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
"You've crossed too many lines and crossed into my Castle of Dreams...You really lack courtesy"
"..."
Echidna's scornful glare and spiteful words cut through the silence in the air like a hot knife through a block of butter.
Seeing loathing, or something close to it, coming from no other but Echidna surprises Shadow. He had only just voiced their final parting, thinking that she lacked such emotions. Seeing her blatantly exhibiting emotion, Shadow begins doubting and wondering if perhaps he was wrong.
But time to realistically flag that as a problem has passed. Right now, the problem is how to deal with this motionless Witch in front of him.
He looked around him and surprisingly, everyone had different reactions.
Echidna was glaring with absolute, pure hatred towards Satella.
Typhon was waving both of her hands with a cheerful smile on her face at Satella like the kid she is.
Carmilla was burying her face even further in her scarf.
Minerva was watching with an emotionless face, but Shadow could tell that she was nervous, judging by how she clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly.
Sekhmet was still lying on the ground, staring in silence, but the furrowed brows of hers indicated that she was on stand-by, preparing to jump into battle mode at any second.
"...I'm quite surprised that none of you are doing anything" Shadow commented.
"You look like you can't comprehend us Witches' intentions and are being tossed around and toyed with. Although, believing that you could easily see through to our thoughts would be a discredit to the name of a Witch. On that you can't take us so cheaply" Echidna commented.
"And that's supposed to result in...What, exactly?" Shadow asked, his eyes drifting back and forth from both of Crossed Thanatos and Satella, both were silently gazing at them, surrounding them from both sides.
But Shadow knew, judging by the direction of their aura, that their target is him, and only him. Echidna seemed to have noticed this and nodded in acknowledgment with a small smile.
"I see. So that's how you perceive this situation. Goodness...Well, right. Personally, I'm all for full agreement with your stance. What I'd really like to do about now is bash that thing with every authority I could have, annihilating it without leaving a speck of dust behind, but doing everything I can to eradicate that thing, and then having the other witches turn on me is cart before horse. Never mind Minerva, if we're talking a bet which'll make enemies of Sekhmet and Typhon, there's little worth gambling" Echidna answered, before returning to glare at Satella.
The situation was pretty much scattered everywhere.
On a side, we have a mindless, Void Demon that transcends conception. Crossed Thanatos, an existence that was hailed as a god of Death, a direct fragment from the Primal Force of Death, holding only one goal: Completion. And to be complete, it must kill its owner, Shadow, and usurp all of his powers to himself.
And on the other side, an incarnation of pure destruction in the form of the Witch of Envy, Satella, standing in anticipation, as if waiting for something to happen.
And that made Shadow ask a very important question.
"...Why the hell aren't you girls doing anything now? Isn't that the Witch of Envy that killed you all?" He asked.
"Y-You're wrong...That Envy is...Is e-everyone's foe is...Is right, but t-that...Thing and her are...D-different cases...You know?" Carmilla voiced out, causing Shadow to silently raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"It's about whether that's Tella or Envy" Daphne said, flashing her sharp teeth with her grin.
"Well, you see, we're not mad towards Tella. And...We're not mad at Envy either. Either way, I like Tella!" Typhon explained with a smile.
"I see...Satella...Has a split personality disorder, huh?" Shadow muttered his conclusion. It now made sense to him that the Witches aren't doing anything, but at the same time, they were weary whether or not Envy was in control of Satella.
"When you say Envy, does that mean that the Witch Factor of Envy has something to do with that personality disorder that Satella has?" Shadow asked.
"Wholly. If you forcibly introduce a Witch Factor into a being with no affinity, you do get these afflictions. The Witch's personality that spawns from the Factor's influence, and the original self-conflict...Is perhaps what to call it. Though, my view is they're the same being, so I can't really see the point in differentiating them like the others do" Echidna answered. Everyone then saw as Satella...Or Envy, nobody knew, slowly walked towards Shadow.
"Hey. Are you Satella, or the Witch of Envy? Which one?" Minerva asked but got no response. However, Shadow got the response that he had...
"...Huh?"
In the form of Satella standing in between him and Crossed Thanatos.
"Don't...Come...Here..." She muttered, which made Shadow blink.
"She...Can talk...?" Shadow asked.
"Duh! Of course, she can talk! But hey! That means that this is Satella, not Envy! Envy cannot comprehend even the simplest of common speech!" Minerva exclaimed her conclusion.
"Don't...Come...Closer..." Shadow could hear Satella's mutters, and upon comprehending them, she realized that she was talking to Crossed Thanatos.
"Don't...Come...Closer...Don't you dare...Touch my beloved's friend..." Her words may have been meant to be threatening, but Shadow found it really hard to consider it so, as Satella's voice came out as extremely angelic.
"I see...She's trying to protect you for the sake of Subaru Natsuki. What a filthy way to express Love" Echidna spat her words once again.
"You...Want to help me?" Shadow asked, only for his and Rem's eyes to widen upon seeing something quite shocking.
A thin stream of tears was falling from Satella's right eye.
It was extremely difficult, if not outright impossible, to see Satella's face. Aside from her beautiful black dress adorned with yellow flowers on the sides of her waist, a veil of darkness covered her face, preventing any kind of facial recognition. But Shadow knew that psychopaths cannot cry genuine tears like these.
"I want to help you...Because my beloved sees you as a friend...And my beloved is suffering right now...He's possessed by that vile being...The timeline was reset...For sixteen times..." Satella muttered, which in turn made the eyes of Shadow, Rem and Echidna widen in shock.
"How many days...Had passed in each reset?" Shadow asked.
"Two days..." Satella muttered.
"Ha...Haha...You mean to tell me...That I've been here for more than a month...While everyone around me was in agony...Was I really that selfish...?" Shadow asked.
Suddenly, all of the Witches, including Satella, shuddered.
A massive aura eclipsing the collective Miasma of the seven Witches of Sin engulfed the entire dream world. And all of their eyes widened, with Rem unconsciously inching a few steps away from Shadow.
The four inhibitor rings on Shadow's limbs glowed out and a different effect came out from each ring.
The ring on the right arm emitted pure, yellowish white light that was given physical form.
The ring on the left arm emitted crimson, red fire that glowed intensely.
The ring on the right ankle emitted bright green vapor that seeped throughout space like roots through soil.
The ring on the left ankle emitted pure darkness that was given physical form.
In that moment, four different bizarre phenomena happened.
The heat of a star engulfed the dream world, threatening to vaporize its illusionary atmosphere. The residents of the dream world, even Crossed Thanatos, felt that they were going onto the brink of insanity, to the point that the effects of their Witch Miasma were less than a crude joke when compared to what they felt right now. Time and space were twisted violently, as the time was reset, accelerated, decelerated, stopped and moved forward at the same time. All of the residents, including Crossed Thanatos trembled as they felt that their senses betrayed them, making them feel that their eyes were blind, their ears were deaf, their mouths were mute, their noses couldn't smell anything, their skin couldn't sense even the breeze of the air around them, their tongues couldn't taste anything. They wanted to cry, to laugh, to scream, to wail, to curse, to spite, to scorn, to kill, to purge, to rape, to defile, to suffer, to torture, to get raped, to get killed, to get scorned, to get cursed, to get spited, to be crushed, to be smitten. They felt as if they were at the deepest depth of Hell, yet in the highest zenith of Heaven. Their souls were being slowly corrupted, and even those without a soul like Crossed Thanatos felt like its conceptual existence was being slowly eaten and torn apart. And finally, countless black portals were forcibly torn in the air, engulfing the dream world in a pseudo-night sky, twisting concepts and causality in a beautiful, yet violent way.
Shadow Terios was angry.
"Crossed Thanatos...You're a part of me...Yet this level of power you have right now...Is due to the fact that you're detached of me...However..."
As he cut himself off during his speech, Shadow's crimson red eyes, filled with pure, untamed fury, glared at the very being of Crossed Thanatos.
"...I'll make sure that you know...What happens when you defy yourself...I'm pissed at myself...So I think it's time...That I teach myself a lesson"
The Ultimate Life Form begins to unleash his fury on his incomplete manifestation of Death, showing Death that it can also be killed.
Kremaldy Forest. Nighttime
"Hmm...This must be a long way down, but I think I can get there anyway"
As she said that, Frederica looked down from the cliff she was standing on, spotting deadly spikes across the land beneath her.
Taking a deep breath, Frederica jumped off the cliff, reaching towards the vine of a nearby tree. Once she caught the vine with her hands, she swung towards another vine of another tree, before she spun acrobatically off the vine she was clinging onto, and then landed on her feet on the ground, with the spikes away from her with around one meter.
"Phew...That was a close one" She muttered before looking above her at the night sky and smiled.
"Ah...These are such beautiful stars. It's a shame that these are rare. I remember Subaru-sama talking about stars and how he had exquisite knowledge of them. Maybe I can ask him about it when everything around us has settled" Frederica said, before taking a deep breath and focused her gaze on the road in front of her.
"Alright. A few minutes of running shall lead me straight to Hakchuri city. I have to make haste so that Petra isn't alone" Frederica said before a slight blush appeared on her face.
"And maybe...Just maybe...Have some...'time' with Otto-sama..." She muttered the last part before shaking her head, causing the blush to vanish from her cheeks.
"No use thinking about that now. Let's focus on the task in hand" Frederica said, before dashing towards the direction of Hakchuri city, running into the last borders of the Kremaldy Forest.
As she was running, Frederica felt the presence of an existence that was following her. She pretended to ignore it as it was approaching her, and just as it was about to touch her, she stopped in her running, turned around and swung her right fist at the figure following her, only for the figure to catch her fist before it could connect.
"Be careful, Frederica-san...Or you might hurt someone"
"?!"
Right in front of her eyes was Otto, having been the one to catch her fist before it could connect with his face.
"Oh...Otto-sama. I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Frederica asked in worry.
"Nah...Don't worry. I'm okay. I'm more durable than you think" Otto said with a smile, causing Frederica to blush slightly.
"Oh...I see" She muttered.
"Say, Frederica-san. I found a new place around her in the forest. Wanna see it with me?" Otto asked.
"Huh...? But I still have to catch up with Petra" Frederica protested quietly.
"Don't worry. It won't take long for us. Besides, Petra is heading straight for Shadow-san, where Rem-san is. Also, Ram-san is on her way there from the Capital city. So don't worry about it" Otto said.
"Well, if you say so...Then lead the way, Otto-sama" Frederica said, before she and Otto proceeded to walk on the road.
"Otto-sama, do you remember when we spoke for the first time? I'm suddenly filled with nostalgia" Frederica said.
"Huh? Uh...Yeah, sure" Otto said.
"It sure was a wonderful place" She said, causing Otto to grumble.
"The basement prison was wonderful? Sure, if you exclude the fact that I was placed into it as it drained my Mana and made me look like a skeletal corpse" Otto groaned his words out.
"What? Otto-sama, we first spoke during the Snow Festival, that day where Great Spirit Puck-sama released his pent-up Mana. How could you forget that?" Frederica asked, slighty shocked at Otto's words.
