Chapter 4: Knights

Subaru took a few steps away, then turned to face Julius.

"Be careful not to overwork yourself. I don't see any sign of your injuries remaining, but there is no dishonor in watching out for your own body."

Julius worded his statement as if it were a terms of service agreement, which somewhat irritated Subaru, but he took it with a nod.

"No need to worry about me, I'm actually feeling pretty amazing right now. Also, I would say the same for you, but you're hardly what I would consider human. Something tells me you'll be fine."

Subaru replied with a smirk, speaking as if he knew the result of the fight before it had even started.

"I appreciate your flattering estimation of me, however I assure you that my abilities rest entirely within the boundaries of what you would call 'human'."

Julius gave a candid assessment of himself as he took a stance, placing his left hand behind his back and turning his right shoulder towards the boy.

"Well, whatever you say. Let's just get this thing over with."

Subaru also took his stance, however it was completely different from Julius. He simply held stood straight, holding the sword in his right hand limply against his hip.

Julius was somewhat surprised by this. He had never seen someone take a stance like this. It was clear that Subaru was not going to rush in swinging, but the way his feet were planted gave off a hint of confidence, despite his earlier conjecture.

"Very well." Understanding that Subaru would not be the aggressor in this instance, Julius took the liberty to begin the fight in earnest, closing the distance between the two in an instant.

His first strike was simply a test swing, he did not want to blunder the match he had just initiated by decapitating the boy.

Without a hitch, Subaru leaned his head backwards, keeping his body planted in place, dodging the blade by mere inches.

Julius took a step back, processing the information. His face gave off a hint of confusion as he retreated.

Why didn't he dodge? The strike had barely missed him. Anyone with a proper head on their shoulders would have taken a few steps back to dodge it, or maybe even tried to block it. But all Subaru had done was tilt his head slightly. Was it his slow reaction speed? No, he didn't seem the least bit fazed by how close the blade came to his face. Perhaps he just wasn't prepared for it?

All of these questions gnawed at Julius' mind as he contemplated his opponent.

The purple haired knight gave out a sigh, and adjusted back into his stance.

The only way for him to find an answer to these questions was to keep on going.

This time, He rushed in with a slice, swinging the blade from his right to his left in a long sweep.

To this, Subaru gently took small step backwards, once again narrowly avoiding the blade by only an inch or two.

That again? Retreating a second time, Julius was absolutely perplexed.

However, this time he decided to ask openly.

"Why aren't you dodging my attacks?" Julius questioned the boy without hesitation.

"What do you mean? I was dodging." Subaru replied.

Julius only shook his head.

"No. I can hardly consider that dodging. The blade barely missed you, would it not be safer to try and put more distance between us when you are trying not to get hit?"

"I don't get what you mean. It didn't hit me, so I'm fine right? I'm not just gonna go take a lap every time you swing at me. Running around and jumping all over the place is exhausting, don't you think?"

Julius' confusion only grew at the boy's reply. Was he insane? He was only inches from death, but refused to put in any further effort.

The knight once again decided that the best way to find the answer to his question was to continue swinging at him.

Again, Julius dashed towards him, this time taking the blade in both hands.

Closing the distance, he lifted his sword, and began slashing repeatedly. However, Subaru showed no intention of retreating.

Dodging his attacks without issue, Subaru began to backpedal, without a hint of worry shown on his face, locking his eyes to Julius' blade.

Subaru's movements were not particularly fast, but Julius found it extremely difficult to land any strikes on him. Each swing he made, the boy would begin dodging long before the blade had made it's way towards him. Somehow, he was predicting each and every one of Julius' strikes long before it had been delivered.

The two continued their dance, and Julius noted that once in a while, Subaru would raise his sword to deflect a strike, if it otherwise would require him to move his entire body.

Normally, this wouldn't be unusual, but the execution in his blocks was entirely different from anything he had seen. Most people would hold their sword firmly whilst anticipating the attack, but Subaru would simply raise his arm, and swing the blade so that it would narrowly connect with the incoming attack, before deflecting lined up perfectly with the style Subaru had been using thus far, being that he would opt for the solution that required the least amount of physical effort. For Julius, it would be safe to say that the technique Subaru used in blocking his attacks was nothing short of masterful.

