Hakugei Subjugation
I'm going to make the release weekly on Saturdays.
"So that's it, huh?"
"Yeah, it's scary every time."
Meiss questioned Subaru's word choice silently before reminding him of his foresight. Eyeing the height, Meiss realized he wouldn't be able to reach it without help.
"That thing's high, I'm gonna need a boost to get all the way there. Rem?"
"Got it."
Rem waved her hand, several spears of ice materializing along with a longer, flatter one. Meiss hopped onto it and spoke in a monotone voice.
"I trust you guys to understand that me and them have a hate-hate relationship."
Meiss took a deep breath. He always felt like screaming to the sky when announcing his powers, but he usually kept it to a whisper so low nobody heard him. Now though, his voice was raised just high enough for only Subaru and Rem to hear.
"Potestas de Tristitia!"
Meiss then raised his voice into a yell.
"DOLOREM!"
Warmth sped through Meiss' legs as the platform of ice shot forwards along with the smaller icicles. He jumped off of his ice when he got close to the whale, causing it to fall rapidly. He shot up, grabbing the side of the whale to make sure he didn't shoot past it. The whale attempted to shake him off, but he held fast. Climbing to the top, Meiss planted his foot and jumped into the air. He activated the stronger form of Dolorem, tendrils covered his arm, and he used his fall to increase the strength of his punch.
Meiss gritted his teeth in pain. He had only used it for a second, but electricity arced along his arm, burning it. The force of his punch sent the whale into the ground. Meiss was knocked off, but was grabbed by Wilhelm, who had jumped on top of the whale.
"This thing doesn't seem to take much damage from blunt blows Wilhelm! I'm pretty much useless outside of redirecting it!"
Wilhelm ran along the length of the whale, parting the shock absorbent skin with one of the many swords at his waist.
"That is fine Meiss-san! Redirecting it is invaluable to us right now!"
While Meiss, Wilhelm, and the Iron Fang kept the whale busy, with occasional help from the artillery, Rem and Subaru were speeding off towards the tree.
Subaru was still thinking about what Meiss said.
"I don't know what language that was, but it definitely wasn't English. I heard 'Tristitia' in there, pretty sure it means something like 'Melancholy,' or 'Depression.'"
Then it hit Subaru, the only other person who had spoken in another language, Japanese, was Petelgeuse. This raised a lot of questions in Subaru's mind, none of which he had the answers to. Meiss had also described his relationship to 'them' as hate-hate. Who was this 'them' that he referred to?
Deciding to ask him later, Subaru focused on the task at hand.
Rem heard Subaru mutter behind her. She still hadn't fully processed the fact that Subaru and Meiss were from beyond the waterfall, or that Subaru had some sort of foresight. She shook her head to clear it.
Suddenly, the night sky disappeared, replaced with a light like day. It took a second for Meiss' eyes to adjust. Blinking the flash away, he found himself no longer on the whale. Meiss flailed around in free-fall for a second before righting himself to land on his feet.
Subaru blinked the flash out of his eyes, and refocused on the whale. He nearly yelped as he saw Meiss in free-fall. He actually did yell out when it seemed like Meiss was trying to pencil-dive into the ground.
"What is wrong, Subaru-kun?"
"Meiss fell off the whale!"
Rem brought Patrasche to a stop and drew her Morningstar. She sent the ball hurtling towards Meiss, and the chain wrapped around him. He jerked to the side, and landed with his feet on the ground. Skidding for a few seconds, Meiss tripped and rolled onto his back in front of the black ground dragon.
"Meiss! You ok?!"
Meiss got up, dusted himself off, and gave a thumbs up. Just then, a blast of air knocked him over. Subaru and Rem were fine, due to the blessing of the wind all ground dragons had. Meiss dusted himself off again, cursing the whale with every profanity in his vocabulary. He was still listing off curse words, and getting really creative, when he re-activated Dolorem and sped off. Subaru and Rem waited on standby, ready for the signal to be bait.
Meiss ran along the ground, warmth in his legs. His arm hurt, he would have to ask Ferris to heal him later. Wind whistled past his ears as he jumped towards the tree. He used the third and last Dolorem to dig his uninjured hand into the bark of the Flugal Tree. Meiss propelled himself up with his hand, and pushed off the tree with his foot. He sailed towards the whale, once again grabbing the side to make sure he didn't overshoot. Wilhelm ran past him, and a sheet of red erupted in his wake. Meiss wondered how he could run so fast in dress shoes.
