"Rem..." Ram's eyes widened. "I thought I told you not to come."
Just as she said that, Ram saw Subaru collapse onto the stairs of the entrance.
"Barusu?"
Rem turned to the boy, and saw him spralled out on the ground. "Subaru-kun?" Rem bent down, and put a hand to Subaru's face. "Subaru-kun are you okay?" She gave a light tap to his face. It seemed the boy was out cold.
"What's wrong with him?" Ram asked her sister.
"Rem doesn't know." Rem kept her gaze on Subaru. She noticed something telling.
/ The witch's scent... It's gotten stronger. Something's wrong... / There was a look of concern on her face.
"Do you want to come in?" Ram opened the door wider, revealing her body.
Rem looked up to her sister. She saw a circular tattoo on her sister's chest. / What is that? /
Rem picked Subaru up from his feet, and Ram got his arms. The two sisters carried him together inside, and layed him down on the sofa. They were still in the main lounge, next to the entrance.
"Seems Barusu is even more useless than normal." Ram remarked.
Rem felt a little relief at the comment. If Ram was making jokes, that meant things couldn't be too bad.
"Rem is glad to see you're okay sister, she was very worried about you." Rem said to Ram.
"Yes yes. As you can see, there is nothing wrong with your beautiful sister." Ram lied.
Rem twitched her nose. Something in the way Ram had said that bothered Rem.
"Is that true?" Rem stared at her sister's tattoo.
Ram wanted to squirm under the serious gaze of the blue-haried maid, but she stopped herself. She didn't want to burden Rem with her problems.
"What happened with Roswaal?" Rem asked a follow up question.
"Rem..." Ram broke eye contact with the blue haired maid. "Why are you here?" Ram tried to avoid the question.
"What did you expect. Of course Rem is going to come back if you're in trouble." Rem's response wasn't suprising.
Ram let out a sigh.
"Tell Rem what that is." Rem pointed to the tattoo.
"It's a curse mark." Ram couldn't lie to Rem about that.
Rem's face showed violent anger. She already knew who had placed that horrible thing on her sister.
"Tell me what happened Ram."
Ram bit her lip. She had wanted Rem to stay away, but it seemed that was no longer in the cards.
"Emilia-sama!" Ram shouted out.
"Why don't you sit down. I'll tell you the story of what happened." Ram said.
Emilia appeared, and the three girls went to the dining room. Ram brought them up to speed.
Roswaal had cursed Emilia and Ram to stay in the mansion after Ram's failed intervention. He left soon after, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.
Rem looked down at her tea, staring into her own reflection in the liquid. Rem knew she owed a lot to master Roswaal, but his behaviour now was nothing short of villainous.
"Where's Frederica?" Rem asked her sister. She remembered that Ram had brought Frederica from the capital after the incident with Betelgeuse.
Just as she asked the question, the door creaked open. The blond haired maid appeared. Rem turned in her seat to face the maid.
"Ahh-" The blond let out a noise. Rem's presence was unexpected for Frederica. "Hello."
Rem furrowed her brow. She had expected a hug, and maybe a "Ahhh Rem-chan, it's so good to see youuu!"
Frederica was being a bit cold. Rem smiled. / Maybe she's taking her maid duties more seriously. /
"How have you been? We didn't really get to talk much last time we saw each other. Rem is glad to see you again too." Rem saw that Frederica was missing the curse mark that Roswaal had put on Emilia and her sister.
Frederica let out a nervous laugh. "The last time... Right." She scratched the back of her head.
/ What's up with her? / Rem thought to herself.
"I guess we do have a lot to catch up on, but I'm a bit busy at the moment." Frederica turned to face Ram. "There's been a leak in the big bath. I was hoping Ram might be able to help me fix it."
Ram looked suprised. She had cleaned that section of the mansion today, and everything had seemed to be in order.
"Aren't there bigger things to worry about right now?" Rem chimed in before her sister could respond. Something bothered Rem: Frederica didn't seem at all concerned with what was happening with Roswaal.