"Oh, sorry. With everything that is happening around us, my memory is completely scrambled" Otto said, before suddenly changing the subject.
"Anyways, how are you and Petra-chan?" He asked.
"She's nice, but...A bit of a stranger..." Frederica muttered, slightly hurt from the words escaping her mouth.
"Strange...Heh heh...That's weird. Alright, no more questions. Let's talk about you" Otto said.
"...I...Have a lot of things on my mind" Frederica muttered, the hair on her skin suddenly standing up due to somehow feeling Fear.
"A lot of things on your mind, huh? Then let's discuss that later, after you change your mind" Otto said.
"Can you tell me...What this place is?" Frederica asked.
"You'll see. I'm sure you will love it" Otto answered.
Suddenly, as they were walking, Frederica stopped as her ears twitched, causing her to look behind her, with Otto noticing that and proceeded to stop himself.
"I...Heard something" Frederica said.
"Frederica-san, calm down. We're almost there. Let's get going" Otto said before walking towards their yet-to-be-known destination, leaving Frederica alone.
Frederica then saw a mysterious black figure approaching her. She didn't know who it was, but judging by its posture, it appeared to be a Human woman.
"He's a wolf in sheep clothing. If you trust him, you will die" The figure said to Frederica.
"What? Are you talking about Otto-sama?" Frederica asked in confusion, shock and Fear.
"He's not Otto Suwen. Haven't you figured it out? Run...While you still can..." The figure said before vanishing away from Frederica's sight, leaving her in her anxious state. The fact that Frederica had some suspicions regarding Otto made the words of that figure click in her mind.
Even so...
"I've to find out whether or not he's the real Otto-sama" She muttered before following Otto. She then entered a somewhat dark hallway in the forest, spotting Otto standing in front of a huge floating grey ring.
"You're here, darling. Good. You see this ring?" Otto asked, causing Frederica to slightly raise her eyebrow. Otto never called her 'Darling'.
"Yes..." She muttered.
"Let's jump into it and explore! Don't worry, we're gonna be fine!" He exclaimed, before jumping into the ring, vanishing upon making contact with it.
"Okay then..." Frederica muttered.
She already had her suspicions, considering the fact that not only did he guess the location where they first spoke wrong, but also that mysterious shadowy figure warned her of him. Not to mention that she felt Fear and anxiety from 'Otto'...
"I should see right to it" She muttered before mustering the courage within her to jump into the ring, vanishing into it in the same matter as Otto did.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes to adjust them to the sudden burst of light, Frederica's eyes glittered in amazement at the scene that found itself in front of her.
She was inside a space with colored cubes and red floating objects that held stars in them, alongside rainbow-colored birds flying everywhere around her.
What's more, she was floating.
Breaking herself from her awe, Frederica thought of moving in the space as if she was flying, and that just happened, just like that. She was amazed that that worked.
She then proceeded to float towards the red floating objects, and tried touching one of them, only to suddenly get sent flying away from it. Frederica readjusted herself in midair and looked at the projectiles. It seems that those projectiles acted as some kind of jumping pads that repel whatever comes into contact with them.
Bracing herself, Frederica maneuvered around the objects, and no matter how much narrowed the space was between each projectile, she was able to pass through it with ease, having got used to her floating state.
She then passed through the last of those red jumping pads, before looking up, noticing a circular object that had the word 'GOAL' on it, where said object was flickering in colors between red and blue.
"Alright, darling. Just touch this 'GOAL' object" Otto's voice rang into Frederica's ears, causing her to remember what she was here for, and that was to discern the identity of the individual that was posing as Otto.
But just as she was about to touch the 'GOAL'...
"Huh?"
Visions suddenly assaulted Frederica's mind, causing her eyes to widen in shock.
"He's a wolf in sheep clothing. If you trust him, you will die"
"He's not Otto Suwen. Haven't you figured it out? Run...While you still can..."
"You know Frederica, there's something interesting about you girls..."
"...You all are so naive"
"Oh...It seems that I stole your heart. Don't worry. You want it back? Here!"
"Oops. It seems that I inserted it in the wrong place"
The images suddenly stopped, causing Frederica to gasp in shock.
She didn't understand, but she believed that she had just seen the future, and this caused her to take one look at the 'GOAL', before she floated away from it, and the moment she did that, everything flickered in her sight, before he eyes adjusted themselves at a horrid color of red instead of the pleasant colors.
"You little bitch. So you wanna go that way, do you? Well two can play that game"
And just as the angry twisted voice resonated in Frederica's ears, one of the 'GOAL' balls suddenly zoomed towards Frederica, hitting her dead on in the chest, causing her eyes to be blinded by white light.
Kremaldy Forest. Nighttime
A flicker of white light appeared in a part of a running riverbank, and Frederica fell face first from thin air on the grassy ground.
"Ow...My head..." She moaned in pain as she got up to her feet. She then looked at the running river stream descending down from the hill-like platform that she was standing on.
"It looks like I'm at the Kremaldy Forest again, and at its top as well" She said.
"I found you, sweetheart"
"?!"
Frederica wiped her head behind her, only to see Subaru, but with his face being pale, his eyes having black sclera and blood red irises and they were dripping down tears of blood from them.
"Subaru-sama...? No. You're not him. Who are you and what have you done to both Subaru-sama and Otto-sama?" Frederica asked while entering a fighting stance.
"Oh don't worry. They will follow you soon enough, right after I'm done with you. Now then, let's get to the part where I kill you, shall we?" Subaru EXE asked with his crazy grin on.
Frederica clenched her fist, determined to clash against him. However, in the next second, a vision suddenly appeared in her mind that made her eyes widen in Fear and shock, and it was all that it needed to revert her resolve from putting any kind of resistance against that creature that was trying to take her life.
She saw Subaru EXE punching a hole into her heart, before punching another hole into the back of her head and through her right eye.
Frederica's instincts screamed at her to run away, and she knew better than to distrust her instincts.
She looked to her side, and saw a thick log lying on the ground. Not even giving it a second thought, Frederica swiftly picked the log, threw it to the riverbank and jumped on it, landing her feet on the log to use it as a makeshift surfboard.
Frederica jumped down to the descending riverbank, the stream of the river making her descend at high speeds and she couldn't do anything to slow down her descending.
Seeing a huge piece of rubble in her way, Frederica took a deep breath, grabbed the edge of the log, and jumped up, dodging the huge piece of rubble, but was unable to dodge the large tree that found itself in front of her as she jumped off to evade the rubble, causing her to collide with the tree. Fortunately, the log took the entire impact, shattering into splinters.
Frederica wasted no time and jumped towards the tree, grabbing one of its branches, before swinging on it, and released her grip from it, launching her into the other side of the riverbank. She then ran as fast as she could from the abomination that was flying towards her. She then saw a wall in front of her, and she didn't know whether or not it was sturdy. Even so, Frederica wasn't going to waste any chances. It was either slamming into a wall and turning into paste, or possibly suffering a Fate that was worse than Death.
"..."
Obviously, she didn't had to choose. If she was going to die, she would die on her own terms, even if she was running in Fear, that didn't mean that some abomination would be the thing to take her life away from her.
Frederica wasn't much of a warrior like Garfiel or a skilled mage like Subaru, or even a nigh-invincible existence like Reinhard and Shadow, but she held her Pride up higher than anything in her life.
Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, Frederica mustered all of her strength and ran as fast as her legs could make her, heading towards the wall without stopping, bracing herself for the impact.
However, the moment that she made contact with the wall, something strange happened.
A tunning sound assaulted her eardrums, and she felt as if her form was glitching somehow, like the signal in a communication mirror Metia going wrong. She tried opening her mouth to speak or even gasp for breath, but she couldn't. She tried to move her arms and legs, but she couldn't. The Fear of Death rising inside of her, and she was unable to even do anything about it.
And with a tear rolling down the face of her glitching form, Frederica's conscious slipped away as everything went black in her vision.
An hour ago. Irlam Village
"I have already arrived in Irlam Village. I hope Frederica-neesama is okay"
Petra entered the borders of the Irlam Village, having passed through the Kremaldy Forest.
She walked towards her house, smiling as she wanted to imagine the faces of Subaru and her parents when they see her with those beautiful flowers that Frederica will get her for them.
"Hm?" Petra blinked upon sensing something weird.
She looked in front of her, and saw that the village was oddly quiet. She blinked at that, not knowing what was going on.
"That's weird. Usually, Lucas, Mild and Cain are playing around, while the other villagers are lighting up the Magic crystals to illuminate the streets of the village. I wonder if something is wrong" Petra said, as suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine, causing her to release a 'brrr' sound unconsciously.
She then blinked once again upon seeing a shadowy figure approaching her, before she opted a fighting stance.
Ever since Petra became a maid, she was receiving martial arts training from Frederica, and she already mastered the basics. She also received training in Magic by Shadow, who told her that she had two affinities for Water and Yang Magic.
Petra had already mastered basic healing Magic and strengthening Magic and was able to cast Jiwald after a few months of training with it, but she was still yet to be able to use advanced level spells.
The silhouette approaching Petra was covered in shadows, yet Petra could identify its identity as a grown-up woman with a rather voluptuous figure that could make even the likes of Frederica and Rem to shame. Yet, she knew more than anything that whatever that approached her wasn't even Human.
"Young child. You must not enter the village. If you do, you will die after suffering a humiliating Fate worse than Death" The shadowy figure said with a feminine gentle voice, confirming Petra's intuition that the figure was a female.
"Huh...What?" Petra asked in confusion, the chills increasingly going down her spine.
"Just do not enter the village, and most importantly do not enter your own house. Do not repeat that dreadful Fate again. Please" The figure said, before vanishing into thin air instantly before Petra could even ask what she meant.
Petra was extremely confused, but at the same time, her body couldn't stop shaking. Chills ran uncontrollably down the spine of her petite 13-year-old body, but she tried to ignore it, as that warning that she received just now made her worried about her parents, and she wanted to make sure that they were alright.
Petra walked towards her house, before she knocked at the door. She waited for a few seconds, before the door slowly opened. The way it slowly creaked open sent shivers down Petra's spine, but she resolved herself to enter, and proceeded to do so, before shutting the door behind her.
"Hm?"
She then noticed that the lights are off, which in turn made her confused at it.
"Umm...Mom...Dad...I'm home..." She muttered, her body unconsciously shaking. She then blinked upon seeing the form of her mother approaching her.
"What is it, honey? You seem scared. Did something happen on your journey to here?" Petra's mother asked as she walked towards her.
"Umm...Nothing...Nothing happened. Anyways, where's dad?" Petra asked upon seeing the smiling face of her mother. However, for some reason, her body couldn't stop shaking, even though she was looking straight into her mother's smiling face.
What happened next was completely horrible, however.
"Oh...That piece of shit?" Petra's mother said those words with the same sweet smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side.