Julius took another step back, casting a serious gaze at the boy.

"It seems you've been holding out on me." Julius decided to exchange words with his opponent once more.

"Holding out on you? I haven't even done anything yet."

"Yes, that's exactly it. You have done almost nothing, and yet you have effortlessly avoided all of my attacks. But do you not intend on returning any of them?"

Subaru twitched slightly at his question, as if he'd hit the nail directly on the head.

"Uhh.. Well, I'm kinda not used to holding back on any of my swings. I'm a little afraid I might not be able to stop halfway, and someone could get hurt."

Looking towards the floor, Subaru rubbed the back of his head while trying to explain himself, but Julius interjected.

"I suppose that by 'someone', you mean me, is that correct?"

"Umm, well-"

"Are you taking back those words from earlier? That part about me being inhuman? Please rest assured that I am well within the ability to protect myself."

Julius knew that Subaru was not lying. This Subaru was completely different from the one he had once knew. It was true that Julius was not giving his full effort, but deep inside he felt the need to push Subaru to his limits. He wanted to see the extent of Subaru's abilities.

"I get it, I get it. Just don't blame me if something goes wrong." Subaru let out a growl before returning to his stance.

Julius shot off of the floor again, relentlessly hammering Subaru with a combo of attacks. Like last time, He would simply dodge or deflect the strikes while backpedaling. However, in between a few strikes, Subaru would return an attack, but it would be slow and easy to deflect. Julius only found himself more irritated at this.

"The fact that you are refusing to attack me seriously, is damaging to my pride as a knight."

The two stopped for a moment, letting their swords hang limply as they eyed each other. Subaru turned his head, attempting not to look into Julius' gaze.

"Subaru. You have clearly come far. But your failure to treat me as a proper threat during this match is distasteful to say the least. I want you to come at me with the same eyes I saw from you that day. Genuine, and full of tenacity. If you cannot do this for me, then how can I ever hope to understand you?"

Subaru remained silent for a moment, before clenching his teeth and closing his eyes. Suddenly, he slammed his foot into the floor and exerted with a growl-

"You really want it? Then fine! I won't hold back a thing! Just don't forget that you're the one who asked for this!"

His eyes met with Julius, and the purple haired knight let out a grin.

Those were his eyes. His true eyes. The same as the ones he once saw at the capital. The same eyes as the boy who stood up for Emilia. The same ones that etched themselves into his soul on their first duel.

The same eyes that reminded him of himself.

Within an instant, Subaru had closed the distance.

Julius noted that his movements were not particularly fast, but rather, they were perfectly refined. He could only compare them to that of a wild beast, in that they resembled primordial instinct, but without flaw. He made no mistake in his steps, and had no loss of momentum in his stride.

To say that he had superhuman speed would be a lie. However, every muscle in his body was perfectly in sync, allowing him to reach his target so much more efficiently, that he appeared to be moving far faster than he should be able to.

The next moment, Julius was defending himself from an onslaught of attacks.

Like his legs, Subaru's arms were not moving at any impressive amount of speed, well within that of human boundaries. However, they were able to swing his sword through the air with perfection and incredible agility. His movements contained no hint of hesitation. Each action had been planned far ahead.

Though, even with all of these combined, there was still another factor that was the cause of Julius struggle. It was the fact that he found himself defending from the most difficult angles. Each strike would perfectly target his weakest area, as if his opponent had been taking notes on him, jotting down each and every weakness that Julius had.

This greatly surprised Julius. Initially, it seemed that Subaru had only just awoken some type of innate talent with the sword. However, it was almost as if the person behind the blade was following the template of a ruthless killer. Apart from the first few, each and every strike delivered to him was aimed to harm, and not for any kind of honorable duel.

Julius remained on the back foot, barely able to keep up with the swings that were being thrown at him, hardly able to match pace with the strikes. Although he had far more strength then the opponent before him, he was unable to return even a single attack.

In truth, he wasn't even able to dodge. He could only attempt to block with his sword, struggling to keep any kind of foothold.

As he continued to fend off the flurry of attacks, he glanced at the eyes of his enemy.