Rem stared a bit angrily at Frederica.
"What's with that look?" Frederica asked her seriously.
/ Something's not right... / Rem just continued to stare at the blond maid.
"If it's the bath, then let Rem help you too." Rem said slowly. Her gut was telling her not to leave her sister alone with Frederica.
There was a flash of annoyance in Frederica's face, but it was instantly replaced with a big smile.
/ Faker... / Frederica was not to be trusted.
"The more the merrier right? C'mon, let's sort this before the bathroom floods." Frederica waved the sisters towards her. Rem and Ram got up, and followed Frederica to the door. Emilia got up too.
Apparently, Subaru was passed out in the lounge, and Emilia wanted to go check on him.
"Emilia-sama, where are you going?" Frederica asked her.
"Huh?" Emilia saw the beast-woman staring at her. "Ummm, I was just going to go check on Subaru..." She said. "Is that a problem?"
"Where is the boy?" Frederica asked her.
/ This smell... / Rem's eye's widened as she got closer to Frederica. / Rem thought it was Subaru-kun, but it's actually her. / She gazed at the woman beside her.
"Why does it matter?" Rem interrupted before Emilia could respond to the maid. "Unless..."
A hypothesis was starting to form in her mind. Subaru's passing out, Frederica's odd behaviour, her smell, her wanting to keep track of everyone.
/ If Subaru is looping, then who killed him? / Rem already knew the answer.
Rem grabbed her sister by the hand, and walked the both of them back to Emilia's side.
"What's your game?" Rem was giving Frederica a lethal look. "Why aren't you cursed? Why are you acting so strange? Has Roswaal put you up to something?"
Frederica's expression, which had been a one of fake frendliness up to now, shifted into one of disgust.
"Ugh. I wanted to kill you all seperately, but it seems that won't be possible." Frederica said menacingly. "What a pain, Tschh."
The girls looked on in horror as Frederica ripped the skin off her own face, revealing the tissue underneath. She began to contort violently, and bent down into a smaller shape. The rest of the skin she had been wearing on her body peeled off her. It fell on the floor like a rubbery, bloody rag.
Then, new skin seemed to regenerate, once again covering her body.
This wasn't Frederica anymore. In her place, a short girl with red eyes and blond hair stood before them.
"I thought wearing the skin would be more convincing." The girl said in a high-pitched voice. "I guess it was a failure though." She sighed a little bit.
"Who the hell are you?" Ram said. She was a little shacken, but she wouldn't let it show.
"Little old me?" The girl asked innocently. "It's Capella. Sin Archbishop of Lust."
As she said that, a pair of wings exploded from her back. There were four of them in total, two on each shoulder blade. The wings were translucent, and covered in slime. They were dragonfly wings.
At the same time, two enormous, black stingers emerged from the underside of the wrist. She pointed them menacingly at the girls.
"It's nice to meet you, but unfortunately, our meeting will be brief."
From nowhere, Rem pulled our her morningstar. "You must have been the one who killed him." Rem snarled at her.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't hurt anyone... Well, except for that beastly maid." That last part sounded more like an afterthought.
"Ram! Go to Subaru! Rem and Emilia will take care of her." Rem ordered. Without Roswaal, Ram couldn't fight - it would use too much mana, mana that was keeping her alive.
"Sister-" Ram tried to protest.
"You can help us after you wake him up. Go now!" Rem barked out.
Ram, understanding that she wouldn't be of much use anyway, gave her sister a nod and ran out of the room.
"Well then... Let's begin!" Capella looked excited.
Rem's morningstar burst out towards Capella, who didn't make any attempt to dodge it. It connected with Capella's shoulder, blowing off her whole arm. Capella gave her a smirk.
Strands of muscle tissue wriggled out of her arm, twisting and tightening into a stump. It grew out, extending itelf where her arm had been a second ago. Skin started to grow back.
