Pride Chapter 8: Putting out the flame
Reinhard was happy to see Julius yet he was unsure at first since it was confirmed by a couple of knights that his friend had been killed. This caused him to look at him for a moment before approaching him, wanting to verify by using his divine protections on him. As he grabbed his arm gently, the sword saint asked the finest knight,
"Are you really Julius?"
"Yes Reinhard. I am Julius Juukulius. Though not of this world's version, I am still Julius."
Reinhard used his divine protection of empathy to read Julius' mind to see if he is telling the truth. Once he saw that he was telling the truth while having a normal state of mind, he was a bit sad since this wasn't the Julius from his world yet he was still with a version of his friend. Reinhard took a good look and noticed that Julius was carrying Felix, something that greatly confused him and worried him.
"Is Felix alright?"
"Yes...well sort of. I will explain later but know that our friend is safe."
"Understood."
Reinhard turned towards the two Subarus and approached them. He first approach the one from his world, the two having the same hatred for each other.
"Ha! Seems like the Sword Saint is capable of hating."
"I'm even surprised myself."
"Well then, Happy Birthday Reinhard! It is the new you."
"Unfortunately it is not my birthday."
"Figure of speech, dumbass."
"Leave Reinhard alone."
"Stay out of this other me!"
"Enough!"
Reinhard spoke with a serious tone, causing both Subarus to be silent. The Sword Saint and Pride looked at each other again with the same mutual hatred before he turned his attention to the other Subaru. At first he wanted to have the same hatred look towards this other Subaru since he shares the same face and name to the monster that caused everything yet when he looked at the boy, it was different. The boy did had the eyes of a villain from a surface level but when seeing past that, one can tell that he is a boy who has fought through hell because he cares for life.
"What is your name?"
"Natsuki Subaru."
"Are you from another world like Julius?"
"Yes."
"I presume the same world that Julius is from."
"Yes."
"What did you do in your world? Did you do anything evil like the other Natsuki Subaru?"
Reinhard says this while grabbing the boy's arm to use his divine protection of empathy. Subaru noticed this yet he wasn't worried since he knows that he isn't in trouble.
"I'm not like him, I have never joined the witch cult or done anything like that. I'm Emilia-tan's one and only knight. I helped defeat the White Whale, defeat the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, and the Great Rabbit."
"Okay. What brought you here then?"
"...I don't know. Garfiel, Julius, and I were sent for unknown reasons but we want to help out."
"Hm. Okay then."
Reinhard nodded at Subaru before freeing him by just simply tapping the ice, causing the ice to break. Subaru got on his feet before nodding at the sword saint, both sharing mutual respect. The group all turned towards the Sin Archbishop of Pride, seeing that he is attempting to commit suicide via biting his tongue yet Subaru and Reinhard were both able to stop Pride from trying that. Subaru with the remaining strength he had used his unseen hand to stop his counterpart while Reinhard knocked him out. As the Sin Archbishop of Pride was out, Subaru turned towards Roswaal for a moment, seeing that he still has his gospel in his hand though very hard to see. There was a silence for a moment before Subaru quickly shouted,
"Reinhard!"
"Hm?"
Reinhard turned towards Subaru for a second before looking at the direction the boy was pointing, seeing Roswaal attempting to kill them all except himself. This failed due to the fact that Reinhard was fast enough to knock Roswaal out. As this happened, both Subaru and Ram's instincts were to grab the gospel of his, knowing that it needs to be destroyed. As the two go to grab the gospel, the two notice that they are both holding the gospel. Subaru and Ram looked at each other for a moment before the boy let go of the gospel, knowing that this is something Ram needs to do. She looks at Subaru with a disgusted look for a moment before just nodding at the boy, knowing that although he shares the face of the monster that is knocked out, he isn't like him. She turns towards the nearest fire before throwing the gospel there, to be burned and destroyed.
"It's done. The root of all evil...is finally gone."
