Wrath Chapter 8: Patience
The Purge King returned to the Throne Room to see that both Cecilus and Halibel were waiting for him there. The two turned towards the entrance to see the Purge King entering with a different manner. The two guards looked at each other for a moment, both of them slightly unsure on what their boss is going to do. They both then turned towards The Purge King with Halibel being the one to ask:
"Are ya alright, boss?"
The Purge king looked at the wolf man, having noticed the calm gesture he was in when asking him that question. He stood silent for a moment, still having his blank expression as he passed the two. As he was walking back to his throne room seat, he responded to Halibel's question in a serious manner:
"That's none of your concern, Halibel. Now, why are you both here?"
"Well my liege, we have inspected the entire base of operations and even a bit of the woods. Halibel and I didn't find anybody." Cecilus quickly responded in a respectful gesture, catching the Purge King's attention.
'Hm. I guess he is trying to play it safe this time. How annoying.'
The Purge King sat down on his seat and began to think of ways his counterpart would try to attack this time, knowing that this won't be like last time with a reckless plan of just going on a full on assault. The Purge King had a little chuckle when he thought of the last loop, finding it a bit stupid but funny just how far his counterpart would go to just get in to save Emilia.
'Since he knows about Ram, I should have one of my guards take care of that. I also should probably alert Puck about this. I don't want that bastard trying anything.'
The Purge King knew that his counterpart could convince Puck to go against him though lucky for him, he would have Cecilus by his side should that happen. Just as he was going to see Emilia and Puck, one of the mercenaries enters the throne room in a calm manner, something the Purge King took note of.
"My liege, we have a couple of people are approaching us."
Cecilus and Halibel both looked at each other with some concern, knowing that this isn't something they saw when they were outside. This caused the two to slowly turn towards the Purge King, a bit uncertain how he would react to this. As they look at their boss, they could see that he still has his blank expression. The Purge King just stood silent for a few seconds, processing what the mercenary had told him. This prompted him to ask with a bit of curiosity:
"Can you describe these people?"
"Y-Yes my liege. There is a merchant with a suit. Along with a few other merchants."
'Ah, the bastard that stabbed me last loop brought his false merchant friends. Glad to see that I can get my revenge on that jackass.' The Purge King thought as the mercenary continued to speak.
"With him is an old butler from the looks of it."
'The old man? Hm. Interesting choice. I mean he is a fighter but he does remind me of someone...I can't put my finger on it.' The Purge King thought as well, a bit curious to know who exactly this butler is. The mercenary continued:
"And lastly, from the looks of it a little maid."
'A little maid? The hell?' The Purge King was completely caught off guard by this, causing him to be tempted to see what his counterpart is up to. He got up from his seat in a calm manner while saying to the mercenary:
"Let them in. I want to know what they want."
"U-Understood, Purge King."
The mercenary bowed at him before leaving the throne room as fast as he could. While the mercenary left, both Cecilus and Halibel wondering what is going through the Purge King's mind. The Purge King closed his eyes for a moment before turning towards Halibel to say:
"Halibel, go to my office and stay there. Guard it with your life. Should anybody that isn't me come in, kill them on the spot."
"Understood boss."
Halibel nodded at The Purge King and started to move towards the exit of the throne room. While he was leaving, the two guards of the pleiades group looked at each other for a moment before they looked away with Halibel looking at the exit while Cecilus turned towards his boss. The Purge King could see that Cecilus is waiting to see what he would be doing. This prompted him to say:
"Don't worry, Cecilus. I have a job for you that relates to our deal but for now, I need you to be my guard. At least for now."
"...I understand, my liege."
Cecilus bowed at the Purge King has he understood what he was telling him, causing the blue lightning to keep his desire to fight the Sword Saint in check for now. As Cecilus stopped bowing, the two waited for a bit as the mercenary was bringing in the outsiders. While they waited for a couple of minutes, the Purge King crossed his arms and closed his eyes to go into deep thought of the situation he is in.
'Who else is my counterpart bringing in? I don't recall seeing any maids, let alone a small one since our battle had begun.'
The Purge King tried to think of all the people that it could be, trying to see if it is anybody from his world that is alive or if it is someone from his counterpart's world. As he thought of this, he had something come to his mind.
