Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.
Important Note: I will not repeat the Deaths of characters on each Solo, Duo or Trio Ending because it will just consume the plotline and it would be a useless repeat. Just so you all know.
And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!
Unknown Location
"So...Daphne...Finally glad to see you..."
"I came out like Dona Dona said to, even though...I was sleeping so niiicely..."
"Uh...Huh..."
Shadow was indifferent to the weird antics of the Witches, having already met five of them, but Daphne gave him a rather ire feeling. He didn't know why. Maybe because she was stranded by chains to a moving coffin and she looked as if she was fourteen years old, or maybe because of her speech mannerisms, or maybe because he was literally face-to-face with the creator of the Mabeasts herself. He actually didn't know.
"I don't wanna be awake long, sooo...Skip the small talk, okaaaaaaay?" Daphne asked Shadow, causing the Ultimate Life Form to sweatdrop, feeling as if he was talking to a female version of Roswaal.
"Right...Thanks for coming out like this..." Shadow began his talk, slowly walking towards Daphne, when suddenly...
"AH!"
"?!"
He saw the coffin moving backwards with Daphne's gasp, skidding through the grass-riddled ground, and this caused Shadow to sweatdrop once again.
"Can I ask...What is that?" He asked, pointing at the coffin.
"Centipede Coffin...Daphne isn't free to move on her own...So this was created to assist me...It runs on Daphne's sweat, spit and urine. Isn't that convenient...?" She moaned her response, and Shadow had to suppress his face from cringing at the explanation.
"...But why avoid me?" Shadow asked, having seen that the action of the coffin moving away from him when he approached Daphne being really weird.
"Shadown being close makes Daphne's body throoob...Daphne really, reaaaaalllly likes how you smell...From what I can smell, your meat is muscled, and-sin-ew-y, your bones, are-thick-too, and I really, reeeaallly...Think you're to my taste. Your smell's so nice that if you come close, I'll want to eat you..." Daphne answered, her mouth watering at an abnormal rate, and her reply caused Shadow to blink.
"I see...Got it. Neither of us want to take this conversation so long, so I shall get to the point. It's about the Three Great Mabeasts" Shadow immediately cut the chase by asking Daphne about one of the greatest threats infesting this world, only to raise an eyebrow in confusion upon seeing Daphne's confused face. Even with her eyes covered, Shadow could tell that she was indeed confused.
"Three...Great...?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
"The White Whale, The Great Rabbit and the Black Serpant. You made them, didn't you?" Shadow asked, after telling Daphne about the names of the Mabeast that she created.
"Ahh. Whaley, Bunny and Snaky?" She asked.
"...Yes. That's what I said" Shadow answered.
"Daphne doesn't know what weird names people give them...They left Daphne to all do their own thing, you seeee..." Daphne said.
"Uhh...Then why did you create them? You've been dead for four hundred years. Do you know just how much damage they've done? How many people, tens of people, hundreds of people have met terrible fates..." Shadow asked, he himself feeling terribly odd from his way of speech towards Daphne.
He is supposed to be angry at all of this. Not angry for the people, but angry because someone like Subaru had to suffer from two of those Mabeasts. Subaru was an exception. He was a valuable friend. He had that weird charismatic aura that pulled people like Shadow and Reinhard to become his friends. Shadow himself could never forget how Subaru nearly embarrassed himself for his sake, trying to protect him in front of those stupid people.
However, the main reason that Shadow was not angry at Daphne was because if there was one thing that Shadow abhorred the most, then it was harming children, even at his worst. He was indeed angry at Echidna, Sekhmet and Carmilla for wasting his time and getting on his nerves, but he was never angry at Typhon for breaking his spiritual body apart with her Authority, despite the fact that he knew that she was well over four hundred years, and yet she took the physical appearance and mentality of a naive ten-year-old child, not to mention that for some reason, Typhon herself was extremely attached to Shadow, something that amused him despite the complicated situation that led to their meeting.
And the same was for Daphne right now. Even though Shadow knew and confirmed that she was indeed the creator of Mabeasts, he couldn't find it in his heart to get angry at her, specifically because she looked like a fourteen-year-old. It would take more than that from a child-looking enemy to rile Shadow up to force him to take the jump on them for the kill.
"Being big means that there's a lot to eat, riiiight?" Daphne asked.
"Huh?" Shadow's eyes widened slightly at this reply.
"The White Whale, was reaaaaallly big, wasn't he? Don't you think if he was eaten, lots of people would fill their stomachs?" She asked once again.
"What the...?" Shadow started to speak, but the words got stuck to his throat.
"And the Great Rabbit can keep multiplying. He'll multiply even if you just leave him alone, and so with him, you'll never have to worry, about food agaaaaaaaaain" She said once again, her mouth releasing even more saliva.
"But...But...!" Those words are the ones that started to rile Shadow up.
"Those two beasts have taken away more than they fed...You mean you created the Mabeasts to solve food supply problems?! You made the White Whale and the Great Rabbit to save people suffering from starvation?! Even though how thanks to your thoughtfulness, so many people have died to those things!?" Shadow yelled his questions, anger already bubbling inside of him at Daphne's absurd logic.
"Don't you think it's kinda super selfiiiiish...To eat something, without considering you could be eaten yourself?" Daphne asked, and this question silenced Shadow, and his anger slowly subsided.
He understood now what Daphne meant. Even though her logic equated to that of animals, Mortals were indeed cannibalistic beings, both in the physical and mental senses. This world was indeed eat or be eaten. The law of the Survival of The Fittest states that the strong tramples on the weak. Such logic is what Daphne's Gluttony equates to.
"The same goes for Shadown too..." Daphne called out, gaining Shadow's attention at her words.
"Don't you think you're taking Gluttony too lightlllyyyy...? The desire to eat, since you're living, is the most important desire there is. I mean, if you don't sate it, you just can't live. Even if they know no peace, even if they are unloved, even if they can't maintain their ego, even if they can't vent their emotions, even if they can't get what they want, even if they aspire for nothing, a person won't die. But...People will die if they can't eat" Daphne finished her speech, and it made Shadow understand.
