Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.
And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!
"W-What the...?" Subaru could only mutter in shock as cold sweat ran down his entire body, with his grip on both shortswords in his hands were gripped so hard that his knuckles turned white.
The being that appeared in front of them, not only did it claim itself to be a Demon representing one of the infamous Seven Deadly Sins, but was exuding an extremely dense and powerful aura. It was nothing like anything that Subaru felt when Mabeasts in the Augria Sand Dunes released bloodlust at him.
It was something otherworldly.
"Natsumi. Step back" Reinhard said while tightly gripping Reid in his hands, not taking his eyes off the Demon floating in the air on a toilet seat.
Reinhard didn't need to warn Natsumi, as she took a few steps back, Felt hoisted on one of her shoulders, while her free hand wrapped around Rom's own hand, pulling him slowly away from what is about to become a bloodbath.
"Hey, white haired kid. What's your name?" Shadow muttered to Subaru.
"It's Subaru. Subaru Natsuki" He answered.
"Okay. Judging by your name, I would that you're from a parallel world?" Shadow asked, which didn't go unnoticed by Reinhard, who whipped an eye to both Subaru and Shadow.
"Yeah...Are you too?" Subaru asked, to which Shadow extended his opened palm to the white haired man, as if he demanded something from him.
"Uhh...What do you want?" Subaru asked in confusion.
"You have a phone, don't you?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah? But it's out of charge. It's been a year ever since my arrival to this world" Subaru answered.
"It won't be a problem. Give it to me" Shadow demanded.
"Huh?! You know it's not the time to-"
"Give it to me right now, because if you didn't, then what will come next is your sister mourning your grave"
Shadow interrupted Subaru immediately from accusing the former of insanity, which in turn caused him to relent, before taking out his folded phone from his pocket and handing it to Shadow, who proceeded to open it.
And faster than the eye could keep up, Shadow's fingers moved to press buttons on the cellphone, and after exactly 2 seconds, Shadow returned the phone back to Subaru, who immediately looked in it and found the following words:
Demon Summoning Program
Download In Progress: 10%...
"Huh? Demon Summoning Program?" Subaru asked, but he made the mistake of raising his voice enough for Belphegor to hear them.
"So, a human attempting to summon Demons to fight? Sorry, but I can't allow that" Belphegor calmly said before flying in his floating toilet towards the opposing side, his main target being Subaru.
Download In Progress: 20%...
The Demon swept its massive claws at Subaru, only for Reinhard, who was the nearest at that time, to intercept the attack, blocking it with Reid, before pushing Belphegor away. The young Sword Saint then swung the Dragon Sword at the Demon of Sloth, to which said Demon flew away from the path of the downward swing that was aimed towards him, before opening his palm.
"Bufula!"
Upon roaring this out, miniature iceburgs started to burst from the ground, making their way towards Reinhard, to which Shadow teleported right in front of him, and extended his opened palm towards the approaching trail of ice.
"Al Goa!"
A blaze taking the shape of a massive fire ball made its way from Shadow's hand, colliding with the approaching iceburg, causing a massive steam cloud to burst out from the point of collision, obstructing the view of both of the opposing sides.
Download In Progress: 30%...
Reinhard and Shadow wiped their faces around the steam screen, searching for the hideous creature that was assaulting them, and after a few moments of silence...
"You're mine!"
"Fire Dracostrike!"
As Belphegor bursted from the steam, he entered Shadow's line of sight, causing Shadow to swing his translucent teal blade at him, and the next thing that happened was a massive blaze in the shape of a bright orange Chinese Dragon colliding with Belphegor, causing the Demon to roar in pain from the impact and stumble back.
Download In Progress: 40%...
"A Demon's magic nature can sure give off their weaknesses. You used ice magic just now, so your weakness must be fire, am I right?" Shadow questioned the floating Demon, to which he only received a glare, before Belphegor raised his head to the skies, still seated on his 'throne', and gave out a fierce roar.
"Impudent fools! I will kill you all!" He roared before a light blue light danced around his form, causing Shadow to grit his teeth as cold sweat ran down his body, with his free hand shakily reached for his inhibitor ring, before he clenched said hand into a fist.
"No! I mustn't do this! I will risk the destruction of this world! I can handle him easily! But...Why am I... Hesitant like that?" Shadow thought, before gulping down the lump that formed in his throat.
Download In Progress: 50%...
"Hey, Red! I can feel that he's preparing for a big one! Be careful!" Natsumi warned her comrade from outside the smokescreen where he, Shadow and Subaru were trapped inside.
"Bufudyne!"
A massive pillar of ice bursted forth from behind Subaru, aiming directly at the white haired boy, to which he turned around and activated Mediator. Bright yellow cracks appeared around Subaru as he crossed both arms in a form of defense.
Mediator was indeed a powerful ability, worthy of being called the Absolute Defense, as it creates 'Peaceful Negotiations' with the opposing side, which results in the creation of a forcefield that can never be penetrated.
However, it holds a dangerous weakness.
In order to create the 'Peaceful Negotiations', Subaru must make eye contact with either the target or even the attack coming at him, so it all depends on his reaction speed.
Download In Progress: 60%...
"Maziodyne!"
"?!"
Suddenly, bolts of lightning roared from the sky and descended upon the battlefield, causing a massive boom sound to resonate.
Satella, seeing this, blocked the attack from reaching her, Natsumi, Felt and Rom by creating a thick ice shield that blocked the lightning bolts aimed at them.
"Bro! Red!" Natsumi yelled as the smokescreen faded away. She sighed in relief when she saw the verdict.
Subaru was still standing with not even a scratch as yellow cracks danced around his body, whereas both of Shadow and Reinhard easily blocked the lightning bolt with their swords.
Download In Progress: 70%...
Suddenly, the shadow of something huge started to loom around the three males. Not a moment later, Subaru gasped as he looked up, realizing what was about to happen.
Belphegor was going to smash into them with the weight of his toilet throne.
"Watch out you two!" Subaru yelled at Reinhard and Shadow, before sprinting towards them, and jumping with both his arms tackling them to the ground, causing the three men to fall into the ground, an event that occured not long before Belphegor smashed into the ground, causing the earth around them to shake violently.
Download In Progress: 80%...
"Are you two alright?" Subaru asked as he stood up and extended both his hands to the grounded Shadow and Reinhard, to which they accepted immediately and rose to their feet.
"Yes...Thank you, for the timely rescue" Reinhard said.
"Ugh...It's already exhausting to me. That's why I hate humans! They're so relentless! I don't understand why Lucifer adores them! Isn't it enough that the brown is clogging my throne?!" Belphegor ranted, jumping up and down in a childish tantrum, causing everyone in the battlefield, sans Satella, to have a comical disgusted look on their faces.
Even Reinhard couldn't help hiding his disgust, considering the tension of the battlefield, which absolutely contradicted the Demon's statement.
"Gross" Was the collective thought of all the occupants sans Satella.
Download In Progress: 90%...
"Umm...Isn't Brown a color? And how it is clogging his throne? He's not even sitting on one..." Satella placed a finger on her cheek in confusion, while tilting her head to the side.
"Emily, you're too pure to be true, but when this is over, I will explain it to you" Natsumi told Satella, who, for some reason, was called a different name from her own.
"Oh this WILL be over! WITH YOU DAMN NECKS BROKEN IN MY HANDS, YOU BITCHES! YOU DARE MAKE FUN OF ME! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Belphegor roared before flying towards the girls and the Giant, and with one shoulder tackle, the ice shell Satella created shattered like glass, before reaching with his giant clawed hand towards Satella, only for Natsumi to appear between her and the Demon, before creating an iron shield out of thin air at her left side to block the white hook aimed at her.
"Kuh!"
Unfortunately, it proved to be futile as Belphegor's blow was so powerful that the shield shattered like glass, before Natsumi was sent flying away, toppling several times on the ground before falling unconscious.
And at that moment, the air grew cold.
It wasn't due to any ice magic, but it was coming from both Subaru and Reinhard.
Shadow just blinked at this. It wasn't new that he would be in the middle of killing intent, but for people like Felt, it was good that she was fainted. Otherwise, it would have been suffocating for that she would have been barely able to maintain her consciousness. Rom was also having problems trying to breath, and Satella was mostly unaffected due to Puck's Mana protecting her from inside the Pyroxene Crystal he was inside, but Puck himself felt like he will die soon due to overuse of Mana.
Download In Progress: 100%
Download Complete
Initiating Demon Summoning Program
Aura started to flare from both Subaru and Reinhard. For Reinhard, it was his first time ever. The moment that he saw Natsumi knocked out was the moment he felt a new emotion inside him. An emotion that he never thought to have existed in the first place.
