Everyone was seated on the edge of their seats, eagerly (and fearfully, to some) awaiting the next alternate version of Subaru they'll meet. While most of them were just excited to see another side of the raven-haired boy, some got a bit anxious from how the temporary Warden seemed to speak ill of the next one.
A certain cat demihuman restlessly stared at the stage in front of them. "I really have a bad feeling about this for some reason, nya..." His tail flicked to and fro, indicating his obvious anxiety.
"Calm down, Felix." His lady, Crusch, admonished him with a quiet shush. "He can't be that bad. From what we've seen, they all each have their own vices, but in the end, they still mean well." Even Gluttony was just playing the cards he was dealt with... no matter how wrong and unguided he was.
"I-I don't know, Crusch-sama. It's just that my instincts are yelling at me right nyow." His ears drooped down as he talked.
Meanwhile, Garfiel suddenly stood from his seat, all the while waving his fist in the air. "Oi! When's this thing goin'?! We've been waiting forever now!" He glared at the dark ceiling of the huge room, as if to see wherever the voice that talked to them went. "Warden! Warden! War—"
"W-would you calm yourself down, Garfiel?!" Otto nervously laughed at everyone looking at them as he tried to pull the young man back to his seat. "It hasn't even been three minutes!"
Emilia slightly giggled as she looked away from the pair. Glancing to her side, there still lay the sleeping form of her knight, Subaru. Her gaze softened, remembering just what this unassuming boy did in the background to save her and many others' lives. After they get out of here, she swore she'll make a difference herself, one that will hopefully lighten the man's burden from then on.
As she made to grab his hand on his armchair, a small hand instantly snatched it away, making her look at the culprit with a small pout. "Beatrice..."
"Hmp?" The little girl smugly looked at her as she did the same to Subaru's other hand, placing it around her waist. Inwardly, the icky feeling of envy bubbled within the great spirit's mind. So far everyone has had a prominent role in each of the other Subarus' life. She couldn't help but to feel jealous, wondering if it was just her fate to fade into the background outside of Subaru's— their— original path.
'Subaru...' Looking away from the fuming Emilia, Beatrice squeezed in her contractor's hold, wanting to feel more of his warmth.
Just then, the lights above the theater began to dim ever so slowly, making them all pause. It was followed by the usual disembodied voice guiding them throughout this whole time. At least that's what they thought, before they clearly heard this 'Warden's' voice.
"Aaah— aahh, ahh? Testing, testing." A definitive childlike voice of a girl spoke. "How do I know this thing is working? Is there a manual anywhere?"
Ram didn't bother stopping her audible sigh. "Great, a new one again..."
Garfiel finally sat down upon hearing the voice, albeit looking quite confused. Otto held the same feeling as Ram, as whenever there was a new Warden to guide them, new things (and mostly bad ones at that) sprouted up.
"Oh, you can hear me, you can hear me," followed by a couple of claps. "Alright, so... hello there, people of Envy route! Or should I say canon... eh, whatever."
Rem decided to finally speak, asking the most obvious question everyone had. "Uhm, excuse me, but who are you?"
"A new intern! Or something, hehe. Not really. I'll be taking over the theater for a bit."
Taking over? Was what everyone thought with a sweatdrop. Emilia cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. "Where did the other Warden go?"
"Oh, that guy? He's off to find Wrath and Pride. It's really hard to get ahold of those two, y'know?" The sound of clicking tongue was heard. "Poor guy, having to deal with those lunatics."
Priscilla's sharp voice cut before anyone could speak. "Then what, pray tell, could you possibly be here for, then?"
"He told you he'll show you Lust, didn't he? If we're talking about Lust, then it's only me who can bring him here! Or the only one who'll be willing to..." An awkward pause hung in the air. "Besides, if I let him do this he'll probably just show you the fake version of Lust."
Anastasia's ears perked up. "Fake? So there are original and fake IFs too?"
"Oh, no. Only for Lust." She lightly coughed. "You see, the path of Lust was sooo controversial and mysterious, even 'God' itself decided it had to destroy it! Nothing made sense in it after all. Thankfully I, Paradox, is here to save the day! I fill in the void between idea and reality, or in this case, Lust's intended outcome and Subaru's path towards that goal." She seemed to hum to herself for a second. "You can say I exist to fill in the gaps of a route and make it 'real', or as real as it can be."
"Huh?" was Garfiel's intelligent reply.
Beatrice's eyebrows furrowed. "So this 'Lust If' does not truly exist, I suppose?"
"It used to. But it still technically does! I mean Lust's outcome is still there." Paradox gave them a short, knowing giggle. "Oh, and what a fun outcome it is... It's such a waste to throw it away, y'know? D—... Subaru deserves happiness, after all."
Emilia's constant frown ever since the beginning of this whole escapade eased up. "S-so this Lust If is also..." A small smile graced her face. "Just like Sloth, huh... Gee, I wonder who Subaru ended up with thi—"
"I'm afraid not, Emilia." Crusch's cold voice interjected her, turning everyone's attention to the frowning face of the woman. "Don't forget her earlier words. 'God' deemed this path so heretical that it destroyed it. I don't know if we can trust this new voice's words at all."
"Oho... as expected of Crusch. Ever so vigilant, even when I tried my best to sound so nonchalant." The cheerful tone suddenly disappeared from Paradox's voice. "But I never lied, though!" Then within a blink, it was back. "It's true that Subaru is really happy on this route!"
"I don't like how you worded that..." Ram narrowed her eyes.
Paradox giggled to herself. "Well, just give me a second, 'kay? I'll go call him and you guys just... wait or something. See ya!"
Lugnica's Castle, midnight.
It's been quite a tiresome day for him, even more so than usual. There were more 'uprisings'— if he could even call them that— earlier this morning. By themselves they're nothing but spineless fools, so someone must've been egging those peasants on. It could only be none other than his stupid daughters once again. Honestly, they're too tenacious for their own good.
Well, it didn't bother him that much. As their father, it's his job to discipline them after all.
He slipped his arms below his head as he stared up from the bed he was lying on, accidentally pulling the bedsheets covering him down below. It showed his bare shoulder and upper chest, suggesting his current state of undress under the sheets.
Beside him, a figure's similarly bare back could be seen facing him. From their lithe shoulders and visible long, silver hair, it was easy to assume that they were a girl. A purple flower of some kind can be seen on the upper right side of her head.
Snaking a hand over the girl's head, the raven-haired boy patted it tenderly, earning him a low hum. "You did great as usual, Lia."
The girl merely gives him a small nod in reply. Knowing that's the best reaction he'll get from her for now, Subaru went to stand up and collect his clothes lying haphazardly on the floor. "Well, that's it for tonight. Do remember to tell Elena that she's been pushing my buttons a lot lately, and so she might want to lay low for a while. Unless of course she's raring for another disciplinary session with me…" He let out a quiet chuckle. The man quickly left the room after his unnerving words.
As she heard the door of her room close, Lia began to curl up to herself, trembling. With glazed-over eyes, tears fell down her cheeks. Even still, the girl betrayed no emotions at all, her face that of a blank slate, with her lips shut tight in a straight line. Unfeeling she was so that she didn't even take notice when a bright flash exploded outside of her room, visible through the cracks of her door.
=-...-=
The dim lights from before slowly faded darker even more, alarming some of the cast. The Pearlbatons worriedly looked around them in the dark, despite having better eyesight than most of the people present. Petra began to hug Frederica who protectively pulled the girl closer to her.
Within the blink of an eye, the lights went back to life. Now that everything was sufficiently illuminated again, They could finally see the new figure standing on the stage, one who distinctly looked like the person who was currently sleeping on the front seats. There was no mistaking that this person was the next Subaru they were supposed to meet.
"..."
Unlike the previous Subaru's, this one didn't seem to panic in the slightest, save for a slight rose of an eyebrow. Instead, he instantly kept an appraising gaze over each and one of them, his eyes narrowing on specific individuals more so.
