Chapter 5: Beyond Strong
Subaru glared in confusion at the scene before him.
To his right, Shaula lie unconscious on the ground.
"Naked onee-chan, wake uuuup!"
Shaking her back and forth, a worried Meili pressed her hands against Shaula.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Subaru was shocked, mostly at the fact that Shaula was collapsed on the floor. He knew that she was physically the strongest person in the tower. Whoever did this must have been…
"Look's like this trial's not like th' last one we took, Natsuki-kun."
A purple haired maiden called out to him from the left, letting out a light shrug.
"Huh? That statement isn't helping any-" Subaru was slightly irritated at her vague response, but before he could finish questioning her, a small hand grabbed his sleeve.
"That man… That is Reid Astrea, the first Sword Saint, In fact."
Beatrice smashed one of his many questions like a ball and chain through a brick wall. For a moment, Shaula let out a convulsive jitter, before settling back onto the floor.
Anastasia's mouth went agape slightly, but her look of surprise was nothing compared to Subaru's. For her, it was as if one of her suspicions had been confirmed.
"The.. Sword Saint…." The boys eyes gazed at the familiar red haired man ahead of him. He noted that the man was not armed with a sword. But before he could analyze further, Julius had clashed with him.
Between two chopsticks, the sword saint had caught Julius' blade. Subaru had a hard time seeing from his position, but the look on Julius' face wasn't quite as composed as it normally was.
"A bit slow fr' such a fancy name, ain't you?" The red headed man mocked Julius with a pitying look.
To this, Julius gritted his teeth and pulled his sword away, taking a few steps back.
"I had a bitta' hope you'd be more entertainin', given you soundin' like my disciple n' all, but all you got is a fancy name with nothin' ta back it up, you."
Relentlessly, the sword saint insulted Julius, who only began to look less and less dignified in his stance. The look on Julius' face began to twist as if in agony, before leveling out into a simple frown.
"I'm sorry I was not able to meet your expectations at first. Please allow me to compensate."
The knight re-affirmed his stance, and drew his sword against Reid once more.
"As' all ya gotta' say, you? Honestly, you an' the rest of those small fry should just leave n'-"
Suddenly, Reid stopped his monologue, before locking eyes with the black haired boy.
He rubbed his chin, then moved his eyepatch from one blue eye to the other, changing from eye to eye, bearing a look as if contemplating something.
"Ah. Yeah, that's right ain't it… No… He's… Yeah. He's a toothpick, but he ain't any small fry..."
The group watched in confusion as Reid eyed Subaru, mumbling to himself. He went from stroking his chin, to scratching his head, to then putting his hand on his hip. Pointing at Subaru, he let out a grin.
"Yeah. A gnarly one. That's it, ain't it, you? I can feel som'n oozin' offa ya. How 'bout it? Take me on with yer' toothpick ass, you."
Before Subaru could react, a flash of white appeared before him.
Emilia, with her arms raised, positioned herself in between the two.
"You won't be touching him."
Reid's expression went from eager, to mildy confused, but somehow maintained his grin.
"Oh, so you're protectin' em, fiercely frizzlin'? A boy like at's sure lucky to have a set like yours just hangin' round. How boucha sleep with me tonight, ya know that boy's dangerous. Ain't that right, you?
Reid tilted his head slightly to meet his eyes with Subaru's again. He scowled at the way Reid was talking to Emilia, but the comment about him being dangerous prevented him from saying anything.
Julius turned his head. His inner thoughts were in turmoil. The original Sword Saint was someone he thought would have unblemished character. On top of that, Reid had elected to switch opponents only after a single strike, and beyond even that, he found himself powerless to say anything about Subaru. Images of their fight were burned into his mind. He knew how dangerous Subaru could be. But at the same time, if he were to spill everything here, he would only be bringing more trouble to their situation. This wasn't the time, nor the place.
"Sleep with you? I'm sorry but I'll have to decline. And Subaru isn't dangerous. He's-"
"I find it rather dishonorable of you to pretend that you are no longer in battle with me."
Emilia found her chance to talk about Subaru interrupted by Julius, who took a step forward, drawing his sword and beginning to slash at him again.
"I'm done with that, you. Sit down."
"Mph-!"
Before Julius could react, he had been slammed far across the room, smashing into the floor and rolling wildly.
