Chapter 17: The Cure

"That… is a familiar ceiling."

Once more, Subaru woke up in the room within the Church of Favonius. He let out a sigh, relieved that his checkpoint had not been updated anytime in his last loop.

'It really would have been awful if I got stuck there, though,' Subaru reflected. 'Well, at least I got the chance to learn about Rem.'

Thinking of her once again, Subaru couldn't help but gnaw at his lip.

'Rem…'

Now that he could think straighter, free of his previous rage, he could understand something. She was Infected. She was ill. He may have been pissed off by who she'd become, but he knew that somewhere within her lied the true Rem.

'Rem… I swear, once I stop Stormterror, I'll save you,' he promised. 'I'll take that Infection out of you somehow.'

Nodding to himself, Subaru sat up from his bed. Looking around, he confirmed that just as it was when he'd first showed up on that bed in the Church, everything was fine and nothing was damaged in the battle. Upon seeing the normality of the room around him, he couldn't help but shiver, briefly remembering how the world froze just a few seconds before then. It was shameful to admit, but to recover that quickly from the recoil of such a painful death proved that Subaru had far more experience using Return by Death than he'd care to admit.

'I need to be careful of how I'm going to handle this,' he realised. 'If I want to help Mondstadt with Return by Death, I need to know how to properly talk about it without triggering that curse.'

Rolling up his sleeve, Subaru stared at the blood on his arm.

'Can I use this, somehow?'

"Oh! You're up!"

Subaru gulped upon hearing that melodic voice, the exact same way he'd heard once before. Looking to the side, he noticed Barbara jogging up to him to check on his condition.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm fine," he said with a curt smile, stopping her advance. "I'm in Mondstadt right now, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," Barbara nodded. "Ah, I should introduce myself!"

As Barbara introduced herself, Subaru started to think about what he could tell the Knights. This time, he knew that the first thing to do would be to inform the Knights about the threat as soon as possible. The more time they had to prepare for it, the better off they would be.

That being said, he had to convince them of the threat somehow. That was what he had to think about. Even as Paimon came in and started to talk to him, he let his mouth move just as it had before while he thought about this.

The moment he decided to change things was when Amber came in.

"Subaru! You're up!"

Just like before, Amber ran up to him and hugged the life out of him. Almost literally. Her grip was so tight that Subaru could feel his eyes popping out of his sockets.

However, despite the agony he was in, Subaru did his best to return the hug. Just in time too, since Amber let go of him soon after that.

"Subaru, I seriously owe you one!" Amber declared, her cheeky grin sporting on her face once again. "Let's go to Good Hunter! My treat, of course!"

Subaru only smiled at her. "I'd love to, Amber, but maybe later. There's something I need to tell you and Grand Master Jean immediately."

"Ah, Master Jean is the Acting Grand Master, Subaru," Amber explained, only to blink in confusion immediately after. "Wait, how do you know her?!"

"Yeah, Paimon's wondering that too," Paimon said from nearby. "Who's this Jean person? And how does Stinky Space know her?"

Nearby, Barbara cast a suspicious glance at him as well. It seemed that she had the same question. Upon looking at the three of them, Subaru decided to enact the beginnings of the plan he'd been forming.

He began with: "I happened to recover some of my memories."

Barbara looked confused. "What do you mean? Did you forget something?"

Amber, meanwhile, was beaming at him. "Oh! You're cured of your amnesia?!"

"No, not cured. I just remember some stuff."

"You have amnesia, Traveller?" Barbara asked, finally learning of the affliction. "I'm very sorry to hear that. But… I can't help but wonder how ill you are if you're an amnesiac as well…"

"Hm? Well, Subaru doesn't remember much about his life before entering Mondstadt," Amber explained.

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant. What I mean is – "

"Don't worry, I know what you're talking about already," Subaru interrupted them. "Barbara-san, you're talking about that broken Darkness-based Vision inside me that will kill me soon, right? Oh, and let's not forget the blood in my right arm."

Barbara blinked in surprise. "That's… Yes, that's everything. Did you know about them already? And… And what do you mean by 'blood in your…', are you talking about the black veins on it?"

