Hi! It's been a reallly long time, over a whole month, huh? Well, i'm back… For now.
This is just an obligatory update, but it is in fact a whole chapter.
This is a ROUGH DRAFT. I didn't finish it, if it were really finished… Well, it doesn't matter. I am updating the story from the the beginning; adding words, realism, details… Oh god the details!
Now I will ask you, that when I post chapter 6, please REREAD this story. There will be A LOT of changes that may make you wholesomely confused, as well as the removal, and subsequent incorporation of the 'shorts' chapters interrimed from C3-C4.
Chapter 6 won't be here till the whole thing is updated, so just keep an eye out for it. Oh, and before I forget, happy 4th!
Chapter 5, The Brewing Storm (RD)
The Royal Selection kicked off, and then what ensued was a very, very long day of meetings and negotiation, at least for the two. Being the most unique candidacy, most attractive and most unattractive, most promising yet also unpromising… Well, it was at such a balance, though it leaned towards good.
The fake witch, the wife of Natsuki Subaru, named Natsuki Emilia, was for eliminating the cult as much as Subaru… Perhaps this was her most aggressive or violent view to date. So, while hard to imagine for them, many nobles actually ended up talking to her… without minding her appearance.
Yes, the nobility was thoroughly pleased with them, they were social, well coordinated with one another and prepared to answer any question they were asked. If it didn't gain a noble's support, it certainly swayed their views on the half elf, at minimum.
All was in their favor, Reinhard's 'presentation' worked wonderfully, their days spent preparing for public speaking at the village let them be more at ease, and having all their main ideas already thought through was great… the nobles were easily impressed by it all.
But, the other candidates were not, at least not Crusch or Priscilla. Anastasia though, she could see what it was, what they did. And, she knows that they are the ones to watch. Surely something will happen, as now every single person in the nation and even others outside of it will know… The couple that want to change the world have stepped into view.
Crusch held a stoic, unchanging face, yet… She was angry. Worried. Somewhat in shock. She felt threatened by the two. What she worked for, what she prepared so long for in secret for, was in jeopardy.
She was baffled. Why didn't she do what they did? Make it public, and you gain support… No, she went out of her way to keep it secret, meeting groups that shared her cause but kept it under wraps, just for this damn royal selection to kick off, and then do it.
It seemed fate wanted not only for Priscilla to be humiliated, but herself be put into deep trouble. If she went forward with her plan, she would receive flack because… There isn't a way to prevent deaths, not without the sword saint, no possible way.
And asking for help now is too late, the couple just gained all the world's public support in killing the damn thing. If it's killed, they fulfill a campaign promise. Huh, why didn't she opt for making it public?
Greed. She knew that, if it was killed without prior notice, and full credit given to her camp, as long as no similar feat was made… She would have been crowned king without a second thought at the end of the selection.
But now, that's changed. Her entire plan was effectively garbage now. Enacting it would be fruitless, it would be straight up bad publicity for declining the employment of the current generation sword saint. Yes, the couple just shook the entire election up - it's hardball or nothing, she would have to do something drastic to make up for it, but… What, exactly? Kill an archbishop? Bring peace on the Vollachian border? End slavery in Kararagi? No, it has to be localized.. Oh, there was one thing she thought of in the moment, but…
"Ferris… I do not think sir Astrea will be present when we get back to the residence." she said to the cat demihuman, and he twitched his ears in response. "What? Why would nyou think thyat?"
Of course, the nature of Wilhelm, the stoic and strong willed man, dubbed 'sword demon' wasn't too obvious… But, he knew that the old man would be furious, perhaps.
She sighed, shaking her head a bit. "It's unfortunate, but it just is. Come, we must prepare for… A new endeavor." "Nyew?" but, she was already walking away. He almost ran to catch up, and soon they were gone.
Anastasia grew an even bigger grin seeing the exit of her rival, yes it seemed that she had underlying plots that just got ruined by the two. She saw how Crusch was staring painfully at them, and how they noticed, yet ignored it… these two only brought even more curiosity to her, she could see two very definite possibilities, out of the infinite possible futures of these two.
Either they both end up dead in a week due to witch cultists or assassins, or… They will be her rival outright throughout this whole thing. And, really, she was open to that. "It's fun to have a challenge every once in a while, huh?" she asked herself, though it was also a question to Julius. "Indeed, it seems that things have sped up significantly in such a short time." she nodded, still observing them. "I wonder what happens now?"
But she knew the answer already. She would have lots of contact with these very individuals for certain, be it for business or political purposes… They would meet again soon, that was a guarantee.
So this left two camps to meet with and cull the entire nobility, with Priscilla having left immediately and Crusch leaving after a short, painful realization. It was fairly quiet, and by observing how the other acted during meetings spoke a lot of their character.
Anastasia could see that, while they're unexperienced, that they trained hard not to screw up. It wasn't a joke. They were definitely rival material. She smiled, and soon left herself.
