Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.
Now, before I enter to the chapter, I would love to mention something.
The reason why Natsumi died despite having the Divine Protection of the Phoenix will be further explained in this chapter.
Huge shout and thanks for DartyLeMagasin for noticing this.
And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!
Margrave Mansion. Daytime
Three individuals were standing around a sleeping white haired boy.
Or to be more precise, it was two individuals standing, while the third was fast asleep while sitting on a chair.
It has been three days ever since the battle against Sloth, and lots of stuff has happened.
First, around 50% of the slums was destroyed during the fight against Belphegor, which in turn caused a mini rebellion two days ago, where the citizens of the slums made a massive ruckus in front of the royal castle.
If it wasn't for Felt, who was present at that time to lower the tension, it would have been a disaster.
Second, in the very morning of the first day, Reinhard, Natsumi and the entire Knight Order were summoned to the royal castle to discuss a shocking revelation that the Sage Council had discovered on the Dragon Tablet.
The Great Sage, with assistance of his companion, the Sword Saint and a foreign existence, has defeated The Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Sloth, and another vile foreign existence afterwards.
This alerted both Reinhard and Natsumi, since this meant either Natsumi's brother, or The Black Angel of Irlam is the Great Sage. However, they decided to lay silent because Natsumi was afraid of the Sage Council, especially Bordeaux, from the fact that they might hurt her brother, and also out of respect for Shadow, since Reinhard knew better to invoke the wrath of someone that is clearly as strong, if not stronger than him. So they decided to clamp their mouths shut around the matter for the time being.
Third, two days after the battle, precisely one day after the Dragon Tablet's revelation, Shadow told Reinhard and Natsumi about the monthly raids of Gusteko on Irlam, and how the Knight Order and the Sage Council ignored their help requests.
And under that note, it took everything from Reinhard to calm Natsumi down.
To those who don't know, Natsumi gave usual visits to Irlam, but Shadow hid himself from her, since she was a Knight.
The villagers didn't tolerate Natsumi at first because she was a Knight, but overtime they started to love her and respect her, but not to the extent that they would tell her about their situation, since Shadow had told them not to tell a Knight about the assault of Gusteko at them because that might place either them or Natsumi in trouble.
The villagers understood this, and complied, something that angered and saddened Natsumi in the addition to her brother being in a near Death state.
Shadow made her lay down for now. Natsumi also understood. This ain't the time for this.
Back into the current time, Subaru was lying asleep soundly with Natsumi sleeping on a chair beside him as Reinhard gently placed a blanket on her shoulders.
"She didn't sleep a wink for the past three days..." Reinhard whispered flashing a sad smile towards the sleeping Natsumi.
"Go figure. Those past three days were an absolute apocalypse of a never ending chain of events" Shadow said leaning on a wall while crossing his arms in front of his chest.
And while he said this, Shadow looked at Natsumi, something inside his mind.
"Hey. Reinhard..." Shadow called to the redhead, gaining his attention.
"Yes? What is it, Shadow-san?" Reinhard asked politely.
"No need for formalities. Just call me Shadow. Anyways, I have a question for you" Shadow said, making Reinhard look at him silently, awaiting his question.
"For some reason, I can't help but sense a power that is slightly familiar with yours inside this young lady. By chance, does she have your ability to call for any Divine Protection that she wants?" Shadow asked, making Reinhard blink his eyes several times, trying to process the question in his mind, and after a few seconds, he spoke.
"Well, no. The truth is, I just gave her four of my Divine Protections" He answered.
"Pardon my rudeness, but can I ask specifically what are the Divine Protections that you gave to her?" Shadow asked again.
"Don't worry. There's no rudeness at all in your question. And as for your answer, I gave her The Divine Protections of Magic Protection, Soul Reaper, Phoenix, and Mind Changing" Reinhard answered.
"Can I ask another question, or did you get annoyed of me?" Shadow asked, which in turn made Reinhard smile and shake his head.
"I can have a vague understanding of what each of those Divine Protections could do, but about the Magic Protection... Does it protect from stuff like ailments or curses or debuffs?" Shadow asked.
"Well, no. The Divine Protection of Magic Protection only reduces 80% of the power of any kind of offensive Magic attacks. The ailment nullification is the job of a completely different Divine Protection" Reinhard answered, the smile slowly vanishing from his face. He then saw Shadow closing his eyes, completely immersed in thought.
"I see...Well, I think that you should be glad that your companion over there didn't get too involved in the fight against Belphegor" Shadow said.
"Excuse me, but what could you mean?" Reinhard asked, confusion and slight fear rising in his heart. Shadow then opened his eyes, and directed his stare at Reinhard.
"Belphegor is one of the Seven Princes of Hell. Much like the Sin Archbishops, they represent the very concept of the Seven Deadly Sins. In Belphegor's case, it's Sloth, and each one of those seven Demons have special abilities that distinguish each of them from the other" Shadow said.
"So, what did Belphegor have that could bypass the Divine Protection of Magic Protection?" Reinhard asked.
"The ability that Belphegor had nothing to do with The Divine Protection of Magic Protection, but with the Divine Protection of the Phoenix" Shadow answered.
"How so?" Reinhard asked once again.
"Belphegor's special ability is in the form of a skill called Old One. This skill has the ability to inflict an ailment called Enervation. This ailment halves the physical capabilities of the target, and makes them unable to use their abilities, and since Divine Protections are abilities...Well, I think my point has came through" Shadow explained.
And the moment he finished explaining, Reinhard's eyes were widened in shock and disbelief while glancing at the sleeping Natsumi.
"Now then, I don't mean to mock or belittle you, and I have neither the interest, nor the intention to do so, but imagine someone like you or this young woman being hit by this spell...What would happen afterwards?" Shadow finished his question, leaving the answer hanging in the air.
But he knew the answer, and he knew that Reinhard also knew.
The reason why Shadow asked this was because he already remembers everything after the distortion that occured in the Space-time continuum that caused time to be rewinded a few minutes before the crisis that Shadow witnessed.
Interesting thing, however, was the fact that only he and the sleeping Subaru were the only ones that recollected the past events, and no one else actually remembered, not even the Demons that were present in the battlefield at that time.
He needs to speak to Subaru about this.
"Anyways..."
"?!"
Shadow then moved and patted Reinhard's shoulder.
"... It's my fault for not warning you back then. Forgive me, but this guy was a rather troublesome one, and I'm glad that he's dead. Thanks for the help" Shadow said.
"Oh...Okay. No problem. But...Can I ask you a question this time?" Reinhard asked, causing Shadow to nod.