Gluttony held a direct relation to life. The correct meaning of Gluttony is desire for food more than what is needed. But in this situation, Daphne's pointing out the necessity of desiring to eat to stay alive.
"..."
Shadow understood this, and he couldn't deny it. Yes, what's she's saying has truth to it as a principle of living. But believing that this comprises everything is mistaken.
"...I understand your logic. That much is a given in any kind of world, but that's-" Shadow was about to finish his words, but Daphne cut him off.
"Have you ever felt starvation, Shadown? My Authority won't work on you, even at your weakened state, soooo...Daphne wants to ask you...Do you understand the world that Daphne and her children lives iiiiin?" She asked.
"I do" Shadow immediately answered, not even a shred of hesitation could be found in his words, and that piqued Daphne's interest.
"I do understand the existence of such a world. I have lived in a world where Death was considered a blessing. I saw what it means to be stuck in a never-ending nightmare. The audacity to cause others to witness their Fates twisted to the tormenter's desires without having the chance to retaliate in response...Could drive others to a point beyond insanity. That said, Gluttony is indeed the worst of the worst" Shadow said.
"Hm?" Daphne tilted her head at this.
"Envy destroys those that surround the envier. Greed causes destruction to the greedy, because wanting to know the unknown can be disastrous. Wrath consumes the judgment of the wrathful, leading them to their doom. Sloth is the definition of stagnation, and thus no advancement to the future, and thus the end before the beginning. Pride is basically the sin that made the Devil itself get exiled from Heaven, because arrogance can cause the downfall of the prideful. Lust is basically thinking with anything other than your head, whether its sexual or pure desire, everything fades the moment you become lustful, as your goals in life becomes nonexistent. All of those sins either lead to the downfall of their bearer or their surroundings. But Gluttony leads to the downfall of its bearer, because the moment you take something and desire for more and more, there's no stopping. You consume everything and anything, not caring about what is around you. And when everything is gone...Then you become alone, and with that, Gluttony consumes all, even the sinner" Shadow said, causing Daphne to stare at him in silence. Shadow himself stayed silent for a minute, before releasing a deep breath, then resumed speaking.
"The Black Serpent...Is different, isn't he?" Shadow asked, as he read about it in Beatrice's Forbidden Archive.
"Indeeeeed...Snaky can release a poison resembling water that can move freely...It can either release diseases and curses, or can outright consume its victims..." Daphne answered, causing Shadow to nod slowly.
"So by your own logic...The White Whale and the Great Rabbit were created to provide large quantities of food, but the Black Serpent was created to decrease those who consume food" Shadow concluded.
"Correct...Whaley is so big, so it would feed lots of people and Bunny can multiply infinitely, so no one will have to worry about food shortage, but Snaky is there to solve the issue of hunger if Whaley and Bunny weren't enough...It will just kill those who are hungry...For the sake of not spreading starvation..." Daphne said.
"Starvation rates would drop if there are less people..." Shadow muttered, getting disgusted at himself for agreeing for a second on this twisted logic. He then stared at Daphne.
"Is there anything else about the Black Serpent that I should know?" He asked.
"Snaky is unpredictable. It can't be controlled, and its water poison is sentient. That is all" Daphne answered, before releasing a huge yawn from her mouth.
"Are you done with Daphneee?" She asked.
"Yeah. I learned a lot. Thanks" Shadow said, before continuing on talking.
"Right. Before you go...Let me tell you this..." He started to talk, causing Daphne to tilt her head.
"I killed both the White Whale and the Great Rabbit with the assistance of the amnesiac Sage. I'll also kill the Black Serpent. No complaints, right, mom?" Shadow asked, throwing a mocking title to Daphne, who stayed silent as Shadow was speaking.
"It's not for the sake of this world. I'm doing it so it doesn't hinder my original objective. A war that will decide the Fate of All Creation will be soon to come, and I don't want anything to hinder my progress, even if it was as simple as a mere beast like those that you created. I shall erase every last trace of it" He said, which in turn caused a toothy grin to appear on Daphne's lips.
"Apex...Go ahead and do it...I'll be watching..." She whispered, before her form faded into mist, and instantly, Echidna appeared in the same fashion right in front of Shadow.
"Relived I've returned?" She asked.
"...Don't make it weird" He grumbled as both of them sat on the tea table.
"So...Did you learn anything from speaking to Daphne?" She asked, while pouring tea to both her and Shadow.
"...Yeah. First thing I learned is that, sadly, you're considered the sanest Witch out of them all" Shadow answered, causing Echidna to sweatdrop. She then smiled before passing a plate of cookies to Shadow.
"Goodness. This will not do. To let such comfortable words brighten my mood...Don't think I'm an easy girl!" Echidna exclaimed while smiling brightly at Shadow, who cringed while looking at the cookies Echidna offered.
"If those cookies have your bodily fluids mixed in them, then I would have to give a hard pass to them" He said.
"So if it's my hair, then it's ok?" Echidna asked while pointing at the cookies.
"Now I have to suspect every word you say!" Shadow exclaimed with a comical angry look. He then sighed before opting a business stare, directing it at Echidna.
"So...About the two other members of the Witches of Sin...Who are they?" Shadow asked.
"Oh. That. Well, the two other Sins are Vainglory and Melancholy. The bearer of the Authority of Vainglory is called Pandora, and the bearer of the Authority of Melancholy is called Hector" Echidna answered.
"Anything that I have to be careful from when facing these two?" Shadow asked.
"You're making it sound as if you're sure that they're alive" Echidna said.
"Well, you didn't mention that they were dead. Besides, if you're speaking about them right now, then that would mean that they're of significance in the future, meaning that they're alive and kicking" Shadow answered, causing Echidna's smile to widen, before she nodded at Shadow's conclusion.