Priscilla was surprised for once. She wasn't angry anymore, but… She felt humility for once in a very, very long time. Perhaps something changed… But, she was having trouble believing it. That never happened, so why? She eyed the man who did it to her, her eyes full of wonder and an odd bit of respect.
'Peasants, all of them… But, what of him?' he stood up to her, commandeering HER respect. This man was no mere peasant in her eyes… "What a pain. No matter, Al! We're leaving." "Right away, Princess!" those two odd folk began their exit, not caring one bit about the people who stared… 'It's revolting…' she thought. 'We shall see.'
.
Interestingly enough, Anastasia was very receptive of the Natsukis. Walking into a large building, presumably owned by Hoshin, or maybe she was renting out an entire hotel for just this occasion, it was rather busy with demihumans of all sorts, and there were dozens of parked carriages outside along with accompanying Rigers, so Anastasia certainly did have a 'base of operations' located within the capital, at least.
The inside had a large courtyard though it was all styled in a european fashion, three stories all with railing along the courtyard side to see below and above. It was not enclosed. So, walking in to see dozens of white and orange robed figures, the 'Fang Of Iron' as it was called, the mercenary group Anastasia ran herself, primarily employing demihumans and humans in a fluidic fashion, though it was almost entirely formed up out of demihumans.
Here is where you would expect some grand entrance, but there wasn't one. It was working people doing their jobs, while they would give a glance to see who just came in, who they smelled or noticed, they didn't drop what they were doing to greet them, just a wave and that was it.
'Politics isn't our deal' is the overall vibe from the robed figures mulling about, as Anastasia broke off from the group and Julius led them to a meeting room, somewhere a bit more private. It would seem that Anastasia wanted to do something important with them.
Seated on a few couches inside one fairly lit room, the camp made itself comfortable as it could, with Julius telling them all about who they were going to meet with, mostly the 'leaders' of the Fang, A Kobold, and three human beasts, apparently triplets.
Some loud noises could be heard from behind the door, and then a crashing thud, and laughter. "Did somebody just…" "Wee! Again! Again!" the door flings open and in flies a small collection of orange and white, the thing sailing and hitting an unused couch, giggling and laughter just bursting from it.
When it landed, it sprawled. Upside down, head on the edge and feet at the top of it, the small cat like human beast named Mimi looked around and sniffed in delight, her gaze then landing on the guests. "Hia!" she shouts, scrambling off the couch and launching right into the open space between Subaru and Emilia, rather 'wedged' herself into the space that was not exactly somewhere even somebody her size could fit… So,
"Aah!?" "Huh?" they loudly respond to the furry being, her smile broad while sitting between them. "Ahahaha, you guys are super popular right now! Hehehe!" she slammed where her legs were, though only hit fabric. Effectively she was sitting on one of both's legs, cheerful and at home, though it was very awkward and uncomfortable for the two.
Julius looked a little shocked, though it couldn't be helped. Roswaal was grinning at this, and Beatrice was looking… Well, sour about the whole affair… But even she couldn't exactly tell why.
"Oh Mimi, let the Natsukis have space, please?" Anastasia came in the door, her face tinged a bit from her subordinate's actions. "Okay, i'm going to sit by you!" "Of course dear." so she exploded out from the two and landed on the opposite couch, right next to her seat. "Boisterous and rowdy, and cute. Mimi ought to show the kids at the village how to play, eh?" Subaru spoke to Emilia, and she tilted her head in thought.
"Though, wouldn't that get out of hand?" she finally responds. "Err…" "Hehe." Anastasia looked happily on their interactions, her opinion of them was shaped well enough… They were fairly easy going people that seem very comfortable with each other, and it seemed the marriage was not political at all - with the being that his hand in a marriage would have sealed the election for any other candidate, so at first it really did seem to have been a political marriage, perhaps Emilia offered her body to him, or perhaps Roswaal offered him some great amount of money or land or power, or maybe they had dirt on him, but…
'They're both virgins, in love…' oh, that changed things. She was realizing this while her other camp members seated themselves, Tivey and Hetaro sitting next to Mimi and Ricardo standing hunched over near them, next to Julius. Reinhard was standing as well, opposite the other two.
"Since formality has already been thrown out the window, i'll get right to it. As a woman in the business of trade, my opinion of the White Whale is obvious. So, i'm offering you a few things here, no charge." she opened. This wasn't fully unexpected, but having her open with that was a surprise.
"From the Fang as auxiliary, enough rigers and mobile platforms to move the carcass to the capital for a parade, to information on the whale, wherever it next appears, is yours. The benefit of not having the Whale shutting down essential trading lanes more than makes up for it." she continued.
So, they thought on it. Essentially it was a free way of getting it out there that the white whale was killed by them, but… "Hnn, offering because, you don't know if they'll accept or not?" Roswaal said. She nodded. "Political gain is a very enticing thing, you know? I'd gain very little while seeing a long since dead wish fulfilled, and you would have the benefit of being in the forefront right out the gate, there's little not to gain from it." she replied.
