Soon enough, the group reached a house a ways away from the Sanctuary. Upon stepping inside, they were met with the sight of the rest of the group.
"Hey, look who finally came to join the party!" Nemo said. "Welcome back gang!"
"Yeah, yeah, glad to be back." Kazuma said mutedly as he headed off.
"Geeze, what's with him?" DJ asked.
"He accidentally entered Echidna's trial domain and had a close encounter with her inside." Aqua said. "Safe to say the talk was… awkward."
"Huh…we figured there would be some dark twist around here." Tida said. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"He's…alright, I think." Ethox said. "Though he probably won't relax till he sees Subaru is okay."
"For now, we need to debrief about the situation." Tanya said. "It appears some developments have occurred. Where's everyone else?"
"Just a little ways in. C'mon." Nemo motioned as the group followed the Beastman pirate to where everyone else was gathered.
"Oh, so these are the rest of the Fatebreakers." said a guy in green.
"Oh yeah. Uh…sorry, but who are you?" Ethox asked.
"My name is Otto. A merchant. I was sort of a big help to Mythos Hearts when they fought against that monster." he said.
"By monster, he means the Archbishop when he was revived by Ehto." Ivy explained.
"Oh. Well, it's good to meet you. And who are these other two?" Ethox asked, referring to a woman with long, fluffy pale pink hair that curved outward at the ends, wearing a large black robe that dragged along the ground, while the other was a young and relatively short boy with short, combed back gold hair and deep and sharp jade coloured eyes.
"My name is Ryuzu. I woke to maintain Sanctuary." they said.
"And I'm Garfiel…I protect the ruins." the boy said.
"Nice to meet you guys." Ethox waved to them. "So, what's the deal with-?"
Just then, the group heard the door open, as the sound of sobbing was heard.
"Hey, is everyone here?!" they heard Subaru's voice ask, sounding worried. "Emilia needs help!"
"Subaru!" Kazuma said as he stood up and ran to where he heard his friend's voice. "Dude, thanks God, I was word..ied." the otaku trailed off as he saw his friend supporting Emilia, who looked distraught as she cried.
"It wasn't me…please…Father, help me!" she cried.
"Emilia! What happened to her in there?!" Ristarte asked.
"I'll explain later! We have to calm her down!" Subaru said.
"She's calm now." Ram said, time having passed and night having fallen. "The aroma hypnosis will prevent her from having any nightmares."
"Good. That should give her time to recover." Mirror Match said. "Now, Subaru, what happened? We know you and Emilia were taking the trials."
"Well… I passed, but Emilia was really hit hard by whatever she saw." Subaru said. "She was like that from the moment she woke up. I guess she must've failed."
"Okay, if that happened to Emilia, I think I can say for everyone that we are NOT taking those trials ourselves." Ty piped in, to which everyone magnanimously agreed.
"It would seem that there is even less of a chance for the barrier to be brought down now." Ram said.
"Indeed." Necroapache nodded. "Could there perhaps be another way to allow those with mixed blood to leave?"
"I think I have an idea." Otto spoke up. "What if those with pure blood carried the others out? That way, even when they lose consciousness, they're still moving past it."
"An amusing idea, but one you would be better off not trying." Ryuzu said as she entered the room. "I would rather not become an empty shell of a soul."
"Oh…the barrier separates the soul from the body." Cobalt said in understanding. "Alright, that makes sense."
"Look, I'm not an expert at this, but isn't the best option for Emilia to ace the trials?" Ty asked.
"Ty, are you nuts? You saw her when she and Subaru came back, she nearly went crazy!" Ristarte said.
"Yeah, but Subaru came out okay." Ty said.
"Subaru and Emilia are very different people." Tanya said. "She lacks the mental fortitude to complete the trials at this time."
"Well, what do we do about it?" Ultra asked.
"We can't throw ourselves into the trials. Only Emilia is capable of dispelling the barrier." Goblin Slayer said.
"Well…Subaru could take it…but I doubt Emilia would like that idea." Theo said. "Though it does seem like Emilia can take it as many times as she likes."
"That's good to hear but… Theo, there's something you need to know." Ethox said. "When Kazuma went in to see Echidna, she permitted him to bring us into her space with him. Now, considering everything Emilia went through, I don't think we'll be taking the trials ourselves, but… I think we should make an effort to ask Echidna about a few things."
"Like what exactly?" Grantz asked.
"Information on the other two Great Demon Beasts that Daphne made, for one thing." Ty mentioned.