Hatred.
Subaru, on the other hand, was feeling power brimming inside of him, like a volcano that was about to burst, adding the factor that he was extremely angry at the sight of his sister being hit right in front of him, and this pretty much made the aura around him even more deadly.
However, what Subaru felt was an unearthly sensation, something that was outside this world, a power that, from his own viewpoint, transcended the very concept of this world's Magic. The aura flared around him violently by the second, not even lowering in its density.
Even Belphegor himself seemed to have his attention grabbed by the goosebumps that were building all around his body.
White cracks of electricity suddenly bursted from around Subaru, causing even the angry Reinhard to grow startled from this, and gasp at the uprising power, where Shadow was watching with a small grin plastered on his face.
"Let the curtains rise..."
Your Story Begins Here...
"...To a new scene of Hell"
Let's Survive
And right after that, a pillar of white light bursted and pierced the heavens, and for the second time, the planet shook up to its very core, and lava erupted from the ground like hot spring geysers.
And when the light faded, it revealed Subaru, with both of Elsa's in his hands, but this time, a foreign entity was floating behind him.
It was a humanoid figure, male in appearance. It had long flowing black hair with two golden horns sporting from the small red hat seated on his head. His face was deathly pale, his eyes were black, his hands had black sharp nails, and had a thin black beard dangling from his chin. His outfit consisted of a crimson red jester outfit, with a rapier strapped to his left waist.
[Shin Megami Tensei V - Demi-Fiend OST]
"W-What?! Mephistopheles?!" Belphegor gasped in shock.
"I am Mephistopheles, Mephisto for short. I rise to serve the reincarnation of doom and chaos" Mephisto saluted while floating behind Subaru.
"Tch! Damnit!" Belphegor roared, shooting out another Bufula at Subaru, only for Mephisto to take out his rapier in a swift motion, and slice the incoming icicle with one swing of his sword.
Reinhard leapt towards the Demon of Sloth, an expression of unadulterated silent wrath and hatred plastered on his face. He then swung Reid at Belphegor, to which the floating Demon reacted to by floating backwards to dodge the strike aimed at him, and while he dodged bisection, the sword swing sliced a massive horizontal cut across his chest, causing crimson red blood to burst out of the wound, which was, for some reason, was glittering brightly.
"Guh! Damn humans!" He roared before firing a yellow lightning bolt from his hand, to which Reinhard swung the Dragon Sword at, deflecting it away. Belphegor gasped at his attack being swatted away like a fly, and that made him distracted enough to receive an axe kick from Mephisto, causing the Demon of Sloth to nearly falk from his toilet throne.
Shadow then took out his black revolver, aiming its long muzzle at the Demon, before pulling the trigger, shooting a fire ball instead of a bullet, and the attack caused Belphegor to roar in pain as it scorched into his skin.
"You impudent creatures! How dare you do this t--UGH!"
Belphegor was cut short in his speech due to being choked by the neck. It appeared to be an extremely thin thread since it was barely seen, courtesy of the dim light of the sunset, and it was pulling on Belphegor, causing the Demon to gasp for breath.
Looking from the corner of his eye, Belphegor was shocked to see Natsumi, now conscious, was standing behind him, smirking as she grabbed hold of the threads that were choking him.
"Hey! Did you know that fiberglass wires are way more tougher than iron?!" Natsumi exclaimed, before pulling on her threads, causing Belphegor to immediately fall off his floating throne, with said throne falling to the ground, kicking a large pile of dust into the air.
Belphegor shook his head and stood on his feet, but after a few seconds, his legs shook violently, before he fell right on his naked butt, causing him to groan in pain.
"Huh?" Subaru became confused, since Belphegor's legs were muscular and uninjured. It was then when his eyes widened in realization.
"Ah. I see. You said that you represent the Sin of Sloth, and even your 'throne' gives it out. So you used your throne to move around, but you never bothered to even walk on both of your feet" Subaru explained.
"Tch! Bastards" Belphegor cursed.
"Bullseye! I can't believe it! I got it right!" Subaru grinned at his brain's intelligence.
"Odin"
As Shadow whispered this one name, a massive swirl of crimson red foreign energy bursted behind him, revealing another newcomer to the battlefield.
It was a large humanoid figure, golden in color from head to toe, with the exception of blue lines along the sides of its arms and legs, and a golden belt strapped to its waist that had an indigo colored pearl in its center, with golden shoulder plates that pinned a long blue cape to the entity's shoulders, and its head resembled a helmet that had golden wings on both sides. The entity's eyes had no sclera or pupils. The right eye was glowing an indigo color, while the left eye was covered with a beautiful blue wing-shaped eye patch. Finally, in the entity's right hand was a spear that was about its length and had a zigzag-shaped blade, and resting on the back of its left hand was a black crow.
"N-No way! Odin?!" Belphegor gasped in shock, desperately trying to crawl himself from his opponents.
"Belphegor. The years have made you more uglier" Odin exclaimed, before raising his spear to the sky, causing the sky to darken with black clouds, before thunder roared and echoed.
"Thunder Reign"
Odin's whisper caused a gigantic bolt of white lightning to descend from the heavens, striking down Belphegor. The Demon of Sloth roared in pain, despite his resistance to Electricity, and was completely trapped, unable to move.
"I suppose it's time to end this. Give out the call, Master" Mephisto said to Subaru, flashing a manic grin.
Subaru, still angry at the fact that a disgusting creature dared to lay a finger on his sister, felt something rumbling inside of him, urging him to kill the mongrel that dared to hit his sister.
Kill...
Kill...
Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill...
"...No. I'll do it" Subaru muttered moving towards Belphegor's downed form, which was beaten senseless by a furious Reinhard, who was swinging the Dragon Sword at the Demon with a cold gaze, and eyes devoid of any kind of sympathy. He just swung this sword at an extremely fast pace, ignoring the cries of the Demon of Sloth.
At the same time, Shadow, Satella and Rom were watching as Subaru's body was surrounded by yellow sparks, which grew larger and larger by the second until Subaru himself resembled a walking lightning bolt. Mephisto himself blinked for a few seconds at his master approaching Belphegor, before his mouth shifted to a devilish grin.
"Heh. It seems that I was picked for the right human" He said.
Subaru then reached Belphegor, whom by now had lost both his arms and his left leg. The Demon then gasped upon seeing Subaru glowering over him, electricity cracks dancing violently around his form. He desperately tried to use his buttocks to inch himself away from Subaru, only for the white haired boy to grip him from his remaining leg with one arm, glaring at the Demon with eyes that literally held the word 'Kill' in them.
"Insolent mongrel. How dare thou touch the pride of thine? This atrocity's price...Is ThE wReTcHeD lIfE oF tHeE! pRePaRe To DiE!"
Subaru's surprisingly deformed roar and out-of-character way of speech caught Reinhard off guard, causing him to temporarily forget about what made him angry in the first place.
His Divine Protections were roaring inside him from the aura Subaru gave. It was a power that was never seen in this world, something beyond Reinhard's knowledge.
"..."
... Something that shook him to the core.
"This...Is Natsumi's brother...?" Reinhard could only mutter in disbelief.
Suddenly, his Divine Protections roared out at him, snapping him from his prior thoughts. He felt another foreign energy signature.
But it was malicious, mischievous, dangerous, evil.
And it was very close, closer than anyone thought.
Shadow himself felt it, and was about to open his mouth to warn the one nearest to the source of power.
"Old One!"
"?!"
And in the next moment, Subaru suddenly felt tired and sluggish. His grip on Belphegor's leg was slipping, and not long after...
"Bro!"Natsumi's yell alerted him, but he felt so sluggish to react.
And the next thing he saw...
"...Huh?"
...Was his sister...
"...What?"
...Natsumi Schwartz...
"...Ah..."
...Floating in front of his site...In two halves.
Everyone was silent, stupefied from the shock, with the exception of Belphegor, as they all watched as Natsumi's two halves fell on the ground, her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing but oblivion, with blood and guts flowing in the ground.
And this scene was unfolding in front of her elder twin brother, her only blood family in this world.
Reinhard didn't even twitch, the Dragon Sword fell beside him with a clang sound, slipping from his hand, before he fell on his knees, and the next thing that happened...Was tears flowing from his wide open eyes.
Shadow was the first one to snap out of the shock, as he saw Belphegor's limbs regenerating at fast pace.
"Chaos Control!"
And the moment he roared this out, time came to stagnation, as the entire world became ethereal dark blue.
The next thing Shadow did was teleporting to where Subaru was, yanking the boy from his place, before teleporting away from the Demon of Sloth, right next to Reinhard.