"What are exactly those Seven Princes of Hell, or to be more clear, what are Demons in general?" Reinhard asked.
"Well...They are-"
"...I don't know this ceiling"
"?!"
Shadow and Reinhard were interrupted when they heard a familiar groan.
Looking at the bed, they saw that Subaru has opened up his eyes while staring at the ceiling of the room.
"About time you woke up" Shadow said.
"Subaru! Thank goodness that you're alright!" Reinhard exclaimed while smiling.
"Nngh...Huh?" Subaru was then alerted by another groan beside him, only to see Natsumi's eyes slowly opening.
It took only two seconds, before...
"SUBARUUUUU!"
"UGHK!"
Subaru's eyes comically bugged out and the oxygen in his lungs was forced out from his mouth when Natsumi shoulder tackled him in a bone crushing hug with tears in the corners of her eyes.
"W- *cough* Where am I? What happened?" Subaru asked, still entangled in his sister's arms.
"You fell unconscious after you bled so much we thought that you will die. Luckily, we managed to save you. Emilia-sama was able to heal your wounds alongside Shadow here. He had great skills in healing that I have never seen" Reinhard answered.
"I did nothing. This Emilia person wanted to heal you all by herself as a form of returning the favor. I just healed minor wounds and checked up on your health stat" Shadow said, not looking at Subaru.
"Well, you have my thanks, Shadow-san" Subaru said, causing Shadow to roll his eyes.
"Why is it difficult to exclude honorifics these days?" He grunted.
At that moment, two individuals entered the room.
They looked like twins, and were wearing maid outfits, and were having differences in their color themes: One had peach pink hair, rosy eyes, and her chest was barely B-cups, while the other had azure blue hair, ocean blue eyes, and her chest was bigger than her other twin, being D-cups, if not E-cups in size.
"Oh! There's also maid service here! Where are we even?" Subaru asked.
"We're in the Margrave Mansion, the household of the Dragon Kingdom's Court Wizard, Roswaal L Mathers-sama" Reinhard answered.
And upon saying that name, Subaru could swear that he heard Shadow grunt in discomfort.
"Wow! A big shot is treating me! Such hospitality! But I did nothing for that! Honest!" Subaru exclaimed.
"Nee-sama. Nee-sama. The guest is showing off. How disgraceful" The blue haired maid said to her twin.
"Rem. Rem. The guest is puffing his chest in pride. How disgusting" The pink haired maid replied to her twin.
"Hey! I did nothing of that! Stop bluffing you two!" Subaru yelled at the two maids, jumping out of the bed in a comical manner, effectively freeing himself from Natsumi's hug.
"Kyaa!" The two maids yelped before clasping hands together, looking at Subaru with innocent scared expressions.
"Why am I like a villain here?! I didn't do anything to deserve that!" Subaru exclaimed in annoyance.
"Dear Guest! Please spare Rem and humiliate Nee-sama instead!" The blue haired maid exclaimed, pointing at her pink haired twin.
"Dear Guest! Please leave Ram and violate Rem instead!" The pink haired maid exclaimed, pointing at her blue haired twin.
"What's with the twisted sibling bond of those two?! They're selling each other! Also, why are you talking as if I'm the villain here?!" Subaru shouted.
"MASTER!"
"?!"
And before he could catch his breath, Subaru's supply of oxygen that had just entered his lungs were instantly knocked when Shaula zoomed like a flash inside the room, and crushed Subaru in a bone crushing hug. The poor boy twitched and flailed in a comical manner in Shaula's vice grip, before falling limp, looking like a comical human-shaped rubber.
"Shaula-san! Please leave Subaru to rest! He had just woke up, and he's still injured!" Reinhard called to the humanoid Mabeast.
"Shaula-chan! Have mercy with my brother! I've just reunited with him after an entire year, and I don't want him to die!" Natsumi exclaimed, trying to pry Shaula from her brother.
And then...
SNAP!
"?!"
The sound of a snap, followed by a deathly silence.
All the occupants of the room, sans for Subaru, who was limp in Shaula's hand, and Shadow, who simply blinked in a comical cold manner while still leaning on the wall, were having their eyes widened like dinner plates.
"...I suppose that's the sound of his spine snapping in two" Shadow simply commented, before taking a glance at the limp Subaru, before averting his sight again from him.
"Yup. He's done for" He added.
"Why are you writing him off dead already?!" Natsumi exclaimed in comical anger, having managed to free Subaru from Shaula's arms, where he fell on the bed on his back, stars dancing around his head, and swirls apparent in his eyes.
"Uuuuuuugh...Who threw me in the blender...?" The white haired boy groaned his question.
"Hmph. You're already so loud first thing in the morning. Jeez"
"?!"
Everyone in the room immediately directed their attention to the new voice, only for the owner of the voice to be revealed to be Emilia, who was standing at the door of the room.
Upon seeing her, the two maids, Rem and Ram, bowed their heads to her, and Reinhard went down on one knee, bowing like how a Knight would to his king.
"Good morning, Emilia-sama" Reinhard said with a smile.
"Good morning, Reinhard. I'm sorry you had to leave your duties to stay with us" Emilia said to the Sword Saint in an apologetic manner.
"Please don't apologize. After all, this young man helped us defeat a Sin Archbishop, and most importantly, he's Natsumi's brother" Reinhard said, before nervously scratching the back of his head, glancing at Natsumi while doing so.
"And besides, Natsumi and Felt-sama won't stop nagging me about helping Subaru" He said.
"Whoa! Whoever created those clothes was an absolute artist!" Subaru, who miraculously jumped in his bed, exclaimed upon seeing Emilia dressed in her bed robes.
"You're reeeeeealy loud, Subaru, and early in the morning" Emilia said rubbing her temples.
"Emilia-sama! Listen! This guest tried to rape Nee-sama!" Rem said to Emilia, pointing at Subaru.
"Emilia-sama! Listen! This guest tried to violate Rem!" Ram said to Emilia, also pointing at Subaru.
"Wow...Is that what they call 'Flawless Teamwork'?" Shadow asked emotionlessly.
"That's called scheming! Not teamwork!" Subaru shouted.
"Now now, you two. Subaru may look like a pervert, but he saved my life. So I trust him to not do that. Stop bullying him" Emilia said to the twins.
"I...Don't know how to respond to this" Subaru said sweatdropping.
"Yes, Emilia-sama. Nee-sama will repent for her actions" Rem said to Emilia.
"Yes, Emilia-sama. Rem will repent for her actions" Ram said to Emilia.
"I suppose I should apologize for both Julius and Ferri-chan. I made them waiting so much" Natsumi said sheepishly scratching her head.