"Very sharp as always, Shadow Terios. Yes, both are alive, having survived the rampage of Envy four hundred years ago. And both are troublesome in their own way" Echidna said, sighing in frustration as she rubbed her temples with her fingers.
"Meaning?" Shadow simply asked.
"Pandora's Authority allows her to rewrite any kind of non-living phenomenon around her. Think of it as the writer of a story, but she only manipulates the events. For example, she can rewrite the event where she dies, allowing her to instantly resurrect upon her Death, or can even manipulate the directions of a person's Fate, or even their perception, since the event of perceiving something is the same as that of an event written in a story" Echidna said, causing Shadow to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Phenomenon manipulation...So a Deus EX Machina..." Shadow grumbled underneath his breath.
"Hector, on the other hand, has the ability to freely manipulate gravity, be it in the form of a shield to repel any kind of incoming attack, be it physical or magical, or even use it to outright crush any kind of obstacle or enemy in his path. I remember him using it to crush Roswaal beyond repair..." Echidna said, causing Shadow to sigh in frustration.
"I see. Not as dangerous as this Pandora, but still an obstacle and...Wait" Shadow started mumbling, before his eyes widened in realization as his brain finally analyzed the words that Echidna just said, causing his eyes to widen and for him to stare at Echidna.
"Did you just say...Roswaal?" He asked, causing Echidna to blink.
"Yes. Roswaal was my apprentice four hundred years ago, and he's still alive until now. I'm sure that you met him, Beatrice and Puck, right?" Echidna asked.
"Hold on. How the hell do you know about Beatrice and Puck? Why do you make it sound as if those two and Roswaal are connected in some way?" Shadow asked, suddenly finding realization dawning on him.
"You do realize that Beatrice is my creation, right? So is Puck, and Roswaal was my apprentice. All of them were with me in the past" Echidna answered.
"You never told me that!" Shadow roared out in anger.
"Because you never asked" Echidna said.
"How the hell should I know that you were connected to them?! Do you have any idea how much trouble your stupid disciple and that little pussy cat of a Spirit had caused all of us?!" Shadow roared out.
"Hey, calm down. No need to take it all out on me. I'm not the one that gave them the order to ruin others' lives" Echidna said, raising her hands in a surrendering motion. This caused Shadow to glare at her for a few seconds, before sighing and collapsing once again on his chair, placing a palm over his eyes.
"Ugh...Too much shit to handle...The more answers I get, the more questions that arise..." He groaned, which in turn caused Echidna to blink at him, before her signature smile appeared on her face.
"Say, Shadow Terios. I have a proposal" Echidna called out to Shadow, causing him to lift his palm from his eyes and to glance at her, still lazily lying on his chair.
Her next words, however, piqued his attention.
"Would you like to take the Trials of the Sanctuary?"
At the same time. Mount Cordor
"We did it! All three of us!"
"That was...The strangest adventure that I've ever been part of"
"So many deaths 'cause of tha'creatcha. Ma' amazin' self doesn't know whadda do now..."
Otto, Heinkel and Garfiel released sighs of relief upon entering into the grounds of Mount Cordor, glad that the nightmare was over. And as the three stared at the close-to-set sun, they contemplated on their current predicament.
"Don't give up! We know...This is a hidden spot!" Otto exclaimed with a confident smile.
"So I'm not the only one who has the feeling that this happened before?" Heinkel asked, causing Garfiel's eyes to widen in surprise.
"Ya have this feelin' too? Tis weird t'b'honest. Ma amazin' self feels like we've been fightin' th'same fights a few times now" He said, completely stunned.
"What will we do next? We're not the only victims, are we?" Otto asked, worry plastered on his face.
"What 'bout Nee-chan and the Clown's little maid? Ma' amazin' self also thinks that Ram might be the victim" Garfiel said, worry finding its way to his face as well.
"Of course, with the Astrea influence and that pink Oni's power, that bastard can take over the whole world" Heinkel said with a glare, secretly worrying about his son as he looked at his still comatose wife that was held gently in his arms.
"Okay. That sounds crazy, but we have to move. We must help the others. If we sit here for any longer, we will die" Otto said.
"And what if we die?" Heinkel asked, which in turn made Otto smile.
"Then we just try again!" The merchant exclaimed.
"...Ya must've gone nuts, Merchant Boy" Garfiel said while shaking his head at Otto.
"Let's go!" Otto exclaimed once again, before he and his other two companions proceeded to descend Mount Cordor, heading towards Cramlin.
A few hours later. Cramlin. Nighttime
"I can't believe that we left our hiding spot. That's stupid"
"So ya thought that we're gonna live on that mountain foreva', didnya? Heh"
"That's not funny at all. If we're still alive, then that means that Exeller is pretty weak...For now"
Upon reaching the gates of Cramlin town, the three males voiced out their respective opinions regarding their current status.
"Alright, alright, girls. Let's go!" Heinkel exclaimed, smirking mockingly as he glanced at Garfiel before going past the gates of the town, with Otto following him. However, before Garfiel marched after them, he gasped as he realized something within Heinkel's words.
"Girls?! Who th'heck ya callin' a girl?!" He shouted angrily.
"Tinsel-san" Otto called to Garfiel with a grumble, causing Garfiel to growl at this, before following both Otto and Heinkel inside the town of Cramlin.
At the same time. Atop the mountain near Costuul
"I must be getting closer to Irlam, but there's no sign of anyone that I know. I wonder if they're alright"
Frederica, having climbed atop the mountain, was shivering slightly as the weather got cold once she reached the top. Obviously since the more she tried reached the atmospheric layer, the lower the temperature becomes.
However, what she didn't expect was that a blizzard would assault the mountain range that moment she reached the top. It didn't happen progressively, but it occurred instantly the moment she set foot on the top of the mountain.
"He can...Manipulate even the weather...That's on the level of the Great Spirit Puck-sama..." Frederica muttered while gritting her teeth, before she tried calming herself by taking in a deep breath, even though her lungs started to hurt due to the fact that she took in an extremely frigid air. Nevertheless, Frederica endured the pain, before she leaned to look from the top of the mountain and down to her destination, only to see a massive screen of fog obscuring her sight, which was natural due to the fact that she was at the top of a mountain, where she was progressively getting closer to the atmospheric layers of the planet.