Anastasia eyed the most obvious difference this Subaru had from the original one— his overall appearance. He wore a tight-fitting black shirt, his neck and upper chest visible from the wide v-neck cut of the clothing. He also had a long, ebony jacket worn over it, its internal color that of dark purple. Its sleeves reached up to his arms, ending in a curved way as to cover the back of his palms. Lastly, on his neck hung a pair of necklaces; one of which they recognized being the same as Greed Subaru's, while the other one, a simple adornment perfected with the bright red garnet tied to it, remained a mystery.
The new Subaru seemed to clutch the mysterious necklace for a moment, frowning, then looked back at them as if nothing happened.
While the merchant princess took notice of his outward appearance, Priscilla and Crusch immediately recognized the calm yet proud stance of the young man instead. Straight back, chin up high as if he was looking down on them— on her, Priscilla thought in annoyance—, and the unreadable yet serious expression on his face... He effortlessly seemed to exude an aura of a 'superior' being; one that demanded anyone to bow and submit to him with so much as a stare.
The lengthy silence from both sides went on, no one daring to utter a single word. Yet even out of all of them, Reinhard's were much more prominent, it being visible from the pair of widened eyes he had.
'What is this aura...?'
Something felt terribly wrong about him. As soon as Subaru appeared earlier, he felt his stomach drop, along with a sudden light nausea assaulting him. It was hard to describe exactly, but Reinhard was sure that it definitely wasn't a good feeling.
As if he somehow noticed his distress, Subaru turned to look at him with his unfeeling eyes. He could've been mistaken but he thought he saw him smirk for a split second, too. After that, the foul atmosphere the raven-haired boy seemed to exude instantly vanished without a trace, leaving the red-haired knight stupefied.
Growing tired of the lengthy silence between them, Anastasia began to think of something to break the ice. With a mischievous smile, she stood up, catching everyone's attention. "Subaru, it's good to see you!"
While they didn't know anything at all about this Subaru, Anastasia thought she couldn't possibly go wrong with a random greeting. She wanted to repeat what she did with Greed, probing the strange boy for something to entertain her.
"... Anastasia." He gave her a small smile, one that somehow made her feel uneasy instead. "Indeed, it is great to see you too." He started walking up to her seat, most likely for a harmless handshake if his outstretched hand were anything to go by.
Ignoring the tingling sensation at the back of her mind, she smiled in return, moving to grab his offered arm.
In an instant, Julius' sword was brandished right in front of her, the back of the rigid knight blocking her vision. Before she could cry out in confusion, the resounding clang of metal hitting another reached her ears.
A quick glance from her knight's side revealed an ornate, gem-riddled dagger locked with Julius' sword, it being held by the finely-dressed Subaru before him.
The purple-haired knight gritted his teeth. "What are you doing, Subaru?! You reek of killing intent!"
The merchant princess widened her eyes. Subaru was about to stab her in cold blood earlier.
"Why, it is as you see. Anastasia would never happily call out to me like that, meaning she must be another assassin sent out for me." He shrugged, his hand holding his knife barely moving, as opposed to Julius' violently shaking ones. "Rather, what are you doing? Are you rebelling against me once again, Julius?"
During the entire time he was talking, however, the said knight could barely hear him. He was too busy pushing back the unnaturally powerful push of his friend's other self. 'Even though I don't have my spirits with me right now, I still shouldn't have this much trouble simply blocking a telegraphed strike...' He quickly took a step back, surprised by a sudden wave of push once again. 'And yet, I'm barely holding on in here? What is this inhuman strength...?'
"Subaru, stop!" Anastasia didn't miss the obvious struggle of her knight. "Forgive me, I was just joking. Please stop this and let me explain." She tried to sound composed and calm as she could be.
All she got was an intrigued, raised eyebrow, though thankfully the boy did pull away. The merchant princess worriedly glanced at the still dumbfounded look of her knight, but quickly looked back at the impatient-looking Subaru.
"Go on then." He simply said, his once hidden dagger disappearing beneath his jacket.
Julius eyed him as he moved aside. 'I didn't even see him pull it out. Were it not for my instincts, my lady would have...' Ironically, he was thankful for his sudden burst of killing intent, right before he swung at her.
"First, I really am Anastasia. I'm not an assassin or anything." She held up her hands, shakily smiling. "Though I might not be the Anastasia you know..."
Instead of the questioning look she imagined, Subaru only gave her a piercing leer and nothing more. He looked to the side, rubbing his chin, then turned back to her once again. This time, his face was back to that of the blank slate he had when he appeared.
"Hm... I see. Then," He slightly bowed at her, surprising both the knight and the girl by his sudden submissive gesture. "I apologize for attacking you, 'Anastasia'." he straightened up, moving back to the stage in front of everyone.
As the pair went back to their seats while Subaru reached the stage, he continued on. "Assassins are no stranger to my life, and I just acted on instinct, you see." He audibly sighed, sounding more tired than anything. "In hindsight, I should've realized something was amiss when an apparent assassin readily broke their character. That was foolish of me, and again I apologize."
Anastasia was visibly overwhelmed, her mind still reeling from the fact that she just almost died earlier. Now, her would-be murderer was profusely apologizing to her, words sounding sincere despite the lack of emotion on his face.
"No, please don't. I had it coming. I just didn't expect something like... that happening." She hid her nervousness with a practiced smile.
"If what you say is true, then who are you?" Subaru gave her a mirthful chuckle. "As I said, the Anastasia I know would never happily wave at me. In fact, looking back I think it's hilarious."
So she and Subaru know each other in his world, though from what he's been saying it makes her wonder just what kind of relationship they have. Before she could answer him, however, she saw the boy raise an open palm towards her, his amicable expression replaced by his former cold, steely gaze. His dreadful eyes weren't directed at her, at least.
"Reinhard." he spat, the sharp edges noticeable on his words.
Surprised by the sudden animosity he was getting, Reinhard could only hesitantly nod in reply. Did he do something wrong?
"Why are you with Felt?"
While the question seemed normal enough, it was his tone that caught Reinhard off guard. Subaru almost growled out each word at him from the way he spoke it. For some reason, Subaru was enraged to see him with his lady.
"I... I beg your pardon?" Was his best reply. "It is as Anastasia-sama said, we're not the same ones you may know..." Though that made him think just what he was supposed to be in this Subaru's world for him to receive that kind of reaction. "It is only natural for me to be by milady's side, for I am her knight."
"Huh..." He turned back to Anastasia, who only gave him a simple nod. Subaru's anger seemed to simmer down almost instantly. "So that went for all of you, is that so?" He eyed some specific people, Roswaal, Rem, Otto and Garfiel just to name a few. "No wonder."
He then shot a look at a confused-looking Felt. "Felt does look... calm. I'm seriously tripping all over the place here, and I don't like it. Anyone care to clue me in what's going on?"
After a random scream of "I'm always calm!" in the background, Rem seized the opportunity to finally talk with this new Subaru. "Allow me to explain, Subaru." For some reason, she thought she saw him frown a little as he turned to her, but chalked it up to her just seeing things. "Following on what Anastasia-sama and Reinhard-sama said, we're in fact from a completely alternate reality from yours, at least that's what the people who gathered us here said." As if to prove her point, she gestured to the real Subaru sleeping beside her.
The Subaru on stage visibly cringed in disgust— the very first genuine emotion he showed ever since he appeared. He seemed somewhat surprised too, as if he hadn't noticed the sleeping Subaru at all despite him being right in front of him the whole time. "... I see." He quickly looked away from his spitting image and to the one sitting on it instead.
His revolted expression earlier vanished in an instant, replaced by a small, knowing smile.
"Beatrice. Now this is a sight for sore eyes."
His staring of her seemed normal at first, yet as he kept on doing it longer and longer, the great spirit understandably grew uncomfortable. His smile widened each second he laid his eyes on her.