"Well, you should. You literally invaded both the Hoshin and Karsten Mansion, and kidnapped them from their sleep. I kind of understand why you brought Felix, but why Julius too?" Reinhard asked, and Natsumi's face was redder than the Sword Saint's hair, not uttering a word while casting her eyes to her feet.
"I think she said something along the lines of 'If Subaru dies, bury me beside him!' or something like that" Shadow continued where Reinhard left off, causing Natsumi to cover her face with her palms.
"I'm sorry! I said I'm sorry! Please have mercy!" Natsumi said while covering her entire face with both of her hands.
"Kinky~! Yup!" Shaula said in a teasing tone, causing Subaru to pinch and stretch both her cheeks, making the humanoid Mabeast close her eyes in pain, with comical tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.
"How many times have I told you not to say unnecessary things?!" Subaru lectured Shaula like a father to his kid, scolding her in the same manner as one.
"I see you're alright, Big Bro"
"?!"
Another new voice appeared, only for everyone to turn around to see Felt in front of the door of the room.
Immediately, both Reinhard and Natsumi kneeled in front of the blondie.
"Good morning, Felt-sama" Reinhard said, bowing his head to Felt.
"Good morning, Felt-sama" Natsumi said the same phrase as Reinhard, but it was in a teasing manner.
Felt simply stood there, smiling while looking at Reinhard.
"Reinhard..." Felt called for the red haired Knight, causing said person to raise his head and look at her with an innocent smile.
"Yes?" Reinhard asked while blinking innocently, and in the next instant, Reinhard blocked a kick delivered to his side from Felt, moving his hand like a robot to catch her foot.
"You bastard!" Felt yelled glaring daggers at Reinhard.
"Why are you angry, Felt-sama?" Reinhard asked with a smile.
"Are you serious?! You literally kidnapped me! If it wasn't for Big Bro and the two Big Sis, I would have killed you!" Felt said gritting her teeth at the Sword Saint.
"Well, that's impossible to be honest..." Natsumi muttered under her breath.
"Are we done with the comedy fiasco? Where's Roswaal L Mathers?" Shadow asked.
"Roswaal-sama is not here yet. You may wait for him, Dear Guest" Ram answered.
Shadow, upon hearing this, sighed, before looking at Reinhard.
"Reinhard. Don't forget about what I told you" Shadow said, causing Reinhard to opt a worried look on his face.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something to do" Shadow said walking out of the room and to the corridor.
"What's the deal with him?" Felt asked in confusion.
"I'll talk with him. Excuse me, Felt-sama, Natsumi" Reinhard said, before following Shadow outside the room.
"Well, what to do now?" Subaru asked, glancing at Natsumi.
"Well, I took a day off from work to be with you. So how about visiting some friends?" Natsumi asked Subaru with a smile.
"Friends...Huh? Why do I feel like I've forgotten something...?" Subaru asked himself.
"Oh! You mean the merchant boy, Master?" Shaula threw her comment, causing Subaru's eyes to widen in realization.
"Holy crap! Otto! We completely forgot about him!" Subaru exclaimed in a mix of worry and shock.
"Otto? Now that you mention it, Dear Guest, there was someone of that name who came last night to the Mansion" Ram said.
"And what happened to him? Where's he?" Subaru asked frantically.
"He asked for an audience with Roswaal-sama, and mentioned a rather weird and stupid name of someone. 'Subaru Natsuki', he said..." Ram started to explain, before being interrupted.
"That 'Weird and Stupid Name' is mine! I'm Subaru Natsuki!" Subaru shouted his frustration for being ridiculed with a comical glare directed at the pink haired maid. Nevertheless, Ram simply continued.
"...So Ram grew suspicious of him, and threw him into the basement prison" Ram finished.
"What the fuck?! Where is the basement?!" Subaru asked.
"Yeah! Seriously Ram-chi! Isn't that the place where it has seals that can subdue someone at the level of Reinhard?! It drains Mana on an extremely dangerous level!" Natsumi exclaimed.
"Fuck! That's even worse! Which way is the basement?!" Subaru asked jumping from his bed.
"Take the last door in the end of the corridor" Ram said.
"Fuuuuuuuuck! There's a limit to how much we harass Otto!" Subaru yelled while running towards the direction of the basement.
However, after 10 minutes of running, Subaru felt like he saw familiar things that he saw while running in the direction of the basement, like the picture on the wall, and the vase that was placed right outside the room he was in.
This led him to an obvious realization.
"The corridor is looping...Perhaps this is the Infinite Corridor spell? If so, then where's the caster?" He asked himself, before walking to a door in the corridor and proceeded to open it.
"How do you look like such a deeply irritating person, I wonder?"
"?!"
The moment Subaru opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of a massive library with dozens of shelves, filled with hundreds of thousands of books, and in the middle sat a person with a book in their lap and a table that had a tea tray on it.
Said person was a lovely young girl around the age of eleven or twelve. Her face is so sweet that, at the moment of witnessing her, Subaru believed there was no heart that wouldn't melt at the sight of a genuine smile of hers.
Her large sky-blue eyes had pink butterfly patterns as their irises, her pale cream blonde hair was worn long and tied into frilly vertical drill-shaped twin tails, with the tips being dyed pink.
As for her outfit, it consisted of a pink frilly ornate dress with white trimmings and an exposed front that leave her legs visible, and are completely covered by pink and purple vertically-striped tights, a petite crown is also sported on the right side of her large head, serving as a nice accessory which complements her appearance rather perfectly, a pair of pink shoes with butterfly straps on her feet, and has a large pink ribbon adorned upon the left side of her waist and a pair of similar ribbons tied at the top of her twin tails.
"Whoa...Such huge library" Subaru exclaimed, looking around him at the shelves.
"Are you ignoring me, I wonder?" The girl asked with a tick mark on her forehead.
"Uhh...No, but you actually offended me first, so I'm kinda doing the same, but seriously. This library is as big as the office that I had in the tower..." Subaru said, muttering the last part so that the little girl couldn't hear him. He then looked at the drill loli, before stretching his cheeks upwards with his fingers, forming a smile.
"Hey! Your pretty face will go to waste if you don't smile more! Smile!" He said, causing the girl to huff uncomfortably, her tick marks all around her face.
"Perhaps Betty is simply pretty by nature? Betty's contemptuous sneer should be enough for the likes of you, in fact" The drill loli exclaimed.
"Just stop being so sore. You're annoyed because I breached your domain so easily, right?" Subaru asked, his hands on his hips.
"..." The little girl just looked at him blankly, but Subaru knew that he was right.
