied. "I, umm, just remembered a couple other things from the other world just now."
"You mean, you got a memory flash?! What is it? And Paimon didn't see you vomit into the water like last time."
"I don't need to vomit everytime, you fairy loli!" Subaru retaliated. "But as for my memories, I can't actually talk about them, but they're regarding some weird abilities of mine. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"
Subaru made it a point to talk as less as he could about Return by Death or events from dead timelines. He did not want to attract the hilichurls like in all the previous runs.
"Hmm… okay, Paimon trusts you."
"Didn't we just meet today?! Is this what they call being gullible?!"
Sighing to relax, Subaru looked back at the road ahead of him.
"Well, Paimon, is there anything we need to look out for there? We've already met the slimes, after all."
Subaru briefly remembered that the time he encountered the slimes was before his current save point. This meant that Paimon would know about it. On that note, Subaru shouldn't know about hilichurls and mitachurls. In order to keep that semblance, Subaru decided to put up an act against Paimon.
"Well, there are still a couple monsters," Paimon explained. "There can still be slimes, then… oh yeah, Paimon remembers! There's probably hilichurls up ahead!"
"Hili… churls?" Subaru echoed the familiar word in a foreign way.
"Yep, hilichurls!" Paimon replied. "They're creatures that tend to pillage wandering groups like us. If we can't fight them, it would be best to avoid them entirely. We can just sneak around them, right?"
"Hmm, hmm, yep, we can!" Subaru exclaimed in return. "Oh, and I think I can use this a little better now!"
In a flourish, Subaru unhooked his whip from his belt and lashed it out in front of him, letting it crack in the air. Paimon jerked back upon hearing the loud crack, then gasped in awe.
"Oooh, Subaru's becoming useful!"
"Hey! I'm preserving whatever self-esteem I have left! Don't take that from me!"
"Hahaha! Well, Subaru, let's get going!"
"Right, right, fairly loli."
"Paimon has no idea what that means, but Paimon's ticked off by it! Don't let Paimon give you an ugly nickname, mister!"
Subaru simply chuckled at Paimon's antics and looked back at the road before them again.
'I'm finally taking this road. Without a dead body in my arms, at least.'
Looking back down, Subaru finally saw his reflection.
And what he was fearing for a while came to pass as he predicted.
'Unmarked. Unmarred. No sign of any of his past injuries on his features.'
As fast as light, the memories resurfaced. Every past fatal injury that he'd had. Every time he had died, in the previous world and the current one. Yet, none of it was shown on his face.
Subaru fell onto his knees from the sudden whiplash caused by this contrast. Gripping onto his chest, Subaru started to heave into the water, trying to get a grip over himself. However, the more he looked at himself, the less he could keep himself stable.
"Subaru! Snap out of it!"
Still wincing, Subaru forced his eyes closed. Now that he only saw darkness, he was free to take a couple of breaths and escape from the agony of his past lives. Like magic, he started to feel better. The weight in his chest waned some and the phantom pains across his body reduced. And so, in order to prevent a similar issue from reoccurring, Subaru raised his head and only then opened his eyes.
Only to see Paimon's face filling his vision. "What happened?" she asked.
Subaru, not expecting Paimon to show up there, jerked back in shock with a short yelp.
"Ooh, Paimon is a big scary monster to you, huh?" Paimon remarked upon seeing Subaru's scared reaction.
"Aah, shut up, fairy loli!" Subaru retaliated, pointing a finger at her. "You just startled me! And you're the very opposite of a big, scary monster! None of those words even fit you individually!"
"Hehe, keep saying that all you want, Paimon is a monster at heart. RAAAGH!"
Subaru simply blinked in wonder, the signs of his previous fear all but gone by now. "Paimon… you're seriously cute, you know that?"
"Ehh?! B-But I was trying to be scary! Oh, come on…"
"Haha, not to worry, Paimon!" Subaru cheered as he stood up, pointing to the sky, and jutting out his hips in his signature pose. "Natsuki Subaru is here, Returned to Zero! Ready to live a brand new life, and feeling particularly Knightly this time!"
That's right, Subaru did not dare forget what happened in his past run. His last words with a dying Amber were ones that he would cherish forever, despite them being lost to a dead timeline.
'Be as Brave as a Knight. That's what I will try to live like. This means that I can't run away from my issues, no matter how tempting it can get.'
"Yeah, that pose is still really lame."
Subaru immediately dropped his pose and slouched his shoulders in defeat.
"You wound me, Paimon."
"Hehe, now you know what it's like!"
Standing back up, Subaru lightly snickered as he ruffled Paimon's white hair, much to her irritation in the form of cute grumbles to which Subaru took great delight in hearing. Looking back at the road, he grimaced.
"Well, if I'm gonna act like a knight, then I can't put this off any longer. We need to find that camp. And help."
"Hmm? Subaru, what do you mean?"
Subaru turned back to her flying friend. "What I'm trying to say is… we're gonna have to find some help, then defeat a bunch of hilichurls."
"Wait, defeat? Like… actually fight them? I thought we were simply gonna sneak past them?"
"Well, I would do that, but I can't leave them unaccounted for. Not with how I'm acting like a knight at the moment. They can pose a serious threat, so we're gonna take care of them, alright?"
"Are… Are you sure you can take them?"
Subaru chuckled. "Not alone, of course! That's why I said we need to find help first! I'm thinking we can go to that town you're talking about. Mondstadt, right?"
"Yep, yep! Mondstadt, the Land of Freedom! In that case, let's go there first!"