"H-Huh...? Mom? Why are you saying that about dad...?" Petra whispered her question, instinctively taking a step back.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that...I killed him" Petra's mother said, the same sweet smile still present on her face.
"H-Huh...?" Petra said, feeling as if she had just dodged a Dragon Carriage zooming at her direction.
"It's as you heard. I killed him, sweetie. And now it's your turn" Petra's 'mother' said, causing Petra to unconsciously take a few steps back.
Suddenly, images and memories started to assault Petra's head, and to say that it made the worst of headaches for the little girl would be a severe understatement for what Petra's brain is going through. But the Fear of Death made her completely ignore the pain.
"Young child. You must not enter the village. If you do, you will die after suffering a humiliating Fate worse than Death"
"Just do not enter the village, and most importantly do not enter your own house. Do not repeat that dreadful Fate again. Please"
"I really wanted to do this after observing people in this universe, especially her, him and her. Lust sure is amazing"
"You stupid brat. You should have known by now...I am not your mother. Though I enjoyed fucking her brains out in front of the broken form of her husband. And now, I think that I'll have the enjoyment of having my way with their own daughter!"
"I kept on violating your mother to my heart's content, and when I told her that I'll do the same to her daughter, she completely submitted to me. I kept on fucking her brains out, and her husband was just watching with those magnificent dead eyes. And when I was done with her and told her that I lied, she just screamed 'THIS WASN'T WHAT WE AGREED ON!'. GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOW DELIGHTFUL IT WAS SEEING THE DESPAIR AND FEAR IN HER EYES! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM IN YOU NOW!"
"Why, indeed? Well, I was ordered to just kill you, but I grew fascinated by the Seven Deadly Sins. There is that gang of mercenaries in a small country excluded from the Four Great Kingdoms, and they wreaked havoc by making the entire country a heaven for Lust, where males used females as sex slaves. I grew fascinated by it and decided to mimic them. Pretty nifty, huh?"
"But I suppose that you won't have an answer to me, right? But hey. I'm killing two birds with one stone! I'm killing you just as Exeller said, and at the same time I'm having fun with my hobbies! So I think it's a fair trade!"
"Ooooooh! We have a fresh virgin here! I'll enjoy that way more than your mother!"
"I'm going to enjoy this! The sensation of the tentacles is vibrating into my body! Time to feel good!"
"Heh! That's amazing! Small kids are the best!"
"I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!I ENJOY IT!"
"Ah~! I'm at my limit! I'm gonna release it inside of a small girl~!"
"Heh...Not bad, mortal. You did alright to satisfy me"
"You could have had a slim chance in resisting me if you turned on the lights, but...Oh well. However, if you want to blame someone, then don't blame yourself...Blame Atzulith-Lite for dooming all of you to that Fate"
Petra's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. What were those visions? Why did they come right here, specifically in the moment that she was about to die? Was this what was called 'Death Visions'?
"Wait a minute...!" Petra's head made her realize something upon focusing on what those visions showed her.
"You could have had a slim chance in resisting me if you turned on the lights"
This phrase in particular, made Petra aware of something: She has the chance to defend herself from her doom.
She then gritted her teeth, and with cold sweat, she reached for the mana panel on the wall that was used to illuminate the Mana stones of the house in order to turn on the lights.
"Don't you dare turn on those lights!" Petra's 'mother' yelled, having an angry face. That expression and tone of voice was more than enough for Petra to realize that something was wrong. Her mother would never show her an angry face, let alone yell at her. Petra's mother does indeed scold her, but she never showed her an angry face or yelled at her.
Most important of all, Petra's mother never, ever, uttered any kind of vulgar language in her life, or at least, as far as Petra knew her mother.
All of this was more than enough for Petra to not hesitate to push mana into the mana panel, causing the Mana stones to illuminate, but that was for a few seconds as it turns out, in her panic, Petra pushed too much Mana than the required amount, causing the Mana stones to burst and pop like balloons, sending splinters of Lagmite glittering around.
In the brief moments the light was on, Petra saw that her mother's form had disappeared, before it returned again. This time, it had a face that was riddled in blood, grinning at her from ear to ear as her mouth was drooling black blood from it, with the pupils of her eyes shrunken to the point that Petra no longer saw her mother, but some kind of a crazy existence glaring at her.
Indeed, an expression that Petra could never imagine seeing on her own mother.
"I told you...To do NOT turn on the lights!" Petra's 'mother' exclaimed, before countless light-blue tentacles burst from her back, and then she proceeded to somehow fly towards Petra.
"J-Jiwald!"
"?!"
Acting on her instincts as taught to her by Frederica, and using the limited Magic knowledge taught to her by Shadow, Petra pointed her index finger forward, before a yellow, thin beam of light fired itself in a straight line from her finger, piercing a hole in the shoulder of Petra's 'mother'.
"GAAH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!" And it actually proved to be effective as the creature taking the form of her mother roared in pain as the area that the Jiwald found its mark in was still emitting smoke from it as the creature grabbed its shoulder from the pain. It then glared at Petra, who gasped in horror as the creature blindly charged at Petra.
Realizing the situation she was in, Petra realized that a mere Jiwald would do nothing but give her too little time and rile up the creature trying to kill her even further. So she thought back to the trick that she devised to compensate for the Mana stones when they are debilitated from mana.
"Lumina!"
"?!"
Calling out the name of the spell, Petra thrusted her two palms forward, before a sphere of bright yellow light instantly manifested in her hand. It was small, around the size of a football, but it actually did its purpose as the creature shrieked in pain as the light assaulted its form, before it instantly disappeared.
This spell wasn't used for combat purposes, per se. It was mainly used as means to illuminate dark paths and blind opponents, but hey. It served its purpose of saving Petra from her Death.
The downside, however, was that it consumed a considerable amount of Mana when used, and Petra's own Mana reverses were at the level of an average person, still developing to expand even further. This caused Petra to immediately deactivate the spell, being unable to hold it for more than five seconds, gasping heavily for breath as she did so.
Petra realized that her situation didn't fare will. The Lumina spell gave her little time to recover, and she was nearly fresh out of Mana. She had to do something before that creature that's taking the form of her mother returns and kills her.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Petra used whatever Mana left in her body, before directing it to her right foot. And with everything she got, she slammed it into the door of her house that somehow got mysteriously locked. The moment her foot made contact with the door, the door was sent flying away, shattering to splinters as it flew away from Petra. This made Petra have the chance to immediately escape. She ran as fast as her legs could take her, sweating heavily due to the lack of Mana inside of her, relying purely on adrenaline to survive.
Soon afterwards, Petra headed to the exit of Irlam Village, entering the territory of the Kremaldy Forest at the opposite side of the Margrave Mathers domain. However, for a single second, she looked behind her, only to see the grinning, crazed form of her mother floating behind her. Petra ran and ran and ran, but she wasn't someone with limitless stamina like Shadow, and she immediately fell face-first on the grassy ground of the forest.
"Why are you running away from your mother, Petra?" Petra's 'mother' asked, still grinning like crazy as black blood oozed from her mouth.
"Y-your not my mother! Stay back!" Petra gasped her protest, shakily trying to stand up, but in vain as her muscles betrayed her.
"I need to teach you some respect!" The creature exclaimed with the voice of Petra's mother, before it went flying towards her. However, before it could reach Petra, something collided with it. Petra blinked at whatever stood in between her and the creature trying to kill her. She was completely confused, more than shocked.
How couldn't she not be confused when it's someone that she knew, but didn't expect, to come to her rescue?
"...Lucas?" She muttered.
"Don't you dare touch Petra!" The boy exclaimed to the creature that had shed the skin of Petra's mother upon Lucas colliding with it, which in turn revealed its true form to be that of a pale blue balloon-like creature, with red eyes filled with bloodlust and huge claws for hands.
"Grrr! I'll get you next time! Your cunt will be mine, brat!" Execun exclaimed angrily before flying away from the duo of Petra and Lucas.
"Are you alright?" Lucas asked, turning around to look at Petra. The little maid was about to answer him, but then she gasped in shock and horror upon looking at Lucas.
"Lucas! What happened to you?!" She yelled upon seeing that the right side of Lucas' body was swollen and was gray in color, alongside pulsating veins on said side.
"Ah, this? Don't worry. I'm fine" Lucas said with a calm smile, before looking ahead where Execun retreated.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel in doubt, Petra, but long story short, I can now fight. We must stick together if we want to survive" Lucas said.
"The Sanctuary...We must go to the Sanctuary. We can find those who can help us" Petra said, but Lucas seemingly had something else in mind as he looked at the sky.
"Hmm...Dawn" He muttered, which didn't go unheard by Petra, who also looked up, seeing the dark sky being illuminated by the stars.
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 Fleur.
At the same time. Margrave Mansion
"Always be careful, Ram. Don't let anything mislead you from your goals"
Ram sighed at those words that happened around 13 years ago.
Those were the words of the village chief of the Oni Village, right before it was burnt down by the Witch Cult.
In the start of her life, Ram was always taught one thing: To be perfect and never be below.
She always dedicated herself to becoming Number One, all for the sake of her clan.
But if there was one thing that Ram cared about more than even her parents, it was her twin little sister, Rem.
It isn't farfetched to say that Rem was way better than Ram in everything. She could do all tasks and all shores. Things that are never known in this world, like that 'cellphone Metia' that Subaru and Shadow held, was easily mastered by Rem. She was able to easily master its usage within a few hours.
Something that Ram saw that she could never hope to achieve.
Honestly, Ram found it depressing and shameful that Rem took her as her idol.
She lamented her weakness. Ever since she lost her horn, her stamina deteriorated immensely, and all the work in this mansion was solely on Rem and Frederica, and now, Petra. All that Ram did was to either sit with Roswaal every night in order to replenish her Mana or look at them work and pinpoint their mistakes.
Not that there were any mistakes to pinpoint, anyways.
She felt useless, lost, and soon she realized that she will be abandoned.
That is, until he arrived.
Those crimson eyes that pierced through her and her sister's hearts ever since the Wolgram incident in Irlam Village, it made Ram's heart immediately melt. Yet, she felt conflicted between two issues.
The first one was the fact that she was starting to develop feelings for Roswaal, the same man who threatened her with her sister's life, before Shadow even came to view. That was out of the window now, but they are still yet to do something about the contract.
The second issue, however, was the most difficult.
As she noted out before, Rem developed feelings for Shadow, and aside from Subaru, it seems that Shadow sticks with Rem more than anyone in the Emilia Camp.
Ram felt disgusted from herself. She fell in love with a person that her sister fell in love with, and he seemed to share the same feelings towards, making Ram no less than an intruder.
She looked into her knees with a solemn look on her face while seated on a chair in her room. Roswaal ordered her to go and check on Garfiel and Otto, despite the fact that it wasn't even ten minutes ever since Garfiel's departure from the Sanctuary.
She hated that Clown, and she hated herself for not repelling him.
Suddenly, Ram's head perked up upon hearing a sound, and as she was about to reach for the door...
"I'm...Dead...? Rem...Shads..."