After all of that was done, Shadow snapped his fingers, causing time to return to its normal flow.
Belphegor swung his arm, only to adapt a look of confusion when his arm made impact with nothing but thin air. He then looked in front of him, only to see that Shadow was glaring at him, with Reinhard sitting on the ground, tears flowing like waterfalls from his eyes, shivering and muttering like a madman while hugging his knees tightly to his chest.
Subaru was also no better. Unlike Reinhard, he wasn't curling into a ball in the ground. Instead, he was just standing there like a statue, stupefied to even talk as the sense of time seemed to stop for him.
Shadow just clicked his tongue at the situation. He should have finished the situation more sooner. Why did he left it to them? Even with the power of the Demon Summoning Program, they were still humans. They still needed time to adapt to its powers.
The Ultimate Lifeform then took a glance at the now dead Natsumi. He felt pity for such a soul to be snuffed away, and for her brother and lover to watch her die like this.
He knew it. It was his fault.
If he was faster, he would have saved her.
If he was more perceptive, he would have saved her.
But it was too late now.
It was his past, repeating itself over and over again.
Even with his powers as a Highest, he still can't fulfill her wish. Her testament to him.
"Maria...I'm so sorry..." Shadow thought.
"Hey! Snap out of it, you three!"
The familiar shout alerted none but Shadow, who still had the capacity for rational thought out of the three males present.
Felt, who just woke up, witnessed the scene in front of her, tears were already in her eyes, but she was gritting her teeth in anger.
She didn't know Natsumi except for a few hours, but the fact that the female Knight was willing to help a slum resident such as herself was more than enough for her to enter Felt's book.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you do this to Big Sis?!" Felt yelled at Belphegor, and without waiting for an answer, she took out her knife from behind her back, before she charged at the Demon with neck breaking speeds, a sonic boom bursting from behind her feet.
Belphegor, who already commanded his throne to come to him and was seated on it immediately, was following Felt's movements with his eyes as the blondie circled around him, wind kicking all around her feet.
"Ah. I see. This is one of those so called Divine Protections. I suppose you're loved by this world..." Belphegor muttered, nodding his head.
"However..."
After circling Belphegor for a few minutes, Felt then made a beeline towards the Demon, her knife clutched in one hand, raised above her head, ready to strike down the floating Demon of Sloth.
"...Such level of power..."
Belphegor, in response, raised his arm lazily above his head.
"...Is nothing to me!"
"?!"
And just as Felt was inches from reaching the Demon, said creature swung its arm down.And the next that happened was Felt being suspended in the air, before suddenly...
SPLAT!
...Blood splattered away from Felt's body like a fountain, and not long afterwards, she feel into the ground, covered in blood, tears flowing down from her now shut closed eyes, before she feel right in front of Belphegor, face first right to the ground, with a massive pool of blood rapidly forming itself under her now unmoving body.
"How pathetic. You humans believed my act. I was already resistant to Electricity, and I simply used this to lure you all into giving me an opening, but wow! I never thought that it would work that smoothly!" Belphegor exclaimed, a grin that revealed his sharp shark-like teeth formed on his face.
Rom was watching everything unfold. From Felt's reckless charge to her death, and not a minute later, he stood up on his feet, a glare filled with hatred and resentment appeared on his face, before he caught his wooden club, and charged with a roar at the Demon.
"Wait! No!" Shadow called out, trying to stop the old Giant, but in vain. He also had to restrain himself from facepalming himself as he saw Shaula jump into action with Rom.
Shaula fired light beams from her fingers at Belphegor, to which the Demon casually dodged around by flying in his throne. He also didn't give a damn with Rom hitting him with his club like a madman, since no matter how hard he hit, the Demon of Sloth was resistant to Physical attacks.
Not to mention that those attacks came from a human, and conventional weapons did absolutely nothing to Demons.
"How about we get this over with?" Belphegor yawned, before he dodged another Hell Snipe from Shaula. This particular light beam, however, had an effect...
"Kuh...!"
...And unfortunately, it wasn't a pleasant one.
The last light laser that Shaula fired didn't hit its target, and instead, made impact with another unintended destination.
Rom's chest.
Shaula was paralyzed in shock as she saw the Giant staggering back with blood flowing out from his mouth and the hole that was in his chest. This made the humanoid Mabeast wide open as Belphegor caught her face in his large palm, before slamming her to the ground, causing a human sized crater to form underneath Shaula's downed form.
Dark Energy started to gather around Belphegor's palm, the same one that was restraining Shaula to the ground, before he muttered out.
"Mudoon"
And right after muttering this, a dark purple blast shot upwards from the ground, covering Shaula completely with it. The humanoid Mabeast's muffled screams could be heard as her body was rotting at an agonizingly slow pace, and each part that was rotting faded to nothingness.
She tried kicking, clawing, gnawing, biting, tearing at the skin of the large hand that was restraining her, but in vain, as the Demon of Sloth was way stronger than her.
Not a minute later, the blast of Dark Energy faded away in the same manner it appeared in, revealing that nothing was spared from Shaula's form, as if she didn't exist to begin with.
"Heh. Too easy" Belphegor said, before he looked behind him, witnessing Rom, barely hanging to life, his club dropped beside him, but be it willpower, or that it was yet to be his time to die, he was still standing, clutching the hole in his chest.
"You're still alive? Even for a Giant, you're a durable one. I give you my respect" Belphegor said, bowing his head while still being seated on his floating toilet throne.
Rom, however, was still grinding his teeth together in anger while still clutching the hole in his chest. Tears flowing from his eyes and down his cheeks were mixing with the blood that came out from his mouth.
He didn't pay any attention to the salute of respect that the Demon of Sloth had given to him. All that he cared about was killing the creature that killed his granddaughter.
"If...If I'm to die here... I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME!"
Using what remained of his strength, Rom let loose a battle cry from his mouth, before spreading his arm wide apar from his shoulders, and charged like a madman at Belphegor.
"I shall honor you..."
And right before Rom's arms could touch Belphegor, the Demon of Sloth latched one of his hands at Rom, piercing the entirety of the Giant's torso with absolute ease like a hot knife stabbing through a block of butter. This caused Rom to halt in his reckless charge, coughing a massive amount of blood.
The next thing that happened was ice creeping from the spot that Belphegor's hand stabbed, rapidly encasing Rom in chilly ice. The ice climbed up each nook and cranny of the Giant's body, and a few seconds later, Rom became an ice sculpture, with his face fixated in an expression of unadulterated horror and the tears being frozen in his eyes. Shortly afterwards, the ice sculpture of Rom slowly started to show cracks. The cracks then became even bigger and bigger by the second...
"...By giving you mercy"
...And what happened next was Rom's frozen body shattering apart, reduced into nothing but glittering ice powder that gleamed under the light of the now full moon.
"Reckless, but still, he was committed to his family...Such feelings are the required drive for Chaos. Truly, you have my respect, Rom the Giant..." Belphegor muttered, before releasing a sigh. He then opened his eyes, and turned his attention to his next target.
The silver haired Half-Elf in the group.
Upon realizing that the Demon's attention was directed towards her, Satella gasped in fear, unconsciously taking a few steps back. Her horror rose up even more when she saw Belphegor raising his arm towards her.
"I have nothing against you, Half-Elf. But you have to die now. Since...After all, you would pose a threat for us, the Demons of Chaos. I'm sorry, but you have to die now" Belphegor said, Dark Energy gathering around his opened palm, with Satella just shaking in fear, frozen still in her place, unable to move from the horror that the Demon of Sloth was emitting.
"Mudoon"
The dark purple blast of Dark Magic bursted from Belphegor's hand towards Satella, who was still unable to move from the sheer fear that she was in.
And right before the beam could touch her...
"Enough!"
"?!"
A booming voice echoed throughout the place, before a sheet of ice manifested itself like a shield, effectively blocking the beam of Dark Magic that was about to collide with Satella. The ice sheet then shattered apart like glass, but it did its purpose of protecting the Half-Elf.
"Hm?" Belphegor hummed in confusion, before he saw the small cat form of Puck materializing in thin air.
And judging by the murderous glare the Great Spirit of Fire was directing towards the Demon of Sloth, he wasn't happy at all.
"How dare you...How dare you make my daughter feel fear...?" Puck muttered, killing intent spreading out from him, choking Subaru for breath, which in turn, snapped him back to reality, but this level of killing intent did nothing to break Reinhard from his stuttering mess.
"Are you finally back to the world, kid?" Shadow asked Subaru, who, while having snapped back to his senses, he was still blended in a mixture of grief, despair, sadness and horror.