"I can't see anything. This fog bothers me" She said., before sighing and looking at the sky.
"I hope everyone is alright" She muttered while clasping her hands together. She then descended the mountain, heading towards the direction of Elior Forest.
Unknown Location
A flicker of light found itself in a weird, unfamiliar space, and adjusting her eyes to the new scenery, Ram blinked in confusion.
"Is this the place he was talking about? What exactly should I find in here?" Ram asked herself as she walked through the huge place that appeared to be a large library judging by the huge bookshelves and the numerous amounts of books that each shelf had. Ram then walked towards one of the shelves, picking up a book that had the title of 'Citizens of the Highest Kingdom'. Ram immediately opened the book and flipped through the pages.
"Let's see here. Assiah-Lite - Deceased. Phil - Deceased. Wayne - Deceased. Laura - Deceased. Goodness. How many people died here?" Ram asked, rolling her eyes at that. She then blinked upon noticing a familiar name.
"Exeller - Deceased. Huh, is that the Exeller guy that he was talking about?" Ram asked herself.
"An intruder in the Highest Library. The intruder is neither a Seither Demon, nor a Reaper, nor a Guardian, nor even a Highest. How interesting"
"?!"
Just then, Ram turned around to the source of the voice, only to see a dark orange-colored anthropomorphic hedgehog with brown eyes that resembled Demi-Humans from her perspective. The creature was around one meter in height, wearing a green overcoat above a red T-shirt, green pants and green shoes, as well as a pair of black-framed glasses.
"Oh! A person. Please, I need your help. I was teleported here by one of yours that wanted me to find help" Ram said, trying to be as polite as possible.
"I've heard of you, Second Coming of the Oni God. Give me one good reason to help you" The hedgehog said with a scowl on his face.
"A person of yours named Exeller has taken over the body of a friend of mine, and he's trying to kill me and my friends" Ram said, trying to suppress her eye from twitching in annoyance, as fatigue and frustration were quickly kicking in after all of the action that she had in the span of nothing but a few hours.
"Let me guess. A blue wolf told you this, didn't he? Wait. I don't need to guess. I know he did. I thought that he was dead and had already revived. Is he now dead for good? I can't sense his Rune Stone signal, so he's probably dead" The hedgehog said.
"Yes. This guy called Exeller killed that wolf in front of my very eyes. Somehow, his spirit managed to help me out, but he's now long dead. He even said that he won't be able to reincarnate again now that his Rune Stone is destroyed" Ram said. It was then when the hedgehog narrowed his eyes mockingly at Ram.
"Oni God. Let me tell you something. We will never help you. First of all, we don't care. Secondly, we don't care, and third..." He trailed before adjusting his glasses on his face, then he continued talking.
"...I don't care. So I suggest that you leave this place now, or suffer the consequences" The hedgehog finished, causing Ram to close her eyes, trying to hold off the frustration building inside of her.
"Alright. I'll just talk with you queen, Alice" Ram said, before she suddenly felt her body being bound by an invisible force and then lifted up to the air. It was then that she noticed that the orange hedgehog was extending his arm and opened palm towards her, indicating that he was the one the lifted her using some sort of a telekinesis. She also noticed that he was wearing an even bigger scowl on his face.
"You think that just because you have considerable power that is high in comparison to the mundane affairs of your world, that I can let you do whatever you want? Think again, you hypocrite" He said, causing Ram to grit her teeth, lifting her head up slowly as she struggled with the invisible force bounding her.
"I just want...To...Save my...F-Friends..." She gasped her response, causing the hedgehog to blink at this, before he released the force binding Ram in midair, causing her to land on her feet and gasp for air. He then pushed his glasses towards his eyes to adjust them on the bridge of his nose.
"Violence breeds violence, Oni God. Some people, such as Exeller, only became evil because of an outside influence" The hedgehog said, which in turn caused Ram to stand straight and glare at him.
"So you want Ram to sympathize with that psychopath? He's killing my friends as well as innocent people. I will defeat him and save Barasu, and my friends as well" She said, causing the orange hedgehog to roll his eyes in disappointment.
"Pathetic. Anyways, if your friends are alive, they are probably in the Virga Mountains. I shall teleport you there" He said, causing Ram to blink.
"But that's the farthest north of the continent, and in Gusteko. What would-Ugh. You know what? Never mind. Ram won't ask the reasons of this bizarre development because everything up until now was bizarre as it is" She said, before raising her eyebrow at the orange hedgehog.
"Thank you. I understand that you're only trying to protect your people. You're not as bad as I thought you were" Ram said, and right after saying that immediately, the orange hedgehog flicked his wrist, causing Ram to vanish from the library in a flash of light.
After Ram was gone, the hedgehog just stared at the ground, his brown irises flickering in a red color.
"Not as bad as you thought, huh...? Heh. Not as bad as you thought..." He muttered the question before taking off his glasses, and they instantly turned to dust upon being taken off his face, and his brown eyes became crimson red in color, as a twisted smile found itself stretching on his face.
At the same time. Cramlin
Otto, Garfiel and Heinkel entered the silent Cramlin town. They kept on walking quickly, trying to survey the town for a carriage to head to Lugunica so that they can call for help, but sadly, they have been searching for thirty minutes in vain, not mention that the smell of blood was thickening with each step they took inside the town.
Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air, and even though she looked mutilated with one of her eyes being forced shut, the three males knew her immediately.
"Th'little maid?!" Garfiel shouted her name.
"Huh?!" Otto recoiled back due to the frightening shape of the little girl dressed in tattered maid clothes.
"Ah...What?" Heinkel called out in confusion and Fear.