Subaru smiled when he heard this from Ram, seeing the relief she has. That smile only lasted for a moment before he turned towards Reinhard, who wanted to know one thing.
"Shall we end this monster once and for all, Natsuki Subaru?"
Subaru paused himself for a moment, knowing that the answer is no but he needs to find a way to explain this without revealing return by death, worried that this could also exposes his own ability of Return by Death to Julius and Garfiel, something he doesn't want at all. He took a few seconds before responding with,
"No, unlike me, he is bounded by the witch and if he proclaims that he is the Sin Archbishop of Pride, then that would mean he has an authority like the other Sin Archbishops. He was so eager to die for the sake of Emilia-tan...so no, death would be too easy for a scumbag like him. Not only that but he is not getting away from his punishment that easily."
"Understood."
Reinhard broke the ice trapping Pride before picking him up, seeing that he needs to be locked up. Before he leaves with Pride, he looked at Subaru to tell him,
"You should stay with Emilia-sama for now until I can clear your name."
"Alright."
Subaru nodded at Reinhard before watching the red haired knight leave with Julius following behind him, wanting the sword saint's help in helping Felix. As they left, Emilia turned towards Subaru to ask if the two can speak in private with Puck overseeing the conversation. Subaru was okay with this before turning to Otto.
"Think you can keep an eye on Garfiel and Meili?"
"Um...sure thing, Natsuki-san."
Otto nodded and watched as Subaru, Emilia, and Puck all three went towards another direction. While they left off, Garfiel and Ram got the chance to speak with Ram wanting to know something.
"How did you manage to leave the Sanctuary, Garf?"
"Well ya see Ram...you and Cap'n helped me out in conquerin' me past. I took the trial and passed."
"Really?"
Ram was a bit surprised when he heard this, seeing just how much her childhood friend had grown since the last time they spoke. She smiled for a moment before a tear streamed from her eye which caught Garfiel's attention,
"What's wrong?"
"Rem..."
Ram was still broken since she had lost her sister. Despite it having been a year, she is still all alone. Garfiel could see this and decided to hug her, wanting to comfort a friend that he deeply cares for. As he hugged Ram, she was caught off guard by this, yet she smiled while letting all the pain she held to herself go.
"It's okay Ram, I'm here for ya."
Subaru and Emilia walked a bit around, seeing that the fire was slowly fading away due to Reinhard managing to now have time to deal with it. Subaru was slightly annoyed at how Reinhard was able to accomplish everything and anything yet he was glad the two are friends in his world. He thought of this, another thing came to his mind. He looked at the street they were walking and could tell that this was the same one he walked with Emilia and the Appa dude's daughter on his very first loop. This feeling and memory of the very first time he was in Lugnica made him both happy and sad since this feels like forever since those events happened to him. They walked for a bit before Emilia stopped, having wanted some space from the group and them to talk privately with the other Natsuki Subaru. Subaru stopped as well while starting the conversation by saying,
"What is the reason we are here, Emilia-tan?"
"To talk...why are there two of you?"
"Ah well...how do I explain this...um, I'm from a different world that is the same like this one but...different."
"How?"
"Well...let's see, we have a different history like how we first met. You and I met in the loot house when I was getting your insignia back from Felt and Old Man Rom. Elsa had attacked us yet we managed to pull through long enough for Reinhard to arrive. Then I passed out after receiving an injury and ended up waking up in Roswaal's mansion. I met Rem and Ram there and was able to help save the village children from the Mabeast."
"Wait, so Rem is alive in your world?"
"...yes."
Subaru was hesitant for a brief second since technically Rem is alive though what really hurts was a confirmation that Rem truly is dead in this world, knowing just how much pain Ram must be in.
"Well...what was the change then?"
"Huh?"
"What was the change from you and...well the villain you."
"..."
Subaru was pondering that a bit too. He knows from the flashes of memories he got from the beginning of his journey in this hellish world was that the two Subarus had the same start but that's about it. He can tell from the memories he has and what his evil counterpart had said, he never interacted with Reinhard in the hallway, causing him to think about something.
