AN: The war begins.
Here and now, the stage is set for Subaru's biggest challenge yet, and much like one would expect...not everyone is going to make it out alive. Or hell, they won't be the same as they started...wink wink, hint hint.
All of the chapter names for this Arc, will be named after songs from the hit band 'Foreigner'! It makes it more of a challenge for me, hahaha!
Expect big thing folks in this coming story, anyways, please...ENJOY.
Arc Five: The World War
Chapter 23: At War With The World
With that single snap, Genau made the ropes on his back disentangle and he jumped over the wooden fence. He raced forward, running up the side of a tree and meeting face to face with a...a ninja.
"Impossible! I masked my scent!"
"IDIOT! RED LANTERNSSSSS CAN TELL THAT SSSSSMELL ABOVE ALL OTHERSSSS!"
He swiped his paw, only for the man to disappear into a puff of smoke, just for Genau to spin in the air, lobbing a spear construct through a tree.
"UGHK!"
The spear impaled the hiding ninja, and he slumped over, dead.
"We can sssssmell blood, you idiot!"
And this was true, through a ritualistic initiation process for all the new Red Lanterns, they all had their blood poured into a chalice and it was shared amongst the seven of them. With this process, they were given new skills and knowledge...including all of them being given the ability to smell blood, a kind of scent that could never be masked unless blood flow instantly stopped. The shinobi had no chance of hiding from this.
Genau then stomped into the ground.
"AL DONA!"
A wave of rocks shot out of the ground, and made several hiding ninja leap out of cloaks, magically woven to change to look like trees or boulders. One was not fast enough and got his entire head bitten off by a jaw construct. Genau rushed after the survivors, but one got his entire head blasted off by a red beam, Ovidius slamming down next to the dead enemy.
"Genau! Let one of them survive! We need to question him!"
"Exactly!"
The ninjas jumped onto the trail, and tossed several shurikens. They missed Genau, but exploded on impact with a tree. Genau then slid across the ground and dodged another shuriken only for it to boomerang back, suddenly transforming into a huger one. He snarled at it, hurling his napalm blood to destroy it in two. Ovidius used his ring to levitate one of the pieces and flung it at high speed, which sliced one of the ninja in half. All of a sudden, a ninja appeared behind Ovidius, aiming to stab him. But Ovidius acted quickly and touched his belt buckle, which activated his Metia, and shot out a shockwave.
The ninja got flung back, before Ovidius tossed a sword construct, but right as it stabbed him he turned into a puff of smoke.
Genau shot onto the top of a tree and had claw mark constructs slice apart the fleeing ninja.
Petra heard the commotion and ran outside, even as her parents yelled at her to come back inside.
However, she felt the need to do something…
"Subaru wouldn't back away, would he?"
The other kids stepped out of their houses and nodded along with Petra.
"Come on! Maybe we can do something!"
"YEAH!"
So she rushed to the sound of the commotions, along with the others. No longer would she be a burden on Subaru and the others, she'd show her usefulness. Even of she wasn't as special as the other ladies in his life, she'd show her capabilities here and now.
Ovidius dodged a iron ball at the end of a long chain, as it occured the ninja blew darts at him, which he stopped with his ring and tossed them back. The ninja backflip and punched himself on the chest, once he did that, he bursted into a puff of smoke and now there were literally countless clones of him.
Ovidius shrugged and pressed his palm onto his ring.
"Revenga Art 1: Shrikhande Connection!"
Numerous constructs of thin, zig-zagging lines fired out of the ring and surrounded him; but also pierced through most of the clones, making them explode into a puff of smoke. It would seem, since none of them were actually linked to an escape route or even a log, the damage was felt by the original.
He coughed up blood before Genau sliced the back of his head, sloppingly open.
Three more began jumping out of the trees, trying to dash from tree top to tree top. Genau basically smashed through a tree, ate through the poor ninja's stomach. The other two were still leaping around when...Nijino flew through some leaves and fired beam straight through his head.
The surviving ninja had his sickle grow to five times its size and he swung it at her, only for Nijino to elegantly slide across the blade, kicking so hard, his eyes bent and nose broke apart.
The impact made him crash through several tree branches and actually bust through the wood fence along the trail. Ovidius got behind him, but noticed quickly as the ninja flung a shuriken, which he bounced away with a shield construct, but then had a beam blast apart his knee.
The ninja roared as he made sixteen fire engulfed ninja stars shoot out, of which Ovidius used his ring, to form a forcefield and block all the attacks, bouncing them around and engulfing the forest in fire.
Nijno dashed to him and encased her legs in constructs off armor.
"Revenga Art 1: Snapdragon!"
The armor had engraved etches of a dragon spewing out flowers, quite the pleasing sight to see.
She then drop kicked him, but he tossed a glowing orb which made smoke burst from it. She smiled seductively and dashed at ludicrous speed, kicking apart his leg, as he tried to flee.
Before he could attempt a counter of some sort, she grabbed his face and slammed his head to the ground, breaking the dirt apart.
"What the hell is this, huh!? Who are you?! What the hell are you, doing here?!"
He had a blade come out of his wrist, but she head butted it, breaking it into pieces. Enraged at his attitude, she grabbed him and tossed him back, just so Ovidius could front flip kick him to the ground.
He then noticed he made odd motions with his hands, so he jumped back. Smoke erupted next to him and a large dragon-like dog roared out at them.
"A summoning technique? How odd, those have really fallen out of favor in the last several years, too much mana consumption."
He then clapped his hands...and Genau brusted through the monster's face, covering the Ma-beast in blood and entrails. The summoned beast vanished into smoke as Genau strolled over to him.
"Buddy, you are going to answer our questions, and you are doing it right now!"
With the last of his strength, he tossed a overly large ninja star at Ovidius. It spun for a while, before Ovidius simply tilted his neck, making it pass around him.
"Ovidius-san!"
Then all their eyes went wide as they heard that recognizably adorable voice.
Spinning around, Ovidius saw Petra and her friends rushing to them.
"Ovidius-"
"-NO! PETRA-CHAN, GET OUT OF HERE!"
The ninja star landed right in the middle of this small group, and then began glowing. The children stared down at it, in bewildered surprise. Ovidius flew forward, but he was struck in the back by a shuriken, though it broke on impact. He looked down and saw small pellets roll down near his feet, all of which exploded. The ninja scowled at him, only to be socked across the face by brass knuckles made by Nijino's ring. She then hurried and tied him up with barbwire, which dug deep into his flesh.
She then aimed her ring to the direction where all that dust and debris was flying, panicked.
"Petra-chan!"
Genau then got to his feet and flew forward, and made it right to Petra and the others...just as the blade shined immensely.
"URYYYAGGGGAHHHHHHH! SSSSSISTER PETRA!"
He had his ring shine...just as the object finally exploded.
"SSSSSSHHHHIIIIITTT!"
The explosion erupted, throwing up dirt, smashing the fences and crushing nearby trees. It alarmed the citizens nearby, who slowly, but then quickly began running towards the site of devastation; panicking about the children.