"Alright, let's go then!"
And upon saying that, Subaru dove into the water in front of him, making sure that his eyes were closed to keep from looking at his reflection.
"Seriously, why is it that you're always taking off your clothes?!"
"It's not my fault that I had to jump into water! I can't fly like you!"
"Ehh?! Then… Then dry your clothes faster!"
"So easy for you to say, huh, fairy loli?!"
Subaru shook his head as he pulled on the collar of his still damp clothes. He drained out as much water as he could, but it didn't help that they were already damp before he jumped into water once again.
They had been walking for a while now, and they had yet to encounter any hilichurl camps along the way. Subaru remembered from his very first failed loop, the one which he dismissed as a dream, that he had found two hilichurls around a boulder. It had been quite some time since that event, so there's no saying that Subaru would encounter them at that same location once again.
"Alright, the path leads past this boulder! Let's keep going!"
Upon hearing Paimon say those words, Subaru faltered a bit in his gait.
"What's wrong, Subaru?"
"Oh, umm, nothing."
'This is the moment of truth,' Subaru realized. 'That boulder was where I had met those hilichurls last time. I need to check if they are there right now.'
Taking a deep breath, Subaru trekked on past the boulder, not even realizing that he had a hand over his whip at the ready. As soon as he crossed, he looked to the side.
Surprisingly, the hilichurls were still there, but now there were three instead of two. Despite the time that had passed since then, the creatures still held their station.
And they were looking right at him.
"YA!"
The hilichurls immediately picked up their clubs and ran up to Subaru.
"AAH, quick! Let's run!"
As Paimon flew away, Subaru simply hissed as he kept his gaze on his new enemies. In a flash, Subaru pulled out his whip and struck it forward.
The loud crack of the whip resonated in the air, catching the leading hilichurl in the chest, making it fall back away from him. The other hilichurls didn't mind their partner and kept coming for him. With another breath, Subaru quickly pulled his whip back. With a spin of his body, caught a second one on the side of its head, knocking it out.
However, by that time, the third one had gotten into close range. Noticing the club headed down for his head, Subaru jumped away and shot his whip forward once more, catching the club. With a yank, Subaru freed it from the hilichurl's grip and tossed it to the side. Now unarmed, Subaru was free to attack the hilichurl with his whip once again, catching it in the side this time.
Finally, the hilichurls were all knocked out. Subaru let out a sigh, looking down at his whip.
'Damn, I'm so glad that my muscle memory is kicking in for this. I wouldn't know what I'd do if I didn't remember this much.'
"Wooaahh…" Paimon gasped, floating back to Subaru's side. "You're not useless after all, huh?"
Subaru chuckled. "This is only one thing I remembered. There are a couple other things I can do, but that'll be shown in time. Also, stop calling me useless, you fairy loli!"
"Hehe," Paimon chuckled. "Wait, isn't this 'fairy loli' an ugly nickname for me? Not cool! I've said it before already, I'm making one for you, too!"
"Hmm, hmm, I'll be waiting to hear it then!"
And then, another familiar voice rang out.
"Hey, stop right there!"
Subaru froze upon hearing that voice.
'Amber…?'
Sure enough, from atop the boulder next to them, Amber leaped over the duo and landed in front of them, her bunny ear-shaped bow fluttering in the wind.
"May the Anemo Archon protect you, stranger," the girl greeted them once she got her bearings again. "I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius. I don't recognize either of you, explain yourselves!"
"Aah, wait, don't worry!" Paimon interrupted. "We're not looking for trouble, we're just looking for someone!"
"Looking for someone?" Amber echoed. "Who?"
"A friend of mine, Rem," Subaru spoke up, gulping as he remembered the true purpose to his travels, forgotten over death after death. "We were travelling together, but I lost her. I've also lost most of my memories, so I'm finding it all that more harder to find her."
"Oh, and I'm his guide!" Paimon butt in. "He saved me, so I'm helping him find Rem!"
"Oh, umm, I see," Amber said, her expression breaking some. "I can't say I've ever lost my memories, so I can't say that I relate. And I'm sorry to hear that. But if that is the case, then I don't mind helping you!"
Subaru smiled at her. "Thanks. Amber, right?"
"Yeah, that's it! Ah, wait, I forgot to hear your introductions!"
"Heh, don't worry about it," Paimon chuckled. "Paimon is Paimon! I'll let Subaru pull off his pose, even though its lame."
"Thank you for being so considerate, Paimon!" Subaru said, after which he jutted his hips out and raised a finger to the air. "My name is Natsuki Subaru, First Name's Subaru! I'm broke, illiterate and I've lost my memories, but I can at least fight a hilichurl without losing an arm! Nice to meet you!"
Amber gaped at the boy for a moment, after which she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ahaha, what's with that pose?!" Amber roared out. "And that totally unexpected introduction, haha!"
Upon seeing Amber slapping her own knees in laughter, Subaru grinned and spoke words that he had said to her earlier. "Like it? Came up with it when I was a kid, never let go of it since!"
"O-Oh man, that was a riot…" Amber finally calmed down a bit and managed to stand back up straight. "Okay, so, you're Natsuki Subaru, but your first name is Subaru? That doesn't sound local at all… are you from Inazuma?"
"Actually, I'm not. I'm not from around here, but my local traditions sound similar to Inazuma's from what I've heard."
"Ah, okay. So… Subaru and Paimon, right?" Amber carried on. "You're an unusual pair. I'm curious… what are you to each other? Is she your mascot or something?"
