Sebas felt like he hadn't been walking for very long, but after seeing the sun almost over the horizon, he decided it was time to seek out Subaru.

I managed to find that Emilia girl, so I can at least give him some good news…

The girl was exactly as Subaru had described, shining silver hair and brilliant purple eyes, as well as some elf-like features that reminded him of Aura and Mare.

It seemed like she was looking for something, but she assured me that she didn't need any help…

He didn't have much context for the message he passed on, but it could mean that Subaru was planning to go somewhere dangerous.

Somewhere he doesn't want that girl to go… but the phrasing sounds like he expects something to go wrong…

The young man's energy was distant and faint, meaning he was likely on the other side of the city.

From my understanding, that part of the city is nothing more than slums… What business could Subaru possibly have there?

Assuming the worst, Sebas slipped into an alley and took to the rooftops, allowing him to traverse the city at high speeds without causing any commotion.

By the time Sebas felt Subaru's energy grow close enough to locate accurately, nighttime had already begun to creep across the sky, the last light of the sun shining faintly from beyond the horizon.

He didn't have to look hard amongst the many run down homes in the area, as his senses suddenly alerted to a high pitched scream from close by.

Leaping into the air, Sebas felt several ki sources in the building he heard the scream come from, including Subaru's.

No time for a graceful entrance, unfortunately…

The wooden roof gave little resistance as Sebas came flying through feet first, where he landed in the middle of what he now assumed to be the storehouse that Subaru had warned about.

Using his heightened senses, Sebas immediately assessed the situation while everyone else was distracted from the commotion caused by his sudden explosive entrance.

Subaru is here, as is the half-elf Emilia, they both seem uninjured…

There was also a young girl he didn't recognize who ran out the door under the cover of Sebas' entrance, as well as a large man laying on the ground that seemed badly injured.

That means the real threat, is this one...

The only other person in the room was a young human woman that wore a long, dark, and especially revealing slitted dress.

Sebas' real concern was the two blades that she now held at her side, after seeing his sudden appearance.

"My, my, I can't believe we have another visitor to the party! Would you care to introduce yourself? Or should I let your bowels do the talking instead?"

The woman said this in a sickeningly happy tone, something that led Sebas to believe he was dealing with someone truly evil, or at the very least unhinged.

"S-Sebas?! Where did you even come from!?"

Subaru shouted in shock as he stood protectively in front of Emilia, who had magical icicles floating above her hands.

"I had a hunch that something would go wrong, that's all I'll say. More importantly, who's this unfortunate woman that's causing you all so much trouble?"

Before anyone else could answer, she spoke up for herself.

"Elsa. Elsa Granhiert. Although maybe you know me as the bowel hunter? Ah, it doesn't matter, I'll get to know all your bowels just the same!"

After introducing herself, Elsa dashed towards Sebas, who still stood unmoving in the middle of the room, her twisted blades raised ready to strike.

"How very rude of you to attack someone so soon after just meeting them, I'll have to give you a good lesson in manners tonight as well."

Elsa hesitated in her attack after seeing her target react so nonchalantly, but her killer instincts drove her past any reluctance, and her blade into the gut of the silly old man that would dare insult her.

Except, that's what she thought had happened. After delivering what she assumed was a fatal swipe of her blade towards his abdomen, all she saw was just a slight creasing in Sebas' vest from where she struck.

"It's quite the insult to besmirch the clothing given to me by a supreme being, although someone like yourself would never understand such a transgression!"

The previously stoic old man now had a hint of anger in his voice, but not enough to drive him to make any rash decisions.

Elsa dashed back to her previous spot after seeing her attack somehow fail to connect.

"Well, it would seem you're a little tougher than the rugrats I've been dealing with up until now!"

Emilia got ready to fire her magic, and Subaru raised the club he had picked up from the fallen giant. However, Sebas quickly made his intentions clear as he held his hand up to stop them.

"It would be rude of me to call upon your aid when dealing with an opponent of this level. Please, allow me to clean up this mess myself."

Having met Sebas before and seen what he was capable of, Subaru immediately knew what the butler had in mind. He quickly grabbed Emilia and told her not to open her eyes until he said so.

As if on cue, Elsa dashed towards Sebas once again, except this time he took a battle stance in response.