"That's the look I like." Capella taunted. "Fear me."
The arm had been completely replaced, stringer and all. There was nothing to even suggest she had been injured.
"Hyuma!" Emilia shot a blast of frost towards the girl's legs. Ice formed up to her knees, freezing her in place.
Capella giggled. "Hihihihi". Capella shattered her own leg with a stinger. It grew back quickly. She shattered the other one too. She had broke out of the trap.
Capella rushed forward, her stinger pointed at Emilia. A swing from Rem's morningstar broke the stinger, stopping the attack before it could connect. A black liquid oozed out from where the stinger had been broken.
"It doesn't matter." Capella gave Rem a crazed look. "You understand? No matter how much you hurt me, I'll always grow back."
Rem stared at her wide-eyed. This power...
/ She's practically invincible! / Rem thought to herself, panicked.
"Yes. Yes! That's the look! That's the look!" Capella rushed in for another attack.
* Scene Break *
Subaru was in a place of darkness. He floated peacefully in a vast expanse of shadows. There was nothing to bother him here. Nothing to kill him.
He had no body. No mouth, no ears, no eyes, no tongue, no throat, no chest, no arms, no legs. The only thing he did have were hands. He could feel his hands floating in the darkness. He looked like an invisible man who was wearing gloves.
"...love you." Subaru heard a voice.
Well, 'hear' wouldn't be the right word. Without ears, one can't here. Still, he could sense it. Somehow, inside his consciousness, the meaning of "...love you" had been communicated.
He tried to speak, but nothing happened.
"I love you."
"I love you." The presence approached him. The aura coming of it was both warm and cold. Scary, yet comforting.
/ Who is that? / He tried to speak, but failed.
"I love you."
"I love you."
/ Ahhh... / Subaru knew who this was. / The witch. /
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"..." Even if he could speak, Subaru had nothing to say. The love the witch showed him befuddled him entirely.
"I love you. I-"
/ I get it already! / Subaru shouted in his mind. / You love me? So what? I don't love you back. /
"I love you. I love you. I-"
/ Stop it! Enough! Being loved by a witch - that's not a good thing! / He thought to himself.
"Why are you so loved?" A new voice spoke out. Subaru recognized this voice.
"SLOTHFUL!" The new voice rang out in an accusatory tone. "SO SO SLOTHFUL! Can one such as you really be loved? My brain trembles at the thought."
/ Betelgeuse... /
"You lie here, basking in her love, radiating in her glory, and yet you show her no love in return?" Betelgeuse's voice rang out in his head. "How can that be? How. Can. That. BE!"
/ Shut up. / Subaru tried to tell him. / I thought I killed you already. /
As he thought that, a million memories started to flow into his head.
Japan, his parents, a girl who introduced herself as Satella, a mansion, big dogs, Betelgeuse, a house with a wolfman, a letter, a short girl with blond hair and red eyes. /
A blue-haired maid, who smiled at him warmly. "Subaru-kun!" Her voice passed into his thoughts.
/Rem... /
/ Rem! /
Subaru's eyes snapped open.
"I hate to disappoint you, Barusu."
Subaru stared at the person standing above him.
"Ram."
"Correct." Ram said plainly. "Now get up."
Subaru stared at her for a second and sat up.
"She's started her attack." Ram said to him.
"Huh? She?" Subaru rubbed a finger against the bridge of his nose. The memory of what had happened before he died started to emerge from his hazy mind. "Capella." He growled out.
"That's right. If you know who she is, then I'm guessing this isn't the first time."
Realizing what was happening, Subaru started to panic.
"What's happening? Where are Rem and Emilia." He stood up from the couch, and stretched out a little.
"They are fighting her now." Ram said.
Subaru, finally put together again, put on a determined look. "And I was sleeping? I guess I am useless."
"Self-acceptance is the first step towards self-imporvement. Although I doubt a Barusu can be improved." Ram teased him.
"Are you saying I'm already the best?" Subaru had his swagger back.