"Oh, we're pals, aren't we? And why are you calling me a mascot?!" Paimon said, looking back at Subaru.
*RUMBLE!*
Subaru froze as he felt his stomach churning, earning him the stares of the two girls near him.
"Hehe," Subaru chuckled, flicking his nose. "Yep. Paimon's my Emergency Food. I think I'll dig in now…"
"AAAH, NO, STAY AWAY FROM PAIMOOON!"
Subaru burst out laughing upon hearing Paimon's reaction to his approach.
"Hey, that wasn't cool, Stinky Space!" Paimon chided, now coming back to side. "That's so much worse than a mascot!"
Subaru simply chuckled and ruffled Paimon's hair once again, making her let out her standard cute grumbles. Amber let out little coos upon hearing Paimon's grumbles.
"I see you get it, Amber," Subaru decreed, holding a solemn expression.
Amber simply nodded back, bearing the same expression with an undertone of humor. "I do. I completely understand now."
"Hey, Paimon doesn't know what you two are talking about, but it sounds like you're laughing at Paimon!"
"Ahaha, well, you need food, right?" Amber asked. "Your stomach told me that much."
"Yeah, well, I didn't eat anything after puking today morning, so I gotta eat something," Subaru commented. "Especially if we're going to do what I have planned later."
"Huh?" Amber asked, raising a brow in confusion. "Something planned? What?"
Subaru's smirk finally fell. "I'll, uh, tell you later. I need to eat first."
"Yeah!" Paimon cheered out loud. "Let's eat!"
"This is the weirdest steak I've ever seen."
Subaru gently prodded at the steak before him. It looked cute, being on a red napkin and with a toothpick marked with a red ribbon. However, the top of the steak was blackened and smelled of char, while the bottom was still pink, soft, and completely uncooked. This was both a jawbreaker and a salmonella source in one.
"This is the Outrider's Champion Steak, made by yours truly!" Amber cheered. "Dig in! I made one for both of you!"
Subaru couldn't help but gawk at the dish before him. By his side, Paimon had also gone pale upon seeing the same steak in front of her. At that moment, Paimon regretted telling Amber that she could each as much as either of them, only so that she could have an extra portion. Having a small mouth can have its merits, or in this case, demerits.
"Uhh, Paimon… isn't so hungry anymore," Paimon grumbled.
"Hey, Amber?" Subaru gingerly asked. "Did you cook this on both sides?"
"Both sides? Who cooks Steak on both sides?!" Amber retorted, flabbergasted. "I've read a recipe for Steak, you know! I completely studied it, too! The instruction says, 'Cook the Steak evenly for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness.' I cook it for 15, because it's going to cook more, right? No way something can become bad by being cooked too much! That only makes it even better!"
Subaru gawked at the cute smile that Amber ended with. 'Does she know a single thing about cooking? Wait, how do I know about cooking?!'
Subaru immediately grasped his head, feeling it pound as another set of memories forced its way into him.
"Huh… I learned how to cook?" Subaru wondered out loud.
"Subaru, what happened?" Paimon asked. "Was that…?"
"Yeah, a memory flash," Subaru replied. "Turns out I know how to cook a decent meal. I'm not some 5-star chef, though. But what's with the pronunciation of some of these ingredients…?"
"You can cook?! Alright, Paimon will be in your service from now on, Subaru! Can you please take over cooking for now, please…?"
Shaking himself out of his thoughts for the moment, Subaru cleared his throat.
"Amber, I'm sorry, but I'm vegan today," he blatantly lied. "I can't eat meat." He dared not say that he'd try next time.
"Ehh?! Aww… please try?"
Subaru gulped. Right in front of him, Amber was holding her hands bawled up to her chest, letting her eyes brim out into the biggest puppy dog eyes that Subaru could ever remember. At his side, it even seemed that Paimon couldn't resist her gaze either.
"F-Fine…" Subaru grumbled, gingerly picking up the steak. He winced at how his fingers sunk into the meat beneath, but couldn't even deform the skin on top. "T-Thank you for the food."
Bracing himself, Subaru took a bite.
He couldn't bite through.
His top teeth bounced off the surface of the steak like a brick wall, while his lower teeth easily sunk into the bottom of the meal. It was almost like he was biting into a melted popsicle, but in raw meat flavor.
Grimacing from the revolting taste and texture, Subaru kept on gnawing on the top surface of the steak until he could finally break out a chunk. He still couldn't chew it. Giving up on his teeth, Subaru gulped, briefly wincing as the solid bit of steak scraped his throat as it went down.
"I-It's, uhh…" Subaru paused upon seeing the sparks forming in Amber's eyes. "It's… good."
"Alright! Outrider Amber nails it again!"
"Ahaha, it's… uh… so good that Paimon can't eat another bite!" Paimon said after a brief nibble. "Even a small bite is enough to fill our stomachs, that's how good it is! But, uhh, can we get dessert?"
"Dessert?" Amber asked, now jumping to the two. "What do you want?! Leave it to me!"
"Ahaha, Paimon just wants fruit, that's all!" Paimon said.
'Paimon, you're an absolute genius!' Subaru cheered in his mind. "She's right! I could seriously kill for some appas right now!"
"Ap… pas?" Amber asked.
"Oh, sorry, memory hiccup, I mean apples," Subaru said, cheekily grinning at his unintentional use of the other term he had learned. He realized that it would take time for him to return to his old style of saying things, even more so once he remembers things.
"Hmm, okay, I can get you some on the way!" Amber said. "But do you mind sunsettias? They're more common, after all."