Ovidius wiped his arms and legs, but saw the rising brown smoke...and felt his heart stop.
"Oh god...Oh GOD, PETRA-CHAN! KIDS!"
He flew forward, Nijino shook her head and flew to the smoke as well.
"No! Petra-chan!"
Genau shook himself and ran through some bushes, seeing the crater where he was blown away from.
"...P...P...PETRA! KIDSSSS! KIDSSS! HEY!"
All three of them made it, and Genau used his ring to swipe away the smoke….just as the villagers made it there as well.
"The kids?! Where are the kids?!"
They all soon gathered around the crater…
Silence, for awhile at least.
Until Petra's mother fell to her knees, and another mother fainted.
Genau trembled.
Nijino covered her mouth.
Ovidius held his head...and stumbled his words.
"...Oh no…"
Subaru had now rushed out of the mansion, followed closely by Emilia and Rem.
"Subaru-kun, it came from near the village!"
Subaru's eyes widened, before he snarled, making blood gush out of his mouth. He then floated in the air.
"Puck! Take care of the mansion!"
Puck materialized and nodded. Subaru hurried to the area of destruction...then his Conversing Mirror Metia blared a tone, so he quickly answered.
"What is it?!"
"Subaru-sama, it's Wilhelm!"
"Wilhelm? Can it wait we have an emergency here!"
"Something is happening- WAIT. What do you mean an emergency?!"
"Hold it, what's going on over there?!"
"A dire situation…"
Wilhelm hung up his Metia and rushed forward, coming face to face with a cloaked figure using curved swords. Wilhelm kicked of the ground and traded sword clashes with him. Until Wilhelm saw his hand glow.
"Goa!"
Wilhelm ducked under the fire blast, and quickly spun around him...before sheathing his sword. The assailant coughed blood as he was split in half. Wilhelm then aimed his ring and it shot a curved beam, splitting another foes head clean off.
Then one jumped out of the foliage; a metal silver helmet, similar to that of a corinthian helmet of ancient Greece. The rest of his body was a long black cloak.
He then leaped into the air, as Wilhelm charged him, but his movements matched his cloak, as he simply fluttered around Wilhelm. He tried another swipe, but his adversary twirled and elegantly swam around him. Wilhelm created a hunting knife construct and stabbed him in the back, but he felt he hit something and smoke erupted out of his 'wound'.
Wilhelm found himself in a illusionary world and gazed around. Suddenly his enemy appeared behind him, so he sliced him in half...but he simply turned into water, which then became ice shards and attacked him. He used his ring to create a force field around himself. The attacker appeared behind him and sliced in a curving motion, but soon even his eyes widened when his sword broke apart. Wilhelm aimed his sword at him, making his adversary jump back.
Wilhelm scowled at him.
"Revenga Art 1: Blade Shot!"
Red energy encased the sword, and then made the blade stretch to a ridiculous length, stabbing right through the spy's face, smashing his helmet and leaking blood from his wound. In fact, the blade stretched to a point where it stabbed another spy, several yards away.
The smoke cleared up and Wilhelm had the construct dissipate, allowing the corpses to fall. He then saw Reinhard run up the side of his manor as he faced a black masked man, with long steel claws as weapons. He dashed to the Sword Saint, only for all his rapid slices and kicks to be dodged by Reinhard, then Wilhelm tossed him one of his swords, to which Reinhard swung up and it shined a bright but ominous blue radiance.
The spy yelped when he saw this and jumped back, only for Reinhard to swing down, making a pillar of light rise up and destroying the entire wall they were standing on.
Inside, Felt was being evacuated by the Remendis Siblings, as well as the Three Stooges. Just as they made it to a back door, they soon encountered another spy, the same kind as Wilhelm fought.
He slid across the ground, with dagger in hand, with everyone ready to defend Felt. But the walls broke apart and the spy simply turned his head, as Old Man Rom charged him with a club.
"Rom-jii!"
"Felt! Go and get! I can handle a peewee like this guy!"
He slammed his club, only for the spy to float around the weapon and kick Rom on the nose. He countered by spinning himself around, club in hand. The assailant then dodged a fireball from Chin and a vase tossed by Tin. As he flipped to dodge, Rom was able to tackle him into the wall, then headbutting him into submission.
But his body slid down, Rom instantly noticed his crazed eyes glaring up at him; the spy wasn't done.
He noticed his entire chest was glowing pink, signaling what was occurring, but Rom had no chance to back away. The spy leaped up and grabbed him, stabbing his hands into his shoulder and stomach.
"ROM-JII!"
Felt tried running to him, but the twin Remendis Sisters grabbed her, forcing her back.
"Let go! He needs me!"
Rom slammed his body against the walls, trying to get him off, but the spy's cloak wrapped around his neck, even as he was bleeding profusely.
Old man Rom could see the desperate situation he was in, and how that blonde haired girl was screaming his name, held back by the others.
So he smiled, as he always did for her.
She flinched for a second, right as Rom bearhugged the spy and jumped back, straight through a window and out into the air.
Glancing up at the day sky, he closed his eyes.
Seeing that moment, when Felt was just a baby and using her tiny hands to grab his finger, giggling.
"Fel-"
The spy erupted into a massive explosion, vaporizing himself, and Valga Cromwell, affectionately known as Old Man Rom, into nothing.
Felt fell to her knees, looking up at the bright light and ignoring the shockwave that made her hair whip around viciously.
"Rom?"
The three friends stood there in absolute shock, the two sisters trembled and Felt's eyes became void like and tears dripped down.
"Rom?"
Felt looked away and onto their faces.
"Where is papa?"
Her world came crashing down, before her very eyes.
Wilhelm and Reinhard rushed to the site of the explosion and found everyone there. Reinhard hurried to be next to Felt, who he could immediately see was mind broken.
"Felt-sama…?!"
"Your fault…"
"Huh?"
Now her face was filled enraged grief, as she tried slapping him, but he blocked it with two fingers. She tried again and again, over and over again, failing each time.
"This is your fault! You brought this on us!"
"No I-"
"-We were happy where we were! We didn't care, we survived, leaned on each other, TOOK CARE OF THINGS!"
"...Felt-sama."
"THEN YOU AND YOUR NOBLES MADE US ENTER THIS STUPID-ASS SELECTION, AGAINST OUR WILLS! NOW...Now...Uwaaghhhhh."
Reinhard and Wilhelm could only stare at her as she weeped, but when Reinhard tried to stroke her head, she successfully slapped it away and backed away from him.
"Don't touch me!"
"But I-"
"-GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
"Felt-"
"-LEAVE!"
Unsure of what to do, he was patted on the shoulder by Wilhelm, giving him the signal...of giving her some time alone and room to breath. He got up and walked away, defeated.
Wilhelm leaned on a wall, watching as the twin sisters rushed to her side. Ton, Chin and Kon were holding back tears, as they lost someone they considered a pretty good friend.
Wilhelm didn't see who it was who got killed, but could see the impact they left behind. And he received a signal on his ring, recognizing it as-
"Mimi-chan?"