Wilhelm dragged his sword along the length of the whale, before stopping at its eye. He swung his sword into the orb, the blade disappearing into the yellow. He unsheathed the sword from the eye, and ran around it. The bloody eye fell to the ground, and the whale lurched and roared in pain. The remaining eye started to turn a deep red. Holes on the sides of the whale opened up, and thick, grey gas shot out of every opening. The artificial sun was blotted out in seconds. The whale thrashed violently one more time, dislodging Meiss and Wilhelm. Meiss once again pencil-dived towards the ground, his legs didn't crumble when he hit it. Wilhelm wasn't so lucky, he took some damage upon hitting the ground and was stunned.
Meiss looked around, the fog was pressing in on his vision. He heard Crusch calling for a retreat before screams rose in the sky. Meiss ran towards them, alternating his focus between the grey sky, and the barely visible ground. One scream shot higher than the others as Meiss tripped, then faded into a whimper. Meiss looked back, and crawled over to check on the person he tripped over. The man refused to be rolled over, so Meiss activated his authority and forced him to roll over. He grimaced as he watched the man tear at his face, as if trying to rip the memory of something from his very brain.
"Wrr, my passive must be active right now, damn this whale to hell."
Meiss slung the convulsing man over his shoulder. He made his way in the direction where the screaming was loudest. The smoke parted and the clearing showed body after body convulsing on the ground. Ferris frantically rushed between the bodies, trying to work his healing magic. He stopped for a second as he noticed Meiss stroll in like nothing was wrong with him, then continued to heal. Meiss gently set the man down for Ferris to heal him
"Felix, do you know what's happening?"
"It's a mental attack from the fog. I can remove the effects, but the problem is getting to them before they hurt themselves."
Meiss looked over the bodies, noticing that some were in pairs. People were trying to hold down the affected, but there were too many convulsing and too little people to hold them down.
Meiss spotted Subaru holding Rem's shoulder as she clutched her head in pain. He retracted his hand as she waved hers in an 'I'm fine' gesture. Meiss started to jog over to them, wondering if Subaru had received any premonitions.
"Rem, sorry, but I need you to accompany me to the most dangerous place here!"
"Of course. Anywhere."
They sped off before Meiss got to them. Subaru started to scream into the air.
"Anyone who can hear me, keep fighting!"
After saying these words of questionable encouragement, he threw his head back and yelled into the fog.
"I CAN RETU-"
Meiss stiffened, if felt like a black presence was near. He broke out in a cold sweat as he felt his movements slow. He felt as if he couldn't pull air into his lungs, the muscles refusing to work. This fear was worse than the whale, almost as bad as what happened a week ago. Meiss felt as if shadows surrounded him, or as if he was stuck in a pool of tar, unable to move. Just as quickly as the feeling appeared, it vanished. The rapid change sent Meiss to the ground on threes, his injured arm flopped to the side. Meiss took exaggerated breaths to try to fill his lungs, unaware that would do nothing as his lungs were fine. He barely registered Crusch calling for everyone to relocate to the tree.
Meiss felt hands wrap around him and raise him from the ground. His vision rapidly cleared of the shadows and he saw Wilhelm dart in the direction of Subaru and Rem. He wobbled with the person next to him for a few seconds before he could shakily walk on his own.
He heard a loud thud in the distance, like a slab of meat hitting the ground. Grey shots of fog started flying in random directions as the Hakugei spun around in pain. Meiss widened his eyes as a stream completely evaporated two people in front of him. Without thinking, he activated his authority and jumped around. He shoved one person away from a stream. Saw another stream heading for a small group of people and threw out his hand, yelling something that was lost in the roar of another stream that sailed just overhead. The fog collided with an invisible force and dissipated. He dug the ball of his foot into the ground before shooting off and colliding with Crusch's ground dragon, sending them both out of the way of another blast. On the ground, he snapped his hand around again. "QUIESCENCE" Just like the small group he saved, a clear bubble surrounded a soldier dragging two people, saving them from another blast of fog.
