Aganau Chapter 4: The hard path
It had been a few days of traveling by this point, with Subaru from another world noting to himself that this was the longest he had been in an alternative world since this mad quest started.
He looked up at the night sky as he thought on the previous worlds he had been in for a moment, thinking back on the things he had done right and the things he had done wrong on each world, hoping that he would do better for whatever remaining worlds he has to go in and fix along with the one he's currently in.
He turned towards his counterpart to see him all on his own, talking to himself from his perspective.
'I wonder what he's talking about with himself...'
"He's sick." Felix said suddenly which caught Subaru off guard, not having noticed him being to his right side. Felix continued, "Just having someone to talk to, even if it's just in nyor head. Subaru-kyun is being…no, even I cannot truly diagnose that..."
"..." Subaru stayed silent, seeing that Felix felt more alone after having truly learned about Crusch while also learning something about his counterpart.
'So, you are speaking to Rem...I feel your pain, older me...'
For someone outside himself, it would look like a sad man who can't let go of someone that's long gone or someone that's crazy but to him, it is someone who is in pain.
He looked down for a second thinking back on the nights he would talk to his sleeping Rem from his world after the events of the Sanctuary.
He remembers the nights he would tell her how his day was, the things he had done with either Emilia, Beatrice, Garfiel, Otto, Petra, etc.
Seeing that his older self was talking with an illusion of Rem created by his mind made him see a different side of his older self. He turned towards Felix to ask him:
"How are you holding up at least?"
"...Okay. Still mad at him." Felix says this as his eyes give a sharp look at the older Subaru.
"That's to be expected. It's me after all. Anything I say or do is bound to stick around in a person's head for a few days." Subaru sighed after saying this, having a feeling that things will get better between this version of Felix and his older self…eventually…hopefully, that was a better word for it.
"I'm surprised that Subaru-kyun isn't defending himself, er, the other you I mean."
"I mean I get his point of view since...well he's me but it also doesn't mean I side with every choice he has ever made. Different choices, different points of view because of those choices. Not to mention he's got a lot of years over me, so I can't judge on things that I don't truly know have happened or how they happened."
"I see..."
"..."
"..."
The two were silent for a bit, Subaru uncertain on what he can ask this version of Felix while Felix was hesitant to know more about Crusch or even his counterpart from another world.
After a minute or so of silence, Felix motivated himself to ask the question he had been pondering since learning more about the young Natsuki Subaru:
"Is...is the other Felix happy?"
"Happy? What do you mean?" Subaru questioned as he wanted clarification on what the cat boy was asking.
"The person that I have forgotten...is your Felix happy with her?"
'Ah, I see what you are asking now.' Subaru stood still for a moment as he thought this, knowing that he needs to be very cautious with his answer. This can greatly affect Felix of this world.
"I don't speak with you too often but from what I can see, you are happy with Crusch. She's your source of happiness from what I can tell and in return you're her most loyal knight in medical armor."
"Really...? That's good to hear..."
Felix looked up at the night sky with something in mind, something Subaru couldn't tell yet all he can do is hope that it's something hopeful.
The two looked up at the full moon with a calm atmosphere before they turned towards the older Subaru.
"Seriously though, I hate what he's become." Felix said with a melancholy tone. "I hate that this grudge he has had against that Sin Archbishop for the past two decades has made him so bitter. It's like a poison that's slowly rotting him down to the core of his soul."
'I can imagine.' Subaru thought, remembering how angry he was in the loop where he got Emilia killed by trying to tell her about Return by Death.
He remembered the intense hatred he had towards not only Petelguese but everyone who didn't help him in saving Emilia, Ram, and the villagers.
He can understand how that hatred for Petelguese could consume his older self.
Felix looked back at his world's Subaru, still watching him chat with an illusion of Rem.
This made him wonder:
"What exactly changed?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you both have such drastic histories?"
"Well...I..."
"Are you two planning to stay up all night talking, I suppose?" Beatrice spoke out in annoyance, interrupting Subaru from speaking.
Both Subaru and Felix turned towards the loli spirit to see her looking at them annoyed.
"What's wrong, Beako?"
"Betty would like some peace and quiet, in fact."