It mostly rode on Reinhard. Quiet, waiting for orders, he was the one that was supposed to be leading the attack on the whale, and most all of the other main threats specified by Subaru, it seemed like the weight of the world would be sitting on his shoulders, with all that responsibility resting on him…
Though the weight of a thousand suns on his back was… Entertainment, for him. Slaying monsters was something that he could actually do. He accepted that role in a heartbeat, even going as far as saying, 'if you declare war, then let me hold a front.' though being so willing while so modest, believing that any person, even children, are strong in their own right, he was not worried about a challenge.
"I see the point, but surely you don't think of it as merely grasping for superiority in the election, eh?" Subaru pointed out a good fact, as she did specify it as well.
"That's actually what i'd like to know, if one of the other two was hedging their bets on taking it down in secrecy, just for that purpose?" playing dumb, though they were fully aware. Crusch, Reinhard has better connections than anyone could have ever imagined.
"You're sly, i'll admit. I'm holding my tongue, though you probably know leagues more than myself. Without saying, I would believe so." he says. "Hehe, it was worth a shot anyways. I won't bore you with politics, but do indulge in the Hoshin company and such. It's a pleasure to have you."
.
"Give Bubby back! or i'll blast you, I suppose! You… You!" Beatrice was breathing heavy, on the second floor balcony opposite Mimi, who was holding Puck like a football on the third floor balcony, running around in circles. "Na-na, Bea-chan is too slow! Already tired! Wee!" "Sh… Shutup, I suppose!"
The camps looked on with smiles as the two children chased one another, rather Beatrice chasing Mimi with spikes and force magic while she played her own version of Tag and Keepaway mixed in one, this was true entertainment.
"Aah, i'm still not sure what to make of it…" Emilia commented, she did have a part to play in this, of course… Puck is her contracted spirit, after all. "She… She won't destroy the place, will she? Not that i'm worried about it, just wondering." Anastasia was certainly concerned, of course she was.
"Beako… Property damage… Well, I don't recall her actually destroying anything, but when she gets serious… Well, you don't want to see her get serious… Then again, I can't really tell if she's serious right now or not."
And to that Anastasia shuddered a bit, Beatrice was a great spirit after all. "Eeee!" Mimi ran past, and through a rift Beatrice shot out nearby, nearly catching the speeding beast child. "I think she's serious."
Not going into details, but Beatrice was eventually victorious. She had to trap Mimi in a gravity field, and nearly damaged her dress in doing so. Mimi was very, very entertained with heightened gravity, moving around in it like she was playing a slow motion game…
"Hey Emilia tan, you remember day two at the mansion?" he asked her quietly, and remembering the incident, the 'closeness' during that incident, it tinged her face red. Sure she got what he was referring to as a comparison to how Mimi was trudging through,
but innocence at the time and realization does that to you.
"But… She seems confident now?" Emilia returned. "Ah, maybe its because Mimi hasn't targeted her drills?" she shrugs. "hmm."
.
Hours went by as Subaru made purchase orders with Anastasia, concerning materials needed for their plans, such as updating local communication and alert systems with conversational and visual Metia, you could imagine the shock when she saw the numbers being in the thousands.
He met with Russell Fellow and many high merchants from around the Lugunica and Kararagi area, and very few from Vollachia, Gusteko seemed to be barren… Or maybe they don't have enough money there for traders to run a profit minus the government sales.
Running these meetings alongside Anastasia and Reinhard brought to light that… Everyone, absolutely everyone in trade as a merchant, abhors the whale with great animosity. Deals went easily, with the general outlook being positive.
But when things needed to do run out, it's time to leave. They were given a good send off, and the assurance that the supplies would be delivered to the alternate Roswaal residence, the main one.
The carriage held a familial air about it, Puck resting in Beatrice's lightly sleeping arms, Emilia leaned up against Subaru as they looked out at the capital in the close distance, perhaps the only oddity was Roswaal… Riding on the opposite side, his strangeness bleeding out onto the comfy scene. It would only last until they got back.
.
Four days passed rather easily, with things slowing down significantly. Between minor management of the territory and rift trips to the Miload and alternate Roswaal residence, not much time was spent being apart or being preoccupied for the couple.
And this morning was no different.
Emilia blinked, her eyes adjusting to the rather dark room, this was a bit earlier than she normally wakes up, but everything was rather normal. She was close to Subaru and felt his arm over her, holding her in his sleep. She looked to his face to see him pleasantly sleeping, having a nice dream probably.
'Everything is normal, so why do I feel something is.. Off?' she thought to herself, she did feel a bit weird… pinpointing it, she could only think of one thing…
She quickly turned her gaze to the door, but only saw that it was still locked. They only lock from the inside, but can be unlocked from the outside. The only one that would be up would be Reinhard, and he is too vigilant to allow people to be snooping around the mansion or around it, for that matter.
'Why do I feel like i'm being watched?' she pondered. 'Puck? Puuuck, come out, please…' she asked, and lightly the crystal on the counter began to glow. 'Lia…. Naaah, what is it that's got you worried?' he replied to her silently, through their contract he could do this, much like telepathy.