"Heh...Sorry. I just know my fair share of Yin Magic. So curiosity kinda drags me off the main course sometimes" Subaru said while apologizing with a nervous smile.
"Ugh...All this hard work to maintain the domain of Door Crossing was all for naught..." The little girl muttered in an annoyed tone while rubbing her temples with her fingers.
"Sorry. Sorry. I know how you feel. A good Magic user won't want his great tricks to be discovered that soon, so let's just make that water under the bridge" Subaru said.
"This is quite horrid, I suppose" The girl said while gritting her teeth.
"Anyways, what is this place? I mean, where are we?" Subaru asked.
"This is my private chambers. The Forbidden Archive" The girl gave a short answer to the white haired boy.
"Okay...Suits you well, ummm..." Subaru trailed in his response, and the girl seemed to understand what he was trying to ask again of her.
"Betty's name is Beatrice, in fact. Betty is the Great Spirit of Yin. Engrave that into that hollow skull of yours, Human. Don't dare forget it, I suppose" the drill loli, now known as Beatrice, answered while buffing her chest in Pride, and shooting a scowl at Subaru.
Subaru just blinked at this for a few seconds, before...
"...I see. Rather convenient for someone like you"
...He released that response from his mouth.
"What does that mean, I wonder? I feel barbing remarks coming out from that mouth of yours, I suppose" Beatrice said, even more pissed.
"You feel, but you ain't sure? So much for a drill loli shaped Spirit, don't you think?" Subaru shot his reply with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"You're so annoying. Betty has reached her limit, in fact" Beatrice said, before standing off her chair and began to take light steps towards Subaru, who somehow felt a chill running down his spine.
"Don't move" Beatrice said, her tone becoming more intimidating.
Subaru, in response to this, activated Mediator, causing yellow sparks to erupt to life around his body, which made Beatrice stop her advance and blink in surprise.
"What's that, I wonder?" She asked Subaru, who, upon witnessing her confusion and noting that the intimidating aura has vanished, adapted a smirk of his own.
"It's a secret, you drill loli. You honestly think that I'll tell you my own weapon?" Subaru taunted the child looking Spirit, which caused her to release a deep breath in frustration.
"Ugh! You're so annoying! Just get out already!" She exclaimed in anger before extending her hand, causing a gust of wind to erupt from her hand towards Subaru, but due to his Authority being active, Subaru didn't budge an inch from his place, despite the strength that the wind packed was so immense, it felt like the force of an F7 tornado was slammed right into his face.
Still, it mattered not, considering the fact that he had an absolute defense, so he felt absolutely nothing.
"Tsk. What's that, I wonder? You didn't even stagger back, in fact" Beatrice said calmly, though her eyebrows were furrowed in surprise.
"Like I said, a master wizard never reveals his tricks" Subaru said with a grin, causing Beatrice to huff once again in annoyance.
"Just get out already, I suppose!" She raised her voice at the boy.
"Okay, Okay. Jeez...So stingy" Subaru grunted, turning to walk towards the door. However, he stopped just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, before swiftly twisting on his heel to face Beatrice.
"Ugh! You're so persistent on annoying Betty, in fact! What do you want now, I wonder?!" The petite Spirit yelled her question in anger.
"Hey, chill down. I just want you to teleport me to the basement" Subaru requested.
"Why would I do that for you, I wonder?" Beatrice asked, her face literally red from anger.
"Because you can use the Door Crossing spell, so you can connect your personal space with any place you're familiar with. So do this for me, and I'll be out of your hair" Subaru said.
"Absolutely putrid, in fact! Betty won't waste an inch of her Mana for someone like you! Think again, I suppose!" Betty yelled her refusal, causing Subaru to blink a few times, before releasing a long sigh, then he proceeded to sit on the floor, legs crossed, elbows resting on his crossed thighs, hands clasped together, and chin resting on the back of his clasped hands.
"I see. Then this calls for a desperate decision" Subaru said, staring calmly at Beatrice, who blinked in confusion.
"What does that mean, I wonder?" She asked.
"Simple. I've finally spotted your domain, and I already know the flaw of the Door Crossing spell, so I'll just simply start calling people into here until you teleport me to my desired location" Subaru answered, causing Beatrice's eyes to widen in shock and disbelief, before her shock turned into anger, as she gritted her teeth together.
"That's unbelievable, in fact! This is blackmail, I suppose!" Beatrice yelled with a comical angry expression, but Subaru simply shrugged her off.
"Now let's see... Who should I call first? Maybe Natsumi? She's my sister after all, and she's the only person I fully know... Oh! What about Shaula?! She will be super happy that she'll have a new playmate" Subaru then started by laying out his two suggestions, infuriating Beatrice even more.
"UGH! FINE!" She yelled before waving her hand in front of the exit door.
"There! Done! Now get out and don't show me your face, I suppose!" Beatrice exclaimed, causing Subaru to grin before standing up and making his way to the door, but stopped when he was about to leave, taking a last look at the blonde humanoid Spirit.
"Hey. Next time, let's play together" Subaru said to Beatrice.
"NEVER, I SUPPOSE!" She yelled before firing a water ball from her hand at Subaru, who just exited the room and closed the door behind him, causing the ball to dissipate upon making contact with the door.
"Ugh... Another nuisance just like that girl, in fact..." Beatrice said while rubbing her temples with her fingers. However, after a few seconds, she blinked as the words of the white haired boy were finally digested by her brain.
"Wait, in fact! This KNIGHT GIRL AND THAT BOY ARE SIBLINGS?!" She screeched.
At the same time. Basement
"Whoa...It's so dark in here..."
Subaru, upon reaching the basement, was greeted by darkness, barely able to see anything.
"Okay. I'll just use a Goa to light up the way" He muttered before mustering Fire Magic in his hands to manifest a small blaze.
However...
"UGH! *COUGH* *COUGH*"
Subaru suddenly felt pain manifest all around his body, especially his abdomen area. He coughed violently in his hands, and then felt something warm on his palms. He tried looking at it, but it was too dark that he could barely see anything.
He then tried again to make a Goa manifest in his hand, but the result was way worse. Not only couldn't he cast the spell, but the pain from earlier was tenfold, and whatever he coughed from his mouth was even more in quantity.
"Ugh...What the hell...I feel sick... What's going on?" He gasped, before suddenly, his foot struck something, but it was so dark that he couldn't see his hand. So Subaru took out his cellphone from his pocket and turned the flashlight function on...
"HOLY MOTHER OF GOBLINS!"
...Only to bear the witness of a comical dried version of Otto, who was staring at the source of light.