"Sunsettias? What are those?"
"Hey," Paimon leaned to Subaru's ear. "Sunsettias are those other fruits you saw on those trees. The yellow ones."
"Wait, you mean… oh! Those not-pears! They're called Sunsettias? Cool!"
"Well?" Amber asked. "What'll it be?"
"Yeah, sunsettias sound good too," Subaru nodded. "I mean, as long as it's some kind of fruit, we're good."
"Alright then! Let's head back to Mondstadt, and I'll find you a tree on the way. Maybe we can even find Lynn if we're lucky!"
Subaru finally got up and got ready to leave until he remembered something even more important.
"About that… um… can we trouble you a bit before that?" Subaru asked. He already expected that Amber would agree to come with him for his next request, but he still wanted to seem genuine.
"Oh? What is it? I'm the Outrider for the Knights of Favonius, leave any issues you have with me!"
"Ehehe, well you see, I have a particular trait about myself," Subaru sheepishly explained. "I, um, can become hilichurl bait."
"Bait?" Amber echoed. "You mean, you can attract hilichurls?"
"Huh, Paimon had never heard this before, either," Paimon said in turn.
"Trust me on this, alright?" Subaru explained further. "Apparently, I smell pretty bad, enough to make hilichurls want to kill me. I can make that smell worse, but I'm expecting them to come at me as an army of 20 or so after that. Maybe even a boss can come forward as well."
"A… boss?" Amber asked.
"Yep, a boss. Is there something among hilichurls that are… well… stronger than the others?" Subaru already knew the answer, of course, but he knew he had to make himself believable to Paimon at least. He didn't want her to guess his ability in any way. Who knows what would happen if people here found out? What would the witch do then?
"Stronger? Hmm… well, there are mitachurls, but they're hard to find around these parts. Trust me, as an Outrider, I hardly ever find any mitachurls."
"Can you defeat them?"
"Well, I have a Vision, so that makes it easier. I… can't take on one alone, though."
"That's alright, I can help you," Subaru said. "I'm also expecting a mitachurl or two to show up once I air myself out as well. In any case, we gotta look out for them."
"Wait, wait, hold up for a minute," Amber said. "I've been trying to bait them for a long time, I've created Baron Bunny for that as well! Are you saying that you're better than Baron Bunny?"
"Baron Bunny?" Paimon asked. "What's that?"
"Oh? You don't know?" Suddenly, Amber pulled out a familiar teddy bear strapped onto her back. "This is Baron Bunny! It can taunt enemies towards it, and then blow up!"
Paimon blanched upon hearing that explanation. "So, you're telling me… that that little doll… is a bomb?!"
"Ahaha, don't worry, it won't explode unless I want it to," Amber explained. "But coming back to what I was saying, are you saying that you're better than Baron Bunny, Subaru?"
'Ah, crap. Is this one of those moments?' Subaru thought. 'I gotta make sure I answer this correctly, or else I might piss her off.' And so, with the risk of his ability to defeat that mitachurl once and for all on the line, Subaru decided to submit defeat in a roundabout way.
"Well, I can attract hilichurls to myself instead of taunting them, so I'd be better than him there. But in terms of cuteness, Baron Bunny is driving me under the ground."
Amber blinked at his unexpected answer, then smiled at him. "Good answer," she said, placing Baron Bunny back on her backstrap. "But I'm still curious about your ability to become hilichurl bait. Can I see it working?"
"Well, are you ready to fight off the hilichurls?" Subaru asked. "I can help you out as well."
Amber's eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah, right! Those hilichurls that were unconscious in front of you! I remember seeing them. How did you beat them?"
Subaru smirked. "Well, that's because I've got this!" Upon saying that, Subaru pulled out his whip from his waist once again, cracking it in the air.
Amber looked at the weapon in surprise. "A whip…? That's a rather unusual weapon to wield. Most people of Teyvat wield one of five different weapons, and the whip isn't one of them. What's its name?"
"Name?" Subaru echoed. Looking back down at his weapon, he slightly frowned. "I… don't remember. Sorry."
"Oh, right, you're an amnesiac," Amber nodded. "When we get back to Monstadt, I'll bring you to Barbara. She might be able to do something about that."
"Really?! Thank you so much!"
"Haha, anyway, about my weapon, here it is!" In a wave of her hand, Amber magically summoned her bow onto her hand as well as her quiver across her back. "This is the Favonius Warbow. I got it from the Knights of Favonius once I had become a member. It's served me really well!"
"Woah, your bow looks so cool!" Subaru somewhat lied. It was true that bow looked cool, but he had to fake the act of seeing it for the first time. He had already seen it in action before, after all.
"That's just the standard of the Knights of Favonius, ha!"
"Wow. I kinda feel bad not knowing the name of my whip right now, but-"
"Oh, don't be!"
"No, I'm not, don't worry!"
"You can just tell me when you-"
"- when I remember, of course!"
As Subaru unknowingly finished Amber's sentence, he gaped, gazing into the horizon.
Amber blanked as well. "Ah, s-sorry about that. I-I kinda went too far there, huh?"
"Oh, I did too. Don't worry about it."
Subaru and Amber had almost similar personalities, especially with how Subaru had decided to act like a knight for the time being. While some would say that this would help them get along well, when it's two rambunctious personalities working with each other, there can always be the chance that the two can clash.
"Oh wow, this is kinda awkward, huh?" Paimon butt in, being the outlier in this scenario.