Petra EXE, however, didn't say anything. All she did was clad her right arm in purple lightning, and with one swift motion of said arm, she dashed at the three males, and faster than any of them could react, their heads were sent rolling violently in the air, and their headless bodies fell immediately on the ground, with Heinkel dropping Louanna as blood pools were formed underneath their headless corpses.
Petra EXE immediately teleported away from the scene after finishing her job, and the heads of Otto, Garfiel and Heinkel fell with a sickening cracking sound as their skulls were crushed as it landed on the ground violently.
Virga Mountains
Appearing in a white flash of light and landing on the ground, Ram looked around her at the snow-laced rocky platform of the mountain she was on.
"It seems that he teleported me to the snowy part of the Virga Mountains. I know the path from here. But it will be long, considering the fact that I have to pass through the Holy Mountain Pardochia, pass through Eternya city and then down to Elior Forest before heading straight towards the Sanctuary" She said to herself, before sighing, her breath being visible due to the frigid weather.
"If the others are truly here, then that means that they must be heading to the Sanctuary. It's the closest place after all. For now, Ram has to make a long turn from Mount Kanai and right to Elior Forest, then to head straight to the Sanctuary" She said, before sighing, her breath being visibe in the cold, frigid weather.
"For now, I have to find anyone that I know here before continuing my journey. If what that hedgehog told me was true" Ram said before dashing into the distance.
A few hours later. Elior Forest
Frederica had just reached the entrance to Elior Forest, and just then, she saw a figure descending from the sky, before gently landing on the snow. One look at the figure and she sighed in relief.
"Ram? Phew...Thank Od you're fine. I thought I'll find you dead or...Worse" Frederica said with a small smile. Her smile instantly vanished when she saw Ram taking out both her wand and the Triple Rod, brandishing it at her in a threatening manner.
"Stop right there for a second...Are you the real Frederica Baumann?" Ram asked with a glare directed towards Frederica.
"What do you mean?" Frederica asked, clearly annoyed by the accusation her junior was throwing at her.
"What are YOU doing here? Ram finds that rather suspicious, don't you see?" Ram asked, and it was Frederica's turn to glare at her as she pointed her finger at the pink-haired Oni maid.
"I can ask you the same questions! I don't trust you just like you don't trust me! Subaru-sama already tried to kill-" Frederica began to speak, only to get cut off by Ram, who narrowed her eyes at her.
"Tried to kill you? Ram came from the direction of Lugunica, but you came from the direction of Gusteko. Exeller can't-" And just like Ram cut her off in her speech, Frederica did the same.
"Exeller? How do you know his name? Well, THIS is suspicious" Frederica countered Ram's accusations, causing Ram to look at her in silence for a few moments, before she withdrew her weapons and released a sigh of relief.
"I knew his name from some person I met...Actually, Ram guesses that if you wanted to kill her, you would've already done it" She said, causing Frederica to roll her eyes at her words.
"Wow...Your big brain figured that out? Anyways, what are we going to do now?" She asked.
"If Ram remembers correctly, there's a hill behind the Sanctuary. Inside that hill is a secret passage that leads to it. We can go there" Ram answered.
"I do know about that secret passage, but...You do realize what would happen if Roswaal-sama's enemies were to find that passage, right?" Frederica asked, mockingly narrowing her eyes at Ram, to which said Oni sighed frustratedly.
"They will end up falling for the traps that only Ram and Rem knows about. Anyways, let's go now. We don't have much time" Ram said before sprinting towards the hills behind the Sanctuary, with Frederica following behind.
A few minutes later. Hills behind the Sanctuary
"Alright. I guess we should just go ahead and then we will probably find the exit"
"At least you told me about the traps. I'll go ahead. I don't want to slow you down"
As they entered from a secret cave in the hills behind the Sanctuary, Ram scanned her surroundings to make sure that no intruder was there, and right afterwards, Frederica marched forward, leaving Ram behind, where said Oni Maid narrowed her eyes in disappointment at her senior.
She knew that Frederica was worried about Ryuzu Meyer and Garfiel, but she should at least stick with her so that neither of them would lose their lives in front of the enemy they were facing right now.
"Hah...Such stupidity. Nothing is worse than the loss of Life" Ram scoffed before she followed Frederica.
A few minutes later. The Sanctuary
"We're finally in! Now let's call for Roswaal-sama's help!"
"Are you crazy?! We should prioritize the people's safety first! Roswaal-sama can handle himself! We must see them out of here and also find that huge green gem! I don't know why, but I remember this creature trying to place his hands on it!"
Right upon entering the Sanctuary, Ram and Frederica started arguing. Ram wanted to gain the assistance of Roswaal, since no matter how much she hated him, she still acknowledged the fact that he was so powerful and can lend them a hand in fighting that monster that was wearing Subaru's skin.
Frederica, on the other hand, knew about Roswaal's power, and because of that, she thought about the safety of the people inside the Sanctuary, since she knows that that creature must have followed them to the Sanctuary, so it's going to be a complete catastrophe should that Eldritch Horror enter the Sanctuary and slaughter all of its residents.
Not to mention that for some reason, she remembers the existence of a huge green gem that holds immense power. She didn't know why she remembered that, but she just did. It was as if she saw it before.
"We don't know that gem's location, and the residents should be safe because of the barrier around the Sanctuary" Ram said, scowling at Frederica.
"The barrier around the Sanctuary prevents only Half-Bloods from entering and exiting the place! We know neither the identity of that creature nor the fact whether or not the barrier's negative effects would affect it!" Frederica exclaimed, her glare growing by the second.
"Listen, Frederica. I really don't have time for this. You can either follow Ram or stay here" Ram said before marching away, leaving Frederica alone.
"I see. Very well then. I must go my own path now. I need to see grandmother Ryuzu and check on her, then find a way to get the residents outside the Sanctuary" Frederica said before dashing towards the direction of Ryuzu's home. She knew where it was, even after spending ten years away from the Sanctuary. If memory served her right, it was a little bit inside the forest region of the Sanctuary.