'Had I been in my counterpart's shoes and had to deal with Elsa all on my own, knowing that there was probably no Reinhard to come and save us...I don't know how I would have handled it. Maybe I would have been in the same position has him...'
Subaru started to have doubts in himself, seeing that maybe he would've also gone evil had he really been stuck on the first day for a long time. Emilia noticed that Subaru was feeling off, making her question him in a concern voice,
"What's wrong?"
"It's just...I do feel bad for my evil asshole counterpart. I had you, Reinhard, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, Otto, and even Roswaal to help me out. I had people I could rely on while the Natsuki Subaru you know...he had nobody."
Emilia stood silent with Puck also listening in, both hearing how painful the other Natsuki Subaru had compared to this one. Despite all the things he had done, they do see what the Subaru in front of them is trying to say.
"So the two of you have a shared history?"
"We share the same life, the same choices we made before we were send to Lugnica. What change was how things went for the two of us. I had you all to save me from being alone. I had people I could rely on while he...he really had only himself. That doesn't justify anything he did but...it does make me worry if I would've become like him had I been alone that first day."
"No you wouldn't."
Subaru looked up to see Puck speaking to him, sounding serious yet friendly.
"Everyone makes their own choice, Natsuki Subaru. The witch cultist version of you made his choice to join the witch cult. He made the choice to cause harm. You on the other hand made a better choice. Just because things could've gone wrong for you, doesn't mean you would've ended up like him. I sense your heart is in the right place. If anything, you would've made a better choice, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru was silent by this, a bit off hearing this from Puck since it has been a long time since he had interacted with Emilia's guardian yet he did find comfort in that. He nodded while thanking the great spirit before looking at Emilia, seeing that she still has one more thing to ask.
"Are you okay, Emilia-tan?"
"Y-Yes, I just wanted to know...how is the Emilia from your world doing?"
"She is alright. She beat the trials of both the Sanctuary and of the watchtower. She also showed herself to be incredibly strong."
"That's good..."
Subaru looked at the Emilia to see that she had doubt in herself. This caused him to quickly say in a confident tone of voice,
"No need to look down, Emilia-tan. You will win the royal selection and be able to help the people of Lugnica. They are going to need a leader and you are qualified to be that leader."
"B-But I haven't done anything to be this leader!"
"Regardless of that, you have Puck, you have Otto, Ram, Reinhard, and even Roswaal to help you out. To guide you in the case you need help. It never hurts to rely on others, Emilia-tan."
Emilia looked at Subaru and could tell that the boy was saying this out of experience, considering how this Subaru and the Subaru of her world both are different because of the choices they had made. She was still unsure if she could rely on others due to how she looks like the witch of envy.
"Will people be willing to help me...?"
"Trust me Emilia-tan, they will."
The two looked at each other's eyes with Subaru being full of hope while Emilia wanting to have some hope. Seeing the boy's eyes and how he knows her because of her counterpart, she smiled as she was willing to trust the boy. Subaru gives a thumbs up to Emilia before the two along with Puck return to the group, knowing that what comes next will be long.
Two days go by with Emilia being crowned the new King of Lugnica due to the credit of defeating all of the Sin Archbishops was given to her. Subaru's name was able to be clear with Reinhard using his status to explain that the Sin Archbishop of Pride used Natsuki Subaru's face to hide his real identity but died in the fire. Subaru was not sure if it was alright to clear his own name since his counterpart is still alive, but this was better than nothing since he did wish to return to this world to check on his friends. Subaru convinced Otto to be an advisor for Emilia, knowing that she needs someone to trust. Otto agrees to this and with the help of Reinhard, he was a free man once again. Lastly, Subaru and Ram both managed to have a talk with Subaru explaining who was responsible for killing Rem, causing Ram to have a high desire to kill Meili until Subaru explained,
"Meili was taught to be a killer by Capella, the Sin Archbishop of Lust. If anybody deserves to die, it's Lust."