Elsa's unwavering confidence disappeared instantly as everything around her went dark, followed by a massive wave of pressure emanating from the opponent before her.

"A-An illusion? I didn't take you for a yin type magic user, but trying to trick my mind is not a winning strategy, for you that is,"

Despite her confident exterior, Elsa couldn't help but admit that the pressure coming off this butler was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Attributing it to yin magic was nothing more than a guess, as she didn't believe yin magic to be capable of such raw power.

The growing flame of primal fear in her heart was almost exhilarating for someone as emotionally stone-cold as Elsa, but that didn't erase the immediate threat in front of her.

Even with the despair creeping into her consciousness, Elsa still had confidence in her physiology. The utmost confidence that even if she suffered greatly, she would still walk away from this encounter alive.

It was this source of confidence that allowed her to follow through with her attack, even in the face of what felt like absolute death.

Using all her strength and speed, she began to dash around the room, from the walls to the ceiling, all in an attempt to disorient her prey.

She occasionally lept toward Sebas to attack when she saw an opening, but each time her blade would be blocked the the tip of the butler's finger.

Beginning to grow frustrated, Elsa threw one of her blades towards Sebas' eyes, using it as a distraction to charge in and go for a finishing blow.

Unfortunately for Elsa, there was no way she could have known that unenchanted projectiles posed no threat to the level 100 Sebas.

To the untrained eye, it would seem as if the blade simply bounced off of his face.

"Impressive, but not good enough,"

The sadistic killer almost froze as the old man said those words, her blade mere inches away from his stomach.

In spite of her renowned speed, Sebas raised his leg above his head before she could even register what had happened, and brought it down with such power that it created a small shockwave.

The head of Elsa Granhiert, the one feared as the bowel hunter, was nearly split in two.

After letting out a slight gurgle, her body lifelessly dropped to the floor, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

The killing intent that Sebas had let out quickly dissipated, and the room returned to a quiet standstill.

Realizing that it was finally over, Subaru shook Emilia and let her know she could open her eyes.

"I can't believe it, you took her down with just one kick!"

"It wasn't that much, really. It would seem that I was just the slightest bit stronger than her, thankfully,"

Sebas said this as he held two of his fingers close together to make his point, but the whole act left Subaru slightly dumbfounded.

"I guess I'll take your word on it, but still, that was an epic display!"

The enigmatic butler simply shrugged his shoulders, and directed his attention towards the half-elf girl, who seemed to now be shivering.

Most likely just a symptom of being too close to my killing intent, although considering she wasn't properly looking, I'm surprised she got affected at all…

Sebas had no way of knowing at the time, but this was his first glimpse into Emilia's tragic and mysterious past.

"I'm sorry a young woman like yourself had to get caught up in this mess, although I must say, you seem to be quite capable on your own."

Sebas hadn't thought much of it until the fight was finally over, but the girl had quite the impressive ki herself. Not anything in the realm of his own, let alone the dreaded sword saint he had met earlier.

Still, it left him slightly confused as to why she wasn't able to dispatch the attacker on her own, but he knew there had to be a good reason for her lack of action.

"Ah- I'm grateful for you saving us, it just seems like I should be apologizing to you, not the other way around…"

Sebas gave a lighthearted chuckle in response, knowing that the circumstances were indeed strange.

"Somehow I knew that Subaru here would get himself into trouble again, yet I should've been more keen on that instinct. Perhaps if I had arrived sooner…"

He eyed the body of the large man who had been still since he'd first seen him.

"You're right! We have to save that man so he can properly atone for whatever happened here tonight!"

Emilia began running over to the downed man, but before she could begin healing him, Sebas was already kneeling over him, his hands on the man's chest.

She watched in awe as a soft ethereal glow began to emanate from the butler's hands, spreading quickly over the man's body.

"You- You're able to call upon the spirits as well?! Is that how you're healing him?"

"That is not the case. All I'm doing is giving him a part of my life energy, my ki, in order to bolster his own,"

As he said this, the wound on the man's neck began to rapidly close, until it looked as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Ki? Are you some kind of monk or something, Sebas?"

With Emilia at a loss for words, Subaru cut in with his own curiosities.

"In a technical sense, I suppose. First and foremost I am a butler though, of course."

Subaru merely seemed impressed to learn more about the extent of Sebas' abilities, but Emilia had finally gathered her thoughts.