'I… think we're being watched, but nothing looks different…' she laid back down, cozying up next to Subaru as Puck formed himself. He sat next to her, and indeed… His fur started to stand on end. 'Okay something is seriously wrong. You should wake Subaru if it gets worse, and i'll investigate. I'll be right back.' he reassured her, that she was definitely not imagining things. She nodded to him and curled up a bit, and he phased through the door and shot off to investigate.
His search was taking him far out into the outside world, there wasn't a single thing out of place or odd in the mansion, but every time he went near the windows on the front of the mansion he felt that feeling… So he looked to find a vantage point that would have all the windows in view.
Yet there was nothing besides a mountain in the distance, too far to have discernable sight even with magnification magic, but still he couldn't rule it out. So, he left to check to only place that he felt it could be.
Yet, his trip was fruitless. There was nothing besides a few Ulgarm and a hiker headed up to his cabin, on the other side if the mountain at that. So, Puck hurried back, still nothing appeared to be wrong, just thay staying near the windows.. You knew that you were being watched.
Emilia did not wake Subaru, in fact she nodded off again in his embrace. Puck sighed, and then… 'It's gone?! But…' he looked around to see that all was well, just the sense of being watched was gone.
He went to Reinhard, who apparently also knew about it. His own search was fruitless, he even asked Beatrice and she said there was no magic at play and there were no oddities within the surrounding miles of the place, so it was just… Odd.
Still, the entire region was set to high alert status that morning. Whether it was just chance or not still plagued their minds deep into the day, but they were certainly being watched… By what or who, that was an entirely different matter.
.
"Eeih? Wait, repeat that, Reinhard?" having been just now informed of the change of alert status, Subaru stared with alarmed eyes at both Emilia and Reinhard, though he would not be angry with it, he was surprised. "Yes, it would be that everyone that was awake could sense they were being watched by an unknown presence all along the front side of the mansion, and some reports of the villagers saying they felt they were being watched as well. I'm not sure what could have caused this, but there is no evidence that magic was used nor any devices either. It's simply strange all around, and whatever it was… it disappeared shortly after starting, being almost half an hour until it ceased." he reported.
Subaru breathed heavily, he wasn't sure what it could be either. Mutually felt with Emilia, they were both worried…
"Is there any past reports of this kind regarding any great beasts or lost great spirits?" but, he just got a shaking head in return. "Regarding the Witches Cult?" it was his biggest fear… "None. There have not been any reports like this made anywhere ever before, as far as I know. It seems the Imperial Knights don't know anything about it either, but they acknowledge that it is a serious issue with what we gave them to work with."
He scratched his head in wonder… "I think… agh, I don't know what I think, it's bad, we should leave before something happens… How long will it take to evacuate Arlam?" he asked. Stress, this was unlike at the capital… this was real. "With what we have on hand, four days. If we flagged down a merchant group, perhaps less than a day to get them out if the alert area." he answered.
Emilia was stressed on this too, she asked many of the same questions that Subaru did… But came to the same conclusion he was headed towards.
"Damn… Alright, aah…" he looked to Emilia, and she held her worried look as well. "I think we should stay here, to protect the villagers in case something happens." she says to him. He nodded, that seemed to be the only okay course of action.
"Alright, Subaru sama. I hope this passes uneventfully." for Reinhard to be legitimately worried" well that was saying something… But they couldn't do anything about it. So, they were left to just wait.
But waiting led to endless angst, when nothing occurred the rest of the day… Well, it was somewhat a let down and a relief, just for now they could relax… Sort of.
.
Half asleep, Subaru was cuddled up with a sleeping Emilia, parting her hair and such mostly to just comfort her, it was also stress relief for himself to see her not be in panic like yesterday. Really it was a big scare, so calming everybody down was a goal..
Thinking about endless amounts of things, he strained his mind on it… "I should just go to sleep…" he said, but… footsteps rushed down the hallway to his door, and soon a knock as well. "Subaru kun! The White Whale has been located!" Rem called through the door, surprising him. 'What? Now of all times? Well… Shit, have to go do this right fucking now then.'
Jumping out of bed, though taking care not to wake Emilia. He quickly changed out to training clothes, stuff he could get dirty and was very easy to move in… Then, exited into the hallway. Rem stood there waiting for him with Reinhard next to her, his guard's uniform on and two extra swords strapped to his belt, and a sword in hand for him.
"A group of merchants was encamped near Flugel's Tree along the Laifus highway, when they were forced away by the whale's Fog at exactly one fourteen according to your own LST, twenty minutes ago. If we rift to the outskirts of the capital, we should get to the fog bank within five minutes via minya platform." he explained.
So, they have to go right now to get it, else it could be gone by morning. "Rem." Subaru looked to her, and she held her breath as she saw the seriousness in his gaze. "Y-yes, Subaru kun?" she was almost scared by his gaze.