"Julius!" Anastasia as well as Subaru called out to him, the purple haired girl sprinted to his side.
Julius appeared to be in pain, but grabbing his sword, he attempted stand himself back up.
"Stop it, sit down!"
Anastasia grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to the ground.
His outfit had been torn and tattered. His left shoulder was bleeding and appeared to be broken, and was only able to push himself up to his knee.
Subaru looked at the state of Julius, realizing that the person in front of them was entirely worthy of the title of Sword Saint, sword or not.
He began to take a step forward.
"S-Subaru?!" Emilia turned to look at him, and he met her eyes with his own.
"Emilia. I know you are worried about me…"
The girl looked at him expectantly, her eyes began to waver.
"But I need you to trust me. I've gotten this far, haven't I?"
Emilia did not want to let him go. But she knew that she couldn't stop him. Was it so wrong to try and keep him out of danger?
Subaru continued walking forward, before the hand on his sleeve pulled him back slightly.
"Uh-Beako…"
"That man is terrifying, in fact."
Subaru leaned down, taking her hand and placing his other on her shoulder.
"I know. But I'm going to need you to trust me too."
Beatrice hardened her expression.
The others watched as the two seemed to nod at each other. They continued to nod, shake, and make faces at each other for a few moments, as if they were planning something. Emilia was the only one who didn't find this behavior confusing.
"All right then, I suppose."
Breaking their hands, Subaru and Beatrice walked past Emilia, and eyed down the Sword Saint.
"So ya're gonna fight? Yeah, that's nice ain't it? I knew your blood was boilin', you!"
Reid met him with a satisfied look, before turning towards Beatrice.
"But what's with tha' kid? Why don't ya come back when you've grown a nice ass and some tits ta' go with it. I ain't much for fightin' children, you."
"Hmph! Betty is no child, and It's quite moronic of you to talk to me like that when you are the one who needs to mature, in fact!"
Reid flinched slightly, but Subaru met his eyes, letting out a sigh.
"Don't worry, she won't be the one fighting."
Holding Beatrice's hand, he put his other to his chest, and closed his eyes for a moment.
"Murak."
Suddenly, his body grew lighter. However, he maintained his footing.
Letting go of the her hand, he moved around, feeling out his movement, and testing his stride.
"Huh, that worked better than I thought!"
With Murak, he had isolated the weight reduction of his body down to his own torso. This meant that his legs and head were the only things that weighed anything.
"So, what are the conditions to defeat you? I'm guessing that you're the only obstacle to the next floor, right?"
Reid met Subaru's question with a nod, before saying-
"I'm really not sure about all these floors n' shit, but I'm the one you're fightin'. You win when I say so. That good, ya prick?"
Subaru nodded his head, before reaching for the sword on his belt.
"Fine with me."
The two exchanged a glare.
Subaru saw the brief exchanges between Reid and Julius. He knew that not only was Reid far stronger despite not having a sword, but that his speed far surpassed him as well. Just like he had done with the Hungry Horse King, Subaru would attempt to out speed his opponent with his new weight reduction, and the technique he had mastered over time.
Reid flashed his chopsticks in front of him, maintaining a neutral stance. It appeared that he would prefer to be on the receiving end of Subaru's attack. It was likely that he just wanted to toy with him.
Regardless, the boy did not hesitate.
In a split second, Subaru had clashed his sword with Reid's chopsticks.
"Ohoh! Goin' fer my blind spot, you're a cunnin' one, you."
In an effort to catch Reid off guard, Subaru had slashed at his left side, hoping the eye patch would hinder the Sword Saint enough to land a strike.
Somehow, he wasn't surprised, as if he even expected Reid to catch the sword in his chopsticks.
"Ah, shouldn't have expected anything different."
Twisting the sword, the boy was able to use leverage to force it out of the grip of the chopsticks, and then followed up with a downward slash.
Before the sword came anywhere close to it's target, the man had disappeared.
Since my attack was so obvious, I figured he would just dodge it. And given that he's probably the type to show off, he'll be…
Mid strike, Subaru smashed his left foot into the ground, twisting his body and sweeping the sword directly behind him.
"Woah! Ha, ya almost got me, ya prick."
Reid had moved behind the boy, but narrowly dodged Subaru's presumptuous strike.