"I don't know what you mean by monk, or ki, but… If you're giving him some of your 'life energy', does that mean you're using up your own od? Would you really go so far to shorten your own lifespan?"

Sebas immediately realized that her conception of life energy was much different from the ki that he was familiar with, although he couldn't begin to think about what she could be referencing instead.

"I know not of this 'od', but I promise you, my ki does replenish itself, and the amount needed to heal a man like this is negligible,"

This seemed to sate Emilia for the meantime, but she still couldn't wrap her head around what force or energy Sebas had used to perform a healing miracle like that.

"Now then, I know we spoke briefly earlier today, when I gave you Subaru's warning not to come to a place like this,"

Emilia blushed at being slightly called out, but she was confident in her decision to show up anyways.

"Cut her a little slack, Sebas. If she hadn't shown up, I'm not sure my bowels would've been intact by the time you got here,"

"I merely jest. I'm aware that she's more than strong enough to look out for herself. I was going to say, I don't believe we got to properly introduce ourselves when we spoke,"

Emilia picked up on the fact that she had never given her name to her unlikely benefactor, and then quickly made up for it.

"Of-of course! How rude of me, my name is Emilia. Just Emilia. I think I heard Subaru call you Sebas, yes?"

Sebas already knew Emilia's name from his untimely encounter with Reinhart, but he believed in the formality of a proper introduction.

"It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance, my name is Sebas, Sebas Tian. Please feel free to call me Sebas,"

Subaru seemed to be trying to contain some kind of emotion as he watched the two talk from the sidelines.

Perhaps the boy is simply overjoyed to learn her real name, although that begs the question how he found out that Satella was an alias before this…

Sebas didn't have much time to think further, as Subaru had briefly walked away from them towards Elsa's corpse in the corner of the room.

At least, where her corpse was supposed to be.

"Hey guys, I think we've got a big problem!"

Before he could fully understand the meaning of Subaru's words, something burst through the walls at a speed similar to the woman he fought earlier, aimed directly at Subaru.

"If I can't have the lovely butler, I'll just claim the bowels of the weakest link instead!"

I knew there was something off about her… She's definitely not human, at least not anymore…

While Sebas had this epiphany, he also realized that he wouldn't have time to intercept her attack without causing some collateral damage to those around him.

However, those painful words began to echo in the back of his mind, reminding him of the situation he was in.

"SAVE HIM!"

As he was about to leap into action though, another unexpected variable came crashing onto the scene through the same hole Sebas had created upon his entry, except this time it was someone Sebas knew he could rely on.

"That's enough!"

Intercepting the path of Elsa and her blade was none other than Reinhart Van Astrea himself, who deflected her away towards the other side of the room using only his fist, where she proceeded to stand back up menacingly.

The moonlight coming in through the destroyed roof illuminated her face enough for everyone present to realize that her fatal injuries from earlier had completely vanished.

"H-how is she still alive?!"

I have to say I share Subaru's sentiment of confusion… It's just all very strange, she doesn't have the aura of an undead, yet she sustained damage that would be fatal for any human-like race… Could she have a resurrection item like lord Ainz? That would be highly unlikely given her level of strength, as well as the absence of any visible magic items on her person…

While Sebas thought through the peculiarity of Elsa's recovery, Subaru simply stood dumbfounded after being saved out of nowhere not once, but twice in the past five minutes.

Cutting him out of his stupor was the voice of his second untimely savior, this time someone he was unfamiliar with.

"It looks like I cut it close, but I'm glad I made it in time."

Reinhard cast a quick glance towards Sebas, causing him a slight shock at the fact that he'd run into this strange butler twice today.

However, he would have time to inquire about Sebas' involvement after dealing with the threat in front of him.

"Now,"

The resurrected killer that had returned with a passion had already begun to recognize her new opponent.

"You're…"

"Shall we put an end to this?"

Before Elsa could respond to his provocation, Sebas quickly interrupted.

"Reinhard, I can't say I was expecting you, but your assistance in this matter would be very much appreciated."

My confidence in this battle has hardly waned, even after her surprising return from death. Reinhard's sudden appearance will instead serve as a test of exactly how powerful he is in battle, however the difference in strength makes me worried it'll be over too quickly…

"Once again I must thank you for performing my duties in my absence, I'd be more than happy to take over, though."

