Re: Tales from the Multiverse: Option One

by Ernalore

Subaru, along with his Camp, his rival Camps, his parents, and Meili, have all suddenly teleported into a theater, controlled by "the Warden". Said Warden has told them that they'd be watching alternate realities, and the Cast would be responsible for what they'd be watching. Seeing that their first option is Emilia arriving in Japan, Subaru makes sure that his secrets remain his.

13. Chapter 13: Demi-Human Liberation Front

Chapter 13: The Demi-Human Liberation Front

"Hm?" Subaru looked towards his right. "Emilia-tan? Is everything alright?"

"If I recall correctly, you wanted to know more about Geuse, right?" the half-elf said.

"Huh?" Subaru wondered for a few seconds when he said that, then it hit him. During the viewing on the Warlock of Envy, he concluded that Emilia knew Geuse when she was younger, and he was eyeing her later on, almost as if waiting to ask her some questions.

Turns out, his Emilia-tan was more perceptive than he thought.

"Wow, Emilia-tan, are you sure you're not a psychic?"

"Subaru, just because you're an expert in hiding both your emotions and secrets, doesn't mean that you can do it one hundred percent of the time. That's very egocentric of you!"

"Who uses "egocentric" these days? Well, enough about that. I did figure out that you knew Petelguese as a kid, but… Well, considering how you talked about him and how fond you seemed of him, and the fact that I killed him…" Subaru began to trail off.

"I know you feel bad about it, but you had no choice," Emilia said. "He would have killed everyone otherwise. And… I feel like he would have wanted that, regardless. Not because it was the right thing, but… I think he might have thought he deserved it…"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Back in my Trial, I saw more of what happened in my past. Before Guese took the Authority of Sloth, he said, "Please, forgive me, Flugel-sama." And when he saw that he was tricked into killing Mother Fortuna by Pandora… he broke. He… he loved her, going so far as to disobey an order from you to save her. And once he lost everything… he was driven to madness."

"... What was he like?" Subaru asked. "I… have no memories of my time four hundred years ago. Everything I said is speculation and what I could gather from the episodes, so… I don't remember Petelgeuse – Uh, I mean, Guese, at all."

"Hmm… he was very kind. He may have been very technical about his duties, kind of like Otto, but he was willing to fight in order to protect those he cared for. I don't know whether I reminded him of Satella or because I was a child, but he cared for me deeply. He loved both me and Mother Fortuna. He was… more of a father figure to me than Puck ever was."

"He… sounded like a great guy… I wish I could've met the real Guese, or remember my time with him at the very least."

"Mm. I wish I could also see Mother Fortuna again. But they're both gone. Either dead… or worse. All we can do now is make sure Pandora doesn't do any more damage."

"Yeah, I swear that we'll make sure she never hurts anyone ever again." Subaru declared with as much determination as he could muster.

The two of them smiled at one another, when…

"Hey! We got our new options!" Meili noticed, gaining everyone's attention.

Everyone took a gander at the news options, and…

What if Fourier Lugnica survived?

OR

What if Subaru had a different Authority?

… it was already chaos.

Upon reading the newest Options, everyone had several different reactions.

For Crusch, Felix, and even knights such as Reinhard and Julius, the idea that their old friend and the prince of their beloved kingdom survived Capella's assassination, was, frankly speaking, astounding. The changes it could bring on it's own were… wow.

Several people, such as Emilia, Priscilla, and Anastasia realized that if Fourier Lugnica survived, that meant that the Royal Selection would have never happened. They would never get the chance to compete for their goals. Emilia was particularly saddened that the Elves in Elior Forest would forever remain frozen, unless her counterpart could somehow convince the kingdom to allow her to use the Dragon's Blood.

The second option, however, was mind-boggling on its own.

Subaru starting out with an Authority that wasn't Return by Death.

It was nearly impossible to imagine. Sure, there were cases where Subaru had multiple Authorities, but his base Authority was always that of Envy, and its manifestation was always something that would prevent him from dying, such as Return by Death or the Warlock of Envy's time reversal ability.

"Hey, maybe we should look at the conditions?" Otto suggested.

"Good idea," Al said, grabbing the remote, and checking the conditions.

Conditions: Subaru arrived seven years earlier.

Conditions: Al isn't Pride.

Al immediately regretted several decisions he had made.

"Al, care to explain what the fuck this is talking about?" Crusch, and pretty much everyone else, was stunned as they read the second options conditions. Subaru was actually surprised his theory about Al may have been correct.

"Uhh… no."

"Aldebaran, you will answer the question." Priscilla made no room for arguments.

The helmeted knight was grumbling some swear words under his breath for a few moments before he raised his single arm and yelled, "OKAY! Fine, you win! I confess, I may or may not have been tracked down by Pandora a few years ago! There, you happy?"

"Hard to be happy about anything when Pandora is involved. Unless we're celebrating her death." Subaru said, still very furious with the platinum haired Witch.

"Did she try to recruit you to the Witch Cult?" Crusch asked, knowing Al would be unable to lie to her. Though, in all honesty, she didn't think Al would be the type to join them.

"Yep," Al said. "I refused, and now you know why I look the way I do."

"Oh, no!" Ricardo gasped. "She gave ya th' ugly!"

"If the conditions are accurate, then you have the Authority of Pride, right?" Reinhard asked.

"Yep!" Al gave him a thumbs-up. "My Authority is called "Territory." It's kind of like Return by Death, but it works very differently. It allows me to create a small space which does not follow the conventional rules of time, and then, it does a coin flip! If I'm the "victim," I can remember all of my previous loops. If I'm the "subjugator," then my opponent remembers all their loops!"

"No offense, but… that just sounds like a worse Return by Death. While I can come back as many times as I need to until I win, it sounds like you and the opponent would just be stuck in a stalemate." Subaru noted.

"Well, I'm just a worse version of you, am I not?" he joked. "But jokes aside, I can technically deactivate the area of effect whenever I want, usually if my opponent goes insane, or if I'm good with the outcome I have, plus, I don't waste an entire day doing what I do, just a few seconds."

"Al… be honest… have you ever used that power on me?" Priscilla asked.

"I mean, yeah? I've died a couple thousand times to you, actually."

"WHAT THE FUCK?! HOW ARE YOU STILL SANE?! OR EVEN STILL LOYAL TO HER?!" Subaru, and everyone else, couldn't comprehend Al's thought process. Subaru almost broke after nearly two dozen deaths, and Al is still somehow sane after thousands?

"Well, I mean, most of my deaths are quick and painless, so I don't have the same bad experiences as you do," the one armed knight answered honestly. "And there was that one time Princess got rid of a shadowy illusion, so I'm pretty grateful for that."

"Al, I must ask. Why did you use your ability on me?" Priscilla asked, wanting to know her Knight's reason, or even when this took place.

"Oh, you wanted to do something, I told you it was a bad idea, you got mad, and then you chopped my head off with that Yang Sword of yours," he said. "After a thousand loops of dodging, I figured it'd just be easier to play along with whatever request you had."

"What. The. Fuck," was all Felt could say.

"Al…" Priscilla looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I am so… sog… suh.. sss…"

"You can do it, Pris," Subaru gave her some encouragement.

"Sorry!" she finally said. "I am so… sorry…"

"Eh, it's fine," Al said. "But I suggest not picking that bottom option."

Everyone was in morbid agreement with Al. If Subaru was given that sort of power, there was no way in hell that he would be able to save anyone other than himself, and even then, there was a good chance that his sanity would quickly go down the drain, just like Al's.

"So… th' first option?" Anastasia asked.

Everyone immediately bolted for their seats, as Al picked the first option.

Showtime.

What if Fourier Lugnica survived?

Conditions: Subaru arrived seven years earlier.

"Why have we been summoned here?" asked Crusch.

Along with Crusch Karsten, Felix Argyle, Reinhard van Astrea, Julius Juukulius, Wilhelm van Astrea, and Roswaal L. Mathers were all in attendance in the Throne Room.

The people who called for this meeting?

The Elders Miklotov McMahon, Bordeaux Zellgef, and the newly appointed King, the sole surviving member of the Lugnican Royal Family, Fourier Lugnica.

Seeing him on the screen, Crusch let out a tear. "Fourier…"

He was alive. He had survived in that reality. Capella failed to kill him.

Subaru simply held her hand, to comfort the grieving Crusch.

"So, that's my cousin, huh?" Felt asked herself.

"We've received multiple reports from the Six Tongues that many Divine Generals of the Vollachian Empire have resigned their positions and have disappeared," Fourier explained.

"They have?" questioned Julius, hiding his shock.

"Along with that, countless demi-humans of the Capital and people from the Slums have also disappeared," the King continued, ignoring the continuing shocked faces of the group.

"That is… very suspicious." Julius took note of that.

"Shit's gotta be happening in every universe." Al concluded.

"I seeeee," mused the Margrave. "So the ruuuuumors are truuuuue…"

"And from the sound of it, these two things are connected, nya," said Felix, connecting the dots.

"And of course Roswaal knows about this," Subaru groaned.

"Well, Felix seems to know something too, so maybe it doesn't have anything to do with his book, and more with just the word on the street," Reinhard said.

"Did you just use street slang?"

The Sword Saint blushed. "Maybe…"

"Who could have caused such a thing?" asked the Sword Demon.

"We've had our spies snoop around," Bordeaux sighed," and apparently, they found an organization… something called the Demi-Human Liberation Front."

All those in attendance had mixed reactions. Most, however, were fearful, as the name sounded awfully familiar to the Demi-Human Alliance from over forty years ago.

"From what we could gather, their objective is to liberate all demi-humans, to demolish the existing framework and rebuild it with them on top," Miklotov explained. "They have been preparing for something big for the past few months, but we don't know what."

This can't be real… thought Reinhard. But it was real.

"Hold up, hold up!" Felt shouted. "THE WHAT?"

"The Demi-Human Liberation Front," Reinhard answered.

"I HEARD THE OLD GEEZER!" Felt yelled.

"Guess years of racism has finally caught up with the kingdom, but how does Fourier being alive make this happen? He wasn't a bad or selfish guy, was he?" Subaru asked Crusch, knowing she would have an answer.

"No, far from it." Crusch answered, "I can't imagine his actions would lead to a revolution."

"My money's on Bordeaux," Anastasia said. "Tha' guy seems like a selfish prick."

Whoever becomes Queen, I'm gonna have to talk to her about replacing the Council. Luckily, the most problematic person would be Anastasia, since Felt sees me like a brother, I'm already very close to Emilia-tan, and Priscilla and I'm starting to think maybe Crusch is romantically attracted to me, Subaru thought to himself. Oh boy, here I go manipulating again!

"So, what is the plan?" asked the green-haired valkyrie.

"Our spies have found a woman who matches the description of the former 7th ranking Divine General, Yoruna Mishigure, in Flanders," spoke the blonde royal. "Additionally, over the past few months, there has been a major increase in the demi-human population in Flanders."

"That can't be a coincidence, nya."

Upon hearing that name, several people in the audience gasped.

Especially one Priscilla Barielle.