"Wait, black veins?!" Amber echoed, eyes widening in alarm. "Subaru, are you – "

"No, I'm not Infected, don't worry," Subaru explained. "Barbara-san, can you check the amount of that dark energy inside me again? I want to know how long I have left."

"O-Okay."

Hesitantly stepping up, Barbara rested a hand on Subaru's still gown-clad chest. As her Hydro Vision glowed, Barbara slowly nodded.

"It's not different from when I felt it last," she explained. "You have only about a month or two."

"Are you sure about it not changing, Barbara-san?" Subaru asked back. "Can you confirm that it hasn't dropped from when you checked it last just one more time?"

Barbara quickly shook her head. "No, I'm certain. You certainly haven't lost any of it. You will die in 2 months, Traveller."

Hearing the collective gasp from Paimon and Amber, Subaru broke the sudden tension in the room by humorously chuckling.

"Just call me Subaru, Barbara-san. I don't want to be some generic person to anyone here."

"Subaru! Why is that important?!" Amber chided him. "You're going to die?! Subaru, we need to help you, then!"

"Look, you don't need to worry about – "

"Of course, we are going to worry, Stinky Space!" Paimon cut in. "When someone says that you're going to die, Paimon's definitely going to worry!"

Subaru gaped at the two for a moment, then cast his gaze down as a soft smile graced his features.

"I made the right choice. I'm glad."

"Subaru," Barbara carried on. "What do you – "

"I'm not going to die, you know. No, seriously, I know the cure," Subaru quelled their fears with those words. "I was just confused about what the real cure was, but now I'm certain. It's the Statues of the Seven that heal me."

That was the conclusion Subaru had arrived at regarding his mana overloading. His doubts rested on whether the cure was as he'd mentioned or if it was the cost of using Return by Death. If it were the latter, he knew that the small amount he already had would have all but vanished after his repetitive deaths. Now that he'd heard that the amount was the same, he could safely confirm that not only would the Statues of the Seven heal him, but Return by Death did not have a cost of any kind to use. No matter what, where, when or how, no matter the conditions, Subaru will Return by Death when killed. Unfortunately, Subaru could not see that as good news in the slightest, due to the eventual trauma that his ability provides.

"P-Paimon remembers that!" Paimon said, breaking Subaru out of his train of thought. "When you touched the Statue, that dark stuff came out of you!"

"Exactly. I don't remember what happened to my Vision, nor what the element actually is, but I'd already spent two months in Teyvat before reaching here. Barbara-san, don't you think I should have died already if I hadn't had my stored energy taken out?"

"That… that was something I was concerned about as well. But I'm glad to hear that you'll be alright… Subaru."

"See! That's the way! No more of this 'Traveller' bullshit, Barbara-san!"

"Ah! No cursing in the church!"

"Upp! S-Sorry…"

Amber couldn't help but chuckle at the interaction between the two. "I'm glad to see you getting along with people well, Subaru. It really is good to see."

Subaru nodded softly to her. "Yeah, and I still need to talk to more people. Remember when I said that I need to talk to Jean?"

"Oh yeah! In that case, come with me, Subaru! Paimon, you come too!"

"Aww… Paimon was hoping to bully Stinky Space into getting her lunch…"

"That brain juice of yours really needs a filter, doesn't it, you fairy loli!"

"Wait!" Barbara shouted from behind them. "You need to change out of your hospital gown!"

Now that he was dressed to the nines in his old, freshly fixed and cleaned clothes, Subaru made it to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, keeping up with Amber despite him already knowing the route.

Standing before the small castle, Subaru couldn't help but gulp. Remembering his last interaction there, he couldn't help but feel afraid of how things were going to turn out.

"All I have to do is stick to the plan. Get that, Natsuki Subaru?"

"Huh?" Amber called out from ahead of him. "Did you say something, Subaru?"

"Ah, nothing, don't worry."

"Okay… Well, just wait out here for a while, okay? I'll let Master Jean know that you're coming in reeeall quick, then you'll be good to go!"

Smiling, Subaru nodded to her and watched her depart into the giant doors of the castle. In that new silence, Subaru cast a curt glance at the two knights standing at guard. Seeing how they were minding their own business, Subaru decided to lean into Paimon's ear.

"Oi, Paimon. Listen up."