"Take Emilia's Metia, and if anything, anything at all happens, contact me or Reinhard immediately, okay?" she slowly nodded, ti which he was relieved… "hmm. Alright, let's go." he said, taking the sword Reinhard had for him, and ran right into a rift he opened on the wall in front of him. Reinhard waved to Rem and then fell in from the side, the rift closing as he made it through.
Rem stared at the spot the two just left with her breath still held… A shiver went through her, a spine chilling, hair raising feeling overcoming her as she realized… This may be the last time she sees Subaru… She may never even remember who he was or what he did, after learning about what the whale does to people that it kills… "Don't be like the rest… please come back, Subaru kun…" she then did as she was told, and stood ready behind the front door just in case something was going to happen…
.
"Well I can say one thing, I only thought dust storms looked so terrifying from afar." flying on a large minya plate with Reinhard, they would be heading right into the fray that was… The Whale's playground. "Dust storm? You mean Sand Time, from near the Pleiades Watchtower?" Reinhard replied. "Err… No, what i'm talking about is… from my, you know…"
He nodded, looking straightforward at the ominous wall of expanding fog. How he could do this without blinking was simple, divine protections, which were also applied to Subaru through physical contact.
"So, the whale… haah, this is going to be kinda exciting, eh?" he shrugged. "Dangerous, but certainly able to be done. I would like not to put you in danger, Subaru sama." he said. "I know, I know. But, danger is… Not, but probably should be my middle name."
Jokes right before something very important, it might not seem logical to anybody… But, it really is. A massive stress reliever, if you can fool around, you're not in trouble at all, as one of those sayings go. Well, it isn't wrong, but it isn't right either.
So, they plunged in.
"Something is wrong, Subaru. Here, land here." by now they've been flying around the fog for at least half an hour, and haven't found anything yet. So, he complied.
On the ground, Reinhard touched his fingers to the dirt and listened carefully to the empty yet difficult space, then fixed his gaze on somewhere ahead… And motioned for Subaru to follow suite.
Soon what came into view was… "Magic cannons? And they're brand new… wait, they're…" looking at the relatively extravagant looking cannons in line, smoke was lightly coming from the barrels, and it seemed that they were all forced back into the dirt from firing.
"It appears that a group operated these… During the whale's presence." Reinhard concluded. "Minutes ago, but… Who would do that?" to that they didn't really have an answer..
Walking down a bit further, they both stopped still in seeing the much larger cannon at the end of the line… "that's a sun bringer mortar piece?" sure enough, it was the very same one that fires 'nighbanisher' light magic crystal payloads, and even it shows recent, as in minutes ago, use.
The smell of hot iron and burning wood and grass was getting gradually heavier, and then they heard a scream…"Crusch sama!" from the distance, it was coming from the base of the tree… *Crrsh…. Hyyrrr!* hearing something massive impact on the tree itself, it roared deafeningly loud as it was apparently hit by something else directly afterwards.
"Crusch san is- what the hell is she doing?!" while it explains the equipment, that she was here, if you could believe the scream, but… "Who's Crusch?" Reinhard asked. "No time, the whale is over there!" "Right!"
Reinhard pulled ahead quickly, and then disappeared into the fog entirely. It was only seconds until you could hear another deafening screech, but Subaru kept running forward… Until he almost tripped over a corpse.
Looking at it proved to be a mistake. It seemed that only a third of the torso was left, it's right side completely gone in a rough cup like shape from the shoulder down to the leg, with the rest of the organs spilled out and a huge puddle of blood soaking the dirt around him, his face left with a terrified look and blood trailed from his mouth… Subaru almost puked.
Moving on, he trudged through, with his vision gradually growing better, Reinhard's strikes sending huge volumes of wind into the fog, clearing out much of it at the base of the tree, and… This is where he finally saw life, perhaps twenty men, assorted in robes and metal armor, and one very familiar royal guard's uniform…
'Dear god…' he ran up, startling a few of the guys that seemed to be terrified. "What are all of you doing here?!" he asked, but they seemed confused. "We don't know! I thought we were here under your orders, but nothing comes up now that I think about it!" a more calm one replied, her was standing nearer to Subaru than the rest.
"Well Reinhard is here now, just get closer to the base of the tree and i'll get you guys out of here!" Subaru yelled this order to all of them, and sure enough they moved into action, at least all of them but one… One that was leaning over a blue uniformed body, surely… "Felix?" he called, getting closer and closer, yet…
He didn't want to ask who it was, but seeing the body up close, the entire upper half was gone. All that was recognizable was the dark blue pants, and half an arm with hand and a broken sword clutched tightly within, she was hit with… Whatever the hell it was, head on.
"FELIX! Crusch san is dead! Move it!" he ordered, yet he only looked up with eyes devoid of life, it looked like he was mentally dead. "C-crusch… S-s-sama… W-why… WHY DON'T I REMEMBER?!" he buried his face into the leg, bawling like a child… So, this was the power of the white whale, the power to make others forget.