"Aw come on, if you felt left out of the talk, you could join us." Subaru spoke in a kind manner. Beatrice looked at him with a blank facial expression. She turned around while saying:
"Betty prefers to be alone, I suppose."
Beatrice goes to sit down near Patrasche as she chooses to spend the rest of her night on her own thoughts.
Subaru and Felix remained silent before both agreeing that they should rest up, knowing that the next day will have them working on finding this ally the older Subaru is attempting to recruit.
Subaru tries to dig into his counterpart's memories to see if it can help him figure out who is the last recruit only for his mind to go blank.
Convenient. When I really need it, it won't show me.'
Subaru sighed before he decided to go to sleep.
The next day arrived with the group arriving in a city called Bisito.
Subaru was amazed since he hadn't been to this city.
As the group walked around for a bit, the Older Subaru turned towards the group to tell them,
"They should be around that corner. Just to warn you, this person isn't someone to mess around with."
"What do you mean by that?" Subaru asked, not liking what his counterpart was saying. Chills were beginning to run down his spine with that warning.
"Let's just say that they are people who can fight. That's all I'll say on that matter."
"..."
Felix and Subaru looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the older Subaru with distrust in their eyes.
Felix already had trust issues with his world's Subaru, so seeing him act sketchy made that trust be even harder to attain.
For Subaru, the fact that his older self was acting suspicious and being all secretive made him feel uncomfortable.
"Nwyor trust is already low, Subaru-kyun. This is only making it worse."
"I get that, believe you me I do, but this person can help us out in taking that bastard down better than any of us can individually."
Both Felix and Subaru didn't like this response but they just didn't care anymore at this point because they accepted they were there for the long haul.
Felix is only there because Subaru is with him and Subaru is only helping his older self because he wants to truly help him beat Petelguese to help him move on with his life.
The only problem he has is when his older self just does things such as their current situation that make him more distrustful in the eyes of those around him.
"*Sigh* This better be worthwhile."
"It will be."
As the older Subaru said this, he led the group towards a sketchy alleyway.
"Yeah, this is certainly trustworthy old me."
"...shut up. Not all our experiences in back alleys are bad anyways."
As they were all waiting there in a sketchy alleyway, the older Subaru crossed his arms as he was thinking if he was even in the correct location.
"I could've sworn that this was the usual location...did I go onto the wrong alleyway?"
"You're still talking to yourself?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I knew you'd come."
Subaru and Felix were both completely on their guards when they saw older Subaru's person he wanted to recruit.
'...Out of all the people, did it have to be her?!'
Subaru looked at his older self with anger in his eyes, completely in disbelief that he would even consider someone like the Bowel Hunter as an ally. Elsa looked at the older Subaru as she started to speak to them, or rather to the older Subaru.
"It's been a while. It's been about two years since we last met."
"Has it been so long? No...it can't be?"
"Wait a minute, you've been meeting with this crazy woman?!" Subaru questioned with anger in his voice, catching older Subaru and Elsa's attention.
"Ara Ara, aren't you a familiar one."
"Even twenty years from now, you are still a sadistic woman who apparently looks like she hasn't aged a damn day."
Elsa just smiled at Subaru in a way that made him uncomfortable before turning his attention back to the older Subaru.
"Why did that boy look so much like you when we first met? Could he be your son?"
Both Subarus chuckled when they heard this.
"He'd be a horrible father if that were the case."
"...no I wouldn't."
"Yes you would."
"No I wouldn't!"
"Yes you would! I know because I've seen myself as a father. You'd suck ass compared to him!"
The two kept this up for a bit until Felix hit the two of them on the head.
"Focus!"
"Sorry."
"...you both are moronic, I suppose."
Beatrice said as she questioned more how a version of her would consider a contract with the young Natsuki Subaru with how idiotic he was being...more than usual, in fact.
As everyone was getting their minds back to topic, the older Subaru turned towards Elsa to question her about something.
"I have a job for you. I need your help with something."
"Who's the target? If you're gathering your people so carefully, then it must be a worthy opponent, right?" Elsa spoke with a bit of interest in her voice.
"When it comes to that, I won't disappoint in that regard."