Mother…

"Indeed. You will be taking Captain Marocs Gildark and Vice Captain Heinkel Astrea, along with some veterans of the civil war, Carol Remendis and Grimm Fauzen, and the rest of the Royal Guard, to Flanders, where we believe the Demi-Human Liberation Front is hiding."

"I seeeee," hummed the clown. "And dooooo tell, your Majesty, why us, specifically?"

"The six of you are the most powerful nobility in Lugnica," explained the red-eyed monarch. "You will be the leaders and supporters of this operation. You will be deployed in one week."

"We understand," bowed Reinhard. "And we shall not fail you."

"Looks like there's a battle ahead of us," Julius murmured.

"Aww, yeah! Th' bad guys are goin' down!" Garfiel smiled.

Opening Theme: Voracity

The screen begins to glitch, as it changes to Subaru, in his traveling clothes, crossing a desert. The screen glitches again, with words that can't be read, as it changes back to Subaru, who gets closer. This keeps on repeating, until…

Tales from the Multiverse

Volume III

The next scene opens with Minerva attacking, and it reading, "WRATH," followed by Typhon dancing around with the words "PRIDE." Then, Echidna and "GREED." Sekhmet with "SLOTH." Carmilla panicking while "LUST" appears, and then Daphne biting at the camera while the word "GLUTTONY" appears. And finally, Subaru, with madness all over his face, drags his finger over his throat, as he's bestowed with the title of "ENVY."

Well, at least this episode won't be featuring me, Subaru thought to himself.

Boy, how wrong he would end up being.

In the next scene, Elsa, Zarestia, and Shion are all seen together, and laughing, but their eyes are cut off from the screen, and their smiles are sadistic. Then, an army of Witch Cultists appears in the next shot, as the camera pans up to reveal the Sin Archbishops.

In the next scene, Reinhard, Julius, Felix and Al, all of them standing in a circle, their swords out, ready to defend themselves. Then, a lowering shot, as it shows Felt, Crusch, Anastasia and Priscilla. In the next shot, Vincent and his Divine Generals are marching, followed by a shot of Reid in the center, with Thereisa and Wilhelm flanking him, and finally, a long reveal of the Divine Dragon himself.

"Finally, we'll see 'em!" Garfiel said.

"What do you mean, Garf?" Ram asked.

"Them Divine Generals! These intros have been teasin' them fer who knows how long, and we'll finally see 'em! My amazin' self was getting impatient!" the blond demi-human said.

The scene changes to show Stride Vollahcia next to a younger Grim and Carol Remedis, along with Julia, while the camera pans up to also show Vincent Vollahcia, Priscilla, Rem, Louis, Flop, Medium, and Subaru, all while Pandora is pulling the puppet strings.

Oh, yeah, Gram and Gramps will be there, too, Felt thought to herself.

Carol, Grimm, I wish you both luck, Wilhelm thought to himself.

And finally, the scene shows a close-up of Subaru, as he bites his own tongue. As the blood escapes his mouth, he laughs maniacally, as the camera pans out to show that behind him, the shadowy monster known as the Witch of Envy has appeared roaring, and ready to tear apart the silhouettes of the enemies in front of Subaru.

The final shot shows each one of the six Witches of Sin in a black void, each one of them smiling, as the shot changes to Subaru and Pandora, alone in the desert, ready for their final battle. Then, the camera pans over the desert of corpses, and the opening ends.

Episode Twelve:

The Demi-Human Liberation Front

"Alright, I have to ask… how did this happen?!" Subaru nearly screamed.

"How did what happen? Fourier's mystery recovery?"

"The Demi-Human Liberation Front! I already asked Crusch, but how does someone surviving lead to a rebellion?!"

"Maybe something happened that resulted in both Fourier surviving and the Demi-Human Liberation Front forming?" Meili suggested. "And the what-if scenario we saw was merely the one that would be more likely to entice us into choosing that option?"

"Like a marketing campaign?" Kenichi asked.

"Given the fact that this show is successful enough to have, what, three seasons? Yeah, maybe whoever's creating this is trying to come up with some more interesting episodes," Al said.

"Marketing campaign sounds about right…" Subaru groaned. "All the Warden really needed to do was show us a trailer for the entire show, and then I'd know he was selling a product."

"Well… it IS a TV show, kinda…" Naoko added.

"Yeah, a TV show that shows us how we could have turned out." Al said.

"They want us to go to Flanders in a week?" asked Julius. "And we will be fighting people who could easily pose as citizens? If that is true, this will be quite the challenge."

After the meeting ended, the six of them had left the Throne Room, and were now walking down the halls, thinking of all the different ways they would have to prepare.

"If the Divine Generals are there, then this is a serious threat…" said Wilhelm.

"I agree, grandfather," Reinhard responded.

"Question: How many of the Divine Generals are demi-humans?" Subaru asked.

"Five of them," Reinhard answered.

"You guys might be a bit fucked."

The Sword Demon did not respond to his grandson.

Reinhard knew why. He had murdered his grandmother, and his grandfather was one of the few people who actually acknowledged he was a monster.

Somehow, though, the silence hurt more.

Wilhelm looked towards his grandson. "Reinhard, I…"

"It's fine, grandfather."

No, it's not, the Sword Demon wanted to argue.

"Then we have to go there and stop it!" Julius exclaimed.

"You want us to go charging in there with our swords swinging wildly around, Juukulius?" asked Crusch. "We need to come up with a better plan than that."

"I agree with Crusch-sama," spoke the old man. "Hearing that the Demi-Human Alliance, or some new form of it, has returned, is really shocking."

"Whyat time will we be leaving?"

"If I haaaaad to guess, as sooooon as the sun rises on the seventh daaaaay, Felix."

"Good guess," Julius said. "Where are the Captain and Vice Captain?"

"If I were them, I would be training and preparing the rest of the Royal Guard."

"That makes sense, Reinhard. We should probably prepare ourselves, too."

"But it's so scary to think, nya," Felix said. "They could have thousands of soldiers."

"That is true, but…" Crusch said, patting Reinhard's back. "We have the Sword Saint."

That's right, Reinhard smiled somberly. You have a monster on your side.

Everyone looked towards Reinhard, before someone got their attention.

"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" It was… Felt?

"For fuck's sake, Rein! You're not a monster!"

"Felt-sama, I –"

"No! Shut up and listen!" Felt ordered her knight. "You may be a massive idiot, and way too sweet for your own good, but you are not a monster! You're just someone who got a weird gift. I mean, look at Big Sis! She's a silver-haired half-elf, but we all know she's not the Witch, she's just someone who got dealt a bad hand! No offense, Big Sis."

"It's alright Felt-chan," Emilia said.

"But I stole my Grandmother's Divine Protection at a crucial moment, I allowed her life to end…"

"Bullshit! It's Pandora! Chances are, she just GAVE you that damn power!" Subaru pointed out.

"Big bro's right! And even if Pandora wasn't really involved, you were five years old at the time! How could you have known wanting to be like your Grandmother would take her Divine Protection from her?! You aren't a monster, and you never meant to take her power! You're a victim of that bitch like everyone else." Felt said as her face started to turn red.

"Felt-sama…"

"Besides, I don't want my knight treating himself like a freak. So, please try to stop blaming yourself… for me?" Felt's blush grew a bit, not believing she was doing this.

"I… understand, Felt-sama."

"Good," she said, as she hopped back to her seat.

As the Royal Guard and their respective leaders marched towards the Ground Dragon Capital, Wilhelm trailed behind, as his mind was thinking back to the memories of his youth.

When the Demi-Human Alliance was still active.

Wilhelm remembered the chaos of the war. He remembered the ideals that the demi-humans possessed, especially the leaders.

Valga Cromwell, Libre Fermi, and the Witch, Sphinx.

In their time, they brought together like-minded individuals and created their alliance. They confronted the Kingdom, and fought. They had caused untold amounts of chaos.

The Sword Demon felt a bit easier knowing that they were all dead and gone.

Too bad their ideas weren't gone, given the fact that he had to do this again.

"Felt-sama, I apologize..."

"It's fine, old man," the blonde said. "No one knew."

"And we'll make sure the Council never finds out," Julius vowed.

"Yeah, Old Man Rom deserves that much, at least," Subaru said.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Wilhelm looked ahead of him, and saw that his son, Heinkel, had signaled the rest of the Royal Guard to stop.

"Welcome to Flanders," he said. "Completely unremarkable."

"Doesn't he live here?" Otto asked.

"We own a house there, but it's more of a summer home…" Reinhard admitted.

"Ah, so kinda like Roswaal's place at the Capitol," Subaru said.

"What?" Roswaal asked. "I like nature…"

"There's a force of thousands hidden here?" Crucsh asked sarcastically, given the fact that the city looked peaceful and quiet. "How could that be possible?"

"We are so gonna die…" Crusch groaned.

"Someone's coming!"

Upon hearing the Greatest Knight's warning, everyone was prepared for anything.

What they weren't prepared for, however, was a short, deer-like demi-human.

"Greetings," she spoke softly, her hands in the air. "I come unarmed."

"Crusch-sama?" asked Felix.

"Truth," she said, confirming it with her Divine Protection.

"My name is Tanza," she said, lowering her hands. "I have been commanded to act as your guide. If you wish to speak to our leader, please follow me."

"A child?" questioned Wilhelm. "Or at least, she appears to be a child…"

"Oh no! We got another loli! Quick! Hide her from bro!" Al poked some fun at Subaru.

"Yeah, we don't need the Lolimancer seeing her!" Felt could barely contain her laughter.

As everyone else was making jokes at Subaru's expense, Priscilla took a closer look at the demi-human child. She wore a kimono that resembled the ones her mother wore back at Chaosflame. So, she's one of my mother's followers… is she the leader…?

The strawberry blonde wondered if this version of her mother truly hated all humans.

Would that include her own child?

Inside the city of Flanders, it was quiet. Too quiet.

"There's nobody here…" mused Reinhard.

The Royal Guard, along with the six members that the King himself personally entrusted, were now following the horned girl into what seemed like a ghost town.

Looking around, Roswaal saw that there were some demi-humans on the roofs of the city, staring down at the Royal Guard, but not moving. All they did was watch, and wait.

"I geeeet it," he said. "It's the entiiiiire ciiiiity."

"THEY TOOK OVER AN ENTIRE CITY?!" Meili shouted.

"And no one caught wind of them for how long?!" Frederica gasped.

"This isn't some angry mob," Subaru realized. "These guys are a serious threat."

"You are correct," Tanza said, putting her right arm over her heart, and her left arm behind her.

This got the attention of the Royal Guard, as two more demi-humans walked into view, also giving a salute, placing their right arm over their hand and their left arm behind their backs. One of them was a fox-human, while the other was a short hyena-human.

"This is a liberated city," the fox-looking demi-human said. "Ninety percent of Flanders' population are hidden Liberation warriors. The remaining ten percent have already been evacuated. We are not monsters, after all. We do not harm innocent civilians."

Julius and Felix examined the newcomers, and given their descriptions and personal experiences, they both came to the conclusion that they were Divine Generals.