Subaru deliberated… And pulled Felix away, sending him through a rift to right outside the capital. He then hurried back over to the tree's base, and hurried the distraught and confused soldiers and mages through as well. And now being a bit lost himself, he figured he could do something…
"God damn it that's loud!" he fired off the mortar, watching as the salvo trailed high up and then lit, exploding into light that rivals only the sun in brightness, illuminating the entire area… Making it very easy to spot the whale, but… "there's fucking three now?"
Three shadows were present clear as day, and it seemed the fog itself was dissipating… So, it soon became visible.
Three whales, all without half their tail, long deep cuts all over their bodies, and half the jaw cut off… now here's where it was odd, each one shared similar kinds of damage, actually the exact same kind of damage, besides the one that was being assaulted by Reinhard at the moment, which the one highest in the sky.
It took him a little bit, but it was obvious what it was when he realized it himself. "It shares damage… Like, what's the power those triplets have? Trisection, thank you reinhard and your divine protections.." of course reinhard figured this out the second it split up, so he went after the one that tried to stay away from the fight after he beat on the two clones for a while.
*HYYYRCH* it screeched, it had been getting sliced for minutes until Reinhard could finally bring out the Sword Reid, and that screech was the result of his first swing with it. Subaru watched as it literally got cut in two, its lower body falling off and caneering to the ground, it began losing altitude fast. he kept leaving full through cuts all over the poor animal, until it crashed to the ground with a thud.
Magnificence was the sight, Reinhard glowing bright white as he stood atop the remains of the whale, holding the Sword Reid with a kind of exhilarated look on his face… He was having fun. One would expect him to admire his work, but he sheathed the sword, and jumped towards Subaru in the clearing fog.
A little while of just looking over the destruction, Subaru found himself at the remains of Crusch Karsten's corpse. He knelt down, hand on her pant leg and on the sword beside it.
"Subaru sama? You know who… Who this was?" Reinhard knelt down himself, touching the ground nearby. He had no recognition of whoever this was, memory completely gone regarding the person.
"It was a woman named Crusch Karsten, a royal candidate for the throne. We last saw her five days ago, when we all met for the beginning if the royal selection…" he answered… "Oh… Sorry to hear that, but… How is that you can remember too?"
He didn't have an answer for that, there wasn't much logic to that… Why would he remember if nobody else, to his knowledge, could? From all documented history on the White Whale, whoever is forgotten… cannot be remembered, by anyone, anywhere.
"It's intriguing, how you remember who you should forget, Witch lover." this startled them both, hearing this childish voice call out from behind them, and how murderous and dark it sounded as well… they immediately turned around to see two figures, one wearing something similar to Subaru and the other wearing rags, literally.
Eyes wide, they were confronted with two archbishops of the Witches Cult, from research it would be Ley Batenkaitos, and Regulus Corneas, Gluttony and Greed respectively. Why they were together, why they were here, it was all impossible, as impossible as Subaru remembering Crusch.
Reinhard put himself in front of Subaru and unsheathed the Sword Reid once again, while not visible he was relieved that it allowed itself to be drawn. The blank man sighed and flicked his hair, obviously annoyed by the gesture, and the raggedly kid went into a more defensive stance, much more clearly worried about it than his companion.
"I have no quarrels with you, I am merely here by chance. I do not like the… Hostility, that you are displaying towards me, at the moment. It does infringe upon my rights as an individual, after all." the bland one shot at them. "While I don't necessarily want to squander your rights, yours being here is highly difficult to ignore." Reinhard retorted, and so a standoff ensued.
Standoff was more just a staring contest, even as the horizon began changing shades of black and dark blue, it was only a matter of time until one of the parties moved…
And the one to move was Ley. His aura dark, he shot away from his position with a speed unimaginable without being imbued with light magic, his presence becoming a physical force as he rushed around Reinhard, only to be pushed away by Subaru's own sword. His eyes went a little wide in surprise, how did he block?
"Physical capabilities go infinitely, just most people think that the threshold is where you start to actively hurt yourself. Well, you can see that I can counter-" and the child phased out of sight, and soon he blocked another blow and yet another from two entirely different angles
at what seemed to be, the same time. "Lunar Eclipse." he finished his sentence.
By now Reinhard stepped into action, preventing Regulus from reaching Subaru, who was no match for the one of seemingly infinite power, much like Reinhard himself. It was a good thing that both knew their enemies well, even before encountering them, they figured out which one would require what to be taken down.
While it wasn't discussed what to do whether two different ones or more showed up, it was decided that somebody on the level of Puck or Subaru should be able to manage, though for Subaru, Luck would have to play a part in his win.
In this case, Ley was 'barely' manageable. Regulus… Is higher on the chart than the whale. So, of course it was Reinhard's job to deal with Regulus, it was the only way.
Regulus did have his reasons to defend Ley, but he also has many reasons not to do so either. Actually, he is quite angry that he has to even defend the hungry child in this instance, as he already has other things to do. So, swinging his hands bare as a way to parry the Sword Reid, he held a disgusted and angered look.
Ley, meanwhile, was occupied with trying to just kill Subaru, knowing that - killing Subaru is the only thing he can do here, he stands no chance against the sword saint.