"N...Natsuki-san...Why...?" Otto whispered, grabbing Subaru's legs with a shaky hand, and just like any sensible and normal human being, Subaru did the one only thing that a person would do when they watch something horrifying.
He kicked Otto in the face, before running around in the dark.
But due to the darkness, Subaru didn't notice that blood was pooling out from his ears and mouth.
At the same time. Irlam Village
In a flash of white light, Shadow appeared in front of the village of Irlam. He then started looking around him while still standing, as if he was looking for something.
And afterwards, he sighed in frustration.
"Still no signs of Roswaal L Mathers..." He muttered.
"Shadow!"
"?!"
Turning around, Shadow saw Reinhard behind him.
"What do you want? I already told you the problem, and it's up to you to solve it" Shadow said in slight annoyance.
"I'm asking about the Demons. You were about to tell me about that" Reinhard corrected.
Shadow just blinked, before closing his eyes and sighed.
"Well, they are--Huh?"
And right before he could say anything, everything froze.
Reinhard, the villagers, the chippering birds, the rustling of the leaves.
Time stopped to a halt.
And then, Shadow felt it.
"That same Space-time distortion!" He thought.
And before he could do anything...
...The world turned black.
A few minutes ago. With Subaru
"Ugh! *COUGH* *COUGH*"
Coughing violently, Subaru ran aimlessly in the dark basement.
He didn't know how much time passed. It felt like hours for him, but in reality, it was only a few minutes.
Each time he coughed, unimaginable pain coursed throughout his entire body. He tried casting healing magic, but the moment he tried to pull Mana from his Gate, the pain increased by a thousandfold, which promoted the white haired boy to give up on the idea of casting Magic.
After moving forward while using the wall to support his footing, Subaru's head bumped into what appeared to be a dead end. He then tried to use his hands to inspect what was in front of him, only for his hands to pick up the sensation of cold metal, and it felt like a circle in the geometrical appearance.
"A door handle..." He muttered weakly, before pulling on the door handle as strong as he can, before the door was opened, causing Subaru to shield his eyes from the sudden burst of sunlight invading his optical nerves.
Rubbing his eyes from the sudden pain in them, Subaru proceeded to walk slowly outside, hearing the crunching sound of the grass underneath his boots, which in turn caused him to look around him, only to see an extremely different scenery.
It looked like a scene of some sort of ancient ruins, it had extremely primitive features, like small residences that resembled tomes that were made out from clay, and there were several of them around.
This confused Subaru, and made his turn around to see the place where he came from.
And it made him confused even more.
Unlike the tome-shaped houses, the one in front of Subaru looked like a countryside cottage. It looked outdated judging by the bugs and moth surrounding it, not to mention the decaying wood, but Subaru was sure that someone was residenting here.
Shaking his head, Subaru reached out for the knob of the door, only for him to see it...
"...What? Is that...My...?"
...Blood.
His hands were stained with blood.
He then moved his hands to his face, only to feel the sensation of dry liquid staining his nostrils, ears and lips.
"W-What the hell...?" He muttered, before dizziness suddenly kicked in his head.
"Ugh...I have to head back for help" He said before opening the door of the cottage...
"What the hell?!"
...Only to be greeted by the inside of said cottage, not the blackness of the basement.
It indeed looked like a countryside cottage, having a worn out small tea table on the side next to a small broken window that faced the golden rays of the sun.
Then, Subaru caught something out of the corners of his eyes: A door that was slightly opened right behind the small tea table.
Curiosity urged Subaru to dismiss both the blood smearing his face and the pain searing through his body, and he slowly advanced towards the room, before opening its door.
And what he saw baffled him even more.
The room was mostly vacant, with the exception of a large greenish blue crystal standing vertically in the middle of the large vacancy of the secret room.
But what was inside of the crystal was what baffled the white haired boy: It was something that resembled a little girl with long pink hair and pointy ears. Said being was inside the crystal, naked and curled into a ball by hugging her legs next to her chest.
"W-What the...?" Subaru whispered in awe, words stuck on the tip of his tongue.
What was that? Where was that? How did he get in here? Why was he in here? And the most important question was...
"Where the hell am I...?"
His awe moment was short lived as he felt someone yanking him from the back of his collar, before he was sent flying from the room and outside the cottage, before colliding with a stone wall, shattering it in the process, and Subaru could swear that he felt his spine shatter apart in the same manner as picking out grapes from their branches.
"Hah?! Wha' th' hell is someone like ya doin' in da Sanctuary?! Ma amazing self doesn't recognize ya!"
Subaru could hear the coarse tone of a male, alongside the loud stomping of feet approaching him, but at the same time, the pain coursing through his entire body prevented the white haired boy from any kind of comprehensible thought process.
Through blurred eyes, and through the fresh blood that came out from the wound in his forehead, Subaru saw someone grabbing him by the collar, and while Subaru couldn't make out the facial features of his assaulter, it appeared to be a male with spiky blonde hair.
"Hey! Fess up! Ma amazing self ain't patient! Ya stick of the stench of da Witch! Talk up before I fuck ya up!" The unknown male yelled at Subaru's broken form, but in vain, as Subaru was struggling to maintain his consciousness.
Suddenly a brick from the house that crashed due to Subaru being thrown at it came falling down, with its destination being Subaru's head, but both Subaru and his blonde assaulter didn't seem to notice.
And right before the instant that the brick made contact with Subaru's head...
Black.
...
...
...
"There! Done! Now get out and don't show me your face, I suppose!"
"?!"
Subaru's eyes widened upon witnessing the familiar scenery and the familiar phrase that came out from the familiar voice.
What had just happened? Not a short time ago, he was in a completely different area, more like some sort of ancient ruins, but now, he was back here. Same events, same phrase, same people, and it all felt like a twisted dream.
For the past year that he lived in this world, nothing like this has happened to him, not to mention that this was the second time this ever happened to him.
Was all of that just a dream? Or did he...Die?
...No.
He didn't die. He somehow felt it.
It was right before the instant before his Death.
He just traveled in time.
"What's with you, I suppose? You're so sweaty"
Beatrice's voice snapped Subaru out from his daze, causing him to notice that he indeed was sweating bullets, and it didn't stop at all, like a never ending fountain.
"Umm...Sorry, but I don't feel so hot at the moment. Could you change the destination to the room that I was previously sleeping in?" Subaru asked from the petite Spirit, whose veins were threatening to pop out from her small forehead.
"UGH! DEMANDING STUFF FROM BETTY LIKE YOU OWE HER, IN FACT! THAT'S DESPICABLE, I SUPPO-Huh?" Beatrice lashed out at the white haired boy, but stopped upon seeing his facial expression and complexion.