A few minutes later, she found the house, and hurriedly entered it, only to find it hushed as Death, and Ryuzu was nowhere to be found.
"Grandmother? Where are you?" Frederica called out, but no one responded. The cottage was already too small and Frederica knew that it was stupid to call for someone inside such a small place when there's nowhere for them to be found inside said place, but she wanted to find her no matter what.
Frederica's eyes then darted to the crystal ball seated on the tea table in the center of the small cottage. She then walked towards it, then pushed mana into it, and right afterwards, several footage images of several places of the Sanctuary appeared on the reflection of the crystal ball.
"These are surveillance mana stones positioned all around the Sanctuary, right? I think it might have spotted this huge green gem and the other residents of Irlam inside the Sanctuary" She said, before scrolling over the footages shown on the crystal ball. She kept on switching images until the image of a huge green gem found itself in front of her.
"Ah! Here it is! But wait...It's located in front of...The very end of the barrier of the Sanctuary? How did it got placed here?" She asked in confusion, unaware of a certain blue Mabeast-like creature passing through the window of the cottage. However she was alerted to the light sound of a growl outside the cottage.
"Huh? Who's there?" She asked but got no response. It was then when her Pyroxene Crystal that was hanging from her neck like a necklace, glowed and a familiar voice came out of it.
"Frederica? What are you doing?" Ram's voice could be heard throwing out the question to Frederica.
"Ram! I found that powerful huge gem! It's located at the very end of the barrier surrounding the Sanctuary! You know what will happen if Exeller gets it, right?!" Frederica exclaimed her question to Ram.
"Alright. I'm on my way to that spot. Have you checked on the residents? Roswaal-sama or Emilia-sama...Have you found any of them?" Ram asked.
"No...I couldn't even find Ryuzu-san...I don't know what happened to them. I'm afraid that Exeller might have gotten to them..." Frederica muttered her reply in worry.
"No use going over something that we aren't sure that has happened. I'll head to the huge gem. You check on the residents and make sure that Roswaal-sama and Emilia-sama are safe" Ram said to her senior.
"Understood...I'll see what I can do" Frederica said.
"Stay safe, Frederica" Ram said, a hint of worry for her senior could be heard in her voice, before their transmission was finished and got cut off as the Pyroxene Crystal that Frederica had around her neck stopped glowing.
Frederica then proceeded to exit the cottage, and no sooner afterwards, the small wardrobe inside of it started dripping blood from its sides, before it was forced open, followed by the mutilated corpse of a petite, pink-haired girl with pointy ears falling out from it, landing on the floor with a soft thud sound as the blood flowing out of her formed a pool under her motionless body.
A few minutes later. Forest of the Sanctuary
"I searched everywhere. Yet I found nobody, as if they already left the Sanctuary. Not even Roswaal-sama or Emilia-sama were even there..."
Frederica's face went pale while thinking of the worst possible outcome.
It was already too wrong of them to think that going to the Sanctuary was the right idea. Now it was a high probability that that creature had followed them.
Suddenly, her instincts kicked in, causing her to hide behind a tree. She inched her face forward to look at whatever was releasing such bloodlust, only to barely prevent a gasp from escaping her mouth as her wide eyes witnessed the rather familiar blue Wolgram-like beast that had blood red eyes that had tears of blood flowing from them and was releasing immense bloodlust.
Suddenly, Frederica accidentally placed her foot on a twig, causing a snapping sound to echo throughout the silent night.
And at the same exact time, Frederica had to jump away from behind the tree to avoid Exebark's large jaws from snapping her horizontally in half, where the tree that she was hiding behind met said Fate, shattering to countless splinters in less than a second, but Frederica managed to come out unscathed, hiding right behind another tree.
She then raised an eyebrow in confusion, having noticed that the beast was wiping its face around, as if looking for her, despite the fact that she was hiding behind the tree that was right next to it. Seeing that, Frederica decided to test a theory. She slowly reached for a nearby rock, before throwing it away to the opposite direction. The moment it landed on the ground and made a small, barely hearable thud sound, Exebark dashed like a rabid dog towards the direction of the rock, disappearing into the woods since Frederica threw the rock to a considerably far distance. This led Frederica to a realization: That thing that looked like a Wolgram...Was blind.
"Now's my chance" She muttered under her breath, before dashing towards the direction of the Sanctuary, exiting the forest territory.
A few minutes later. Between the borders of the Kremaldy Forest and the Sanctuary
"I made it! I finally made it!"
Ram exclaimed her happiness upon finally arriving at the edge of the barrier of the Sanctuary, having spotted the Master Emerald in front of her.
"Hello again, Ram"
"?!"
Without any kind of warning, Ram saw as Subaru EXE appeared instantly in front of her, causing her to back away from him, her back hitting the huge gem behind her.
"No! You...Get away from me!" Ram yelled at the abomination possessing Subaru's body. She then took out her wand, tightly gripping it with one hand, and brandished the Triple Rod in her other hand. But before Subaru EXE could do anything, he jumped backwards as Frederica descended from the sky, slamming her clawed fist into the ground, creating a small crater where Subaru EXE previously stood.
"Stop right there, you psycho!" She exclaimed while glaring at the abomination, who gritted his teeth in anger.
"You?! You weren't supposed to make it out alive!" Subaru EXE exclaimed in a mixture of shock and anger, before he gasped, having realized that for some reason, this event happened before, to which it made him understand something, but he just decided to keep silent about it, only his shocked expression was slowly turning to a mad grin.
"Hey, ladies. Have you ever fallen from a very huge height? Well, consider this your first experience!"
"?!"
And before any of the two girls could react, Subaru EXE's body suddenly emitted a bright light, and the next thing the two girls knew was that they were falling from the sky, beyond the clouds and down to the ground, taking a free fall with no brakes, with the Master Emerald also falling with them, but it was descending at a faster rate than those two, considering its size and weight.
Such a fall, even with their superhuman durability, would be more than enough to kill them instantly, considering the fact that they have wasted too much mana just to survive.