'Regardless of who he brings, they won't have any color with them. That old butler doesn't have any color, so regardless of who you bring Natsuki Subaru, it won't affect me.' The Purge King thought confidently, knowing better than to trust anything his counterpart is up to. He sat down and waited patiently until finally the false merchant and his group arrived to the throne room with a couple of his mercenaries surrounding them, preparing themselves for a fight. As the room was starting to get tense, the Purge King looked at Otto with a cautious facial expression, not trusting in whatever the fake merchant was up to.
"What do you want, "Merchant"?" The Purge King said in a sarcastic like way which Otto picked up on this. Although slightly nervous now, he knew that he had to keep up with Subaru's plan.
"Oh, just some here for some business—"
"Take your business to hell, ki—" The Purge King cut Otto off, wanting to kill the fake merchant for what he did in the previous loop yet he himself was cut off when a familiar voice spoke out against him.
"Subaru?"
"I'm not...wait, that voice. I recognize that voice. Are you...?"
Before the Purge King could even dare to finish his words as he saw the familiar girl, the one he failed to save the moment he chose to run away. The little maid looked at the Purge King with such a surprised and concerned facial expression, seeing just how bad her hero's counterpart looks. The Purge King himself was a bit surprised, seeing Petra with colors brought joy to him since it would make sense, a child that looked up to him, that he once cared for, would have her colors still. Before anything could be done, he returned back to a more serious state. As he did this, he pointed his finger at Otto specifically while saying to his guards:
"Take his group outside of the throne room and keep an eye on them while I talk to the little maid. Any sudden movements and they all die, understood?"
"Y-Yes my liege."
The mercenaries understood the orders and quickly started to take Otto, Wilhelm and the others out of the room. Wilhelm wanted to stay and protect Petra but Otto grabbed his arm, showing that it would be risking trying to defy the Purge King.
"We need to trust in Natsuki-san's plan."
"...right."
Wilhelm nodded at this statement before looking at Petra, noticing that she is scared yet trying to keep a brave face. All he could do is give her a nod before going outside with the others. Cecilus looked at his master to know what he would like him to do. The Purge King stood still for a moment, first wanting to assure that Otto and the others had left before giving Cecilus his orders, knowing that the Blue Lightning of Vollachia is getting a bit desperate. Once he saw that it was just Petra, he turned towards Cecilus and signaled him to come closer. The Blue Lightning obeyed this request and approached the Purge King before being whispered the orders.
"The Sword Saint is here somewhere, go find him and do what you came here to do."
"Understood my liege."
Cecilus bowed as he spoke with some excitement in his voice, ready to face his rival. As Cecilus leaves the room swiftly, Petra was preparing herself for whatever her hero's counterpart was going to do to her. The Purge King noticed this and quickly wanted to clarify:
"I won't do anything to you, Petra-chan. You don't need to worry about that."
"Wh-What happened to you, Subaru-sama?" Petra spoke with hesitation, not sure how she should feel seeing the Natsuki Subaru of this world so broken, so evil looking. The Purge King had a moment to pause when he heard the little maid girl saying his name, something he doesn't normally like but seeing that she is a child, he ignored it. He approached the girl only to see her slowly backing away. This slightly hurt yet he understood why Petra would do this, she views him as a threat.
'Not like I blame her, I don't deserve her forgiveness or kind-hearted nature. I'm nothing more than a monster.' The Purge King thought this, knowing that this is something true regardless of what very few would ever tell him. He lowered to the ground to be on one knee to look at Petra, wanting to make sure he and the little girl had eye contact as he continued their conversation.
"How are you still...alive...? I know when I went back, I learned...I learned that you and the others were..."
("What do you care? The children died a long while back. The Margrave was supposed to protect us but he didn't.")
The Purge King recalled how hurt he was having to hear the bad news of all the children of the village having been killed. Since he knows that Petra and the others are dead, he was a bit curious on how he is seeing Petra alive right now.
"Now Petra-chan, tell me the truth. How are you alive?"
"Well...um..." Petra struggled to say since this is not only going against Subaru's plan but something she isn't sure herself. While she showed hesitation to answer, the Purge King looked closely at the little girl before being able to deduce that she is telling him the truth. Having met all untrustworthy people, he had slowly picked up when someone is directly lying to him despite everything mainly looking gray to him. He got up and started to try to think on what exactly was Petra's purpose of being here.