"Something tells me that you would have been fine regardless."
They eyed each other for a moment, before Reid decided to return some of the aggression.
The area surrounding Subaru erupted into a flash of red.
Before he knew it, he was defending strikes from Reid's chopsticks left and right, barely able to keep up.
Deep within him, he could feel the urges of the Gut Hunter arising. No matter how much it affected him, he would not give in. Even if it was at the detriment of his fight.
Damn it… My arms are starting to burn. I forgot that my body isn't used to lugging around a sword for this long!
After exchanging a few strikes, Reid took a step back.
"Hm. Ya got guts, ya prick. Butcha' aren't strong enough ta' keep up. Just how do ya get off fightin' like this when ya' ain't even got th' body for it, you?"
Subaru, huffing and kneeling, let out a scoff.
"I don't need you telling me that! You try walking up a thousand stairs, after already having a practice match, after waking up from healing wounds from fighting an abyssal horror, after drudging through a desert for days, after spending a damn month to journey here, after liberating a city full of insane cultists! I wish I had that isekai protagonist body of yours, but fate sure didn't see it that way!"
Reid jerked back, as if taking in all of Subaru's complaints.
All of these things made very little sense to him, but he genuinely felt what the boy was saying.
Gripping his chin, the Sword Saint pondered for a moment.
"Hmmm. Would that be fair? Nah.. but… Hm'm. Nope. Well…."
Subaru blinked a few times.
"Uhh. Something wrong?"
"Ah, Alright, that's it."
Reid flicked his finger as if he had come up with some kind of idea.
"Aight, so here's how it's gonna go ya pricks. All of ya needa' scram. After ya' had time ta' think and doze off fer' a bit, ya come back up here and let me kick yer' asses again."
"Uhhh, what now?"
"Ain't finished. If ya can take me on proper, I'll give ya a pass. But ya' really gotta rough me up. I ain't talkin' kitty shit. Impress me n' ya get through. How's 'at, ya toothpick?"
Subaru stared in awe for a moment. He definitely did not expect this man to be so reasonable. He took a glance at the others to see what they were thinking.
Emilia and Beatrice gave a nod. Anastasia lie by her fallen knight, eying the boy in acceptance. Julius simply sat with his eyes hidden. He appeared to be gritting his teeth.
"Alright… But why? You don't seem like the kind of guy to care that much-"
"Ya're intrestin', kid."
"…"
Subaru lie in silence for a moment, before Emilia and Beatrice rushed to help him up.
However, before he had the chance to get on his feet, they were no longer touching the ground.
The room devolved into an awkward silence for a moment.
"E-Emilia-tan, I'm happy. Really, this makes me very happy, but…"
"Eh, what is it Subaru?"
"Well, uhm… Why are you holding me in a princess carry?"
Beatrice stood next to the half elf, her face beet red.
"B-Betty's contractor is a no good womanizer, in fact!"
"Ehhh!?"
The walk back to the fourth floor seemed as if it had taken hours.
Subaru was able to stand on his own, and reassured Emilia that he could handle himself. Julius attempted to force himself to walk, but had fallen unconscious before he could make more than 10 steps.
In place of Subaru, Emilia was now holding both Shaula and Julius over her shoulders.
"As glad as I am that Julius is safe, I think it's probably best we don't mention this part to him."
Subaru knew all about a knights pride. Julius was renowned as the knight of knights, a person that protected and defended others, standing without weakness.
This moment would merely serve as the cherry on top of the mountain of failures that was now eating away at his mind.
Rounding the hallway, they stopped to place Julius in the Green Room.
Ram sat next to her sister, as Emilia handed off Shaula to the others and carried in the injured Julius. Abruptly, the door slammed in front of a confused Subaru.
"It's not going to let anymore people in, I suppose."
"Then what are we supposed to do with Shaula?"
Subaru was surprised that she had been incapacitated so easily. It must have been an incredible fight to witness.
She was now resting against his shoulder. Subaru lifted her up in a similar fashion he would usually use for Beatrice.
"She'll be fine. Other than whatever mental problem's she's got, once she wakes up, somthin' tells me she'll be back to normal."
Anastasia began to make her way to the living quarters.
"Lemme know if he wakes up. All those stairs av' got me burned out."