"Well yeah, we have a dangerous foe to deal with." Young Subaru added to what his older self had said, catching the Bowel Hunter's attention even more.
"Ara Ara, now you have my attention."
"Older me, can we talk for a moment, in private."
"Sure...Elsa, play nice." Older Subaru said this, not wanting the bowel hunter to cause trouble with Beatrice or Felix. Elsa just gave Older Subaru a smile, one he didn't fully trust yet at this point he had no choice.
He turned around and followed his younger counterpart towards the streets where they could speak away from Beatrice, Felix, and Elsa. Once they were a good distance away, Subaru started to question his older self.
"What the hell!? You are working with her!"
"I get that you have reservations about her but right now we need anyone who can fight."
"Anyone but her! Hell why not talk to Al and ask for his assistance considering that you are in his attire?"
Subaru asked, now having the chance to question more of his older counterpart's attire. The older Subaru had a blank facial expression when he responded to his younger self's question.
"He and Priscilla disappeared a decade ago when they went to deal with some issue in Vollachia. Reinhard is...well we haven't spoken in two decades, Crusch and Wilhelm both failed against the White Whale. Felt is...too busy at this point to help. And everyone I once knew was killed by the witch cult. So what the hell do you expect me to do?!"
"What about Otto?!"
"I haven't seen him at all..."
Subaru had a pause as he processed what he was just told by his counterpart.
'He's right. Emilia-tan, Rem, Ram, maybe Roswaal, and Puck were all gone. He assumed that Beatrice was gone; He doesn't know about Garfiel and as for Otto...'
He looked down as he can understand why of all people his counterpart would trust Elsa, although not someone ideal for his taste, it is someone they know. The Older Subaru looked at his counterpart for a moment before looking up while hearing Rem say to him,
"Don't be harsh with your young self, Subaru-kun."
'...I get that but he needs to see that it hasn't been easy for me.'
"You are very stern, Subaru-kun." As the illusion of Rem said this, the Older Subaru looked at her for a moment before looking at the sky.
"..."
"..."
"Tell me this, young me, how is Rem doing in your world? Is she happy?"
"..." Subaru wasn't sure what to say. He's worried that his counterpart won't take the news seriously. Despite that, he knows better than to keep secrets when he already gave his older self hell about it.
"...I'm sorry but Rem is in a deep sleep."
"Deep sleep?" Older Subaru asked in a very serious tone, not liking what he was hearing. Subaru took a deep breath before continuing to inform his counterpart about what had happened.
"I hate to say this but a Sin Archbishop got her, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony."
"...How many of those fuckers are there...?" The Older Subaru whispered this as his intense hatred for the Witch Cult increased. "They all deserve to die...all Witch cultists deserve to die!"
Subaru was taken aback when he heard this from his older counterpart, being reminded of Rem and how she has such an intense hatred for the Witch Cult.
"Tell me, is that bastard at least dead?"
"...yes. He's dead."
"Good."
The Older Subaru looked at the direction where the others were located for a moment before looking back at his counterpart.
"Tell me, in the other worlds you have traveled, has there been anywhere Rem is happy?" He asked this with a concerned tone of voice, afraid of the answer to this question.
Subaru thought on this question for a bit, realizing that out of all the worlds he had traveled, the last one he had visited was probably the only one that Rem has a happy ending.
He smiled as he responded to the question in a positive tone,
"Yes, she does have a happy ending. Out of the three worlds I had been to before this one, the last one I saw was a world where a version of us had run away and started a life with her. Made her the happiest girl in the whole world. Family and everything."
"..."
The Older Subaru couldn't help but feel happy when he heard this.
'A future where...I ran away and started a life with Rem...'
He couldn't help but feel like that would be a future he would strive for if it meant that Rem would still be alive.
'...that's a better future than this one...'
"Subaru-kun, you shouldn't think like that."
'Hm? What do you mean? You would be alive.'
"But I don't want you to run away and leave everyone behind."
'But—'
"And I know that you wouldn't do that either. You don't give up on anybody, you wouldn't give up on anybody."
'...'