Reinhard sat at a table, which was covered in dust and debris, staring at the empty space around him. Before he slammed his fist onto the table and split it in two.
"I recognized those uniforms…"
His blue eyes, narrowed.
"Gusteko."
Wilhelm stepped outside, checking for any traces of the enemy, when he heard two voices.
"Oh dear, what occurred while we were away?!"
"What the fuck happened?!"
Wilhelm sighed and turned to see, Ezzo Cadner, their resident sorcerer and follower of the Felt Party. He was a dwarf, barely taller than Felt, with short grey brown hair with dark green eyes. He wore clothes atypical with a sorcerer though Subaru would complain he didn't have a wizard hat, upsetting the flair.
Next to him: Heinkel Van Astrea.
A muscular man with short red hair, blue eyes and a stubble beard. He wore a black tabard with brown shoulder plates and chest armor, along with a dark cape, brown pants, gloves and black boots.
The father of Reinhard, and son of Wilhelm.
The pink hue to his face, was the surest sign he was out drinking, once again shirking his responsibilites as the Royal Guard Deputy Commander...a real piece of work.
"You need to tell us what the shit happened!"
"Heinkel, while you were away, we became aware of spies of Gusteko in the area, so we acted upon this discovery. They reacted violently...a person named Rom has been killed in the battle."
Heinkel narrowed his eyes, while Ezzo trembled, muttering Rom's name as he held his chest. It seems one was closer with him, than the other.
Yet Heinkel ran over and grabbed Wilhelm by the collar.
"Heinkel-dono?!"
"WHERE IS MY WIFE?! SHE ALRIGHT?!"
His anger was somewhat on point, his wife Louanna was slumbering away in the estate affected by the Sleeping Beauty syndrome, a disease of sorts that made it look similar to Gluttony's coma curse. No cure had ever been found, but surely, they all hoped…
"Heinkel, your wife was unharmed in the fight, she's safe."
"SHE BETTER BE!"
He let go of his own father and sneered at him.
"Some Red Lantern you turned out to be! Couldn't even keep them safe while I was away! Typical from what I can expect from you and my son, right?"
"..."
Wilhelm lowered his brows, as if he didn't care what he said, which seemed to piss Heinkel off even more.
Luckily, Ezzo got between them.
"Both of you, please! Now is not the time! We have to secure Felt and find a safe place to gather, until this can be resolved."
Gazing at the rising smoke from the side of the Estate, Wilhelm sighed.
"Gather everyone, I believe I know a place."
Anastasia sat across this finely crafted coffee table, made of exquisite marble, staring at the samurai and officials from Kararagi.
"May I ask why'd you come see me this sudden?"
"Well Anastasia-sama, the truth is henceforth."
"Hmmm?"
"...The nations are growing weary about the Red Lantern Corps, we've begun making movements to find some means of curbing their rising influence."
"And what do you fear from Natsuki-kun's influence?"
"The people in Kararagi are in two camps. On one hand, they completely fear Lugnica, what with the Red Lantern Corps and the Sword Saint being in their possession, we have them hoping to come up with some means of defense against them."
"..."
"On the other hand, their recent developments in defeating the Witch's Cult and taking out slave traders in the country have garnered respect for them. Not to mention we've been catching those Church members trying to spread pamphlets and preach to the populace about their heretical religion."
"...Aren't you going a bit too far on this?"
"Not at all Anastasia-sama! Those Red Lanterns could cause significant strife in the country! What if several of the city states that make up our nation, decide to completely side with them?! It would upset the balance, possibly cause internal conflict! Would it ease you if they caused some kind of civil upheaval?! Return to the Warring States Era? Before the original Hoshin brought our people together!?"
Mimi slammed her staff on the table, startling everyone.
"Be nice, or Mimi will have to teach ya how to behave~!"
"Y-Yes...but the reason we're here is on you part."
"Mimi?"
"Yes…"
The samurai pointed at her wagging tail.
"We came to study that."
"Huh? Mimi's ring?"
"Of course, we wish to know how these rings work, maybe even find a weakness in removing them!"
"Wuh?! Mimi can't let ya do that! No way! No way!"
Mimi hugged her tail, sticking her tongue out at them.
"For what reason?!"
"Subaru-nii san said the ring cannot be taken off! He also said that if it did come off, Mimi would die! Like, super die~!"
The officials glanced at each other, alarming Anastasia and Tivey.
"Even so, Mimi-chan, you must understand the severity of the situation and the necessity for us to study that ring, inside and out."
"...Can Mimi ask something?"
"Ask away."
"How many of you guys are there?"
"...Just us."
Mimi crossed her arms and nodded childishly.
"You're a bunch of lying, no good liars~!"
"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!"
"Mimi can sense you have six people hiding outside. Not so easy, huuuuh?!"
The official gasped when he saw the Red Ring glowing slightly, giving him full detail on how she found out. He clicked his tongue as their plan to trick Mimi into coming along with them, just so they can gas her or tranquilize her, just long enough to capture her and then study the ring. Even if it costed her life, it would be for the good of the City-States.
Now it fell apart.
"Mimi ain't going anywhere, got it?"
"...!"
Anastasia stroked her own and glared at them.
"Mimi gave you her answer and that's that!"
Tivey and Hetaro hugged Mimi, showing their own opposition of them taking her.
But as the official got his answer, they noticed Mimi flinch and then close her eyes. The ring shined and a hologram of Nijino appeared.
"Niji-nee san?! What happened?"
"Mimi! Be careful! We may be under attack!"
"Who?! Who?!"
"Our best guess. It's Kararagi and Gusteko! Their warriors attacked the Mansion and the Van Astrea Estate!"
"...Kara...ragi."
Mimi turned her attention to the official and his men, who quickly sprung out of their seats. The hologram dissipated and Mimi sprang into action, she used her staff to smash a samurai's hand apart and then hurled out her napalm blood, which easily killed three of them. Tivey and Hetaro guarded their master as she fell off her chair. The official tried to run off but Tivey and Hetaro used their Resonance Wave.
"Uwagh!"
"Uwagh!"
Both screamed and a shockwave shot out, blasting apart his leg, ceasing his escape. But the door burst open and smoke poured in, sadly the ninja that tried to sneak in was disemboweled by a claw construct by Mimi, who then aimed her staff at the doorway, a pink ring of magic shot out, but exploded on contact with a barrier.
She followed suit with her plan.
"Mimi's Revenga Art 1: I'm Gonna Win!"
She made a kickball construct which bounced off walls, before smacking deep into the back of his skull, getting stuck, then Mimi finished him off with an axe construct through his face, dissipating both constructs.
Anastasia got helped up a tad by Hetaro.
"Ojou-sama, we have to get going! Can't you hear it?!"
She could in fact, the loud commotions going on outside, her remaining mercenaries clashing with the leftover men.
But where could they go? Every place they knew was too far away, and if it was Kararagi that sent these men...then their original homes, villas, and even rentals there, were useless.