"Ha. Don't get ahead of yourself. You're simply too useless to change." Ram said to him.
"Useless..." Subaru remembered when he had been stuck in the library. "You're not wrong. I am quite useless, but I'm not going to let that hold me back!"
"I'm glad to hear it. Let's go." Ram, seeing that Subaru had gotten a grip on himself, pointed in the direction where she had left her sister.
Subaru took one step towards the dining room. Then he stopped in his tracks.
"Ram, how long have they been fighting for?" Subaru asked her.
"Only a few minutes." Ram answered him.
/ When I died... Puck hadn't come out yet. That means when I arrived, they had just been killed. / Thoughts started to flood into Subaru's head.
/ Rem, Ram and Emilia must've fought Capella for at least a half hour while I was in the library. / Subaru recalled the disgusting sight of what had happened to his friends.
/ If we fight her again, I don't expect much will change... /
"Ram."
"Yes?"
"I need you to have faith in me. This person, we won't win if we fight them head on." Subaru explained.
Ram stared at Subaru.
"That's why-" Subaru turned to Ram, and she could see he was smiling, "I have a new plan this time."
Ram just continued to stare at him.
"We're gonna help them, but there's something we need to do first. I have faith that your sister will keep her busy for bit."
Ram nodded slowly. "Okay." She said. "What do we do?"
"We'll open the door to victory."
* Scene Break *
Rem didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. She was faster and stronger than her opponent, but Capella seemed to regenerate infinitely.
Rem knew she would mess up eventually, she could feel the tiredness in her body. The build-up of acid in her muscles was already making her mouvements slower. it had only been twenty minutes, but it wouldn't take long before she exhausted herself completely.
Rem turned to Emilia, who had a concentrated look on her face. She was shooting out ice crystals towards the enemy, but Rem could see that she was also close to hitting the wall.
"Emilia-sama, we need to pace ourselves, don't use too much energy." Rem said as she made another swing with her morningstar.
Capella was flying, buzzing around with those wings of her's. She would take damage, regenerate, and then come at them from a different angle.
Emilia nodded in agreement. She could feel her mana reserves, vast as they were, beginning to deplete.
"Hihihihihi." Capella flew towards them again. Her speed was quite something. "Not much longer now, maid-san."
An ice crystal stopped Capella from hitting Rem. Rem's morningstar hit Capella in the head, taking out Capella's right eye and a large chunk of her face. Rem could see greyish-pink matter around where Capella had been hit. It was her brain.
"Hihihihi" The usual wriggling started, and fleshy bits started to reform into Capella's missing chunck of head. "Try again."
Rem heard loud footsteps approaching the dining room. Standing in the doorway were Ram and Subaru.
"Subaru-kun! You're awake!" Rem called out to him.
"That's right, and I'm ready for action!" Subaru responded. Rem smiled, Subaru's enthusiasm restored her energy a little.
"You and Emilia need to come to me!" Subaru called out.
Rem could see that Subaru had some sort of plan. His confidence made her sure of it.
"Yes!" Rem shot her morningstar at Capella, which hit her in the stomach. Both legs flew off the girl. Rem had bought them a little time.
"Emilia-sama! Let's follow Subaru-kun!" Rem barked out to Emilia. They had to move while they still could.
The two girls went to the doorway, and joined Ram and Subaru.
"We need to move fast." Subaru instructed them. "We want to get to the east wing - second floor."
It was the one advantage they had. Every one of them knew this mansion like the back of their hand. It would be easy for them to navigate through it.
They started to run. Rem heard a buzzing sound behind them, it seemed Capella was catching up to them.
"Running away? That's pretty cowardly. Although I would probably do the same." Capella taunted them as she made her approach.
"FULA!" A wind blade shot out from Ram, cutting off the wings on the left side of Capella's body. The Archbishop crashed into floor of the hall they were running through.
Rem looked at her sister as they continued to make their escape. / Ram don't use up your mana! / She thought to herself.