Older Subaru stood silent on this since he wasn't sure how to respond to what Rem had told him. He just looked at her for a moment before telling his younger self,
"We should catch up with the others."
"Okay."
The two regroup with the group, noticing that Elsa was petting Patrasche while Beatrice and Felix kept their distance from the bowel hunter.
As the two were approaching them, Felix was the first to notice the two Natsuki Subarus, prompting him to say:
"You guys took your time."
"Sorry, we just had to chat about something important. Anything we missed?" Young Subaru asked.
"No, everything seems to be calm. Nya."
The two Subarus turned towards Elsa's direction, noticing that she's being non-hostile at the moment.
"Is she still roaming around in your world?" The Older Subaru whispered to his younger self. Subaru responded back with:
"No, she's gone."
"Really?" The older Subaru spoke in a surprised tone of voice. "I'm actually impressed you were able to pull that off."
"Let's just say that it was a group effort." Subaru spoke with a smile on his face as he thought back of the events of the Sanctuary and the mansion, knowing full well that he wouldn't have been as successful without Otto, Garfiel, Emilia, Frederica, Ram, Puck, and Beatrice's assistance.
As he was thinking this, something popped up in his mind. He turned towards Elsa as he asked her,
"Hey Elsa, how is Meili doing?" The young boy asked the bowel hunter curiously since he isn't aware of Meili's status in this world.
Elsa stopped petting Patrasche for a bit as she turned towards Subaru's direction. As she did this, she continued to have her usual smile yet she didn't respond to his question.
Subaru noticed this and felt uncomfortable by just Elsa's smile, knowing that she wasn't happy by this question, or rather how he knew about Meili in the first place was the more likely culprit to her anger.
Older Subaru saw that tension was starting to rise, prompting him to die the tension down yet he stopped when he heard something off.
"Hey...do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Beatrice commented with Felix, Subaru, and Elsa also being curious on what the Natsuki Subaru of this world was saying. The four of them listened closely until they started to hear the faint screaming in the background.
"What is going on?"
Felix and the others all left the hallway to check what was going on, following the faint screaming until it started to get louder with more screaming being added to the mix.
"What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know...but be on your guard."
Subaru and Felix nodded to what Older Subaru had said while Beatrice stayed close to the young Subaru, not wishing to get involved in any kind of fight while Elsa was preparing herself for a fight coming to them.
They all walked slowly as they started to hear some buildings get destroyed.
As a few buildings were breaking apart, Older Subaru and his group saw that a group of witch cultists were attacking innocent citizens.
"The witch cult!"
"Elsa, are you going to join us or not?" The Older Subaru asked with a serious tone.
"What's in it for me?" The bowel hunter asked, not wanting to get involved if it doesn't benefit her.
"You get to have a good fight and you get to kill those witch cult bastards without any restraints. Including one that is just as annoying to kill as yourself." The young Subaru said, relying on The sin Archbishop of Pride's memories to get Elsa to side with them.
Elsa was intrigued by this, seeing it as the first time she was asked to help kill people without any kind of restrictions like she usually gets. Although this was interesting, she still had a few questions.
"As much as I appreciate that offer, I still want compensation for my services. I don't work for free, even if I can kill those without restraint."
Subaru wasn't sure how to respond to this. He doesn't have any money and can't guarantee money either.
Older Subaru knew that Elsa would be hard to convince yet this wasn't the time to discuss such details.
"You'll be compensated but for now let's just deal with the threat at hand. Once we deal with them, you can tell us what exactly you want as a reward for your assistance so long as it doesn't involve killing us or fighting us."
"..."
Older Subaru and Elsa stared at each other for a moment before Older Subaru pulled out his sword to take down one of the witch cultists charging at him.
Patrasche knocked one of the witch cultists down with her tail before biting off another one that attempted to harm young Subaru.
Subaru was stunned for a moment before turning towards Patrasche.
"Thank you for that."
Patrasche nods at the boy before proceeding to beat the crap out of two other witch cultists nearby them.
Felix stands behind young Subaru while Beatrice stands next to him, prepared to defend herself and the boy.
Subaru looked at the loli spirit and just began to think back when he and Beatrice arrived at the Sanctuary to assist Emilia in facing the Great Rabbit.