She began to panic, even if they had Mimi with them, how could she handle all these shinobi and samurai?
Would her remaining men be completely wiped out?
Did she have a chance at surviving?
Her Artificial Spirit Echidna, was gone, and she had no means of protecting herself.
Things seemed grim, no escape route or means of true defense.
But something wet touched her cheek, so she turned around and saw...a Blood Portal and merging from it was….
"Natsuki-kun?"
Natsuki Subaru, Beatrice and Frederica.
A shinobi lunged out of the shadows and tried to stab down at Hoshin, but Subaru slid across the floor to be in front of her. The ninja got his head blown off by a beam, only to burst into smoke. He sprung up behind her, with a summoned falcon.
The falcon beard it's claws, but was destroyed by a Minya spear from Beatrice. The ninja growled as he tossed shurikens, just for them to be blocked by a sphere construct by Frederica.
Subaru then used his Revenga Art: Shiroyama, stabbing into him. Pressing a button the chainsaw activated and ripped the hapless shinobi to mush.
Portions of that blood landed on her stunned face, but in a quick moment...Subaru grabbed her, holding her close. He looked annoyed doing so, knowing who she was.
"Just hang tight, we're getting you all out of here."
"O-Okay…"
He didn't see it then, but she stared up at him...just staring. Quietly.
Tivey fired a blast into the hallways with his staff. But a samurai glowed yellow and strided across the hall, making it to him. But Frederica jumped over kicking his face clean off. Another samurai used a dazzling swordplay to try and cut apart Frederica, but constructs of beast like claws surrounded her arms.
"Revenga Art 1: Gore."
She ripped the hapless samurai to uncountable pieces. She then charged and met with two more samurai, who were about to finish off a few of Anastasia's mercenaries. Frederica elegantly twirled and sliced one of their faces to mush, then ducked under a rapid slice and gut the other one.
In her moment of bloodlust she dissipated her constructs and used her ring to carry the men and women off. With now all of her servants and remaining warriors there, one wouldn't help notice Anastasia clinging to Subaru.
"Okay, that's everyone! Let's get the hell out of here!"
"Wait, Natsuki-kun, how'd you know we were in danger?!"
"We were on our way to check some commotion back home, when we got a distress signal from Mimi! Me and these two decided to check up on what was going on, that's all."
"And me?"
He stared down at her, gritting his teeth in his closed mouth.
"...Mimi cares about you, so we gotta take care of you. We take care of our own, you know?"
"O-Okay…"
Holding him tighter, Subaru felt immensely uncomfortable, even slightly angry at someone like her being so close to him. But he relented and hoped nothing would come of it.
Everyone, numbering at least forty huddled together and Frederica came flying fast, she aimed her ring and a Blood Portal opened, allowing everyone to escape. But as two last shinobi entered, Frederica slammed her hand onto the floor, focusing on the corpses strewn about.
Her fangs clanked.
"Blood Magic."
Blood Magic, a type of magical means that was created by several members of this Corps. The means of which utilize mana and the ring, with taught knowledge from Subaru himself, to use it. There were only a few uses for it, leaving the prophetic visions usage to Subaru alone. Yet with the few but various ways it could be used, one could say it was a even more frightening version of curses, but one didn't know, unless they tried.
She hopped back, just as the bodies began emitting red smoke and the blood beneath them began to bubble. The shinobi noticed too late, and the bodies erupted, engulfing them in acidic blood which overtook them with pain and suffering. They couldn't even scream or yell, as they could only make slurping and gulping sounds with their melted bodies, just as both of them died.
Frederica escaped as the portal closed behind her.
Subaru had emerged with the others in a special venue, one that the Roswaal Family had for several generations, a building made to house events like banquets or just birthday bashes. So there they were in a large room intended to be used for dancing. Anastasia let go of him and checked on her staff and mercenaries, looking quite shaken by the ordeal.
Mimi sat down and sighed.
"Mimi can't believe they just attacked us like that."
"Those bastards are so paranoid by us, that they reacted like that."
"Mimi is suuuuper strong! So I guess they would be scared~! Right? Right?"
"Of course."
Right away, Wilhelm emerged from another Blood Portal along with the Felt Camp. Members of the Remendis Family frowned at Subaru, but he shrugged it off.
"Well? What happened Wilhelm?"
"...The Astrea House was attacked by spies, specifically from Gusteko."
"Attacked?"
"Well, actually, I smelled their blood and investigated the matter, which seemed to have spooked them greatly, thus they overreacted."
"Typical idiots!"
Subaru clenched his fists, but soon another Blood Portal opened and out emerged Emilia, Rem, Roswaal, Beatrice and Ram...along with Ovidius.
The two women he cared for most ran to him.
"Subaru!"
"Subaru-kun!"
They checked him up and down and saw no injuries on him.
"Thank goodness, you're okay."
"Rem was worried you were hurt."
He shook his head.
"I'm A-okay!"
But he saw Ovidius slowly walk over to them...quiet, slowly grabbing Subaru's shoulder.
"Hey, that reminds me, we got a signal from you guys...where is Nijino and Genau?"
"Listen to me, very carefully Natsuki-san."
"Oi, the hell is this, why are you being-"
"-Natsuki-san...this is serious. SOMETHING HAPPENED."
His eyes wavered as he grabbed his hand.
"WHAT HAPPENED?"
"...I need you to come with me."
Like that, Subaru reassured his comrades, asked Wilhelm and Mimi to guard them...and left.
They were fast approaching the village, Subaru noticing the plume of smoke on the trail leading to the mansion.
"This is…"
"Yeah."
They landed at the village square, noticing the eerie emptiness and quietness of it all.
"Where is everyone?"
"...Follow me."
They walked and eventually saw a huge gathering of the villagers, all at the entrance of a house. He could hear crying.
It made his heart race. His mind dull.
A villager noticed them and they all began making room for both of them to enter.
Once inside, he could see two parents, grieving over...over...two small bodies covered in blankets on a table.
"Hey."
"Natsuki-san, please."
"What is this?"
"...I wish I could say something, just observe"
Subaru hobbled over and went to check...he had to…
Even as the pressure was mounting, crushing his heart, he had to know.
He pulled back the sheets.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Oh no."
"Natsuki-san."
"OH NO."
"You have to remain calm."
Subaru's eyes became watery.
His identification complete.
"Cain. Dine."
Two brothers, who would constantly fight over Petra's affection, laid there, unmoving, unbreathing...nothing.
"No...NO!"
"Get a hold of yourself!"
Ovidius shook him straight. However, Subaru noticed another room, with a open door. He rushed over, past everyone and saw the situation inside.
There he saw the light brown haired, Meina, half her face burned, laying on a bed.
Lucas, a young boy who had grand dreams, were destroyed with his left arm blown off.
Mild, a sweet loving child, had his entire right side of being, burnt.
"Holy shit...wait, where's Petra?!"
Finally following along, Ovidius lowered his head, pointing to the other side of the room. There Petra laid, half awake.
"Su-Subaru?"
"Petra!"
