The wheels of the carriage made a crisp crunching noise as they pressed against the gravel. Once again Subaru was on this trail. Dawn was breaking now, but not much light made it through the dense canopy. In Subaru's head, there was only a singular task.
"When you see Roswaal, don't underestimate him." He said. He aimed his voice at the driver of the carriage, Halibel.
Subaru decided it was smart to debrief Halibel with what he had learned in the last loop.
"Don't give him any breathing room either. If he gets desperate, he'll destroy the building. Obviously, try not to let him do that." Subaru told the wolfman.
Halibel simply nodded along to Subaru's comments. He was surprised at the level of information the boy had, but decided to trust him anyway.
Subaru continued with his predictions. "There is going to be a spirit there too. Beatrice. I don't think she'll fight you, but she might get belligerent when we kill him. Watch out for that."
"You're actually quite ruthless, aren't you Su-san?" Halibel was surprised at Subaru's demeanour. Of course, Subaru had a reason to be angry, but his cold-bloodedness wasn't something Halibel had expected.
"I just want to get this done. No. I have to get this done. Until everyone is safe, I can't take a moment to rest." Subaru said.
Subaru continued his earlier train of thought. "If Beatrice isn't a threat, then let me deal with her after the battle."
Inside him, Subaru felt an anxious impatience. He wanted to do this quickly. He wanted to get out of this whole situation and go back to living peacefully. In this respect, he was eager to confront the Margrave. On the other hand, he was walking into a known danger, and that gave Subaru cold feet.
They were finally upon the old temple. This is where the witch took her final rest. This is where they would find Roswaal.
"We're here."
Subaru and Halibel entered. Subaru decided not to have Halibel hide in his shadow. He had some choice words for the Margrave, and with Halibel's protection, he might survive long enough to get them out.
Without Crusch's light Subaru had to walk slowly. He kept one hand against the cold, stone wall at all times - feeling his way through this maze in the darkness.
Finally, Subaru heard a familiar chant.
/ I'm getting close. Around this next door... That's where he is! / Subaru thought to himself. His heart was beating faster already.
Subaru could see a could see a dim light around the next corner. It was the light of that massive spell. The two men advanced, and soon, were face-to-face with the lord of the sanctuary.
"Roswaal." Subaru spoke up. This seemed to break the clown out of his concentration as he stopped chanting, instead turning to face Subaru.
"Ahhh Subaru-kun. This is mostttttt surprising!" Roswaal said. Looking at the boy, he saw no emotion on that face. This was the face of a cold, calculating foe, one that had white-knuckled determination to do what he had too. And this made Roswaal smile. "Whattttttt a pleasant look you have!"
Roswaal spied the beastman that was accompanying our protagonist. He didn't know who it was, although Roswaal had enough battle experience to know that he was dangerous. The relaxed way the wolfman carried himself made his instincts ring alarm bells. "And it seems you have broooought a troublesome guest. My my."
"Roswaal." Subaru spat out again. "There's only one thing I need to know, so tell me. What are your intentions with Ram and Emilia?"
Roswaal almost chuckled at the question, and there was a slight exhale from his nose as his grin grew even wider. "To be honest Subaruuuuu I haven't given it much thought. Their use to me has run out. Speaking frankly, they areeeeee disposable now."
Subaru gritted his teeth.
/ Disposable? You're a real piece of work, you clown. I guess all of that time together meant nothing to you then. / Subaru thought. / Regardless, you'll get your just deserts now. /
"And Frederica. I guess she was 'disposable' too, huh. Look where that got her." Subaru readied his weapon. "I won't let you do the same to those two. You have to take responsibility!"
Roswaal turned to face Subaru. The magician raised his arms, and summoned forth various magical orbs. Glowing and pulsing brightly, each of them was of a different color.
"You should have seen it through boy." Roswaal spat out, a slight edge of anger danced in his voice. "Running away with theeeee maid? It's quiteee comical really."
"Halibel." The wolfman quietly positioned himself in front of Subaru.
"There was nothing I could do about it, but I thought you would have the sense to stayyyy away." Mathers continued his speech. "Once you pick the easy way out, you can't expect me to continueeeee having faith. You've already sent the world off course."