She instinctively reached a palm for her throat, having suddenly seen the vision of her head rolling off her shoulders due to something clamping its jaws on her, and this made her stop just a few inches from having her hand touching the doorknob.
Ram had cold sweat running down her forehead. She never felt that Fear ever since that accursed day when she lost her horn against the Witch Cultists that burned her village down.
She didn't know what was happening, but if there's one thing that she knows, it was that she had to get out of here.
Her head turned around to look at the window of her room, and seeing no option, Ram dashed towards the window, opened it, and jumped out of the mansion, and landing safely on her feet, despite it being the third floor.
Taking in a deep breath, Ram dashed forward, not looking back.
A few minutes later. Irlam Village
"I think...I lost it..."
Ram gasped lightly for breath, her heart was still pounding from the immense amount of bloodlust that was directed a few minutes earlier at her.
She then wiped out the sweat from her forehead, looking into the distance. She wanted to reach the Sanctuary, but using her Clairvoyance, she could feel the horrid presence closing in, so what Ram thought was that she will cause danger to the residents of the Sanctuary.
In addition to this, she wanted that Clown to be alive, in order to exact judgement on him herself...
"Very well. Ram has to do something regarding that thing that is chasing her, and if I wants to do that..." She trailed in her speech, before taking out two small palm-sized gray cylinders from one of the pockets of her dress. She then pressed on a button on the sides of each cylinder, before they immediately erected pale purple energy that solidified itself into two tonfa-shaped blades.
"...Then Ram has to step up her game, using the gift Shads has given her" Ram said before slamming the tonfa lightsabers onto the ground, propelling her into the air and towards the direction of the Lifaus Highway.
A few minutes later. Lifaus Highway
"Taking a U-turn from the Lifaus Highway towards the Sanctuary...Sure is tiring"
Ram panted as she was running forward, her plasma tonfas in hand.
Then she saw the blur of a white-haired boy coming into view beside her.
"Hey, Ram-chi. Short time no see" Subaru said.
"Well, speak of incompetence and it shall arrive in the flesh. Short time no see, Barusu" Ram said with a comical scoff on her face, causing Subaru to sweatdrop.
"Harsh as ever, Nee-sama" Subaru said with a chuckle, before looking ahead on the road.
"Tell ya what. Let's do a competition. Race you to the Flugel Tree!" Subaru exclaimed before dashing forward.
"Barusu! You do realize that you're quite faster than Ram, and she can't catch up with you! Wait!" Ram yelled at Subaru, but in vain as he dashed into the distance. This caused Ram to click her tongue in annoyance.
"Stupid Barusu...Making the sweet cute Ram overexert herself..." She muttered under her breath, before speeding up towards Subaru.
A few minutes later. Fallen Flugel Tree
"Phew...Never...Ever...Run...Like that...Again...Huh?"
Panting upon reaching the fallen Flugel Tree, Ram was in the process of scolding Subaru, who was standing in front of her, only for her eyes to widen upon seeing a new figure brandishing a sword and pointing it at Subaru.
It looked like it was a werewolf that was blue in color, and it had nothing to wear aside from a pair of red sneakers and a pair of white gloves. It had red eyes and it was quite short, around one meter tall.
"You thought that you could get away from us, Exeller?" The werewolf asked, glaring with hostility at Subaru.
"Ah...Do I know you?" Subaru asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the new figure.
"I know it's you, so stop playing dumb. You killed me once, but this time it's different. You didn't destroy my Rune Stone back then, so I managed to survive" The werewolf said.
"Barusu! Who is that?!" Ram, who was excluded from the talk, asked while taking a fighting stance, sensing the genuine hostility directed towards the white-haired boy.
"Troublemaker..." Subaru muttered from behind his gritted teeth.
"I'm a troublemaker, you say? I have to remind you that because of you, our king, Assiah-Lite is dead, and now Nazareth-Lite is leading the Highests to damnation using war and mass genocide to all the Mortal races found in All Creation. Havoc is spreading forth because of you" The werewolf said angrily, tightening his grip on his sword.
"It was something inevitable! War is required for this world to go on! That's what Assiah-Lite shared with Nazareth-Lite! You of all people should know! I want to end this cycle of mass genocide! I don't want to be restricted by this mindless cycle! I'm free to do whatever the hell I want! And the first thing that I shall do is to fulfill the prophecy here to regain my full powers, then I shall take down Nazareth-Lite! But on my own way! My own terms! Also, I would love to remind you, that it was an accident that Assiah-Lite is dead!" Subaru exclaimed, causing the werewolf to narrow his eyes mockingly at the white-haired man.
"And you think I should believe you? I'm not Alice or Nyarlathotep" The werewolf said, causing Subaru to growl in anger.
"Of course it's easy to judge when you don't know the facts! Screw you and all of the Highests!" Subaru yelled angrily.
"Those were your final words..." The werewolf said, before dashing towards Subaru and just as he was about to reach him and swing his sword at Subaru's neck, he froze in place as the world was instantly engulfed in pale purple, causing everything to freeze in time, even Ram who was about to intercept the attack to protect Subaru was frozen in her place.
"Time to do things right. Thank you for notifying me" Subaru said before he slammed his palm into the werewolf's chest, taking out a blue, rhombus-shaped stone as blood came out from his chest, only for the blood to freeze mid-air. Subaru then tightened his grip on the stone, before it got crushed in his palm, shattering into millions of pieces that dissipated as if it never existed.
Subaru then smirked at the frozen form of the short werewolf, whose sword was inches from his neck. He then pointed his finger at the werewolf's face, before a light yellow energy ball the size of a baseball formed itself in front of his finger.
"Farewell...Old 'Friend'" He muttered before firing the energy ball at his face, and at the same time, the pale purple color enveloping the world instantly vanished, accompanied by the werewolf's head blowing to smithereens as blood and brain scattered across the grassy road, with the werewolf's headless body falling motionlessly on the ground, never to move again.
Ram, who was quite shocked at the sudden development, followed her instincts and ran away from the scene, making sure to make her distance from 'Subaru'. She then suddenly felt a force from behind her pushing her forward, and right into an oversized red ring that appeared out of nowhere, making Ram disappear in a flicker of light.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes open, Ram widened her eyes at the scene unfolding in front of her.
"What is that? It looks like the Lifaus Highway, but everything is red, even the sky" Ram said, before she saw something floating towards her. It was what appeared to be the ghost of the werewolf that they previously meet. The ghost didn't say anything upon floating in front of Ram. It just pointed forward before it flew to the direction it pointed at, which was the fallen Flugel Tree. Ram immediately realized that he wants her to follow him.
"Raaaaaaam~"
And it's not like she had any other choice in the matter. She then dashed towards the direction of the tree, panting heavily as cold sweat ran down her entire body. Whether she was scared or tired, she didn't know. All that she knew was that she didn't want to die.
"Raaaaaaam~"
Gritting her teeth, Ram spun around and slammed the Recoil Rods forward as hard as she can, sending Subaru EXE flying away into the distance as he was inches from touching her. Ram then continued following the ghost to the tree. She was almost halfway there.
"Raaaaaaam~"
"Persistent imbecile..." She growled underneath her breath, before clicking on a button in the handles of the Recoil Rods, causing the plasma blades to disappear, before she slammed the two small handles together, causing them to fuse and then elongate to the length of a spear pole, and at its end, a pale purple spearhead of plasma was formed.
Ram spun around, swinging the Triple Rod in a downward vertical slash, bifurcating Subaru EXE in half, only for said assaulter to dissipate into dust upon being cut down in half.
Ram then made a mad dash once again towards the tree, and a few minutes later, she reached it, but as she was about to jump on the tree trunk...
"Raaaaaaam~"
Ram clicked her tongue in annoyance, before clicking on a button on the Triple Rod's pole, causing the pole to shrink into a cylindrical piece of metal that fitted perfectly in her palm. She then pressed another button on it, causing its end to sport a pale purple, spearhead-shaped tip.
Spinning on her heel, Ram thrusted her arm forward, causing the Chain Rod to fly towards the flying Subaru EXE. The chain link of plasma flew freely from the handle, and the bladed tip made its perfect hit mark in between the eyes of Ram's assailant. Ram then took the chance that her opponent was shocked from the impact, and yanked the Chain Rod, causing Subaru EXE to get reeled towards her. She then got ready and positioned her free arm into a fist, reeling it back as well, and just as Subaru EXE was in her range of sight, Ram threw her fist forward as hard as she could, slamming it square into her assailant's face, sending him flying away with a sonic boom.
Ram then retrieved her weapon, before jumping atop the giant tree. She then ran on its length, watching the ghost of the werewolf entering the hole in its middle, to which it made her dash towards said area.
"Raaaaaaam~"
She was meters away from reaching the hole in the tree trunk, only for the sound of Death to alert her that it is near. Realizing this, Ram clicked on another button on the handle of her weapon, causing pale purple plasma to solidify into a circular shield in front of her. She held the Boomerang Shield in her left hand and turned around just in time to block Subaru EXE's hand from catching her. Taking the advantage that she blocked the attack, Ram took out her wand with her free right hand from one of her pockets in her maid dress, and seeing this, Subaru EXE gasped as he saw Ram invoking mana for her spell.
"Al Fura!"
"?!"
A massive torrent of wind blades blasted forth at the moment Ram swung her wand at Subaru EXE, unleashing a furious tornado at said person. In an instant, his eardrums exploded, sending black blood flying around, followed by his body being hacked to pieces and reduced to nothing but a large river of blood floating in the air, but it didn't end here, as not even the blood was spared when the wind blades sliced even the black blood so hard to the point that it vanished in thin air, indicating the eradication of her opponent.
The blast of Wind Magic sent Ram flying backwards, and she immediately fell into the hole of the tree trunk. Right afterwards, however, Subaru EXE, who was supposed to have been reduced to nothing, appeared floating above the tree.
"Is she really that stupid? I already succumbed to her, and she didn't use her chance" He said with a small smirk, before taking out a white gem from his pocket and looked at it.
"At least with the help of this Chaos Emerald, everything will go a little bit smoothly for me. Shame I couldn't take the other two Shadow has. Damn...Even when weakened and vulnerable, I can't approach him due to the defensive mechanisms he is using even while being unconscious..." Subaru EXE said, before huffing out his frustration. He then placed the two Chaos Emeralds in his pocket, before looking ahead at where Ram descended.
"Hm...Why do I have the feeling that I was hunting for Ram before...Was someone else playing with time?" He muttered.
Inside the Flugel Tree Trunk
"Huh?"
"Grrr..."
Just as she entered the tree trunk, Ram was right in front of a blue Wolgram-like creature that had the same eyes as Subaru EXE. It looked to be growling in Ram's direction, causing her to stand still in her place.
However, the moment that a drop of cold sweat dropped down from Ram's forehead and fell on the floor of the insides of the tree trunk, The weird beast roared before making a mad dash at Ram, who dodged to the side as the beast rushed forward at her. Ram placed her hand on the tree trunk, only to jump away once again as the beast nearly chomped off her arm, charging towards the spot where she placed her arm.