He fumbled over and made it to the bed where she laid, he softly held her hand.
"Petra, oh man, oh god, Petra!"
"Subaru? Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine! Don't worry about me, okay?"
"As long as you're okay, then I'm fine."
"R-Right? Are you feeling bad?"
"Tired."
"Well, just rest, everything is gonna be okay, I promise."
Even as he said this, everyone could see he was trembling, his eyes focusing beyond Petra and somewhere else...sometime else.
The static came back, the memories of the village destroyed, Petra and the others dead. The sounds of those other worlds flooding into him.
A world on fire, his arms spread out, saliva dripping out of his mouth.
"You're a hero Reinhard. It's not possible for me to kill you. But I can kill a hero. This is how to kill you, Reinhard."
All these hideous domains.
Of Rem in a bright white room.
"Stand up! Stand up, Natsuki Subaru! Stand up, Rem's hero!"
Why could nothing he do, amount to a happy ending?
Was it this world? A world where he flipped a coin, and a terrified Frederica watched on as he smiled at her?
"It was heads, Frederica. Your little brother and grandmother are safe."
Here then?
Where he was with a family, with Rem? Yes with Rem, and a blue haired boy was grumpy with him.
"Wow, look at what an expert you are at being a hot pot governor. As your father, I'm proud of how you get into things so easily."
Nothing, nothing made sense to him at this point.
He could see Julius, at the corner of the room, looking at him with disappointment.
Then, Subaru snapped out of it, as Petra laid back down more, trying to get some sleep.
"That's it just rest."
"Subaru?"
"Yes, Petra?"
"Why do my legs feel weird?"
"Weird?"
"Like, they feel light…"
Instantly, Subaru glanced over...seeing the sheets covering her body….
.
.
.
.
.
Stopped, right at her knees.
"...What?"
He quickly turned his stunned face to see Ovidius.
"Natsuki-san, she was badly injured when we brought her in. The legs were blown apart, and we have no healers with that level of magic. So, to save her from infection...I had no choice."
Looking back at Petra, who finally realized what happened to her legs, staring at the empty spot in the bed.
She trembled horribly, tears wetting her cheeks, fear plastered on her lovely face.
All Subaru could do was hug her tightly, and she would cry.
All to cry and scream, for at least fifteen minutes, before she became fatigued and fell asleep.
Leaving the grieving and upset family members in that house, Subaru sat on the dirt, holding his head.
"Natsuki-san, what do you want-"
"-Gather everyone in that building."
"...Do you have an idea?"
"Just one."
Subaru glared out into the forest.
"You have one alive don't you?"
"...Rest assured, I'll interrogate him, thoroughly."
"Do that. Once you're done, finish gathering everyone."
"Understood."
Before he flew away…
"Be at ease Natsuki-san...We're going to make them all pay."
"..."
Even as the calmer man he was, Ovidius couldn't hide his hatred for the people who did this, and he would work tirelessly to gather info...and to subject his captured prey to as much horrendous torture as humanly possible, before ending his life and feeding him to the Ma-Beast.
He flew off, leaving Subaru to grip his head, silently breathing.
Several minutes passed and everyone affiliated with the Camps had gathered inside the banquet room, discussing matters and going as far as to learn out what had occurred to each of their teams.
Felt was away from everyone, leaning on a pillar, not wishing to discuss anything with anyone, especially Reinhard.
But.
"Sssssister Felt."
"Genau."
She saw Genau slowly walk over to her, his face indicative of despair.
"Genau, I-I heard what happened to your friends."
"Yeah."
"Sorry."
"Nah, it'ssss jusssst the way it isssss."
"It doesn't have to be."
"...And yet I couldn't do anything, right?"
Felt saw the dreary nature of his words, especially as he looked away furrowing his brows.
Sighing at the sight, Felt went over and stroked his head.
"Ah c'mon, we can figure this out."
"And you? Are you okay?"
"Huh? Heck yeah I am, look at me! I'm doing just fine."
She hugged his neck, as he never took his eyes off of her.
"Are you?"
"Duh, yeah!"
"Really?"
"No doubt."
"...Ssssister Felt, you don't have to lie."
"...?"
"It's okay, to cry."
This candidate, shaking uncontrollably, hugging him tightly, could no longer hold back her tears. She cried, but kept it as quiet as possible, all the while keeping close to Genau. He closed his eyes...seeing those happy children, seeing that ribbon wearing girl so full of life...and the state they were all in.
"I am sorry."
And also, the men who attributed to Felt's and his own misery at the moment.
"I am going to kill them all."
A table set up, servers at the ready.
Everyone associated with the three gathered Camps, had now just finished their information gathering.
Subaru felt sick to his stomach, having learned about Old Man Rom's death, he crossed his arms, meanwhile all of his Red Lanterns stood behind him.
Emilia stared at him, wanting to know, a kind of question which was making her anxious.
"What do you think we should do?"
"Petra and Rom, had nothing to do with our grievances with those three countries. And Ovidius has figured somethings out."
Subaru nodded and Ovidius stepped forward.
"After my 'interrogation' of our captured assailant; I have found out about a treaty known as the Triple Alliance."
Rem tilted her head and Ram raised her brows.
"Triple, Alliance?"
"You mean to tell us that the three neighboring nations have formed an alliance?"
"But Nee-sama, then that means-"
"-Correct, they are so afraid of these guys, that they felt the need to form such a war treaty."
They were all stunned by Subaru kicking a chair against a wall. He then narrowed his eyes at all of them.
"It's still no excuse for what they did! Just because we caught them in the act, they decided to attack instead of running off?! That's bullshit! We all know something has to be done about this! I know...something…"
"...?"
"...HAS. TO. BE. DONE."
They all felt it, they all hallucinated it...Subaru and his team, they became black silhouettes, their eyes shining red, a overwhelming surge of rage and bloodlust filled that building.
Reinhard narrowed his eyes, not liking what this meant.
Annerose trembled in absolute fear, sweating profusely.
Ton, Chin, Kon hugged each other in complete panic.
Roswaal was unnerved by it.
Beatrice and the remaining Lewes Clones stared unemotionally.
"Effective immediately, we prepare to depart."
"Depart, for where Subaru-kun?"
The hallucinations were over, but for Subaru he looked over to a corner of the room. Over there, Julius was there, in his usual displeased posture, shaking his head at Subaru. He scoffed at him, and let those gathered there, know what was happening.
Simply put…
"In a few hours, we depart to assassinate the heads of the Triple Alliance."
...cold, methodical revenge.
Ram chased after Subaru as he hurried over to the concession room.
He went in and grabbed an ale stein, opening the top he chugged back the contents inside.
"Phew."
"Natsuki Subaru! Are you out of your mind?!"
"Hey Ram, want some?"
He tried to hand her the stein, but she slapped it out of his hand.
"Aw man, don't be so wasteful."
"LISTEN TO ME!"
"..."
"What you are suggesting is beyond foolhardy! You have suggested in committing a hit on the three leaders of rival nations?! We already had to pay the price for your egregious actions over the past two years! Now you wish to put me, Emilia-sama and Rem in danger yet again?!"