'For sure it is the handy work of that bastard, Natsuki Subaru. But the thing I don't get is...why the fuck is he sending in a child?! Is he really that damn desperate? Hell, not even I would do something like that, the fucking dumbass!'
The Purge King began to criticize his counterpart, not getting what is the purpose to sending Petra though it was something he was okay with since he gets to see the little girl once again. He still holds regret that he didn't realize that Petra from his world and her friends were in danger. Had he learned this prior to taking Beatrice's deal to escape, he might have stayed to at the very least save them. Although he had failed to save Petra and the children of the village, he sees this as an opportunity to save this Petra from any future dangers and from his counterpart. He turned around and started to make his way back towards his seat where his secret passage is located. As he was walking, he spoke to Petra:
"Follow me Petra-chan, there is someone you have to meet."
"O-Okay."
The little maid responded, still on her guard while also trying to think of something in case she needs to defend herself from Subaru's counterpart. The two left the throne room but as that happened, Otto was able to listen to the conversation by staying close to the door, being lucky that he was able to understand what was going on. He turned towards Wilhelm and gave him a confident nod, indicating that their part of the plan should begin. Wilhelm understood this and without warning he pulled out his sword and swiftly took down the mercenaries guarding them. The remaining mercenary noticed this and was about to shoutout for reinforcements yet Otto managed to get close enough to deliver a punch to the mercenary's face, knocking him out. As Otto accomplishes this, the knights all got out their swords to prepare themselves for a fight.
"Seems like that was close, right Wilhelm-san?"
"Indeed. I still don't like leaving little Petra-chan alone with...this Subaru-dono." Otto looked at the butler as he noticed him struggling to say the boy's name, knowing how hard it must've been to see the counterpart of someone important. Otto also felt off when he saw just how alike the two Natsuki Subarus are, yet he can tell they are different. Aside from looks, their personalities and the way they speak tells it all. He sets his hand on the butler's shoulder while saying to him in a respectful manner:
"I know it's hard but remember, that isn't Natsuki-san. That in there is the Purge King, the version of Natsuki-san we need to stop. We still have your version of Natsuki-san, a good person."
Wilhelm took note of what Otto had said and nodded with a confident facial expression. As he got his doubts to slowly fade away, the group quickly start making their way towards the location Subaru had given them, being the rondevu point the boy had given them.
Petra and the Purge King continued to walk for a bit with Petra being a bit cautious since she doesn't trust this Natsuki Subaru. From the moment she saw him, she could tell that this Subaru is dangerously broken. And the conversation with him assisted her in confirming that this Subaru holds tremendous amount of guilt but acts on it in the wrong way. The Purge King looked at Petra for a moment before looking forward again, having some of his own thoughts telling him that having her around is a trap.
He knows that his counterpart wouldn't do something without reason just like when he had Reinhard attack everybody on his own in a previous loop or when he did a reckless assault on his base of operations. Because of those two and the last thing he heard him say to Ram, this made him more paranoid on what his counterpart could be up to.
As he was on guard, Petra eventually started to ask how long it will take since the pair had been walking for a couple of minutes. The Purge King noticed this question and quickly responded in a calm manner:
"We are almost there. Sorry if I'm not talking to you a lot, I guess it's all just a little...surreal."
"I understand...I think." Petra said, trying to keep the Purge King from getting mad at her or anything of the sorts. Though hearing that line from Petra sparked the Purge King to have a bit of interest in not only the little girl's history but to learn more about his counterpart.
"What exactly happened with my counterpart?"
"What do you mean?" Petra asked in a confused tone of voice, not sure what the Purge King meant. The Purge King notices this and quickly rephrases the question.
"Sorry. I wanted to ask how you two met?"
"Um well..." Petra was at a pause, having figured out that this Subaru wants to find a weakness of her Subaru. Despite being a kid, Petra was able to pick up on this which made her cautious on anything that could be used on her Subaru. "...he came to the village with Ram-sama, showing us his calisthenics. After that, there was this girl, Meili...she had a Mabeast and put my friends and I in danger. Both Ram-sama and Subaru-sama saved our lives."
Petra had a smile on her face as she said this, having fond memories of her hero going out of his way to save her friends and her from the Mabeast. The Purge King noticed this and just stood looking forward with somehow the very first genuine smile he has ever had in a long time. Although in the world's time it would've been around two years since he smiled, it had been an eternity for the boy. He only kept this smile for a few seconds before returning to a default state while he started to notice something wrong.