Due to his reckless action of approaching the Demon of Sloth, everyone around him was killed, and just in a span of a few minutes. The moment his sister was killed right in front of his eyes, he and Reinhard were rendered as wrecks of what they were a few hours ago, which made them unable to move to assist the others.
Felt, who followed the same course of his reckless actions, was cut in half. Shaula and Rom did the same and were literally erased to nothing, not even their ashes remained. All of those actions had forced Shadow to act as their guard, forcing him to remain stationary from the battlefield.
And now, Satella was in trouble.
Subaru was no expert, but he knew that if Shaula couldn't take the Demon of Sloth down, then not even Puck could do anything.
The white haired boy looked beside him, and saw that Mephisto was gone. It appears that the existence of summoned Demons is dependant on the will of the summoner, and Subaru himself was a mess of emotions at the moment.
He then looked at the other side, and saw Odin was also gone. What Subaru didn't know was that Shadow dismissed the Norse god of thunder from the battlefield shortly after his last attack.
It seems that even Shadow himself got a little too overconfident.
"Shit. Things went south so quickly" Subaru muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough for Shadow to hear him.
"No shit, Sherlock. It has became a complete mess" Shadow said, not taking his eyes off the battlefield.
Back with both Belphegor and Puck, the two simply glared at each other. Puck was furious, but Belphegor seemed so relaxed if the fact that he was lazily resting his cheek on his palm was of any evidence.
"Great Spirit of Fire...You and I both know that no matter what you do, you're no match for me. Why don't you make it easy for the both of us, and let me kill the Half-Elf?" Belphegor muttered lazily, which in turn did nothing to settle the tension.
If anything, it made Puck even more angrier.
"Wretched Creature...If you think that I will let you touch a hair of Lia...THEN YOU'RE SORELY MISTAKEN!" Puck's roar resonated, before a massive ice storm appeared instantly in the battlefield. The weather became extremely cold, despite the fact that it was still summer. The storm engulfed everything, causing both Subaru and Shadow to shield their eyes.
And while the cold started to encase Subaru slowly, it didn't even touch neither Shadow nor Reinhard for some reason.
Subaru felt himself being frozen slowly. His feet were already encased in ice, and he could no longer feel them, let alone move them.
Suddenly, a shadow of something big appeared without a notice, causing Subaru to raise his head to see what was the towering figure above them.
And his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
Right in front of them stood a towering form of what appeared to be a 20 meter sabertooth tiger with a massive bundle of gray fur and large golden eyes.
The massive beast glared at Belphegor, who was still resting his cheek on his hand, not caring that the world around him was turning into a large deep freezer.
"You made Lia grieve over the loss of her friend, and now you intend to kill her? Such atrocity is unforgivable" The beast, who by the way of his speech is revealed to be Puck, exclaimed with a calm voice that held malice and hatred towards Belphegor.
And in response, Belphegor...Laughed.
"Hm? Why are you laughing, vile Demon?" Puck asked, a hint of confusion apparent in his voice.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're a real idiot! You've spared on me all the effort! You've literally done my job!" Belphegor's laughter boomed in the middle of the storm, raising Puck's confusion even more. Belphegor then stopped laughing, but still had a cocky grin on his face, with his cheek still resting on his left hand. He then simply raised his free right hand, stretching his right arm, and pointing his right pointer finger forward.
Precisely behind Puck.
The Beast of the End looked behind him, only for his large golden eyes to widen in shock and horror.
Lia, his contractor, and the woman he swore to protect, was frozen in her place, in the form of an ice sculpture, her expression was that of horror and despair as the tears were frozen in her eyes.
Belphegor then resumed his laughter, completely enjoying the mental torment that Puck has given to himself.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! How breathtaking! Truly, you're a double-edged weapon! Well, my work here is done! Time to have more fun in this universe!" Belphegor roared out his joy, before vanishing in a small burst of dark crimson energy, leaving Puck, Subaru, Shadow and Reinhard in the middle of the massive snow storm.
Puck then reverted his glare towards one of the three males that were in front of him.
Subaru Natsuki.
"You..." Puck's whisper caused Subaru to shiver even more, but this time it was from fear, not from the ice that was encasing his form.
"You promised to help Lia...And you didn't..." The Beast whispered in a deadly tone.
"What?! What the hell do you mean?!" Shadow then squeezed himself into the debate.
And judging by his expression, he didn't like what Puck was about to say.
"You broke your promise with Lia...You betrayed her... That's why you shall sleep with her..." Puck's whisper echoed throughout the violent storm.
"What do you mean by that?! I may not know what happened between you all, but I clearly saw that he was helping her! Unlike you, he wasn't dozing off till the last moment! He fought bravely! But you simply chose to hide!" Shadow yelled, his anger rising and veins popping in his forehead.
"I trusted him to protect Lia...But he betrayed my trust and let her suffer and die" Puck said.
"He tried his best! Also, he's also grieving! This young lady was your contractor's friend, but she was his sister! He's suffering even more than her! And what the hell is that about killing her?! He didn't do shit! He tried his best to protect her, until you showed up and killed her with your presence! If anything, you're the one to blame here!" Shadow roared his words at Puck.
In all honesty, Shadow himself didn't know why he was so angry, and why he was trying to defend this boy. Something inside of him told him to do so, but he couldn't get a grasp on what exactly it was.
And apparently, unless he resets this timeline, he never will know.
"... Doesn't matter" Puck said, releasing a large breath of air that was visible due to the massively low temperature.
"And now, as per my contract with the Witch of Greed, I shall destroy this world" Puck said.
"W-Why...?" Subaru whispered his question, voicing out his words for the first time ever since Puck and Shadow started to argue.
And this simple word of his caused Puck to close his eyes.
"Lia is..." He started to speak, before shortly opening his eyes once again, glaring intensely at Subaru.
"Lia is everything I have...A world without her means nothing to me. Hence, I shall encase this world in a never melting ice" Puck said.
"I see..."
"?!"
A new voice joined in the conversation.
And surprisingly, it was Reinhard.
The red haired Sword Saint then reached for the Dragon Sword Reid from the ground, before standing up, his hair shadowing his eyes, which was still releasing tears that, by some miracle, weren't frozen in this dead cold weather.
"Then by your logic, it's my fault" Reinhard said, slowly walking towards the Beast of the End.
"I never said that, Sword Saint...How are you the one to be at fault here?" Puck asked.
"I understand your grief, Great Spirit...I lived here being hailed as a hero of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica. People saw me like this. But...Overtime I started to realize...The looks that people were giving to me were not of love...They were of avarice. The people, the Sage Council, even my own father and grandfather, the only family that I have left...They all saw me as a weapon...Because I was an abnormality...Something that they were envious of because they didn't have it..." Reinhard said, before taking a deep breath, closing his eyes tightly, desperately trying to stop the tears from falling, but in vain.
He then snapped his eyes open, his azure blue orbs glaring daggers at the incarnation of the apocalypse.
"...But then, and without any further notice, She appeared in my life. Natsumi appeared in my life. She was the first and only one to see me for who I am...She saw me not as a hero...But as an ordinary person that deserves to live in this world! Never ever in my life have I seen someone who is so selfless! So kindhearted! So innocent! She stole my heart! And I promised to protect her with my life! But now look!"
Reinhard pointed to the now frozen remains of Natsumi that was beside him, his throat burning from all the crying and tears that he released.
"I couldn't protect her! For all my power, I couldn't protect a single person! And to make it even worse...It was the first person ever that my heart opened up to! The first person that I fell in love with!"
At this exclamation, Subaru and Shadow flinched in shock.
For Shadow, it was due to the fact that it seemed to him that the Sword Saint was bottling so much inside him from this world, and Natsumi seemed to be the one that held his trigger button.
To be honest, he can relate to that. His loss of Maria was the beginning of his suffering. His friends back in his former world suffering at the hands of Exeller was just the very never ending straight line of despair.
And it became the last straw when those human bastards that he worked with and swore to protect shot him when he was vulnerable and weak.
It was probably due to the fact that he was still deemed a threat to humanity, but he really did try to blend with them and protect them.
But in the end, it was the same as the past. Nothing changed at all.
For Subaru, however, it was different.
In the midst of this terrible situation, did that guy just confessed his feelings to his now dead sister? And in front of him, her brother, no less?
If it was another situation, in another time, he would have a...Private discussion with him.
But hey! Why the hell was he thinking about such a thing right now?! It was silly and stupid to begin with!
"...Heh"
No.
It wasn't silly.
He was thinking of that right now because...
"Natsumi..."
He was happy.
He was happy that someone in this world loved his sister, accepted her, acknowledged her. Even if it was for a short time, it was extremely sentimental.