Ram quickly took notice of this. She then saw that the beast remained docile, growling and turning around its head, not aware that Ram was right behind him.
Seeing this, Ram decided to test something. She eyed a splinter of wood on the floor. Carefully suppressing her presence so as to not give the slightest of sound, Ram took the splinter from the floor, before flickering it towards one of the walls of the tree trunk next the creature attacking her. The moment it hit the wall, the creature roared out and dashed at where the wood splinter hit, slamming its jaws into the spot that the splinter hit. This action led Ram to realize something.
"This creature is blind...It only reacts to sound" She thought, before suddenly, she heard another voice sounding inside of her head.
"Rune Stone Skill: Seismic Forecaster"
At the next moment, Ram didn't know why, but she felt familiar with whatever skill that suddenly surfaced and birthed power within her.
Her eyes then darted towards the creature that was trying to eat her, and as if on instinct, she muttered out the words.
"Forest of Thorns"
"?!"
Just then, the ground burst apart, huge roots dug from outside the ground, bursting apart the Flugel Tree from the inside at a rapid pace. The Wolgram-like creature got entangled in the large roots as it ascended to the sky, and after a few minutes of rising to the sky, the roots stopped from moving with the monster struggling to free itself, but in vain as its movements were completely restricted.
Ram then raised her arm and her opened palm to the sky, before clenching her fist.
"Pierce through"
"?!"
Suddenly, the roots grew thorns from it, and the monster's roared were instantly silenced as the thorns of wood stabbed it everywhere, skewering it completely as the creature mysteriously dissolved into a pool of blood upon dying.
Ram released a breath she didn't know, secretly astounded at her newfound power. With this, she can fight evenly with that freak.
"Hm. You're not so useless after all if you were able to survive"
"?!"
Spinning on her heel and activating her Recoil Rods, Ram took a fighting stance against what called for her, only for her guard to relax a little when she saw that it was the ghost of the werewolf that tried to help her escape.
"Thanks, I guess...Anyways, who are you? And what happened to my friend?" Ram asked, slightly annoyed because it appeared to her that that werewolf was just mocking her.
"My name is Rexer. Your friend was possessed by former Highest Exeller" Rexer answered.
"Highest? What is that? Why did that Exeller take over Barusu's body? And why is it trying to kill Ram?" Ram asked, lots of questions were plaguing her mind.
"Calm down. I will answer all your questions. Exeller took over your friend's body to hide from us. It was a brilliant plan, if not for one thing: Our queen, Alice, managed to locate him, where she allied herself with Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, to find Exeller and stop him. Normally, our queen would have came down to the Mortal Realm herself, but she needed to make preparations for the incoming war, so she asked Nyarlathotep to be in her stead" Rexer said.
"War?" Ram asked.
"That war part is none of your business, Mortal. Anyways, I followed Nyarlathotep here and found Exeller, but he killed me. I also don't know why Exeller is trying to kill you, but all that I know is that he is trying to kill you and your other friends as well" Rexer said.
"If that thing truly killed you, then how are you speaking to me right now? How are you even here?" Ram asked.
"He crushed my Rune Stone, so I'm permanently dead. I won't be able to reincarnate ever again. However, I used the last of my energy to create a projection of my soul. It will fade within minutes and I will be dead with no return" Rexer answered, before sighing.
"I will teleport you to my world with my remaining amount of Seither. The moment I use it, this projection will completely fade away. However, you must find help. If what, call for our queen Alice" Rexer said, to which Ram closed her eyes for a few seconds, before directing her gaze to the dying Highest and nodded.
"Okay...Ram's ready" She said, and immediately, Rexer snapped his fingers, causing Ram to vanish in a white flicker of light, and right upon that happening, Rexer's projection faded away like mist in the air.
At the same time. Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes open, Frederica saw a familiar sight: The Kremaldy Forest's borders overlooking the Sanctuary.
She then saw a scene that made her eyes wide in shock and disbelief.
She saw a devastated carriage in the distance, and a rather luxurious carriage overlooking the crushed carriage from a higher hill. Whoever drove the luxurious carriage drove it off quickly, escaping the scene. Frederica could also see the hand of what appeared to be a woman poking out of the remains of the crushed carriage and a pool of blood rapidly forming underneath it.
And before she could register her emotions on what she had just saw, the world turned white in her eyes, before it instantly turned black.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes open yet again, Frederica registered her eyesight on another scenery: A black, seemingly endless space. She looked around and apparently she couldn't feel anything inside that void. Concepts were infinitesimal in that void as it was completely beyond them, and archetypes were completely meaningless upon entering it.
Frederica felt that it was impossible for her to be there, but even then, how is she here? How is she breathing? How is she moving? How is she able to think? Heck, how is she not assimilated into nothingness in this space that transcended laws, duality and cause and effect?
However, Frederica placed those thoughts aside, as the previous vision assaulted her mind.
"That was...Mom...?" She asked no one in particular.
"Yes"
"?!"
Hearing a rather familiar voice, Frederica immediately stood up. She didn't have time to care about the fact that she had no footing to stand on, where for some reason she was able to stand up perfectly fine. She only concentrated on the malicious voice of the creature imposing as Subaru, the creature that was trying to take her life.
The same creature that casually walked in the void towards her with no apparent problem.
"Y-You! Leave me alone!" Frederica exclaimed in a mixture of anger and Fear.
"Calm down, darling. If I wanted to kill you now, I've already done it. Isn't it more than enough that I'm giving you permission to even speak in the realm of nothingness that I created? You should be grateful to me" Subaru EXE said while blankly staring at Frederica.
"What do you want?" Frederica asked, not letting her guard down.
"I found some interesting things about you. Well, do you want me to remind you about your past?" Subaru EXE asked.
"First tell me who you are and why do you look like Subaru-sama?" Frederica asked, secretly trying to dodge the offer that the abomination offered to her.
"Fine...I'm a creature of the primordial force of Order, a Highest, some sort of a guardian of the infinite universes and dimensional realms residing as a part of All Creation. We protect you, mortals from evil and stuff...Or that's what I thought it is...Anyways, I'm using your friend's body because I need to hide from the Highests and Order for a while" Subaru EXE answered in a summarized explanation.
"What do you want from me then? Why are you trying to kill me?" Frederica asked angrily.
"Don't make yourself look special. I'm trying to kill you and your other friends for a ritual to regain my true form so that I can stand toe-to-toe against Nazareth-Lite and all of the Highests, not to mention that I want the Master Emerald to complete the ritual..." Subaru EXE said, trailing in his speech after realizing that he said too much. He then crossed his arms and stared at Frederica, who suddenly saw that his form was somehow flickering. It appeared to be a humanoid figure that was pale orange in color, but she couldn't clearly identify its appearance as the flickering was too quick for her eyes to acknowledge.
"Anyways...I know the killer of your mother and can show you who it is, even if you still haven't figured it out. The choice is all yours" Subaru EXE said.
Frederica stared at him silently, her guard dropping down a little. She thought about what Subaru EXE had said to her. Deep down she knew who did this, so there's no need to ask.
But her entire being shivered at the thought.
What would happen if she said 'Yes'? What would happen if she said 'No'? She had no idea, but either way, she knew that something horrible would happen to her regardless of the choice, as right from the very beginning, she was in the merciless claws of the psychopathic cold-blooded killer that was in front of her.
Steeling herself, Frederica answered with...
"It makes no sense to return to the past. I have friends that need my help, both in the present and the future" She answered, causing Subaru EXE to flash a small smirk at her
"Well...I can't say if this is a smart or a stupid decision, but so be it...See you soon" Subaru EXE said, before snapping his fingers, causing white light to engulf Frederica's sight.
Costuul. Nighttime
A flash of light appeared in midair, and Frederica came falling from it. Luckily, she was able to readjust her position so that she landed on her feet.
"Now where am I?" She asked while looking around.
"Did he really just let me go? Or will he come back for me later?" She asked herself yet again, only to remember that he told her that he will 'see her soon', meaning that she hasn't seen the last of that horrid existence. Frederica then calmed herself by taking a deep breath.
"Ah, I don't need to think about that. I need to find the others. I have to find Petra and call for the other members of the Emilia Camp for help. This means that I must head towards the Sanctuary" Frederica said, before opting a troubled look on her face.
"But judging by the city scenery, it means that I'm in Costuul, so that means that I have to pass by the Flugel Tree, Irlam Village and Roswaal-sama's mansion in order to reach the Sanctuary, though I can take another route straight to Irlam by climbing the mountain range next to the city of Costuul. Goodness, who knows what awaits me there. But maybe I could find Petra there" Frederica said before looking up at the mountain at the distance, before she charged towards it at full speed.
Kremaldy Forest. Daytime
Sitting on the grassy ground with their backs supported by a tree, Petra and Lucas were resting. Lucas looked pretty calm, but Petra was extremely anxious.
What had she just witnessed? What happened to her mother and father? Was it true what that creature that was trying to molest her had said? That her parents were killed by it? What happened to Lucas and why did he look like that? What was he doing even in Irlam when he was supposed to be with his family in The Sanctuary?
"Lucas...What were you doing in the village?" Petra asked, not caring that her question came out in a rude way due to the fact that her heart was still pounding from Fear ever since the time that she escaped within an inch of her life from that creature.
"Me and my parents returned to the village because a Knight from the Royal Guard requested some denizens of the village to take some testimonies from them regarding the incident of the weird Witch Cultist that summoned that entity that placed Shadow-sama into a coma. They then chose me and my parents for some reason. When we entered the village, that blue creature that was trying to kill you slaughtered my father and then violated my mother in the most gruesome way possible, before killing her. He then stabbed me in the chest and left me to die, but for some reason, It seems that he placed some sort of a power inside of me. When I sensed you in the village, I rushed immediately to the rescue and here we are" Lucas explained, causing Petra's eyes to widen in horror, placing a palm in her mouth.
"Lucas...I'm so sorry..." She muttered in Sadness, to which Lucas smiled weakly at her before shaking his head slowly.
"It's fine, Petra. You haven't done anything wrong to me. It's not your fault. However, if I have to complain about something, it would be that I actually feel awfully calm about this situation. Ever since that...Thing...Cursed me, and I felt that the idea of Death is considered irrelevant to me" Lucas said, opting a downcast expression on his face.
"Cursed? How so?" Petra asked in concern, before watching as Lucas stared at his left arm that was gray in color and had veins pulsing rapidly in it.
"Ever since that thing stabbed me and gave me this power, and I have been feeling constant pain. The pain even increases by the second, and it hasn't been half a day ever since I acquired it" Lucas said, before sighing. He then stood up and dusted his clothes.
"Let's go, Petra. I don't think that this creature will stay put" He said, causing Petra to stand up and dust herself as well.
"Yes. Let us depart" She said before she followed Lucas, who proceeded to float a few inches away from the ground, where she walked behind him through the forest.