'Wait, she mentioned that my counterpart went with Ram instead of R—her. Hm. Something is wrong here.'
The Purge King knows that the history goes that it was him and Rem that went to the village together. Hearing that instead of Rem it was Ram that went with him puts him a bit off edge since something changed.
"What happened to Re—am's sister?" The Purge King asked in a polite manner, hoping that this would work on the little maid yet she was aware that telling him about Rem would be used against her Subaru. She took a moment to think on what she should say before coming up with something that isn't a lie.
"Rem was never there. Nobody knows her."
"What?!"
The Purge King stopped on his tracks as what he heard was too much important information to ignore. He turns towards her and tries to grab her arms gently while he says:
"What do you mean Re—am's sister wasn't there?"
"She wasn't. She didn't exist..."
"What does that mean?!" The Purge King started to shake her a bit which resulted in him receiving a kick to the face. This not only caught him off guard but also snapped him from his mindset. Before he could say anything, Petra started to run away from him, prompting the Purge King to follow.
'Damn it, I got carried away. I should keep myself in check next time.'
As the Purge King thinks this with disappointment towards himself, he manages to catch up to the little girl and starts to apologize.
"Sorry. I didn't meant to do that...just that the history of events are too different that I just...I'm sorry."
"..." Petra stood silent as she feared this world's Subaru, something that the Purge King picked up on and understood.
"...Let's just go. I promise not to do anything like that anymore. Come on."
Petra was hesitant to follow the Purge King yet she knew that she had a job to distract the Purge King long enough for her Subaru to get to Emilia of this world. She reluctantly follows the Purge King for a bit, the two walking slowly towards a large door. Petra was a bit skeptical when she saw this, unsure what exactly the Purge King is leading her to. As she was hesitant to say anything, she noticed the Purge King say to the door,
"Puck. Come on out."
"...Puck?" Petra said with a slight curious voice until she noticed a familiar figure forming into a cat. This caused her to be very surprised since she didn't think she would see the cat spirit after having been told by her world's Emilia what had happened to him. Once Puck was complete in his cat form, he looked at the Purge King for a moment before looking at Petra, having noticed her within seconds.
"Subaru, who is this girl with you? Trying to kidnap a child?" Puck said in a playful way which both Petra and The Purge King didn't found the comment funny.
"I'm not a kidnapper so shut it with that. And stop calling me that name." The Purge King spoke in a serious tone.
"Well then, what brings you here? Is it time to see my daughter?"
"I wish but I have a request. Protect this girl. I want her safe along with Emilia-tan." The Purge King said this as he looked at Petra for a moment, noticing that she is still scared of him. Puck also picked up on this yet he didn't bother with it since his focus was on another subject.
"So...is this girl more important than my daughter?" Puck asked with a slight threatening manner, causing the area to get a bit tense with the temperature dropping slowly. The Purge King did not flitch at this and just gave Puck an unimpressed look.
"You should know by now that Emilia-tan is the most important thing for me. I just want this girl, who has colors, to also be safe. Is it wrong to want an innocent child safe?" This kind of talk left Puck completely silent since this is something morally right...if it had been Natsuki Subaru from the loot house but this version is just bringing some excuse to counter his questioning. He looked at the child and could see that she is scared but also confused of the situation. This prompted the spirit to think for a moment before speaking:
"...I have my eyes on you, Natsuki Subaru." The Beast of the end spoke with a threatening manner, something that the Purge King could care less.
"..."
The Purge King just kept his mouth shut as he watched the beast of the end open the vault that kept Emilia safe. As he did this, he turned towards Petra and wanted to say something, yet he knew that anything he said wouldn't be believable or reassuring to the little maid. As he was leaving, Puck turned towards Petra before signaling her to follow him inside. Once inside, Emilia looked up and noticed that it was a little girl in a maid outfit.
"Oh. Hello. What is your name?"
"P-Petra." She spoke with some hesitation, a bit uncertain on why she was afraid of this Emilia despite the silver haired half elf not looking like a threat. Emilia approached Petra and found the little maid cute yet she was a bit curious on why she was there.
"Why are you here? Did Subaru send you?"