"Could you stop doing that, I suppose?" Beatrice knew instinctively. This person was definitely not her Subaru. Something just... wasn't right with the way he looked at her.
"Ah, pardon me." He gave her a slight bow of his head, though his smirk was still there. "It's just I haven't seen you in a while now back in my world."
Her judgment of him momentarily forgotten, she began to get depressed again as it looked like she didn't have much involvement in his world either, just like the other ones. "Where did Betty go, I wonder...?"
Subaru smiled at that, his eyes closed. "You killed yourself."
The artificial spirit's breathing, along with everyone's close to her, hitched.
"W-what? Betty wouldn't..." The blonde girl looked down in despair. Did Subaru not save her from her prison in that world? Maybe she stayed adamant and idiotic, refusing his request— their contract— until he gave up on her? Belatedly, she just realized that Subaru refers to her by her real name, as opposed to his usual nickname of her; a clear sign of a cold and formal relationship between them.
"That's why, please forgive me from earlier. I didn't mean anything by it." He gave her an apologetic smile. "I just really miss you, is all."
"I-I understand, I suppose..." Beatrice quieted into the background, trembling. She did her best to stop herself from bawling there and then.
Emilia gazed at the spirit, pity visible in her eyes. She looked at Crusch hoping that he might just be joking— as terrible it is as it was—, but the girl only gave her a grim look, shaking her head.
Seeing how the Emilia camp seemed too depressed to talk at the moment, Wilhelm took it upon himself to converse more with the strange young man. "Subaru-dono. I do not know if you recognize me or not, but I am Wilhelm Van Astrea, a humble aide of milady Crusch-sama. Me and the Subaru of our world are quite acquaintanced, if I do say so myself." He stood and gave a respectable bow.
"Ah, Wilhelm. Yes, yes. I know of you." Subaru stared at the old man, his facial expression returning to an unreadable blank slate. "The Demon Sword, am I right?"
"I am but a shadow of my former glory, though yes, people do still call me as such." Wilhelm chuckled as he sat back. "May I ask for some more differences between our world and yours?" He gave a sympathetic glance at the downcast great spirit in front. "Something more... pleasant this time around, if I may ask."
"Sure." The raven-haired boy nodded. "If someone can give me a summary of this one's..." he glared at his sleeping other self, too quick for anyone but the ones in front to see. "'adventure', then I'll be able to tell where the similarities end and our differences begin. Though I already have some ideas, from what I can tell so far."
They spent a number of minutes recalling the major events that happened till now. That entire time, Subaru kept an attentive ear, although he seemed displeased as he listened more and more to their stories.
"... And here we are." Emilia loudly sighed, visibly tired even though she just talked about a single 'arc', as the Wardens called it. Each of those were stressful; the simple act of retelling them caused her to remember just how much their Subaru has gone through for them.
"Thank you, Emilia, everyone." He heaved a loud breath, pondering about what he just heard. Everyone waited with bated breaths for his turn at the storytelling. "Well, what can I say..."
"This version of me really is stupid, isn't he? Heh." He shrugged, a smug smile etched on his face.
It wasn't a surprise when almost everyone gave him a reproaching look. He didn't buckle down from their intense glare, however, taking it in stride.
"Take that back." Rem gripped the armrest of her chair hard, enough for it to audibly crack under the immense pressure.
"I will not, Rem." Subaru narrowed his eyes at her.
"Why are you being so mean?" Petra yelled at him from the left side of the seats. "Subaru-san's amazing! He did all of that for—"
"For all of your undeserving asses." He glared at the little girl, shutting her up. "And that to me is the height of idiocy." Petra recoiled upon hearing his words, her mind reeling from the fact that Subaru— or at least, someone with his face— said such things to her.
Priscilla on the other hand kept to herself. After all, she shared the same opinion as this Subaru. Inwardly she smiled to herself, wanting to see more of this interesting version of his.
"You don't believe me? Then allow me to tell you what he would have achieved had he not focused on you people, but himself." He straightened his pose even more, holding his hands behind his back.
"I am Natsuki Subaru, the ruling Kingof the Holy Kingdom of Lugnica." Ignoring their unbelieving stares, he continued. "I single-handedly ended racial prejudice of every race within my kingdom. I've brought prosperity upon its lands, enough for it to be written as the golden age within the annals of its history. I ended the Witch's Cult's reign of terror and subsequently dominated a number of its ranking officers, namely a handful of archbishops, and enslaved them to my service for eternity."
Subaru smirked, letting things sink in. Just as he saw someone moving to speak, he once again pressed on. "I've widened the country's borders by a significant amount. I've won numerous wars for the glory of my kingdom. I am responsible for the revival of a number of witches, including Satella, and their subsequent fall under my authority."
"Virtually, you may call me the king of my world."
Silence once again pervaded the whole theater. Each declaration sounded more and more unbelievable. Every time they couldn't help but look at either Crusch or Reinhard, seeking confirmation, only to see the utter disbelief on each of their faces. Not a shake came from the two.
Garfiel unsurprisingly broke the tension between them. "What a load of bull!"
Otto shakily laughed at him. "If only..."
Anastasia recovered shortly, looking quite miffed. "He basically made a utopia. Is that what he's saying?"
Priscilla snorted. "As if such a thing exists." She leered at him, her mouth covered by her fan. "You may fool these unknowing imbeciles, but you will never fool me."
Felix angrily gritted his teeth at her, glaring. "My master's ability never fails! And besides, Reinhard also—"
"That's not what I'm talking about, you vermin."
At this exchange, Subaru only stayed quiet, though he kept his gaze at the fiery woman. He silently urged her to continue.
"Your honeyed words may have spoken nothing but the truth, but you deliberately left out the dirt you've made, haven't you? Only speaking of your great accomplishments and naught of your dirty work. Spoken like a true scumbag of a noble indeed."
Subaru smirked back at her own, chuckling.
"You've always been the sharp one, Priscilla... As expected of one of the most annoying bitch I had the pleasure to meet." He combed his hair back with his fingers, then whipped his head to the side, changing his hairstyle. "Indeed. I only spoke of my accomplishments and not of the... dirty side of things."
Frederica visibly looked baffled. "Everything sounded perfect already, though. Unless it was something really horrible, it'll be hard to outweigh that much success he did."
"M... murder, perhaps?" Emilia visibly looked uncomfortable, still remembering their meeting with Gluttony.
Petra felt even more horrible hearing that. "A-another Subaru that's a murderer...?"
Julius shook his head at the two. "Remember, Emilia-sama, Petra-san. Subaru spoke of wars he's been through. As the king, he is also responsible for all the deaths during those fights. Also, damning as it may be... murder isn't anything new when it comes to politics, so it couldn't possibly be that." The knight looked down, being reminded of just how dark the infamous game of politics can be.
In response, the young maid only looked distraught even more. "I don't understand..."
The petite merchant princess decided to chime in. "Come to think of it, he never said anything about his subjects, or any of his people for that matter."
Subaru, who was satisfied to just let them discuss about it and watch, perked up upon hearing her. "Indeed, I didn't."
"And why is that, I wonder?" With narrowed eyes, Anastasia crossed her arms on her chest. "Tyranny, indiscriminate murder, rampant slavery? Maybe all of them?"
"Those are very strong words," he shook his head slightly. "I prefer to call it 'leading my kingdom as I'm fit to do so', 'cleaning up filth', and 'job opportunities' for my lovely subjects."
"Charming." Sarcasm wasn't lost in the small-statured woman's tone. "I'm sure they love you as their king."
"Actually they do." This time, he did actually sound genuine, and his ever confident stance straightened even more as well. "Like I said, what I'm doing isn't so black and white that you may readily label them as good and evil. It works, the results are there, so they still love and respect me," Subaru shrugged to himself. "it's hard not to when you're a former slum dweller but then you can suddenly eat thrice a day, or when you're a noble and your coffers are always full."
The merchant girl looked like she still had something to say, but opted to just grumble under her breath. If his success really was that prominent within his kingdom, then it's understandable that his people would overlook any slight misgiving he has.