"But she is dead!"
"I know, which is why I ask you to not kill Meili. She is a child, one who was twisted by the bowel hunter, the sin archbishop of lust, and my evil self. This is a chance to make things right and help a child that has lost their way...maybe even give you closure."
"..."
Ram stood silent to this, angry at the fact that she can't just simply kill Meili but since it is thanks to the Subaru she is talking to that she was able to destroy Roswaal's tome of wisdom and keep him from giving up on life, she will listen.
"You are lucky that I owe you, Barusu."
"I promise you won't regret it."
"Hmph."
Ram just turned away and started to walk for a moment before stopping on her tracks for a few seconds. She looked at Subaru before looking forward again while saying,
"Make sure to protect Rem, please."
"I will."
Ram just stood silent for a moment before walking away, trusting the boy's judgement and that he will protect the version of Rem from his world. As she walked away, Reinhard approached him after having spoke to the kingdom to check on the boy.
"How are you doing, Subaru? Is everything going well?"
"Well, a bit surreal but alright."
"That's good to hear."
"Yeah...how is Felix?"
"He is resting but we are doing our best to help him with what your counterpart had done to him."
"I'm sorry about that."
"You did nothing wrong, Subaru. Don't feel like it is your fault what the Sin Archbishop of Pride had done."
"True but it just feels like I'm to blame for this."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Subaru."
Subaru looked at Reinhard and just gave a simple nod before changing the subject from him to his counterpart.
"Speaking of Pride, where is he?"
"He is locked up and from what you've told us, we are going to seal him away using yin magic."
"Mind if I speak to him before that happens?"
"Sure thing."
Reinhard took Subaru to the dungeon in order to have the boy encounter his counterpart for one last time before he, along with Marcos and Julius, seal the Sin Archbishop of Pride away. Once they arrived to Pride's cell, Reinhard looked at Subaru for a moment to say,
"Just be careful with him, Subaru. Should something bad happen, just shout my name and I'll come here swiftly."
"Understood."
Subaru nodded as he said this to show that he understands before Reinhard left him to speak with himself. The two Subarus looked at each other for a moment, both reflecting on what just happened.
"You have been trying to loop, haven't you?"
"Fucking asshole...thanks to you, I'm stuck here now!"
"I know but I'm here to chat before you are sealed for good."
"What? Here to gloat? Here to say that the hero finally defeated the villain?!"
"No, I'm here to ask if it was all worth it."
"What do you think?"
Pride got up to get closer to the cell bars, wishing they weren't there so he could strangle his counterpart. Subaru looked at Pride with hatred at first before looking at him with a bit of pity, seeing that he is just like all the other Sin Archbishops he had faced with his friends.
"You really are unredeemable, how shameful you put the Natsuki household name. Father and Mother would be disappointed in you."
"...fuck you! The fuck would they know what I had to go through! The fuck you know what I've been through! You can go to fucking hell, you stupid self righteous piece of shit!"
"But I'm not wrong, our parents would be disappointed in you."
"Fuck you! I hope you suffer!"
Pride said this with intense anger before banging his cell bars, having so much anger boiling towards his counterpart, hating how he is being viewed in such a way. As Pride was walking away, Subaru had one last question.
"Did you even call out for help?"
"..."
"On our first day, I want to say the fourth loop, did you even call out for help in the alleyway?"
"Why? Was that supposed to do something?"
'I see, so that's the change that set you on this path, my fallen self.'
Subaru now finally understood the change in their history. Since his counterpart stayed prideful, he never met Reinhard which meant that he never received the help he needed to beat Elsa. Now that he knows this, he turned around and ended the conversation by saying,
"Your name is cleared, it is assumed that you, the Sin Archbishop of Pride, is dead while Natsuki Subaru is alive and innocent. Not like it matters since you will be gone for a long time but appreciate life next time. Treasure those who care about you because if you do, then people can grieve when you die."