Kremaldy Forest. Nighttime
For hours, both Lucas and Petra traversed through the Kremaldy Forest, trying to find the lead to The Sanctuary.
Through the journey, Petra's head was completely scrambled. How couldn't it be? Nobody can blame her. Her parents got killed, someone tried to kill for reasons unknown and her childhood friend was subjected to a curse that causes him constant pain. It was too overwhelming for a 12-year-old child.
"Hm? What's happening?" She was snapped out from her thoughts when she felt the world getting darker. Looking up, she noticed that the clouds suddenly darkened. It seems that it was going to rain. It was sure to appear to be a gloomy day-
Wait.
How would that even happen? They were in the Red-sun season, which, in Subaru's own naming sense, was the season of Summer. This was the season where rain wasn't supposed to fall. It was illogical for that to happen.
"She has to be somewhere there!"
"?!"
And as if her body had a mind of its own, upon hearing the familiar voice, Petra immediately hid inside a bush and pulled Lucas as well inside it, as she saw Execun flying above them.
"Exeller felt her here, and she is not alone. Forget about screwing her brains out. Let's just find and kill her. I'm getting sick of this place. We have to find her before going back to Exeller and prepare for the war against the Sanctuary after three hours!" Execun groaned, trying to look for Petra.
Said girl had her eyes widened and pupils shrunken as tightly clamped her mouth with both of her hands, trying to desperately not make any sound so that Execun won't catch both her and Lucas.
"I can fly with both of us to the Sanctuary. We can reach there faster" Lucas said.
"Okay, but we have to be careful..." Petra said as she saw Lucas hugging her from her back, before both of them started to fly upwards and towards the direction of the Sanctuary.
"You know, we could have done that a long time ago" Petra said to Lucas.
"I don't think that was a good idea back then, but now, we're safe" Lucas said.
"When someone says something like that, something bad is bound to happen afterwards" Petra commented.
"You're damn right, girl!"
"?!"
The familiar voice of Execun suddenly shouted from behind the flying Petra and Lucas, before the entity proceeded to tackle both of them, knocking them both off the air and sending them falling down to the ground.
Unknown Location
Blinking her eyes open, Petra shook her head before standing up to her feet.
"W-Where am I...? Lucas...Are you here? Please, answer me" Petra called out for Lucas, but in vain.
"I...I should speak quieter...The place is too dark and this thing may hear me..." Petra muttered to herself in a low voice. She then walked slowly forward, fortunately the visibility wasn't zero, so Petra could see well, albeit to a limited degree.
A few minutes of walking and Petra saw a red shining gem on the ground. She then picked it up and inspected it.
"This gem...It looks...Familiar...Where have I seen it before?" She muttered to herself, feeling a sense of Deja Vu overcoming her.
"That kid must be somewhere here! She was with that other kid!"
"?!"
Immediately, Petra placed a hand on her mouth to prevent her breathing from having any sound, with her other hand holding the red gem.
And right in front of her, was a horrifying scene: Lucas was in the clutches of Execun, struggling in vain, with Exebark drooling in a crazed manner, as if waiting for its meal.
"You have two choices, brat. If you tell us where that girl is, I'll just kill you. If you don't, you will have a worse Fate" Execun said to Lucas, who was still struggling to free himself from Execun's clutch.
"..." Lucas didn't say anything. He just kept on struggling to free himself. This defiance caused Execun to smirk evilly at the little kid.
"Well, that means that you choose the worst. I'm gonna count to three and you still have a chance to change your decision. One...Two..." Execun was about to say 'Three', but suddenly...
"Let him go! Right now!"
"?!"
Petra's sound alerted Execun, who dropped Lucas on the ground and turned around to face her.
"Pretty brave, aren't you? Your parents were pretty brave, too...Trying to fight back by throwing plates and using knives...And the parents of that brat here...They were suffering the most...I enjoyed fucking his mother's brains out before tearing both her and her husband apart" Execun said in a mocking tone, which in turn made Petra grit her teeth and clench her fists, the red gem in her hand starting to glow.
"I hate you..." She muttered.
"I didn't hear you~" Execun said with a sing-song tone.
Oh, that was a bad move.
"I HATE YOU!"
"?!"
Right upon yelling this, Petra's body got surrounded by a crimson aura, with the red gem glowing vibratingly. She then raised her hand upwards, before a bolt of crimson lightning escaped her palm, hitting Execun head on and sending him flying away. Immediately after doing this action, Petra's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she was about to fall face-first into the ground, only for Lucas to recover quickly, grab Petra before she could fall on the ground, and proceeded to fly away as Exebark gave chase.
A few hours ago. Fleur. 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 Fleur city, 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 city of Fleur.
At the same time. 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.
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.
"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.
Costuul Mountain Range. Nighttime
"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!"
The roar of a true predator echoed throughout the mountain range behind the town of Costuul.
Exebark gave chase after Lucas and Petra. Lucas was flying as fast as he can, but the unconscious Petra in his arms was weighing him down. And despite Exebark being blind, its sense of smell and hearing were so powerful that it could even listen to the sound of Lucas' rapid heartbeat.
It was about to reach them and clamp its jaws down at them, when all of a sudden, Frederica descended out of nowhere and planted her heel into the head of the monster. This gave Lucas the time he needed to properly escape as Exebark shifted its target to being Frederica, who ran ahead, being chased by Exebark.
Her hands, covered in a Cestus, were clenched tightly, before she jumped upwards and did a backflip, falling on Exebark's back to prevent it from chomping her head off. She then jumped upwards as her instincts kicked in, saving her from the spikes that grew on Exebark's back. She then descended down, preparing to punch Exebark, only for the beast to slow down, causing Frederica to hit the ground of the rocky mountain instead, pulverizing a small crater into it.
Frederica then resumed running, as Exebark was still giving chase after the sound of her footsteps and heartbeat. The beast then spat a fireball from its mouth at Frederica, only for the Beast-Human maid to deliver a haymaker behind her, hitting the fireball with her Cestus and sending it to collide with the face of Exebark, albeit it didn't leave a burn on the beast's face as it continued to give chase.
Speeding up, Frederica saw that she was close to a dead end, as another mountain cliff was in front of her. This made her take a deep breath while running, before infusing her legs with mana, and jumped as fast as she could off the cliff and onto the next mountain. However, Exebark wasn't as lucky, as since it lacked vision, it didn't notice the end of the mountain in front of it, and ended up falling down, roaring in panic as it descended down, and soon enough, its roars faded away.
Frederica continued on running until she reached the unconscious Petra, who had Lucas by her side. Frederica immediately fell to her knees with a worried expression on her face while looking at the knocked-out Petra.
"Petra! Petra!" She called out, but Petra didn't respond. She then looked at Lucas, who she didn't notice at first.
"Lucas-kun"?! What happened to you?! And what happened to Petra?!" She asked in shock, seeing the weird, pulsating veins all around the left half of Lucas' body.
"I found Petra in Irlam Village and protected her all the way here. As for what happened to me...Well, I got attacked by the same creature that was attacking Petra, and it cursed me. I gained supernatural powers, but at the cost of having immense pain coursing through my body. We then met those monsters again after managing to escape from them in Irlam Village, and Petra used the energy of the Chaos Emerald. Her body handled the Chaos Energy quite well, but since it was her first time using such power, she ended up falling unconscious" Lucas answered.
"I heard that Heinkel Astrea-sama had an emerald just like that, but news of it being stolen was heard a few days ago..." Frederica said in a solemn tone upon mentioning Heinkel, and Lucas noticed this.
"Something concerns you about Heinkel Astrea-sama?" He asked, which caused her to sigh.
"I...Should be more worried about Petra than Heinkel-sama" Frederica said. It was then when she blinked upon seeing Ram landing on the mountain they were on, which in turn caused Frederica to smile.
"What's going on here?" Ram asked.
"Ram! Thank Od you're safe and sound!" Frederica exclaimed.
"What happened to Petra? And that nosy kid?" Ram asked pointing at the unconscious Petra, then at the boy with pulsating veins.
"As always, so mean, Ram-chi" Lucas said with a sweatdrop and a nervous chuckle.
"Anyways, how can I know that you're the real Frederica and not an imposter?" Ram asked, which made Frederica's smile change into an angry scowl.
"Seriously, Ram? I thought that you were smarter than that" Frederica said while glaring at Ram, which caused Ram to brandish her wand and activate the Triple Rod.
"How dare you talk to me in that tone, Baumann?! Do you want Ram to use her weapons?!" Ram yelled at Frederica, who gripped her hands that had the Cestus equipped on them.
"Try me, Ram!" Frederica exclaimed.
"STOP FIGHTING!"
"?!"
All eyes were wide upon witnessing that Petra woke up, completely enraged with the crimson aura of Chaos Energy surrounding her once again.
"Petra?! Are you alright?!" Frederica called out.
"I'M NOT ALRIGHT! I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY MOMMY AND DADDY!" Petra yelled from the top of her lungs.
"We need to take the emerald from her! It's influencing her!" Lucas exclaimed in worry.
"I'M FINE! DON'T TOUCH ME! I HATE YOU ALL!" Petra yelled out; the crimson aura was starting to become more vibrant around her. This made Frederica immediately hug Petra from her back, hissing as the energy started burning her skin. She also felt that her insanity was slipping away by the second, her morality was twisting violently as the mutagenic energy of Chaos was warping her mind and urging her to become more violent, corrupting her deep down.
Even so, Frederica desperately clung to her sanity, for Petra's sake.
"Shh...Petra...You're safe. I'm here by your side. I'll never leave you again...Never..." Frederica muttered in Petra's ear, and just as the little girl heard those words, the crimson aura of Chaos slowly faded from around her, and her expression became even more calmer. Lucas took this chance and snatched the Chaos Emerald from Petra's pocket.
"Frederica-neesama...You...?" Petra muttered, before slowly opening her eyes, only to see Frederica, Ram and Lucas. It was then when her eyes widened upon remembering what she heard back then.
"Frederica-neesama! Ram-sama! I heard something horrible! Subaru-sama...I mean, that creature, is going to attack the Sanctuary soon!" Petra exclaimed.
"Wait! What?! When exactly?!" Ram asked in shock and with her eyes wide.
"I heard that he was going to attack after three hours. I heard that around one hour ago" Petra answered.
"We need to hurry! We need to warn everyone! Follow me!" Ram exclaimed, before dashing as fast as she could off the mountain, followed by Frederica, Petra and Lucas.
One hour later. Hills behind the Sanctuary
"Alright. I guess we should just go ahead and then we will probably find the exit"
"Me and Petra will open the doors for you. Let's go, Petra"
Upon entering the secret passage behind the mountains located in the Sanctuary, Frederica took Petra and walked ahead of them to open the doors of the passage. Ram then looked at Lucas behind her.
"What are you waiting for?" She asked the kid.
"I can sense Chaos Energy ahead" He answered.
"Chaos Energy? That must be a Chaos Emerald. But we don't have much time" Ram said.
"It's not that far. And we can easily catch up to Frederica-san and Petra in time" Lucas said.