"And trust me, Anastasia," he looks her straight in the eye. "I hate slavery just as much as you do. I worked hard to purge Kararagi of its rotten own slavery system as soon as I got word of it."
"What...?" She couldn't believe what she just heard. Kararagi's slavery business reaches far and wide, a scale so large that even she, as a very outstanding and powerful figure among her country's upper echelon, couldn't truly erase. God knows how hard she tried wiping that disease off her homeland.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Subaru only shook his head at her, sighing. "Anastasia, you had enough power to completely overturn Kararagi's government single handedly— a single decent assassin would've been enough to behead the corrupt leaders up above it. I'm sure you know that some of them had a hand on keeping those slavers safe and running. Without them, those rats would simply be smashed flat under your foot."
Anastasia's frown deepened even more. "Even if that was the case, what business would you have butting in our personal affairs like that?" She refuses to believe that he just did it out of the 'goodness' of his heart. There must be another reason she's missing… And from the way he's just silently smirking at her, it looks like he won't be telling her either.
Ricardo, the wolf demihuman accompanying Anastasia, butted in, though for some reason he looks… quite disturbed, somehow. "Anastasia-sama. Is it possible that… Subaru also rules over Kararagi in his world?"
"Of course n—" not… is what she wanted to say. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Subaru spoke of wars he's been on, and him 'expanding' Lugnica's borders. Doesn't that actually mean…
The merchant princess' eyes widened. "You invaded Kararagi?!"
Tivey shakily adjusted his monocle, sweat visible on his face. "He… he never said the wars he won were him defending."
"Urgh..." Julius' eyes grew sharper with contempt at the floor, though still avoiding looking directly at the grinning man in front of them.
Reinhard didn't like where this conversation was going. If Subaru really was the king of his world, then he, as a knight sworn to his kingdom, must be under Subaru's rule as well. From the sound of it, Subaru has shattered the peaceful boundary between the neighboring kingdoms of their world, and has most likely scrapped 'Reinhard Law' as well...
He tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, frowning.
"Yes, I invaded it. It was hard-fought, you know. There's this wolf-person who was almost as strong as Reinhard." Subaru lightly laughed at the memory. "Not to mention Anastasia always pulling fast ones against us in the political and financial front of the war."
Felt couldn't believe what she just heard. "S-someone as strong as Reinhard?! Then how did you..." Her eyes widened, realizing something. She turned to her knight. "Oh no..."
"Oh, it's not like what you think." Subaru placated the knight and master, holding his hand up. "Reinhard didn't help me with that fight."
That gave the redhead some hope. Perhaps he wasn't forced to fight in that world after all...
"He was busy slaughtering the Divine Generals of whatever in Vollachia."
As soon as it appeared, it was gone. Reinhard's grip shook, it only lessening when he felt his master's hand atop his own.
"Get a grip, you. Remember, that Reinhard isn't you." Felt spoke as she continued to glare at Subaru.
She's right. Reinhard realized he shouldn't beat himself up over something he couldn't have possibly prevented... Though he still couldn't help but to feel for that other version of him. He can slay his opponent in the name of protecting Lugnica's people, but to 'slaughter', simply for the purpose of conquering a country?
"You look like you have something to say, Reinhard. Out with it." The boy's ever cold voice called out to him.
"... I... I have none." Reinhard looked down. He was curious, but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know just what happened.
Rem, being just a few feet away from self-proclaimeed king, heard his mutterings under his breath. "Spineless, naive fo—..." Without a warning, he paused.
Subaru glanced at the eavesdropping oni, his eyes narrowed. Rem looked away, feeling the growing pit of dread on her stomach grow. Subaru somehow noticed her from the corner of his eyes.
Off to the sidelines, a certain Vollachian princess couldn't believe what she just heard, though she was doing a fine job of hiding her shock. She's definitely aware of how strong the Lugnican redhead knight is, but for him to defeat the entirety of the Divine Generals? 'Bluff? No... He's specifically leaving out other information again.'
She couldn't say she enjoyed nor hated her conversation with the so-called king so far. It reminds her of those good-for-nothing ingrates at the throne back in her homeland, yet talking to someone with a higher brain capacity than a chimpanzee was also refreshing. Indeed, it might've even been pleasant if not for his unabashed leering of her body from time to time.
A few moments passed by without anyone saying anything. The otherworldly man seemed content with the silence, while everyone else pondered about their thoughts on what they think about him.
Petra in particular didn't like him. At all. There was something else in the way his eyes wander about everyone, particularly the girls... including her. Whenever their gazes meet, he'd smile at her. With the face of her idol, her secret loved one, he gave her that look... one that always sent a shiver down her spine so far.
"F-Frederica-san..." Petra clenched her grip over Frederica's arm. "For... for some reason, I feel really, really scared of Subaru-san."
Frederica wasn't sure if Petra was aware of it, but she's shaking. She can definitely tell how terrified the young girl was. Normally she'd calm her down right away with her words, but the thing is, even she's feeling something. Her werebeast's blood is screaming at her to get the hell away from that man— the one who wore the skin of one of her friends, Subaru. He's dangerous. Really dangerous... it reminds her of that time when she met that one assassin in the mansion, and at the same time, the lustful gazes she'd get whenever she'd visit a human town...
A mix of bloodthirst and lust. What a terrifying combination.
Still, she hasn't forgotten her duties as Petra's guardian, and personally her older sister. "Excuse me. You."
"Greetings, Frederica. You call—" Before he could finish, the werewoman cut him off.
"You're definitely not our Subaru, aren't you. He's compassionate, understanding, and most of all, a gentleman. Though I admit he can be a bit a perverted by himself, but that's just because he's still a man. You, on the other hand… you've been looking at us with that disgusting gaze of yours for a while now."
She growled at him, making sure to show her sharp teeth. "Stop it. You make my skin crawl."
Everyone was quiet after hearing her outburst. Most of them haven't really noticed him doing any of that, for various reasons. Those that did though nodded at her words, collectively giving their own glares at the young man.
Emilia and Rem in particular were surprised. After all, even though they were so close, they've never ever seen him look at them like that before. The half-elf and oni do remember him leering at Beatrice instead... It made Emilia feel queasy and inadequate, while Rem's dwindling trust and expectations of this new Subaru just continued to plummet even more.
"While it's understandable you would be entranced by mineself," Priscilla held her head up, looking down on him from her seat. "do keep your urges to yourself. It is not a pleasant feeling to be stared at by a dog. Would you mind your manners?"
Crusch in particular just kept to herself, wanting to observe some more. Discreetly, she leaned in her knight's ear and whispered. "What do you think of Subaru so far, Felix?"
Knowing her knight, she expected a quick response, maybe even an outcry about the boy's obvious misgivings. Instead, an awkward period of silence was what greeted her, prompting her to scan the cat demihuman's features.
Felix looked from side to side, then to Subaru on the stage who looked preoccupied by other people. The knight spent a moment mumbling something incoherent to himself, then looked back at his lady, his ears drooping low by the second.
Crusch put a hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"
"N-nothing, Crusch-sama." He gave her his usual smile. Crusch didn't need to use her blessing to tell he was lying. Just looking at his shaky smile, his tail which sprung up straight behind him, and his downtrodden ears, she knew her knight was getting agitated, perhaps even... scared.
While she admits Felix was never a person meant to be on the frontlines, he can still hold his own ground and has a corresponding amount of confidence and bravery in of himself. She could understand his hatred at Subaru, but his fear? Was it because of Subaru's apparent inhuman strength? No, it can't be... He's fought many stronger foes with a nonchalant grin and won. So why? Why was her trusted knight so obviously afraid?
Inside his mind, the cat boy was in the verge of his own panic attack. Felix almost feels like hyperventilating there and then.
'I can smell my master's scent on him... how? Why?!' His grip on his skirt tightened, crumpling it. 'Not only that, but a lot of other people too... It's so potent, it couldn't have been just from a mere handshake or hug...'