A few moments ago, he wore a dumb and goofy expression, and was joking, buy now his face was suddenly extremely pale and he looked like as if he had seen something so terrifying beyond description, with sweat dripping like a fountain from each and every single sweat pore located in his body.
And right before she could open her mouth to respond, She saw Subaru collapse head first to the ground, unconscious.
"H-Hey! What's going on, in fact?! Don't faint in my domain, I suppose!" Beatrice yelled marching towards the fallen Subaru.
And this was the last thing Subaru heard before he blacked out.
A few hours later
Groggy black eyes opened up and found that they were staring at a ceiling.
Subaru blinked tiredly as he stared at that familiar ceiling of the room that he was in. His body felt like it was used as Shaula's hug pillow. He felt unimaginable pain all over his bones and flesh that he never felt before.
What was that? Why is he feeling this pain? Why can't he cast Magic like before? And most importantly...
"What that hell was...That?"
The 'That' that Subaru was talking about was this mysterious ability that forcibly took him into a past point of time whenever he's a second away from Death.
Subaru felt it. This weird time leap happened right before the instant of his Death.
"A time leap...Right before the instant where i die...And it doesn't seem that i can control the checkpoint..." He muttered.
"It's weird, but if I'm not wrong, I noticed that noone remembers what happened, and it seems that I'm only one that recalls the events that transpired...So in short..."
Muttering again to further analyse the strange ability that he had, Subaru blurted out a name.
"Last Second Retreat"
It was the name of this weird ability, given to it by its owner.
"About time you woke up"
"?!"
Turning his head slowly to the side, Subaru saw Shadow leaning on the wall.
"Oh...Shadow, right? Were you the one that placed me in bed?" Subaru asked.
"Well...The little girl-like Spirit dragged you out and healed your wounds, and i just happened to be passing by, so i placed you in your bed, yes" Shadow answered.
"Oh...Thank you" Subaru uttered his gratitude.
"I also took your merchant friend from the basement, so you don't have to worry about a thing" Shadow said, before pulling a chair and sitting next to Subaru's bed.
"By the way, I need to tell you about your condition. I scanned your body and Gate, and some stuff were...Unpleasant" Shadow grimaced slightly in between his scowling face.
"Your Gate is completely shattered, and almost all of your stomach is utterly annihilated. It seems that the last battle with Belphegor is the main reason for this" Shadow said, causing Subaru to sit up quickly, only to groan in pain and hold his stomach.
"H-How...?" He whispered.
"I think that this is the cause of overexerting your Gate and pushing it to beyond its limits when you used the Death Fusion Spell, Cadenza" Shadow answered.
"Death Fusion Spell?" Subaru asked, still holding his stomach in pain.
"They are unique spells that are given to those that experienced Death, and in that previous battle, it was clear that Death chose you out of all people to give you its power. Unfortunately, those spells consume a massive amount of Mana. To be honest, I was shocked when i saw that you used them three times in a row" Shadow said.
"But...Does that mean that...I won't be able to use Magic anymore...?" Subaru asked, slightly saddened by the thought.
"Well, yes. Your Gate is no more, and your stomach is ruptured. If you try to use Magic while in that state, it will rupture your organs" Shadow answered.
"Is...There anyway...That I will be able to use Magic again?" Subaru gasped his question.
"For the fundamental standards and laws of this world, No. But theoretically with my help, Yes" Shadow shrugged his shoulders casually, before opting a serious glare directed at Subaru, promoting the white haired boy to unconsciously gulp a lump that formed in his throat.
"Which in turn leads me to my question: How?" Shadow asked.
"Huh? How what?" Subaru asked.
"How did you gain the ability to use a Death Fusion Spell? You can only get it if Death chose you, and Death only plagues mortals only once, so technically it's impossible for a mortal to have a Death Fusion Spell" Shadow said.
"Oh..." Subaru breathed out.
"So tell me: How did Death choose you as its host?" Shadow asked, glaring daggers at Subaru, who in turn, took a deep breath, but took it in slowly so that his inner organs would not be harmed, before releasing it as slowly as he inhaled it, and then looked Shadow in the eye.
"Well...It's--"
"Subaru? Are you alright?"
"?!"
The beautiful chiming bells of Emilia rang in Subaru's ears, catching the attention of both him and Shadow.
"Emilia..." Subaru whispered with a slight blush on his face forming upon seeing the beautiful silver haired woman with a look of anxiety on her face. It was so charming that Subaru forgot about his pain.
"Beatrice told me that you suddenly fainted in her domain, so i thought that she bullied you or something. Are you alright?" Emilia asked.
"Why yes. I'm fine. See? Good as new" Subaru said spinning his left arm in a circle.
"I told Natsumi and Shaula about you. They were worried, but Shadow managed to reassure them that you were fine, but I was reeeeeeaaaallly worried, you know. Are you really alright?" Emilia asked, pulling a chair next to Subaru to the side of the bed opposite to Shadow.
"Yeah. I'm fine, Emilia-tan. Don't worry" Subaru reassured the silver haired Half-Elf.
Subaru noticed that Shadow was silent throughout his conversation with Emilia, but was still glaring at him intensely. It was then when Subaru decided to change the subject to lighten the mood, but at the same time, he would answer Shadow's question.
"Say, Emilia-tan. I need to tell you something" Subaru said.
"Yes?" Emilia asked.
"Believe it or not, for yesterday and today, I have been Last Second Retreat--"
Suddenly, as Subaru was blurting out the name of this mysterious ability of his, the world suddenly stopped around him.
Emilia froze in her seat, the chirping of the birds stopped, the rustling of the leaves halted, and even sunlight appeared frozen in mid air.
The only thing that wasn't frozen was Shadow, who immediately noticed the sudden stagnation.
"W-What is that?" Shadow asked, before suddenly seeing two dark purple tendril-like hands, similar to Petelgeuse's Unseen Hand, but with claws instead of normal fingers, making their way towards Subaru, who was unable to move his body, but his shocked expression proved that he was aware of whatever was transpiring around him. Both males then witnessed as the two hands approached Subaru, one gently caressed his right cheek affectionately like how a girl would do to her lover.
The other one, however...
"GAHK!"
...It squeezed on Subaru's heart.
The hand squeezed with so much force that Subaru felt that his heart would pop anytime soon.
It was an instant. Only an instant, but for Subaru, it felt like an eternity.
As he felt that he was about to die, the two hands instantly disappeared, and time returned to its normal flow, but this time, Subaru clutched at his chest, where his heart was, and was dripping sweat from his entire face.