Parry unto parry, strike unto strike, Ley darted around Subaru at speeds that only allow brief blurry images to be seen, his daggers aimed at vital spots but still only getting parried away by sword or minya blade, being forced to dodge away as dozens of spikes fly to wherever he was last. Endurance and speed versus pooled mana and luck, it only made it more interesting when Subaru started utilizing gate crossing to rift around the area at increasing velocity, hitting the terminal level as he moved around.
Reinhard and Regulus were engaged in a battle even quicker paced, while it looked far more calm and slow, the speed that these men were attacking at far exceeded anything that the other two could ever manage. Time itself was passing at a distorted rate, all four individuals captivated in battle as the sun peeked over the distant lands, without much notice of the passing carriages and a small army of robed individuals riding on rigers towards the whale's corpse.
The state of the individuals was interesting to say the least. Subaru and Ley were injured, small cuts and gashes littering their bodies entirely, their weapons in ruin, pits and craters on the bladed pieces of metal that were, just prior, recognizable. Regulus was gaining shallow cuts where he should have lost limbs, and blood loss? He does not bleed, it seems. Reinhard was battered as well, though for him, being injured only makes him stronger.
They were just moving to strike one another again, when Regulus vanished, and from where Ley was, the sound of a quick exhale, like as if somebody had the wind knocked out of them, and he was gone as well. Regulus grabbed Ley and ran.
Only Reinhard could see the quick running man carrying the knocked out child, already well over a mile away as the sun glinted on his white hair, being the only thing the naked eye could see… A shiny reflection.
It became obvious as they looked around that a giant battle had taken place, nearly fifty dead men and similar amounts of ground dragons littered the area, with the artillery pieces standing abandoned on the ridgeline nearby the tree. The arriving Fang Of Iron forces loomed on dimly, this was the party that originally went in with the two standing there amongst it all…
"Subaru sama! What happened here? It's a mess!" Ricardo was, for once, not looking that happy, and ignored the whale's corpse as he jumped off the Riger and landed next to the two.
"Does the name Crusch Karsten ring a bell?" he asked the Kobold, and he seemed to think a bit, then shook his head. "Dunno anybody by the name, no." he answered. "Aah… Well, Crusch was a royal candidate, head of the Karsten family. This is what remains of her, she went in with this force… Alone. We got here shortly before she…" he didn't finish, just the thought of all of these people being dead, it was hard to bare for him… And he was the only one who knew who the woman was.
Ricardo scratched his head in worry, hearing that a royal candidate was dead, even though nobody even knows who she was, was nerve racking. "Ah… I jumped to conclusions then. I just wish we got out here sooner, so we coulda done something ta help out with them archbishops." he said.
"Hm, if I knew Archbishops were going to appear, I would have declined having anyone come with me." Reinhard said. "Hey man, don't worry about it, Reinhard. There was no way we could have known they were coming, you know? At least we made them retreat, that's saying something right after… That fiasco, you know?" he patted him on the back, but to no avail. He still let people die, even though it most certainly was not his fault.
So they looked around the scattered bodies and helped lined them up for retrieval, for the ones with dog tags they were placed onto their chests so that they could be remembered, though the ones lost to the whale, were unfortunately lost to humanity as a whole… They were piled into a mass grave, and request for a monument was filled in the short time they mulled about.
Though the carnage was harsh, some people and ground dragons survived. Out of the fifty six some odd ground dragons found, seven were alive. And of the sixty two men, an extra twenty three were merely unconscious, though mostly in critical condition. This was a bad bad for certain.
They spent around two hours there, and even had immediate contact with Anastasia, who even rode out to see the mess… She may look weak, but she managed seeing the carnage well. It still made no difference though, it just proved that the royal candidate named Crusch Karsten was forgotten by the world, and her name was only known… For leading a group of men into a suicide mission.
.
"Reinhard…" Subaru called, they were supposed to have left five minutes ago, but… "Gate Crossing isn't working." he said. He then reached into his pocket and opened his metia, and called for Emilia's one on a direct line. 'Zzzt- mana interference detected during connection' it buzzed and that was shown on the screen, alarming Subaru and Reinhard immensely.
"Rem? Emilia? Ram? Is something wrong? Our metia is not able to reach yours. Please, respond." Reinhard instantly went for Telepathy, and Subaru mentally panicked.
He knows they heard it, but got no response. Now even he was in panic, but he has to remain calm. "Subaru, we need to get back to the mansion. Something really is wrong." he said. "Hrr.." hearing Reinhard say that was confirming his fears, but still how he said it, it should be alright if they just get there… So, subaru looked around and eventually locked eyes with a single ground dragon… Perhaps the only one able to stand, it stared into his soul with her own reptilian eyes, similar to how his own look they shared the same piercing look.
"Hyrrooh!" it roared, and lowered its head as he approached it. He patted its head, as it showed him subservience. "I'd like to bring you with, but there simply isn't enough time. Perhaps next time." he said, and she let out a low, seemingly understanding squall, and then Subaru made a minya plate, motioning for Reinhard to get on.