'No, it can't be... I-I'm imagining things.' He nervously shook his head, followed by a quiet laugh.
Maybe it was just someone who had a similar perfume as his master. The demihuman shuffled on his seat as he tried to compose himself.
By this point, all of them understood that this Subaru wasn't anything like their own at all. Sloth, though he may be a lot older than his original self, still showed the compassion they've always seen from the boy. Greed, though misguided, only wanted nothing but good for them. He was much more comparable to Gluttony; a complete enigma of a person— someone whose only resemblance of Subaru was their appearance.
Unlike the white-haired Subaru, however, Lust made them feel... sick. His initial presence alone felt overwhelming, but after he started conversing to them more and more, the growing feeling of something wrong slowly made itself known to them.
Was it the complete lack of emotion in his eyes? His overconfident stance? His unbelievable achievements?
No. It was as Frederica said, only she was slightly off. He wasn't merely looking at them with lust...
"You all look so young again, I can't help it." He shrugged. "Everyone's a lot older in my world now. Not that I love them less, they all still look stunning even after birthing my children."
It was as if he was looking at them as if he owned them.
Frederica bristled upon hearing his words. Rage bubbled within her heart as she slowly unraveled the truth about this person. Not just her but more and more of them was starting to realize this Subaru's true nature.
A certain green-haired candidate narrowed her eyes. "What... do you mean by that? Who are your wives?"
"A lot of people. We'd be here for a whole day if I started naming everyone." He nonchalantly replied. "But to answer your question as best as I can for the meantime: every girl present here, I've already fucked."
Beatrice finally snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing that, though her mind was still in a disarray. So he made love with everyone here? Of course, she wasn't mentioned again, after all, she's apparently de—
'... Everyone...?'
She looked up to see the grinning face of Subaru at her.
"Beatrice, you were my first. Surprised, aren't you? I was too back then. I would've thought it was Rem, or even Emilia. But after contracting with you, you started sleeping with me in my room, curling up cutely on my lap every time I gave you my mana..."
"Who would be able to restrain themselves after being seduced like that, right?" Subaru heartily laughed to himself. His earlier quiet visage was long gone, now replaced by an almost overzealous persona as he continued his spiel.
"That's why every night, after she'd fall asleep from the mana transfer... I'd fuck her. Rape her in her sleep. And she'd always mewl and call out my name while I did." His eyes turned into pinpricks, with his smile reaching from ear to ear. "She's tiny so I could just lift her above me and hug her while I do her. She'd never wake up. At some point I thought she was just acting..."
He turned to the shellshocked form of Beatrice, the drill-haired girl's face turning a bit blue with her eyes wide as saucers. "B-but, but... Subaru... you, you wouldn't..."
"Ah, yeah. One night she woke up, and then suddenly she started crying. Kept yelling 'betrayal' and all that. The day after that we couldn't find her anymore. I could still feel our connection, but after a while it disappeared." He sighed. "No mana means death. I guess she was too depressed to remember that."
The contracted spirit felt her whole body shake. Just imagining it made her head hurt. How could Subaru do that? She tried reminding herself that this wasn't her Subaru, that her Subaru was right behind her, sleeping, but...
"Oh Beatrice. You never know, that Subaru might already be doing you behind your back." He glowered as he looked down on her. "Don't be like my Beatrice and just take it, would you? She made a promise that we'll always be together forever. You made that too, didn't you?"
"Stop!" The blonde spirit covered her ears, trembling. "Stop it, I say! Stop talking!" Tears fell down her skirt as she looked down. Emilia hurriedly hugged the girl, not really understanding what's happening.
Rem finally had enough. Her eyes darkened, not unlike the first few loops she had with Subaru. "Disgusting. You... I hate you."
"Hoh...?" The man turned to her, his arms crossed. "That line's familiar... that's exactly what you said that one time with your sister. Of course, you were referring to her instead of me."
Ram, who shared the same sentiments as with her sister, frowned after hearing his words. "Rem called me... disgusting? When obviously you're the only filth in that world, you pig."
"Yes." Subaru glanced at her, smirking. "She caught us having sex in the middle of the night... she felt more betrayed of you than me."
That gave the pink-haired maid a pause. She instantly got her glare back, however. "What, you assaulted me too like what you did to the other Beatrice-sama?"
"What? Surely you jest. You'd have beaten me half to death if I so much touched your lacking breast that time." He snorted.
"Roswaal gave you to me."
Now that got a rise from the fuming maid. She instantly turned to her master right beside her, who in turn looked more curious than anything, keeping his gaze on the boy and not giving her any mind at all. She turned back to Subaru.
"Roswaal strives to finish a certain goal he has, and he'll do everything he can to achieve it. It just so happens that that includes prostituting you away to me in exchange for my help." He turned his eyes to the quiet man. "I guarantee you that you will achieve that which you seek if you do that. The Roswaal of my world did, after all."
Ram completely trusts Roswaal, for all that he's done to her and her sister. So much so that she begrudgingly acknowledges the fact that she'll probably obey him if he ever did that. Not that he'll ever will, she thought.
Despite her absolutely confidence in that statement, she still couldn't help but to worriedly glance at him.
"Roswaal-sama..."
Snapped from his own deep thoughts, Roswaal blinked as his usual facade came back. "Yeeees, Ram?"
"... No, it's nothing. Forgive me." Ram decided to just tune out the words of the devil. Nothing good has come out of his mouth for a while now.
"You better be caref—"
"Please shut your mouth already." The pinkette's glare intensified even more.
"Fine, fine." Subaru held up his hands, turning back his attention to Rem. "As for you... after that, you started acting cold to both of us. Fast forward a few years and you became one of the commanding officers of that shoddy alliance who dare stand against my rule." He didn't look pleased at her at all.
Now things finally made sense to Rem- so that's why he wasn't fond of her. At the very least, her other self seemed to have been such a prominent thorn to this scum that he harbors a deep hatred for her. He and the other Rem sounded like they had the same relationship as her and the original Subaru in their timeline, as she was obviously hurt by his and her... alternate sister's tryst. At least until the things he did came to light.
She imagines the other Rem to be a reminiscence of herself back when she initially thought Subaru to be a witch cultists. She probably even hates him more there.
Rem thought she already got everything, but something still feels amiss. Like she forgot about one, important fact somewhere...
Her eyes widened.
"I'm your enemy, so how come I... I-I did that with—" Hearing just what she said, she instantly got that murderous look of hers again. "You... just like Beatrice-sama...!"
"Hm? Oh..." Subaru chuckled to himself, seemingly remembering something funny. "Yeah, so... Roswaal didn't only give Ram to me. He also gave you, but..."
Rem had the feeling she didn't want to hear this at all. Either way she knew she'd regret it, whether she didn't know the reason or not.
"...What?"
"You were still under Ley's— uhh, Gluttony's, powers." He scratched his head, smiling. "Still sleeping. Been fucking you while you were asleep for 4 years until you woke up, if I remember correctly."
Rem shot out from her seat like a bullet. Face contorted in unbridled anger, her single horn shining menacingly in her forehead... The armed oni was instantly right in front of the smiling Subaru, her morningstar hoisted above her.
She would've turned him into a bloody paste on the floor if not for the sudden change in Subaru's face.
"R... Rem-san?" He spoke in a shaky voice, fear written all over his face. Subconsciously, the image of Subaru being killed by her back when she barely knew him came crashing down, halting her in her tracks.
This momentary hesitation proved fatal for the armed oni, it turned out. As Subaru's face instantly morphed back into its condescending sneer, Rem found herself being blindsided by a sideways roundhouse kick, right to her shoulder. Pain shot through her whole body as the astonishingly strong hit blew her to the side, her body skidding to a halt a good ten meters away from her initial position.
"Sister!" Ram unsurprisingly called out in worry. Emilia and most of her camp were in a similar state of distress.
