Edit: Family is over this week. No chapter till Aug 20

Warning - No Spoilers for the novels, but there is a character named Orphe that is featured within the official Re:Zero Ex novel 3 (basically Wilhelm's back story.) Anime only's, and main story only readers can still read the chapter. I just wanted to note it :)

Chapter 11 - Pulled a Joker

Crusch was back to being all alone. Felix seemed to be busier nowadays, he used to always surround her all day, every day. It seems like he's talking to Subaru and Felt more often. His newfound friends elicited a smile out of Crusch.

"You finally seem to be growing, Ferris," Crusch said in a low tone. He was always surrounded by other people, yet always seemed to crave her. She would love to set him straight, Felix is an amazing person that doesn't need her to function, but she can't do it… She has known him for too long, she doesn't want to hurt him.

"It's been so long since I found you. Training day and night; dedicating yourself only to me. I now do you truly think of others."

She decided that it'd be best to change topics, else she sulks forever. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out her insignia. She observed it as if she had never seen it before. A frown adorned her face as the image of a blond hair girl appeared in her mind. Her eyes, hair, and teeth. They were just too similar to him.

"Perhaps, she may be the person we are looking for." Crusch knew the similarities couldn't be a coincidence, right? She knew Fourier's features more than anyone else. Fourier… her best friend, and the last casualty of the royal family. The kingdom used him for his connection to the dragon, and once he died, was left as a footnote for the day. The people were more worried about what to do with the damn dragon now that he died, instead of grieving his death. Crusch was different, she had to be different. She had to remember him. Her memory of him reflected all too well into Felt.

"I need not be a fool. I'll test her once she returns."

Amidst Crusch's internal struggle, the door creaked open; Felix appeared. His face was adorned with his smile; a smile that has been shown to her more times than she could count. Without fail, he would always return to her.

"Welcome Ferris, your voyage was short-lived." Curiosity did swell within her, as she wondered why he made his appearance so soon after leaving

"Ferri would travel through fire, and ice to see you, Crusch-Sama. You dismissed Ferri, so it would only be proper to leave, and return." Felix knew Crusch didn't care if he left or not, but a demand is a demand, and he'd make sure it'd be followed. Surprisingly, Crusch responded to his words with a grin.

"It's been some time since I've heard you speak in third person. I was contemplating if Ferri had passed." Crusch teased Felix's old habit. It seemed like her past was resurfacing, and she welcomed it with open arms.

"Ferri wanted to surprise Crusch-Sama, it seems to be a success." Relief washed over his face as he saw her grin. "Although, please don't contemplate such thoughts!" Felix playfully reprehended.

"If Ferri says so." Crusch's relaxed for the first time in what seemed like a decade. Being able to joke about their past, even if it was for short periods of time, she would find joy within each word.

Felix was once again captivated by Crusch's grin. The sunset's light warmed her face. Felix didn't see the leader everyone else saw within Crusch. He saw a beautiful, and caring woman, that he'd love to call his master.

"You truly have the most beautiful smile." Felix will never be able to get over the feeling of seeing it.

"One of my few wishes would be to control it. I'll always envy those that can smile on demand." Crusch was often bogged down by not being able to smile at political meetings, or when talking to others. Her smile only came out when she was truly enjoying herself.

As she was swimming through her sea of memories, a question seeped into her head. One that Felix must answer honestly.

"Ferris, I have a question for you, would you mind answering?" Her face hardened once more, concealing the person behind her mask.

"If it's for Crusch-Sama, I'll do anything!" His voice had confidence that's rare nowadays. It was as if he would do anything if commanded.

"Well… your thoughts, I would like your honest thoughts on our two, no, three new tenants."

"I-… no, Ferri thinks Felt-Chan is respectable. She works hard and admires Crusch-Sama. She has the strength to defend herself and others. Her will to live is strong." Felix's eyes darted to the floor. "She is acceptable. Ferri has to admit that bias may come to play, as she looks similar to him." Without any sign of deception, Felix has reviewed Felt.

"As for her Grandpa, he hasn't been around, so no conclusion can be made from him. Keeping watch of him is suggested." As he finished Rom's explanation, he gripped his knees, and hidden anger glinted from his eyes.

"As for Subaru-kyuh, he is-" Felix's mouth couldn't move another inch. His muscles were frozen in stone, almost looking like a statue. Not even his keys could move.