Meiss stood up, and saw another stream heading towards Ferris, who was surrounded by people dragging wounded and dragging one himself. Too many people, he couldn't move them all and they wouldn't fit in a Quiescence. Meiss shouted Dolorem once more and overexerted himself to get there. The stronger version of Dolorem covered his legs as his body turned into a blur. Sparks and electricity from overusing his authority crackled around him as he dug his foot into the ground to stop himself. He slanted forward, and met the stream head-on. Light emanated from his body as he activated two more authorities. Three rivers of light snaked in front of him to try and redirect the stream. When that failed, the stream hit him. He yelled out in pain as he shielded his face with his arms. The opaque grey shot out in a cone around him, dissipating after traveling a meter or two. His nerves were shot, something that should hurt so incredibly felt like an ice bath. Like how water can be so hot it feels cold. This uncanny feeling of gaseous ice was felt through his whole body as the grey stopped coming.
Ferris barely registered the light, or the body that saved them until after Meiss fell to his knees. His clothes were in tatters, and his skin was marred in fresh electricity burns. He slumped to the side and rolled onto his back, exposing his harsh scarlet and cracked skin to the world. Ferris all but shoved the man he was carrying to another before rushing over. Light covered his hands as he started healing the mess in front of him. Meiss groaned and his eyes half opened when Ferris accidentally touched him. Crusch appeared by Ferris' side when she saw him hunched over a smoking body.
"Oh no... Felix... Ferris! What happened?!"
Ferris looked up at Crusch, who had dismounted her ground dragon.
"He dived in front of the fog and saved me and that group over there. I don't knyow how he's alive right nyow. That's were all the red is coming from. I don't knyow where the lightnying burns came from though."
"Is it ok to move him?"
"I would advise against it, but we don't really have a choice right nyow."
Together, Ferris and another soldier lifted the boy and carefully carried him to the base of the tree. Crusch sped off into the fog. Meiss gasped and coughed in the two's arms. Ferris and the soldier rested him next to a root. Ferris saw the soldier stiffen in fear next to him, but was focused on healing the frail boy before him. He found that the electricity burns came off easily, so he swept Meiss over with lower-end healing magic to conserve mana before setting to work on his front. The scarlet color covered a good portion of his chest and torso, and extended down his legs. His forearms were scarlet too, probably shielding his face from the fog. The skin was cracked in some places, and blood criss-crossed the entire surface. Bright light covered Ferris' palms as he started work.
Subaru and Crusch sat on their ground dragons at the head of the forces. The Hakugei, no, the three Hakugei circled menacingly, tanking blows from Crusch's sword. Rem was on a whale, trying to extract a swallowed Wilhelm.
Ferris stabilized Meiss, just in time for an injured Ricardo to be set next to him.
"Work is nyever done, is it?"
The beast man was a lot easier to heal, this time Ferris knew what he was doing. Meiss was unknown territory. Ferris was now occupied with an unconscious Wilhelm, who had been extracted, so he didn't notice Meiss jerk a little.
Meiss' muscles spasmed weakly for a few seconds before his eyes opened. He turned his head to the side, and saw Ferris with his back to him. Meiss stretched his forearm, feeling an intense heat coursing through it. His hand grasped the root, and he attempted to pull himself up. His abdominal muscles screamed in pain, refusing to be used. That was fine, he would force them to be used. Meiss activated his authority for the umpteenth time in this fight. Indifferentia, an ability that offers complete protection, though it weakens as it is spread across his body. It also had the bonus of removing pain. Meiss used Indifferentia on his torso, and was able to stand. Ferris heard Meiss move around and turned to make sure he was alright. To his horror, Meiss was standing and leaning foreword as if to run or walk.
"Meiss-"
Ferris reached out his hands to grab Meiss, who stepped out of reach. Marbled color spread across his now exposed skin. The mural of bright orange and cyan seeming to glow in the dark atmosphere. No, he was definitely glowing. Meiss lightly hopped forward, the tatters of his lower shirt breaking off and floating away. The glowing colors slid to Meiss' leg and formed thick bands in the shape of the leg's superficial muscles. More electricity sparkled and popped around him as he jumped into one of the whale clones.
Subaru rode an icicle made by Rem onto the original Hakugei. Jumping off it and landing on it's horn, Subaru loudly began talking to it.
"Oi... Now that I see you up close, you really are creepy."
The whale focused its gaze on the nuisance that stood atop its horn.
"Try to keep up with me. Just so you know, I'm infamous for being so annoying that no one can ignore me!"
Subaru dropped to all fours.
"Ok! Let's do this!"
Subaru jumped off the whale and entered free-fall. He spread all his limbs in an X and faced the whale.