This caused him to smile for a moment before turning his attention towards his older self.
"Why are they here?"
"I don't know...but just stay on guard!"
As he shouts this, he goes on his own to face off a couple of witch cultists trying to harm innocent bystanders. Elsa stood still for a bit, debating whether or not she should even help.
She knows that this world's Subaru has been hunting down someone from the Witch Cult yet anytime he has asked for her assistance, he has paid her back.
She observed her surroundings before noticing a few witch cultists surrounding her.
"Ara Ara, this should be fun. I'm not interested in your bowels but...if I can kill you however I like, then it makes up for it."
With that she joined the fight as an ally to the two Subarus and their group.
Subaru caught this which made him feel conflicted since he doesn't trust her at all yet he can see that they require her abilities to take on Petelguese and his forces.
"Beako, how much mana can you use?"
"Why do you want to know, in fact?" Beatrice questioned while keeping a blank facial expression.
"We will be facing Petelguese soon and maybe Regulus. You are going to be an important person in this fight."
"..."
Beatrice continued to give a blank facial expression while not responding to what Subaru had said in regards to her question.
She turned towards the witch cultists approaching their position and without hesitation she moved her right hand towards them.
"El Minya."
A barrage of yin mana was created above her, Subaru, and Felix before being sent towards the couple of witch cultists.
These icicles like yin mana tore the couple of witch cultists apart, leaving Subaru and Felix stunned.
"Th-That's a bit overkill...don't you think, Beako?"
"...you have no appreciation, I suppose." She says this in an annoyed voice before looking away from the boy.
"That's not what I'm saying! Of course I appreciate what you did...I just think it was a bit too much mana to waste on mooks like this."
"Witch cultists don't require a mercy kill, in fact."
"Well yeah, I don't disagree with that—"
"Then why question my methods, in fact?!"
"..."
Subaru just sighed before turning to check on Felix.
"How are you holding up?"
"No need to worry, Subaru-kyun. I'll be safe here with nyow."
"I guess..."
The three of them along with Patrasche and Elsa were all surprised when they heard a loud explosion.
As they turned towards the explosion, a large amount of broken masonry flew above their position and was closing in on them fast.
"Watch out!"
Subaru quickly scooped Beatrice into one arm before grabbing Felix's arm with his free one to get them out of danger, surprising both Felix and Beatrice.
Elsa and Patrasche both followed Subaru to safety as a bunch of pieces of the city's defensive wall was crashing to the ground, killing some witch cultists in the process.
"That was a bit too close."
"Yeah..." Felix responded.
Beatrice was in shock for a moment before she kicked the boy on the side of his head.
"Put me down!"
"Okay Okay, no need to be so—ouch!"
"I said put me down!" Beatrice shouted as she tried to free herself from Subaru's grip. He set the loli spirit on the ground, which prompted her to turn herself away from his direction.
"Oh come on Beako, don't be mad."
"Hmph."
Subaru just scratched his head at how Beatrice was acting for a moment before turning towards Elsa's direction, noticing her approaching them while she was covered in blood.
"Does this mean you'll be helping us?"
"For now. Let's see just how things go." Subaru did not like hearing this since it implies that Elsa could turn on them at any given point. Just as this conversation was looking to be done, Elsa added a bit more information. "I would also like to add that I'm currently on a contract to take care of someone."
"Who's your target?"
"That's nothing you need to be concerned about. If anything, this witch cult attack might actually help on my mission."
"Just...try not to get us killed."
Elsa just stayed smiling at Subaru before following him, Felix, Patrasche, and Beatrice into the city.
Older Subaru had gone off on his own into the city, taking down any witch cultist that stood in his way.
As he took down a couple of witch cultists on his own, he thought about how they could have even found them in the first place.
'Is that bastard in the city? Or did he send a little scouting group to find us? No, Sloth wouldn't just send people if he thought we were here. He's too much of an up close and personal guy for that at this point.'
("I guess but right now I came to you for help. It isn't just the Sin Archbishop of Sloth we are dealing with but I fear that the bastard known as Regulus Corneas, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, might get himself involve as well.")