Felix wasn't alone, as Crusch was also completely frozen. The insignia she once had in her hand fell onto her table. Thump. The sound echoed throughout the room.

"My body…" Crusch couldn't move her eyes, so all she could see was Felix and everything around him. That's when she noticed, there were strings extended out from his shadow as if he was nothing but a puppet. If she could look at herself, she would surely have those same strings. The strings extended through the crack between the doors.

"There is an enemy!" Crusch finished her scan, and as she predicted, the door to her room was slammed open. Her eyes would widen if they could, as she saw the perpetrators.

The… knights?

Their eyes were cold, and movement rigid. Swords unsheathed, and blood stained their clothes, as they walked towards Crusch. She wanted to fight, to destroy the people that dare attack her domain, but she couldn't do anything. She truly felt weak.

"Capture… Assignment One… Complete." One of the knights said.

A knight walked up to Crusch, and with a clean cut to the head, knocked her out. Even on the ground, she still held the same sitting position. With a snap of his fingers, the 4 other knights gagged her mouth, tied her up, put her into a duffle bag, and swiftly made their exit.

The last man took out a canteen of oil and spread it throughout the room. He slowed to a crawl as he put it on Felix, enjoying torturing a boy that can't do anything about it. He grabbed the insignia that was left on the table and walked out with his other knights. Not before shouting an incantation.

"El Goa."

Two simple words were all it took to set ablaze the room. Everything within the room was set into a blaze. The memories within, gone, her precious items, gone, and most importantly, the person inside the room might be gone.

The shadow strings that have kept his docile for now were undone, as the fire blazed, a shout could be heard.

"CRUSCH-SAMA!" Felix shouted at the top of his lungs. Pain, and fear combined to make a sympathy of emotion.

Without any emotion, the knight said three words. "Final… Mission… Complete." With Crusch knocked out, It was easy to carry her, and started stepping away from the rapid fire.

Felix Argyle had died.

With a job well done, the only ones left to hear were the steps of the knights and the flame behind them.

At least, that's what they assumed. With a battle cry, the mostly destroyed corpse of Felix Argyle came in for the attack. Even the knights were mortified by this abomination. His flesh and bones could be seen as blood oozed out of his body. One eye socket completely fell out. Even with all that, he was here to fight.

Rapidly, his body started to recover as flesh layered his bones, and skin finished it off. His eyes regenerated, and his blood stopped dripping to the floor. This was the power of Blue, the greatest healer of Lugnica.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Felix lunged at the knight but was kicked to the ground. The knight didn't waste a second and stabbed Felix through the heart, but his body's regeneration broke the sword that impaled him.

"You... YOU. My past has already been stolen from me, and you dare wish to take my future! You deserve nothing but death." Felix was in complete rage, contrasting this stillness he was in just a few moments ago.

"Tsh." The knight grew tired of him and decided to just get rid of him temporarily. He grabbed Felix's clothes and slammed him to the wall, and dragged him to the windows, as he tossed him out of the manor. The knights knew they didn't have much time, so they ran into the shadows created by the mage knight, and they completely disappeared.

Crusch was gone.

"Costuul Casino, this is the place Big Bro." Felt said. She had a wary expression as she looked at the entrance, and exit the Casino. They were currently in the Noble selection of Lugnica, and it showed. Maidens with silky smooth hair, and beautiful dresses, along with men that showed confidence in the money they had. Currently Felt just wore her butler outfit, and Subaru wore a tuxedo he was given a few days ago.

The Casino itself was a strange fusion of what he had expected from one back at home, and a one he'd find in a fantasy world. The lights appeared to be powered by fire magic, as fire could be seen within each glass of light. There was also music playing, but unlike his world, it was played live by a group of seductively dressed… men? Well, Subaru wasn't one to judge what others appreciated.

Besides those similarities, the outside looked more like an old movie theater that was cheaply made to be a casino. The carpet was cheap, plants around the area were lacking the lush green other plants had, and generally didn't feel right. At least, that's what he could tell from the outside.

"Are we really going to be able to get in there?" Subaru asked. Even if this place looked cheap and ugly from his perspective, it was probably one of the most modern buildings within this Capital, so it still held its own against competition that wasn't literal mansions, and castles.

