*Sorry for this short chapter, but I had to send a filler for the ending of this arc as this one has dragged for too long, I don't even know what I was thinking while planning the beginning arc. Still, the favs and reviews which I got as a beginner were immense and they really helped me come a long way since the first gibberish that I have wrote. So thank you readers, thank you very much. Now comming to main point, I want you to know that I am going on a short haitus, because I have begun the development of my first visual novel, and I don't really know how much time will it take because as a solo developer I have to do most of the work. Rest assured, I will come back soon. Now, please enjoy this chapter which is courtesy of ekaterina016

Please Read and Review*

In a certain dungeon, two battered, cloaked figures were busy in a conversation of utmost importance. The tones which their voices held were not much louder than cautious whispering, but the pitch and ferocity of them were enough to tell the topic was of great importance.

"Are you sure it's him?" One of them spoke.

"Very much so. I haven't felt such immense power in years. The hunger and bloodlust I experienced wasn't those of any commoner," the other one replied.

"That means…"

"Yes, he's still alive."

Subaru was strolling around the lower corridors to brood over some grave matters, those others wouldn't be able to comprehend. One of the many important thoughts he came across was what did Emilia wanted to talk to him about, that too in the night. "Is it possible that...?" but Subaru brushed the thoughts of Emilia getting bold all-of-a-sudden aside. "It all happens because of me, no matter what? What had happened to Ram was somehow connected to me. I really need to know… what truly happened that day? Rem is ignorant of the critical facts and Rosawall doesn't want to reveal anything!. Hmmm…"

In his mulling, he failed to notice he had somehow ended up in the private catacombs of the mansion. This being-at-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time moments, too, was one of the many gifts he possessed, for better or for worse. With his nascent senses, he could barely feel any presences from the desolate corridors, full of brown ceilings and equally pale walls, lined with several doors.

"Ah, fuck, I got lost again. I need to ask Rem for a more detailed tour of each and every inch of this place." Well, in these times, simple was best. Instead of running around in panic, he should choose the most elementary plan of them all: open each and every door until he finds the right one!

'How long have I been here?'

Subaru even made sure he didn't simply rush through each door; Roswaal was exactly the kind of person who'd put a room-within-a-room, lined with several frustrating trap doors just as 'entertainment'. However, this method was slow. A few hours had gone, and he finally arrived at the queerest parts of the basement.

In front of him was a door. Exquisite, unlike the others. Reddish, unlike the others.

'Yeah, this door isn't special at all…'

He opened it, and found two familiar faces starring hard into his eyes. "What the..."

"If you have come to finish us, do it soon. This nothingness is draining our life force, anyway," Ley said dully.

"How the heck are you two here?!" Subaru half-screamed, as his body tensed at the sight of the deadly duo. He could still feel the pain of the last kick he received from them, before fading into pitch-black valley of nothingness.

"We don't know. The man with a weird appearance brought us here after we were defeated."

'If you think Roswaal was weird, what the hell are you two freaks?!' Subaru internally retorted.

Only by then did Subaru observed their condition, at their lusterless long hair and torn-up clothes.. "Wait. What do you mean by 'defeated'? Aren't you supposed to be the powerful and skilled bosses, but with major weakness which the main character has to defeat using logic?"

"Stop blabbering this gibberish. We aren't able to make heads or tails of your nonsensical words. But regarding 'powerful' … errr, we think we still are… but…" Roy got interrupted by his own thoughts, which somehow coincidentally corresponded with the plan which suddenly popped in Ley's head out of blue. They look at each for a split second, and the glint in their eyes telepathically decided their plan.

"But what?" Subaru asked, looking perplexed. He still wanted to know why such nefarious beings were kept in such close range among all the people he cared about.

"Look, we understand that buffoon hasn't told you anything. But we won't discuss something until you open these handcuffs."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Subaru replied. "So that you would kill me or use me as a hostage to get out of here? No, not gonna' happen."

"What the heck is wrong with you? Did the beating smash your brain in half? If we still had that kind of power, we could have easily broken out of here! Why do you think we are still here, for some sort of tea party?"