"A-Anyway!" Amber cut through the tense air with a burning knife. "Follow me. I'll bring you to a good spot to attract the hilichurls. Wait… do you have any range limits with your ability?"
"Well, I don't know for sure, but I'm sure I'd be able to summon them to a Statue of the Seven if I wanted that."
"Oh? That's actually really impressive. In that case, it wouldn't be too hard for them to show up there. Alright, follow me!"
And so, Amber went forward, with Subaru and Paimon in tow.
"Here we are!" Amber announced.
Subaru looked around for a moment, wiping his mouth free of sunsettia juice. They were well off the road by now, but the ground was clear all around them. This meant that it would be easier for them to fight off against the hilichurls when they showed up, mainly because there would be no obstructions in their way. Moreover, there were a couple red barrels placed here and there, rather far from them.
"You use a whip, right?" Amber continued. "That means that you can't work in crowded areas. It'd be better if you could fight in an area like this."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Subaru agreed. "Thanks for bringing us here."
"No problem! This is my alternate training ground whenever the Knight's ground is full, so use it as much as you want!"
Paimon was the one to respond to that. "Okay… well, Paimon's going to disappear for now, alright? You two can fight, but Paimon can't do anything here.
"Heh, look who's the useless one now."
"Shut up, Stinky Space!"
Amber blinked in surprise. "Stinky… Space?"
"Yep! That's my ugly nickname for him!" Paimon yelled in return. "He's stinky enough to piss off hilichurls and he keep spacing out for absolutely no reason!"
"Aah, you wound me, Paimon! My poor heart can't handle this!"
"There's nothing poor about your heart, and you know it!"
"Haha, you two are incredible to watch!" Amber laughed in response. "Anyway, you can stay back if you want, Paimon. Subaru, let's see you use your magic! I can't wait~!"
"Heh, don't know why you can't wait for a massacre, you're affecting my mental image of you." Subaru sighed and looked ahead.
'It's time to face that mitachurl again. I hope I'm ready for it.'
"Hear me out, then. I can Return by-"
"I love you."
'Yeah, yeah, I know, get this over with quick!'
Once the world's time resumed, Subaru grit his teeth in the agony of the pain in his chest.
"Subaru! Are you okay?!" Amber asked, gingerly placing a hand on his back.
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright," Subaru said. "Just a little bit of pain to get that scent."
"Okay… but you don't smell any different?"
"We can't smell it very well. But they can. It's pretty convenient, honestly. From what I briefly remember, too much of this miasma around me can be pretty harmful to people."
"H-Huh? That sounds… really dangerous. Are you sure you should be using something like that?"
"Trust me, I'm used to it." Subaru stood back up, now that the pain had waned into nothing. He then gripped his whip's handle and unfurled it.
"Right now, we need to focus on the incoming army."
Paimon gulped from behind him. "In that case, I'll talk to you later, Subaru! Please, make it out okay." With that, Paimon disappeared into a small cloud of stars. Subaru froze for a moment upon seeing that, considering how similar it had looked to whenever she had died.
Amber gazed at the boy for a while, then simply nodded. "Okay, I'll trust you for now. Also, what were you going to say back then?"
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll tell you later," Subaru lied, now turning back to the field before him. He took a quick, rattled breath. He couldn't let his nerves get to him now. He had to fight, no matter what.
Or die trying.
"Listen, Subaru," Amber spoke up, unusually not adding her signature humor into her words. "I want to make sure about something. What we're going to do here if your ability works… is a massacre. You're going to have to kill the hilichurls. That's why I was hesitant to bring you along. They may not be human, but are you sure you can kill them?"
Subaru faltered upon hearing Amber's serious words, looking down at his whip for a moment. In his minds, flashes of the hilichurls having shot arrows at him and bullied him repeated. Moreover, there was the mitachurl that had already killed him three times. Subaru gripped his whip tightly as he felt his blood boil in his veins.
"Yeah, I can. I may hesitate with the hilichurls, but I certainly don't care about the mitachurl. Those things are monsters, they deserve to die."
Amber swallowed, then summoned her bow and quiver once again. "Okay, then, I'll take your word for it. Just know that if you can't fight, you should run away from the battlefield. So, when are the hilichurls going to-"
"YA!"
Subaru snickered. "Of course, you had to set off that flag."
However, something was different this time. The hilichurls, they were coming from every direction around them. There were more than he remembered as well. A single glance suggested about 50 of them, but there could easily be about 100.
"Okay, I see what you mean by an army now!" Amber commented as she charged her first arrow. "I'll take one side; you take the other?"
"Yeah, sounds good to me."
Nodding, Amber fired off her first arrow, catching one of the hilichurls in the chest and spreading fire to its fellow ones as well. Standing in front of Subaru, she started to pick off several hilichurls coming in front of her.
Subaru, meanwhile, gazed at the fewer number of hilichurls coming to him from behind.
'Alright, I have to place every single one of these hits perfectly.'
And so, Subaru ran into the heat of the army, holding his whip up. With a single crack, he caught two hilichurls in the chest, sending them away from him. Subaru stopped running ahead and started stepping back, just as the hilichurls came in closer to him. His body remembered that one rule of the whip was that a target must be a certain distance away from him in order to have maximum efficiency. He had to gauge that distance every time before he could send his whip forth once more. Ensuring that the hilichurls remained on his front or on his sides, he kept on striking his whip forth, pushing away the group with every step back, and in some lucky cases, knocking them out. He quickly realized that his three successive knockouts last time was just a stroke of luck, and that he was still rather rustic with the whip. Probably because of his missing memories; it's always that.