"Subaru! What happened?!" Emilia asked in worry.
While Emilia called for Subaru, the white haired boy's ears were deaf due to the shock. The only thing that he could do was to grip his heart and breathe in a hysterically rapid manner.
"Subaru. Are you alright?" Shadow called out, with slight sweat apparent on his forehead.
"Uhh...I..." Subaru could only mutter out so few words. With his heart pounding rapidly and bullet sweats running down his entire body, he couldn't think straight. He breathed rapidly, not stopping.
"This is bad! At this rate, this kid will have a panic attack!" Shadow thought before his opened palm travelled towards Subaru's cheek, and a loud slapping noise echoed throughout the room.
Shadow had just slapped Subaru.
"Eh?" Emilia could only mutter.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing to Shaula's master?!" Shaula, who was watching from outside the room, with the half-dead Otto carried in one of her arms, exclaimed in anger as she threw Otto away with the most possible comical way, which did not fit the oddly gloomy mood surrounding the room, and approached Shadow. She extended her arm towards the artificial Zero-Class Highest, only for Shadow to grasp her arm, stopping her assault attempt on him.
"Wait! Shaula! I'm fine!" Subaru exclaimed, having snapped back to reality and calmed down.
"Feeling a little better?" Shadow asked.
"Y-Yeah...Thanks a bunch, man" Subaru answered, releasing a breath he didn't know that he was holding. Shadow then turned his sight towards Emilia.
"Sorry, Emilia. I will be taking care of Subaru now" Shadow said, with Emilia's face still having worry plastered on it.
"No worries, Lia. Shadow can take care of the matter here" Puck said appearing beside Emilia. For a second, Emilia hesitated, but she nodded to Shadow, before standing up and heading towards the exit of the room.
But before she left, she turned towards Subaru, who had all the color drained from his body.
"I will come again and check on you. I hope you feel better, Subaru. I will also tell Natsumi that you're alright" Emilia said, before taking her leave, leaving Shadow, Subaru and Shaula alone in the room.
"Master! Are you alright?! Does Shaula need to do anything for you?!" Shaula exclaimed her anxiety for Subaru.
"No...I'm...Fine, Shaula...I really am..." Subaru muttered his reply with a tone completely devoid of energy.
"Master! Master! Should Shaula give you a hug?! Maybe a boob sandwich?! Should I?!" Shaula asked frantically.
"Hey! I may am a teen that was hit by puberty, but I ain't no closet pervert! Stop painting me as a criminal!" Subaru yelled his frustration in a comical angry tone.
"Wow...Talk about an acute swift of mood..." Shadow muttered with a groan.
"Ugh! Cut me off some slack! What did I do to deserve such crappy treatment?!" Subaru yelled comically.
"Master deserves every praise, Yup~! After all, he's super strong and smart! Despite taking the appearance of a twig-like humanoid thing, Yup~!" Shaula puffed his chest, proudly praising Subaru in a rather weird way. One could even swear that her pride was so great that her nose seemed to be elongating.
"Why are you talking as if you're praising yourself?! Also, I may look like this, but I'm not made of glass for you to say that I'm fragile!" Subaru yelled.
"Anyways, I think I now knew what is the reason. It seems that whatever entity that gave you this weird ability is capable of controlling time, and harming your heart seems to be one of the penalties that you suffer if you speak about it" Shadow noted to Subaru.
"Wait. You noticed? I couldn't talk about it in front of Emilia" Subaru said still placing an opened palm in front of where his heart is.
"Ugh! Master! You stink!" Shaula exclaimed closing her nose with two fingers.
"Huh?! What the hell does that mean?! Maybe I should take a shower?!" Subaru exclaimed in comical shock.
"No! The Witch's scent! It increased tenfold! You reek of it! Even someone who can't smell will smell it! Yup~!" Shaula said.
"It's this bad?!" Subaru yelled.
"Come to think of it, I can indeed sense some sort of weird invisible miasma around your body, and it increased a lot right after you tried to tell Emilia about that ability of yours" Shadow said.
"Huh? What ability?" Shaula asked.
"Uhh...It's nothing, Shaula. Can you please wait for me outside with the others?" Subaru asked from Shaula, to which the humanoid Mabeast smiled innocently.
"Alright, Master. Anything for you, Yup~!" She said before marching outside Subaru's room.
"It's rather weird. It appears to me that someone is controlling this mysterious ability to twist space and time in order to reset the timeline back to a certain point" Shadow spoke upon Shaula's departure from the room.
"I really don't know. Funny thing that it triggers right before the instant of my-" Subaru stopped in his speech, having remembered the arm that made its way to his heart and nearly crushed it.
At this, Shadow narrowed his eyes.
"It appears to me that this sort of ability holds some penalties. I think two of them have became known: The increase of the Witch's scent and severe damage to your heart. I really don't know, but it seems that people who are superior to the entity that gave you this ability are capable of knowing it, and also, it appears that simply knowing that you can redo through means unknown won't trigger the penalties" Shadow said.
"I...Really don't know what to say..." Subaru said, gripping his head while staring downwards.
"Don't. It's natural. You only die once, so being stuck in an endless loop where time rewinds around you is indeed mind breaking" Shadow said.
"Say, Shadow..." Subaru started to speak.
"Hm? What is it?" Shadow asked.
"In my second loop, I found myself in a weird place surrounded by trees and outdated buildings, before I was suddenly ambushed by what appeared to be a blonde haired guy, who was pretty much the responsible for this reset. I don't know, but I have this feeling that this is important. Do you know anything about it?" Subaru asked, which made Shadow blink.
"I really don't know, but there is only one place that comes to mind..." Shadow trailed in his speech and started to mumble under his breath. He then stopped mumbling as he saw Subaru then holding his stomach while doubling in pain.
"Let's put our speech into hold. You need some rest. I have some business to do anyways before Roswaal L Mathers returns to this mansion" Shadow said before standing up, then he walked towards the exit of the room, but before he exited, he turned around to Subaru.
"Say, Subaru. Want to strike a deal with me? It will be extremely beneficial to you" He asked.
"Huh? What deal?" Subaru asked.
"I promise that I will make you stronger. I will make you use Magic that is way superior to the Magic System of this world. In short, I will return to you the ability to use Magic. In exchange..." Shadow trailed.
"In exchange?" Subaru raised an eyebrow.
"There's a war that will happen after three years. A war that will determine the future of not only this universe, but the entirety of existence. And so, I need help. I need to make an army of combatant fighters. Care to be one of them?" Shadow finished his proposal, causing Subaru to cast his eyes downwards in deep thought.