Those eyes he recognized, those eyes he asked to see for himself, were now piercing through his very soul.

Julius found his mind paralyzed with a feeling he hadn't felt for an incredibly long time. Something he had been on the verge of only a few weeks ago. Something that shook him to his core. He felt-

Fear.

He had made a mistake. The entity before him had honed in on him with intent to kill. Though he was able to shield the blows for now, it was only a matter of time before one of them connected. Now, without the help of his contracted spirits, he could do nothing to stop the monster that now lusted for his very blood.

Subaru felt as if the energy within him was without limits.

It was true that his body was only human. However, after having been suppressed by the weight of his injuries for such a long period of time, he had never felt more physically capable.

The last time he had faced against Julius, his body was nothing special. He was completely average. His only saving grace was his somewhat steady workout regimen that kept his body in decent shape.

However, this time Subaru had the body of a highly trained athlete. Sure, it was nothing compared to many of the strong opponents of this world. But after the past year of dedicated training at the mansion, he was leaps and bounds ahead of his previous self. And on top of that, he had no injuries to contest him. His wrist was no longer broken, his body no longer burned or bruised.

He felt truly alive.

Despite that, he knew that Julius was far stronger than him. If Julius were to fight the Centaur, it would likely only take him a few heavy swings to bring an end to it's life. That was just how powerful Julius was, and yet, It was as if the knight had been backed into a corner. Julius' opponent was not some large target. He was now up against someone who was in his face, allowing no room for movement or retaliation.

However, Subaru found this unexpected. Since when did he know where to aim for? He had extremely limited experience in a sword fight against other people. Inside his mind, it was as if a schematic of the person was burned into him. He could see each and every weak point. Despite never cutting or touching these places, he felt as if he had done it hundreds of times. As if there were a stranger controlling his movements.

Suddenly, Subaru could feel an urge manifest itself within him. A seeping darkness. An initiative to harm.

He could feel the knees of his opponent begin to buckle.

Slowly, his opponent was giving up. Each strike would only serve to shatter the will of his target until it was no longer able to defend itself.

With each strike, the boy found his eyes focusing in on the center of his opponent.

Towards the stomach of the knight in front of him.

I wonder, what do they look like?

He found this question eating away at him, pressing him to go further.

Just a little further.

Only a little bit longer and he would be able to see.

I bet they will be so pretty. So warm.

He could feel the determination of his target breaking, crumbling beneath the pressure.

It will only take one more slice!

They wanted to see. What were they like? When they finally spilled out…

Just how pretty would his guts be?

They raised their arm, readying a final strike. This would be the last one, the one to finally spill-

"Stop it you two!"

"…!"

A silver bell beckoned to them, stopping the duo in their tracks.

Subaru's mind snapped back into place as the girl rushed towards him.

"E-Emilia.."

He moved his eyes up to Emilia, and then back down towards towards his opponent.

Julius sat on the floor in front of him. His hands lay flatly to his sides and his hair covered his eyes as he faced the ground.

"Julius, are you okay?" Subaru called to him, offering his hand.

The knight sat quietly for a moment before picking his sword up off of the ground, rejecting the boys offer.

"...I'm fine."

Emilia had finally made it to the two, a worried look on her face as she lashed out at them.

"Subaru! What are you doing? You only just recovered from your wounds, are you trying to get yourself hurt again?!"

Subaru faced her with his jaw slackened, before attempting to form a response.

"W-well, me and Julius were just having a pract-"

"That was not practice! Did you even see how fast your swords were moving?! Someone could have gotten seriously injured!"

He could only look away as she berated him. He shouldn't have went as far as he had, but it seemed the effects from Elsa's Book of the Dead were not quite as mild as he had originally thought.

"And you!"

Suddenly Emilia pointed at Julius.

"You were the last one I expected to do something like this! I thought you knew better!"

Julius flinched in shame at her statement, before placing his hand on his chest and forcing a heavy bow.

"I apologize profusely, Emilia-sama. Please do not direct you anger towards Subaru. It was I who took initiative here, and I beg your forgiveness."

Emilia leaned back and placed her hand on her hips.