They were Yoruna Mishigure and Groovy Gumlet, 7th and 6th ranking, respectively.

Mother, Priscilla thought to herself. How could you do this?

"Hold up, they evacuated the citizens?" Subaru asked, confused.

"Why is that so odd?" Emilia asked.

"Wouldn't it just make more sense to kill them all? They are humans, after all."

"It would seem they only wish to rebel against the Kingdom, not its citizens." Reinhard noted.

Which means they're organized enough to contain their bloodlust… for now.

"Greetings, I am Yoruna Mishigure, the Zeta of the Demi-Human Liberation Front. And you, are the guests of honor…" Yoruna continued, lowering her salute.

"Everyone, those two are Divine Generals," Marcos warned the Royal Guard.

"Now, let the festivities begin," she smiled seductively, snapping her fingers. "Welcome friends… TO THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE NEW WAR!"

Immediately, dozens of demi-humans jumped out of the alley and buildings, ambushing the Royal Guard, and starting off the battle.

BOOM!

While most of the people were caught off-guard by the explosion, two in the audience were busy analyzing a detail they heard earlier from the mouth of one of the Divine Genreals.

She used the Greek alphabet? Al noticed that small detail.

Subaru also caught that detail. If that's the case, then could there be an Alpha? Well, if there is, then at least I know it's not me considering I'm human, right?

Dodging out of the first assault, Felix cried, "They weren't lying abouyt their numbers, nya!"

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Crusch. "WHERE IS YOUR LEADER?!"

"The Alpha is in his tower," she said, pointing to the Vollachian-inspired spire.

I was right, Subaru thought to himself. So, the Alpha's the leader.

"What's an alpha?" Emilia asked.

"In the animal kingdom, alphas are usually the strongest members of a group and the leaders. This is best seen in wolf packs. Alphas are the leaders of the pack, betas are second-in-commands, and omegas are the weakest members."

"So they're embracing the whole "animal theme," huh?" Frederica said.

"Makes sense, considerin' how often we get called animals," Garfiel groweld.

"Huh, that's good to know but I would like to ask a more important question." Otto said.

"Wha's that'?" the blond demi-human asked.

"HOW THE HELL DID NO ONE NOTICE THAT GETTING CONSTRUCTED?!" he yelled, pointing to the Vollachia tower. "Don't the Astreas live in that city?!"

"As I said before, we own a home there," Reinhard corrected him. "We don't often use it."

"EVERYONE, SCATTER!" yelled Julius, as he cutted down four demi-humans that tried to jump him. He knew if they were crowded like this, they would be picked off one by one.

Nodding, the soldiers and knights all went in different directions, and started fighting.

Rushing towards the tower, Crusch dodged multiple shurikens that were aimed for her. Looking up she saw who threw them, the 6th ranking Divine General, Groovy Gumlet.

"Wassup? I'm Groovy Gumlet, the Epsilon of the Demi-Human Liberation Front. You're Crusch Karsten, the Valkyrie, right?" Groovy asked. "You're King Fouier's personal bitch, or something like that. It would probably break him if you fucking died here, huh?"

Gritting her teeth, she hissed, "Then it's a good thing I won't die here."

"What an asshole!" Subaru said. "Is he always like this?!"

"When we met him back in Vollachia?" Felix asked. "Then, yes."

Dodging another massive sword strike from a brown wolfin, and another from a blond beast-human, Heinkel yelled, "Every single one of them is so strong! It's not fair!"

"Wait a fuckin' minute!" Anastasia yelled at the screen. "RICARDO?!"

The wolfin gasped in shock, as he stared at the screen. "Izzat… ME?!"

Frederica also took a closer look. "Is that… GARF?!"

"No, no fuckin' way!" the Shield of the Sanctuary tried to deny it.

Both Ricardo and Garfiel were trying to figure out what the hell could have happened for them to join these terrorists. Did Ana-bo die in their reality? Did someone else liberate the Sanctuary? They had all of these questions, and none of the answers.

"Everyone, we should keep our guards up," Subaru said. "We might see more people we know and love fighting for the Demi-Human Liberation Front, but remember: You're not them."

Everyone nodded, and prepared themselves for the worst.

"Well of course," said a newcomer. "Our troops train each day in preparation for the future. They keep on training, to the point where they can truly be considered perfect. That's why you disgust me. The fact that you have such a position of authority with little to no skill baffles me."

"No," Felt whispered. "No fucking way."

Reinhard was also in silence as he easily recognized the voice.

Shit, a new player already?! Subaru cursed.

Turning her attention away from the red-headed man to the other knight on the field, she said, "You fascinate me, Felix Argyle. Why do you work with them?"

Looking to who was talking to him, Felix saw a petite blonde girl with red eyes, a physical description that made her seem similar to Fourier.

But most importantly of all, she was human.

"FELT-CHAN?!" Emilia gasped.

… Shit, Subaru thought to himself. If they're letting humans join, then the odds of me being the Alpha are greater. Especially since they're using foreign nomenclature…

This caught Felix off-guard.

"What?" she said. "Were you expecting all of us to be demi-humans? You do know that this place also takes in demi-human sympathizers, right? The name's Felt, by the way. I am the Eta of the Demi-Human Liberation Front."

"What's the Eta?" Petra asked.

"That's the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet," Kenichi said.

"So, this version of Felt-sama is like a general…" Roswaal realized.

"Eh, I'd take being a general over a princess." Felt said nonchalantly.

Ignoring the girl, the cat boy dodged another magic strike from a brown-haired oni, and ducked and rolled to a nearby bench, hoping that it would protect his body from further damage.

He was wrong.

BOOM!

"Oh, be careful!" said. "This area is full of fire stones ready to explode!"

Quickly getting back on his feet and dodging more attacks from the demi-humans, Felix was grateful for his rapid cellular regeneration. If it wasn't for that, he'd be screwed.

"Oh, yeah, I was told that you had the Divine Protection of Water," Felt commented. "Too bad that your sword skills are worse than that redheaded jackass over there."

Running through the streets and following behind Felix, Felt kept taunting him. "From the intel we gathered, you were locked up in your family's basement due to your demi-human blood since the day you were born. So, why is it that you don't resent humans?"

Engaging him head-on, Felt was now fighting Felix. "I get it. It's because of that Karsten bitch right? She, in all her benevolence, she "rescued" you, and to pay her back, you ended up becoming her servant! You ended up becoming a human noble's glorified slave!"

Felix grit his teeth as his hands sunk into the seats.

Meanwhile, those who did know Felix's backstory were also getting more and more upset. This version of Felt was making fun of it, and twisting it for her own benefit.

While Felt wasn't close to Felix, she didn't enjoy her counterpart trash talking the cat boy.

In short, everyone was rooting for Felix to get out of there alive.

Getting back up, the Blue hissed, "Slave? I'm no one's slave. It's tryue Crusch-sama took cyare of me, and I will pay her back for all her kindness, nya. But the fyact remains, she did it out of her own good will. Because of her, I have a life now. I have friends…"

"Friends? Like the former prince?" the little girl sneered. "Oh, you mean those damn knights. Tell me, do they even respect you? Did they even want you to join them in the first place?"

The cat boy collapsed from exhaustion, as Felt approached him. "I doubt they did," she jeered. "The only reason they accepted you was because of your damn Divine Protection."

Felix held his head in his hands, trying to deny the accusations.

She was wrong. He found people within the Royal Knights who cared for him. People like Julius and Reinhard. But… Reinhard was also treated as a stranger within their ranks, wasn't he?

The only reason they accepted him was because he was the Sword Saint.

Would they have accepted him if he wasn't the Blue?!

Leaning down and grabbing Felix by the throat, the blonde continued. "Or maybe was it the fact that you came from a noble family? I know for a fact that those shitty knights don't give a crap about slum-dwellers like me… It's a good thing you had a rich daddy –"

Feeling the life getting choked out of him, Felix raised one of his hands and tried to destroy Felt's circulatory system while screaming, "YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"

Immediately, Crusch dashed over to Felix's spot, trying to comfort him.

"Felix," she said, calming him down. "You are my knight, and no one else."

"But –"

"I would choose you a hundred times over."

"She's telling the truth," Reinhard said, to reinforce the fact.

Knowing what the healer was trying to do, the crimson-eyed girl increased her speed with her Divine Protection, and then pulled out her knife, cutting the Blue's hand. "Ah, ah, ah," she said, wiggling her finger. "I can't just let you boil my blood or fry my nerves, or whatever."

Why? Felix asked. Why is she helping the Demi-Human Liberation Front? She's human.

"Any last words you want to say before you pass out?" Felt asked.

All Felix could muster out was a pathetic, "W-why…?"

"Hmm? Why what?" she asked, before realizing what he meant. "Oh! Why did I join the Demi-Human Liberation Front? That's what you want to know? All right, then, I'll tell you."

Pulling Felix's ear closer to her, she answered. "When I was a little girl, I was abandoned by my birth parents. I was taken in by an old giant, his name was Old Man Rom."

Felix moved his eyes up to see Felt's expression of anger. "He was the one who raised me. He was the one who cared for me, when no one else did. He was my only family."

Tears were threatening to come out as she continued. "Then one day, a group of knights arrived and arrested him, claiming that he was some ex-insurrectionist," she hissed. "But I know the real reason. It was because he was a giant, because he was a demi-human."

Subaru felt a pit in his stomach. I have a bad feeling about this…

No, Felt pleaded in her mind. Not like this!

Everyone knew what was coming. And they hated it.

"I pleaded with the knights, but they wouldn't listen! They just called me a gutter rat and a whore!" she yelled, as she started crying. "I watched as they publicly beheaded him, in front of a cheering crowd… I WATCHED THEM MURDER MY GRANDPA!"

Felt could feel her eyes flood with tears as she heard what had happened. She failed to protect her Grandpa. Elsewhere, she could hear other people yelling at the injustice.

Wilhelm looked down in shame. Valga Cromwell was a dangerous opponent and an insurrectionist, yes, but Wilehlm had learned to forgive after all of this time in the Theater.

And to have an old man like him dragged out of his home like that? Who was responsible for keeping the youngest member of the Royal Family safe, just to be executed? It was wrong.

Emilia was held by Subaru, as she knew the pain of losing family. Subaru himself hated this. Peace was hard to achieve and flimsy to keep. All because of this damn cycle of hatred…

The only thing everyone found slightly comforting about the entire affair was the fact that flashbacks weren't shown. But that small comfort didn't mean shit in front of all that.

"And that's why…" she whispered, standing up over Felix's body, her eyes full of hate. "That's why I hate the knights and the nobility. As it turns out, I wasn't alone. And with the help of the Demi-Human Liberation Front, we shall burn this kingdom to the ground."

And with that, she kicked Felix in the face, causing him to black out.

The Demi-Human Liberation Front had captured the Blue Knight, Felix Argyle.

Everyone was silent as they watched Felt's goons grab Felix and take him away.

The sorrow and heartbreak that they heard from her voice was too real. It happened in their universe. Something had happened to cause that life to be snuff out.

No one was brave enough to ask what.

As Felt cried into Reinhard's chest, the scene changed…

On the other side of the city, explosions can be heard.