'...doesn't matter, if another Sin Archbishop decides to join in, I'll kill him too. I'll kill them all.'
Subaru's rage grew as he thought back on that fateful day, the day he had lost everything, the day he kept Rem's promise to live.
One of the witch cultists tried to stab him on the back only for Subaru to slice his head off swiftly.
'Any who are aligned with that madman don't deserve to live!'
As he easily took down the witch cultist, he stood still for a moment as he began to hear a familiar laugh, one he hated.
He turned around to make sure it wasn't all in his head again. As he looked behind him, he noticed a witch cultist standing on its own, laughing.
"Petelguese...!"
"I wasn't expecting to have found you so fast. Now then, where's that boy?"
"Who? The other me?"
"The one with a fake sloth witch factor. The one with a fake greed witch factor. The one who has been showered by her love more than any of us!"
As the witch cultist shouted this, a bunch of unseen hands began to appear behind Sloth, preparing to attack Natsuki Subaru.
He looked at them with a blank facial expression before pointing his sword towards the unseen hands.
"I can see it now, much clearer now. That disgusting ability of yours, Sin Archbishop of Sloth!"
He charged directly towards his target, seeing this as a chance to do something despite the odds being completely against him.
Petelguese removed the hood he was wearing, revealing that somehow within the few days since speaking with another Sin Archbishop, he had managed to return to his old body.
'The hell?! Why does he have that body once again? I thought I got rid of it...no matter, you are still dying regardless of what body you possess!'
The unseen hands attempted to kill Subaru only for the warrior to dodge some of the unseen hands while managing to take down a couple of unseen hands.
Petelguese was annoyed to see this be the outcome, prompting him to bite on a couple of his fingers. As he did this, a few more unseen hands appeared.
"You can make more of those damn hands but none of them will take me down!"
As he was shouting this, he continued to be on the defensive against Petelguese, someone wearing all white watched from a distance on a nearby rooftop. He was not interested in the boy that was taking on his 'ally' but he was curious to know just how long before Petelguese took him out.
'Just how long are you willing to test my patience? Don't you know that I have more important things to do than being here? You are violating my rights, you stupid annoyance of a Sin Archbishop. Why she allowed you to live that day is beyond me. You should've been killed in that forest along with the others.'
He continued to watch in annoyance until he turned around to see that there was a boy that looked similar to the warrior that was dealing with Petelguese running alongside a couple of other people and a ground dragon.
'Was that the boy this moron was talking about him? The one who supposedly has my authority and the sloth authority? Hmph. Doubt it. There's nothing special about him.' He looked at the group closely before returning his attention back to Petelguese, tempted to kill both him and the warrior he was dealing with.
'If this isn't it, you are all dying for violating my rights, my time.'
While Regulus continued to watch, Subaru and his group reached Older Subaru's location to see him facing off against Petelguese.
"He got his body back...? But how?"
"..."
"..."
Beatrice and Felix stood silent as they weren't sure how to respond themselves.
Patrasche looked angrily at Petelguese, instantly hating him at first sight.
Subaru turned towards his back side to ask Elsa something only to see that she wasn't with them.
"Of course she isn't with us...why am I not surprised?"
He turned towards Petelguese as he thought of the many ways he can try to assist his older self.
'What can I do? I need to help him out before he gets himself killed.'
After thinking for a minute, he just decided to charge directly towards Petelguese's location.
"Subaru-kyun!"
"What are you doing?!"
Beatrice and Felix were just shocked when they saw this, seeing Natsuki Subaru being reckless. Patrasche stood still as she waited for her opportunity to join in and help.
Petelguese noticed the young Subaru approaching him, prompting him to smile sinisterly.
"I'm so loved! She knew I was looking for you and now you are here~DESU!"
"Tsk."
Subaru noticed a few unseen hands switching their attention from his older counterpart to him.
The Older Subaru noticed this and quickly advised his young self to not get involved.
"Stay back! I can handle him on my own!"
"Don't be stupid! We are here to help you out, moron! That's why you made the group, right?!"
"..."
The Older Subaru stood silent as he knew his counterpart had a point.
He looked forward and just continued to slice off a couple of unseen hands.