"Good. I will forgive you. But I don't want to see either of you two doing this again."

Julius gave an "of course" before setting off in the direction of the stairs.

Subaru simply stood in place, looking towards the ground.

He felt like an idiot. Even if Julius was the one who sucked him into the duel, he was clearly unable to control himself. If it weren't for Emilia, he might not have been able to stop his sword from slicing Julius open.

He could feel Elsa's immense bloodlust resonating throughout his mind. He would have to maintain his focus thoroughly to prevent it from winning him over if he found himself in battle again. What's worse, was that he knew Julius would have more and more questions about him. This wasn't something the knight would simply let fly.

"Subaru, let's go. We found the staircase to the second trial. If it's anything like the first one, we will probably need your help."

Subaru was stunned for a moment. He had almost forgotten how stern Emilia could be when the situation called for it. Likewise to her statement that he would one day make a great father, He knew that Emilia would one day make a great mother.

"R-right…"

He looked back down at the sword in his hand, considering whether he should leave it or take it with him.

Somehow, he felt much more at ease when he was holding it. He could feel a sense if assurance. As if the feeling of anxiety that had previously enveloped him was completely washed over.

"Emilia-tan, give me one second."

He made his way over to the carriage. Once inside, he pulled out a sword and sheath that had been stored for emergency use. Pulling out the sheathed sword, he took a look at it. It was a double sided sword that was freshly sharpened. He toyed with it for a moment before setting it aside, and then placing his beaten and dulled shortsword in the sheath.

It's weight is far different.

With Subaru's new found abilities, the sword became a part of the package. The movements and actions he had spent honing and practicing were heavily invested into this blade, and to suddenly swap them around would have a drastic impact, regardless of it's sharpness.

Latching the sheath to his waist, he hopped out of the carriage and turned to the girl, faking a smile.

"OK Emilia-tan, I'm ready to go!"

Arriving at the fourth floor, Subaru had noticed that Emilia was looking down almost the entire walk. He knew that there was something bothering her. Although they hadn't talked throughout their entire ascent, and he was still somewhat embarrassed at being disciplined by her, he knew that something had to be said.

"Emilia-tan, is something wrong?"

The half elf did a double take at him, as if she were surprised that he had noticed. Putting her hands together, she decided to talk.

"Um, it's just that you keep getting hurt, and you're always finding trouble. Whenever we had been separated, I was sooo worried… And then Shaula locked us in the tower so that we couldn't search for you."

Subaru looked forward and brushed his hand against the back of his head, giving a somewhat ashamed expression. "Guess that's me, huh?"

Emilia glanced towards the floor again and continued.

"It wasn't just that. When Shaula brought you back, you were seriously injured… They put you in the Green Room, and I tried to be there with you, but…"

Subaru looked back to her. "Now that you mention it, you were in the room with the others doing the trial… I don't want to sound so hopeful or anything, but last time this happened, you had exhausted all of your mana trying to heal me, didn't you?"

Emilia only lowered her head, as if she were ashamed of herself.

"I… I wanted to, but the Green Room has a healing spirit, and…"

She paused for a moment twiddling her thumbs.

"Well, the room won't let in more than 4 people…" She continued.

Subaru looked perplexed for a moment, before placing his finger on his chin.

"Ah, so the room has a healing spirit? And it can only hold 4 people… So that would be me, Rem, Beatrice, and…?"

Emilia looked up for a moment and spoke.

"Ram. She told me that I shouldn't be worried about you, but…"

Subaru put his fist in his hand in an 'aha' moment, before cutting her off again.

"Ah, that's right, Ram would be concerned about Rem, wouldn't she? Emilia-tan, I'm happy you were worried so much for me, but you don't need to beat yourself up over-"

"That's incorrect, I suppose."

Rounding the circular hallway, they were met with the voice of a familiar drill haired spirit.

"Beatr-" Subaru tried to speak again, before the spirit cut him off a second time.

"That girl was surely curious about the effects that room might have on her sister, but the reason she stayed in the room was for you, in fact."

Subaru's jaw dropped to the floor. Emilia's face took on a somewhat surprised look, as she had just earlier heard Ram insult him as if he weren't even a person.