"We got money," Felt jiggled around the bag of money that Crusch gave them, "and we got status." Felt pointed at the Lion Crest patched onto her butler uniform. "They'll accept us, and if they don't, we'll just threaten em' a little." A smirk made its way across her face. "Say, you wanna steal some stu-"

Her idea was promptly shut down by Subaru rapidly patting her head. "No can do! I don't wanna stick around here longer than necessary, also, you have an honest job now, you should leave that stuff behind." Subaru scolded Felt for her bad decision.

"You can be so boring sometimes!" Felt pushed Subaru off her and made her way inside the casino with a pout. Subaru followed shortly behind her, but he was stopped by a man with purple hair.

"Excuse me good sir, but I seem to have lost my companion, so I ask if you've seen her. She is about 4 foot (120 cm), and has orange hair; Demi-human as well." The man had a knight uniform, with a sword at his hip. Ready to battle at all times.

"Geez, talk about fancy much. He doesn't seem to be a bad guy though." Subaru made his assessment of the man on the spot.

"Sorry, I haven't seen anyone like that. The last person I've seen fit that description was weeks ago," Subaru said with exaggerated hand movements. It seems the music in the background has filled him with energy.

"I apologize for burdening you. If I may ask, whom did you last see her with?" Julius decided to poke into Subaru's knowledge.

"Julius… High Spirit… Affinity… Hard… For…. Scarlet." Scarlet said in his mind. He didn't know much about Spirit affinity, but he knew that he didn't sound like something he wanted to deal with.

"Scarlet, can you rest in your… uh… place you go whenever you disappear."

"I don't know her name, but she was with a purple-haired lady. She helped me out a ton!" Subaru said. He did want to thank that lady again for helping him with directions.

"Ah, you saw her with Anastasia-Sama. Well, I shall be off now. Enjoy yourself." The man turned around and prepared to leave, but he remembered one thing before setting off. "They call me Finest knight, but you may call me Julius. May I ask for your name?"

"Uh… Subaru Natsuki."

"Subaru, what an interesting name." With those final words, Julius continued his search.

"Big Bro, where have you been, I've been waiting for you," Felt said. She was waiting for Subaru to follow her, but she eventually came back outside the Casino to find him.

"Ah, Sorry Felt, some guy was just talking to me. He called himself the Finest Knight." Subaru would've laughed at a name like that since it sounded so pretentious, but with people like Wilhelm calling himself the Sword Demon, Ferris being called Blue, and Crusch being Goddess of War. He has gotten a lot more used to names like that.

"That sounds like a pretentious name for a pretentious job. Just hurry up." Felt held Subaru's hand and forced him into the Casino.

"Felt's hand, I don't know where, but their warmth feels… Familiar." Subaru couldn't place where he had felt this before, but it did feel comforting.

Once Subaru walked in, he was blinded by the number of things happening at once. Felt's face changed into disgust, while his changed into shock.

It was like he walked into a weird parallel universe casino. It had the same tone as the ones he knew, but everything was slightly different. A stage was above everything with the singers. Instead of having super revealing outfits, the workers seemed to have everything covered with a hood, and long-sleeved clothing. The machines were all powered by mana one way or another, and lastly, everyone was insanely drunk.

"This is it guys, this one will be the one!" Subaru heard the shout of a lizard man as he was in front of a device that looked like a thermometer, but much larger. In front of it, was a small table, and what appeared to be a fortune-telling crystal. The thermometer looking device had words marked on it in certain places, but he was still learning how to read. All he could tell was that the top meant "win."

The man placed his hands on the crystal ball and charged mana into it. "Heyaaaaa!" Once he finished placing his mana into the crystal ball, he let go of it. He was completely out of breath. A red line that once again reminded him of a thermometer then raised as he was inching closer, and closer to the word 'win.' It seemed like it was definitely getting to the top, but once it was barely away from reaching it, the red bar went back down.

"Damn it… This thing is bitch! I want my coins back!" The man went on a rampage as he appeared to have lost the game. He started kicking at it, but he couldn't get far as two guards quickly escorted him out of the casino.

"Be careful here Big Bro. This is where all those losers go to waste money." Felt warned.

Back home, Subaru always felt bad for people with gambling addictions. It was never fun to watch one of your friends or family members get entrapped in a system that just makes them want to spend money. Felt on the other hand seemed to feel anger towards those people. At least, that's what he got from her tone.

As they both tried to proceed further into the casino, they were stopped by another hooded worker. The worker appeared to be a woman. She had two wristbands, one was yellow while the other was black.

"Excuse me, Honored Guest, but you're required to wear one of these before proceeding into our establishment." She handed the yellow band to Felt and the black one to Subaru. Felt put it on without any hesitation, and waited for Subaru to do the same.