"Huh? What is it, Stinky Space?" she replied a little louder than he would have liked.

"Just… go with whatever I say in there, okay? I learned about some stuff before I met you and that I was in Teyvat earlier than expected. Please, just roll with the story. But feel free to be surprised."

"Umm, okay. But what do you mean, Stinky Space?"

"You'll see."

It wasn't long until Amber came out of the door and called them into the building. Following her, Subaru was once again guided into a path he already remembered; just turning left from the front door and entering the closest room there.

Upon opening the door to Jean's office, he was glad to see that she was sitting there, waiting for him. Upon noticing his arrival, Jean stood up, softly smiling at him.

"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Jean Gunnhildr, and due to Master Varka's absence, I have been pronounced the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius."

Subaru couldn't help but twitch upon sight of her. The last memory he had of her wasn't a good one, so he couldn't quite help it. Regardless, he carried out his plan.

"Before I introduce myself as well, I want to let you know that what I'm about to tell you is related to the future safety of Mondstadt. Information connected to the future potential destruction of Mondstadt at the hands of the Abyss Order, that is what I'm going to give you."

"Abyss Order…?" Paimon muttered from nearby, wondering where Subaru was going with this.

Jean, however, widened her eyes in shock for a mere moment. Just a moment. Subaru had almost missed it before she could revert to a much more serious expression.

"If you are being so frank, let allow me to be so as well. I do not believe you. I have enough faith in our knights to catch onto any motions from the Abyss Order. However, if it is information you wish to offer, then I will entertain you. But could you please wait for some other people to join us? I believe that it would be better for more ears to listen in to this conversation."

"Funny, I was about to say the same," Subaru replied with a nod. "Call whoever you'd like to. I certainly don't want to say this story twice."

"Amber, can you please find and call Kaeya and Lisa?"

Amber hadn't responded for a good while. She was staring at Subaru for some reason, crossing her eyes in confusion.

"Amber?"

"Oh! Sorry! Kaeya and Lisa, right? I'll get them!"

In a flash, Amber disappeared from the room. However, she hadn't anticipated something. Now, only Subaru, Paimon and Jean were left in the same room.

…

…

No one was saying anything. While Amber was gone, the air between the two complete strangers quickly grew stuffy. Jean was uneasy around an Outlander claiming to have military knowledge, while Subaru couldn't help but remember the Jean that rejected him all that time ago. The sudden silence between them felt near oppressive.

However, in that time, Subaru was finally able to formulate his plan. Not only that, he also wanted to ensure that any potential threats to their discussion could be taken care of.

Subaru moved, turning away from her. Ignoring Jean's confusion, Subaru walked up to the window of the office.

"What are you doing?" Jean asked.

"You'll see."

With that, Subaru reached for the latch on the window. Lucky for him, the hinges of the window's latch were oiled enough to not creak as he unlocked them. However, he didn't open the windows. He just left them unlocked. Moreover, the day was still rather sunny, which meant that Subaru was unable to see his reflection in the clear glass. Suddenly succumbing to his recently acquired spectrophobia in front of such an important person would not have been fitting for the persona he was building up.

'This will work,' Subaru mused. 'It's not a very windy day today, so the windows won't open on their own.'

"Why did you unl –"

"You'll see when the time comes if everything goes as I predict it. Don't worry." Subaru sighed as he walked back to his spot. Starting to feel that same silence creeping in once more, he decided to use another party to break it. "Paimon, do you have something to say?"

"Umm, Paimon's wondering when we can get something to eat," Paimon decided to cut in, not understanding what was going on quite yet either.

Subaru chuckled at her sudden response, gently ruffling her hair to hear her cute grumbles. "Don't worry, you fairy loli. Once we're done with this, I'll get you everything you want. Wait, actually, let's bully Amber into paying for us."

"Oh yeah! Let's do that! Free food is the best food!"

Jean, who stood watching the two, finally smiled and broke out of her terse expression. "I hope that you won't be doing anything bad to our Outrider, dear Traveller?"

"Oh, nothing like that. We'll just… convince her to pay for us for tonight, right, Paimon?" Subaru replied, his lips stretched into an incredibly amused grin.

Paimon sniggered from the words Subaru chose. "Of course! Free food, hurray!"