"We keeeeep defeating theeeeem, but there are toooooo many," Roswaal said.

"Luckily, they haven't killed a single one of us," Wilhelm said, as he chopped through a group of demi-humans. Even forty years later, he was a master of the sword.

"Captain Marcos is gone," Julius sighed. "Where is he?!"

"Probably being brutally murdered," Al said.

"NOT HELPING, AL!" Subaru yelled.

"Sorry, sorry, I use humor to cope!"

Near the group, Reinhard walked, while he was being chased by a crowd of demi-humans.

Not that it mattered.

Twenty minutes into the battle, Reinhard van Astrea still showed no signs of exhaustion.

All of his opponents moved like they were in slow-motion.

Another effect of being a monster, he thought grimly.

He remembered the day he was called that, by his grandfather.

"You disgust me, monster!" he yelled, as he slapped him. "To steal her blessing, and to even steal her life! Will you only be satisfied after you have totally desecrated her memory?!"

Wilhelm looked down at his lap in shame. He remembered that day.

Naoko looked towards the old man in horror. "How could you…?"

"I was a fool…" That was all Wilhelm could say.

Shaking his head, he jumped over the crowd of demi-humans trying to kill him, and defeated all of them in a single blow, not enjoying it one bit.

Grandson… Wilhelm thought, as he watched the massacre.

"If Reinhard-samaaaaa is not sparing any liiiiives, then I shall have some fuuuuun, too," Roswaal said, smiling. "I've neeeeever –"

SLASH!

Before he could continue, the clown had to dodge a surprise magic attack that almost appeared as if it had come out from his own shadow.

Then, appearing out of nowhere, a girl with dog features appeared.

While everyone else was shocked by both the surprise attack and appearance of the newcomer, one person was frozen, as they kept staring at the screen, at the attacker...

Priscilla's breath hitched as she saw who that was.

It was her childhood friend.

"Sneaking up on meeeee from my own shadow? Impressive," the magic-user said. "If I'm correct, you're theeeee former 2nd ranking Divine General, Arakiya."

"You are right. I am Arakiya, the Delta of the Demi-Human Liberation Front. And you are Roswaal L. Mathers," the girl said, jumping away, looking annoyed. "The only person in this sorry group who is any decent with magic. Where is Julius Juukulius?"

"What does she want with me?" the purple-haired knight wondered.

"You didn't piss her off in our mission to Vollachia, did you?" Felix asked.

"No, not that I recall."

"What's theeeee matter? Mistook me for him due to my hair color?" Roswaal mocked. "Weeeeell, you have a lot toooooo learn. Here's the difference between meeeeee and that Spirit Arts user… I'M THE DRAGON KINGDOM'S COURT MAGE!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Gotta admit, Roswaal, I'm kinda not impressed," Ricardo said.

Mimi shook her head. "I mean we've seen them in a previous episode, so…"

"It didn't help against the Warlock of Melancholy," Tivey said.

Roswaal merely looked down in disappointment.

Immediately, multiple colorful and explosive orbs were thrown out of the Margrave's hands, all of them targeting Arakiya. The former Divine General gracefully dodged all of them, saying, "Speaking of a lot to learn, pay attention: I'm able to eat Spirits, letting me use their magic. In terms of magical power, I am your equal. No, I'm better than you. The Alpha helped push my limits, as he did with the rest of us!"

"""She eats Spirits?!""" Julius, Emilia, and Beatrice were horrified at that statement.

"Well, she better not get any ideas about Beako, or there will be hell to pay…" Subaru said to himself, but everyone heard him.

Hopefully, I can reign Arakiya in should they ever meet, Priscilla thought to herself.

"Sounds niiiiiice," he smiled. "NOW DIE!"

Dodging even more attacks, Arakiya kept mocking the mage, "Don't think pathetic magic like that can weaken me!" as she used her wand to create a tornado.

Within the eye of the tornado, Wilhelm grunted, "Damn it! Everyone's been split up. Let's see… Roswaal-sama is over there… Julius and Reinhard-dono were together… Felix is missing… Where are Carol and Grimm? They were with us a few moments ago…"

"Gramps? Gram?" Felt said in pain.

"You know 'em?" Anastasia asked.

"They are old friends of my grandfather's, and have been in service to the Astrea family for years," Reinhard said. "They're somewhat unofficial members of the Felt Camp."

Everyone now hoped they would also come back safely.

"No… damn it…" Carol said, looking over her husband's bloodied body. "Is he breathing…? Yes… You have to live… you're the only one I've ever loved…"

With tears in her eyes, the blonde cradled her husband, trying everything she could to keep him alive. However, she was unaware of the group sneaking up behind her…

BAM!

"Eep!" Petra squeaked, as she held close to Fredrica.

Several of the Cast members breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Carol dodge…

A giant club? Subaru asked himself, Who the heck uses a giant club –

Just in the knick of time, Carol grabbed Grimm and dodged one of the demi-humans' strikes. Looking up from where she was, her eyes' widened in shock.

It was Valga, Libre, and Sphinx.

"No… You're supposed to be dead…" she said, shaking her head. There was no way her old foes had returned; they had to be fakes. "Damn it, who are you?!" she asked in anger.

"What the hell?" For once, Roswaal was completely caught off-guard.

Felt was also stunned. Her counterpart said Old Man Rom was executed, then how was he standing right there?!

"This has to be some sort of trick…" Otto tried to ration it out.

"Oh, that would be my fault," said a cheery woman from behind the three puppets.

From where she was standing, Carol could see a woman with green hair, orange eyes, and pointed ears. It was clear to her that she was of elven descent.

"Hi there!" the green-haired girl said. "My name is Shion, and I'm a half-elf! I'm also the Gamma of the Demi-Human Liberation Front! In case you're wondering… I have an ability that allows me to create phantoms from your memories!"

Subaru recognized that woman. "Wait… that's…"

"THA'S TH' GREEN-HAIRED CHICK FROM TH' INTROS!" Garfiel yelled.

Another half-elf? Emilia thought to herself. She had never met another half-elf before, and was hoping she could meet this Shion, but… not like this.

So, that explains why I'm seeing them, Carol thought. After all, the dead couldn't come back to life. She said they were phantoms… so nothing more than illusions, right?

"YAAHHH!" Grabbing her sword, she charged towards her first target, the false Sphinx, only for her to get hit with a Jilwad spell, piercing her shoulder.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that my puppets have the same abilities as the originals?" asked Shion, in a mocking tone. "They are based on your memories, after all."

"What kind of magic can do that?" Crusch asked in horror.

"Not magic. It's something very ancient and very powerful," Roswaal replied.

"A Divine Protection?" Reinhard asked. "An Authority?!"

"Neither of those."

That did not bode well with the rest of the Cast.

Shit, the blonde internally cursed. Looking back at her husband, she decided that a tactical retreat was her best option. She grabbed Grimm, and jumped her out of the way of the half-elf and her puppets using her acrobatic skills.

"Big Guy, Greenie, sic 'er," Shion commanded, having the fake Valga and Libre follow Carol.

Following the woman and her wounded husband, the giant and the snake-human pursued her and attacked her every time they had the opportunity.

THWIP!

The fake Libre threw his double-blade sword to where Carol was trying to do parkour, causing her to lose her balance and to fall back onto the street, losing her grip on Grimm.

"Ugh!" she grunted, trying to regain her bearings.

Suddenly, she felt two individuals grab her arms.

"Break them."

KRAK!

"AIIEEE!" she screamed, in excruciating pain.

Petra and Meili hid behind Frederica as they witnessed this. Meanwhile, she held Otto's hand, as the two of them, along with everyone else, witnessed this one-sided beat-down.

"I can't watch this…" Kenichi said, looking down.

Meanwhile, Felt held Reinhard closer to her than before.

"Do what I say, and this stops, got it?" the green-haired half-elf said. "Resistance is pointless."

"My arms… it hurts…" as she hissed in pain, her life flashed before her eyes. Being best friends with Theresia and Julia, meeting Wilhelm and Grimm, falling in love with Grimm, getting married, spending time with her granddaughters, all of it.

Looking up from where she was pinned down, she could see the orange-eyed woman approaching her husband on the ground.

"I'LL NEVER LET YOU HURT HIM!" she screamed, struggling to get free.

"Something tells me you don't have a choice." Al grimaced at the sight.

Wilhelm begged in his mind for someone to come help them, anyone.

But, no one was coming.

"Oh, relax," Shion smiled, picking up the man who had passed out long ago. "We're not going to kill either of you. After all, it's just plain savage to kill soldiers who can't fight anymore."

"Wha…?"

"But, then again… that is what you humans are best at, right?"

"Oh, no, not another one," Rem realized.

"Another what, sister?" Ram asked.

"Another person with a justifiable grudge," Subaru answered.

"No, you're wrong… You're wrong!" Carol said, ignoring the pain as best as she could. "Humanity… the Royal Guard… they… aren't like that… they aren't monsters!"

"Oh, really?" Shion asked, her voice laced with hatred. "Tell that to my dead parents."

Carol didn't have a chance to respond before she fainted from the pain in her arms.

The Demi-Human Liberation Front had captured Carol Remendis and Grimm Fauzen.

"They killed her parents," Subaru whispered to himself.

"No, that can't be right!" Julius tried to deny it. "The Royal Knights would never allow –"

"They would," Al said, his voice bitter. "They fucking would."

Julius was silent over how quickly Al gave his answer.

"The whole concept of a "noble knight" is a joke. Out of the whole lot I've met, only less than five of you even meet the standard," the helmeted knight continued. "And since the majority of you obey that Council of yours, including Bordeaux, what do you think they would do if they encountered the marginalized? Help them? Or keep the status quo?"

Julius wanted to answer, but he couldn't. He remembered all of these orders, and none of them were ever "help those in need." And if the status quo didn't exist, then people like Felt-sama wouldn't be in the streets. Defending the knights would make him a hypocrite.

Subaru looked over to Roswaal and said, "We're finding her. We have to help her."

Roswaal nodded. "I'll add her to the list, along with the O'Connell siblings."

Launching more spells at Arakiya, Roswaal said, "Your power maaaaaay be useful in the right situation, sure, buuuuuut you must have digested all the mana in your body by now."

Dodging more attacks from some dwarves, Julius shouted to him, "If you can, help me!"

"Why should I heeeeelp you?" asked Roswaal, as he was still busy fighting the former Divine General. "There are pleeeeenty of knights who can help you."

Looking to where the Margrave had pointed, the purple-haired knight saw a group of his comrades heading towards them, being led by Captain Marcos.

"We're here to the rescue!"

"You guys came…?" Julius asked, relieved.

"Is it right for a Captain to let his subordinates die?" Marcos asked, sarcastically. "There are many more of the enemy than there are of us, so we need to help everyone!"

KABOOM!

Ricardo nearly jumped out of his seat from the volume. "Holy shit!"

"What the hell was that?!" Felt yelled.

"EARTH SPIKES?!" Garfiel yelled, as he saw the screen.

Suddenly, the earth erupted into a bunch of massive spikes, skewering multiple knights.