"FREDERICA! GIVE ME YOUR HAND!" Ram yelled to Frederica, who was in front of her, falling as well.
"NO! GET THE MASTER EMERALD! WE CAN'T LET EXELLER HAVE IT" Frederica yelled back.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! I ONLY HAVE ENOUGH MANA FOR EITHER YOU OR THE EMERALD ITSELF!" Ram yelled.
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! I CAN SAVE MYSELF! HURRY!" Frederica yelled, causing Ram to grit her teeth at the stubbornness of her senior.
"YOU BETTER BE SAYING THE TRUTH, FREDERICA! OR ELSE!" Ram yelled one last time, before she dived towards the falling huge green gem. Once she reached it, she stood on top of it, before using the last of her mana to invoke Wind Magic, causing a small cyclone to envelope the huge emerald, softening its fall and causing it to descend lightly on the ground.
The moment that both her and the Master Emerald landed on the ground, Ram got off the top of the huge gem, before she placed her hands on her thighs, panting heavily.
"Phew...Ram...Managed to make it somehow...B-But what about Frederica? Where is she...?" She asked herself, before looking in front of her, only to gasp in shock upon seeing Frederica away from her by a dozen meters, lying motionlessly in a pool of her own blood. This made her run towards her, forgetting her fatigue from exhausting her entire mana pool, before she reached the motionless Frederica, standing in front of her with wide eyes.
"No...Nononononononono..." She muttered in disbelief, before falling to her knees. Two thin streams of tears trailing down her cheeks from her eyes.
"This...This wasn't supposed to happen...You stupid...You..." Ram trailed off. The words getting stuck to her throat.
"I know that you resented me for preventing you from killing Heinkel Astrea...But...But I didn't resent you...I just...I just hated the fact that you were tormenting yourself...I'm sorry...I'm sorry, Frederica..." Ram whispered, sobbing in front of Frederica's mangled corpse, completely devastated over the loss of her senior and friend.
"A vain sacrifice. The Master Emerald is mine and there's no 'Hero' to save you now, Ram..."
"?!"
Ram looked from the corners of her eyes, only to see Subaru EXE flashing a mocking smirk at her despairing form as the pink-haired Oni maid was silently mourning Frederica with sobs.
But at this point, she wasn't afraid of that abomination. Her mind was already overwritten by Sadness.
"A Hero...Even when he didn't look like it, Barusu was a Hero, you...You monster..." Ram whispered her words, causing Subaru EXE's smirk to slowly fade, only being replaced by a monotone facial expression, before he was seen wiping out his blood tears with the sleeve of his shirt.
"To tell you the truth...Sometimes the world doesn't need a Hero...Sometimes what it needs...Is a monster" He said calmly to her, before new tears of blood dripped from his eyes. He looked at the tears of blood staining his eyes and face once again, before he walked away from Ram's grieving form and Frederica's bloodied, mangled corpse, marching to the opposite side where the Master Emerald was lying on the ground. The only difference was the appearance of a black-skinned woman with emerald-green eyes and waist-length hair, wearing a black businesswoman suit and black sandals with high heels.
"Tell me one thing, Nyarlathotep...We will have a Happy Ending if all of them made it to the end?" Subaru EXE asked the Crawling Chaos.
"Neither Alice nor I know...The prophecy can be changed just like last time...We just need to wait" Nyarlathotep answered.
"You could just erase me from existence. Why are you doing this?" Subaru EXE asked.
"I realized something when I see creatures of Seither like you...Highests, Demons, Reapers, Guardians...They are all foolish. I have nothing to do with all of this, except for the fact that I, an Information Demon created from Magatsuhi, had befriended Alice, a Highest that wanted to break the cycle of continuous war and conflict between the Four Primordial Forces of All Creation. And if there was anything that I learned from her...It is that erasure is not always an optimal solution to all the problems" Nyarlathotep answered.
Just then, Subaru EXE gasped as a bright white light escaped from his chest, and shortly afterwards, the whole world got covered in bright light, with a few last words echoing out on deaf ears.
"I want them to live..."
Memory Fragment File #11
"Where are you going, Frederica?"
"Huh? Ram?"
Standing in front of the doors of the Margrave Mathers Mansion with her arms crossed under her developing chest, Ram stared calmly at Frederica, who was departing from the mansion at a very late hour in the night.
"I was just...Uhh...Going to Irlam Village to check on the barrier stones" Frederica said, slightly stuttering in her speech, which didn't go unnoticed by Ram.
"You're going to that man to kill him, right?" She asked, and upon seeing Frederica not replying, Ram knew that she hit the nail in the coffin.
"I already told you, Frederica. Vengeance will get you nothing but trouble. You mustn't do this" Ram said as she walked forward towards Frederica, standing in front of her once she reached her.
"Why are you telling me this? You know that I can't let it go, Ram. I just can't. My life was ruined the moment that man killed my mother. I left the Sanctuary to search for my mother, even though I knew that she was dead. I must have gone insane at some point without even realizing it. I left my brother and he now hates me, and now...Now I'm not so sure what exactly I'm living for. I have no purpose in Life..." Frederica said, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.
"Ram does understand your Grief. I understand what it means to lose your family and the desire to avenge their Death, but-" Ram was trying to calm Frederica down and reason with her, but the Beast-Human cut her off midway.
"What do you know?! How do you even know?! How about we talk about the fact that not only you're serving under the man that can be more or less considered the murderer of not only your parents, but also your entire clan?!" Frederica yelled angrily.
"..." Ram remained silent, her hair shadowing her eyes.
"Or how about you're literally contracted to him because he threatened you with Rem?! I must say, for all of your self-proclaimed genius intelligence, you couldn't find a proper way out of this one! And that is pathetic if you ask me!" Frederica continued.
"..." And yet, Ram said nothing as she clenched her fists so hard, her knuckles turned white.
"Let's not also mention that you literally started to develop feelings for him?! Heck, if Shadow-sama never showed up, you would have been heads over heels for Roswaal!" Frederica continued her ruthless assault on Ram.