Subaru clicked his teeth, Roswaal's meaningless prattle really rubbed him the wrong way.
/ Quit being so damn smug! Show some remorse you bastard! / Subaru shoutedd angrily in his head.
"You piss me off you bastard! Halibel!"
Halibel shot forwards, kunai in hand, and made a sudden arm-thrust aimed at Roswaal's head. The magician dodged just in time. Halibel went in for another engagement, but a lazer beam from Roswaal forced him to weave, buying Roswaal some space.
Roswaal floated up into the air, and charged another magical attack. Halibel made an odd handsign, and a clone appeared beside him. Roswaal blasted a massive column of fire, taking aim at Subaru, who was somewhat distanced from the fighting. The clone went to guard Subaru, just in time to cast a shield spell, and protect Subaru from the attack.
"You should haveeeee stayed with the princess. All of this is the result of your failure to do that! Tell me, were you not in love with her? Did you not fall for her in the capital?" Roswaal said frustratedly, as he dodged the next round of Halibel's assault.
/ Is this what Rem was telling me about? All of this is really because I didn't pick Emilia!? That's so ridiculous! /
"I thought I had, but I was wrong. Emilia is a friend, and someone I'll always want to protect. But there's someone else. Someone else that I love!" Subaru said. "No matter how much force you use, you can't change how people feel about something like that. Although clearly someone like you wouldn't understand! You use force to dominate those around you, you scumbag!" Subaru thought about Ram and Emilia, and the curse they were being made to endure even now.
Roswaal laughed at that. "Do you not alsoooo use force to achieve your goals? How arrogant of you to lecture me!" Roswaal summoned a great wind, and blew Halibel away from him. The wolfman managed to grab Roswaal's arm though, digging his sharp claws into it. With his free hand, Roswaal charged up another blast, forcing Halibel to let go to dodge.
"No. I don't."
"Reallyyyyy. I see. Did you not slay Capella to get here then? What of Garfiel? Did you slayyyy him too? That look you have, it tells me you would not hesitate to do so!" The stoic anger on Subaru's face was truly murderous. Roswaal knew that if push came to shove, Subaru too would make sacrifices for the sake of his objective. "You are no better than me, Natsuki Subaru. You talk about feelings. Did you ask Ram how she felt about this? Do you not know that killing me would surely break Beatrice?"
A memory flashed in Subaru's head. A memory of the argument he and Ram had gotten into:
/ The right thing? Don't make me laugh. The right thing was for you to stay in Kararagi, and to keep my sister out of harms way! Don't try and lecture me about the right thing Barusu - you confuse your own ambitions with a sense of righteousness. /
"At the end of the day, the only feelings you truly care about are your own. Oh what a shame those feelings are wrong! Had it been Emilia, I'm truly certain you would have been the perfect partner in crime!" As Roswaal said this, he blocked an onslaught of throwing knives with a magic guarding spell. Halibel let out an annoyed hiss, but quickly jumped back into the fight, ready for more.
"Don't compare us you murderer! You and I are wholly different, so don't claim some moral equivalence!" As he said this, Subaru made a handsign. Three illusory clones of himself popped into existence beside him.
As he prepared himself to fight, a strange feeling grew in Subaru. There was a pent-up thing within him, writhing, struggling to burst out.
/ What is this feeling? / The odd sensation was a rush Subaru had never felt before.
Subaru felt as if he he had been hit with a wave of electric energy, and he felt himself hyper-focus on his target. He would strike down Roswaal.
"This is for Emilia, Ram, and Rem! Most of all, this is for Frederica!" Subaru rushed into the fray. Roswaal shot out a blast, but he guessed wrong, exploding a clone instead of the real one.
"Halibel! Give me a boost!" Subaru continued his sprint. Halibel extended his arm down, and Subaru jumped into his hand. With great force, Halibel flung him in the direction of the margrave. He was flying so fast, Subaru could feel the air rushing onto his face, and he struggled to keep his eyes open in the intense headwind. In front of him, Subaru held out his trusty knife. He had gotten it from the mansion. It was the same one he had used to cut down Betelgeuse in that failed loop.