Jean slightly crossed her brow. "The more you say such things, the more I believe that you are plotting something sinister with her…"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure Amber already had something like that planned," Subaru replied, remembering his past experience. "She seems like the person to do that."

Jean nodded, understanding where he was coming from. In the next moment, she blinked and cast her gaze up, then back at him. "That reminds me, weren't you the one who fought that hilichurl army with her? Was it true that you handled that mitachurl all by yourself?"

"Absolutely not," Subaru did not hesitate in refusing that statement. "Amber helped a lot. I may have driven that axe into it, but I couldn't have done it without her. Don't disregard her contribution, please."

Jean tilted her head in confusion. "It seems like you hold her in rather high regard. Hadn't you only known her for a few hours only?"

Subaru smirked in response. "Does she seem like the kind of person you'd need a year to understand?"

"No, she certainly isn't. That being said, it is still baffling to hear that you trust her after just a day. I can't help but feel like you're misinterpreting something about her. So, what do you think of her?"

"What do I think of her?" Subaru asked, musing for a while. "She's the bravest person I know. She's the greatest definition of a knight that I can see."

Jean blinked in surprise, then curtly nodded. "If you understand that much, then it seems that you have a good understanding of her already. Not every knight sees her for who she truly is, save for a few, such as myself. That's why I can so easily trust her to be an Outrider all by herself."

"Yeah, about that… Do you really think she's happy being alone in that position? I think it can get kind of lonely, honestly."

"Unfortunately, that is true. I've always been worried that being the sole Outrider can harm her mental state. But she's strong. She's taking it in far better stride than I could have ever imagined. That's why I've never bothered putting up a position for another Outrider."

"Still, I think she would appreciate it if you could. Maybe she can handle it, but I can imagine her getting really happy if she gets some help."

"Hmm… In that case, I'll certainly look into it. Thank you for letting me know, Traveller."

"Don't mention it, Jean-san."

Despite his calm demeanour, Subaru didn't really understand how to take this conversation with Jean. Last time, she was so much more dictatorial. She was bossing him around, making him go to the storm bunkers instead of to the fight. But now, she seemed like a good friend more than anything.

'Maybe it's because I was being an idiot last time? Seriously, what was I doing, telling her about that stuff?'

Just as Jean was about to say something else, the doors suddenly barged open.

"Master Jean! I've found them! They were both in the building already!"

Surely enough, following behind Amber were both Lisa and Kaeya.

Kaeya was the first to speak. "Ah, Master Jean, what is – Hrk!"

Even though he spoke in his normal nature at first, Kaeya's breath hitched upon the sight of the other person in the room.

"Y-You are…"

Jean blinked in surprise. "Do the two of you know each other?"

Subaru looked in surprise as well. "Umm, no. This is… the first time we've met." While the last part was a lie, his surprise was genuine. Kaeya certainly shouldn't have known who he was before they met first.

"A-Ah, s-sorry, Master Jean, a-and you too, distant traveller," Kaeya choked out, closing his eyes to free himself from whatever it was that he felt. "It's just… you reminded me of someone I knew. That's all."

"Ah, um, okay," Subaru responded. That would certainly explain why he was so willing to help him in the earlier attempts.

"I'm… I'm Kaeya. The Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius," he continued, finally regaining his cool as well as that slightly conniving lilt in his tone. "It's a pleasure to meet you, traveller. And once again, I apologize for what happened back there."

"No, never mind, Kaeya-san. It's okay. And what about you?" he continued, finally pointing to Lisa.

"Oh, you finally notice me? Well then, I'll grace you with my name. Lisa, the Librarian of the Knights of Favonius."

Nodding, Subaru continued. "I can't understand why a Librarian is here, but that's okay."

Jean was the one to speak this time. "Lisa doesn't hold the title for it, but she plays a key role as a Strategist. She will also be transcribing this discussion for further reference."

With another one of her playful nods, Lisa summoned a piece of parchment and walked to Jean's office table, grabbing a spare seat and setting a newly summoned quill across the page.

"Now, can you please introduce yourself now, Traveller?"

Paimon, still hovering nearby, immediately paled. "No, stop! Don't let him!"