He was glad.
"Wait for me, Natsumi. I will be joining you soon enough..." Subaru whispered, raising his head to the sky, tears flowing down from his closed eyes, with a calm and gentle smile plastered on his face.
"...So, I understand your feelings...To lose someone precious to you...I swore to protect her, but I couldn't. I simply watched her while she threw herself to save her brother...I know...That she doesn't regret her decision...And if she was still alive...She would have done it again. Still..."
Reinhard's glare pierced even more into Puck's soul. The Great Spirit of Fire knew that he's no match for Reinhard. To him, it was like a drop in a vast ocean.
"...It doesn't deny the fact that this is my fault. I failed to protect Natsumi, and in turn caused your contractor to suffer from grief. I'm so sorry for your loss, Great Spirit. If you are to hate someone, then hate me" Reinhard concluded his speech, tightening his grip on Reid, standing firmly as the violent chilling wind caused his coat to flutter.
"I do not hate you, Reinhard...This is your duty after all. This is what you are born for..."
Both knew that what is next to be said is the trigger of the very end.
"A Hero is what you are...And a Hero is what you will always be"
This was it.
The trigger.
And just as those words came out from Puck's mouth and entered Reinhard's ears, The Sword Saint gripped the Dragon Sword with both hands, raising it above his head. In the instant that this action was executed, white blinding energy gathered around the blade of Reinhard's sword, before it shot in the form of a thin beam of light.
The light beam pierced through the black clouds that blocked the azure blue sky, showing the clear sky and the sun.
The light from the sword then engulfed the surroundings around Reinhard, and not a second later, Puck's form slowly crumbled into dust, completely being erased from existence.
The light then reached towards Shadow and Subaru, engulfing both of them. To Shadow, it did nothing, but to Subaru, he knew that Death was coming to him.
He just closed his eyes, gladly accepting his inevitable demise, hoping that whatever god that was watching over him would reunite him with his sister in the afterlife.
Suddenly, however, Shadow gasped.
Even when blinded by the brilliance of a weapon that was more than enough to pose a threat to him, he was able to sense something.
Something... Extraordinary.
"This...Shift in the Spatiotemporal system! Don't tell me...!"
However, his thoughts were left hanging in the air, as just right before the light completely engulfed Subaru...
Unknown Location
...
...
...
Black.
Right before the instant that the light of Reinhard's sword engulfed Subaru, the blinding white light was replaced by pitch black darkness.
And then...
"I Love You"
The sweet familiar chiming bells rang in Subaru's ears, despite not having ears.
He then saw the black figure that held that voice, despite not having eyes.
But then, something new happened.
He saw the figure grasping his hands with her beautiful silky white hands. He could also feel the bitter coldness that came out from her touch.
...
...
...
Wait...Touch?
He could feel it. The cold sensation of her hands on his.
He finally had them.
Hands to embrace her.
"I Love You"
She whispered one last time, and before he could do anything...
"?!"
He felt his vision suddenly change.
And the figure instantly disappeared.
Afternoon. The Slums. Loot House
"I suppose it's time to end this. Give out the call, Master"
His eyes widened at the familiar phrase, Subaru let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He then started to move his eyes around him, cold sweat falling like a waterfall from all over his body.
"What did you just say?" Subaru turned to Mephisto, and asked him this question.
"I said that it's time to end this, and I'm waiting for your signal" Mephisto answered, his wicked grin was still plastered on his face.
This made Subaru look around him once again. He saw that Felt was still unconscious, Rom was by her side embracing her, Shaula, Satella, Natsumi, Reinhard and Shadow were by his side, and Puck's behemoth form was nowhere to be found.
It wasn't snowing as well, and the violent storm wasn't here.
It was now clear to him.
Time got reset when he died.
No.
It got right reset right before the instant that Death was about to claim him.
"Hey. Are you alright?"
"?!"
Subaru was snapped out from his thoughts when Shadow called for him, slight anxiety was apparent on his facial expression.
"Yeah...I guess so...Actually, I'm not sure..." Subaru muttered, casting his eyes to the ground beneath his feet, still sweating.
"Subaru? Are you okay? You're looking rather pale" Natsumi said, placing a gentle hand on Subaru's shoulder.
"Master? What happened?" Shaula followed placing her hand on Subaru's other shoulder.
The two females suddenly yelped in surprise when Subaru quickly turned around, clasping both of their hands tightly, while looking at them with wide eyes.
His body shook uncontrollably. His sister and his companion, both of whom were supposed to be dead, were alive right in front of his eyes.
"Uhh...Master... What's going on?" Shaula asked, feeling a wave of uncomfort from Subaru's stare.
"Bro...? You're scaring me..." Natsumi voiced out her worry.
"Hey. Are you sure you're alright?" Shadow asked Subaru, who looked at him with the same wide eyes.
From his look, Shadow could tell that he had a lot to say, but neither the time, nor the place, nor shock of what apparently happened to him allowed for the words to escape from his mouth.
Subaru then heard a groan, which made him look past Shadow's shoulder, only to see Belphegor.
In the next instant, Subaru's confusion and fear turned into anger and resentment.
It was him.
That filth was the responsible for the death of his loved ones. He must die right here and now.
And Subaru was the one to do that.
Suddenly, a word rang in Subaru's mind. He didn't know what it meant, but he felt the urge to say it. He didn't know why he had that urge, but he felt it was necessary.
And then, he roared it out.
"Cadenza!"
[Daddy Yankee Snow - Con Calma (Dj Nev Remix)]
Suddenly, beautiful ethereal rainbow colored melody notes danced around Subaru and his allies, save for Felt and Rom, who were away from them. The notes then disappeared in the same manner they appeared in.
"What's this? My body feels super light! Yup!" Shaula exclaimed.
"Yeah. Same here" Natsumi said, opening and closing her fist.
Subaru looked at his allies, and saw that they were the same.
Shoving aside the thought of why such a strange and unfamiliar spell was in his arsenal, Subaru shifted his gaze at Belphegor, whose limbs had regenerated and was already seated on his throne.
"Tch. The bluff didn't work. Well whatever" The Demon said before extending his palm.
Subaru sensed what was about to happen next, as he experienced it before, which in turn caused him to place himself in front of Natsumi, activating his Authority of Pride, making yellow cracks appear around him.
A gray wave of energy bursted from Belphegor's palm, going straight towards Subaru.
Time seemed to slow down as the spell of Old One came closer and closer.
At that time, Subaru suddenly felt some sort of foreign power inside of him. It felt the same as the two lines of the Authority of Pride, but this time, it was different.
It was only one line instead of two, and unlike the Authority of Pride, this line was dark purple in color, and its radiance gave out a sense of...Tiredness.
Just trying to figure out what it was made Subaru feel a sense of exhaustion, malcontent and...
"Sloth"
Subaru knew what it meant for some unknown reason, and he knew that he can trust this foreign power.
Then, he accepted it wholeheartedly.
Subaru roared out from the top of his lungs, and then.
"GAH!"
"?!"
Suddenly, the wave of energy that was released from Belphegor's palm vanished instantly, and shortly afterwards, Belphegor was knocked to the air, and off from his throne.
Subaru could see it. A dark purple arm that emerged from his chest, exactly identical to that of Petelgeuse.
Looking at his sides, Subaru saw another eight tendrils swaying from his back, four on each side.
Did he absorb Petelgeuse's power? Did the Sin Archbishop gave it to him? Probably the former, considering the fact that Quasi Earth Spirit was so insane to even think about gifting him his powers.
He also had to figure out a name for his Authority, but not now, as it wasn't the time or place for it.
"Reinhard! Shadow! Attack! Now!" Subaru commanded both warriors.
And while under normal circumstances both would refuse such order from someone they don't know, the current situation didn't even give them a chance to choose or decide, which in turn made them jump into action.
"Chaos Spear!"
Shadow fired an arrow of yellow Chaos Energy, to which it hit Belphegor straight in the face, knocking the Demon off his feet. Reinhard followed up by a drop kick to the face as well, sending Belphegor crashing through the wall of the loot house and right outside said building.
Belphegor quickly stood on his feet, which were extremely shaky due to not having used them for thousands of millions of years. He looked in front of him, only to have the air knocked off his lungs when Reinhard delivered an elbow to his abdomen, followed by Shadow firing another Chaos Spear at his face, causing the Demon to fall right on his back with a large thud sound, kicking off a large dust screen.