"S-Sort of..."
"Sort of?"
Emilia looked with a confused facial expression. Puck took notice of this but first he closed the door to his daughter's room before going towards the two females to explain the situation. Once he did this, he started to approach the pair to explain. Petra turned towards the door and once she saw that it was closed, she closed her eyes as she thought to herself, 'Subaru...where are you?'
"Um, Petra-chan? Are you okay?"
"Don't worry Lia, she is just scared."
"Scared? Why?" Emilia looked at Puck with a curious look, something that gave the floating cat spirit a bit of guilt since he can't reveal the truth to her. As he felt some guilt, he felt that something was off in the atmosphere.
'What in earth is going on? I can sense that something is trying to enter this place but who?'
Puck looked around with concern in his cat like face, noticing that something is trying to enter through Yin magic while Emilia looked at him with a concerned face herself. She noticed him being concerned which caused her to be concern.
"Puck, is everything alright?"
"...don't worry Lia, everything is fine."
"You aren't lying to me, are you?"
"No, I would never lie to you, Lia."
Emilia was hesitant by this since she felt that Puck could be lying yet she decided to trust her contracted spirit. Puck kept his guard up for a moment before lowering it once he noticed that nothing was going to happen. As his guard was lowered, he let out a sigh before looking at his daughter. He was at the very least happy that she was safe yet the moment he was about to approach his daughter and the little maid, a random portal appears.
Emilia was startled by this, Puck got himself ready for a fight, and lastly Petra let out a reliving sigh since she knows who it is. There was a moment of pause before two people came through, a familiar boy with nasty eyes, black spikey hair, and a more healthy looking body. With him was a familiar drill-haired girl with butterfly eyes. Puck lowered his guard as he didn't think he would see his sister once again while Emilia was happy to see a familiar face.
"Subaru!" Emilia shouted in a happy voice.
"Betty..." Puck said in a sad tone of voice, surprised yet sadden that he is seeing her again after hearing that she had died back in the mansion. This caused the cat spirit to approach his sister while Beatrice herself was caught off guard by this encounter has well. The last time she had seen him was during the time when the Sin Archbishop of Sloth was preparing to attack Arlem village. As the two looked each other for a moment, Beatrice grabbed Puck to give him a hug, something that he was surprised yet he accepted while Subaru looked at the approaching Emilia, seeing how happy she is to see him.
"Subaru, I thought you said that Beatrice-sama died?" Emilia spoke in a curious tone.
"..." Subaru wasn't expecting such a blunt question to which Beatrice even heard this, causing her moment to be ruined.
"Wait what?" Beatrice opened her eyes as she took a moment to process what Emilia had asked before responding with, "I'm not dead, in fact! What is the meaning of this, Subaru?!" The little spirit girl approached her contractor in a slightly angered tone, annoyed and also angry at him since he didn't tell her the whole situation. Subaru would normally laugh it off yet this is a big moment he skimmed over when informing Beatrice of the situation. This caused him to hesitate for a moment before telling Beatrice:
"Sorry, I guess I skimmed a few things but first let's do our part of the plan."
"...you owe me an explanation, I suppose!" Beatrice said with her anger slowly going away.
"I will." Subaru said in a determined tone, reassuring his contracted spirit before looking at Emilia, noticing that she was just confused. Puck also was a bit confused of the encounter since he had mixed feelings. Subaru took a moment to look at Emilia's amethyst eyes before turning towards Petra to pat her in the head.
"You did really good, Petra-chan. I'm proud of you."
Petra couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly happy hearing that from her crush meanwhile Emilia was left stunned by those words. The area started to slowly get cold with Emilia feeling something in her saying that this isn't right. Subaru, Petra, and Beatrice all three took note of this and quickly calmed the situation with Subaru being the one to speak:
"Emilia-tan, Puck, I probably should tell you two that Beako, Petra-chan, and I are not from this world."
"Not...from this world?" Emilia asked as the tension was deescalated with a simple sentence. Both Puck and Emilia just looked at each other with some confusion since they didn't understand the statement Subaru had just said. Puck looked at Beatrice before looking at Subaru once again, having finally noticed that this Natsuki Subaru is much more sane, more caring for others compared to the Purge King he has been familiar with. This caused him to slowly understand yet have more questions than answers. While Puck had lots of questions, Emilia just looked at Subaru with a confused expression before saying:
"So...there are two Subarus?"