"Fine. Lead the way" Ram said before following Lucas to the destination of the signature of Chaos Energy.
Half an hour later
"Huh? You're the Highest that I met that weird world. What are you doing here?"
Upon arriving and witnessing the familiar dark-orange-colored hedgehog standing in front of blue gem, Ram called out to him.
However, suddenly, the hedgehog's head exploded into a bloody mess, followed by his headless body disappearing in a brief burst of light.
"W-What?!" Ram called out in shock, before witnessing Subaru EXE walking towards them in a casual manner, before he picked up the blue Chaos Emerald.
"Oh? You came here for this Chaos Emerald too? How reckless" He said with a small smile.
"You just killed one of your people again!" Ram exclaimed, brandishing her wand and Triple Rod.
"One of my...? Ah, I get it. Let's just say that...He was already dead. By the way, it seems like I found another Emerald" Subaru EXE said.
"Lucas. Get behind me" Ram said, causing the kid to do as ordered.
"No no...I can't feel its energy from that kid, which means that he doesn't have it..." Subaru EXE said.
"Ram, what's going on? We heard-Ah!" Frederica and Petra came ran towards Ram, with Frederica calling for her, only to gasp upon seeing the grinning face of Subaru EXE.
"...But she has" Subaru EXE finished his words, pointing at Frederica.
"Don't you dare touch them, or else..." Ram hissed her words from behind her gritted teeth, glaring at Subaru EXE with hatred.
"This time, I'll test my luck..."
"?!"
Suddenly, a dark red energy of sorts engulfed the lower halves of the three girls and Lucas, restraining them completely to the point that they couldn't even move an inch.
"Hm...It seems like the influence of the Master Emerald is not big here...Well, that's good for me. Even as a Zero-Class Highest such as myself, EXEs are existences that are exempted from the Primal Force of Order, and the Master Emerald weakens me..." Subaru EXE said while shrugging his shoulders. He then smirked before walking to his restrained victims. He then approached Frederica and placed his hand in one of the pockets in her skirt, fishing out the red Chaos Emerald.
"I'll be taking that. Thank you" He said before walking away but stopped midway before glancing at Ram from behind.
"By the way, Miss Oni God...You have an hour and a half left..." He said before walking away. Once he was out of sight, the crimson energy binding the Lucas and the three girls dissipated, causing them to fall to their knees and pant in exhaustion...Or more like in Fear.
"Ah...Oh...Are you all okay?" Ram asked.
"I'm fine...Petra?" Frederica answered, before trying to ask the same question to Petra, who stood up and opted a worried look on her face.
"I'm fine...Did he let us go?" She answered, before asking.
"He's preparing himself for the fight..." Lucas said with gritted teeth.
"That means we have to hurry!" Ram exclaimed before she dashed towards the exit of the secret passage, followed by Frederica, Petra and Lucas following her.
A few minutes later. The Sanctuary
"We're finally in! Now let's call for Roswaal-sama's help!"
As Ram exclaimed those words, three figures walked towards them, and soon enough, the figures were revealed to be Otto, Garfiel and Heinkel, who was holding Louanna in his arms.
"Huh?! Guys?!" Otto asked in complete surprise upon seeing Lucas and the three girls. He then saw as Ram glared at them and brandished her wand and Triple Rod.
"Don't come any closer!" She exclaimed.
"Ram?" Frederica asked in confusion.
"Right after the disappearance of that monster, they appeared right in front of us, Coincidence?" Ram explained to the confused Frederica.
"Wait! Jus'listen! We used a Dragon Carriage from the city of Fleur t'get 'ere!" Garfiel exclaimed, trying to reason with Ram.
"Is there any Earth Dragon that would be willing to transport you, a bunch of monsters, to here?" Ram asked.
"Oh. The Earth Dragon is safe and sound in the staples of the Sanctuary! And yes, we're fine! Thanks for asking!" Heinkel grumbled in annoyance at Ram's thick skull.
"Lucas...Maybe you have the power to check whether or not they are real?" Petra asked Lucas, since his is more or less has the same power as the undeads that Exeller controlled.
"I have indeed checked them, and they are living beings. They're telling the truth" Lucas answered.
"Sheesh! Why didn't you say that earlier, you brat?!" Heinkel growled in slight anger.
"You didn't ask" Lucas immediately answered.
"Anyways, we need to come up with a plan. Any ideas?" Otto asked.
"We'll talk about that later. Garf, show them the safe rooms in the Sanctuary, and after that, let us make sure that the people of Irlam, as well as Ryuzu-sama, are safe and sound" Ram ordered.
"You won't go with us?" Frederica asked.
"Ram needs to make sure that no one follows us" Ram answered.
This made everyone nod at her, before they ran deeper inside the Sanctuary. However, before Ram could make any other move, the entire world turned black and two figures appeared in front of her. One looked like a short, purple rabbit and the other was a dark-skinned slender woman.
"What the...? Who are you?" Ram asked in shock.
"Our names will give you nothing, but you wil need help as we assume..." The rabbit said in a calm tone. However, one look at her aura that was familiar to that brown hedgehog-like Highest made Ram come to a conclusion.
"You're...Alice, right? The queen of the Highests. Rexer told me a lot about you" Ram said.
"You have one hour left. What are you planning to do?" The dark-skinned woman asked Ram.
"Ram shall gather the forces of those who can fight and we'll protect the Sanctuary and the people in it" Ram answered.
"Actually, it would be a lot easier if you let Exeller have the Master Emerald. You could avoid a lot of Deaths" Alice commented, causing a vein to pop in Ram's forehead.
"And why should I let him have it?" She simply asked, trying her best to suppress her anger.
"I...Cannot say..." Alice muttered with a sad tone.
"Then we will fight. He may have been your friend, but Ram can't trust you guys. He tormented all of us a lot and for basically no reason aside from satisfying his bloodlust, and now it's time for us to give all of this humiliation back to him by a millionfold" Ram said, her resolve was firm, which in turn caused the two girls in front of her to sigh in defeat.
"Then you made your decision...But we think that we can help both you and your friends...For the last time, that is" The dark-skinned woman said.
"I have some power to reset the timeline for a few times up to this point. We just hope that you won't resort to it..." Alice said.
"Good luck..." The dark-skinned woman muttered, and before Ram could even register what happened next, the world around her regained its colors and the two female figures disappeared instantly from in front of Ram's eyes, as if they never existed to begin with.
Sighing to herself, Ram dashed towards where her companions were.
Half an hour later. Ryuzu Shima's Cottage
"We have only one hour left...After that, Exeller is going to attack us..."
Ram muttered while being seated on one of the chairs inside the cottage, being accompanied by her other fellow survivors and Ryuzu Shima as well.
"So, what's the plan?" Ryuzu Shima asked, having been filled on the details of what happened so far by Frederica.
"Yea...Tis dangerous t'tackle that thing head on...Ma amazin' self experienced it first-hand..." Garfiel muttered, having remembered how Subaru EXE battered him to a point where he was close to Death on their first encounter back in Irlam Village.
Even up till this point, Garfiel still regrets leaving the Sanctuary, but what could he do? It was an order given to him by his granny, so he can't disobey her.
"Ram thought about gathering a force to repel him, but..." Ram trailed in her speech, sighing in defeat as she had just realized that aside from her, the other five survivors, Roswaal and Emilia, no one else holds the power to stand against that creature.
In addition, Emilia was still inside the tomb, trying to take on the trials of the Sanctuary, but it was taking lots of time that they became so worried about her. As for Roswaal, he tried taking the trials before Emilia, only for his body to end up being completely skewered apart, leaving him bedridden while being wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
Under normal circumstances, 'Serves you right' would have been the first thing Ram would have thought of, but given the current predicament that they were in, Ram couldn't even think about ridiculing the Clown. However, something felt off with his smile, as if he already knew what would happen...
Ram gritted her teeth. He obviously knows due to that stupid book that those despicable Witch Cultists use, but even then, his smile was slightly different. It's as if he was trying to say 'I'm the one who was responsible for everything you guys had suffered'.
Honestly, she can't wait to crush his ass and put an end to all of this.
"...But now it's a death battle. Just like the Demi-Human War fifty years ago..." Heinkel muttered out.
"I guess we have no choice, huh...?" Frederica muttered with a downcast expression on her face.
"..." Petra just sat in silence, her eyes were dilated, devoid of any kind of positive emotions and filled with complete Grief as she stared on the ground, but no one seemed to notice as they were busy discussing their strategy.
"Of course, you're saying that so easily. You're not the one who's going to look into the eyes of the family of a dead person" Ram said to Frederica, glaring at the Beast-Human, which in turn caused Frederica to stand up and glare at Ram as well.
"I also will look into their eyes as well. I'm not a coward, Ram. But honestly, you want to release your anger on me? Probably wishing that I was better off just dead, right?" Frederica asked from behind her gritted teeth.
"Well, now that you mention it...Yes! It would have been better if you were dead, Baumann! Just like you mother!" Ram exclaimed.
"..." Frederica's eyes widened in surprise and shock, and no one spoke a word, with Garfiel looking at the ground with a solemn expression on his face, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles became white.
"G-Give Ram a few minutes..." Ram muttered before walking outside the cottage, leaving everyone to look at the door that was slammed shut in front of their faces.
"Hey, Sis...R ya gonna go after 'er?" Garfiel asked his sister.
"I guess it's time to have a talk with her in private..." Frederica answered before exiting the cottage as well to reach for Ram. Once she exited, Frederica found the pink-haired Oni maid sitting on a boulder. She then sat opposite to her, which in turn made Ram glare at her from the corner of her eye.
"What do you want, Baumann?" Ram hissed her question, but Frederica seemed to be unaffected by the animosity that Ram directed towards her. She just raised her head to look at the night sky that signed the end of their second day in this merciless Hell.
"Just came to talk to you...Simple as that..." Frederica muttered, which didn't go unheard by Ram, causing her glare to shift into a solemn gaze that was directed at the ground beneath her.
"Ram...Is not in the mood..." She said.
"I just wanted to tell you that...I'm not angry. I know that you have your reasons to be mad at me" Frederica said, causing Ram to glare at her once again.
"Took you long enough to figure it out. You were still hellbent on killing Heinkel-sama and you were so stubborn to the point that Ram had to take responsibility for your selfish actions" Ram spat out her words. This made Frederica sigh and look at Ram with a sad look.
"I made a mistake. I know that. It's just...The moment I learned my mother was dead, I tried to deny it. I kept on searching for her in these past few months before Subaru-sama and Shadow-sama appeared in our Lives, but when I failed, a massive fire inside my heart started to form and it didn't want to be extinguished. Actually, it kept on burning even more" Frederica said, with Ram still glaring at her silently, but as Frederica kept on talking, Ram's glare started to gradually soften.
"Deep down, I know that Heinkel didn't do anything. He may not look like it, but I don't think that a man who was running for his own Life, while also carrying his comatose wife across the entire country, would be willing to kill someone in cold blood. And that made me truly frustrated. Huh...It seems that I'm no different from Garf, after all. We both are scared..." Frederica sighed, her throat suddenly starting to feel dry. She was about to cry, but she was barely holding it in.