A bulky wolf demihuman who lead Anastasia's soldiers, Ricardo had his mouth open. "What the hell just happened?"
It wasn't hard to imagine just how strong Subaru had to be to ragdoll an oni, mono-horned or not, like that— with a single kick, nonetheless. Much more than his original self, definitely. Anastasia herself grimaced at the sight of the maid's crumpled form. So she wasn't just imagining the strained look her knight had when he locked sword and dagger with the boy.
Back to Subaru, he quickly patted the part of his pants that connected to the maid, his face scrunched up in annoyance. "Dumbass bitch..."
Ram, upon hearing the none-too-subtle jab, knowing what he did to her sister in his world, and witnessing the earlier kick, finally had enough. She would've gone storming into the stage as well if not for the firm grip her master had on her wrist. "Roswaal-sama!"
"Don't, Ram." He gestured to her seat, his usual smile visibly strained. "Rem attaaacked him first. That was merely him defending himself."
The pink-haired maid knew Roswaal had a point, despite Subaru obviously egging the already pissed off oni earlier. The fact that Rem tried to hit him first is still there, something that the raven-haired king definitely banked on.
"Mhm, correct." Subaru adjusted his suit, his face marred with obvious contempt. "If she was anyone lesser I'd already have her head for attempting to assault me, the king."
Rem wobbly stood up, a hand tentatively touching her throbbing shoulder. She didn't have to see it for her to know that it's bruising. His kick felt... really strong. Too strong.
The Subaru she knew, despite actually being more fit than those of his age, was still just that. Above average, in human standards. He can probably handle himself in a fistfight with another human, but certainly not against a demihuman, or an oni like her.
This Subaru, on the other hand, just kicked her away as if she weighed nothing. She barely even saw him move.
"What, did I hit you too hard?" The mocking tone of his voice was palpable. "Cat got your tongue?"
Just then, Rem noticed it. With the adrenaline leaving her body, the bubbling, almost rotting feeling encompassing the boy assaulted her senses, making her gag. It wasn't long until the staggering smell hit her nose, either. He, like her own Subaru, smelled of the witch, only his was much more intense than anything she had ever experienced; the rotting decay of flesh, along with the festering aura of blood and death. It all coalesced around him, spinning, as if he was the eye of a storm.
Rem could feel the bile on her stomach rising, teetering on the very edge of her throat.
He seemed to finally take note of her current state. With a simple snap of his finger, the deathly atmosphere around the both of them disappeared, as if it was never there to begin with. It was so sudden that the oni maid almost thought it was all just a hallucination brought up by her mind.
"As expected, it's hard to suppress the stagnation without the witches..." Rem heard him mutter under his breath. His eyes snapped to her direction, surprise barely visible within them. "Oh, you heard that, didn't you? I see you still have your horn so your senses must still be heightened."
Rem was surprised to feel someone grabbing her uninjured arm. She turned to see the concerned face of her lady, the half-elf's hand glowing an ethereal hue over her bruised shoulder. "Let's get you back to your seat."
As she stood up, she gave one last glare to the slightly grinning man before them. Unbeknowst to her, her scowl has significantly been cowed; from her effortless defeat, the dominating yet disgusting aura he (accidentally or not) showed her, and his apparent treatment of her other self back in his world, Rem's subconscious recognized him as someone to hate but not provoke, as someone to stop but not approach. Though she may not realize it just yet, her body has learned a valuable lesson during this entire encounter.
The seeds of fear began to sprout within her heart.
Internally, Subaru fought back a pleasurable shiver down his spine. He recognized that look she was giving him as she and Emilia walked away. Oh how he missed Rem's defiant face, and not of the broken and desperate one he's so used to back in his world. It stoked his desire to break it, to dismantle her pillars of hope one by one, just like he did back then. This encounter with these otherworldly people may not be such a huge waste of time, after all.
Amidst the oni and otherworlder's spat, meanwhile, the rest of the audience couldn't believe what this Subaru had just said. Crusch in particular looked a bit blue, having been a kindred victim with Rem under Gluttony's powers. Just imagining what he said made her head hurt; either from anger or disgust, she couldn't decide. Actually, it was most likely a very large dose of both.
'How can some apparent 'alternate version' of Subaru be so dark and rotten?' The difference between them was so absurd she could hardly believe he's actually Subaru, even with her blessing. He desecrated Rem's comatose body... for four years! Of course that accursed clown let him do it, but to think Subaru would even dare think about it was just so... unbelievable to her.
Wasn't this man just a... rapist? From what he's said, he's done all of this horrible things way before he even became a king. After he was crowned, just what could've this demon been doing to his kingdom? Anastasia and Priscilla spoke of the 'dirt' he must've left out with his grand speech earlier. Then, it must be...
'My god...' Crusch's eyes widened. 'Absolute madness. It can't be anything other than that. Behind the facade of a successful and prosperous kingdom hides this devil...' She involuntarily shuddered just imagining it.
And he said he's already conquered most of the other countries. His claws have already reached the literal ends of the world... Crusch put a shaking hand over her temples.
Off to her side, her knight was preoccupied with his own troubling thoughts.
'I was right. It really was milady's smell. That means her counterpart…' Felix bit his lip, his balled-up fist nearly turning white. 'This scumbag is worse than the original Subaru's lowest.'
At the very least, he can comfort himself with the reminder that it wasn't actually his master that that garbage sullied, but another Felix's. Still, he couldn't help but pity his other self.
'You did your best protecting milady, right…?'
=-...-=
Almost reflexively, Subaru stretched an open hand to his left, waiting for something, someone. He realized that he's alone right now and that his ever omnipresent trusted aid was, unsurprisingly, not actually always there by his side. It also reminded him of the world he had left to its own devices, and the handful of people most likely searching for him already. While he's undoubtedly been entertained so far, he still has things to do, in truth.
"So, is this all?" He crossed his arms, eyes furrowed in mock frustration. "Not to repeat myself or anything, but I am a king, and I have places to be right now." He idly wondered if time works differently here than his own, because if it wasn't, Emilia would've most likely killed someone by now from searching him.
Nobody really wanted him in here anymore, and most— if not all— silently agreed that this traumatic encounter should just end. As Emilia quietly helped Rem sit on her chair, however, the half-elf momentarily paused, an uncharacteristically serious yet downtrodden face staring at the bored looking boy.
"What... what happened to you, Subaru-ku... san?" She bit her lip, the suffix she just used for him so foreign to her. "How did you turn into this?"
Despite most of the things Subaru and everyone else talked about going over her head, the stunt he just did right now affirmed her suspicions. Just like Gluttony, this Subaru isn't... as nice as her reality's was. Rem obviously tried to attack him first, she understood that, but the way he kicked the maid through the stage didn't feel like a justified self defense at all.
From that, she speculated that something must have went terribly wrong for him in his world, just like the previous Subarus; Sloth giving up during the whale and witch cultist attack, Greed giving in to Echidna temptation, and Gluttony suffering at the hands of, ironically (or was that just the logical choice, she thought), the archbishop of said sin he represents.
After all, isn't that the actual root of the alternate realities? Each is born from a significant change in Subaru's fate. If not, Subaru, the one she knows, will continue on with his original path. There has to be a point of divergence in this Subaru's— Lust's— timeline. A certain terrible change for him to turn into... him. At least that's what Emilia thought.
It's just she couldn't accept that Subaru, her precious knight, friend, and special someone, could be so cruel as to make Beatrice cry or hurt Rem in any way. Not to mention the many uncomfortable looks everyone was giving him from whatever he's been saying that she just couldn't understand. Surely, there's a feasible reason... right?
This time, the ever confident Subaru did not answer immediately. Emilia noticed the furrowing of his eyebrows, his tensed arms, and more importantly, how he seemingly dodged her gaze for a moment. Just when it looked like he was going to speak, he froze, glancing at Crush and Reinhard instead. His slightly gaping mouth closed off to form a straight line once again.