Subaru pursed his lips, confused. He knew perfectly well these archbishops of sin used deceit as easily as breathing, but then he knew first-hand how powerful they were, so he pondered over the fact they were still here, bounded in chains, nonetheless. Asking Roswall was no longer an option, after how Subaru spoke to him in the study. "That guy has some serious issues of his own, and he wouldn't answer me truthfully anytime soon. The sooner I have a grasp on the situation, the better are my chances of preventing any unfortunate and unforeseeable future."

"Very well. I will unbound you, but you'll have to answer each of my questions and then come with me to Roswall, so I can question him regarding your existence here."

"Do you see any options otherwise? Of course we'll comply with you."

He searched the room for a key, and predictably failed. In fact, he was more unnerved by the wide assortment of dangerous torture weapons mounted on the walls. Then, he saw several small pins near the bench, similar to the ones he often saw in spy movies back in his original world. Small and sharpened on both sides, but they were going to be useful in this case.

'Don't even wanna' know what these are actually used for.'

His actions were indecipherable to Ley and Roy, as he looked like struggling to bend two pins into some sort of L-shape. However, they both chuckled at the gullibility of the boy, not too far removed from the beating he took and gave back to them. Plus, he seemingly had lost his memory regarding his untapped power, so in fact, they were in very safe hands.

After a while, Subaru found himself half-standing above their thighs, trying to pick the lock holding their chains in place. Admittedly, this was just a skill he watched in YouTube as a hikikomori, and not professionally done in any way. Just feeling the physical slots moving in the padlocks was hard enough; it's very uncomfortable doing so with one's crotch buried in their sworn enemies' faces.

"Are you sure, you can do this? I certainly don't expect…"

- Click.

Before Ley can continue with his ranting, the metal around his feet loosened its grip, clanking into the masonry below.. The sense of freedom stimulated him greatly, but something was amiss; yes, the lust of hunger, the sweet ecstatic void of nothingness in his soul waiting to be filled by devouring his opponents. If it wasn't for his lack of power, he would have smashed Subaru's face to pulp then and there. The shame and desire for revenge for the pain and humiliation Subaru's other form inflicted was still fresh in Ley and Roy's head.

"Unshackle me too!" Roy shouted.

"Nope. First I will take him…" Subaru pointed towards Ley, "to Roswall, and then I'll figure what to do with you. C'mon, he has answers to give." Subaru caught Ley's hand and begin to walk out of the door.

Barely taking a few steps, a sharp pain, similar to being crushed with a hill-sized boulder, hit his back. With tears blocking his vision due to the pain, he could only see Ley's malicious smirk and extended palm. Said hand was then clenched and buried deep in Subaru's spine, sending him smashing into the back wall, creating a crater.

A familiar blurry darkness descended upon him, as he's experienced enough 'deaths' already… but not this time.

A smirk formed among the copious amount of blood around his mouth, taking Ley and Roy aback. Instinctively, the freed archbishop took a random weapon nearby – a saw – and cautiously approached the demonic teen. He wanted to see himself as a tiger gauntly walking towards a cornered prey, but he couldn't – he felt the opposite instead.

As the saw neared Subaru's head, the boy simply said maniacally, "End this now."

"Well, fuck you, then!" Ley in panic as he hurled the saw's teeth towards Subaru's throat.

At the next moment, one head was flung till the end of the corridor, with the throat spraying blood like a fountain. Ley was laughing nervously at the crimson shower tainting his face and every bit of his skin.

- Cough! Cough! Cough!

Trying to throw away the dryness in his throat, Subaru woke up drenched in sweat. For most people, it would have seemed like a simple dream, dismissed as a nightmare.

But not Subaru. His curse, [Return by Death], warned him of the dangers lurking beneath in the catacombs. How could he be such a moron to believe whatever those two monsters were saying? Even more so to dismiss this latest 'vision', 'experience', or whatever as fragments of his sleep.

"He attacked me. But how the hell did he have his power back? If he did already have it, then why didn't he tried to force open the chains? Were they enchanted? If so, how could I pick it? But it still makes no sense he would wait for me to get out of the door…?"

Stuck on the word 'door', he made his way towards Roswall's office.

"That guy has tons of questions to answer!"