Subaru turned towards Beatrice's direction while shouting to the little spirit:
"Beako! I need your assistance!"
"..."
"Please!"
"...I really don't understand why any Betty would be contracted with such a reckless idiot, in fact."
As she says this, she points her hand directly towards Petelguese's direction.
"...El Minya."
A barrage of yin magic gets created above Subaru's direction before being sent towards the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.
Petelguese notices this, prompting him to quickly use his unseen hands to protect himself from the attack.
Both Subarus reacted to this tactic from Petelguese with the older one closing in to carve a path towards the Sin Archbishop of Sloth while young Subaru prepared the sloth witch factor he has to be used against the current user of this world.
"This time you won't survive!"
"We will stop you!"
Both Natsuki Subarus shouted this individually as they got close to Petelguese. The Older Subaru used his sword to cut a path to the Sin Archbishop of Sloth only for a surprise unseen hand that was hiding behind the witch cultist to grab him by the throat.
"You are very slothful!"
"Not as slothful as you!"
Young Subaru summoned invisible providence to try and land a hit on the Sin Archbishop of Sloth only to get blocked by one of Sloth's unseen hands.
"What a slothful attempt~DESU!"
'Shit! I need to do something, fast!'
Subaru looks around for a moment only to see that the Older Subaru looked in pain. He uses Cor Leonis to check on the status of his older counterpart only to see that he was fading.
'That tight grip Petelguese's unseen hand has on his neck will eventually kill him!'
Without hesitation he takes on the pain his older self was in, completely starting to lose consciousness.
As this was happening to Subaru, older Subaru could feel that his strength was returning to him.
'The hell's going on?! Did this bastard let go of his grip? No, I can still feel my neck getting crushed...I need to act!'
Using all of his strength, he sliced off the unseen hand that was grabbing him by the throat, allowing him to be freed.
As this happened, Subaru nearly collapsed to the ground as he started to regain some of his strength.
"Th-That...was a close one..."
"El Minya!"
"Hm?"
Both Subaru and Older Subaru heard Beatrice shout Yin magic once again, creating a barrage of icicle looking yin mana all around Sloth.
"Get out of there!"
Older Subaru and Subaru nodded as they quickly got up to run away from Sloth while Petelguese swiftly used Earth magic to create a barrier around him that'll protect him from Beatrice's attack.
As the smoke was clearing, Subaru and Older Subaru both reached Felix, Patrasche, and Beatrice's location. Both Subarus received a hit to the head from Felix.
"Are nyow two that stupid?! Nya could've gotten nyowerselves killed!"
After shouting at the two, he proceeded to start healing the older Subaru first, having a feeling that he's going to need this.
While he did this, Subaru and Beatrice both noticed the smoke cleared with Petelguese's Earth barrier destroyed yet he was still standing.
'Man, I forgot how persistent he can be.'
Subaru got out his whip, feeling completely weak from having used two witch factors yet still having the strength to swing the only weapon he can properly use.
Beatrice could feel that she's already used up half of her mana yet kept herself ready to send another wave of yin magic at her old friend.
"That was indeed impressive...but as you can see, I'm still standing. How veeeeery slothful~DESU!"
Subaru and Beatrice were both on edge when they heard this.
"D-Do you have a plan, I s-suppose?"
"...No, I don't. I haven't been pushed into a corner like this..."
'Not to mention that Return by Death isn't an option for me.'
Beatrice was unsure how to feel at first until she heard Subaru continue to speak.
"Either way, I won't give up. I promised to protect you, to make you happy. That applies to all Beakos across all worlds. So when we are done taking down this bastard, I'll make sure you are happy."
"..."
The spirit loli didn't know how to react to this. Subaru gave her a smile before looking at Petelguese with a confident smirk.
"Alright then you slothful bastard, let's continue this fight!"
As he was preparing to charge at his opponent, he along with his allies heard someone else speak.
"You weren't wrong you creep, another person does possess the sloth witch factor."
'...oh fuck.'
Subaru was filled with fear as he knew who exactly that voice was. The others turned to see a person in white appear next to Petelguese.
"Who is that?" Felix questioned which caught the attention of Regulus.