"Haha, you can't stop me, you fairy loli! I'm still gonna pull off my pose, no matter what!"

"No! Please stop!"

For a moment, Subaru took a breath. He was finally going to do this. He was going to abandon the old life he lived, for the sake of freedom for Mondstadt.

Moving to his signature pose, Subaru grinned like a madman. "I'm Natsuki Subaru, first name Subaru! I'm flat broke, absolutely hopeless and a complete, yet recovering amnesiac!"

The reaction to his sudden introduction left everyone in a different state of being. For Paimon, she simply grumbled in annoyance. "Not another one…" she muttered to herself. Amber chuckled amusedly, along with Lisa. Even though Lisa scoffed at the introduction, she still noted down the words said, the soft sound of quill scratching on paper quickly setting an undertone for their meeting. Jean sighed softly, losing the mental command to withdraw her sword from her inventory. For a moment, she was afraid of the fairy's warning.

Kaeya, however, was stricken.

"No… so soon…?"

"Well, that was… certainly an introduction, Mr. Natsuki," Jean finally greeted him with his name. "But I can speak on behalf of everyone here. I'd like to know why you asked us all to come here."

Subaru braced himself. This was where his lies would begin.

"Right. Onto that. So, here's the thing," Subaru took a long breath before he continued with his next words. "Let me tell you my tale."

And so, Subaru explained his memories from when he'd awoken in Teyvat. Of course, he'd left out certain elements of the story, such as the full details of the things he'd remembered from his memory flashes and his time in Mondstadt. More importantly, he didn't talk about his failed loops. That's why he'd changed the story to fit the rate at which he gained information.

He explained that as soon as he woke up, he was keeping an eye on Hilichurl movements. He'd spotted the mitachurl before as well, and once he'd found Paimon, he was willing to go out and try to stop them. By chance, he encountered upon Amber and got her help, and together they were able to take down the entire army he'd summoned.

Nearby, Paimon was crossing her eyes in confusion. She recognised the major events, but why was Subaru changing so much of what he'd told her at first? In any case, she'd already promised to not interfere, so she trusted him to do whatever it was he was doing.

"I see, that would make a good situation report," Jean noted, as she nodded to Lisa who finished transcribing everything Subaru had said, the scratching sound slowing down ever so slightly. "Now, why are you saying this in such an official setting?"

"Well, that's just a setting for who I am," Subaru explained, once again hearing the scratching on parchment once more. "However, as I mentioned, I'm an amnesiac who's slowly recovering his memories. After I fainted in that battle, I regained another chunk of my memories. A piece that I am certain you would be happy to hear of.

"Before I found myself on that beach, I was a leader of the Abyss Order."

The scratching sound abruptly halted, leaving a pregnant silence behind. Lisa and Kaeya were both confused by Subaru's statement, while Amber seemed to be horrified by it. Jean's expression turned harsher than before, a slight rage filling her features.

"The only reason why I'm not picking up my sword and attacking you is that you used the past tense for that statement," Jean explained. "Now, please explain why you're here, Natsuki Subaru."

"I'm here to warn you all. The Abyss Order will send one being to wipe out the entirety of this city."

"One being?!" Lisa remarked. "They think that only one being can contest against the entire Knights of – "

"The being in question," Subaru interrupted. "Is Stormterror."

Another silence befell the room. Paimon, who was still hovering nearby, looked in confusion at the boy who saved her. What was he thinking? And what were the Abyss Order, and Stormterror?

"I'm sorry, I can't give you too many details," Subaru explained. "It's unfortunate, but my amnesia is 100% real. I think it's a result of my breaking out of the Order. I only remembered this much after waking up from that attack against the mitachurl. I really am sorry that I cannot tell you everything, but I will tell you all that I know.

"We have three days, including today. On the fourth day, Stormterror will arrive sometime after noon, at lunchtime. I'm telling you this because we need to be prepared for his arrival. The Abyss Order can manipulate those who have been Infected. Unfortunately, Stormterror is Infected just as anyone else can be. And so, he can be influenced by them."

"Them?" Amber was the one to ask, having not left the room as Subaru began his explanation. "Wait, Subaru, you're not with them?"