"What are you—?"
Subaru walked away from the dungeon, leaving Pride all to himself, uncertain on how he should spend his remaining time. He could try to loop a million of times to escape yet his counterpart would also know that he is looping, meaning that he would be trapped in a dead end stalemate. Once Natsuki Subaru left, the Sin Archbishop of Pride looked around to see that he is all alone in his little cell.
"...what a fitting end."
As Subaru left the dungeon, he met up with Garfiel to talk on what had happened the past two days. He was aware that Garfiel immediately left to the Sanctuary to help his counterpart free it. "How was it?"
"Eh...my other amazin' self's stubborn as hell but I was able to help him with Ram's help. Now he is off to find big sis from th's world."
"That's good to hear. Did he took the trials?"
"My other amazin' self took them all and beat them with my help. He makes me proud."
"He is you."
"I know."
Subaru and Garfiel laugh a bit, both finding the situation funny yet Subaru truly is proud of Garfiel, helping his own counterpart in breaking free from what keeps him imprisoned in the Sanctuary.
"You have grown quite a bit, Garfiel. I am proud of you, my friend."
"I couldn't have done it without ya, Cap'n."
Garfiel patted his captain on the back, having been proud to be following Natsuki Subaru since he not only cares for him but also looks out for him and everyone else. Despite being probably the weakest of the group, Subaru still manages to come out on top. For Garfiel's point of view, he saw his Cap'n has intelligence since he was able to keep calm despite the situation that was happening when they first arrived at this world. That's what made him appreciate Subaru even more, how he is a guy with good timing. The two waited for a bit before seeing that Julius is nowhere to be found despite the trio agreeing to met where Subaru and Garfiel were located at the moment prior to splitting up.
"I wonder where's Julius."
"Probably preparin' t'imprison yer evil self."
"Fair."
Since that was going to be the case, the two sat down and just relaxed for a bit, waiting on the finest knight. Both Garfiel and Subaru waited and waited until an hour had past before Julius finally approached the two, having noticed the pair waiting for him. He tapped the two on the head to wake them up before saying,
"Pardon me for making you two wait so long. I was clearing things up."
"Clearing what up? I thought you all were sealing away my evil self."
"We did with him cursing Reinhard for the most part. As for clearing things up...considering that my counterpart had been missing and some saying that I was dead, it caused confusion when I arrived here with Reinhard and Felix."
"That makes sense. So what did you say?"
"Basically, I told them that I was the twin to Julius."
"What?!"
Both Subaru and Garfiel were surprised when they heard this, confused on why Julius would say this.
"But why?"
"Well, telling people we are from a similar world to this would make us sound insane, even with Reinhard backing our claims. So I went with the name Juli Juukulius, the secret twin brother to Julius Juukulius."
"Hm. Understanding. Weird but understanding."
"Well, now what Cap'n? We can't stay here."
"I know. We have to return back home but I don't know—"
Before they could continue to question how they could return to their world, a bright light shined on the three with the last thing they hear before losing consciousness,
"World saved. Natsuki Subaru, the Sin Archbishop of Pride, beaten and sealed away."
'What is—'
Everything went dark with his mind having blanked out for a brief moment before he woke up in a familiar place. He looked around and noticed that the door he had entered was sealed with the name of pride having change to humility. Once he realized where he was, he could hear someone ask him,
"Did you enjoy your time in the Sin Archbishop of Pride's world?"
"You."
Subaru got up and attempted to attack the watcher, angry with him since he was sent completely unprepared. As he was going to punch the watcher in the face, the watcher change to Emilia while saying,
"I am curious, will you punch me if I look like Emilia, Natsuki Subaru?"
Subaru stopped has he was inches away from punching the watcher in the face, seeing Emilia's face. Despite knowing that it is the watcher himself, he can't punch Emilia. All he did was look at the watcher with an angry facial expression before saying,
"You are truly disgusting!"