"What are these for anyways? I guess if Felt's wearing one, it can't be that bad." Subaru thought as he put on the wristband. A light illuminated green for both Subaru, and Felt, as the color then calmed down to a dim green on the back of the rest band.

Without giving Subaru any chance to reply to the women, Felt grabbed Subaru's and walked towards the plaza of the casino.

"Honored Guest my ass," Felt mumbled.

"Hey, what's the rush for!?" Subaru said. Getting dragged by a 14-year-old girl was embarrassing. He was supposed to be the man of the mission, right?

"Not like I could do much more than Felt."

"Why wouldn't I rush? I don't wanna be here any longer than I have to. Grandpa always told me these places rot ya brain every second you stay." The flashing of fire magic that simulated lights, the unique music playing, and the wide range of emotions from each person here. Getting corrupted by a place like this isn't that strange of an idea.

"You're a smart girl, and I'm… use too much worse places, so you don't gotta worry about that. Let's just take it a step at a time. The turtle beats the hare you know." Subaru said. He then glanced at his wristband. He didn't know what the green on the back of it meant.

"Do you know what the colors mean? It's creepy." Subaru asked.

"Huh? Why'd I know anything bout it? I haven't come here before." She crossed her arms and gave him an impatient glance.

"Huh!? The only reason I put this thing on was because you did!"

"And I only put it on because Big Sis ordered us to. Let's just get this mission over with before we figure out what they do."

"I thought phones destroyed patience, but I guess it was never a thing," Subaru said beneath his breath. Subaru put his hands inside of his pockets as he no longer trusted the wrist band, so he didn't want his light to be visible.

"What did ya say?" Felt moved a bit closer to him.

"Uhh, nothing you need to worry about. Let's just focus on the guy we need to find. Crusch-Tan said he has a harem and is pretty old. Otherwise, all we know is that his name is Orphe." Subaru recapped Crusch's summary of him.

"That's what I said from the beginning! Just hurry up, we can talk while looking for him." They both continued their walk. "Knowing a guy like him, he'd probably be at a bar. It seems like all the bars are on the other side of this place, so walk faster." Felt had taken the role of 'leader' and left Subaru no other choice but to follow him.

Since Subaru was in the middle of the plaza, he noticed even more differences between the Casino he knew. The games had a lot more skill involved. Darts, destroying glasses with a ball, and spot the difference. The people also seemed to bet a lot more than people back at home. It's possible that rigging randomness wasn't invented yet, so they resorted to making skill games that are extremely hard to complete. For example, the games of darts had two people that were allowed to block or move the dart with wind. It wasn't cheating, since the people playing were well aware of their existence, but if they know, why are they still playing? Was this even considered gambling? There was also one more question on his mind.

"Hey Felt, why are all the workers so covered up? In my hometown, they usually wore… revealing outfits." Subaru realized mid-sentence how perverted he sounded.

"Big Bro back to being a perv." Unlike before, Felt sounded more playful. "Well, I dunno how things worked in your world, but over here, the rotten owners of these places want to pay their employees the minimum amount. So they hire poor demi-humans, and worked them to the bone, 7 days a week. Most of their money came from nobles, so once they saw hurt Demi-Humans working there, they left. Nobles don't want to acknowledge people like them. So, the owners just made them cover themselves up." Even if it was clear that Felt wanted to separate herself from "that" group, it was obvious she still connected with them.

"No such thing as a casino that isn't shady, huh? I'm sorry for asking if it made you uncomfortable." Subaru said.

"Don't worry about it Big Bro, I'm nothing like those losers." Felt gripped her fist as if she remembered the life she once lived.

"What do you mean? Isn't that being a bit harsh on them? They didn't choose that lifestyle." Subaru said. Homelessness was a real problem in his world. Japan did a good job keeping everyone afloat, but he still saw extreme poverty in other parts of the world.

"Sure, they didn't choose the lifestyle, but they also never fought to change it! They just sit around all day and hope some guy gets into power and changes everything. I kept on fighting to get out of there because I knew I sure as hell wasn't staying there." Felt said each word built her resolve to disconnect from her past.

Subaru didn't know why, but he started to feel some emotions building up within him. Even if they didn't strive for better, they were the people Felt grew up with. He had no chance of ever going back to the people he once spoke to, so he knew the pain of doubting the people you once knew.