Subaru returned a nod before turning to Beatrice.
'We've got a few things to talk about.'
Subaru pushed words through their link.
"Subaru, what happened to you, I wonder?"
"So those techniques were all from that disgusting Gut Hunter, in fact…."
Subaru knew that the others were beginning to become suspicious of his new found abilities. He knew that he would have to calm their suspicions of him somewhat. Even Emilia and Beatrice, who were extremely protective and trusting of him, gave him strange looks on their way back down from the trial. It was as if they had never seen him before.
"That's right. But, it's not just a super easy level up. If I'm not careful, her bloodlust will take over while I'm fighting. It's way too dangerous to let the others try."
Beatrice began to curl up slightly. The memories she received from her mother were no different. It felt as if Echidna were inside of her mind, giving her opinion of everything as she watched it happen.
My, my… What an interesting choice.
Beatrice visibly flinched at the words that carved themselves into her mind.
Noticing this, Subaru put his arms around her.
"Will you be okay, Beako?"
Giving a light nod, she grabbed onto his arm.
"I can hear her… I never knew she did all those things…"
Beatrice tried to hold back her tears. She had some important things to tell him about Echidna.
"I know the reason she created sanctuary, I suppose. She hoped to save everyone, to destroy all the grief and hatred that the world possessed… But she used other people as stepping stones. They were nothing but test subjects, so she could develop immortality, in fact..."
Subaru did not flinch at any of the things she said. He knew how wicked she could be, but he also felt that she had some sense of duty. She told him that she had many regrets, after all.
"But-"
Beatrice connected her eyes with his, now filled with some amount of determination.
"Betty knows many things about the Witch, and Mother's studies from before I was born. She witnessed the creation of this tower, in fact. She knows many secrets about the Od Laguna, and the books of the dead."
Subaru narrowed his gaze. This was important information. He had been thinking about it closely, ever since Elsa's consciousness showed into his mind… Could these books be the secret to restoring people's memories?
"And I also know about that man, the Sword Saint… He is no doubt the most troublesome part of these trials, in fact."
"Beatrice."
Suddenly, Subaru stopped her. He had a burning question, hoping there was some possibility for it to work.
"If we… If we could somehow get Rem to read her own book of the dead…"
Subaru cast down his eyes.
What was he saying? Was he going to kill Rem? How would that even work… If maybe, somehow there were a way to revive her…
"As expected of Betty's contractor."
He was stunned. He thought that surely that would backfire on him, and she would tell him how stupid his plan was.
"But it wouldn't completely be her own." She added.
Beatrice raised her finger in the air in an explanatory manner.
"If that sister were to die, her book of the dead would be empty. When the Od Laguna takes a soul, it relinquishes it of all of it's memories, and those memories are filtered back through a mechanism in this tower, which creates those books. Her memories have been eaten, and are no longer present within her soul."
"Wait, then wouldn't-"
Subaru thought that his plan had been shot down somehow. But Beatrice interrupted him.
"However, Betty knows of another book that might contain them."
His eyes locked onto hers, a shimmer of hope filled them.
"If Gluttony were to die, her memories would be within his book of the dead, I suppose."
Determination filled Subaru. His eyes sharpened and he stood up.
"Finally… After all this time, I finally have a lead!"
The group gathered for dinner. Julius remained in the Green Room, unconscious.
"So she really is fine, huh."
Subaru gazed at a playful Shaula, who was wrestling with a purple haired girl on the floor.
"Yeah. I guess you didn't see it, but she never actually got into a fight."
Subaru pondered for a moment.
"Wait. Did Reid knock her out with some kind of telepathy somehow?"
"EEEK!"
A sudden shriek filled the room, Shaula covered her ears and screamed as if she had found a giant bug in the shower.
"What the-"
"D..D-ddd- don't talk about him…. He's gonna come find me!"
She sat shivering on the floor, her eyes beaded like she was a victim of a violent crime.
"Naked onee-chan, why are you so scaaared?"
Shaula continued to chatter as Meili tried to get through to her.
"He's… That bastard is Satan himself!"
Everyone recoiled from Shaula's outburst.
"So… I'm guessing she's referring to the Sword Saint?"
Anastasia nodded to Subaru's assumption.