"That's none of your business, Emilia."
Unsurprisingly, this only spurred on the stubborn half-elf. "No it isn't, but please tell me anyway, Subaru-san."
At that, the raven-haired boy scoffed. "If you're afraid that your own Subaru would somehow turn into me, rest assured. He's grown far too pathetic to even reach my foot soles." Shrugging, he continued. "From what you people have told me, our point of diversion has long since passed."
"That's important too, but…" Emilia looked down, her voice growing a tad quieter. "I don't like seeing you like this. I know you went through some kind of ordeal too, and I want to understand your pain. Perhaps then we can understand you, and you can share your troubles with me. I'm… I guess I'm just nosy like that." Looking up, she gave him a sheepish smile.
In response, Subaru looked absolutely stupefied. He's long forgotten the original personality of his wife— of Emilia. Vaguely, he remembered the days they spent back when neither of them were broken; days that he spent naively looking forward to the tomorrow, and of Emilia being the sole beacon of his miserable life.
But those times were long past gone for a reason. Just as far as he's passed the point of no return. Subaru's cold expression quickly reappeared.
"Please, shut the fuck up already. I loathe that patronizing, pitying act of yours, Emilia." The said half-elf visibly flinched at his harsh words. "Is this blunt enough for your stunted brain, you half-elf whore? Stop talking to me."
Quiet gasps rang out among those who were seated, coupled with a certain vollachian princess' hearty laughs.
Wide-eyed, the silver-haired girl couldn't form any words for a moment. It wasn't long until the corner of her eyes turned wet with tears. "I-I…" Emilia looked down on her feet, slight trembles wracking her body. "I'm sorry." With a hand clutched tightly over her chest, she slowly walked back to her seat without a word. A number of sharpened glares from everyone else were understandably shot on Subaru's direction.
"You know, when my Emilia asked that same question back in my world, she turned out the way she is now." He coldly stared back at them, then back to Emilia's frozen form. "And by that I mean she went insane. It's easier to hate me than to understand me. Remember that."
A deafening silence fell over the theater as most of them processed his words.
While the adults could easily see this Subaru for what he really is by now, a certain young lady still has a hard time digesting just what she was witnessing this entire time.
This whole ordeal has been nothing but a nightmare to the naive mind of Petra. Her head had been hurting for a while now, futilely trying to forget everything she's seen and heard. The evident despair on Beatrice's face, Rem's scornful and scared look, and Emilia's defeated form... Everyone either looked angry, fearful, or disgusted— and right in the middle of it was her crush's face; unfeeling mostly, yet at times, terrifying.
"Please, leave..." With a haunted look, the bright-haired little girl spoke, catching everyone's attention. "You're... you're a fake! R-right, you're not Subaru... j-just like Gluttony, you're not Subaru!"
"A... fake?"
Subaru's earlier bored expression vanished within a blink. The air seemed to drop a few degrees, tension thickening enough to suffocate those who're sensitive enough to feel it. For the very first time since he appeared, Subaru did not look blank, nor bored, nor disgusted, nor amused.
He looked livid.
The very next blink of her eyes showed Subaru rapidly walking up the stairs, his eyes never leaving her direction. Each step reverberated inside her ears. Louder, faster, as with her rapidly beating heart.
The murderous look he was giving her sent shivers down her spine. Not unlike the ones she got earlier with his leers, yet still very much different. Her fight or flee response was triggered, and it took her everything not to just stand up and run away while screaming in fear. Fortunately for her, the reassuring embrace of Frederica kept her anchored to her seat, yet even the comforting hold of her older sister figure could not stop her frightened mind.
'He's going to hurt me,' Is what she realized. In what way, she doesn't know, but she knew he will. Cowering, her view of his approaching form was blocked by the familiar back of a certain redhead knight.
"Step away." She heard Subaru speak behind Reinhard. "Did you not hear what she said? An outright disrespect to a noble, to the kingno less. Let me serve her just punishment."
While his words sounded civil, even Petra could feel the suffocating aura of his killing intent. Subaru was going to kill her. Subaru was going to kill her.
"Please refrain from doing so, your... majesty." Petra watched as the taller man bowed, once again letting her see the narrowed eyes of Subaru. "Petra-san is but a child, surely she did not mean what she said. Please reconsider your judgement."
"I don't care. I wasn't asking you, I was ordering you." Was the raven-haired boy's cold reply. "Stand aside, Reinhard."
"... No, I'm afraid I cannot do that." He slowly straightened up, a hand slowly reaching up to a simple sword strapped on his waist.
Subaru looked even more furious as Reinhard kept his stance, and for a second, everyone thought a fight was about to break out. To their surprise, Subaru only closed his eyes, then turned back towards the stage and walked away. The sword saint audibly sighed in relief, along with Frederica.
"Make no mistake, I won't forget this, Petra." The said girl heard his voice once again. "You're lucky I'm not fit to scuffle with Reinhard right now."
Petra felt her older sister's hold tighten around her. She must've started hyperventilating again. But she's fine now, right? Reinhard is strong, and her sister Frederica is with her...
The man looked to his side, mumbled something no one could hear, then nodded. "Yes. Once I'm back in my world, I'll be sure to punish your counterpart in your stead."
It's as if ice-cold water washed over her whole body.
'W-what? He's... he's going to hurt my other self because of me...!' Petra thought in a panic. If his glare was enough to rattle her like this, who knows just what he's capable of doing to her other self? She couldn't even imagine it even if she wanted to.
"N-no, please, don't!" She stood up, face stricken with guilt. "I-I'm sorry, Subaru-san—" she saw his eye twitch. She was confused for a moment until she remembered his standing. "... Subaru-sama... I-I'm very sorry, please, don't hurt the other Petra..."
Frederica dragged down the clearly guilty girl back to her seat, patting her back. "Stop that, Petra. Don't call him that. He's just a—"
"B-But, the other Petra... I don't want her to be scared like me, or hurt!" Even now she was still shaking. In fact, hasn't she been trembling this whole time?
The blonde werewoman didn't know what to say to that.
Subaru, having quietly listened to the entirety of her pleading, snorted. "There is no need to feel guilty. My Petra, she's..." A tiny smirk graced his face. "she's trained. No matter what I do to her, she'll love it, don't worry."
"E-eh?" Petra didn't understand. So her other self and this Subaru, they're actually close? He spoke of love... but no, wasn't he a 'terrible person'? What could he have meant by that?
Frederica on the other hand, wasn't so naive.
"You sick fu—" she glanced at the staring Petra beside her. She gritted her teeth in frustration. "You... burn in hell! How could you do that to her?!"
So earlier when he said he screwed every girl in the theater, he meant little Petra too? The blonde demihuman almost felt nauseous just thinking about it. Instead of stumbling back in shock, she filled her mind with anger instead.
"F-Frederica-san? Why are you so angry?" Petra asked, confused.
"Indeed, why are you so angry, Frederica?" Subaru's knowing grin indicated his sarcasm, one that the blonde maid didn't miss.
Frederica could almost feel herself transforming in sheer rage. Just how much of a monster this person is? Looking back, his true nature wasn't really that hidden early on in their meeting. He openly leered at them with a lecherous gaze, he spoke of having multiple physical relationships with everyone, and now this... Inwardly, she wanted to give the man a chance. After all, no matter what happened, the real Subaru must still be somewhere in him, right? He's still human somewhere, right?
The wide, slitted grin of the raven-haired king crushed that feeble hope of hers. Obviously, her earlier judgement was incorrect, to say the least.
"Oh, perhaps she's getting jealous, Petra." He turned to the blinking little girl. "Maybe she has a crush on me, too."
"Arghhh!" Frederica slammed a furry fist on her armrest, obliterating it. "Stop yammering already!"
Garfiel on the seat some rows below hers stared at her with concerned eyes. He's kept his mouth shut the entire time since he didn't really get this version of his captain, though judging from what Otto has been whispering to him, it wasn't good. Now his sister is on the verge of rampage, making him panic a bit. The least thing they wanted was an enraged demihuman rampaging in the theater.