Subaru looked at her for a moment, then shook her head with a soft smile. "Don't worry, Amber. I'm not with them anymore. In fact, I'm completely against them right now. That being said, there are people I need to save from their numbers as well."

Jean was the one to speak next. "You want to save someone from the Abyss Order? Who?"

"… Rem. An old friend of mine."

"Wait, Rem?!" Amber exclaimed. "Wasn't she the one you wanted to find at first?"

"Yeah, but I forgot that we joined the Abyss Order. She's still with them, while I left."

Amber looked confused. "Why didn't you just take her with you?"

"Well, joining the Abyss Order is complicated enough to make that difficult. Mainly since those in the Order aren't themselves."

Kaeya bristled upon hearing that. "Are you saying that something was influencing you while you were in their ranks?"

"Precisely. Those in the Abyss Order are actually Infected themselves. However, since they cannot resonate with Ley Line Energy as most people can, they instead attain a completely different personality. It basically drives them mad."

"That's impossible," Lisa said matter-of-factly. "Nobody cannot resonate with Ley Line Energy. It is the essence of all creation. You are certainly lying."

"Once again, Lisa-san, I don't know everything. However, my current memories are telling me this. I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you more about being disconnected from the Ley Lines. Anyway, to continue, Rem is currently Infected, and I was too."

"Wait, did you get cured?" Amber asked. "Did you meet the Fatui?"

"Sorry, but I don't know the details. All I know is that this has something to do with it."

Subaru slowly rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the intricate veins on it.

"That's… your arm's still Infected!" Lisa remarked. "Boy, if what you're saying is true, are you who you say you are?!"

Subaru shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm myself. This isn't an Infection. It's actually some kind of blood. Once again, I can't explain it, but it somehow cured me of my Infection. And I'm so very sorry, but I haven't learned what it really is and whether I can secure a source of it."

"I… I see…" Jean muttered, looking to the side as she leaned her rear on her desk. "It seems that we have much to still learn about our enemies. Thank you for informing us of this. Naturally, if you remember anything else, please let us know."

"There's one more thing. This isn't something I remembered, but it's a guess I inferred from what I learned. I'd already said that the Abyss Order can control those with Infections. Well… do you have any Infected here?"

That, in truth, was a targeted question. Subaru knew that Anna, Anthony's sister, existed in Mondstadt. From what Anthony had told him in front of that fountain with Amber, Subaru knew that his sister, Anna, was Infected and was getting worse.

"Yeah, there is!" Amber said, eyes widening in alarm. "There's Bennett, then… then Anna!"

And just as she said those words, Subaru heard a tumble from past the office's window.

Just as everyone was alarmed by the sound, Subaru immediately took action, due to having already anticipated that. He'd expected Rem to control Anna and whoever else was infected in Mondstadt. He'd heard from her that she'd been keeping an eye on him, but who was the one who relayed the information to her? Subaru had never seen Anna in his last runs, so he suspected that Rem was using Anna to watch over him, despite her need for bed rest. This could also explain why she was suddenly getting worse after his arrival.

And from that stumble, his fears were confirmed. The being that Rem had become, the Mistress, was a truly heartless and cruel one.

And that was why he'd taken measures against it already.

Jean widened her eyes as Subaru thrust open the windows that he had previously unlatched. As he jumped out of them, Jean stood stunned at how such an unnatural motion done earlier was coming to fruit after one small confirmation. All because Subaru had an inkling of a doubt that someone could be there.

'This person…' Jean thought. 'He's a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.'

As Subaru landed, he noticed a brunette girl stumbling away from a couple brushes near the Headquarters window, suddenly pulling out a knife from her pocket. She quickly aimed the knife at her own neck, despite the tears in her eyes.

"Providence!"

A shadowed arm emerged from Subaru's chest, making him stop in his steps completely. It rapidly approached the girl, successfully grabbing onto the blade before it could make its way through her neck.

Pulling the knife out of the girl's hands, and bringing it back to himself, Subaru dispelled the shadowed arms and ran up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her from running. Even though his hand reached the top of her clothes, her thumb rested past her collar, making contact with her skin.

"EEEAAAAAAAAAA!"

As Anna suddenly wailed like a banshee, Subaru winced and nearly pulled his hand away from her shoulder out of instinct, only to find that something familiar was going on.