Soon enough, he found himself back to back against Amber.
"There really is a lot of them, huh?" Subaru asked, striking another group with his whip and knocking out a couple of them.
"Yeah, I didn't realize your power was this effective," Amber said, shooting another two hilichurls down with flaming arrows. "You need any help back there? I'm pretty much done here."
"If you're offering, then yeah, I'll take it!"
"Alright, let's swap! Take my place from your right!"
With a final sweep across the army before him, Subaru turned around in a clockwise direction, now facing off against Amber's part of the army.
There were only a handful of them, about five or six. They were quite the ways away.
'Didn't I have the smaller number earlier…?'
Shaking off his thoughts, he trusted the girl behind him to handle things on her own and ran up to the hilichurls, not only to defeat them, but also to give Amber more room to step back. Using his whip, he knocked out the remaining hilichurls as best as he could. In a couple minutes, he had finished them all off.
Subaru's body was covered in sweat at that point. He was heaving as he finally let his active hand relax. Rubbing the ache, he turned back to see Amber finishing up the last of the hilichurls he left behind with ease.
"Man, it feels so weird, having to be protected by a girl. My manliness is slowly fading away."
"Heh, were you even manly to begin with?"
"Hey, don't become like Paimon!"
"Haha, just kidding, relax!" Amber heaved as she finally took a moment to rest, now that their job was done. "Whew, I can't believe we managed to clear that much, that was a serious workout! Subaru, you've got to become an Outrider with me! With you, I'm sure I can clear out so many hilichurl camps without even having to find them! Although… Baron Bunny's becoming useless…"
"Hey, Baron Bunny's your mascot, it's never gonna be useless," Subaru retaliated. "Besides, it can be useful in a pinch, right? I can't really control my ability; I can only bring armies to myself like this."
"Huh… You're right! Baron Bunny is still useful! Thanks!"
Subaru smirked at her. "Don't worry about it."
'Now, the hilichurls are down. Only one nasty thing left to go.'
Looking ahead, Subaru finally noticed it.
"Amber. We have company."
Amber, blinking in surprise for a moment, lifted her gaze to look in Subaru's direction. She paled upon noticing what was there.
The Mitachurl was standing there, flaming axe in hand.
"A… mitachurl…" Amber gasped slowly. "Oh, uh, you… predicted correctly again, huh?"
"Yeah. I guess… I can predict life and death threats like this perfectly," Subaru explained, keeping his gaze trained on the mitachurl.
Looking at it, Subaru could feel the rage he felt earlier spiking. The number of deaths he had experienced played in his head once more, but they did not have the same impact as they had. No, Subaru knew he was stronger now. He had trained well in that previous world, and he would be forever grateful to Natsuki Subaru for doing so.
'But for now, I won't be satisfied if I don't kill this thing.'
"Amber, I'll take him on," Subaru said, stepping in front of her. "Can you support me?"
"A-Are you sure?" Amber asked. "It's a mitachurl we're talking about here, after all."
"I'm sure," Subaru reaffirmed. He wanted to smile to emphasize the point, but he found that his facial muscles weren't working as expected. Reasonable; the mitachurl, the being that killed him several times already was standing before him now. He couldn't find it in himself to smile.
Subaru stepped in front of Amber and cracked his whip threateningly. "Thank you for waiting, you damn bastard!"
The mitachurl lifted its axe and held it over its shoulder. With a couple familiar grunts, the monster started to run up to the two. Subaru quickly shot his whip back, signalling to Amber that she should keep her distance, and kept his eyes trained on the enemy ahead.
'Now!'
Subaru deftly jumped to the side with his strength, going further than he had ever remembered he could from when he lived in Japan. The distance helped him, for he was able to avoid both the incoming monster as well as the swinging axe.
Spinning back with a rough pirouette, Subaru used the following momentum of his whip to strike the mitachurl's axe. Purely using muscle memory, he managed to wrap the head of the whip around it. With a loud yank, Subaru managed to pull the large axe free of its owner's grip.
The mitachurl grunted in surprise upon finding its axe taken from it. However, it wasn't given time to process the change, for in an instant after, Subaru appeared before it, jumped to its height, and threw a fist at its eye.
The mitachurl roared as it clutched its eye in agony, but Subaru didn't relent. The moment he landed, Subaru used his whip and started striking the mitachurl's hide in several spots, forcing it to keep on moving back. Subaru couldn't help but be surprised at the amount of strength in his every blow. The mitachurl's hide was thick enough to keep a knife from piercing through, but Subaru was making enough impact with whip strikes.
Amber, having been watching for a while, stood in awe at the number of surprises this boy before her held. 'Really good strength as well as the ability to attract hilichurls? He's got to become an Outrider!' Amber couldn't help but think.
However, the mitachurl, like before, was able to find the pattern of Subaru's whip strikes. Subaru would have noticed the mitachurl slowly tracking the whip, but he was too focused on his current ability to use his whip. This was why he was caught off guard when the mitachurl caught the end of the whip, just like it had before.
Subaru blinked in surprise and fear upon finding that his whip wasn't coming back to him. However, the whip was his only weapon at the moment. He couldn't let go of it.
"I won't let you!" a familiar voice sounded.
Suddenly, flaming arrows started to pop the mitachurl's side, making it grunt in shock yet again. Amber was there, finally providing the support she had promised earlier.
"Thank you, Amber!" Subaru cheered, as he tugged on his whip, hoping to free it.