Sebas nodded in response and motioned for Subaru to back up towards himself and Emilia, who swiftly obliged after seeing the current scene unfolding before him.

The glimmering knight turned his attention back towards the woman looming on the other side of the room, someone whose visage he almost immediately recognized.

"Black hair, black clothes, and a blade unique to the northern provinces. There is no mistaking those characteristics. You must be the bowel hunter."

To think she's infamous enough in this country to be recognized by a person like the sword saint… At the very least it further supports my theory that a power like that of Reinhard's is likely one of a kind in this world, why else would a notorious killer be so much weaker than him?

What's even stranger though, is how she hasn't been apprehended, or at the very least terminated by the government of this country, considering they have the sword saint in their employment…

Perhaps she's more enduring than I've given her credit for thus far…

"Reinhard… Yes, a knight among knights, born as the sword saint, correct?"

He simply continued to stare her down, still not bothering to take a defensive stance of any kind.

"How delightful, I have so many fun opponents!"

The wicked killer shot a glance towards Sebas as she said this, her intrigue in the man growing as she continued to study him from afar.

"Don't think I forgot about our dance too, Sebas. I've never received any damage the likes of which you doled out to me, so I ask you patiently wait your turn,"

The one to cut in now was Reinhard, someone who wanted to avoid fighting at any cost, but even he had to acknowledge the possibility of such an outcome was slim.

"There are quite a few things I'd like to ask you, I strongly suggest you surrender."

"You expect a starving predator to resist such choice, juicy prey?"

This confirmed it for everyone present, that despite the arrival of the heralded sword saint, Elsa was still confident in her chances, or maybe just overcome by the desire to fight another strong opponent.

"I would rather not use violence on a woman."

As if he had anticipated her moment of attack, Reinhard gave his warning as he took a step towards Elsa's charge.

What Sebas had assumed was Reinhard getting into an defensive stance instead proved to be some kind of skill, as the reverberations from the sword saint planting his foot down was enough to knock Elsa off balance as she charged into melee range.

The shock on the merciless killer's face was apparent as she was sent tumbling to the opposite side of the loot house by a thundering roundhouse kick courtesy of Reinhard.

Sebas had expected great physical prowess from the sword saint, but even he was surprised at the elegance of his hand to hand movements.

One would think a person like the sword saint to solely be a master of the blade, but Reinhard seems just as effective as a melee fighter, at least from the little I've seen…

"Just as the rumors say, no… You're even better."

Elsa had stood up from the attack with no visible damage, however it was an accomplishment enough to catch her off guard like he had.

"I'm not sure I'll meet your expectations."

Ignoring Reinhard's placid response, Elsa instead turned her eyes towards his sheathed weapon.

"Aren't you going to use that sword at your hip? I would love to experience its legendary sharpness."

Sebas also wondered why the sword saint had yet to make use of his sword, even more so if it's fame supposedly matched that of Reinhard himself.

"This sword can only be drawn when needed. The fact that it hasn't left its sheath means this is not one of those times."

It sounds like some sort of conditional magic item, although if it's hindered by such a lofty restriction that Elsa doesn't qualify for its use, I can only begin to imagine the power it possesses when it deems someone worthy…

Now that I think about it, Reinhard had his hand on its hilt when he confronted me in the alley, and if my knowledge on swordplay is correct, everything about his stance and demeanor told me he was more than willing to use it…

It's not conclusive, as he could have done it merely to act threatening, but it worries me that there's even the smallest chance that I could be on the other end of that blade…

As Sebas continued to worry internally, Elsa was showing a look of disappointment after learning of the blade's conditional nature.

"I do believe I've been underestimated."

Reinhard simply shrugged and walked towards a sword that had fallen from the wall during the chaos of the battle that night.

"It's an upsetting judgement for me, as well. Therefore, I shall take you on with this instead."

The sword he picked up was plain, most likely simple steel based on Sebas' estimation.

"Do you object?"

While it was nothing compared to the sword at his hip, just being able to fight blade to blade with the sword saint was enough for Elsa.

"No, It's wonderful. Wonderful! Do entertain me please."

The ecstasy of battle took over her as she dashed towards Reinhard once again, except this time her attack was not only parried, but her blade was knocked away from her hand and into Reinhard's.

"If you've lost your weapon, I highly suggest you surrender."