"No, I'm just curious to know if you would actually do it despite seeing the woman you love's face."
Subaru turned towards the door that was once known as pride and kicked it a few times, wanting to let out his frustration for a bit while the watcher returned to his regular form. As the watcher does this, he asks his question once again,
"Did you enjoy your time in the Sin Archbishop of Pride's world?"
"No! That world...that world was a fucking mess! What? Is all these doors leading me to face other Natsuki Subarus that are Sin Archbishops?!"
"No, that is not the case though that would be a little bit ironic, wouldn't you say."
"What the hell do you mean by that?!" Subaru shouted has his frustration came back with a vengeance.
"All I'm saying is that each door does lead into a world that is represented has a sin though not like Pride's. Pride's door is special because that Natsuki Subaru was prideful which lead him down the dark path to a witch cultist. Though funny since he made himself into the Sin Archbishop of Pride."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing of importance. The only thing you should know is that each world won't be like that one...did you not paid attention when I showed you all of the fallen worlds?"
"It's not like you explained yourself...wait, where is Garfiel and Julius?!"
"They are safe. Back to their usual times with no recollection of the events that passed here. This will only be special to you, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru was silent about this, a little annoyed since his friends deserve to know about the other worlds but on the other hand, this is a burden that he is probably capable of handling. As he thinks this, he asks a question that came to mind.
"Can I tell people about Return By Death?"
"No! Don't do that."
The watcher instantly answered Subaru's question in a way that did caught Subaru's attention, knowing that something bad could happen if he did that. Wanting to confirm this, he asked them,
"What would happen—?"
"If you are going to ask about telling others of Return by Death, I will just say that the Witch of Envy will end up killing you. The one from your world that is and since in different worlds you don't have that ability, you will permanently die...not to mention that I would end up facing her."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"If I had enough power, not really but I don't want to push my luck."
"Hm. Okay."
Subaru looked at the watcher for a moment before looking at the door that was once known has pride. As he looked at it, he looked back at the watcher to ask,
"So what happens to that world now?"
The watcher closes his eyes and glows for a brief moment before answering Subaru's question.
"After sealing Subaru, Emilia with Puck, Otto, and Ram's help was able to eventually rebuild the kingdom from zero. The Garfiel of that world managed to reunite with his sister and the two together with Roswaal and Emilia's aid, create a place for the demi humans of that world."
"What about my counterpart?"
"He will be sealed for an eternity since he wiped out all of the witch cult, meaning nobody is going to try to save him."
Subaru didn't felt anything when he heard this since this was something he expected, especially with Emilia having Reinhard, Otto, Ram, and even Garfiel to help her keep Lugnica in peace. As he heard this, the watcher pointed towards the other doors to say,
"It's time for you to continue on, Natsuki Subaru."
Subaru heard this and looked at the door that is next to the one that is pride, seeing that the next one is wrath. Subaru looks at the watcher and quickly asks,
"Will Garfiel and Julius return to be my allies?"
"No, you'll only have them once per world."
"Why?"
"That's...not needed for you to know."
"Hmm, fine...Are you sure this me from this world is not another Sin Archbishop, this time being Wrath?"
"Yes! I'm sure of it."
"Okay Okay but at least tell me who is my allies this time."
"You'll see."
Subaru just gave the watcher a stare before he opened the door and entered the world of wrath, knowing now what he is in for. As Subaru left, the watcher closed his eyes as he spoke to himself.
"It seems like my choice was correct, the Natsuki Subaru of that timeline would perform just like I wanted...though I do wonder, how will he fair against someone like the purge king."
This pondering question was only brief since he opened a panel to see the process of Natsuki Subaru, Emilia's knight.
Author's note:
So we have finally reached the end of the pride if story and heading into the wrath if. The watcher will eventually get a name and a little backstory since he plays a key role at the end of this entire story.