"I'm doing this to prevent something like that happening! Killing off the ones responsible for this, will scare them enough to get them to stay away from us!"
"Or escalate things far beyond what we can handle!"
"I took out the White Whale and the Witch's Cult, what's a bunch of dumbasses on their high chairs gonna do?!"
"Idiot! They have warriors that rank highly among the best, and they each also have a warrior with strength on par with Reinhard-sama!"
"And we'll take them out too! Reinhard will probably-"
Ram rushed him, grabbing his shirt.
"Not everything is that easy!"
"...!"
"Or have you forgotten what happened to Sarah-sama?!"
"...I haven't."
"...Then this has to stop."
"And it will, when they pay for what they did to those kids and Rom."
"WHY CAN'T YOU FIGURE THIS OUT?! You're spiraling us into something...something I want no part in!"
Subaru slapped her hands away, glaring at her, then he grabbed another stein and popped it open.
"Then stay out of the way."
He began walking, even as Ram was fuming mad.
"If Rem dies, I will kill you."
"...Nothing, not even a filthy fly will touch her."
He finally left, leaving Ram to rush over and grab a bottle of cognac, pouring herself a sizable pour...and pounding it back.
"Damn it!"
Subaru finished his drink, when a certain girl of his met him in the halls.
"Subaru-kun."
"Rem."
The two of them stare at each other, not saying a word for a small moment.
"Are you not happy with this?"
"Rem, feels distressed by it all."
"I see."
"But Rem believes her hero, Subaru-kun, will manage a win, somehow."
"Your beleif in me, is almost suffocating."
"No, Rem's devotion is like this."
Rem skipped over and gave Subaru a gentle, loving hug. Subaru obliged and placed his jug onto a counter and hugged her back, tenderly, not too rough.
They stayed this way for a few seconds, before Rem let him go.
"Subaru-kun has done so many amazing things, and no matter what anybody says about you, or what you say about yourself. REM WILL BELIEVE IN YOU. Even if the world turns it's back on you, I will be there."
"...I...You know what to say."
"...Rem loves you too."
Subaru stroked her hair, her bright smile calmed more than the alcoholic drink he just had.
"Shall we go?"
"Yes. Rem will follow you anywhere."
Rem took Subaru's hand, and they walked off. All the while Ram watched, chugging back her shots, before she gripped the cup so hard, it broke.
Now outside the venue they held their meetings, they were split into a few teams.
Reinhard and Mimi would work to protect Anastasia's and his own Camp at a spare estate under the Astrea influence, far from prying eyes.
Wilhelm would lead himself and Genau to attack the Kararagi nobles.
Ovidius would venture with Roswaal, two Lewes Clones and Frederica to attack Vollachia.
Subaru and Beatrice would attack Gusteko.
Nijino and the others would stay behind to protect Emilia.
"Everyone has their orders so follow them, we have to hit and run. We're giving them a message that we're not to be trifled with! As Luginicans and Red Lanterns, we have the say in this fight, show them what you got!"
They all nodded.
Wilhelm opened one blood portal so that Reinhard and his team could exit. Reinhard took one last look at Subaru, neither of them saying a word...just a silent plea from Reinhard. Subaru clicked his tongue, giving his answer, so Reinhard relented and left with the others.
Emilia and Rem stared at Subaru, only for Subaru to wave happily at them and fly off to their destinations. Like a broken star, the streaks of red light separated and went to different corners of the world.
"Rem will they be okay?"
"Of course, Rem's hero is capable of anything!"
"But...I'm scare this could spark something...like….like a world-"
"-Subaru-kun and Emilia-sama, will work together to stop it from happening."
Rem gave her a warm smile, and so they left to hide out in the cabin on top of a nearby mountain.
Once inside this overly expensive looking, ridiculously furbished cabin, they both looked out the window and saw Attero and a couple Wolgarm guarding them. Ram set up a table, with tea and snacks ready. Anxiety filled herself, but she kept her composure, at least in front of them.
She saw it was Nijino, Rem, Emilia and Puck all sitting around. Nijno noticed Ram and gave her a unusually stern head nod, making Ram a little more relaxed.
Then, outside, Attero sniffed the air.
And growled.
Subaru and Beatrice flew over the blizzard conditions of Gusteko, finding the castle in question. They went through the window, as carefully as one could. They searched around the grand halls...only to notice it.
"Why is nobody here, I suppose?"
"The fuck is this, Reinhard said the Prince almost never leaves the castle!"
Beatrice quickly turned her head...noticing the floor near a wall was uneven, so she quickly placed her hand on the floor and focused.
"S...S…"
"Beako?"
Her eyes widened, she let go of the floor and ran to him with all her might.
"SUBARU! WE HAVE-!"
Finally Subaru scanned the building with his ring...too late.
The entire castle was rigged with pounds and pounds of magic stones and woven with spells.
It was a trap!
"BEATRICE COME HERE!"
"SU-"
The floor shined, blindingly.
The entire castle erupted into a massive explosion. An avalanche was caused and the smoke and soot flew high into the air.
Ovidius and Roswaal quietly took care of two guards, while the Lewes Clone named Sagittarius tossed a knife and it plunged into the back of a guards neck. Frederica got behind a guard who noticed this and snapped his neck.
They all made it through a window all the while Roswaal created an illusion spell around them, enhancing their sneaking mission.
Hiding behind a wall, near the room where the Emperor was supposed to be with one of his wives. It was Ovidius who used his ting to create a key construct and unlocked the door. They all rushed in and found someone lying in the bed, covering themselves in sheets.
Ovidius motioned to Saggitarius and she tossed him a knife, he sneakily made his way to the bed. Now a few feet away he had the knife above his head...when he noticed it.
"Blue hair?"
He sensed it and jumped back tossing the blade and firing a beam from his ring, which clashed with the surprise sword strike.
Catching himself in the air, he saw exactly who it was.
"Cecilus."
"Hey I guess I am famous, for an equally famous guy like you to notice me!"
"A person's fame means very little to me, I know you...because I always feared the other nations would one day grow violent against my own home. So I read up about you, precautionary."
"Thinking ahead like that, usually isn't my thing, so I don't follow. Anyways, you guys are a buncha suckers for coming in like this."
He hopped out of bed and readied his katana sword.
"Too bad, looks your country is about to lose a couple Red Lanterns and it's Magrave."
Roswaal had fireballs surrounded by wind summoned and Ovidius had his ring glow, followed by Saggitarius aiming a Metia rod at him, like a rifle; Frederica kicked off the ground, with a spiked club construct in her hands.
"Let's have a strikingly good time."
Wilhelm and the others crashed through the roof of a certain palace in the Kararagi capital.
Soldiers and samurai ran to confront them, but Genau charged forward using spider leg constructs to stab them all in the head. He then zipped behind one and had a spear construct stab through his anus and out through his mouth...the tip of this construct covered in an extra red with a hint of...brown.