"I know...That I made a mistake. I just don't remember being...Loveable by someone...And...Well..." She trailed off in her speech, unable to find the words to place them in a proper phrase. A few seconds later, she gave Ram a sweet smile.
"In my head, it was a lot more adequately, haha. And to tell you the truth, I was quite Jealous of Petra, Rem and you, Ram...You girls were never embarrassed when talking about your crushes. Petra was so cute when she said that she had a crush on Subaru-sama, and you should have seen the happiness and brightness in Rem's and your eyes whenever both of you talked about Shadow-sama. As for me, though...I fell in love with Otto-sama, and it's pretty obvious to everyone by now that we're heads over heels for each other, but..."
She sighed, before continuing her speech.
"...I'm a coward. Aside from frolicking occasionally, we both are huge cowards for not expressing our feelings to each other. This actually made me think...That I'll never be loved, but ironically, whenever I see you, Rem, or Petra, I gain a shred of Hope inside of me, as if I was reborn again" Frederica finished, which in turn caused Ram to sigh and opt a sad expression on her face.
"Do you remember...Your parents?" Ram asked.
"I never met my father...And I don't know his name. My mother also left us when I was seven years old and Garfiel was still a baby..." Frederica answered with a downcast expression.
"How did you manage to survive as a kid?" Ram asked.
"Hehe...I was a clever kid, or at least, that's grandma Ryuzu says. I left the Sanctuary when I was twelve and trained under Clind-niisama on becoming a maid and in combat. It was at that time where I met you, Annerose-sama, Roswaal-sama, Rem...And that Guiltylowe..." Frederica's tone lowered upon mentioning the Mabeast.
"Ram heard that after Clind saved you from the Kremaldy Forest, you were pretty afraid of the Guiltylowe Mabeast species" Ram said, causing Frederica to sigh.
"Well, I was a kid back then. I was curious so I went inside the forest to explore it, only to meet face-to-face with it. I'm still afraid of it...And I have some problems with my mental health. I guess it's a childhood trauma" Frederica said.
"After Ram lost her parents and her horn in that dreadful day, Ram promised herself to protect Rem with everything she had...And whenever Ram gets separated from Rem, she panics a lot but doesn't show it. Ram is always afraid of whatever could happen should she leave her sweet, cute little sister with that...Murderous Clown..." Ram spat the last two words as if they were venom.
"Hey, maybe I could help you with protecting Rem?" Frederica asked with a smile, which caused Ram to release an arrogant 'Ha!' from her mouth while flicking a few locks of her pink hair upwards. She then opted a smile of her own while staring at Frederica.
"Only if you agree on me helping you with reconciling with Garf" Ram said.
"Hehe...It's a deal. Maybe we could make Petra help us with that as well, if her parents could give us permission, that is" Frederica said, her smile as vibrant as ever. Even though her sharp teeth might make her appear as a scary beast to some people, Frederica's smile was indeed very beautiful, no questions asked.
"Ram...No...I...Appreciate that. Thank you, Frederica" Ram said.
"So...What are you planning to do about our current situation?" Frederica asked while looking at the sky that started to get engulfed by light gray clouds.
"We need to protect the Sanctuary, but we also need to protect the Master Emerald from that creature. It's not like I don't trust Heinkel-sama in protecting the Sanctuary. He's powerful indeed, but we need to make sure to be safe. So could you go with him after the Master Emerald?" Ram answered Frederica's question, before giving her a request.
"With him? Okay..." Frederica answered, slightly unsure of Ram's decision, but decided to trust her.
"Petra will stick with Otto. We will keep in touch with the Mirror Communication Metia. If something happens and we lose communication, Petra will run to you to tell you their situation" Ram said, causing Frederica to nod, before she stood up and faced Ram, extending her opened palm in the form of a handshake.
"So...Are we still friends?" Frederica asked with a smile, to which Ram blinked at her extended hand, before flashing a beautiful smile of her own. Ram then stood up and accepted Frederica's handshake.
"You idiot...We will always be friends" Ram answered.
A few minutes later. With Petra
"Petra? Is there something on your mind?"
"..."
Petra and Lucas were standing outside the cottage, having exited said settlement to breathe some fresh air. Not that they need it, though, considering Petra's Rune Stone providing her with self-sustenance that would make her independent of breathing, eating and sleeping. As for Lucas, ever since he gained those accursed powers from that creature, and he was unable to feel hunger or exhaustion. Even hunger was no longer a word in his dictionary.
"We will start the battle soon and...I don't like fighting...I don't like violence at all...Why do we need this war?" Petra asked in a voice that was completely devoid of any emotions, not even looking at Lucas' direction as she asked that question.
"Huh...That's interesting. I'm a kid as well, so I don't know the specifics to answer that question, but I think that war is an action taken by an individual to either prove their power or to protect the people that they love" Lucas answered.
"...Can't they just...Solve everything peacefully?" Petra asked, not looking back at Lucas.
"It's impossible, Petra. Not everyone is as kind as you are, but hey. What's with you all of a sudden?" Lucas answered, before asking a question of his own.
"...My parents were dead because of me...That creature was after me and they happened to be there. If it was only me..." Petra trailed off in her speech, not uttering another word, and this caused Lucas to nod in understanding.
"I see. You blame yourself for their Deaths. Petra...It's not your fault at all...But...If you truly believe it to be your fault, then you need to analyze the situation and make certain conclusions" Lucas said.
"And I indeed came to those conclusions. I better stay out of this. I don't want any more sacrifices" Petra said, with Lucas noticing that tears were streaming down her face, even when she wasn't turning around to face him.
"But there are still people who need your help. Your friends need your help, Petra. You don't want to lose them, don't you?" Lucas asked.
"I don't want to lose them...And I don't want to lose you too...You're my friend, Lucas. You also saved me twice now, and...I'll just try my best to help my friends" Petra muttered, her voice now starting to break. This revelation caused Lucas to blush lightly, before smiling warmly at Petra.
"That's nice to hear...Thank you, Petra" Lucas said.
A few minutes later. Ryuzu Cottage
"Alright. I'm ready to tell the plan. Don't interrupt me, okay? Ask questions after I finish"
Upon gathering inside the cottage, everyone sat in silence to hear Ram explaining their plan.
"Basically speaking, we six are the only ones that can fight. So we shall use the power of the Apostle of Greed to command the Ryuzu copies. Garf should still have it so that means that I'll be in the frontline to command them, and Garf and Lucas will be with me. Both of you will cover my back. I hope you still have some powers in your inventory, kid" Ram started her speech, and upon being addressed, Garfiel and Lucas nodded firmly. Ram then turned towards Otto and Petra.
"Otto, you're responsible for taking care of our surveillance in the battlefield, as well as keeping an eye on the Lagmites scattered around the Sanctuary. You will use your Divine Protection a lot and I know that it places a burden on you the more you use it, so Petra will support you using Yang Magic to strengthen your mind and lessen your pain so that your efficiency will be at its top performance. Also, the Lagmites surrounding the forest are special. They are capable of nullify any kind of energy. Garf will command the Ryuzu clones to activate them, and like I said from before, Petra shall be with you until she is called if an emergency arises" Ram said, to which Otto nodded firmly, but Petra just gave a weak nod, her face was still as pale and mentally tired as ever. If Ram had noticed that, then she didn't show it, as she turned her gaze towards both Frederica and Heinkel.
"Frederica and Heinkel-sama. You'll have to get to the Master Emerald and retrieve it from the end of the barrier surrounding the Sanctuary. If anything happens, you know what to do. But don't activate the Master Emerald early, because if you did, its magical defenses will disappear" Ram said to both of them, noticing how they are glaring at each other, before both sighed and reverted their glares away.
"But Ram-san...If things go south in the battlefield, we will need a plan B" Otto pitched in after Ram finished explaining her plan.
"If something happens...The six of us will gather and protect the Master Emerald" Ram said, before noticing that Otto opted a worried look on his face.
"I don't know...We've fought him in the Shamrock Valley..." Otto said.
"Not only in Shamrock Valley, but the point is that the Master Emerald is his weakness. That's our advantage" Heinkel said.
"That's right" Ram said.
"I guess we're ready then" Frederica said.
"Guys...I wish you all good luck. May the blessing of the Spirits be with all of us. And I truly Hope that all of us will make it out alive" Ram said.
Everyone in the room nodded firmly, except for Petra who nodded weakly.
Everything is now set in stone.
The battle...The time to fight back...Has begun.
And Done!
Alright! Took me a week to finish all of that, and I even cut it to two parts because it's way too long!
Now then, for the comments.
As always, thank you, Reaper 10398 for always supporting me with your positive reviews and ideas.
For the first comment, yes, they will all fight back. Wish them luck.
For the second comment, well...
Rem and Ram will indeed have their personalities fixed.
Satella will properly apologize.
Shadow will call her off in the next chapter...Harshly.
It won't be Satella who will allow Subaru and Natsumi to meet their parents. You will see near the end of this Arc.
I think you got it wrong about the penalty. Roswaal only knows about it because of that book, yes, but remember, in the original story, Return By Death was known by Roswaal in the same manner. However, simply knowing that Subaru can redo through means unknown will not trigger the penalty. Roswaal knew that Subaru can rewind the timeline, but he didn't know that he can do this through Death, and the same could be said about Last Second Retreat, as Roswaal knows that Subaru can rewind, but he doesn't know that he has to be a second away from Death to reset the timeline.
On the other hand, you already do realize that Echidna and the other Witches are aware of Subaru's Authority because of Echidna stating that she monitored him, right? And that she prevented Satella from entering the Castle of Dreams.
Also, Shadow knows about it because even with his full power being sealed behind his inhibitor rings, Shadow is still stronger than Satella, to the point that the bloodlusted Envy, who is incapable of rational thought, is afraid of what would happen should it even tries to graze Shadow's face. In addition, after unlocking his powers as an Apex, Shadow no longer has inner organs or even a skeleton. His physical body is made out of pure Seither, as well as the inside of his body, being only filled with infinite Seither, so Envy will have nothing to crush, as Shadow lacks a physical heart, and even if we say that she would engage him, Shadow can easily bypass her immortality with nothing but brute force.
P.S.: Speaking of bypassing immortality, Shadow has defeated two EXEs in the EX Side Story that is yet to be released, and EXEs, as you know it, are effectively immortal, even lacking a concept of Death. So it's nothing to Shadow when it comes to facing Satella in a Death match.
For the third comment, Thank you as always. I'll make sure to check the list of quotes that you have sent.
And that's all! As always, I hope from the bottom of my heart that more reviews rain down on me, and if you have any ideas or questions, please leave it in the reviews. Your support is what makes me move forward with this story.
Next Chapter: Round 2. Ending 17: The Six Victims survive! The Best Ending Part 2
Until Next Time And Next Chapter!
Jude Warble, Out.