"I'm doing you a huge favor! Listen up! It's because of you, Rem died and I had to go through so much shit!"
Time stopped, it always did when Subaru talked about Return by Death. This time though, the darkness felt much more... personal, or intimate. He swore he could hear someone whisper into his ear.
"I... ...v... y..."
Then the familiar hand slithered through his body. Subaru felt like shivering because of it, but time was stopped and he could do nothing. The hand clamped on his heart, and Subaru felt his brain gasp for blood. His heart seemed to shatter within him a thousand times over.
Taking a deep breath, Subaru uncurled himself back into the X formation. To anyone who could smell it, the witch's scent was so potent around him it was almost solid.
"I made it back!'
The whale started to nosedive towards Subaru, before an icicle pierced its lower jaw, sending it careening away from its meal. The head of Rem's Morningstar sailed past Subaru and the chains wrapped around him. Subaru screamed like any sane person would when being violently tugged through the air. His momentum stopped when Rem caught him.
"Thanks for the treat!"
"Wha?"
Unbeknownst to Subaru, he had face-planted into Rem's breasts.
The two watched as the Hakugei careened towards the Flugal Tree...
The momentum of Meiss slamming into the whale clone caused the lighter version to be pushed back a fair distance. Meiss once again grabbed the side of the whale and held on, much to the protest of his screaming forearms. The cracks in his skin started to ooze blood again. Meiss gritted his teeth, and used normal Dolorem to push off the whale. The same marbled light erupted from his back as he reached the height of his jump. Meiss screamed, a guttural animalistic screech.
"WRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAGHH!"
Three tendrils of energy shot from him in the marbled colors of orange and cyan. Meiss flipped in the air, the tendrils lengthening out and following his momentum. They impacted the whale, and cut through it like it was made of hot butter. Half the smoldering face of the whale separated from the body, and fell to the ground.
His short burst of adrenaline spent, Meiss fell to the earth, barely activating Indifferentia to save himself. A Demi-human rushed over to heal him, though it didn't do much as he was barely a novice. Ferris rushed over when he was done gaping at the display of sheer power. He took over and glared at Meiss as he healed him.
"Hey... Tell them... That-"
Ferris pressed a palm onto Meiss' stomach, eliciting a whimper in response.
"You're nyot dying, save the final words for nyever."
"Let me..."
Meiss blacked out.
Subaru and Rem rode Patrasche alongside the tree, the original Hakugei in pursuit. As they passed the Flugal tree, the side of it was blown apart. The massive thing toppled over, pinning the whale underneath. The impact shook the ground, and a blast of air shot out in all directions. Subaru and Rem were unable to escape, and were blown away in the gust.
Subaru coughed, he saw Patrasche get to her feet in his peripheral vision.
Rem.
Subaru whipped his head around and saw her in a crumpled heap a few meters away. He crawled over and lifted the weightless girl in his arms.
"Rem! Open you eyes! REM!"
Subaru screamed, his face paper-white. Patrasche came over and nuzzled the frail girl, this did nothing to ease Subaru's spirits. The casualties were as low as they could possibly be, but this one casualty would be too much.
"Rem, this... no. I need you..."
There was no reaction. The light in her eyes whenever Subaru called her name was gone. There was no movement in her body at all. Subaru wailed to the sky, his tears falling fresh. It seemed as if the world was upside down. He couldn't remember right from left. Only the girl in his arms remained constant.
"Suba... ru... ku?"
"Rem!"
Rem's eyes twitched, and rested at half-open. There was still no sign of radiance in them, and the reflection of Subaru was frail. She was fading away.
"Oh thank God... Rem! It's me. Do you recognize me? It's Subaru. Rem you aren't doing so good, so just hang on..."
"Subaru-kun... Rem is glad you are safe..."
She didn't even acknowledge her own state, only confirming Subaru's well-being. She smiled as if filled with relief.
"The beast, what happened to it..?
"It fell. It's been defeated. It went well. Everything went well! I'm ok! Everything... It's all thanks to you."
"Is that so... I guess Emilia-sama and Roswaal-sama will be fine too..."
"It'll all go well. Leave it to me. So Rem, please don't say anything and just rest... Wait, your eyes, don't close them! Crap, what should I do..."
Subaru didn't want to force Rem to continue talking, but what if it was too much for her? If she were to stop talking Subaru would be uneasy. What should he do? Subaru didn't know. What could he give? Subaru didn't know.