However, it still didn't relent. The mitachurl, despite the constant attacks against it, was still holding onto the business end of the whip.
Subaru gasped in surprise upon discovering the resilience of the monster before him. Gritting his teeth, Subaru started to pull.
"Alright, Tug of War it is!"
The mitachurl grunted in surprise as it found itself being pulled forward by the whip in its hand. Ignoring the pattering of fire arrows on its skin, it looked at the boy pulling it ahead.
Subaru found that his own surprise at his budding victory was shared by his enemy as well. Upon looking at his enemy's eye's, he could almost read its thoughts.
'How is this Ordinary Visionless Human able to keep up with me?!'
Hate. The budding emotion in the mitachurl's eyes was hate. An emotion Subaru instinctually recognized very easily, being one who expressed it and received it so many times. Not even his lost memories could make his forget the feeling of that rising heat, pricking every pore of your body along with that mental clouding.
And to this response, Subaru grinned in amusement. It was the first time he was the cause for that, after all.
Subaru started yelling. He kept pulling his whip back into himself. He could see the mitachurl being dragged in his direction, its arms doing everything they could to keep a hold of the whip, but was interrupted by the arrows raining down upon it over and over again.
Subaru released his right hand and caught the rope ahead of him. Upon noticing this action, Amber couldn't help but stop her rainfall of arrows, gazing upon him and the impossible feat he was exhibiting.
The mitachurl took delight in how it was no longer taking fire, and instead focused entirely on pulling the rope. It tugged further, but it was enough to make it stop in its tracks. It tried and tried to pull back… but it wasn't working.
Amber stared in awe at the two.
'This boy, Natsuki Subaru… he's tying in a Tug of War against a mitachurl?!'
Subaru groaned out loud. His muscles were killing him. His feet were chafing against the soles of his boots, and he could feel some wetness forming, probably signs of bleeding. However, he kept holding on, no matter what.
'I'm not going to lose to you again!'
Amber blinked in surprise upon seeing their stalemate. Looking down at her bow, she realized that Subaru wouldn't be able to beat the mitachurl without her help. And so, she notched another arrow into her bow and charged Pyro energy into it.
The mitachurl noticed the change in the girl. After all, it was smart enough to keep an eye on both of its enemies. Noticing that the rainfall of arrows would being once again, the mitachurl realized that it had to change tactics.
And so, it abruptly let go of the whip, making Subaru throw himself back onto the floor behind him. Just as Amber let go of her arrow, the mitachurl dashed ahead at the human that held it in place.
Subaru, now on the floor with his whip in his hand, finally looked up to the mitachurl running up to him. He tried to get up, but he found that his feet weren't listening to him. His muscles were pretty much atrophied after his exertion.
'I guess I pushed too far, huh? Or, well, pulled.'
And so, the mitachurl used its forward momentum to kick Subaru's face, throwing him away from it.
"NO!" Amber yelled upon seeing the mitachurl land a hit on the boy. Focusing the energy from her Vision, she channeled as much of it as she could and used her special move, her Elemental Burst.
"Fiery Rain!" Amber yelled out, as she shot several arrows tipped with white-hot fire into the sky. The mitachurl gazed at the incoming arrows, but after having taken so many of them, he knew when to expect them.
That was how the mitachurl managed to jump away from the area in which the arrows landed, missing Amber's arrows entirely.
"Oh shit, oh no!" Amber cursed as she pulled her bowstring back once again. Firing another arrow, she paled upon realizing that the mitachurl simply shrugged off the ensuing explosion and walked towards her.
'Shit, I can't leave Subaru behind!' Amber mentally yelled to herself as she ran around the mitachurl. However, the mitachurl had already stopped toying with the two of them. It ran along with Amber, easily keeping pace with her.
'Oh no, oh no! How am I going to lose it?! I can't beat it myself, I need backup! For Subaru, too!'
To fully focus on her running, Amber desummoned her bow and quiver. She turned heel and kept running to where she assumed Subaru had fallen.
And then, a fist caught her in the side of her gut.
Amber was sent flying back by the mitachurl's punch, finding blood rushing into her mouth. Stumbling onto the ground, she still didn't bother with the pain racking her veins. Subaru's life was at stake, after all. It was her duty as the Outrider for the Knights of Favonius to protect the innocent. Despite how unusual the boy seemed; he did fall under that category.
Wincing, Amber stood back up. 'This is nothing, I can keep going!' she kept repeating over and over and over in her head. Looking to the side, she found the mitachurl creeping towards her.
Amber took a step forward. She almost fell down from the fresh pain coursing through her, but ignored it and kept going on.
'I have to save Subaru!'
Limping on, fighting through the pain, Amber kept on going to the area which she assumed Subaru had gone to. She was dazed and confused from the impact she had faced earlier, the pain making her hazier.
She heard a grunt. Looking to her left, she noticed the mitachurl standing mere meters away from her. She couldn't help but chuckle.
'I… don't want to die here. I still need to find Grandpa. I still need to save Subaru. I still need to become the best Outrider in the history of Outriders! I can't die just yet!'
Summoning her bow back in her shaky hand, she aimed another shot at the mitachurl, despite how hard it was to pull her bowstring on the ground. She couldn't control her Pyro output very well; the flame at the tip of her arrow was dangerously flickering. Her aim was shaky, her gaze was unfocused. She knew that she would either let this arrow blow up in her own face or miss the mitachurl entirely.
But still, it was better than going down without a fight. And that was why she was going to fire.
SCHINK!