"I'm sorry, Subaru sama." he said, though still Subaru saw no reason why Reinhard should be sorry… he just was, but figured that was just how Reinhard was… Because he is that way. Anything that made Subaru worry or disappointed him, Reinhard would apologize…
"Hmm." he responded, and then they shot off into the sky…
.
From nearly thirty miles out, they knew… the village of Arlam was set afire. Twenty, much of the surrounding forest was slowly beginning to catch as well, and at ten… "NO.." Subaru muttered, half of the mansion was on fire, it was for certain. "No…" denial, landing at the mansion's front lawn, Subaru ran forward, ignoring that Reinhard went the opposite direction, and sliced apart three robed figures. He continued out towards the town, as he sensed no more miasma from the mansion.
Subaru was left there, staring at the dead figures of Rem and well over a dozen witch cultists. There was small patches of fire and huge deep cuts where various kinds of magic impacted the ground, and impaled in Rem's eye socket was one of the cult's throwing daggers. It seemed they also ripped her ribcage apart, and impaled her heart well after she was dead.
Gruesome. Subaru went forward, the mansion entrance had its doors blown in and the top of the frame shattered, but still holding. Inside laid a few cultists as well, dead from what seemed to be minya spikes. The entire staircase was chock full of the impact marks, and the wall as well. Beatrice kept them here. There were at least a dozen dead on the stairs.
Second floor, on the very first room… the door was slightly open, and he could see the lower half of a maid uniform in there as well. Ram, he leaned in to see a sight even worse than he thought he could have ever seen…
She was decapitated, fingers cut off with multiple daggers lining her body, and in her arms was Petra… Her nutmeg hair tinted red with blood, her eyes gouged out and a cut along her neck, and behind the two corpses were the other children… Dead, mutilated and contorted all in a pile, he puked.
The second flight of stairs had the same minya impacts as the first, and another dozen dead cultists laid there was well… Just, at the top, right at the door… It was slightly open, inside was the library, she was trying to escape… But all around was this light colored powder, seemingly an explosion of flour or something else, but… "Beatri..ce…" it was mana.
He felt his entire world crumble before him, everything he had… Gone. That was… He doesn't even know what, was it punishment? What for? But, he kept on… "Emilia…" he muttered words incoherently, and trudged on through Roswaal's office, the secret passage door open, with cultists daggers all around it as well, blood splattered nearby the entrance…
It looked like it did when he first saw it, those dark bricks covered in a light blue hue, concealing magic mixed with light magic to keep it both hidden and strong, though there was a single bloody handprint every so often… until he got to the bottom, and saw her.
"..." he stared in horror at his love, his wife, the one he cherished over all others. Blood was seeping out of a few wounds on her, though… "S…. Sub..aru…" she called out, and he rushed to her, holding her tight as she opened her eyes in realization. "S-Subaru! Subaru… Sub…" she was crying into his chest, and he only held her tighter… "i'm so sorry, Emilia… I… I should have come back sooner…" he said, but she shook her head. "Y-you didn't know… it happened shortly after y-Hk! Hk…" she was remembering it all, it was horrifying…
"I…" she choked. "I love you, Subaru…" she was losing it, she saw all of them die…. "Please don't leave me again…" she pleaded, her voice weak and frail, she asked him that. "I won't leave you… Ever again…" he promised her. She hugged him deeply, planting her trembling lips on his and brought him into a deep kiss..
A kiss… That would be their parting action.
Subaru felt something force its way into his gut, it wasn't metal or wood, it was something more… Like an entity.
He panicked, his body constricted, and Emilia looked on in horror as he fell backwards, his head slamming onto the stone ground…. He started clawing at his own face, but what it looked like. "Ha… Ha… Ahahahaha! What A perfect! Body! Heeeehhahahaha! My-" "Get out of me god damn it! AaaaAAAHG!" "Ohh, ohhohoho! But your body is MINE now, boy! Oh, such a fighter… Suv diligence!" "I said GET OUT!..."
It went silent for a while as his body went limp, Emilia was in horror as she watched… Subaru was being possessed… By Sloth. She knew what his power was… But, Subaru of all people being one of his potential hosts? It was horrid…
"Emilia…" he called, and she scrambled in pain over to him, struggling to hold him, let alone herself, upright. He looked her in the eyes, his own losing spark, losing color, losing life… "I'm sorry I can't keep the promise I just made… Please, kill me…"
"Sorry, Lia."
Subaru was shot through the head with a spike of ice, and laid limply in Emilia's weakening arms, both of their worlds were crushed in the matter of minutes, and all of it was caused because of events that happened four hundred years ago…
Emilia knew this was the end. Yes, this man who came into her life a mere five weeks ago changed everything… And now he was dead. Contemplation took over, though ni thoughts were processed… All that she was able to do… Was cry.
Again, this was a rough draft. this chapter would have been... so much more detailed, the later half would be actually written to an acceptable level, and I think I didn't put in a few important parts too. either way, come back when it's revised... it'll be there then. Ciao!