Shadow then continued on with the assault, pulling on Belphegor's beard, before smashing his head on its nose, instantly making blood burst from the now broken bone. Belphegor didn't have time to either complain or roar out his pain as Reinhard, who was still angry at the fact that the Demon of Sloth dared to hurt his girl, slammed his foot right into the center of Belphegor's back, causing a sickening crack to echo throughout the slums in the middle of the night, which in turn made Belphegor open his mouth in a silent scream, with his eyes rolling up to the back of his head, revealing the whites of his eyes surrounded by red veins.
Shadow didn't stop there, as he caught Belphegor's horns with both hands, before slamming his knee into his face, causing it to burst into more blood. He then yanked the Demon by the arm, before yanking him above both the ground and his shoulder, slamming him once again into the ground with a judo drop. He then continued his assault by taking out his sword, and slicing off both of Belphegor's arms in a swift motion executed in a casual manner, causing the Demon of Sloth to roar out in pain and agony as his arms flew to the air with blood spraying out from the stubs.
Reinhard took it from here, taking the Demon by one of its legs, before starting to spin him above his head with only one hand. Belphegor roared in fear as Reinhard's arm strength increased by the second, and the speed of the spinning increased as well.
And after a few seconds, Reinhard released his grip, causing Belphegor to be sent flying through the streets of the slums. Shadow and Reinhard followed him with neck breaking speeds, with Subaru now following them in tow.
Reinhard was the first one to reach the Demon, before halting his flying trip by slamming Reid into his abdomen, piercing Belphegor's flesh, and stopping his flight, causing the Demon to cough out blood and for his eyes to almost pop out from their sockets.
Shadow continued the assault upon reaching the enemy, jumping to the air above the downed Belphegor with his right foot positioned in a stomping stance. Belphegor, seeing this, desperately tried evade the attack, but Reinhard's sword was stabbing through his guts, pinning him to the ground.
Shadow's foot stomped the face of Belphegor, causing the sickening sound of bone cracking to echo throughout the slums. The Demon couldn't rest as Shadow grabbed a handful of his beard hair with one hand, before judo dropping him to the ground once again. This made him opened as Subaru jumped above Belphegor's downed form with nine dark purple arms coming out from his body. Eight from his back and one from his chest.
"This one's for Natsumi!" Subaru exclaimed before he slammed all nine force field shaped arms into Belphegor's torso, causing the Demon to cough out more blood. Subaru landed on the ground on his feet, before he commanded one of his invisible tendrils to retreat back to the devastated loot house, and all the while, he, Shadow and Reinhard were glaring holes at the downed Demon of Sloth.
"Hey. I think you forgot something" Subaru said to Belphegor, before the Demon saw his throne floating from 500 meters away from both him and his adversaries, floating back to him.
However, his sliver of hope immediately crumbled as he saw his throne floating above his head.
"This one's for Shaula!" Subaru roared before slamming his foot in between Belphegor's legs as hard as he could, causing the Demon of Sloth to open his mouth in a silent scream after he had just heard the sound of his jewels bursting apart.
"And this...Is for the white haired beautiful lady!"
Upon exclaiming this, Subaru commanded his invisible tendril to descend to the ground with Belphegor's oversized toilet, slamming the object into Belphegor's skull as hard as possible, causing the body of the Demon to twitch violently for a few seconds, before falling completely limp.
[Music Ends]
"Well, that takes care of it" Subaru said, dismissing his invisible tendrils.
"Nice arms you had there" Shadow commented.
"Oh Thank y--Wait! What?! You can see them?!" Subaru was about to thank Shadow on his compliment, only to opt a comical shocked expression when he realized that Shadow was commenting on his Authority of Sloth,which was supposed to be invisible to all, but himself.
"Uhh...Yeah. Is there a problem?" Shadow asked in confusion.
"Excuse me, but what hands?" Reinhard asked, sheathing Reid back to its scabbard.
"Huh...Interesting. Shadow can see those invisible hands, but Reinhard can't...I wonder why...?" Subaru immersed himself in thought, but shrugged it off for now.
"Strange... Belphegor's body didn't disperse into Magatsuhi..." Shadow's thoughts, however, were more important apparently.
Which was actually right.
A common knowledge known to all veteran Demon summoners is that when a Demon is defeated or withdrawn, they are dispersed into Magatsuhi, the dark crimson miasma-like energy that is left away when said process occurs.
Magatsuhi, in short terms, is the energy made from the desire and thoughts of humans. It serves as the food of Demons and gods alike, and with enough amount of Magatsuhi, one can create their very concept of space and time, depending on their very own ideal.
The bodies of Demons are made from pure information, which is solidified to a tangible material called Magnetite, the substance that makes out the Demon's body, and in order for Magnetite to become solid and form the Demon's body, it requires Magatsuhi to fixate the information the Demon is made out from, effectively forming Magnetite in the shape of the Demon depending on the information of said creature.
And when a Demon dies, their information returns to the Akashic Records, effectively causing the Magnetite to crumble apart, and releasing the Magatsuhi stored inside the dead Demon's body to the air.
And for Belphegor's form to not be turned to nothingness could only mean one thing...
"SUBARU! REINHARD! WATCH OUT!"
"?!"
Right after hearing Shadow's yell, Subaru suddenly felt the sun being covered above him, a familiar shadow appearing above him.
"Subaru!" Reinhard yelled, before tackling the white haired boy to the ground, where Belphegor's throne suddenly crashed into the spot where Subaru previously stood.
"What the...?" Subaru muttered in shock, before the three males looked in front of them, only to see Belphegor standing on both feet, but was engulfed in whitish yellow aura, and his eyes were glowing bright yellow.
And his facial expression said that he was extremely angry.
"You impudent humans! How dare you humiliate me like this?!" Belphegor hissed in anger.
"This guy has gone nuts..." Subaru muttered while being helped to his feet by Reinhard, who didn't yank his eyes off the Demon, with Shadow having just arrived beside them.
"It's a good thing the ladies aren't here...I feel like this is going to get even more harder from now on" Reinhard said tightening his grip on Reid.
"And you're right in your assumption. He had just activated Omagatoki" Shadow said, causing both Subaru and Reinhard to look at him in confusion.
"Omagatoki? What's that?" Subaru asked.
"A Demon skill that makes a Demon capable of becoming ten times stronger and able to ignore through any kind of resistances and barriers" Shadow gave a brief explanation.
"Well, shit" Subaru cursed.
"I will take you all down!" Belphegor roared before two big black bat wings bursted from his back.
[TWETY OST - Leo Cantus Theme - Transformation]
"Drown into the sea... Of Absolute Sloth!"
Upon exclaiming this, the ground beneath the two opposing sides suddenly shattered apart like glass, revealing what looked like a close up view of outer space, and Subaru, Shadow and Reinhard were free falling in it.
Looking around him, Subaru saw what appeared to be building sized shards of glass floating around. Each shard displayed what appeared to be an event of the past. Subaru saw what appeared to be an eight-year-old version of Reinhard being rudely shouted at by an old man white long white hair styled in a pony tail and another person that looked like a drunk version of the adult Reinhard.
"It's your fault!"
"You killed her!"
"Murderer!"
"Monster!"
"Why are you holding her sword?!"
"She wouldn't have been dead if you weren't born!"
"Just die!"
Subaru realized that the kid was actually a young Reinhard being scolded by what appeared to be his grandfather and father respectively.
But why were they shouting so unkindly at him? They said that he killed someone, and at the same time, they said that Reinhard's birth was the very reason that this unknown person, who Subaru concluded that it was a She, died.
What could that mean?
Subaru's eyes then were directed towards another group of shards, which displayed a black creature with red stripes, and several other creatures that resembled a shorter version of this world's Demi-Humans surrounding the black figure, who was seemingly hurt and was dying.
"Hang in there, Shadow! Don't die!"
"Mister Shadow..."
"Tails! Can't you do anything?!"
"My medical kit isn't with me, and his injuries are major!"
"Blue...That's enough...They've hit me in my weak spots..."
"What're you talking about?! I'm The Fastest Thing Alive! I'll help you in no time!"
"Please...Enough..."
"..."
"...Heroes can cry, you know"
Subaru's mind was on overdrive, but he vaguely understood what was happening.
Those 'Glass Shards' were memory fragments of the past.
Looking in front of him, Subaru saw another memory fragment.
His memory fragment.
The spiteful past of his, ranging from his childhood days where he was the best in what he did, and all the way down to where fell from grace as he grew older.
He saw it all.
His insecurity from being his father's son. His desperation on trying to make his father proud of him. His fear from not living up to his father's expectations. His persistence on trying to make his parents disown him, only to get shut down immediately.
He didn't deserve them. He was trash.
Then, it suddenly hit him.
That's what that Demon wanted.
He was ridiculing them.