/ This is it! This what you get you bastard! So take it! /
"SLOTH WORLD!" That power within Subaru escaped him with full force. It kicked it's way out of his body, and seeped into every aspect of reality. This was his authority. Subaru began to see trails behind all the objects in his vision.
Time itself slowed down to a snails pace, not giving Roswaal any time to react to Subaru's attack. To Subaru it seemed like a full second had passed. But to Roswaal, Subaru had jumped one moment, and the next Subaru had teleported in front of him.
Roswaal felt a forceful punch against his chest, and looked down to see what had happened. He let out a suprised "Oh."
Subaru had dug his knife square in the middle of Roswaal's chest, stabbing him in his heart. Digging the knife in, the feeling of some snapping artery or ligament told Subaru that he had struck true.
Scarlet billows gushed out of the wound, falling to the earth. The warm feeling of Roswaal's blood covering his hands felt scarily familiar. He had bathed in his own blood before after all, this was nothing new really.
Roswaal's flying magic deactivated, and both of them fell to the ground. Subaru landed on top of Roswaal, cushioning his impact.
Roswaal let out a cough. There was a wet gurgling sound as blood rose up his Esophagus and into his mouth. With the last of his energy, Roswaal lifted his head to face his enemy. He made eye contact, and his effort was rewarded. To Roswaal, Subaru's eyes were truly marvelous, like burning gems of amber.
/ Truly, that face is spectacular! / Roswaal thought.
"..just... like... me... " Those were the Margrave's last words. Subaru felt the body go limp.
After a moment of hesitation, confirming that Roswaal had in fact been slain, Subaru relaxed his grip on the knife in his hands.
Subaru got up slowly. The adrenalin pumping in his veins made his knees weak, and he felt a tremendous ache in every corner of his body.
/ This must be the recoil then of that power then. / Subaru reasoned, and a heaviness pushed down on his whole body. / Jesus, I feel like crap. /
Looking down at the body in front of him, he could barely believe his eyes. Logically, stabbing someone in their vital organs would leave them dead, yet Subaru had some trouble accepting this conclusion.
"Hmmpff." Subaru's head snapped up, and he identified the unknown sound. "Huu. Hmmppff."
It was Beatrice. She was crying.
Subaru walked towards her, forcing one leg in front of the other. "Bea-"
"Why? Why does everyone leave Beatrice, I suppose? Mother, Geuse, and now Roswaal too!" Beatrices cries were haunting. "I don't understand, Mother. Betty just wanted to see you again! Hmppf. Why did you leave me?"
Beatrice wasn't speaking to Subaru. She was speaking to the universe, raging against the unfair circumstance the cosmos had dealt her.
Subaru got closer to her. He wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't think of a single good word.
Beatrice looked up at Subaru, who was now casting his shadow over her. His dark kimono had wet patches on it, where it had soaked up Roswaal's blood. On his chin too, the red liquid had been smeared, giving him a threatening appearance.
"Subaru..." Beatrice squeaked out softly. "Betty doesn't understand. Not a single thing makes sense anymore, I suppose. Tell me why."
Why what? Subaru couldn't have known the answer to that. He recalled what Roswaal had said moments earlier: that killing him would surely break Beatrice.
"Beatrice, I can't know that. But, let me save you-" Subaru's voice was trembling. He just wanted Beatrice to come with him. For her to let herself be saved.
"Save Betty!? You're too late Subaru! Where were you, when Betty was all alone, I suppose? You think you can come after 400 years and expect me to feel that way! I can't!" Beatrice screamed at him. "I just wanted to see her again! I was ready to die for that, and I would have been happy, I suppose!"
Subaru took a step back, shacken at the state Beatrice was in. How was he expected to answer anything? He had considered Beatrice a friend, but he didn't know what troubled her so.
"Subaru." Beatrice said. "Tell me, are you that person?" Tears started to stream down her face.
For moment Subaru remained silent. He didn't know the right answer.
/ All I can do is be honest. / Subaru thought. / Anything else would just be disrespectful. /
"Beatrice, I don't know what that is." Subaru answered her.
Beatrice looked at the floor, and gave a sad smile. "I see..." She muttered. "Then no one is coming for Betty, I suppose." Beatrice snivelled again, and stopped her tears. This would be her last act.