"What is this?" Roswaal asked, dropping his accent. "How do you still have any mana left?"

"I would have run out of mana long ago if I had finished digesting the Spirits I ate."

"They knew we were coming," Crusch realized.

"But how?" Felix couldn't help but ask.

It's gonna be me, isn't it… Subaru thought. He had to be at the center of everything, didn't he?

"Is that so?" Roswaal asked the dog-human.

"If it wasn't for the Alpha's warning, I would not have restrained myself from eating all of those Spirits. But he knew you were coming, making me eat an hour before you arrived."

"You could have told me that from the beginning, and now I'm angry."

"If I told you that from the beginning, I would have been giving away crucial information…" Arakiya said, using her magic to fly up. "You seem to have forgotten… THAT THIS IS A WAR!"

BOOM-KRSH!

"Their leader knew we were coming, specifically…" Reinhard said.

"Does he have some form of precognition?" Otto wondered.

"Perhaps some top quality spies?" Julius suggested.

Meanwhile, Subaru sank further and further into his seat.

"Subaru? Are you okay?" Emilia asked in concern for her knight.

"Let's… just say I have an idea, and I hope I'm wrong."

Those closest to Subaru were concerned about this "idea", but they knew better than to pry.

Getting out of the way, Roswaal and Julius were able to avoid a secondary attack from the ground. Unfortunately, even more knights were killed by the attack.

"You are going to perish here, Roswaal L. Mathers. Unlike someone who uses Spirits, your magic comes from within. Meaning you'll tap out eventually."

Looking up to the sky where Arakiya was flying, Julius shuddered. "She willingly sacrificed her own allies. She and the other Divine Generals will be the biggest trouble."

The Court Mage and the former Divine General continued to throw volley after volley of Al Humas and Al Goas at each other, as Julius and Marcos ran to find cover.

"Are all the Divine Generals this sadistic?!" Kenichi asked.

"The majority of them are power-hungry maniacs," Priscilla said. "The only reason they're even capable of being a component military is because the Yang Sword is a symbol of strength."

"Wait a minute… is there like a weapon for every element?" Subaru asked, "Like a Fire Sword, or Earth Armor, or Yin Cloak? Or, maybe just a bunch of really cool swords?"

"There are no element-based weapons," Anastaisa said. "But you're not far off with the sword thing. The one you might be interested in though would be the Shadow Sword."

"What do you mean?" Subaru asked.

"Probably due to your magical affinity," Julius suggested.

"Also, it would totally match your edgy style!" Al added.

"Edginess aside, what can this Shadow Sword do?" Subaru was genuinely interested in the weapon, hoping it could help him become stronger and able to protect his friends better.

"Not a clue," Anastasia answered honestly. "Five out of the Ten Swords of Power are missing, and we don't even know what they're capable of, including the Shadow Sword."

"Wait, so there is a Sword for every element?" Subaru asked.

"Nah, just Yin and Yang. The other swords are the Dragon, Fiend, Dream, Life, Cursed, Beloved, Spirit, and Blight Swords."

"Okay, I'm guessing the Dragon Sword is Rein's sword, right?"

"Correct," Julius said. "Meanwhile, the Fiend and Dream Swords belong to Ceclius, who is back in Vollachia. And the Life Sword is currently being held by an eccentric nobleman."

"And aside from the Yang Sword, we don't know where the rest are," Anastasia concluded.

"Well, maybe we should try to find them? They could help us against the Witch Cult and Pandora." Subaru suggested.

"Sure, compared to saving Satella, getting those swords will be a piece of cake!" Garfiel yelled in excitement.

"Then we just need to decide who gets each one," Al pointed out.

Running through the streets, Reinhard asked, "Grandfather, are you all right?"

"I'm starting to regret agreeing to come here," Wilhelm said, in a flat tone.

"But if we didn't, who knows how much more their forces would grow?"

"Yes, I suppose that is true. Look over there, Reinhard-dono, the tower is close," he says, as the two of them stop running. "And it's well guarded. Where did they all come from?"

"Hey, you two!" called out Heinkel, who was followed by a group of knights.

"Incredible, Heinkel!" exclaimed Wilhelm, making this one of the few times he ever praised his son. "One of the Divine Generals said that their leader was in the tower. Do you think you have enough knights to make it there? The closer we got, the more foes we faced!"

"Uh, yeah! We'll take down these filthy demi-humans for Lugnica!" Heinkel cheered, thinking that this would be an easy way for him to get some glory.

And with one sentence, Heinkel managed to piss off over half the audience.

"Fuck you!" Felt yelled at the on-screen redhead.

Wilhelm had never been more disappointed in his son than now.

Kenichi looked at Reinhard and asked, "How are you his son?"

"Do you mean that biologically, or legally?" the Sword Saint asked.

"Both."

"The Demi-Human Liberation Front is threatening the good people of Lugnica," the Sword Saint said, getting ready to run again. "I'll make sure that they're stopped."

Jumping down from one of the roofs was a wof-human, wearing a black kimono with purple accents, giving off a laid back appearance, all while smoking a kiseru.

When he was noticed by all three Astreas, he said, "You! Heinkel-san!"

"Uh-oh, they got noticed!" Mimi said.

"Who's this guy?" Meili asked.

"Whoever he is, he's important," Anastaisa said. "We've seen him in th' intros."

She's right, Subaru thought. Who the heck is this guy?

Not reading the room, Heinkel asked, "What the fuck do you want?"

"Ya can call me Halibel, the Beta of the Demi-Human Liberation Front! And we here have this belief that humans are not our masters, ya dig? So, we'll show you and the rest of the world how strong we really are! Now... witness us!" the demi-human said, placing his right arm over his heart and his left arm behind him.

"Hold th' fuck up!" Anastisa yelled. "THEY HAVE HALIBEL TH' ADMIRER?!"

"The who?" Kenichi asked.

"Halibel the Admirer is a shinobi and the strongest warrior in all of Kararagi," Ram explained. "He's on par with Reinhard-sama, Cecilus Segmunt, and the Mad Prince of Gusteko."

"Mad Prince of Gusteko?" Kenichi asked, "Not even sure I wanna know."

"It's best we don't speak of that individual," Reinhard said. "But the main issue is the fact that one of the strongest individuals in the world is fighting for this cause."

"Not only that," Subaru added. "But he's the second-in-command."

Everyone shivered as they imagined what sort of monster the Alpha was.

"IT'S TIME, MY FRIENDS! DEFEAT THE KNIGHTS! CRUSH THEM! SHOW THE WORLD THE COMING OF OUR LEADER'S VISION!"

Riled up by the black wolfin's words, the rest of the demi-humans fought even harder against the knights. After thinking of whom it could possibly be, Reinhard came up with a guess.

The appearance, the laid-back personality in battle, all that pointed him to one answer.

He was Halibel, the Admirer of Kararagi.

That explains why the soldiers are now in a frenzy! It's his charm!

"He does have a bit of a charm to him, granted," Beatrice said.

"Yes, but not as much as Subaru-kun!" Rem smiled, hugging her hero.

Somehow, that hug made Subaru feel even worse than before.

"Go!" yelled the Sword Demon. "It's up to you know!"

Nodding, Reinhard went past the Eternal Playboy, and continued to the tower.

As his grandson ran, Wilhelm looked towards the smiling shinobi. The enemy is still attacking, the old man thought. But knights are beginning to get exhausted. What should we do?

"Reinhard's almost there!" Petra cheered.

As the Sword Saint on the screen approached the Vollachian tower, the scene began to change. The redhead had arrived at the top of the tower, ready to face off the Alpha.

Subaru had a sinking feeling in his gut. It was time to see if he was right.

"There you are," Reinhard said, in a cold tone. "You are the one who organized the Demi-Human Liberation Front. Why would you do this?"

"Oh?" said the leader. "So you've made it to the top floor."

Upon hearing that voice, everyone's hearts stopped.

Naoko teared up hearing that voice. "No…"

Otto was in disbelief. "It can't be…"

Petra was horrified. "Subaru-sama…?"

"Son of a bitch! It had to be me?!" Subaru exclaimed in frustration.

Upon looking at the leader, Reinhard saw that something was off. "No excessive body fur… no horns… normal black hair and brown eyes… wait, you're human?!"

"That was quite the large number of warriors waiting for you downstairs," the leader said smiling, ignoring Reinhard's comment. "You truly are the Sword Saint."

Rushing toward the leader, Reinhard prepared to punch him square in the face, effectively taking him out, and ending this madness. Only…

GRAB!

The leader merely blocked Reinhard's punch. With a single hand.

"What," Mimi said, deadpanning.

"He… just blocked it. With his bare hand," Tivey said, astonished.

"OKAY! HOW IN THE SEVEN FUCKIN' HELLS DID HE DO THAT?!" Subaru was getting more and more frustrated with his counterpart.

"Aren't there nine hells? In Dungeons & Dragons –"

"I was referencing a piece of different media, AL!" Subaru yelled back.

"Were you going easy on me?" the black-haired boy asked.

"What did you do…? How did…?"

"Sword Saint. If you try that again, your remaining comrades are dead," the nasty-eyed boy spoke in a threatening tone. "I really don't want to kill them, but I will."

For a moment, Reinhard was afraid.

But then, he remembered. He was a monster. He had the advantage.

All he needed to do was defeat this man, and victory was theirs.

Reinhard tried again with his free hand, even harder this time…

FWOOSH!

…only to have the leader's left arm morph into that of a giant blue dragon arm, and toss the Sword Saint to the side of the room, like a ragdoll.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"WHAT?!"

"Bu-... Wha-... HUH?!"

Everyone was dumbfounded at the sight of Subaru's left arm turning into a giant monstrous claw, which was almost comically bigger than Subaru himself, if it weren't for the fact that he was using it to try and kill Reinhard right about now.

"Jesus… how many times did you have to beat your own –"

"One more word Al, and you Authority will activate," Priscilla warned him.

"Got it, keeping my mouth shut."

CRASH! SMASH! BOOM!

"Hmph, humans," the leader said, with disgust. "It's ridiculous to think that you're the dominant species. As long as your kind exists, we'll never be able to compete –"

Immediately, Reinhard leaped towards the leader, and tried to cut him with a spare sword.

The leader dodged, looking surprised. "Oh, still alive, are you?"

"Why?" Reinhard asked. "Why are you saying these things?! You are human yourself!"

"Something tells me he's not human anymore…" Anastasia said.

"Or at least he doesn't consider himself one…" Frederica continued.

"Oh? You wanna know why?" he asked, smiling like a maniac. "Okay, then."

"Seven years ago, life was saved from the jaws of ferocious Mabeasts by a demi-human. She was a silver-haired half-elf with beautiful eyes of amethyst," the nasty-eyed boy began, as he tried to punch the Sword Saint, his arm still in its dragon form.

"She was a girl pure of heart, but the villagers hated how she looked, so she was forced to live in the frozen forest, alone! I was the first person to never look at her with disgust! Aside from a random Spirit passing by, I was the only person she ever thought of as a friend!"

Upon hearing that story, Emilia's heart froze.