Subaru grit his teeth in anger, a look of spite and pure hatred directed towards Belphegor, with the same happening to both Shadow and Reinhard.
The three then landed on a floating platform, glaring at Belphegor.
"Hey...Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?" Subaru whispered, but it was loud enough for both Shadow and Reinhard to hear.
"Yeah...I think this Demon needs to die" Shadow said through his gritted fanged teeth.
"I've never...Ever...Hated someone in my life in the same manner as I do right now. In fact, I've never ever felt hatred in my life..." Reinhard said, tightening his grip on the Dragon Sword.
It was settled. The three had the same thought.
"This monster must die"
Under that notice, Belphegor flew towards them at neck breaking speeds. Reinhard intercepted the lunge, slashing at the flying Belphegor upon having said Demon within his attack range, only for the Demon to dodge to the side before spinning in the air before slamming Reinhard with a roundhouse kick to the abdomen, sending the Sword Saint flying towards a memory fragment that pictured an eight-year-old Reinhard being patted by a red haired female version of him, crashing said fragment upon colliding with it.
Shadow, seeing this, projected a pale purple barrier to protect both himself and Subaru from an upcoming clothesline attack from Belphegor. The attack connected, and while the shield didn't even have the slightest of cracks, the impact force was so great that Shadow was also sent crashing to a memory fragment, and said fragment pictured the short, Demi-Human version of Shadow smiling in the face of a beautiful 13-year-old, where both were inside what appeared to be a space ship, if the stars and the view of the Earth planet was any evidence.
"So Weak!" Belphegor exclaimed, before delivering an ax kick to Subaru, but Mephisto suddenly appeared, and blocked the blow with his cutlass blade.
"Are you okay, Master?" Mephisto asked Subaru.
"Y-Yeah..." Subaru answered, still in a trance of what just happened.
Then, a thought hit him.
That...Cadenza spell that popped up in his mind...It made him super fast and made him recover some of his vitality.
At this, Subaru activated Royal Judge, and time came to a halt.
"Let's see. This Cadenza spell could be very useful. I don't know where did it come from, but it's very useful. So I have to use it wisely and carefully"
Subaru's eyes darted towards Mephisto, who was blocking Belphegor's advance to loop Subaru's head off.
"Maybe..."
Subaru deactivated his Authority, and time resumed its flow.
Mephisto pushed Belphegor away, causing the Demon to jump backwards, before charging towards Mephisto.
"Cadenza!"
"?!"
The moment Subaru called out the spell, the rainbow notes engulfed Mephisto, before disappearing in the same manner they appeared in. Belphegor stopped his lunge, before being forced to barely dodge a sword slash from Mephisto, who seemed to have closed the distance between him and the Demon of Sloth in a manner similar to teleportation.
"Hmm...Interesting. A Death Spell...I was right to think that you're the right master for me" Mephisto's grin was so great that his face threatened to be split in half.
Belphegor gritted his teeth at this, before charging towards them. He was about to hit Mephisto, only for a red and white blur to zoom from the side, before a foot with a black shoe found itself implanted in Belphegor's face, followed by the Demon of Sloth being sent stumbling a few meters back.
Reinhard charged at the Demon, Reid brandished in his left hand. The white lines of battle appearing right in front of his eyes.
Reinhard locked his eyes on Belphegor's arm, who tried to swing said limb at the Sword Saint, before suddenly...
SHIIK!
"Urk!"
Belphegor's right arm, the one that he was trying to attack Reinhard with, was sent flying, spinning violently in the air. Belphegor gritted his fangs, before he clenched his left fist and swung the limb at Reinhard, but...
BANG!
"GAH!"
Belphegor roared in pain as his fist bursted into blood, the long fingers of his left fist blew away, causing blood to flow freely from said limb.
This caused Belphegor to look behind him, only to see Shadow, floating in mid air using the jet boosters in his Rocket Shoes while holding a black revolver that had smoke coming out from its muzzle.
"Mephisto! Hit him with your strongest attack!" Subaru commanded his Demon.
"But my Lord...My strongest attack's affinity is Dark, and Belphegor is immune to this affinity" Mephisto explained.
"Tch!" Subaru clicked his tongue.
"I have an idea! Shoot it at me!" Reinhard ordered Subaru.
"What?! Are you serious?!" Subaru asked in shock at Reinhard's weird and dangerous request.
"Trust me! I know what I'm doing!" Reinhard assured Subaru, who gulped a lump that formed inside his throat, before gritting his teeth.
"Very well...But first..."
Subaru raised his opened palm in Reinhard's direction and called out.
"Cadenza!"
Casting the Death Spell at Reinhard, the Sword Saint felt his body become even more lighter as the rainbow colored notes floated all around him before dissipating shortly afterwards. Reinhard clenched both his fists, a smile appearing at his face.
A true genuine and passionate smile.
"Alright! Now!" Reinhard exclaimed with a smile, opening his arms wide and spreading them away from his chest.
"You better not die on me, dude..." Subaru muttered, before shifting his gaze at Mephisto.
"Okay! Now!" The white haired boy exclaimed, giving his confirmation to his contracted Demon.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!" Mephisto roared in laughter, before a large dark purple rune circle with a hexagonal star in its center appeared behind him. He then started moving his hands in front of his chest in a motion similar to making a snowball, causing condensed Dark Energy to materialize in the shape of a dark purple football-sized orb.
"Walpurgisnacht!"
Mephisto released the name of his attack, before firing it off at Reinhard, who saw the attack approaching.
He just took a deep breath, bracing himself.
"O Great Od Laguna...Grant me strength"
The shining power in Reinhard—The Divine Protections.
Then, the unthinkable happened when the mass of Dark Energy reached Reinhard.
The Sword Saint held it in between his hands.
"Huh...?" Subaru's jaw fell to the ground.
"Heh. Not bad. Not bad at all. It seems that I've finally found what I was looking for. Subaru Natsuki...Natsumi Schwartz...Reinhard van Astrea...You three are only the beginning of the group that I want" Shadow muttered while smirking at the situation unfolding in front of him.
Back with Reinhard, the young Sword Saint used his Divine Protections to their maximum level.
He caught the ball of Darkness with his gloved hands, before turning towards the Demon, who smirked in arrogance after being frozen in fear a few moments ago.
"Ha! What're you gonna do?! I'm immune to Dark Magic! There's no way it'll hurt me!" Belphegor arrogantly commented.
"Yes. I know" Reinhard said, before pressing his two palms on the Dark Energy ball, before suddenly...
"W-What?!"
"?!"
...The ball suddenly changed colors, from dark purple to bright whitish yellow.
Reinhard smirked at this, glaring at Belphegor with absolute confidence.
"I suppose this is for you!" Reinhard exclaimed before throwing the ball of the now Light Magic towards the Demon of Sloth with enough force to cause a sonic boom from the point of the pitch.
Belphegor, seeing this, tried to use his wings to fly and dodge the dangerous attack, however...
"Chaos Lance!"
"?!"
Upon exclaiming this, Shadow shot two bigger versions of the Chaos Spear, and said energy projectiles were crimson red instead of bright yellow. The two Chaos Energy projectiles made contact with each of Belphegor's two wings, causing the wings to be obliterated in an explosion, with Belphegor roaring in pain as another piece of his body was destroyed.
This caused the ball of Light Magic that Reinhard throw to make contact with Belphegor, with the Demon roaring in pain from the effects of the Light Magic taking its toll over his weakness from said element.
The Light Magic ball scorched the Demon of Sloth, before dissipating a few seconds shortly afterwards, leaving Belphegor, who slowly fell to his knees, before falling face first into the ground of the floating platform.
"Is it over?" Subaru asked in anticipation and fear.
"No. His body hasn't dispersed into Magatsuhi yet" Shadow answered after teleporting to Subaru and Reinhard's side.
"Then how do we defeat him?" Reinhard asked.
"I have an idea, but I will need your help to finish this off" Shadow said before offering both his hands to both Subaru and Reinhard.
"Take my hand. Both of you. I will link our energies together for a last devastating attack" Shadow said, causing both the Sword Saint and the white haired boy to look at Shadow's hands for a few seconds, before nodding to him, and taking his hands.
In he moment they touched Shadow's hands, Shadow closed his eyes, before what appeared to be light blue orbs of glowing energy started to surround the three males while they were closing their eyes.
"This is amazing...Such power..."
"I have never felt so much power..."
The thoughts of both Reinhard and Subaru resonated in their respective minds.
A few seconds later, the three males snapped their eyes open, before raising one arm each above their heads.
"Chaos Outbreak!"
Shadow roared from the top of his lungs, causing each and every single massive memory fragment to fly into one point, combining and coiling together into a massive, meteor-sized junk ball, which floated above Belphegor's downed form.