If it was him from a year ago, he would have foolishly said 'Yes', but the two loops that he experienced had made him seen things in another light.
This isn't a video game, and he knew it. Those were real, living people, and if they died, they will never come back. This was reality: A spiral of war and chaos that will never end.
In addition, this past year where he self trained himself taught him all of this as well. He wasn't an idiot anymore. So he has to blurt out his response right at this instant.
However...
"Can you...Give me some time?" He asked.
"Hmm?" Shadow hummed at Subaru's question.
"There's lots of confusing crap that's happening all around me. We just killed a Sin Archbishop yesterday, killed a dangerous worldwide known assassin, killed an otherworldly Demon, and to top it all off, you're telling me that we're entering into the era of war and we only have three years to prepare?" Subaru started to explain.
"I see nothing wrong in what I said. It's just a Give and Take relationship" Shadow said.
"No. I understand. You help me regain my ability to use Magic and become even stronger, and in return I will help in the upcoming war against some sort of ungodly creatures. I mean, come on. It took me an entire year to reach what I have reached so far in my Magic mastery, and yet, I was still too weak to even fight the Demon. Both you and Reinhard were the ones that actually did the damage. So why would you choose me out of all people? Reinhard would be a more powerful fighter than me" Subaru explained, causing Shadow to close his eyes, before releasing a very deep and long sigh, then he directed his gaze towards Subaru.
"Feel free to believe me or not, but I have this mysterious uncanny ability to see talent in others, and I see potential in you. And yes, while it will be easier to ask someone like Reinhard, I would love to remind you with something: Reinhard is a Knight of Lugunica, and the Sword Saint no less. And if we told him about this, he will definitely report this to the so-called Sage Council, which will cause a massive amount of unnecessary commotion to come piling on our heads. I rather love to be secretive, especially when it's around sensitive objectives like war. You get what I'm saying?" Shadow explained, causing Subaru to gulp loudly due to his throat having turned dry from the lack of water. He then released a sigh, before he spoke again.
"You're right. I can't argue. Still, let me think about it. I have just reunited with my sister, and I still need to sort my shit out" Subaru said.
"...Very well. Take your time, but don't make me wait for too long. Both of us need the help from each other, and both of us also don't want to be late on our decision" Shadow said before spinning on his heel and began to march towards the door.
"For now, rest your fragile body. You need it" He said, before exiting the room, leaving Subaru alone.
A few seconds after Shadow left, Subaru feel into the bed, his back hitting the soft fabric, with his arms spread to the sides.
He simply stared at the ceiling, hundreds, if not thousands of question were spinning inside his brain, but it was all beaten by the fatigue that his body had suffered from due to the events that transpired in such a short time.
He simply closed his eyes, drifting into slumber, allowing his body to gain rest.
The rest...That will be followed by nothing but blood, blood...And blood.
At the same time. Depths of the Kremaldy Forest
"Mommy! Mommy! Are we finally going to meet Mister Shadow?!"
"Yes, honey. I told you that about ten times already"
Walking into the deep parts of the Kremaldy Forest was two anthropomorphic rabbits, one was less than a meter tall, and that other was around the same height as a normal female human. Their clothes and appearance are supposed to look normal.
Keyword: Normal.
Their clothes, while being shown as dresses that normally would have been beautiful, were covered and smeared in blood, with some tears and holes in it. Their appearances, while it should be extremely beautiful and infatuating, was like as if they came out from an Eldritch Horror movie. The right eye of the small rabbit and the left eye of the older were nowhere to be found, and it felt as if said organs were forcibly yanked from their places, as if someone gouged them out.
Same thing could be said for their skin.
The complex of their skin was completely pale, to the extent that it was sickly dark purple in colour, as if the very concept of life was completely drained from both of them.
And yet, the two corpse-like entities casually walked in the Wolgram-infested forest as if they were walking to a park in order to have a picnic.
And then, as they were walking, two Wolgrams charged at both of them, causing the small rabbit to stop jumping like a child, and opted an extremely serious expression of anger and bloodlust, an expression that shouldn't be on the face of such a young existence.
And right before a Wolgram could reach her...
SHIIK!
The sound of flesh being ripped apart was heard as dozens of cone-shaped spikes appeared out of thin air, stabbing the Wolgram in every inch of its body, turning said Mabeast into something that cannot even be described as a pin cushion.
The small rabbit then raised her finger and pointed it at the devastated Wolgram, causing what appeared to be a dark orange ball of lightning to sore through, slicing the Mabeast corpse in half. The mangled corpse of the Wolgram fell emotionlessly to the ground, never to rise again.
"Oh! Cheese! Good job!" The small rabbit said while holding the small dark orange flying creature, which also looked like some sort of an undead corpse, but a lot smaller.
The second Wolgram saw all of this transpire in less than a nanosecond, and it took it a few seconds to understand that its companion was brutally killed, before fear kicked in and took over his bestial instincts, causing the Mabeast to tug its tail between its legs and flee as fast as it can away from the walking abominations that killed its kin.
"Oh my~ We can't have you run away now, can we~?"As the older rabbit said this, she raised her arm forward, causing the sky above the retreating Wolgram to rain spears, which didn't even take a second to skewer apart the fleeing Mabeast, ending its life instantly.
After that got transpired, the calm looks on the faces of the rabbits distorted into a horrifying grin that showed sharp teeth with blood dripping from between the cavities, with their eyes wide in madness, pure bloodlust was enough to cause plants to wilt, rocks rot, and nearby birds and Mabeasts to explode in pools of blood.
"Ah...MiStEr ShAdOw...I cAn'T wAiT tO sEe YoU aGaIn...To KiLl YoU!"
And this day...Marked the start of the race against time.
The race...That will determine the future outcome of this existence.
And Done!
Woot! It took me a lot of preparations to write this chapter!
Now, to what truly matters, I think that I have answered DartyLeMagasin's comment. Again, I haven't forgotten about this tweak, and it wasn't a mistake on my part. I meant on including it so that I can introduce the mechanisms of the powers of Belphegor.
And also, there you have it. The "Not Return By Death" that I have talked about in the last few chapters: Last Second Resort. Honestly, I couldn't think of a better name, but basically, it rewinds time around Subaru in the same manner as Return By Death, but it only does so right before the instant of his death instead of right upon his death.
And now with that being said, I have nothing left to say. This chapter is basically the start of Arc 2, and will continue on with a few differences from the original cannon, and the same will be said for the future upcoming arcs. Hold your breaths for it.
Next Chapter: Meili's Doubts.
Until Next Time And Next Chapter!
Jude Warble, Out.