So he did what he could do, and hugged her, tightly.
"That hurts Subaru-kun."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But I want to make sure you don't go anywhere."
"Rem won't go anywhere... she will always... be by Subaru's side."
Subaru felt Rem go cold in his arms, and his throat seized up. He could almost hear the life slipping from her. It felt like everything was leaving.
"Rem? Rem! Please Rem... Open your eyes..."
"Rem feels kind of sleepy. Sorry, Rem will sleep a little, but when Rem wakes up, she will-"
"NO! You don't have to do anything. It's fine if you're just beside me, so please... Rem..."
Though she was within Subaru's arms, she seemed to be leaving, so Subaru frantically raised his voice. Yet it seemed his voice did not reach her.
"Is it ok, if Rem asks for a selfish favor?"
"Say it! Say anything. I'll listen to anything and I'll do it."
"Say 'I love you'."
Her voice was faint, barely reaching Subaru's ears. He wiped his wet face, then brought his face closer to hers.
"Suki des."
Subaru shook his head, in his emotion he had used Japanese, he changed back to using this world's language.
"I love you. Isn't that obvious? If you aren't with me I couldn't live on."
These were his true feelings. Rem smiled as he echoed the words Meiss told her before the fight.
"Rem is happy."
Accepting his words, Rem blushed. Her eyes slowly started to close.
"Wait!"
"I love you, Subaru-kun."
"Don't fuck with me, stay with me please! You're going to leave me with regrets again?"
Subaru felt he couldn't bear a future without Rem. She had become too important to him, compared to his first week at the mansion so long ago.
"The future where I talk while smiling, I need you for that. I don't want this..."
"In that future, is it ok if Rem stays at your side?"
"Isn't that obvious? I won't let you go anywhere else. You are mine and I won't let anyone have you."
"Proposal accepted!"
"Heh?"
Subaru made a dumb-sounding noise as Rem seemed to come back to life. She opened her eyes, the luster returning to them. She raised herself to be eye-level with the still processing Subaru. She smiled.
"Subaru's side is reserved for Rem. You can't take it back, ok?"
Death was nowhere near this girl now, and she talked with a playful tone. She rested her thumb on Subaru's lips, cradling his face with the rest of her hand.
"You... You... YOUUUUUUUUU!"
"Yes, this is Subaru-kun's Rem. In the flesh."
Subaru was speechless. While it would be normal to be angry with someone who was feigning death, Subaru was extremely happy.
"Really? Now you've got me all embarrassed Rem."
Subaru, face red, sighed.
"If you died, I would have died as well."
"Wah, for you to think that much of Rem, Rem is a lucky girl isn't she?"
"I'm not kidding either."
In response to Rem's light smile, Subaru said something full of truth. He would definitely try to redo to save her. Rem now had such a place in his heart that required this.
"Well Rem guesses she shouldn't go off and die then?"
"Even if you were to die, I wouldn't let you."
The two affectionately butted foreheads. They were so close their breathing could be felt by the other. It made Subaru uneasy. Of course, he felt himself being pulled towards Rem's pink lips. His heartbeat sped up as she drew in closer...
"You two, isn't that about enyough?"
Ferris, who had been watching from afar, wobbled up with a severely injured Meiss. It truly was a crime to interrupt the two flirts. Meiss seemed to think so.
"FELIX!"
Ferris poked him in the ribs and he all but collapsed, unable to retaliate.
"Calling out so desperately like that, Subaru-kyun you cute thing. 'I need you, I can't live without you!'"
"Shut up Felix! Reflect on yourself, staring at us like you were!"
"Anyways, if you were to calm down and think rationally you'd understa-"
"RATIONALLY? It's you who isn't thinking rationally! Why would you destroy such a moment between these two? You're a monster Felix! A monster! Of course he would freak out if someone he holds dear-"
Ferris dropped Meiss, who proceeded to yelp in pain.
"Ow, uhhh you suck..."
"Say that again and your healing rights will be revoked."
Meiss rolled over and raised his head to stare at Ferris.
"Monster."
Ferris abandoned the boy on the ground and moved to heal Rem. He ignored the yelling of an embarrassed Subaru. Meiss painfully crawled over, leering at the cat-boy. He settled next to Subaru and Rem, face to the sky. His skin cracked again as he drew in a long breath.
"Did you get him, Rem?"
"Yes, Rem is sure of it."