"She didn't fight em' or any of that, she just collapsed the moment she saw em'. Ain't seen anything quite like it before."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm guessing we can count her out for our fight tomorrow. I figured that anyway, I guess she's just the examiner or whatever, so it's not like it matters."
The boy toyed with the idea of using Shaula as another piece on his chess board, but given the rules she had shared with them earlier, he figured that she would be effectively useless when it came to the trials.
Turning to Ram and Emilia, Subaru inquired on the two that were still in the Green Room.
"I'm guessing Rem's state hasn't… Improved at all? And how is Julius?"
Ram shook her head. A previous Subaru might have lost some composure to this, but his talk with Beatrice helped him to find some amount of understanding of the situation.
Emilia leaned in to respond to his second question.
"Julius should be fine. Between both me and the Green Room, we were able to stabilize him and seal his wounds. He will be alright."
"Ah, that's good. We're going to need him tomorrow if we want to even stand a proper chance."
Happy with Emilia's answer, Subaru gestured towards Beatrice. Given the conversation they held earlier, she understood that he wanted to share the information she had given him earlier.
"Anyway, I'm going to go check on the others in the Green Room. Beatrice has a few things to tell you."
He stood up and began to walk away. The others were somewhat surprised by this, as his tone shifted to something much more serious than normal.
Nodding, Beatrice turned to the others. She eyed Ram closely, and began to speak.
"What I am about to tell you concerns your sister, and everyone else who has lost their memories to Gluttony. You should listen very closely to what I am about to say, I suppose."
The three girls, Anastasia, Emilia, and Ram leaned in. The pink haired maid began to shake nervously.
Could she be fixed?
Ram could only wonder the truth. Even if she didn't remember the time she spent with her, she dreaded the thought of losing her forever. That her only sister, she never knew she had, would be trapped for eternity.
"If we are able to successfully kill Lye Batenkaitos, the sin archbishop of Gluttony, I will be able to restore their memories by splitting his book of the dead, in fact."
Anastasia's jaw dropped. Emilia had taken a surprised look, and Ram put her hand over her mouth. She fought hard to suppress the tears that were forming in her eyes.
So there really is a way.
"However."
Beatrice attempted to explain the limitations of her plan, before-
"It won't fix her name, will it?"
The purple haired princess took on an unusually serious tone.
Did Echidna really care that much about Julius, even after she had lost all memory of him?
No. It was something different… Somewhere deep inside, she was drawn to him. Even if she had forgotten, she still felt that he was important.
That's right… Anastasia, can you still remember?
Echidna tried to push her thoughts deep into the girls od, but she received nothing in response.
"And that's fine."
The maid spoke up.
"What's most important is her condition, not ours. Even if I cannot remember, I refuse to let that stop my sisterfrom living the life she deserves."
That was her conclusion. Ram would stop at nothing to see her sister free from the bonds of the Witch Cult. They had killed her family, taken her only horn, and now they had snatched up the existence of her sister. Playing with their memories as if they were toys…
"I agree. Even if some of those that have been afflicted by Gluttony's authority won't be remembered by their loved ones, that doesn't mean they don't deserve help."
Emilia placed her hands on her hips and gave a declaration.
"Yep, that's what I think too. There's nothing stopping us from eventually finding a way to get their names back, doncha' think?"
Anastasia gave her thoughts with a confident look. But there was a key point missing from her logic.
To this, Beatrice shook her head.
"It may pose more of a problem than you think, I suppose."
"-?"
The three girls jerked with a bewildered look.
"By killing that monster, we may be forfeiting our only chance to return their names. It's also equally possible that killing them will return all of the names. There's simply no way for us to know, until it's already happened, in fact."
The mood of the room had quickly soured.
First, they were to believe there was hope, but now there was a chance that Gluttony's authority might have irreparable effects on many.
In spite of this, Emilia stood her ground.
"That doesn't change anything. What comes first is removing them from that state. If that means we will have to help their families remember them along the way, so be it."
Rounding the hallway, Subaru walked through the door of the Green Room.
In his heart, he felt that he had torn a rift between himself and Julius. It was true, he and Julius never got off on the best foot. But before now, nothing would stop Julius from investing in him.
Unfortunately, in the wake of Subaru's new powers, coupled with the fact that Julius had recently had his name eaten, the knight of knights was at an all time low. If Subaru were to count on him for the upcoming battle, he would have to mend the trust they had forged up until now.