She recognized the girl in Subaru's story, for it was her, she recognized that frozen forest, it was the Elior Forest, she recognized that Spirit, it was Puck. All of this back…

… back before Roswaal found her for the Royal Selection.

It was her first year being unfrozen in a century.

Subaru, meanwhile, did not like where this story was going.

And no one else did either, as they also recognized that setting, from all the way back to the second episode, with the child versions of Emilia and Subaru in the Eilor Forest.

The redhead dodged the dragon arm, as it crashed and went through the wall.

SMASH!

"But apparently, that was too good for her! The people of the village didn't even want her anywhere near them, so you know what they did? They hired slavers! They invaded her home… and while she tried to protect me… THEY KILLED HER!"

No.

All of this… was a quest for revenge.

Just like the Warlock of Envy who destroyed half the world to gain revenge on Pandora.

Just like the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony who wanted revenge on Rem for her actions.

They saw yet another Subaru born from hatred.

As the black-haired boy continued to attack, the Sword Saint continued to dodge, all the while he kept telling his tale. "She died trying to protect me! And you know what they said?! They said that I should have been grateful that I was saved from the Witch!"

Getting grabbed by the dragon arm, Reinhard was pinned down.

"I LOVED HER! SHE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO WAS KIND TO ME IN THIS FOREIGN WORLD… AND THEY JUST BEAT HER TO DEATH! JUST BECAUSE OF HOW SHE LOOKED! SHE DIED TRYING TO PROTECT ME!"

Petra cried into Frederica as she heard such vivid details. Meili simply felt sick to the stomach. At least a stab wound would be quick, but blunt-force trauma? That was slow and horrible.

Several members of the Emilia Camp felt horrible over what they heard, but they couldn't do anything about it. In that universe, it was already done, and the only one who could take action was Subaru. But this… was wrong… this felt like going a step too far…

Naoko cried into her husband as she saw another version of her child had become a monster over the loss of their beloved. This… this had happened far too many times already.

Subaru himself felt both hatred and pity for his counterpart. From the way he spoke, he never mentioned Return by Death, meaning he never discovered it to save Emilia-tan. But going so far as to create an army for the sake of vengeance… it was awful.

In general, everyone felt sick at hearing of such cruelty, one way or another.

Being lifted into the air by the dragon arm, Reinhard choked out, "Silver-haired half-elf…?" Those features were the ones that described…

"Her name was Emilia," he said, making sure that there would be no mistake. He would make sure that the woman he loved would not be mistaken for a Witch.

"Now do you understand why I hate humans so much? Any race capable of such evil doesn't deserve to exist! THIS WORLD WILL CHANGE AT THE HANDS OF SUBARU NATSUKI, ALPHA OF THE DEMI-HUMAN LIBERATION FRONT!"

What this version of Subaru was saying… was pure rage and madness.

He wasn't talking about genocide. He was talking about extinction.

Of the entire human population of the world.

Subaru knew then and there, that he never wanted the Warlock of Envy to meet this version of them. They were far too similar than he wished to admit.

One lost Satella, and the other lost Emilia.

One married Satella, but had her ripped away from him.

The other lost Emilia before he had the chance to love her.

Both never moved on, and thus succumbed to hatred.

From the loss of their respective half-elf, both were ready to destroy the world.

In some, sick, twisted way, the Sin Archbishop of Envy was somehow less evil than them, as his goal at least didn't involve wiping out the general populace, even if he was in the Witch Cult.

Subaru Natsuki? The same one who… Reinhard thought, before shaking his head, remembering that he had a job to do. I need to bring down the tower.

Squirming out of Subaru's hand, the Sword Saint managed to break himself free, and proceeded to punch the floor with all his might.

The tower collapsed mere seconds later.

"Holy shit, Rein! I knew you were strong, but I wasn't expecting one punch was all you needed!" Subaru praised the Sword Saint, trying to snap out of his funk.

"Subaru, our counterparts are trying to murder one another, I do not believe now is the best time to praise me," the Sword Saint said, still eyeing the screen.

"I'm trying to lighten the mood, okay?!"

"And, as always, you're doing a horrible job at it," Ram deadpanned.

"Oh, come on Nee-sama!"

I need to lighten everyone's load and take out the bigger threats, Crusch thought, as she was running through the streets, and straight towards Groovy. Like him!

"What's a Divine General like you doing out here?!" she asked.

"From what I'm guessing, you're asking why I'm not safely strategizing?" asked Groovy. "Sorry to disappoint you, but not all of us are weak as fuck like Chisa Gold prick, toots."

As the two of them continued fighting, the hyena-human spoke to the other demi-humans in the area. "LET US BRING JUST PUNISHMENT TO THOSE WHO THREATEN US!"

"Who's Chisa Gold?" Subaru asked.

"Chisa Gold is the 4th ranking Divine General, and the Emperor's body double," Julius said. "He's also arguably the weakest out of the bunch, but his intellect all but makes up for it."

"Kinda like Subaru?" Emilia asked.

"Argh! My heart!" Subaru felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart since Emilia unintentionally said he was weak.

Hearing the former Divine General made the rest of the demi-humans become even more zealous, as some of them proceeded to attack the green-haired warrior.

"What's this?!" Crusch asked. She was hoping that Groovy would saty forced on her. Sure, he had a crude mouth, but if the others wouldn't fight, that would be worth it.

Some of the demi-humans proceeded to strike down the knights that were assisting her, while others decided to assist Groovy in taking down Crusch.

The valkyrie tried to dodge and slash her way through the demi-humans, but a small one with orange cat ears had some sort of sonic-attack that hit her in the back.

"WAAAA!"

BOOM!

"MIMI?! TIVEY?! HETRAO?!" Anastasia couldn't believe it.

"What? No!" Mimi tried to deny it, but she saw her counterpart.

Tivey simply shed tears as he saw himself commit such evil.

Ricardo tried to keep his lunch in his stomach, thinking that the reason he might have joined Subaru in that universe was because Ana-bo died. I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick…

Hitting a wall, Crusch looked around to see she was surrounded.

"Looks like you can't do shit, Karsten. All that fame of yours must have been from your old man, yeah? Are ya here now just to prove you ain't a pussy?" the short Divine General said, in a mocking tone. "Unfortunately, all that money and status doesn't mean dick to someone like me."

BOOOOM!

Crusch and Groovy both looked away from each other to see that the Vollachian-styled tower had collapsed to the ground, and was now just rubble.

"They're at the fucking tower?!" Groovy screeched. "Our warriors should have stopped them!"

Crusch tried to use the diversion as a way to escape, but she was tackled to the ground by lizard-human and clawed at her abdomen.

"GHAAA!"

"I know that guy," Al gasped. "YATZ?!"

"Yatz?" Ram repeated. "Who the hell is Yatz?!"

"What the hell kind of name is Yatz?"

"Kenichi! Language!"

"Hiain Yatz, he was a gladiator alongside me back at Ginunhive!" Al explained. "Man, between Garf, Anastasia's crew, and Yatz, this really is a who's who of revolutionaries!"

No one was really in the mood for jokes.

"CRUSCH-SAMA!" yelled one knight, but was killed before he could do anything.

"Warriors!" Groovy called out to the other demi-humans. "Go to the Alpha! This human filth is attempting to assault the soul of our army!"

Down on the floor, Crusch was trying to get up, despite the pain.

"Like I said, you ain't hot shit," Groovy sneered. "And neither is your human king."

"Shut up," Crusch grunted, grabbing her sword. "It doesn't matter what your race or place in society is… what matters… is what you do with the life you have…"

Continuing, she said, "When I see Fourier, I see someone who helps anyone he can, not because he's a king, but because that's the sort of person he is… SO DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HIM! HE'S FAR BETTER THAN YOU, BASTARD!"

Groovy looked unimpressed. "You're a fool to compare us, bitch."

Everyone, keep fighting… Crusch thought. I'll take out as many as I can…

"Even outnumbered, you're still a badass," Subaru said.

Crusch blushed slightly. "I take it that's a compliment?"

"Yep," Subaru said. "Wait, that can be an insult?"

"It has the words "bad" and "ass" in it, what do you think?" she smiled.

She's just teasing me…

"Both of you, stop flirting, we're back at the tower scene, in fact."

In the rubble of where the tower stood, there were now two people facing off one another.

Subaru Natsuki and Reinhard van Astrea.

"Wow, you're a tough cookie," Subaru joked. "So, how are your buddies handling all of this? Too bad you underestimated us. What? Ya got nothing to say?"

"HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"

"Did you want your counterpart to die?" Anastasia questioned.

"Yes!" Subaru said, before he realized what she meant. "Oh… nevermind, he'd just use Return by Death… But still, a strong breeze can kill me, how is he perfectly fine?"

"Bro, if anything, you're a fighter, not a wizard," Al said.

Reinhard immediately went to strike the black-haired boy again, only for the Japanese teenager to jump over him. "To tell you the truth, I'm a tad bit upset. Though, to be more honest, I'm more interested in that power of yours. What is it?"

"Oh, that? It's my version of the Authority of Lust. A nice reward for killing Capella, don't you think?" he said, as his arm changed again. "I call it 'Race Changer', and it allows me to change into any race I desire. I changed my arm to that of an elf to block your first punch, the giant blue arm was that of a dragon, and the acrobatics I performed just now belonged to the oni."

Meili gasped in horror. He's just like Capella…

The entire Theater gasped, as they saw Subaru simply change his shape again.

Emilia, Rem, and Ram all felt sick at this Subaru for using their people's abilities as mere tools. But they knew that in that Subaru's twisted mind, it was somehow better than being human.

Elves can block my punches, duly noted, Reinhard thought to himself.

"So you are the one who killed the Sin Archbishop of Lust!" Reinhard yelled, remembering the day the Dragon Tablet announced the news. "But, why –?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I never did it to be a hero," Subaru said, interrupting the Sword Saint. "I only killed her to get her power. Each Authority apparently changes to the desire of the user, so if I stole one of a shape-shifter, well…"

"So, that's how," Subaru said. "He doesn't consider himself human."

"What? What do you mean?" Naoko asked.

"That Authority, it allows him to change himself into any race, right? Well, then by that logic, he's both every race and none at the same time. That's how he can hate humans with such a passion and not be called out on his hypocrisy!"

"Huh, I'm surprised he's got Lust and not Wrath, considering he hates humans." Otto noted.

"Don't give the genocidal maniac any more ideas, merchant," Ram said.

Hearing the nasty-eyed boy's explanation, Reinhard felt something. Looking down to his waist, he saw that the sword there was loosening from its hilt.

The Dragon Sword Reid had deemed Subaru Natsuki worthy.

Reinhard's eyes popped out at the implications. As did Subaru's.

They both knew what it meant when that sword got pulled out.

"Reinhard… would you be able to pull your sword out if you were facing me…?"

"At this point, I'm half-convinced that you could be capable of pulling the sword out yourself."

Anyone who had basic knowledge of the Dragon Sword had their eyes nearly pop out of their heads, at the idea that someone else could wield that divine blade.

But they all knew, if anyone could, it was Subaru.