"And? Do you know them?" It was a simple question, but one that shocked Felt. She wasn't expecting him to respond to her tangent.

"What do you mean, do I know em? I don't need to, I can tell just by lookin, they are weak." Felt grew annoyed at this back and forth she was preparing to have.

"What if they already fought, and have been knocked down time, and time again? The way you were just thinking, you do realize that's the exact reason the slums exist?" Subaru started to speak without thinking. A habit he wishes to remove.

Felt couldn't come back with anything. She always hated the nobles for choosing to ignore the lives of people worse than them, but was she becoming the same?

"They may have experienced tragedy, pain, rejection by society, and more. Nobody helped them, so why would they want to improve just to experience more?" Subaru took a second to calm himself and took a deep breath. "I was useless back at home, so I won't judge how you think, since you're doing much better than I could, but doing it for others isn't the worst you know. Helping people who can't help themselves, you'd be good at that, Felt." As Subaru finished, he then surprised attacked Felt's head and started patting her. "That was way too solemn, let's just get this mission over with?" Subaru changed the mood of the whole conversation and started to traverse the casino once more.

"Did I talk too much again? I don't want to ruin what I have with Felt… It took too long to get here." Subaru was kicking himself over, and over again because he got caught up in his emotions again. It was a habit that he was getting far too comfortable with.

"Hey, Big Bro," Felt said in a low voice. She was almost washed out by the music.

"Yeah? You need something because I'll be happy to deliver!" Subaru said. He over-delivered his words to try and negate what he said before.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Subaru closed the distance between him, and Felt. He stuck his head out and put his ear right in front of Felt's face.

NOM!

"What the! Why did you do that? It hurts way more than it should!" Subaru was hopping around on one foot while covering his recently bitten ears.

"You were being dumb, just hurry up!" Felt stormed off. What she didn't want him to notice was her blush from being wrong. It was a huge slap in the face when she realized that she was acting like the people she once hated. Felt was very strong with her opinions, but Subaru gave her an iron fact that she couldn't walk around without being blind. So, she wouldn't treat them like newborn babies or something… but maybe she can be a little bit nicer to them.

Helping people who can't help themselves, you'd be good at that, Felt

Remembering the sentence brought a smile to her face. Just a small one though!

-Time Change-

Besides people staring at Subaru because of his comedically red ear, the rest of the walk went smoothly as Subaru, and Felt started bantering about meaningless topics once more. They now find themselves on the other side of the huge casino, and as such, drunken men and women have started to become a common sight.

"Looks like we're here. This place seems to be dangerous, I don't understand how people like coming here every day." Subaru commented.

"Ya, ya, it won't be changing anytime soon so let's get on with it. Just gotta find an old guy with a bunch of girls." Felt charged into the multiple bars. Each bar had an underground area.

Unlike the casino, the bars screamed fantasy. Barrels full of alcohol, stone walls, goblets with alcohol that bubbled to the brim, men with bags full of gold, and the loud, yet constant sounds of people talking. Each bar was completely packed to the brim.

"Presence… Nearby… Should… Find… Soon." Scarlet said. It seemed spirits can locate others to some degree.

"Ughhhh, this shouldn't be this hard!" Felt was expecting there to be one or two men with a harem, but after their tenth guy, she gave up trying to count.

"Scarlet said he shouldn't be too far," Subaru said. He turned around and looked around the bar. "The harem life seems popular around here, huh?" Subaru said to no one in particular.

"You've been saying that word over, and over again. Just tell me what it means. Ha-rem." Felt put it off at first, but she eventually caved into her curiosity.

"It means somebody that has many different people that love them," Subaru stated as if he was a common fact. He used to enjoy those types of anime… eventually, he quit after he watched a show called "In another world with my PS5." Even Subaru was put back by the genre after watching that masterpiece.

"A perv word, for a perv person." Felt stuck her tongue out to make fun of him. "Whatever, I just need to find Orphe."

A slender pair of hands hugged Felt from behind. She had black opera gloves, a large hat, and a devious smile.

"Ah, you want to join Orphe-Sama too?" The lady whispered into Felt's ear.

"W-Woah, what the hell lady!?" Felt pushed her arms off, and moved behind Subaru, using him as a meat shield. She pushed Subaru in front of the lady.

"Young, fresh, and good-looking, Orphe-Sama never fails to impress." The lady focused her sights on Felt's eyes; it seemed like she was staring into her soul.