Amber froze upon hearing that unusual sound. The mitachurl's eyes widened, as if it was surprised. Almost like magic, the mitachurl collapsed onto its knees, then fell onto the floor.
Standing behind it, with the mitachurl's very own axe driving into its back, was Natsuki Subaru.
His face was flatter than Amber remembered. His nose was crushed through, bleeding profusely. She could see the shaking in his limbs as well; he had clearly exerted himself.
"I… am going to be as brave as a knight!" Subaru yelled, yanking out the axe from between the mitachurl's shoulder blades. Surprisingly, he managed to lift the axe that was as tall as himself over his shoulders. "Isn't that what you told me, Amber?!"
Amber chuckled, despite the immense pain she was experiencing. She didn't remembered telling him those words, but they did sound like something she'd say.
With a loud yell, Subaru threw the axe back down at the mitachurl's neck, cutting through it cleanly. Its black blood spurted everywhere, staining both Subaru and Amber equally. The two demons of black and red finally stood over their kill.
"Subaru… thank you…" Amber choked out, now setting her bow down. However, upon looking at her savior, she found that despite his hands on the handle of the axe cutting through the mitachurl, his eyes were closed. Soon after that, his body slipped to the side, falling onto the furry body of the mitachurl. However, his right hand remained affixed upon the handle of the large axe, serving as a reminder of the impossible feat he had accomplished.
Amber sighed. She didn't know if the two of them were going to survive, but they at least defeated the monster attacking them. They at least emerged victorious against impossible odds.
The last thing that Amber saw at that moment was Paimon reappearing next to Subaru, stressing over him.
Amber couldn't speak, so she resorted to thinking. 'I… probably shouldn't have accepted your offer, huh, Subaru? But… I'm glad I did. I would certainly love to get to know you better.'
And so, Amber fell onto her back, passing out from exhaustion, agony, and blood loss.
A/N: And there's the end of Arc 1 of Re: Starting Life in Teyvat from Zero! I've decided to title this Arc "Welcome to Teyvat". This was fun to write.
Now, I'm gonna struggle a bit with the next chapters. I've decided that it would be best to take a break from the tension to strengthen characters bonds to some extent, but that's not my forte. Hence, I'm gonna struggle a bit with it. I'll try and get it out by next week regardless. Or actually, I might not be able to because of some events that will happen during this weekend.
Also, don't worry about Subaru becoming OP, he won't. He's just strong enough to take care of regular enemies, he will still struggle with the elements since he's not a Vision Bearer.
Now, the review list is an absolute whopper. So, I've decided to reduce the number of replies that I make to those who ask questions exclusively or if I have something to address. I'm sorry if you don't like that, though.
Edgelord1704: Well, he will receive something, but you'll see what it is later on.
Wilted12: Yeah, I hadn't thought about his relationship with Rem after she got erased. You're right about that stuff, so I'll think about it. As for your question, side quests are important to create further relations with certain characters. I don't know if I'll end up doing them, but I'll see. Probably if it has some future importance to the story.
worrierfierce: He won't have purification powers, but he'll have a substitute that could work. And the abyss still exists, I took the liberty to change things, though.
Crimsonsage: Well, I did look up mana enhancement. Turns out your right, so I guess I can use that to explain some of the feats in this chapter. Thanks a lot for telling me that.
Qsofyoos: Yes, he can. He just needs to believe - ah, I mean, remember.
prabhjiv: I agree with the fact that Geo fits Subaru best, but he still won't get a Vision. Thanks for the review!
Comrade Broseph: You'll find out about the Abyss when the time comes, I don't want to reveal spoilers here. Although the choices you offered are weird and gave me a good laugh, especially Petra.
I'dMakeANameButIDon'tWantTo: (chapter 3)
Thanks for saying that and for the rating. Subaru's expression of humanity was exactly what I was aiming for, although it was more psychological than anything as denoted by the next chapter. And another thing I certainly wanted to show was how easy monsters would throttle Subaru in this world, so I'm glad that I expressed that well.
(chapter 4)
Honestly, I'm not the best at making awkward conversations, but it's something I'll try to do. And yeah, Subaru will be in Mondstadt in the next chapter.
As for the reduced pacing in the last moment, the problem with that was POV. The story was in Lawrence's POV which shifted to Subaru midway, which made it a lot harder to add more reflection. Subaru's words were spoken during the transition, so I couldn't a lot of thought lines there. I personally felt like it was fine, but I guess I can try to look into that issue some more in the future.
zerofire210: Sorry about Amber, but I'll warn you that that's not the last character death you'll see. If you found this one bad, the next Arc will be terrifying. And don't worry about Google Translator, some of the words didn't make sense, but I somewhat understood.
Shadow-reader: Well, Subaru did try to commit suicide. That's why he jumped into the lake, to try and drown himself. Too bad the Endless Night got him first. And if you're hurt that Amber died, let me warn you that this isn't the end of the road. More people are gonna die in the future.
Comment: Yeah, that's the case for the handbook. However, Amber says it differently. I used the words from when she first spoke to the Traveller in Genshin. Swan would have her head for it, still.
swiftlet: You'll see. I don't want to answer that question because of spoilers, sorry.
Paimon-tan: Thanks for the review! I started playing about two months ago, so you're not too far off from the main story. However, I will say that you should catch up quick if you don't want to be spoiled. My upload schedule is slow, though, so you don't need to fret to much.
That's the end of reviews. Sorry if I hadn't responded to yours. I need to exercise, and I wanted to get this chapter out before that.
With that said, I'll see you next chapter!