"Subaru-san." She started. "With Roswaal gone the spell is unstable, I suppose. It's time for you and your friend to leave."
Beatrice held out an arm. A purple swirl of mana, like a miniature galaxy, appeared in her hand, indicating that she was casting magic.
Subaru didn't even have time to respond before Beatrice finished her spell.
"Transport!" She cried out.
The air around Subaru and Halibel lit up with a purple glow. A bright light flashed, and then Subaru was sent out of the tomb. Beatrice had teleported the both of them, they were now a few miles away.
Subaru saw he was sat outside somewhere, beside him was Halibel. "She sent us away." Subaru said.
"It looks that way." Halibel responded. "We're back in the forest." Halibel stood up and walked to Subaru, scanning the boy for injuries.
Not seeing any, Halibel let out a whistle. "You pulled it off Su-san. I'm impressed."
Despite Halibel praise, Subaru didn't feel good about himself at the moment. What happened with Beatrice left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Halibel extended his arm down to Subaru, and Subaru took it, letting the beastman lift him to his feet.
"I guess I really did it." Subaru remarked. "It's kind of hard to believe."
Halibel nodded in agreement, and brought out his pipe. After all this fighting, Halibel was itching for a smoke.
"What do we do now?" Halibel asked him.
Subaru was surprised at the question. / Why are you still helping me? /
"Hal. Why go this far? Did you really owe me so much that you had to fight Roswaal?" Subaru asked him.
Halibel shook his head. He calmly packed his pipe with the tobacco in his pouch.
"You're right, I could've stayed in Banan. But I thought I should come." He said vaguely. As he said that, he put the pipe up to his mouth, and lit with some light fire magic coming out of his fingers.
Subaru felt a great sense of gratitude that Halibel had accompanied them. After all, the shinobi had put in almost all the legwork fighting Roswaal.
"I appreciate it. So thank you for helping. Really." Subaru was sincere in this sentiment.
Halibel gave a sly grin, his eyes narrowing into slits and his lips curling up. It was truly a cheeky smile.
Halibel shook his head. "No need to thank me. I wanted to do this for you. If you got hurt, what would Rem-chan do?"
Subaru just stared at the beastman for second. Despite all his strength, Halibel was truly a humble guy.
"Alright then." Subaru said, stretching. "Let's go back. I don't look forward to it, but we'll have to break the news to the others."
Although they were lost, Halibel said he could smell the Sanctuary village, and he directed them towards it.
As they began the walk there, Subaru suddenly saw a bright light in the distance. It was an explosion.
Subaru stared at it for a second, before the shockwave slammed into him. The heat of the explosion could even be felt from here.
"A mana explosion..." Halibel said under his breath. "That must've been the spell."
/ The spell? That giant seal on the floor? / Subaru thought to himself / What happened to Beatrice? /. Deep down, Subaru knew what this meant for the spirit.
There was nothing he could do though. All that was left was to press on.
"We keep going." Subaru directed. "I want to get back to others. They need to know what happened."
They ignored the explosion and continued on their march. As they did so, Halibel engaged Subaru in some conversation:
"Tell me Su-san. Back then, with Roswaal, what was that power?" The wolfman asked him.
Subaru blinked. "That? I'm not too sure myself. I just felt it from inside me." Subaru explained.
He recalled the chat he had had with Echidna, the Witch of Greed. / The authorities are yours alone to wield now. / Her words played over in his mind.
"I think it might be an 'authority'." Subaru explained cautiously.
This seemed to make an impression on the beastman, who didn't respond for a moment.
"I was right to think you were special, Su-san." Halibel said. "If it is an authority, that's pretty amazing."
"Huh? Really?" Subaru was confused. "What is an authority?"
"Authorities are a unique talent." Halibel explained to him. "They go against Od Lagna itself, letting the users alter some aspect of reality."
Subaru had been told that Od Lagna as the god of this world's religion. Unlike in his world, Od Lagna wasn't a personified diety. Rather it was the essence of life and existence, the primeval force of creation.
"Authorities are quite fantastical, breaking all the rules of this world. Their abilities can achieve feats that go far beyond conventional magic. Although, I've never heard of anybody other than an archbishop being able to wield one." Halibel continued his explanation.