The rounded a corner, and went down a spiral staircase. Capella's buzzing could be heard as she flew down the hole in the center of it, getting to the group's level.
Rem swung her morningstar, but it missed the sin archbishop. / Not good, I'm too tired to aim this heavy thing properly. / Rem cursed her cumbersome weapon.
"Hyuma!" A large ice spike shot out from where Emilia had her hands pointed, it slammed into Capella and pinned her to the wall, impaling her in the chest.
"Hihihihi" Capella wiggled her body to-and-fro, slowly releasing herself from the spike. "Try all you like, it won't make any difference."
The four of them continued to run. Not much longer now, they were already in the east wing.
Rem noticed that every single door in the mansion was open. Is this what Subaru and Ram had been doing while they fought?
They got to the hall on the second floor, and near the end of the corridor, Rem saw a door with a large 'X' cut into it. It was the only door that was closed.
Rem's eyes widened as Subaru's plan dawned on her.
"You're clever, aren't you Subaru-kun?" Rem smiled at him. With this, they could win.
"Save the compliments for after I'm done saving your life." They couldn't afford to spare a single breath.
Finally they reached the door, and stopped running. All of them were panting, breathing heavily from the exertion.
They saw Capella at the end of the hall, walking up to them.
"Is this where you put up your grand stand against me?" Capella asked them. "Doesn't seem like you've accomplished much."
"Oh don't worry." Subaru retorted. "I think we've done enough." He faced down the wicked girl in front of him.
Since coming to this world, this was the worst person Subaru had faced. More sadistic than the bowel hunter, more powerful than Betelgeuse, and more intelligent than both of them put together.
She only had one weakness. She was cocky.
Capella had never failed, never been hurt, never been outmatched. The girl had never even felt pain. An existence like her's couldn't fathom losing.
"This is it." Subaru shouted. "Ram!"
Ram started glowing red as Capella rushed towards them. She was using her oni form, burning through all the mana Roswaal had infused into her curse mark. A large gust of wind sliced off one of Capella's arms, but the blond girl was undeterred.
She engaged Ram in close combat. A deadly dance of snake poison and wind magic started, as the three others stood back a bit.
/ You just need to disable her for a bit Ram! I know you can do this! / Subaru looked on intensely, waiting for any opening.
Ram dodged a stab from Capella's stinger, and wind magic again cut off the attacking girl's arm.
Capella looked up at the pink haired maid. "Oni god? My my." Capella fixed her gaze on Rem, who was standing a few paces away from the duel. "Then I suppose you must be my daughter."
Rem was confused at the words, which had clearly been directed at her.
"You disgust me witch cultist." She spat out ragefully. "Daughter? Rem had parents. You people took them away."
"Hihihihihi" Capella grew out a tail, the end of which had four bony spikes, two on each side. She swung a stinger at Ram, who dodged, and then quickly spun around, trying to slam the bony knives into that girl.
Ram reacted quickly. With a burst of wind magic, she jumped over the tail that had been swept towards her. Behind her, Ram saw Subaru whisper something to Emilia.
"Whenever you're ready Ram!" Subaru shouted out, slightly opening the last door beside him.
Ram didn't say anything. She had to end this quickly, she could feel the last bits of mana in her curse mark being eaten up. She realized she would probably die. That wouldn't stop her though.
"Al Fula!" A giant gust of wind travelled at supersonic speeds, slamming into the sin archbishop, slicing off both her legs. Subaru opened the door as wide as he could. "Now!"
Ram rushed forwards, grabbing Capella's torso before she could finish restoring herself. She held Capella by the arms, restraining her to avoid getting impaled by the stingers.
With all her might, Ram threw Capella into the forbidden library.
Capella already had her legs back, and flew towards them from inside the library.
"Ice that bitch!"
Emilia smiled at the way Subaru had said that.
"AL HYUMA!" A blue vapor rushed to Capella, who was nearly upon them, and froze her, thick ice enveloped her lower body.