"When you wish to ask someone's name, is it not polite to first state yours?" This reply from Regulus made Felix's emotions chill over all at once, amplifying his wariness even more. Regulus continued. "My reply just now was nothing short of cliched, but that said, I think anyone can appreciate the temptation to react that way in this kind of situation. Even though we are meeting each other for the first time and we stand on completely equal ground, why must you arbitrarily look down upon me and demand my name like this? Do you even realize the fact that you have subconsciously, inconsiderately, carelessly, and one-sidedly classified me as inferior?"
Felix just stood silent at this, unsure on how exactly to react at the utterly asinine logic being thrown at him. Subaru just wanted to yawn, remembering how annoying Regulus can be when allowed to speak. Beatrice just gave Regulus a blank stare while also saying:
"What an annoying pest you are, I suppose."
"Stating annoying pest is nothing less than insulting my rights as a man. That attitude...I just can't let it go, even if you are a child. It is excessively lacking in manners. It flies in the face of my individuality, my rights."
"Okay, can you *please* just state your name." Older Subaru said as he finally got annoyed by Regulus's ranting.
These words brought a change to Regulus's expression. His face blanched for a moment before slowly drew back a gloomy smile.
"Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Greed—Regulus Corneas."
A chill hit Older Subaru, Felix, Patrasche, and even Beatrice though to a smaller degree than the rest. Patrasche can detect that Greed was extremely dangerous yet she wasn't going to back down.
Felix and Older Subaru were both sure they were going to die since one Sin Archbishop was already a tough fight as is, going against two was practically a death sentence. Beatrice, however, didn't care as much about their odds as the others, she was just curious to know what the younger Subaru was going to do.
Considering that a version of her chose Natsuki Subaru over 'that person', she wants to see why. Subaru looked confident on the outside yet deep down he was afraid.
He isn't sure how to handle either Petelguese or Regulus. They were a pain on their own in his world, now that the two have joined forces, it is an even bigger pain.
'There has to be a way out of this...There just have to be—'
"No need to worry, Natsuki Subaru. I won't let you die."
'What are—?'
A bright light shone around Subaru's side for a moment. This bright light alerted Natsuki Subaru that the ally the watcher had been telling him about days ago had arrived.
He waited for the bright light to pass by in order to see who exactly would help him out. As the light faded away, Regulus and Petelguese looked unfazed though they were curious.
"What was that?!" Beatrice questioned.
"Nothing." Subaru said with a smile that hadn't faded away in the slightest. "Just something we needed."
The moment he said this, he felt someone grab his shoulder in a calmer manner. He turned towards the direction his arm was grabbed to see an all too familiar ally.
"Sup bro."
"Al. Good to see you."
"Yeah...mind if I ask, where am I?"
"Let's just say we are in a different world...I'll explain later. Right now, we—no, I need your help."
Al looked around to check his surroundings. He noticed an older version of Natsuki Subaru with his attire, catching his attention the most.
He noticed Felix, Patrasche, and Beatrice all keeping their focus on the threat in front of them. He then turned forward to see both Petelguese and Regulus.
He was aware of Petelguese but for sure he recognized Regulus, remembering the events of Priestella. He pulled out his sword with his only remaining hand while telling his world's Subaru:
"Don't worry bro, I'll help y'all out."
"Thanks."
Al nodded at him before getting into his fighting stance. Subaru's confidence increased a bit.
Although he didn't have someone strong that he is aware of, he trusts the watcher's judgment for bringing in Al.
Considering that he's the knight for someone like Priscilla, he can tell that he's somewhat strong.
'Okay, let's do this!'
Author's note:
So I want to apologize for this chapter having taken so long, I had a few life stuff that happened (such as graduation party and a week out in florida with friends, stuff like that). Also I have noticed that I do need to fix up some stuff from the beginning of the story (in terms of grammar) so I will get to work on that once the Aganau arc is finished. For now though, I will be back on this story 1000% since I have an idea on how to make the finale of this arc be epic. I also want to thank you readers, followers, favorites, etc. for reading this story (and the others if you do), I honestly didn't think people would read my stuff so seeing y'all's reviews regardless if it is positive or criticism, I thank you.