"Woah! I don't know what you want from us, but we have been looking for Orphe-San, so would you mind us meeting him?" Subaru said. It was clear he was nervous at the sight of the women. He wasn't expecting to find a lead here, but he refused to lose the chance.

"Ah, I see, you're too nervous to go without a big strong man, right new girl? Orphe-Sama will set you straight, move along now, no diddling along now." The woman slowly got up, as she gestured for them to follow her.

Subaru and Felt didn't have much of a chance to talk right now, but they could both tell that this was one of his girlfriends, and she had her sight on Felt. It disgusted them both, but they would have to bide their time for now. He was surprised Felt didn't say much to her comments.

The woman went to a door at the back of the bar and pulled out a white key. With the door now unlocked, a long hallway was seen. The hallway had many branching rooms, but they all held one thing in common.

"Tonight, just you and me master."

"Let me be on top, alright?"

"You better not take it off!"

Those were some of the words that Subaru and Felt managed to hear. Once the realization washed in, they muted out the noises and stared at the ground.

"So this is a brothel. The people here are just trying to live and get paid. Even in another world, some people are forced to sell their bodies. I wish I could help them." Subaru now felt ashamed. He always believed in true love with one person.

"She didn't comment on Felt's age. They must let anybody in. This makes me want to vomit." Subaru knew he was being hypocritical since he would have wanted Felt to come with him anyways, but at least they could have asked.

After what felt like an eternity, they made it to the last door of the hallway. The woman turned around and smiled.

"We're here, have fun." She said as she opened the door.

The room looked like a private karaoke room, there was even a large table in the middle of the room, the only part that was removed was… the actual karaoke. As Crusch described, there were 6 other girls, surrounding one man. He was old, but even in his old age, he still seemed handsome, although his skin looked like it had never seen the sun.

"A brother has come to visit me! As well a fine girl, though I do worry about her age. Is it appropriate for her to be here?" Orphe called out to them.

"It's fine, they wanted to see you." The women responded for them.

Felt was stunned for a moment. Based on the impression the woman gave, she thought he would have no problems with her. It seems he does have some morality.

"Hey yo! I was just looking to talk to you. You don't mind?" Subaru tried to keep calm and match his energy. His parents always said to match how someone feels to get them to like you.

"Alright, yeah, I see. Take a seat on the other side of the table." Orphe said, a smile beaming from his face.

The way the women next to him didn't move reminded him of old horror movies. He didn't have much time to think, so he did as instructed of him, and sat down at the opposite end of the table.

"Let's start off with the fun part, introductions! What might your names be." Orphe's happy-go-lucky persona didn't faultier. Chills went down Subaru's spine whenever he looked at him.

"I'm Subaru. Just Subaru." Subaru said. He decided it would be best to only use half of his name.

"Felt." Felt didn't want to say anything else.

"Wonderful! How wonderful! My name is Orphe, a high-ranked official of the Six Tongues!" Orphe spread his arms out wide as he stated his rank.

"Six Tongues? That doesn't sound too good." Subaru was worried. He read enough manga to pick up on evil team names.

"Oh my, you look confused? Ah yes, I suppose we were supposed to keep it a secret, but you won't mind, right?" His voice suddenly completely changed tone, as he said the last word. A black aura flared but left just as fast as it came.

"Ye-Yeah, we'll stay quiet bro, b-but what is that Six Tongues anyways?" Felt mustered up all of her courage to ask.

"Curious I see? Oh well, I'll explain. The Six Tongues are a secret organization that keeps Lugnica in check. We remove all threats and keep the peace within the country. Currently, we have control over 40% toooo 60% of all knights. Most nobles with power have also been, helped, into supporting us! Isn't that great? Right, my friends? We are absolute peacekeepers. Sadly, I can't say much else buddy." He pulled the two women next to him into a hug. They didn't even react, almost as if they were dolls. His body movements seemed to reflect someone that drank 100 cups more coffee than they should have.

"Helped? I doubt nobles would work with an organization like this, so there must be a meaning. They could be threatening people." Subaru's mind worked overtime to try and process everything he is saying.

If what he said is true, the royal knights don't serve the people as much as they serve him. He's starting to realize some of the truth behind Lugnica. Even in his world, there was always a darker side to every country. Now that he knew Lugnica had this, he was much weary of public services. How could he trust any knight to help him? Was Julius in on it too? Too many questions, and not enough answers.