Subaru sighed. Of course he would have such an evil ability. "And you don't suspect I'm a witch cultist?"
Subaru asked the question because he remembered that Rem had suspected him of that. He recalled how she had confessed that to him, and how cutely flustered she had been then.
"No." Halibel said simply. "Archbishops aren't maids that go around helping lost children."
"Yeah. That's fair." Subaru felt a bit of embarrassment at the fondness Halibel seemed to have for him.
Then Halibel changed the subject. "
The two of them continued to walk until they came onto a large clearing. As they crossed through it, Subaru saw something odd.
It was a rabbit. A white rabbit with red eyes.
It hopped towards Subaru energetically, and the animal's cute appearance brought a smile to the boy's face.
/ I'm surprised. / Subaru thought. / I thought rabbits were kinda flighty. You don't expect one to come up to you like this. /
Halibel noticed it too, although he didn't think much of it.
The rabbit stilled as it sat in front of Subaru, and Subaru reached down to pet it.
CRUNCH
Subaru didn't react in time as the rabbit bit down on his finger. He looked down in horror at his hand. Blood was pouring out of his missing digit.
/ What the hell is this? / Subaru felt fear.
The rabbit jumped towards Subaru and chomped down on his calf, removing a large chunck of the muscle.
"Ahhhh!" Subaru yelled out in pain. He could still feel the finger, even after it had been removed. The feeling of the phantom digit frightened the poor boy.
"Su-san!" Halibel rushed over. The beastman snapped his elbow, shooting a throwing knife into the rabbit, and nailing it to the floor. There was a satisfying noise as the knife struck its target. "Are you good?"
Subaru put his hand to his mouth, obeying the instinct to salivate on his wound. He nodded his head, answering 'yes' to Halibel's question.
Halibel suddenly held up his head. "Not good." The wolfman stated. From every side of the clearing, hundreds of of identical rabbits seemed to pour out of the forest. "Su-san."
Subaru gave Halibel his undivided attention.
Halibel spoke. "It looks like we're surrounded. The mana from that explosion must have stirred it."
"What?" Subaru couldn't believe it. How could this happen? Was Roswaal not his final obstacle?
"Su-san." Halibel stuck out his left arm, pointing the boy in the direction of an opening. "Go straight down that way, you'll get to village. You can get a ground dragon and get back to mansion from there."
"Hold on! What are you saying? The way you're phrasing it, you're making it sound like..." Subaru tried to protest.
"There's no time for that now!" Halibel cut him off. "You go now."
"Why Halibel? I don't understand!" Subaru raged against the older man's decision.
"You have your whole life ahead of you. I'm not gonna let you throw that away." Halibel said seriously. "You got a good thing going with Rem and Meili, ya know? So go back to them."
"Halibel..." Subaru didn't know what to say.
"Please Su-san, it's time to go."
Subaru just nodded, and ran towards his escape, not letting Halibel's advice fall on deaf ears. "Thank you Halibel." He said to himself as he ran. "I'm sorry, I'm such a coward."
Halibel's superb ears heard him, but he didn't say anything. Halibel faced down the massive of swarm of rabbits. From above, it would look like a colony of white ants moving to surround a single black dot.
This would be Halibel's last stand. He channeled all his mana into his gate, unsealing his trump card. A dark purple aura seemed to surround Halibel as he began the process.
Halibel muscles became more defined and began to swell up. He became bigger and bigger, and his black mane dangled wildly over his now hunched back. He began to lose himself in that primal rage, his animalistic side taking full control.
"AHOO!" A piercing howl reverberated through the clearing, and the rabbits began their assault.
Subaru looked over his shoulder and saw the monster crushing, biting, clawing, ripping all the rabbits as they pounced on him. Blood spilled all over the flowers around the wolf.
He didn't stop his escape though, and ran into the forest.
Sloth World: Subaru's Authority of Sloth. It allows him to greatly slow down time, but only for a single second. He can activate at most once a day.
Artificial Resurrection: A resurrection spell that allows one to bring a soul back from the dead. The quantity mana required for this spell is truly enormous, making it potentially dangerous to cast. Furthermore, one must sacrifice an artificial spirit as a vessel for the resurrected soul.