His arm was regaining that same odd feeling from the last time. Looking past his still rolled-up sleeves, he found that the blood on his right arm was now extending forth, almost trying to reach within the girl he was in contact with. Similarly, the girl's own Infection rose from her chest to the point in her neck where Subaru's thumb was.

He knew what was going on. This was just like when he'd cured himself of the Infection. What he was seeing was proof that not only was he immune to the Infection himself, but he could also cure other people of the Infection as well. His assumption with Rem earlier was incredibly accurate.

But what mattered at that point was curing Anna.

Subaru grit his teeth, forcing himself to ignore the odd reaction of the blood crawling under his skin. "Anna… Sorry!"

With that, Subaru used his free hand to tear her top fabric down, exposing the woman's underwear. He grimaced upon seeing himself using much more strength than he intended to, but what mattered at that moment was increasing contact with his hand. He could maintain further skin contact, but he was respectful enough of her to not do such a thing without her consent.

But now that his entire palm was in contact, more of the Infection started to move into it. The process was now working much faster.

"Come on! You can survive this!"

"AAAAAAAAAAA!"

"What… WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!"

That second voice belonged to someone more familiar to him, even though it was the last person that should have arrived at that moment. That was Anthony, Anna's brother.

And at that position, with Subaru having nearly stripped Anna naked and placing his hands on her collarbone to keep her from running, Subaru could understand how Anthony was taking what he was doing.

"Get your filthy hands off my sister!" Anthony commanded, running up to the stranger before him.

Subaru took another look at the progress of the Infection. Both veins had made contact finally. The blood was working as Subaru had hoped, and the ends of the infection which here now visible from her nearly exposed chest were fading away.

What mattered most at that point was that he didn't get interrupted.

Anthony, in his frenzied state, leapt at Subaru from a distance to push him away. Subaru had a mind to use Providence, but he was afraid that his body had to remain focused on absorbing the Infection rather than summon one of those hands.

So, he did the most basic thing. Grabbing Anna's body, Subaru sidestepped to avoid the man's trajectory.

However, the man didn't relent. As Subaru moved away, Anthony reach out to the only part of him that still remained within his reach. This was the cloak on his back.

Grabbing the end of the cloak, Subaru felt it wring and tighten around his neck, pulling him back as Anthony kept going away from him. Subaru used his free hand to try and pull the collar of his cloak away from him, but he could not gain enough leverage to do so while keeping his other hand in contact with Anna. He knew that at some point, either one of his hands would slip or his footing would give away; both were undesirable options. Subaru had absolutely no idea what to do there.

Until an arrow approached his cloak.

While the arrow meant to hit Anthony's hand, what it did hit was Subaru's cloak. While it was lucky that it was pulled out of the way of his body, the middle of the cloak split apart, leaving one free half of the cloak fluttering in the wind while the other remained in Anthony's grasp.

What did get Anthony to let go was a small burst of crackling purple energy that jolted his body and loosened his grip, provided by Lisa and her Electro element.

"Good thing you didn't charge that arrow, Amber," Lisa remarked, her eyes having lost all shreds of her previous exhaustion. "We did not want an Overload Reaction happening here."

"Yeah, I'm glad too," Amber confessed.

Subaru gasped as the pressure against his throat was suddenly lifted. Leaning back forward, Subaru took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then, looking to the side, he could see Anna still in his grasp, still wailing out in agony.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon," Subaru weakly promised as the blood in his arm continued to eat away at her Infection.

Anthony landed on the floor quickly, but then stumbled back into a stand. It was his sister at peril. He was not going to let her be violated by that stranger.

But he was stopped by the flat end of a blade approaching before him, pretending to be a barrier. The one holding that sword? The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius Jean herself.

"Get a grip on yourself!" she commanded him. "His motive is not what you think! Look!"

If it were anyone else, Anthony would have reacted poorly, even pushing away the blade to get back at that rapist. But since it was the Acting Grand Master Jean herself, he knew that something bigger was afoot here. Something he hadn't seen. It was absolutely certain that Jean, being the incredible leader that she was, wouldn't allow any of what he'd imagined to actually happen.

So, Anthony looked at the person 'violating' his sister once more.