Dissipating the spears, Genau created bull horn constructs and charged, smashing through walls and breaking apart people that got in his way. Wilhelm unsheathed his own sword and made a sword construct float around him. He made his way through the destruction and sliced down two surviving guards. He then dodged a spear, getting right under its path and having his floating sword cut his assailant in half. But as he hopped over and rapidly stabbed into three more samurai...he noticed Genau hopping out of the last room, and the giant hole he made.
"THEY'RE NOT HERE!"
"WHAT?!"
He floated down and checked himself….the room was empty.
"Oh no...we've-"
"-We've been bamboozled! The Ssssultan wassss never here! We gotta go find him!"
"No! We've been had, too easily! They knew we were going to counter attack at some point! THIS IS A DISTRACTION!"
Now.
Now Genau realized who they could have been truly after…
They both ran for it.
And ran some more.
As Wilhelm sowled and Genau panicked...the Wolgarm screaming.
"THEY'RE AFTER EMILIA!"
Ovidius broke through the ceiling, as flames engulfed the inside of the building. Roswaal slammed through a window and hurled more fireballs and a small meteor at the building, destroying the entire side of it. The Lewes Clones, Saggitarius and her sister Pisces got onto the roof as well. Sagittarius fired her Metia rod and littered the fire drenched smolders. Pisces grabbed and flipped back, as Cecilus sliced apart where they were standing he aimed his sword, which shot out a lighting bolt.
Ovidius pulled out his signature weapon and aimed it, firing his own lightning bolt. The attacks collided smashing every window in that estate. Roswaal created a magical construct of a axe and tossed it at him, Cecilus broke it apart with a single sword strike. Pisces spun around her sister and had wires come out of her overly large sleeves, which had hooks at the end of them. She danced as she tried carving into their enemy, but alas, he dodged them with ease. Ovidius flew down and clashed two short sword constructs, which Cecilus also obliged in. They traded fast strikes, before-
"REVENGA ART 1: SHRIKHANDE CONNECTION!"
The red string constructs erupted out of his ring, forcing the Lewes Clones to jump off the collapsing section of the roof and Roswaal to fly back. Then they saw it...Cecilus on all fours in an awkward position, DODGING THEM. Even with half of the top of this estate left, the fight still continued.
"FUCK!"
"ELECTRIFYING STUFF HERE! MAYBE YOU WILL HELP ME ATTAIN THE SWORD I SEEK!"
Cecilus got his chance as the constructs dissipated and he sliced his sword upward in supreme speed, electricity flowing through his blade. Ovidius tapped his belt buckle and a shockwave erupted out if it, pushing the both of them back. Cecilus zipped past Ovidius and cut his shoulder open. Frederica punched rapidly at him, but he dodged them easily, until she spun and kicked him so fast one kick grazed his cheek, exciting him.
He got under her and sliced in a curving motion, shooting lightning out, of which Frederica hurled out her napalm blood and the two attacks canceled each other out. Cecilus landed back on his feet, atop the fiery building, with Frederica missing a stomping attack on him, she activated her Revenga Art and swiped at him, while Ovidius and Sagittarius gave firing made these projectiles bounce off of him with his lightning. Roswaal made earth magic try and trap his feet, but smashed through it and blocked her claw constructs. Cecilus then spun around rapidly and hit Frederica knocking off the roof and crashing into a fountain.
The sky got darker as rain started to pour down.
Ovidius landed on the roof as well and fired a beam from his ring, which Cecilus deflected with his sword. He then dashed to Ovidius, who let his arms down and allowed him to get closer.
They clashed, and Ovidius punched the sword with his ring, snapping it in two. Taking advantage he used chain constructs, tied him up and headbutted him. Cecilus then kicked the broken sword which narrowly missed his neck. Frederica was too late in her attacks as she was blocked off by electricity, before being spun kicked through the roof.
He then made electricity cover his legs and he landed a dropkick on Ovidius. He stumbled back as Cecilus broke through the chains, pulling out another sword. He then disappeared with a spark.
Ovidius was ready having his body encased in red energy should-
"Wait, where is he?"
"...Ovidius-san?"
Hearing that voice he slowly turned his head and saw...Roswaal with a sword through his chest.
"Wait...Ros-"
"-My teacher...my teacher would know what to do."
The sword slowly began to spark. Roswaal began to tear up as he stared at a dumbstruck Ovidius.
"Please...tell them. They should bring her-"
Lightning truck down where the blade was, slicing Roswaal cleanly in half. Cecilus hopped off his back and twirled himself in the air, right back at his enemy who was staring at the corpse falling back to the ground.
"Ro…"
The Lewes Clones hopped out of the way as the two halves slammed to the wet slouchy ground. Frederica helped herself out of the destroyed fountain, shaking her head for a second...till her eyes widened as she saw his body. Ovidius did the only thing he could rationally do, scream at the top of his lungs.
"ROSWAAAAAAL!"
Cecilus made it to the floating Ovidius, as his lime green eyes flared in his goggles.
"ASSHOLE! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE FOR THAT!"
Cecilus smiled as his sword struck a polearm construct which Ovidius gripped with intense fury.
At Irlham village, a scout, just a young man really rushed to the house where everyone gathered to mourn what had jsut occured.
"Trouble! We got trouble!"
Orelna took the initiative and rushed to him, grabbing his cheeks and making him focus on his eyes.
"Tell me what happened!"
"It's insanity, out in the forest, I could see them! There's like a battalion of Kararagian soldiers! They're headed this way!"
"...?!"
No one could understand how on earth such a large army got inside the country without being detected. And now with such a massive force heading directly towards them, panic was sure to set in.
Even as the rain was pouring hard outside however, Orlena nodded, letting him go and facing the others, and raised her palm to them.
"Look guys, the very same bastards that hurt our precious kids are on the way here! Now, we can just roll over and surrender to them, hoping they don't pull something on us and try some heinous act!"
"..."
"Or we can stand up and use the tools Subaru-sama and the others have given us, to defend ourselves! Aren't you all tired of having to be rescued; of being pushed around?! First the Witch's Cult, then the Priscilla army, now this?! I personally think, I've had enough!"
Her words reached them, and all of them stood strong. Her answer was given.
"Gather all the weapons, we're defending our home!"
Her blue eyes narrowed, as everyone nodded with such intensity, even the oldest of villagers were ready.
Orlena Karlotta turned her head to look up at the dark cloudy skies, as the rain became the drums to their great last stand.
Irlham Village, would no longer be defenseless, they would fight.
Ram guarded Emilia and Rem, as Nijino stood at the door. Outside the cabin, Attero the large Guiltylowe had been busy trying to fight back some shinobi and a master magician. Attero kicked off a large tree and used his tail to slam a ninja into a tree, only for him to become a puff of smoke and turn into copies of himself. Attero growled as he kicked a tree, making it fall, just for the beast to grab it in his mouth and use it as a weapon.
He smashed through several copies before crushing the actual one into mush, leaving the tree to fall out of his fangs. Another shinobi summoned a large crab to fight, only for Attero to tackle through the crab and bite off the ninja's head. He then back kicked a stunned shinobi to death.