"Let's end this!"
"Right!"
"Roger that!"
As Shadow, Subaru and Reinhard exclaimed their words respectively, they swung their arms down, causing the meteor to descend towards the Demon of Sloth, who woke up in time to witness his demise, as the massive ball of memory fragment descended at him, and all he could do was watch in horror since his body was completely crippled for sure this time.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The last roar of pain echoed in the space that was illuminated with bright white light, and Belphegor's existence was slowly erased by the light.
And not a few seconds later, the light faded, revealing that the vast space was now gone, and the three males, alongside Belphegor's defeated form were now back in the same spot of the slums that they were previously standing in.
[Music Ends]
Upon realizing that they have finally won, Subaru fell immediately on his butt, raising his head to the sky and released a ragged sigh, Reinhard placed a hand on where his heart is, and released a breath he didn't know that he was holding, and Shadow simply brushed a hand through his hair.
"H-How...?"
"?!"
The weak sound of Belphegor alerted Subaru, Shadow and Reinhard, causing them to adapt their fighting stances, brandishing their weapons.
"How could mere humans...Defeat a superior Demon like me...?" Belphegor weakly asked as his eyes darted between the three males, before setting on Shadow.
It was then when his eyes widened for a brief second, before he released a grunt.
"I see...A Highest is within the ranks of the humans...Very interesting" He muttered.
"A Highest? What're you taking about?" Reinhard asked the downed Demon of Sloth. He then noticed that his body was slowly disintegrating into some sort of a weird crimson red miasma.
"I see that you chose...To ally yourself with humanity, Highest...This is your own choice...However...Know this..."
Belphegor then raised his fingerless arm in front of him, pointing directly at Shadow. Half of the Demon's body was already gone.
"...The God of the Covenant is indeed no more...But the Lord of the Highests is not...Not even the god of this universe could do anything in front of him..."
Belphegor then used what remained of his strength to flash a weak, but devilish grin at Shadow. His body was almost gone up to his torso.
"Nevertheless...Know this..."
All that remained of Belphegor now was his arm and head.
"...As long as there's Law... There's also Chaos...And Chaos will win in the end...So enjoy being with the humans while you can...Highest..."
As he said those last words, Belphegor's body completely disintegrated to Magatsuhi, removing every sign of his existence.
The guard of each of the three males relaxed, but the tension in the air didn't.
Reinhard and Subaru locked their gazes on Shadow, who was looking at the spot where Belphegor once was lying, completely calm and emotionless.
What did that Demon mean? What's a Highest? What's Law and what's Chaos?
Lots of questions raced inside the minds of both Reinhard and Subaru, and the more questions there were, the more confusion it brought to their minds.
"Master!"
"?!"
The thoughts were immediately cut by Shaula's chipper, followed by Subaru being tackled in a bear hug by said humanoid Mabeast.
"Shaula... Can't breathe..." Subaru gasped his protest, causing Shaula to immediately let go.
"Sorry, Master! Are you alright?! Are you hurt?! Please don't hate me!" Shaula became a worried mess, to which Subaru shrugged off by a simple nervous smile.
"Red! Are you okay?! Oh! You're uniform is damaged! You must've taken damage! Show me your wounds! I'll heal you!" Natsumi exclaimed hysterically, tears building on the corners of her eyes, to which Reinhard smiled and patted her head.
"Natsumi. I'm fine. Don't worry" Reinhard reassured his partner while still patting her head, but it didn't help in stopping the tears from flowing down Natsumi's cheeks.
"Oh! I see that you're okay!"
"?!"
The chiming bells of Satella's voice rang in Subaru's ears, causing the white haired boy's cheeks to flush a rosy pink in color.
"Uhh...Do you have your insignia back?" Subaru asked nervously, to which the silver haired Half-Elf smiled cutely, causing Subaru's heart to skip a beat.
"Yes. It's thanks to you. But I was reeeeeealy worried about you when you were fighting that weird creature" She said.
"Well...I think it's time for my reward" Subaru said, his blush increasing to a shade of red. He then heard a giggle beside him, to which he looked to his side, seeing Natsumi giggling in a comical way with her hand on her mouth, causing Subaru to sweatdrop at his sister's attitude change, where they were already at a life-or-death situation a few moments ago.
"Umm...Sure, but can you remind me? I kind of forgot..." The silver haired girl asked with a questioning expression on her face.
"Y-Your name...Tell me your real name" Subaru stuttered at his demand, causing the girl to blink, before she flashed the most beautiful and soul charming smile Subaru has ever seen.
He could even swear that he saw roses all around the scenery.
"Emilia. Just Emilia. I have no surname" She answered.
"Okay...Emilia. Nice to meet you. My name is Subaru Natsuki. I can see that you're a good friend with Natsumi, my sister" Subaru said.
"Natsumi's your sister?! Amazing! No wonder you two look alike! That's reeeeeealy great!" Emilia said, before she saw Subaru extending his hand towards her.
"Well, I'm happy that you're happy. Again, it's a pleasure to meet you" Subaru said with a smile. Emilia's smile brightened even more, before she accepted Subaru's hand, shaking it.
"I suppose that's what called 'Rosy World'?" Shadow commented, rolling his eyes at the duo couple in front of him.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Hey...Subaru..." He called for the white haired boy, who turned to him. He then saw that Emilia's smile vanished and Natsumi's giggling stopped, completely replaced by expression of horror and shock.
"Your...Ears, eyes and mouth...They're bleeding..."
"?!"
And right after being informed about this sudden emergency, Subaru suddenly started to cough massive amounts of blood, with both his eyes and ears bleeding like fountains.
He then felt the world spinning around his vision, and his legs giving away, causing him to fall on his back, his vision slowly deteriorating, with the tearful faces of Emilia, Shaula and Natsumi, and the worried and shell shocked expressions of both Reinhard and Shadow being vaguely distinguished in front of his blurry eyes.
"What...You're kidding...Am I gonna die...? Again? But I have just defeated that Demon...And even got to know the name of this beautiful girl...Is this how it ends...?"
Those were Subaru Natsuki's last thoughts as his body completely gave up, his eyes closed and his entire world turned black.
Unbeknownst to everyone in the scene, in the far distance, a woman was observing.
She had long flowing green hair that reached down to her waist, emerald green eyes with a henna tattoo-shaped drawing underneath her left eye, and dark skin. She stood at 170 cm, and her outfit consisted of a modern business suit: A black blazer with a white shirt that missed the necktie, a black skirt that covered just above her knees, and black sandals with high heels.
She looked at the situation in front of her. In fact, she was watching everything, from the fight and up to the current scene...
"Hmm..."
...And this brought a smile of amusement on her face.
"Subaru Natsuki...You're the one that has what is required for my completion. I cannot wait to meeting you..."
And with this phrase being said, the mysterious woman disappeared in a colorless flash, leaving no traces of her existence.
And Done!
Chapter is much shorter than before, right? So many mysteries, right?
Anyways, before explaining what happened, I will answer the comments of the last two chapters. I'm sorry for not responding to them any later since I was busy with making the draft for this chapter.
OriChar: I hope you read the story and express your opinion. Also, yeah. Rem also gave me a whiplash. So I thought: "Shadow also gave me whiplash, so might as well pair both him and Rem together. Lol".
Chad M Sterling: I'm so glad that you loved it, and I hope that I live up to your expectations in the future.
anourardz42: Thank you for your compliment and encouragement, and yes. Satella will be in the pairing in later arcs.
Commander Cost: This version of Shadow is from Sonic.EXE: Spirits of Hell, and its sequel Sally.EXE: Whisper of Soul. As for the Rune Stone, it's a power concept available for humans, so not only Natsumi will have it. Everything will be revealed gradually. Don't worry.
Alright. Now with comments being answered, I would love to make some things clear.
First, I spun my mind for a starter Demon for Subaru, and I was narrowed down to Mephisto, Loup-garou, and Magatsu Izanagi. I finally settled for Mephisto, since Magatsu Izanagi would appear to be an overkill, and Loup-garou appeared to be unsuitable for Subaru considering the battle that he was in. So there you have it, Mephisto is Subaru's first Demon.
Second, and the most important, the power that Subaru was forced to use in this chapter was NOT Return By Death. I have already made it clear that Return By Death will not be in this story, but I will be making sure to explain this power, so you all have to wait. Sorry.
Third, and last but not least, this chapter marks the end of Arc 1, and the next chapter will be the beginning of Arc 2.
Next Chapter: The Emilia Camp's Newcomers, and the Battle for the Irlam Village.
Until Next Time And Next Chapter!
Jude Warble, Out.