"My friends! You have… waited long enough! Send your gleaming questions waiting to be answered by my lips." Orphe truly did move way too much for an elderly person.

"Well Bro, since you control most of Lugnica…" Felt face scrunched up in unease, but still battled forward. "Would you mind helping us find someone?"

"YESSSSSS! You want meeeee, to help youuuu, find somebody. Wonderful, yes, yes, truly wonderful. Tell me Felt-Samaaa, Just tell me. Who, do, you, need." The man moved the woman off him and slammed the table. His body reached the point where his, and Felt's faces weren't far apart.

"We are looking for the 5th candidate. It would help us out a ton if we could find her before a certain amount of time. Right, my uh, friend." Subaru tried his best to copy Orphe's way of speaking, but it wasn't natural to Subaru in the slightest.

As soon as Subaru finished his sentence, Orphe's eyes dropped all hints of excitement, and his smile turned into a deep, never-ending frown. In a second, he has been completely removed from his persona.

"It depends, who is 『Us』?" No emotion, or excitement to speak of. Just his words, and a silent room.

Felt thought it would be an appropriate time to point out the crest on her suit. She knew it'd be useful right? She also pulled out the whole sack of coins she had. It was better safe than sorry.

"Just look at my Crest bro, you notice something?" Felt pointed.

"Karsten. I see." Orphe muttered

Death.

It was unlike any aura he had seen before. The man's black aura turned into a tornado, ready to destroy anything in its way.

Fear.

"Bad Guy…. Contractor…. Run!" Scarlet said within Subaru's mind. Even it could tell it's time to head out.

Subaru had true fear. Nothing matters more than getting away from this... Thing.

"FELT!" Subaru grabbed her wrist, leaving behind the coins, and sprinted like his life depended on it.

"Ah, you're playing a game with me brother!" Orphe stood up, and casually pushed the girls that were next to him to the ground. The second they touched the ground, his pants and shoes were stained with blood. The corpses of the girls now soaked the floor red.

"This is why I love you, Orphe-Sama." The lady laughed wholeheartedly as they ran.

"B-ig Bro!? What the hell?! Are you chickening out no-" Felt was completely confused. Subaru has never grabbed her like this. His arms were completely tight around her, and she knew he wouldn't let go.

"I-I can't explain it, just… FOLLOW ME!" Subaru didn't know how he would explain his aura ability to Felt, so he decided to just leave it to his future self.

They ran passed everything. The hallway, the bars, the casino, and even the workers at the front door. Nothing stopped Subaru. Once he got outside, he ran a bit towards the Crusch manor before stopping.

"So, now you'll explain what the hell happened?" Felt freed herself the second he stopped and questioned him.

"Oh, um, sorry if that was sudden. I just have a power that lets me see someone's intent. His was completely black, which means he planned on, uh. Harming us." Subaru fumbled out awkwardly.

Felt had a look of contemplation. The silence between them grew for far too long, and Subaru was starting to doubt himself, but then she gave him a simple question.

"Do I have one right now?" Felt asked.

"Say again?"

"DO, I, HAVE, ONE, RIGHT, NOW," Felt said slowly, and clearly.

"I heard you the first time, I just doubted it. Well, no, you don't have one."

"Hmm, let me test something." Felt pulled out a knife and pointed it at Subaru. A crowd began to form around them. Yet, not a single person tried to do anything.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt ya. Just tell me if you see an aura." Felt said. She did grin at the attention she received.

"Hey, don't just point it at me! But no, you still don't have one." Subaru said.

Felt put her knife away, and waved her hand as if dismissing him. "Sorry, Sorry. How does it work then?" Her face showed that she wasn't very sorry.

"I don't know the specifics, but the colors change based on intense emotions, and someone's aura only flares if the person intends to do something."

With the information she requested, Felt nodded.

"Well, sorry about yelling at you. If you told me about it sooner, I would have trusted you more when running. Anyways, let's go back and report to Big Sis. We still got information, so it's not a complete failure." Felt looked around at the even bigger crowd and started to realize that the attention probably wasn't the best for them. "Let's go through the alleyways. This crowd ain't gonna let up." Felt pointed at an alleyway, and they both made their escape.

After walking through the alley for a while, Subaru started to smell something.

"Is that fire?" Subaru coughed a little after he made his comment. All he received was silence. He turned around to look at Felt, but she wouldn't move.

"Hey, Felt. You there?"

"EARTH TO FELT?"