"..." Ram didn't say anything, but she gritted her teeth and growled.
"He placed you under a contract to use you as nothing but a tool for his own agenda! The moment that he reaches his goal, he will abandon all of us! I don't want to be abandoned! I'm indebted to him, but I'm not a tool for someone's convenience! I'll go and kill that bastard that ruined my life! So I don't want a hypocritic, failure of a sister like you to-!"
SLAP!
"?!"
As she was screaming her insults at Ram, Frederica's face forcibly arched to her right side, followed by a stinging pain on her reddened right cheek. Her eyes wide in shock, Frederica soon realized what had just happened.
Ram had just slapped her in the face.
"I know...I know that I'm not flawless...I know that I'm a failure of a sister...I know that I'm weak in the head...But...I've tried so hard, but I couldn't overcome it. And along the way, I wanted to avenge my clan by killing Roswaal-sa...Roswaal...But...It wasn't only because of the contract that he forced on me that endangered Rem's life...It was because that I didn't want to lose myself..." Ram whispered with a sad expression on her face, her eyes still releasing tears.
"What...?" Frederica asked, the words getting stuck into her throat.
"If I killed him...Not only would I lose Rem...But also myself...That day when I lost my horn...I felt a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders...I was really happy, because everyone in my village placed their expectations on me, whereas they scorned Rem...So I was happy that my horn was gone because...Because I thought that everyone would now look at Rem more..." Ram said, causing Frederica to gasp in shock, not being able to say a word, allowing Ram to continue.
"Rem is better than me in everything...She is a true hard worker and deserves to have a bright, happy future. So to answer your accusations...I didn't kill Roswaal because I would lose myself, and if I did lose myself...I would lose my sister, the most precious and most valuable person in my life...It's because I have someone waiting for me at the end of the road...That I don't want to lose myself..." Ram said.
"I...I..." Frederica was at a loss for words, and this caused Ram to continue talking.
"As for why I fell in love with Roswaal...It was because he took care of us and withheld his promise of not bringing harm to Rem. However, after Shads entered our lives, I soon realized that Roswaal will never change. He's a crazy psychopath that will trample upon anyone that stands in the way of his twisted ambitions. My resolve was even strengthened when I found a Gospel in his office a few weeks ago" Ram said.
"A-A Gospel?!" Frederica gasped in shock.
"Yes...He had it in his office. This thing...He allowed it to control his actions...And I saw it as a complete waste of time to help him and lost all hope on him being redeemed...And when Shads came, I soon realized the difference between both of them...Shads truly fought for those around him, even if he doesn't show that he cares. He's kind, faithful and would never leave a person in need behind, and I know very well that if I went ahead and told him about the contract binding both Rem and I with that bastard Roswaal, he will immediately see the solution to our problems, seeking it all out to the very end...That's why Ram and Rem had fell in love with him...Because he's a man that tries to prevent his Greed from overcoming his own sense of judgement, unlike that Roswaal..." Ram finished, and her speech left Frederica completely stunned and unable to even utter a single word. It was then after a few moments of silence that Ram turned her back in front of Frederica, heading straight to the mansion.
"Begone of my sight, Frederica Baumann...I don't want to see you now. Please...Don't show me your face today so that I'll be able to speak with you tomorrow" Ram muttered her words, before heading inside the mansion, leaving the sobbing Frederica alone.
Having lost all motivation to kill Heinkel, Frederica returned to her room in the mansion after a couple of minutes, with her eyes unable to close for the rest of the night, as her heart was heavy with anger, guilt, shame and Sadness.
Memory Fragment File #11:End
And Done!
Alright! I finished that chapter earlier than I expected! I suppose because it was shorter than the usual chapters. Sorry.
Now then, I want to address something to a certain person that I have deleted their comment.
I don't know who you are, sir, and I don't want to know, but let me tell you this: You're a coward that is not even using a proper account to comment. I can understand if you don't like the story or even show your dislike to it in the form of a rude, vulgar comment. All of that I can understand and I won't argue with your own opinion regarding it, but when you bring out a threat to me by saying that you will place my story in a trash community collection if I didn't comment for your friend's stories or say my dislike for it, then this is another story. You should be really lucky that I deleted your comment because I didn't want to give you any trouble, considering the fact that you're not even worth my time, because if someone vandalizes someone, badmouths their story and even threaten them just to make them comment on other stories, then that means that they are not even worth a breath of anger or even worth thinking about, and the fact that you did all of that through a Guest comment means that you're a coward, because if you truly wanted to face me and be brave, then you would have written that comment under your own account (If you have one, that is), but you didn't, because you were afraid of the Guideline Rules, which states that I have the right to give out a complaint about a person with an account who threw rude comments on my story, and because of that, you used a Guest account to submit your rude threat on my reviews section, because comments placed by Guests can only be deleted, but cannot have complaints addressed for them. That is what makes me sure that you're a coward that's afraid of facing me or anyone else that you don't like just for the sake of forcing people to leave positive comments on the stories of your 'friend'. So here's the thing: I took a screenshot of your own review. If you dare to try and do something like that again, I shall send it to the main staff of the Fanfiction site, and they shall deal with you, and believe me, they can and will find you, even if you were hiding behind a Guest account. That is all that I have to say to you, so I suggest that you reconsider your actions in the future, humble sir.
And to my pal, Reaper 10398, thank you so much for supporting and continuing to support me. You're right. This is my story, my world and my life, and honestly, I'm writing it because I wanted the story to go that way, you know, and because I know that most people enjoy certain shows, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you always believed and still believe in me. Thank you so much.
And that's all. I hope from the bottom of my heart that I live up to all of your expectations in this story, and if you have any complaints about the story or any ideas or opinions, please don't hesitate to leave all of that in the reviews section.
Next Chapter: Round 2. Ending 9: An Oni's sweet dream and a little girl's horrific nightmare
Until Next Time And Next Chapter!
Jude Warble, Out.