"I mean in a sense, yes." Subaru said as he figured this was one way of seeing things yet he wanted to make a clarification. "Though Emilia-tan, the Subaru you are aware of and me are two different Natsuki Subarus. He lived the life you know while I lived a more honorable life."
"How honorable would you say?" Puck said with some skepticism in his voice. Beatrice took note on what her brother had said, causing her to quickly respond to the question:
"Betty's Subaru is quite stubborn and a very bad contractor, I suppose."
"Hey! How is that helping?!" Subaru spoke with a fake insulted voice, something he usually does when Beatrice says such things. Puck picked up on the fake manner Subaru spoke while Emilia didn't though she was more focused on a specific detail Beatrice had said.
'Betty's...Subaru?'
The air started to get slowly tense with Emilia have a dead like expression. Subaru took note of this and wanted to say something but Puck intervined when he questioned his sister:
"Betty, did you and Subaru made a contract?"
"Yes, in fact." Beatrice responded proudly which caused Emilia's dead expression to change into a surprised one. Subaru nodded at this yet he knew that this wasn't an important conversation at least at the moment they are in. He looked at Puck with a serious facial expression while saying to him:
"We need your help, Puck. We have to stop the Purge King."
"..." Puck couldn't respond to this since he wasn't expecting Subaru to ask him such a question. This caused him to be conflicted since he knows that helping this Subaru would mean that the safe heaven the Purge King gave his daughter would be destroyed and he would be a target of the Purge King and his lackeys. He knows that the last thing he wanted was to put Emilia in danger which caused him to want to say something until he heard Subaru speak first.
"I know Emilia-tan's safety is important, that is something I agree but you can't trust that killer. After all the horrible things he had done, he isn't worth trusting at all!" Subaru spoke with some anger in his tone, still feeling some hatred towards his counterpart after all the things he had done. Petra and Beatrice both looked at their world's Subaru with a bit of concern on their faces, having noticed the hateful tone he had when he spoke of his counterpart. Puck and Emilia also picked up on it but what was more concerning for Emilia was when she heard Subaru say that her world's Subaru was not to be trusted and a killer.
"Subaru, what do you mean by that?" Emilia asked with some curiosity and a hint of concern in her voice. Both of these were picked up by Subaru as he looked at her with sad eyes since he realized at this moment that she doesn't know anything of the real Natsuki Subaru of this world, the Purge King himself. He took a moment to calm himself before he finally was able to answer Emilia's question:
"Natsuki Subaru, my counterpart of this world, is known as The Purge King. He hired two powerful bodyguards to help him do his dirty work by killing innocent people using the stupid coin trick from the western side of my world...he even killed Beako that fucker..." Subaru paused himself as even saying that out loud hurt him just as much as it did the second both Petra and Beatrice heard those words.
Although Petra did expected this world's Subaru to be evil after having encountered him, she didn't expect him to do such a thing. Beatrice on the other hand was completely lost for words, hearing that her contractor's counterpart killed her counterpart.
All she wanted to do is cry as she couldn't believe what she was hearing yet when she looked at her contractor, she could see that he was struggling with this fact more than her. This caused her to quickly grab his hand to comfort him, already knowing that he is suffering so much guilt prior to this. Subaru notices Beatrice holding his hand which helps yet he had to continue on what he was telling the Emilia of this world.
"...Emilia-tan, the Natsuki Subaru you know, the one who you have been held captured, shouldn't be trusted at all. He doesn't trust anybody and those that he apparently trust seems to want to lock up or kill."
Emilia had a blank expression when she heard this, trying to process all the information she learned from Subaru. As she was processing everything, Puck looked at the boy and asked him:
"Why do you assume that I'm going to help you, Subaru? For all I know, you could be putting my daughter's life at risk." Puck spoke with a defensive tone. Subaru was about to respond yet Beatrice was quick enough to answer her brother's question.
"Because we need your help, bubby. We can't do this without your assistance, I suppose."
Puck looked at Beatrice and could tell that she is being sincere, causing him to have a bit of doubt since he doesn't know what to do exactly. He doesn't want to go against Beatrice but he also doesn't want to risk putting Emilia in harm's way. Although he was conflicted, he did wanted to know something.