He threw the weapon back towards her, where it became implanted in the wall, in response to which Elsa began to charge at Reinhard for a third time.

"She's got a second one!"

Shouting from behind the protection of Sebas was Subaru, someone who had more experience than one would think possible with Elsa and her tactics.

After procuring a second blade from somewhere on her person, Elsa made another swift side swipe towards Reinhard, who simply hopped backwards out of reach of her attack.

"I'm surprised you knew."

"Well I've personally experienced it…"

That's a very strange comment to make… Even if they were fighting earlier, the fact that Elsa was surprised at all means she disclosed her second blade during the fight before my arrival… It just doesn't make sense unless if he's fought her before this, and any encounter like that would surely end in his death…

It was hardly the time or place to inquire about the nature of Subaru's past, so Sebas decided he would bring it up later, but it would continue to nag at the back of his mind nonetheless.

"But I don't have merely two fangs. Would you mind if we start again?"

Elsa's response pulled Sebas back to the fight kicking off before him, as he began to watch closely to see what would unfold.

"If I divest you of all your weapons, will you be satisfied?"

In response to Reinhard's question, Elsa began dashing along the wall, which turned into the same rapid fire leaping around the room, which made it difficult for those weaker than Sebas to keep up at all.

"If I lose my fangs, I'll use my claws. If I lose my claws, I'll use my bones. And if I lose my bones, I'll use my life"

Each time she would dart in for a killing blow, her blade was met by Reinhard, who maintained a defensive stance in the center of the room.

"That is how a bowel hunter fights!"

Sebas was about to inquire if Reinhard needed any assistance, but after deflecting another one of the bowel hunter's attacks, a massive aura of power began to emerge from him, as if his ki became manifest for anyone to see and feel.

Seeing this change happen in her opponent, Elsa momentarily ceased the onslaught of attacks, instead inquiring what the sword saint had in store for her.

"What will you show me?"

"The swordplay of the Astrea family."

As Reinhard made his declaration, he placed both hands on the handle of his sword and assumed an attack stance.

What Sebas saw next surprised him immensely, as Reinhard's sword began to glow blue with power as the seconds passed.

Could this be a [Martial Art] similar to those used by the warriors back in the new world? Perhaps something like the power Lord Ainz described Gazef Stronoff using in the attack on Carne village…

"The bowel hunter, Elsa Granhiert."

Assuming this to be the final clash of their battle, both parties each gave their name and title to their opponent.

"Reinhard van Astrea, of the line of master swordsmen."

Elsa had assumed an attack stance with a blade in each hand, and Reinhard began to raise his sword overhead, which culminated in its glow increasing to almost blinding proportions.

It's over, this battle is won…

However, as Sebas prepared for the resulting explosion, he saw Elsa toss one of her blades away and pull something out from her dress.

Is that? No, That's not possible!

What Elsa had in her hand was a glowing crystal about the size of her fist, but Sebas immediately identified it as none other than a sealing crystal.

Even worse, the brilliance of its glow indicated that it contained a fairly high tier spell within it, and given the circumstances she was using it under, it was almost certainly powerful enough to kill everyone present, barring Sebas, and most likely Reinhard if his magic resistance matched up to his other abilities.

Realizing he had no time to spare, Sebas sprinted towards Elsa at a speed that was nearly unobservable to Subaru and Emilia who were crouched next to him.

However, by the time Sebas got to Elsa and grabbed the crystal from her hands, he realized it had already been activated, as it began to increase in brightness in his very hands.

Unfortunately, by the time Reinhard realized that Sebas had run towards Elsa, his attack was already en route towards her, and there was no longer time to cancel it with all the mana he had gathered.

"Sebas no!"

It was too late for any warning, as Reinhard's devastating attack came down on both Sebas and Elsa, along with the unknown spell releasing from its crystal.

Then, there was only a blinding light, and the deafening sound of the resulting explosions.

Hmmm… I wonder where Elsa got a sealing crystal from? Very strange indeed. Anyways, sorry for the massive absence on both of my active stories. I kind of just fell out of the writing mindset for a while and I didn't want to just write some crap and call it a day. I can't promise that I'm gonna be updating a lot more frequently, but I promise everyone that reads this that both my active stories will continue until they are completed. I might start some new stories along the way, but I won't forget about what I've already started. Thanks for reading!