The magician had swirls of shadows surround himself and fired beams of magic at him. Attero masterfully dodged each one and made it around him. The rain continued to pour down on them. When Attero swiped his paw at him, he summoned a barrier, only for his large snake like tail to go around and impale him.
Victorious for a moment, he sniffed the air, his red eyes shining as they widened, he made a run for the cabin. Right as two heavily armored samurai charged at him, with large dao spears in hand. Attero Dominatus roared shaking the forest trees as he did.
Ram heard his reaction and watched as Nijno got into a muay thai stance, snarling at the door. From the shadows near the doorway, emerged a certain figure.
"I don't feel too good about attacking a bunch of pretty ladies such as yourselves, but things like reality are quite unfair, am I right?"
A demi-human with grey fur, the face of a true wolf and body to match. His black hair was spiked with a ponytail. He had slit eyes, which didn't seem to open, he wore disheveled black kimono with a purple inner and had a golden kiseru in his teeth. He smiled at them, the large beast that he was, as his furry tail wagged.
Ram cowered a bit, she knew exactly who he was.
"The Admirer, Halibel."
"Hey, you know me cute one?"
"...One of the four greatest swordsman in the world. Next to our own Reinhard-sama, there is you, Vollachia's Cecilus Segmunt and the Crazed Prince of Gusteko, Dimitri Zhukov."
"I personally don't try to let my own happenstance affect my personal life, but I am the strongest in my country, so a little praise never hurt."
He smiled, as he bit harder into his golden pipe.
"Now like-"
Nijino laid bear her dislike of him, kicking at astonishing speed, of which Halibel used his still sheathed sword to block her kicks. She then moved around him, making him kick some wooden tiles at her, which she passed by easily.
"Ohhhh, you Red Lanterns really are tough aren't ya?"
"Shut it."
She made herself do a spinning kick, which then she then followed with a rapid bicycle kick. Combining it with her floating power of the Red Ring, she continuously pummeled a still guarding Halibel with her kicks. She then drop kicked him, just for him to finally unsheathe his sword and slice at her, she barely dodged but he cut the entire forests trees behind her in half. The cabin door broke and Nijno made armor constructs around her legs and continued their fight. Then Ram sensed it, she made her wind magic separate Emilia and Rem...saving them from another Halibel's sword strike.
"Cloning?!"
"Is that what they call it here? Lugnica sure is different than-"
Ram waved her wand and fired a wind attack, to which Halibel doged easily, destroying the cabin wall behind him. Showing all parties involved that it was raining hard outside.
Then he had his sword slice apart icicles that shot out at him. Emilia aimed her palms at him, with Puck floating close by.
"This is my first time seeing a half-elf and a Great Spirit! Maaaan, if I was on vacation or something I'd really be enjoying this."
"Enough, you came to attack me and my f-friends here! I cannot allow you to be shown mercy!"
"Mercy is for those who wish to win, but even with the spirit here, I don't think you guys can win-"
He then blocked a Morningstar, as a now horn summoned Rem glared at him.
"Even if Halibel-sama is my enemy, I will defend everyone until my hero returns!"
"Hero huh? Who exactly?"
"The greatest Red Lantern, Natsuki Subaru!"
"Oh? That guy won't do you any good ojou-chan. All he's gonna do is drag you and everyone close to you, to an unfortunate end."
"Shut up! Rem wishes to hear no prattle from a man whose country got innocent children killed!"
"Children? Killed?"
Halibel blocked both her Morningstar and Ram's windblade, he then spun around and kicked wooden piles at more icicles, blocking them. Emilia sprinted to him and kicked an ice shard at him, only for him to spin agaisnt it and aim his sword at her, just for Rem to knock it away. Emilia barely made past it and tried touching him.
"Lia! No! I sense something!"
Heeding his warning, she backflipped away, as Rem lobbed an ice spiked ball at Halibel who balanced it on the tip of his sword and tossed it at Ram, who maneuvered around it.
Emilia was still confused about Puck's warning.
"What is it Puck?!"
"He's a curse master! I sensed it when you got close to him, he's probably got curse laden traps all over him, down to his fur and claws!"
"Then we can't touch him with our skin and such!?"
"That's the case."
Rem stomped her way forward and expertly attacked him with her Morningstar, which he blocked at very attack. Ram hopped over him and fired a whirlwind at him, which he used just an arm slash to deflect it. Emilia made two ice daggers and rushed forward, Puck provided in-air covering fire.
All four of them ganged up on this Halibel.
The first Halibel continued using his sword to deflect Nijino's kicks, before she created a large hooked sword construct and slammed it down, of which he blocked it...and puffed into smoke. Sensing it, she spun in the air and curled up into a ball and made a sphere construct cover herself, blocking his rapid sixteen slashes. She kicked through her construct, made spiked shoe constructs and landed a hit on his chest. She tried to continue, but he tossed a piece of log at her, which erupted into countless throwing stars. Nijno vomited out her napalm blood and destroyed them, before she landed a massively powerful overhead kick onto his blade, causing a crater to form under them.
The others were continuing their assault, right as Halibel kicked an insignificant rock at Emilia...the hit landed, completely smashing two of her ribs and causing them to poke out of her skin.
"LIA!"
"EMILIA-SAMA!"
Ram got to her just to block another, as Emilia held herself in outright pain. Halibel jumped into the air and tried to slam down his blade. Right as Rem spun her Morningstar so fast, one might assume it would have started a tornado. Rem tossed the weapon at Halibel, which made him spin around to block the oncoming attack, he did so, but Rem got behind him and fired a barrage of ice spells...which stabbed through him.
Puck got in front of Emilia and Ram, as his precious partner leaned on Ram's shoulder. He made a magic barrier protect them. Halibel coughed as Rem went in for the kill.
He smiled, then turned into a puff of smoke and Rem only kicked a hole riddled wooden log in two.
Landing on her feet, she stepped down to stare a the log.
"Where did he go?"
She faced her sister...whose ruby eyes widened, her colors shrunk, making her eyes look almost unreal.
"REM!"
Rem noticed how the area around her got darker...a shadow was over her.
Halibel was right behind her.
"So strong, so pretty, so devoted...you didn't deserve this."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A sword plunged through Rem's chest.
"I'm so sorry Ojou-chan. I really am."
Emilia covered her mouth in complete horror.
Puck snarled at the incident occurring in front of him.
Ram trembled, her eyes still widened to a hideous proportion.
Nijino finally backed up and saw what had happened.
The Red Lantern trembled….she saw the memories of their time together, all the teasing, the competition between them and their shared fondness for Subaru.
Now…
As Rem's body slumped forward and fell face first, onto the dirty destroyed wooden floor…
It was over.
Rem laid there, defeated.
All her rival in love could do...all any of them could do, was shriek, like they never had before.
"RRRRRRREEEEEEEEMMMMMMM!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
AN: I did say people were going to die, right?
Next time: Ch. 24 "Blue Morning, Blue Day", until then, ciao!