"Say I got along with you, Natsuki Subaru. Is there a way to make sure my daughter is safe and sound?"
"Trust me, Puck. I will make sure Emilia-tan comes to no harm. Besides, we still have one more person to assist us." Subaru had determined voice and a confident facial expression when he said this, catching Puck's attention and even Petra, both of them curious to know who this person Subaru is referring to.
"And who might that be?" Petra asked to which Puck was also curious.
The Purge King walked around the halls for a bit, trying to think what the purpose was of having Petra distract him. As he was trying to think of many ways Petra could be used against him by Natsuki Subaru, he noticed that Cecilus was approaching him. This prompted him to return his facial expression into a blank one, not wanting one of his guards to notice his concern. As he returned to his blank expression, he notice that Cecilus looked a bit anxious.
"Anything to report?"
"Nothing my liege. I still haven't found Reinhard van Astrea. Are you sure he is heading here?" Cecilus said with some cautious in his voice. The Purge King noticed this and quickly crossed his arms with an annoyed facial expression, not liking what Cecilus was implying with that question.
"Are you questioning me, Blue Lightning?" The Purge King spoke with his hand moving towards his pocket to his right side to grab the coin. Although he isn't strong at all, the way he said it and his gesture caused the hallway to feel intense and even got Cecilus to be a bit wary.
"N-No my liege, I'm just asking to make sure that he is coming. I want to make sure I do my part in your grand plan."
The Purge King glared at Cecilus for a moment, having already grabbed his coin from his pocket. The room was tense with Cecilus mentally preparing himself for a fight should he have to defend himself from his leader. The stood like this for a few minutes before The Purge King put the coin away while he said:
"Good. The last thing I would want is to get rid of you for questioning my authority." The Purge King spoke with an intense tone of voice to which Cecilus just simply nodded. The two stayed silent with the Purge King looking around for a moment before asking his guard:
"Was there anything that seemed off?"
"Not really my liege. It all seemed to be going well."
"...too well..." The Purge King said as he was looking around with a bit of paranoia. Cecilus caught onto this and quickly had his hand on his weapon, ready for a fight. The two were on their guard for a few seconds before the Purge King stood up and calmed himself down.
"Pardon me, Cecilus. I was expecting something to happen."
"It's fine my lie—" Before Cecilus could finish his sentence, the two felt a sudden shake on the base of operations. Both Cecilus and The Purge King looked at each other for a moment before giving each other a nod, both knowing who could do this.
The two quickly start running towards the throne room for Cecilus to easily deal with Reinhard. As the pair were making their way towards the throne room, Cecilus had a feeling of excitement since he gets what he wants while The Purge King was preparing for the battle against his counterpart, knowing that he needs to end this now. As the two eventually approach the entrance to the throne room, the pair noticed that Otto, Wilhelm and the other "merchants are gone".
"Damn it all! I should've had them killed!" The Purge King said as he was getting fed up with the situation he was in.
"Would you like me to hunt them down, my liege?"
"No...they are not the threat that we should be worried about. Our focus should be on Reinhard van Astrea, the Sword Saint of Lugnica."
"Understood my liege."
Cecilus nodded and the two were about to enter the throne room until they noticed and explosion occur far off on the hallway they were in. The pair turn around with Cecilus having his weapons out and ready for a fight while The Purge King pulled out his knife, hoping that his counterpart is the one approaching them. The two waited for a moment until the dust settled to reveal a person neither of them is familiar with.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
(Memento plays)
The Purge King spoke with a threatening manner, knowing that this person is a pawn send to distract him by Natsuki Subaru. The young man looked at the Purge King with anger in his jade colored eyes. Cecilus observed the golden-haired young man and noticed how he was wielding what seemed to be two shields on both his arms, catching his interest.
"The Purge King asked you a question. I suggest you speak if you still want your head attached to your shoulders."
"Ya don't fuckin' scare my amazin' self ya fuckers! Now where is Ram?!" The young man spoke as he angrily stomped his feet on the floor, causing a significant amount of damage. Cecilus was prepared to fight the young man yet all he needed was his leader's approval to attack. The Purge King noticed this yet he was more curious on who this new threat is, knowing that this person not only looks familiar but knows Ram.
"If you have a death wish, at the very least give me your name. I would like to know who I'm going to have my guard here kill."