Why would she be worried about him? Sure, Ram might be worried about the effects Subaru's death might have on Rem and Roswall, but to actually insist on watching over him was not what he imagined.

Immediately, Subaru decided that it was most likely some type of misunderstanding. Attempting to clear things up, he voiced a rebuttal.

"Beako, I'm sure you're just confused, right? When I woke up she wasn't-"

"She only left the room to finish making food, I suppose. Betty even saw her take your hand while you were having nightmares, in fact."

Subaru's face immediately turned red as he grabbed his hand, letting out a gasp.

Emilia's face began to blush a little while hearing this, but she then reverted back to a frown.

She only felt worse after hearing this. She had been worried about him, but unable to do anything for him. She couldn't rescue him. She couldn't heal him. She couldn't even be in the same room as him. Ram was easily able to steer her away, insisting that there was nothing to worry about, but even the pink haired maid, despite her spiteful words, was concerned for him.

When he had awoken, she was once again not able to be there for him. She had resolved herself to be useful, and try her best to take on the trials of the Pleiades Watch Tower just as she had in Sanctuary, but ultimately that burden rested squarely on Subaru's shoulders. She felt useless, only able to sit in the background and watch.

Here and now, she knew she had to protect him. His brush with Julius scared her. She found herself shivering at the thought that he might get hurt again, and leave her unable to do anything for him.

She would steel her resolve. She wouldn't allow anything else to happen to him.

Catching his breath, Subaru reared his head with a nefarious smirk. Brushing his hands together like a villain, he began to spill a diabolical plan.

"Ah, yes yes yes. This is peeerfect. Finally, after all of those demeaning comments, I'll finally be able to get her back! I can't wait to see the look on her face when Ros-chi-"

Interrupting him for the third time was Emilia, who had quickly changed her tone to something much more stern and demanding.

"Alright, that's enough talking. Subaru, the entrance is right up ahead. We need to catch up with them."

Subaru snapped his head back into place again and stood up straight.

"O-oh, right."

Looking down, he eyed Beatrice and rested his hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes were still red from tears. She was clearly still shaken from what had happened to her in the library, but it was still likely that her assistance might be required for their next puzzle.

"Okay, do you feel like coming with us Beako?"

Beatrice looked down for a moment, before puffing out her chest and crossing her arms.

"Betty doesn't find herself that interested, but since her contractor is completely useless without her, Betty does not mind offering her help this time, I suppose."

The three made their way up the strange staircase, noting it's seeming endlessness. The room that contained the stairs was nothing short of grand, and although they were unsure how they could have missed it, they elected to save the questions for later.

The stairs continued upwards, not changing in direction or spiraling like the others had done before it. Subaru could not help but compare it to the unending hallways that Beatrice had him running through when he first arrived in the mansion. However, eventually the stairs came to an end, opening into a white expanse.

"I guess I should start getting used to this." Subaru assumed that all of the trials would begin in the same type of room.

The other two looked as if they about to respond to this, but their minds were quickly captured by the voice of a knight.

"Knight of the Imperial Order of the Kingdom of Lugunica, Julius Juukulius."

A voice could be heard, emerging from the center of the room.

Before them stood Julius, his sword drawn.

Ahead of him, was a man who adorned familiar red hair, an eye patch, and a Kararagian style garb.

The man looked at him for a moment, before a light appeared in his remaining blue eye, and his face turned to a grin.

"Ain't got any fancy name worth givin', just a stick swinger is all I am."

Chapter 4, end.

Okay, so first I would like to apologize for the late posting of this chapter. I was planning on uploading last night, but I had lots of feedback to consider regarding the previous chapter. As a result, this one was revised quite a bit to prevent from leaving things unexplained like I had before.

Also, I have been blown away by all of the support I have been getting. I greatly appreciate you guys. You are my inspiration to continue growing.

Another note, I'm sorry the chapter was a bit shorter than normal. The next sequence was going to be too long to fit into this chapter, so I decided to part it up a bit, otherwise these next couple chapters would end up incredibly lopsided.

Anyways, Thank you guys for coming out to read this, I hope everyone is having a fantastic new year and I wish you all the best! See you guys in another few days!