Silence.

Subaru started to worry about her silence, and lack of movement. He grabbed Felt's shoulder, and gently gripped it. Her skin felt weird, almost as if she would break if he gripped too hard. He let go of her when he couldn't get a response.

"What the hell is on my h..and…." Subaru slowly but looked down at his hand.

Blood.

Felt's blood.

"Contr-…actor….R-….RUN." Scarlet sent out a message

"Scarlet!? What's going on? Are you there?" Subaru asked, but he didn't get a response from his trusty spirit.

Bang. Felt's dead body now hit the floor, as the blood oozed out of her. Her eyes sockets melted like ice cream on a hot summer day. Blood came from her toenails, mouth, eyes, and even hair. Her heart slowly but surely started to exit from her mouth. One at a time, each of her body parts gushed out of her, from any place that would allow it to escape.

"F-Fe-lt… FELT!" Subaru wanted to help her, but his body had a different path in mind. Subaru took two steps backward, as his shoulders brushed up against the wall, he slid down against it and fell to the floor.

"NO, getaway! I don't wanna, I don't wanna!" Subaru kept repeating until he noticed something on Felt's corpse. A small, white, needle had pierced her leg.

"Did Felt die by… that THING."

Felt's body started to move once again as if it had been possessed. She staggered to her feet and looked at him. He could see the flesh inside of her eye socket, as her melting body started to slowly walk towards him.

"Why… Big Bro… Why did I have to die?" She reached out to him, but her arm fell to the ground. She was so close to touching him, but her body melted too quickly.

"Why couldn't you complete the mission?"

"I… Hate... You…" Was her last words.

"I'm sorry, Felt! No, please, don't go, don't leave me here! Somebody help! Guards, medic, Felix! I need somebody, somebody please help!" Subaru kept grabbing onto the melted pieces of Felt. She had completely melted into an ice cream-like substance.

"Jolly good show! I made her into a beautiful actor, didn't I!?" Subaru slowly turned his head towards the source of the sound. Orphe was all he saw. He wore the same uniform the casino workers did. Except, he had his hood off.

"You… You're the one who killed her." Subaru stood up. "I hate you with every fiber of my being." Subaru charged at him with no plan. "DIEEEEEEE!"

All he received was a kick in the torso as he fell to the ground once more.

"Awww, I killed off your spirit and friend, but that's all you have to say to me is that. Not cool brother." The man slowly pulled out a needle. He bent down to Subaru's level as he struggled with the pain, and dipped the poison into the needle right in front of him. As a warning that he'll be next.

"Well, a good friend stops pain. So, I'll give you a break! Aren't I amazing?" Orphe looked Subaru right into the eyes and stabbed his left one.

"MY EYES!" Subaru covered his bleeding eyes, but then his nails started to bleed. When he covered those, his mouth started to bleed, and control over his body was weakening.

"You really are perfectly average huh? You're even on the way to dying on the exact millisecond average it takes to kill someone with the needle!" Orphe said with a smile as he started patting Subaru's head,

"Let's count together,"

"End me.." Subaru said

"5."

"I just want to see them smile."

"4."

"I want them to be happy."

"3."

"A happy ending is all I ask for."

"2."

"I want to be like my father."

"1."

"I want… to be…"

"0."

"A hero."

With his final words, Natsuki Subaru had died.

Author's Note: 8/6/2022

By the way, the Six Tongues is an official Re:Zero organization. They just haven't been explored much, and have only been used in very small mentions. So, there is still a lot of original stuff in this fanfic about them.

For people who haven't read the EX novel, how'd you like Orphe? In the original, he is a lot younger, and less crazy, but still lustful. The novel with him in it took place years before the main story, so he is old now, and developments happened to make him crazy.

Now, back to my usual notes. 7.4k WORDS. How did I upload 2k chapters before? I just started writing, and this happened. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed it. The pain was extra descriptive in this chapter.

Crusch-Tan got kidnapped, Felix got beaten up pretty bad, Wilhelm is currently unknown, Felt died, and Subaru died. Pretty Crazy chapter. I sure do wonder where Subaru will respawn. Cough, Cough.

Lastly, for shoutouts. Odysseus7O7 on ao3 made me laugh by his/her comment! On FFN, reviewed every single chapter so far, and that made me really happy, so thank you :)

See ya on Tuesday, maybe Wednesday if I decide to take a one-day break, so just keep that in mind.

-TonkaDev