To his shock, he'd finally let go of her. With a difference, that being, her exposed skin was clear. Anthony knew that her Infection was spread out across her chest, but after that boy handled her, it had all vanished.

Anna was finally cured of her Abyssal Infection.

"What…" Anthony gaped, nearly in denial at what he was seeing. "This… This is unreal! What just happened?!"

"What just happened?" the Cavalry Captain Kaeya spoke up from nearby, being the last to jump out of the window. "What happened is that Subaru Natsuki here, on his very first day at Mondstadt, has effectively made history."

A/N: How long has it been since I last uploaded? I'm sorry I took so long. I have two excuses. The first is my common one, university. I had a ton of assignments due in the past few weeks, and I'd been busy with my thesis work as well, so I haven't been writing in the past few days. Secondly, I'm two timing on this story. I've started another story, DxD: The Red Star. A JJBA and High School DxD crossover, and yes, it's a non-continuous sequel to MCBA. My last few uploads were on that, but even then, it has been some time.

I can't guarantee fast updates anymore. I may not have assignments as of now, but I still have things I need to do. Hence, I will be prioritizing those above all else.

The next chapter isn't actually done, but I'm still putting this out. I've been sitting on it for far too long. I'll be busy with my other story for a little while though, but trust me, I'm not abandoning this one.

As for the cure to the Infection, I do think it's a bit early to bring it out. I wished that a little bit of work could have gotten into getting the cure, but I haven't thought of anything yet. Subaru would also need it for his upcoming battles. Hmm, maybe I might change this chapter before the next update if I come up with something, it's only while writing this A/N that I realised that it could be improved. I've already resolved myself to uploading though, so you'll still get to read this.

Basically, it's possible to have a major update to this chapter in the future, remedying to sudden introduction of the cure. I'll have to think of something, though.

Onto the reviews!

Thehappyvampire: Glad to hear it! Please come again!

Jay Shawn Green: Yeah, I get what you mean. It's a fault of my writing style. I'm reading a lot of other stories, though, and trying to pick up some tips from them to implement into my own writing.

Fateful Twilight: Well, thank you for keeping it to yourself. In fact, it should be pretty easy to figure out, all things considered. Only issue is that it only happened twice, meaning that there are a couple possibilities. A third time will certainly narrow it down.

worrierfierce: Well, I won't say anything about this loop being the final one. That's spoilers.

Rookie2016: We'll see.

Guest (So, shit went down...): Yes, I know that there are a ton of possible routes from here on out. I also know that giving Subaru the cure so early is going to destroy half of the potential of future chapters. I have you to thank for that insight, though, I probably wouldn't have seen that flaw without your review. So seriously, thanks. I'll have to give alternate story paths some serious thought, but I'll do my best to change this chapter.

I've also got quite a few of those topics listed out in my head already, so rest assured that I'll be following them to some extent. With my own flairs and some other reveals, of course. Also, since you mentioned Electro Heralds being creepier than Hydro ones, I actually think Enjou's the creepiest. The fact that an unassuming guy who's well spoken enough to sway people is actually an Abyss Herald kinda freaked me out, even though I already saw it coming.

Glasses Man: I see what you mean, but I have the habit of coming up with weird answers for things. So, to the matter of the Taygeta library, we already know that it's possible to access the Od Laguna from it. Who's to say the library isn't in a pocket dimension outside of time itself? Also, are we certain that the library contains Subaru's books? It was never shown in the webnovel, only in fanfics.

Guest (Holy shit, that went...): Yeah, well, the Endless Night can always be a pretty abrupt thing.

Mallory S. Nocturne: I'm honestly not happy with my introduction of Noelle, so I wouldn't really look forward to it.

AnzkuZ: I'm glad to hear that. I originally started this story because I wanted to understand how to write Subaru's personality type, so I'm glad to hear such praise. Thank you!

Piero: Unfortunately, I'd have to play Honkai to know if they're a threat. I'm already hooked onto Genshin, adding Honkai to the list would just render me incapable of living my normal life. Also, I don't plan to have Subaru ascend to Celestia anytime soon, or anytime during the whole story either. That's just not a direction I'm interested in. In fact, it's counteractive to the current plot I've got going on.

And that's all. I'll see you next chapter.