Capella saw Subaru give her a smile.
"Bye-bye." He gave her a casual wave and slammed the door shut, trapping her in the dark library.
Before he could even ask her to, Rem swung her morning star into the door, destroying it entirely. Behind the door, a empty bedroom could now be seen.
"Phhew."
Subaru fell onto his ass, exhausted from all the running. He had been running since he woke up. "I wasn't sure that would work." As he said that, he puked. He had over-exerted himself.
After Ram woke him up, it had been a frantic race to open every door in the mansion. Once that had been done, all that was left was to get Capella in the library.
Now Capella was stuck. Until one of them closed a door in the mansion, there was no way for her to escape the forbidden library.
"There's one more thing we have to do." Subaru said. "Emilia."
"This isn't my specialty, but I can manage this much Subaru." Emilia responded to him. A small fireball shot out from her hand, and hit the bed in the room they were facing, instantly igniting it.
Subaru would never let that archbishop escape. This was the last precaution. He would burn down the mansion.
"Let's get out of here before we die too." As Subaru said that, Ram collapsed to the floor.
Rem rushed to her sister. Holding up her body in her arms.
Rem could feel her breath, her pulse. Her sister was still alive. Rem understood that Ram's oni form probably ate up all her mana. Without Roswaal, she probably didn't have much time left before she ran out of lifeforce entirely.
The four of them left the mansion, Rem carried Ram in her arms.
Ten minutes passed, and the group stood in the garden, watching as the mansion burned to the ground. Subaru could see flames billowing out the windows, and black smoke blasting out from the inside of the building.
/ I did it... / Subaru thought to himself. His mind was still catching up to his reality. The adrenaline from the battle still pumped through his veins.
He was still panting, the oxygen-debt he had acrued from running so much took a while to be paid back. / I did it... /
Finally, Subaru calmed down a bit. By now it had gotten dark. He turned slightly to see Rem, who's face was glowing in the soft light of the fire.
Suddenly, the image of Rem's corpse, pinned against the kitchen wall and with her womb removed, flashed in his mind. Not just the image, but the whole experience. The smell of death, the warm blood on his shoes. He relived how he had tried to shake Rem awake, but she was dead. She had died. / Rem... died. /
"Subaru-kun?" Rem looked him in the eyes. "Why are you crying?"
"Huh?" Subaru fell to his knees. The adrenaline, which had been suppressing his trauma, had finally worn off. He put his hands to his face, and felt the warmth of his own tears. He reached out his hand, and held Rem's hand in his own. He squeezed her hand tightly.
"Subaru-kun..." Rem's hand hurt, but she didn't stop Subaru. She could see something wasn't right with him.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered.
"What are you-"
"I'm sorry." He whispered again.
"Subaru-kun. It's fin-"
"I'm sorry." He said it louder this time. Rem could hear him cracking, as the tears tore up his voice. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Rem. I couldn't hhhff-" With his free arm, Subaru wiped his snot into the sleeve of his kimono. "I couldn't be there for you. I was too scared and- and... I'm so sorry. I'm such a coward."
Subaru kept babbling, but Rem didn't need to hear anymore to figure out what had happened.
When Subaru had fainted, that had been a bad loop. Why had she not looped with him?
She had died.
She knew this for certain. That was the reason behind Subaru's current condition.
"I couldn't save you." Subaru finally mustered up the courage to admit it. "She killed you, and Ram, and Emilia." Subaru looked at Emilia, who sitting a little distance away from them. "And I didn't do a damn thing about it. UUahh!"
Rem stayed silent. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't relate to something that she had never experienced.
She sat down on her knees, and pushed Subaru down into a lap pillow. He cried into her.
"I'm sorry Rem. I'm so sorry!"
"Shhh- Subaru-kun." She pat his back, comforting him.
"I'm sure that at the end... I still knew you would save me."
Subaru just wailed harder.