"Hai hai, that's it for now!" The familiar child-like voice of their temporary warden cut through the thick atmosphere like a knife through butter. "Looks like everyone's getting heated, huh. I'm surprised no one's dead, actually!"
Felix made an incredulous look. "Were you expecting anybody to?"
"Maybe a bit." unabashed, the voice replied. "I thought he'd try to kill Rem or Reinhard, at least."
"He hurt my sister enough already." Ram butted in, looking quite miffed. "Please, just get this dirt stain out of our sights."
"Ditto, miss good-for-nothing maid." Subaru fired back without missing a beat. "Anyway… you didn't think I wouldn't recognize your voice now, would you, Paradox?"
"E-eh? I don't know what you're talking about..." The shaky voice of the girl was followed by an awkward whistle.
"There's only a pair of people in the world who could've pulled this stunt off. One is Laguna, and the other, you." Subaru crossed his arms, sighing. "…Pandora will hear of this."
"What?! No! Don't bring mother into this!" There was a pregnant pause, followed by a series of faux coughing. "I-I-I mean, whatever could you be talking about…?"
"Just bring me back already."
"Hai..."
Not long after, the familiar flash of light started to envelop the raven-haired king. Looking back at the disbelieving faces of the audience once again, he gave a nonchalant wave, smiling. "Goodbye for now. I hope we meet again…"
And with that, he was finally gone.
Nobody said a thing for a while, and even the usually talkative 'warden' kept her silence. On the sidelines, Garfiel was whispering quietly to his friend on his side.
"What'd just happened?"
Otto looked quite confused himself too. "I think that Subaru knew who our mysterious warden is. From his words, she's probably…"
A certain silver-haired girl spoke up. "Excuse me, Paradox-san… Did Subaru just say you're Pandora's… daughter?" There couldn't possibly be any more girls named Pandora out there, is there? Emilia didn't know what to think of this at all.
"Oh, shush. This story isn't about me. It's about you people." Was Paradox' nonchalant reply. "Anyyyyways… Was meeting Lust fun? I hope it was."
"It was horrendous." Crusch quickly cut in.
"Oh, good good. It was fun indeed, I guess! Sadly, I couldn't keep Subaru here for too long. I could stop time and all, but it's not like I'm the only one who could do that… It was just a matter of time before Satella lost her marbles, and my mother didn't want her destroying the castle in a fit of rage… again." They heard her sigh.
Rem snorted at that. "I could've spent my whole life not knowing his existence."
Emilia on the other hand was more interested on her latter words. "S-Satella lives with us in that world…?"
"Sure she does! You and her don't really get along that well, though. Usually." She quipped, followed by a mischievous giggle.
Meanwhile, Frederica still hadn't gotten over just how rotten Lust was, his words and their hidden meanings still echoing within her mind. She couldn't even look at Petra anymore without remembering a certain something he insinuated. The blonde girl growled quietly to herself.
"I wish… I wish could've done something…" She would've definitely caved his face in if it wasn't for Petra's presence and Paradox' interference. Frederica feebly tried to calm her breathing.
On the other side of the theater, Anastasia's figure sunk a bit deeper in her seat, a quiet sigh leaving her lips. "I've never had such a stressful meeting before in my life…"
Her knight, Julius, was wordlessly staring into space, a frown marring his normally dignified face. He glanced at the real Subaru still sleeping soundly on the front seats, failing to come up with an explanation on just how it was possible for such a selfless and kind man to turn into that… thing. At the very least, Lust said that their diverging point has already long since passed. Only his fellow knight's and the other candidate's divine protection kept him sure of the validity of his words.
"Well, I think that's a wrap people. You go get some R&R, It'll be a while until the previous warden notices something's wrong…" An awkward silence followed her words. "I-I mean, nothing! Go sleep or something, I'm gonna go check on our world and make sure my mother still hasn't disowned me. Look forward to meeting other people on our world next time!"
"Wait, what?" Rem's concerned voice demanded, though it seems like their childish warden has already left. "That… person was more than enough already."
Despite her understandable reaction, the thought of meeting her own counterpart or perhaps her sister's did instill some curiosity within her, only for it to vanish in an instant when she realized how they must've fared living with such a monster near them. She didn't want to see her sister in such a state at all.
Musing to herself, Priscilla was admittedly intrigued about the state of her other self on that world. Knowing herself more than anyone, she guessed that she's most likely still the same, as she couldn't even imagine anything that would make her otherwise. Still, she wanted to hear what she has to say on Vollachia's apparent fall there, and how Vincent even let that happen.
"Hmm…" Roswaal, with his usual smirk, drawled on. "What has become of me in that world, I wonder." If Subaru's words were to be trusted, he apparently already reached his goal in there. Strangely, the boy didn't make any kind of taunt or quip about him passing, as he would assume the other Roswaal have done upon meeting his beloved teacher once again. This question was intriguing enough for him to feel a little bit excited.
Not long after, the overhead lights on the theater began to dim, and the doors leading to their rooms opened by itself. After such a stressful encounter, they were understandably longing for a quick reprieve, perhaps to forget or process the entirety of what happened just earlier.
Blinking, Subaru suddenly found himself back to his castle, exactly where he was standing when he was teleported away. A quick glance behind him proved this once he saw Lia's familiar door.
"Seeing as the castle's still in one piece, I'm guessing Paradox also stopped time." He mused to himself.
"Subaru!" before he could ponder even more on what just happened, a familiar voice called out to him from his back. A smiling Emilia trotted over to him, her long hair bouncing left and right as she did. "I just saw you come out of Chocorina's room. Did she misbehave again?"
Despite her jovial attitude, her eyes lack the warmth and life it used to have. As if to prove that point, she tilted her head as her face darkened. "You're not replacing me with that skank, are you...?"
Subaru just chuckled to himself. Now this is the Emilia he's used to. Despite the obvious bloodlust coming from his wife, the man just nonchalantly shook his head, uncaring. "No, I'm not. And please stop calling her Chocorina, I absolutely loathe that name." He said with an exasperated expression.
"But Chocorina is Chocorina." The half-elf went back to her lighter tone. "She's our cute daughter."
"Right, right..." He turned to walk away. "I need to pay Pandora a visit. I'll see you in my room later."
"Aww..." Emilia pouted, pushing a finger in her lip. "Can't you just take me here? Ehehe..." She hiked up her short dress' skirt, revealing the lack of underwear beneath. "Come on, Subaru... I'm feeling really jealous right now, you know."
Her earlier murderous aura was back. Despite this, the raven-haired teen only looked at her in annoyance, glaring at her. "I said wait for me, Emilia."
"Meanie..." Dejectedly, the half elf watched as her man walked away, aware that he's probably off to screw another girl other than her once again. Well, she's already used to it, but that doesn't mean she likes it. Feeling frustrated, she suddenly had a bright idea to vent it on a certain someone, and with a sharp frown, proceeded to enter the room Subaru recently came out of.
=-End of Chapter 1-=
Author's Note: This is my take on tvk's "Cast react to IF Subaru's" Lust chapter. While I definitely love tvk's work on that particular fic, I was kind of left unsatisfied with the lust chapter, mostly because I've been dabbling on a darker, more "on-theme" Lust IF Subaru. It was by no means bad, it's just me being picky.
Anyway, while it may seems like a normal react fic as of now, it will definitely be an original fic later down the road. How or on what way, you'll have to see. That's all for now, and thank you for reading.
Side note #1: This wasn't beta-read nor even proof-read at all, 'cause I'm too lazy to do so. Bear with any grammatical error, typos or confusing loop holes/whatever for now, sorry.
Side note #2: To those who knows who I am and wondering where the hell I've been to, my laptop's network adapter finally croaked and now I'm stuck in the stone age without access to the internet. My cous' kind enough to lend me her phone to upload this thing. I'll be back… hopefully.