"Yeah that, but… I… wanna ask her if I can somehow unlock the Power of Waking. I want to use it so I can wake Sioux up from his Eternal Sleep." Ethox said.
"Are you still obsessed with that?" Tanya asked.
"Well, I can't just leave him like that." Ethox countered. "If anyone can help figure it out, it's her."
"In case you forgot, Being X used Sioux as a vessel to try and kill me. What happens if you bring him back from his coma and he gets back on that?" Tanya advised.
"He's a victim in all this too, Tanya." Ethox replied. "Being X hurt him too."
"Ethox, you can't just go around trying to validate points to save everyone, even enemies." Legolia said.
"Sioux isn't an enemy!" Ethox said.
"Well he sure acted like it."
"This debate is pointless if Exthox can't learn the Power of Waking anyway." Mirror Match spoke up. "We can discuss Sioux status as a friend or a foe at a later date."
"...Very well." Tanya sighed. "But, unfortunately, from what Kazuma said of her gift, we'll have to wait for her to take us into her realm. It seems she has control over the situation."
"Not completely. Us pure blooded beings could just leave anytime." DJ pointed out. "We could always go get the big guns in Nazarick and Tempest, and bring 'em down here. Y'know, just in case."
"Yeah, your right. Pure bloods can leave. The villagers from the human village don't even need to be hostages anymore. We can always transport them back to Arnum Village." Theo said.
"Yeah…maybe you're right. We can avoid any sort of bloodbath by minimizing the casualties." Ivy said.
"Will it work though? I mean, nothing wrong with taking a back route to get everyone out." Aqua said.
"It'll only take two days. After that, we'll come right back. Easy peasy." Theo said.
"Besides, we'll be with them as backup." Naofumi said.
"Well, I've got no issues with this idea." Ty said. "And while we initiate this plan, Emilia will still do her thing."
And so, over the next couple of days, the guild and the Fatebreakers worked and escorted the villagers back to their village. Leaving Subaru and Kazuma to head to the mansion.
"You've been living here? What the heck? I lived in a stable." Kazuma said.
"Please. I just work…and live…here." Subaru said as they walked inside. "Huh…it's quiet…"
"You're right." Kazuma said. "Hmm…a giant mansion, eerily quiet, at night. If this world's shtick keeps up, that means…"
"What if something happens to the staff?" Subaru said as he took off running down the halls.
"Wait, dude, hold up! You do not go off on your own in situations like this!" Kazuma said as he went after Subaru. "Are you looking to get murdered?! Cause that's how you get murdered!"
"I can't just…ah!" Subaru stumbled as he fell, blood and entrails trailing behind his path.
"Subaru!" Kazuma called out as he saw a blade pointing out from behind a passage as a figure walked out.
"Didn't you promise…that you'd keep those insides nice and safe for next we meet?" the figure asked. It was a woman with long black hair and a demented face as Subaru recognized her.
"Elsa…" Subaru groaned before he died.
"...S-Subaru!" Kazuma yelled, tears forming in his eyes as the woman named Elsa turned to him. "You bitch!" he yelled, drawing his sword. He stabbed her in the head as he jumped back.
"Oh…goody…wonder how your insides will look." Elsa said as the sword just fell out as she healed it out.
"(Oh great, she's immortal!)" Kazuma thought. "(She's definitely gonna kill me!)" he thought as she ran to him. "I'm still a virgin! I'm still too…!" he cried out as he shut his eyes and awaited the fatal stab. However, when he opened them, he found himself in the sanctuary graveyard with Subaru and the unconscious Emilia. "S-Subaru…who the hell was that?!"
"Her name is Elsa. I've met her before. She's killed me a couple of times when I first came to this world. But what was she doing at the mansion?" Subaru said, after gathering his thoughts.
"So…we're back in the graveyard?" Kazuma asked.
"Yeah…looks like just after I finished the first trial." Subaru said. "This must be the new save point."
"Wait…then that means…" Kazuma began to realize as Emilia started to stir.
"Yup. were right back after Emilia failed. I'll need your help, man…" Subaru said.
"Got it." Kazuma nodded seriously as the half elf's eyes fluttered open.
"S-Subaru? And Kazuma? When did you arrive?" Emilia askd.
"A day ago. I came here with the others who were out on a mission." Kazuma said. "Don't worry. We'll get you back to the house." he said.
"Kazuma…" Subaru said quietly. "Once we're out, tell the others what happened at the mansion."
"You got it." Kazuma said. "(The others probably felt RbD go off. We're gonna need a new plan…)"