Pushing away at the vines that dangled through the room, he located the clearing of grass where Rem and Julius were.
Against the wall were two beds. On the left, vines had shaped themselves to accommodate a sleeping beauty.
Subaru could feel his heart flutter at the sight of her. It had only been the second time he was able to see her since he had woken. Those years spent in the darkness beneath the tower had left a gaping hole in his being, one that could only be filled by being with his friends. Rem's part of that hole was rather large in proportion to the many others. This was only magnified by the fact that the hole was there long before his entrapment at the hands of the Hungry Horse King.
Next to her bed sat what looked to be a chair. No doubt, Ram had spent so much time at her sisters side, that the chair was practically permanent. Subaru remembered that when he had left the room for the first time, his bed quickly disappeared back into the floor. This could only be a result of ones continued use of the room.
Looking to the right there was another bed, likely containing Julius. Subaru walked closer to get a better look.
It was…
"Empty?"
Why? Why was his bed empty?
.
.
"Shit."
Immediately, he had been ripped from Rem's side yet again. He had hoped to have a conversation with that purple haired idiot while at Rem's side, but that only proved to be hopeful thinking.
Subaru immediately knew where Julius would be.
Dashing through the door and across the hallway, he met with the grand staircase that let back to the second trial.
"That dumbass! Why can't he just learn when he's been beaten!"
His legs recoiled as he forced himself up, stair by stair, his muscles seared in pain.
Despite this, he didn't do so much as flinch. Although he felt every inch of the pain, something had numbed it long ago. Now, pain was nothing more than an alert system to him.
Roughly 400 stairs. Subaru wasn't much for counting stairs, but that's about what he remembered as he topped the final one.
Subaru's eyes peered into the space ahead. In the center of the room, Reid lie on his side resting.
"Aye! I don't remember tellin' ya you could just come back up ere' right after our last bout, ya prick!"
The blue eyed man snapped at the boy. He was hoping he could witness a proper battle, not some brat come back to flex his puny ego.
"Wh- that's not what this is about! Have you seen Julius anywhere?"
"Eeh? Who now? Oh, that fancy kid with the purple hair, whasn' he? Ain't seem 'em. Now scram, I've got an appointment with the floor over 'ere."
...
What?
Subaru was utterly surprised. Where else could he have run off to?
He knew that Julius would never run from the tower. Maybe he met up with the others? No. Not with the sate he was in, he knew that he would be immediately scolded by the others. Then where else could he have gone to?
He racked his brain for a moment before pausing.
"Oh. So that's it…"
The boy turned around and sprinted for the stairs.
"I'm a complete idiot."
He cursed himself as he descended the stairs for the second time.
Julius carefully reviewed the space before him. Walls of white transposed into windows, which were surrounded by machinations that he had never seen before.
"This place… Where am I?"
At his feet, what looked like water dipped and rippled with each step. Everything was bright. He could no longer feel the presence of his spirits, and it felt as if his soul had been ripped from his body, and placed somewhere completely different.
"Oooh? Here, of all places? You truly are the knight among knights, ~tsu!"
The familiar voice reverberated through his mind as his breath hinged.
In the Hall of Memories, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony and the Knight among Knights would once again meet face to face.
Chapter 5, end.
Alright, I'm finally done with this one... I sincerely apologize for the wait. Unfortunately, right out of the gate this year, my company went into full business mode and I was required to work a lot of overtime. On top of that, a few big things happened in my life that needed my attention, including the death of my grandmother. I have been trying to work on the chapter gradually, but it's been an incredibly slow process, and I have had to scrap several parts a number of times. Also, I have been trying to make sure to do my research by re-reading the web novel as to prevent from making mistakes, though I'm certain there are a few. I'm hoping to move back towards a more consistent schedule for the next few chapters. Since arc 7 has been getting updated lately, I'm hoping I will have a bit more room to add content. I'm going to try and go for a bi-weekly release, every other Saturday. I'm just hoping for clarification on a few things to make sure I don't mess up with my direction. As you can see, the butterfly effect is in full swing, and things are destined to come out very differently. Anyways, as always, any feedback for the chapter is greatly appreciated! You guys are the ones that keep me going, and I hope that I can continue to deliver to your expectations.