It was time to show Subaru Natsuki what it truly meant to be a monster.

"Reinhard van Astrea, of the line of the master –"

Before he could finish, the Alpha rushed him and grabbed the Sword Saint with the dragon claw. "Yeah, no, I'm not gonna let you blow me away," he said.

Now, in my last loop, he pulled that sword out, and then he blew me away. Good thing I caught him off-guard this time, Subaru thought to himself. Now… It's time.

So, he DOES have Return by Death, Subaru thought to himself.

"Of course the bastard knew his every move," Crusch hissed.

With his one free hand, Subaru placed it on Reinhard's face, and smiled. "You know, it's not only myself who can change their race. I can change others, too," he smiled sadistically.

Immediately, Meili started burrowing her head into Subaru's chest. She didn't want to see what was about to happen next. She had seen it far too many times already.

She had felt it too many times already.

Immediately, Reinhard felt pain. It was so bad, that he felt himself burning up, as the pain of what Subaru was doing made his life flash before his eyes.

"My Sword Angel."

"You disgust me, monster!"

"Nice to meet you, my name is Julius Juukulius."

"SUBARU NATSUKI, ALPHA OF THE DEMI-HUMAN LIBERATION FRONT!"

"AIIIEEEEE!"

As everyone listened to Reinhard's pained screams, and as his memories replayed over and over again, several people were flooded with different emotions, and for different reasons.

Reinahrd mourned that he couldn't be like his grandmother.

Wilhelm's guilt at being such a terrible grandfather ate at him even more.

Julius and Felix felt inadequate as friends, as they let both Reinhard and Subaru suffer for so long. One of them was crushed by the weight of the world, the other by his past.

Subaru meanwhile, felt sick to his stomach. Sick that such a small change could result in something like this. The death of a friend, someone he loved, turned, what? A ten-year-old kid? A kid so young into a vengeful monster. Would the same have happened to the kid Subaru from the second episode if the younger Emilia he was with also happened to die?

And so, everyone kept hearing Reinhard's screams, as they kept wallowing in their own misery.

That was, until he scene changed, of course.

Pulling the conversation mirror out of his pocket, Marcos opened the metia to see Julius on the other side. Speaking first, he asked, "What is the report, Juukiulius?"

"SIR! BE ON YOUR GUARD! THEY HAVE THREE DIVINE GENERALS ON THEIR SIDE, ALONG WITH THE HALIBEL THE ADMIRER! TWO OF THEM ARE –!"

"Yaaah!"

Before Julius could finish his report, Marcos turned and saw that his knights were getting cut down by multiple, identical-looking shinobi.

"Yo, are you the Captain of the Guard?" one of them asked.

Marcos didn't know how to answer. Not that he had time to answer.

BOOM!

Turning around, one of the shinobi clicked their tongue, as they saw the tower collapse.

"Su-san!" the wolfin cried, and all four shinobi ran towards the crash site.

"We had that close of a relationship?" Subaru wondered.

"Considering the nickname he has for you, I'd say yes," Julius said.

"Don't forget, he's also that monstrous Subaru's second-in-command, they're bound to be close," Priscilla said, still not liking who was on the Demi-Human Liberation Front's roster.

Mother… Arakiya… What could Subaru have said to convince you?

"Great, they're all heading to the site of the collapsed tower," Julius sighed. It had now been a few minutes since all the demi-humans had left the area, giving Roswaal and himself a chance to rest, but Greatest Knight was still on edge.

"Suuuuuch terrible timing," Roswaal groaned, looking over at the spot where Arakiya once stood. "I was juuuuust about tooooo incinerate that Spirit Eater, too."

"He's lying," Crusch realized.

"What?" Subaru asked.

"The Roswaal on the screen… he was lying," the green-haired woman said.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Al yelled. "He was sandbagging the entire time?!"

"But why?" Kenichi asked. "Why would he not want to kill her?"

Subaru's mind was turning, as he thought.

"Captain! Are you there?" the purple-haired knight asked, holding up the conversation mirror. "Call the order to retreat! This is too much! The knights are going to die!"

"Are you trying to get us fired?" Marcos responded, on the other side of the mirror.

"What?"

"If we return to the Capital now, our careers are over."

"WHAT KIND OF STUPID-ASS EXCUSE IS THAT?!" Felt screamed.

"YOUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE!" Otto yelled at the idiot.

Even Felix joined in. "GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN, NYAH!"

Julius suddenly has his views on the Royal Army lowered further and further.

"That doesn't matter!" Julius yelled. "We need to leave while we still have the chance!"

"We need to get rid of the Demi-Human Liberation Front first!"

"Are you fine with all of us dying?!"

"Not to worry," Marcos smiled. "We have the Sword Saint on our side."

"NO, YOU DO NOT!" Al yelled. "HE WAS BEATEN!"

SMACK!

"The Gospel, of course!" Subaru yelled.

Everyone turned to look at the black-haired boy.

"Subaru-kun?" Rem asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Roswaal's Gospel must have commanded him to not actually hurt Arakiya in their fight!" Subaru said. "That's why he wasn't going all-out! He had a personal stake in it!"

"But why?" Otto asked. "Because you're their leader?"

"Hell if I know, it's Roswaal! The inner machinations of his mind are like an enigma!"

Meanwhile, Kenichi snorted at the obvious Spongebob reference.

Running through the rooftops, Felt saw that the tower had collapsed.

Her thoughts immediately thought of how the Alpha was about to be arrested by the Sword Saint, or even worse, die. He had placed his faith in her, and look what happened now.

"I'm so sorry, Big Bro," she cried. "I can't believe I let you down!"

"Something tells me that's not what's happening…" Felt commented on herself.

"Though, it's still nice to see some comradery between them," Frederica said.

Looking down at the streets, Felt saw that Yoruna and Shion were also there, running towards the same direction as her, taking down as many human soldiers as possible.

"We must protect our leader!"

"QUICK, GET TO SUBARU!"

"Well, that half-elf seems oddly concerned for her dear leader…" Roswaal analyzed.

"I know where this is going, so I don't want another word from you," Subaru demanded. "Be glad everyone isn't giving you death glares for your counterpart's Gospel shenanigans."

"Duly noted."

Meanwhile, Al leaned over to Ricardo's ear. "So, that version of Bro and Shion…?"

"Definitely," Ricardo whispered back, sharing his suspicions.

Opening his eyes again, Reinhard looked around and only saw Subaru sitting in front of him, smiling. "Oh, good, you've woken up."

"..."

Handing the Sword Saint a mirror, the Alpha said, "This was the only thing that survived the tower's collapse. Good thing, too. How else would you get to see the new you?"

Wait, what?

Grabbing the mirror from his hands, Reinhard looked and saw…

… a pair of purple irises, with blue pupils, staring back at him.

What?

Anastasia and Felt's jaws fell to the floor.

"Holy…"

"Shit..."

No one had the words for what they saw.

Looking further up, he saw that his hair was no longer red.

It was silver.

No… n-no way…

Making sure he wasn't dreaming, Reinhard touched his ears.

They were pointed.

Felix wanted to deny it. "No way… no fucking way…"

"Cap'n wouldn't do that… would he…?"

"Considering this guy's all kinds of fucked up… I'd imagine so…"

"Ahh… aughg…" Reinhard couldn't form any words as the realization hit him.

This man had turned him into a silver-haired half-elf.

Everyone's jaws were slacked at what they were seeing.

Emilia looked like she saw a genderbent version of herself. It was so… bizarre. All of her instincts were telling her that this was wrong, and she didn't know how to explain it.

Meanwhile, Subaru knew exactly that whatever the fuck he was looking at, it was right smack dab in the middle of the uncanny valley. It was like one of those memes where all the anime girls swapped their hair colors, there were just some things that weren't meant to be!

Meanwhile, Felt was emotionally confused at what she was looking at.

The newly made silver-haired man looked up towards the black haired boy who approached him. His face didn't show any sign of hated, or disgust, despite the fact Reinahrd was now a –

"I know what you're thinking," Subaru said. "You're probably wondering who would even want you now, knowing now that you look like a monster both inside and out."

Reinhard's eyes threatened to spill tears, as Subaru kept walking towards him.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned…" he said, kneeling down, and hugging him.

"... you truly are now the most beautiful person in the world."

GAAAYYY! Al screamed in the back of his mind.

"Al, Shut the hell up!" Subaru yelled in frustration.

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"No, but I know what you were thinking."

"Considering your affection for Emilia-sama, and your past connections to Satella, I believe I'm starting to see a pattern," Crusch commented.

"Don' forget tha' Shion girl…" Anastasia mumbled.

…Do I just have a thing for half-elves…? Subaru thought to himself.

Running towards the scene of the crash site, both knights and demi-humans, the only thing anyone could see was rubble.

"SUBARU!" cried Shion.

"Yeah, those two are definitely fucking," Al said.

"Not the time!" Ram hissed.

"Has the Alpha been hurt…?" asked Arakiya.

"It can't be…" said Yoruna.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" screamed Groovy. "GO SAVE OUR GLORIOUS LEADER!"

"No, please, leave me to die…" Subaru said, still contemplating his earlier realization.

But before anyone could jump into action, the rubble moved.

Subaru stood up, and was carrying a sheathed sword.

The Dragon Sword, Reid.

"Knights of Lugnica," he announced to all the knights who were watching him. "Any more fighting… would be pointless. The Sword Saint has been defeated."

"Well… that's not untrue…" Reinhard said.

"I think he's trying to make them think you're dead," Crusch said.

"Yeah, nothin' can kill ya!" Garfiel said. "Right? RIGHT?!"

Lifting up the Dragon Sword into the air, Subaru placed his right arm over his heart, as he screamed to the heavens, "THE DEMI-HUMAN LIBERATION FRONT HAS WON!"

"Oh my God, I'm that universe's literal Demon King," Subar groaned into his hands.

"Doesn't the Hero usually beat the Demon King in these stories?" Kenichi asked.

"This is reality, my good sir," Al said. "You know, where the bad guy often wins."

Immediately, the demi-humans cheered for their victory, while the remaining knights retreated in fear while they still had the chance to make it out of the city alive.

Overlooking the victorious Alpha, Halibel smiled. I was right to follow this guy…

Hearing the cheers of the demi-humans, Subaru thought to himself happily, After

hundreds of failed loops, I finally came up with a strategy where we won…

However, he still felt bad that he never discovered Return by Death before Emilia died.

Roswaal felt sick to his stomach at hearing how many loops Subaru had to go through just to stop getting beaten by Reinhard. Elsewhere, Subaru secretly wondered how many of those hundreds of loops were actually strategic suicides.

Emilia silently wept as she heard that last statement.

It had now been four days since the return of the knights from Flanders.

Or at least, as many of them as there were left.

Inside the Throne Room, the only nobles who had returned were Crusch Karsten, Wilhelm van Astrea, Julius Juukulius, and Roswaal L. Mathers.

"If I was King and saw this, I'd be quite terrified," Felt said.

All of the other respective Candidates agreed with that statement.

"At the very least, we now know HOW Fourier survived in that reality," Crusch said.