"Ha! Aight then." The young man spoke with a cocky look before smashing both of his shields together. "The Shield of Sanctuary, Garfiel Tinsel! The one who'll kill yer ass and save Ram!"
'Garfiel? As in...Frederica's brother?' The Purge King thought, having known the family of Frederica to assure that she wouldn't try anything. The fact that Garfiel was here meant that his counterpart had been busy, explaining why Petra was sent in. She was there to distract him long enough for Subaru to get another ally.
'You sly fox.'
The Purge King would commend this action if he wasn't so pissed off at everything. Just as he was about to order Cecilus to kill Garfiel, another person appears next to Garfiel. A familiar knight that seems to always give the Purge King some trouble.
"Natsuki Subaru, stand down. You are not going to win." The handsome red haired knight spoke with confidence, leaving the Purge King angered by this while Cecilus found this situation amusing.
"...Reinhard..." The Purge King spoke with hate in his voice, knowing now what his counterpart's checkmate move is. Cecilus smiled calmly as he prepared for a fight until he felt The Purge King's hand be placed on his shoulder. He looked to see that his leader was signaling him to go into the throne room with him. Cecilus paused for a moment before agreeing and going inside with him, causing both Reinhard and Garfiel to follow.
"Don't ya fucking dare run away, fucking cowards!" Garfiel yelled with anger, having an intense hatred for the Purge King. Reinhard noticed this and although he would advice the young man to not hold such anger, he understood why his ally was like this. Having been explained by Subaru what's at stake, he knows that Garfiel is justified in wanting to take the Purge King down just as much as him. Once the two entered the throne room, they both noticed that it was just Cecilus standing in the middle of the room.
"Where da fuck's the Purge King?! Show yourself ya coward!" Garfiel shouted with anger as he wanted to beat the ever living shit out of the man that imprisoned the woman he loves. Reinhard looked at Cecilus with a serious facial expression while also wearing one of disappointment, not thinking that someone like the Blue Lightning of Vollachia would side with someone like the Purge King.
"What do you gain out of this?" Reinhard asked with a respectful manner.
"He promised me a fight with you. He delivered." Replied Cecilus with a confident tone in his voice, ready for his rematch.
"Why? Why work for someone who has killed thousands of people. Most of them innocent people." Reinhard said out of instinct to which Cecilus brushed aside.
"And? All I want is your sword but the only way to get it is by taking you down." Cecilus said to which Reinhard and even Garfiel found distastful.
"Shall we kick his ass?" Garfiel asked as he was ready for a fight. Reinhard looked at the young man before looking at Cecilus. Although he did appreciated wanting some assistance, he knows that this fight is between himself and the Blue Lightning. He tapped Garfiel on the shoulder before saying to him:
"Go find Ram. I'll take care of Cecilus."
"Are ya sure?"
"Positive."
Garfiel was a little conflicted by this yet he knew that this isn't his fight per say. His goal was to save Ram and Reinhard is giving him the opening he needs to find her. He lowered his guard and was about to leave but he wanted to tell something to Reinhard before he left off to find Ram.
"Good luck, Master Swordsman. Make sure ya kick his ass."
Reinhard nodded at the Shield of Sanctuary before seeing him go off to save his crush. Cecilus allowed this as well, finding it somewhat noble for a young man to go and save the woman he loves. The room was silent for a moment before both warriors prepared for battle.
"From the line of Master swordsman, Reinhard van Astrea."
"The Blue Lightning of Vollachia, Cecilus Segmunt."
Author's note:
I will say, I may need to make another chapter for wrath if so it may take 1-2 more chapters before we come to a close. The final battle of this arc is going to be my second favorite next to what I have plan for Greed if. Also I will answer one question I found common among a lot of people I've spoken with and seen the reviews/comments on:
What is the purpose for Subaru to go into Sloth if?
I will just say that it is a more lighthearted world, no danger per say but more about talking, feelings. If we are going by example, just look at Episode 18 ("From Zero"). That is the vibe that sloth if is going to get for main Subaru and Slothbaru. It is a wake up call but you will see what I mean on the first chapter of sloth if.
Also I want to say that after Wrath if, I will take a month off to work on my three computer science classes since they are sorta stressful so you might get the next chapter say next week sunday or maybe no chapter next week due to how time consuming the homeworks are.