"We do?" Anastsia asked.

"Yes, we do," Priscilla said. "Capella attempted to assassinate everyone just like in our reality, but before she could finish the job, Subaru killed her, leaving Fourier alive."

"So it really was just a cursed version of the butterfly effect," Emilia said.

Them, along with Heinkel Astrea and Marocs Gildrak, were ready to give the report to King Fourier Lugnica, along with Mikltotov McMahon and Bordeaux Zellgef.

"It was a massacre," Crusch said, bluntly.

"All of Flanders was controlled by the Demi-Human Liberation Front," Julius explained. "Their army numbered in the thousands, and they had with them three Divine Generals, and the Admirer of Kararagi. The Royal Guard was an easy target for them."

"There are also reports saying that several higher-ranking officials went missing there," Miklotov said, moving on to the next topic. "Care to elaborate?"

"Of course," Wilhelm agreed. "The Blue Knight Felix Argyle, along with the veterans Carol Remendis and Grimm Fauzen have been reported missing in action. There is also the claim from the leader that he… had defeated the Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea."

"WHAT?!" screeched Bordeaux. "BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"You cocky, arrogant bastard," Subaru whispered to himself.

"Bordeaux, how low have you fallen…?" Wilhelm asked himself.

"With all due respect…" Crusch said, regretting her every word. "We were all there when their leader lifted the Dragon Sword in the air. Also… my Divine Protection indicated that he was telling the truth."

Everyone was silent for a moment. The implications that the Demi-Human Liberation Front had someone capable of defeating the Sword Saint… was something they didn't want to think about.

Wilhelm, however, silently mourned for his grandson.

"What happened afterwards?" asked Fourier.

"I called upon the retreat of the Royal Guard," Marcos said. "With over half of the army defeated, and seeing the demi-humans' victory, they would have fled either way."

Nodding silently, the king lifted his head and looked at the soldiers in front of him. "We must be sure of when they will attack. Hopefully, we will be able to prepare ourselves. Until then, we must gather information, and learn everything about the Demi-Human Liberation Front."

Looking towards everyone, he continued, "We must plan for an evacuation, the Demi-Human Liberation Front is definitely plotting something. And whatever they do… we know that they will do it soon, and it will have massive consequences. Understood?"

Hearing a chorus of 'yes', the blonde monarch dismissed everyone from the Throne Room, as he himself was left alone to dwell on these thoughts.

"This would have been his legacy…?" Crusch asked herself.

Felix also had a sour taste in his mouth. The idea that if this friend survived, he would be dooming the entire kingdom with this rebellion, it was heartbreaking.

Subaru wished that this universe's version of himself was found by Fourier before he completely lost it. There might have been a small chance that he could have helped that Subaru recover, and work to make the world a better place from within the Kingdom, not against it.

He wished that they could have been friends.

In the city of Flanders, it was quiet.

All the participants of the battle were waiting patiently for their leader to speak, ready for him to give another one of his rousing speeches in celebration of their victory.

Then, he walked on stage.

"Welcome, and thank you for coming, warriors of the Demi-Human Liberation Front!" he smiled. "I am the Alpha, Subaru Natsuki! It is a pleasure to see you!"

"Wow, he has the whole "public speaking" thing down pat," Al said.

"Mm," Naoko grunted in agreement, too enamored at the screen to care.

"He's an actual Demon King…" Subaru said, to anyone who cared to hear. "He's got the army of "monsters" thing down pat, he's got boss-level generals, and he just kicked the ass of the "Hero" and everything. At least things can't get any worse in this reality, right…?"

"Today, we celebrate the Demi-Human Liberation Front's first victory!"

"As we move towards freedom, and strive for a new world, we shall march upon the Capital of Lugnica, and remove the Council of Elders who have trampled on you for far too long!"

Hearing the cheers of the crowd, the top followers of the Demi-Human Liberation Front came up to the stage, to show their allegiance to the cause.

"Halibel, Beta. Shion, Gamma. Arakiya, Delta. Groovy Gumlet, Epsilon. Yoruna Mishurge, Zeta. And Felt, Eta. The six of you are my lieutenants, and teams will be assigned to you, based on your needs," he said, turning toward his comrades. "Anyway… LET'S CELEBRATE! FOR NEXT WEEK, WE LAUNCH OUR ASSAULT ON THE CAPITAL!"

"WHAT?!" Rem screamed in shock.

"NO!" Felix yelled in defiance.

Shit, Subaru cursed. Spoke too soon.

Meanwhile, people like Reinhard, Julius and Crusch were wondering how they would be able to defend the Capital from a sneak attack such as that, especially after such a devastating loss in Flanders. All three of them, while separately, came to the same conclusion:

They couldn't.

As the cheers became even louder, the crowd saluted, placing their right hand over their heart, and their left behind them, symbolizing that they would give their heart to the cause.

"YEEAAAHHHH!"

Looking up to the sky, Subaru thought to himself, Are you watching from Heaven, Emilia-tan?

Did my death… really do this to him…? Emilia tearfully thought. She would have never wanted this, but then she thought of something else. What if Subaru had died for good? Would I be the one leading these people? Would I… go down this path too…?

Tearfully, he smiled. I will always love you.

"This isn't love," Subaru said. "This is an obsession. He was ten? Eleven? He was a kid, for God's sake! He warped his feelings towards her, he gave himself justification for this…"

A tearful Emilia looked at her knight. "Subaru…?"

"He died when he lost his Emilia, and something else took his place. Something… hateful," Subaru said. He's somehow even worse than both Envys put together…

Somewhere within Flanders, the prisoners of war were in their rooms.

Felix was being put to work helping the wounded.

Carol and Grimm were placed in a room together.

A few people breathed a sigh of relief.

Felix and the Remendis couple were alive.

That meant that they could be rescued.

But as for Reinhard…? Would he even want to be rescued now…?

Meanwhile, Reinhard was placed in the best room, where he was usually alone.

Holding a mirror, he looked at himself again.

He saw his new look, and smiled.

He was no longer a monster.

He was now truly beautiful.

As the lights went back on to the Theater, everyone was silent.

Subaru remembered what happened after that hell loop involving Petelgeuse. How he was so obsessed with vengeance that he looked like a madman to anyone with an outside perspective.

He wondered if he continued down that path, would he be any different than the Alpha?

However, as he kept thinking that, he felt himself being pulled into someone's chest. Looking up, he saw that Emilia was holding him, and even though tear stains were evident on her face, she gave him a soft smile. "I'm here, Subaru. And I will never leave you."

Subaru gave her an even bigger smile, as the two of them held each other closer. They knew what they saw was not okay, but like everything else, they would get through it.

"And I…" Subaru smiled. "Will never leave you."

"Well then," Julius said. "I believe this calls for a break."

"Well spoken," Crusch agreed. "How does an hour sound?"

Everyone nodded at the suggestion, getting up and going their separate ways for the hour. Several women flocked towards Subaru, while Otto and Frederica went elsewhere together. Meanwhile, Wilhelm stayed in his seat, as he kept looking at his grandson.

Reinhard was busy speaking with Felt, not noticing the Sword Demon's presence.

You are a coward, a small voice in Wilhelm's head called him out.

And he agreed with it. Wilhelm van Astrea was a coward. One who couldn't even swallow his pride to apologize to his grandson for everything he had blamed the poor boy for.

But that changed here and now.

---

Author's Notes: "WE SHALL WALK THE PATH OF TRUE LIBERATION!" – Re-Destro.

The original story is called "The Demi-Human Liberation Front" written by me, Ernalore! s/14032027/1/The-Demi-Human-Liberation-Front is the link and /works/36815488/chapters/91845604 for the ArhciveofoOurOwn link. Now, for the last batch of comments for this month!

VaektaisNoForHigs: You just did it again.

Guest #1: I know that the previous story had a scene where Subaru killed Meili. I just didn't show that scene because I didn't want to ruin their relationship this far in.

731705: I do hope you found this chapter interesting. I'm not doing another opening, but I will hear that song you suggested. Also, I doubt I'm going to Paris.

Sussy Cat: Oh, I didn't know Julius was second to Marcos in terms of strength.

Chuck B. Winanaki: I think Felt would make a pretty good ruler after some character development. Reinhard and Subaru are gonna feel a whole lot similar in this chapter. Of course Anastasia has more to her than just her one-off personality trait, everyone does! I really don't know what to say about Envy and Return by Death.

Dodanim1: I don't think Subaru figured that out.

Commissar Gaunt: Reinhard didn't hit Felt, he used magic to knock her out. Yes, throwing her into the Royal Selection without her say in it was unethical, but this is a medieval society and he's socially inept. Though, I have to admit, I didn't see Echidna's shock coming. And as for Fourier and Crusch… hahaha, no happy marriage for them!

5queso: I don't even want to know about that. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Deathenglegamers1144: I'm pretty sure Subaru has mastered how to get people what he wants them to do in order to prevent them from dying, but yeah, he is also a victim, much like how a saint is in general. Hope you enjoy what I have for the future!

Jpx0999: Not with the sister chapter, unless he's actually mimicking Regulus' ability.

R-king 93: Awesome comment.

RandomGuest: It always feels good to update. Also, ha, ha, ArchiveofOurOwn jokes.

Wolfx88: I've seen a lot of alternate universe fics which have just the problems you described, and I decided, "I'm not gonna do that." So, good on me!

Infinite the Celestain (Legit One. Certainlya Not fake :)?): Wait, you waited until ten minutes till midnight for this chapter? Also, why use his name? (WHAT THE ABSOLUTE F*CK IS THIS?! -Infinite)

Phoenix_Rayz: And it'll make the Reactionist server angry! A win-win!

Imperius: Thanks for the comments! Roswaal does have the "redeemed" category under him on the Villains Wiki, so I try to make a faithful adaptation. While Fourier is alive in that reality, all Crusch got to feel was guilt. The reason I added only the alternate universe romance tags was because I thought if I added the ones for inside the Theater, along with the alternate ones, it would be messy, but I guess it couldn't hurt.

Day: Interesting fic idea, but to be honest, this is gonna be my last Re: Zero fic for a while, but who knows? Maybe you can write it instead!

But before I continue, I have an announcement to make: I'll be taking another hiatus to relax and write up the last four chapters. The new semester has started, so I can't work on them as fast as I can, so I'm afraid I can't finish them right now like I wanted to, sorry! So, both versions of "Re: Tales from the Multiverse" will return on March 2nd! Hope you'll all be patient for the ACTUAL final wave this time, I promise!

Now that that's out of the way, a special thanks to Infinite the Celestain for helping me in making this story, and for being an all-around great guy! If you want to join my Discord server, the link is /ajQ3Gpb5. You can chat with others, post memes and fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, and fan art, and I'll drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! And for the love of God, PLEASE FOLLOW THE RULES! If you can't, then don't join, seriously. If you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! I also have an Instagram where I post my art, called "ernalore_aka_the_writer," so if you wanna check it out, please do!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!

- Ernalore

---

Next time:

What if Pandora left everyone alone?

OR

What if Pandora and Subaru Natsuki had a tea party?