Re: A half-Elfs Journey Ch 7-Bloody Rain, a re:zero fanfic

Chapter 8: Bloody Rain

Current Residencial Area:

Roswaal Maner

Total Loops:

Current loops in Manor:

Emila awoke from her sleep without much concern or worry in her heart that morning. She had studied far more than ususal so that her father wouldn't nag her too much. Today was a free day for her so she didnt want to give him a single excuse to stop her from spending time with Subaru. She needed a decent distraction to avoid thinking too much about... that day and Subaru was the perfect person to keep her mind occoupied. With his seemingly endless enthusiasm and his very strange words, it was kind of hard to be in a bad mood around him. She had a plan in mind and intended to execute said plan. Now all she needed was an excuse.

"Hey Puck you mind if I tag along while your training Subaru?"

Puck gave a curious eyebrow raise.

"I don't mind, any particular reason why? No offense but I doubt he'll be able to concentrate if you're around."

Emilia understood his point of view, or atleast she thought she did as whenever Rem or Ram would watch her when she was talking with spirits or practicing her ice brand arts, it would break her concentration from the tension.

Puck on the other hand wasn't referring to any tension or awkwardness but rather the exact opposite. Frankly he didnt like how close the two were getting in such a sort amount of time. He knew that Emilia didn't have any "obscene" ideas for Subaru and that the boy wouldn't dare try anything on her but given enough time that could easily change on both ends. Plus the great spirts time was not to be wasted on idleness especially when your in the midst of training someone who is essentially a new born at magic.

With all that being said both of them were well aware that having the Half-elf present would hinder his progress. Said Half-elf also knew that this would be one the few times she could talk with him for an extended period time, a true dilemma indeed.

"*Sigh* your right Puck. Subarus very serious about this so I wouldn't want to distract him."

Once she said this Puck was suprised that she backed down so easily. A smile showed itself on the floating cat as he patted his tiny paw on her forehead.

"Thats my Lia. I knew you'd understand."

"Hey Em-san, fancy seeing you here."

Despite there earlier agreement for Subaru to practice Emilia-free, here she was 15 minutes later right infront of the energetic boy and the slightly annoyed Spirit.

"*Sigh* Lia didn't we just have a discussion about this."

"Whaaaaat you guys were practicing over here? What a craaaaazy coincidence seeing you guys. I was just taking a stroll to clear my head and here you two are hehe."

Neither one of them was buying it. While Subaru found it EXTREMELY cute she was making up excuses just to see him, Puck was not amused in the slightest. Alas his hands were tied as he promised to teach the boy but he would be giving his daughter a stern lecture later.

"So what are you two up to?" She said while tilting her head in a adorable fashion.

"Oh me and pinky were just plotting to take over the world"

"Eh?!"

"Ignore him. We were planning on doing some mock training. The resonance between his body and his gate are starting to align much faster then I thought they would so were stepping up his training to more...physical lessons."

"He means he's gonna throw magic at me and i've gotta try not to get impaled." Subaru deadpaned.

"Subaru that is not funny! Puck you wouldn't do that would you!?"

"Of course not. I'll be sure to be extra careful with him."

Emilia was apprehensive about the whole idea. She wanted to intervene but she was already on thin ice as it was.

"Hmmm alright then. Do you mind if I watch then? I-I understand if you don't want me to! I'd hate to be a distraction to you and all..."

She pleaded while holding her hands together. Subaru gave into her pleas without much effort.

"Kinda hard to resist with those puppy eyes. Just don't laugh if I end up failing miserably ok?"

"Um ohkay? But why would I laugh at someone trying there best at something?" She said while putting a finger on her chin.

"DAMN you are seriously an angel! I need to make an acronym for how pure hearted you are!"

"If your done with the idle chatter it's about time we get down to buisness. You ready Subaru?"

"Hell yeah Puck! BRING IT ON!"

"PWUAAAAAH!"

Subaru didn't last 3 minutes against the great spirt. Be it Pucks ever increasing annoyance at the duo or Subarus cockiness getting the better of him, the boy was now face down ass up on the ground with multiple ice spikes surrounding him.

"Tsk tsk tsk"

"Pfftt Hahahaha!"

"HEY YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T LAUGH!"

Subaru got up from his less than steller postion and pointed towards the Half-elf with a look of betrayal and anger.

"Hehehe s-sorry Subaru but that was way too funny not to! Y-You you were soooooo confident back there! Besides I didn't promise anything I just said I wouldn't hehe!"

"Grrr I take back what I said about you being an angel!"

Emilia stuck her tounge out in response.

"Yknow as much as I love to see you having a good time I think we can all agree that was a poor effort on your part."

Pucks voice was relaxed but he could tell how annoyed he was for wasting his time. Puck himself wasn't all to concern for the boys progress but the fact that it was caused from his daughter disobeying him, rubbed him the wrong way.

"I-I... your right Puck-sama I'm sorry"

"As for you Lia, I seriously don't like you lying to me like that. I want to have a talk with you about that."

"I understand...I'm sorry."

"W-wait what about my-"

"Well continue your training later Subaru. For now just do whatever you want."

"Ok fine. Way to rain on the parade Puck." He whispered.

"See you later Em-san. Sorry that your getting scolded because of me." He said In a sheepish manner.

"No, I knew the risks when it came to disobeying Puck. No need to apologise."

She reached towards him and gave him a hug.

"See you later, Subaru."

Subaru was walking back to his room after studying with Roswaal and an overall fun experience regarding mayo with Rem until he noticed a strange pull to the door on his left.

A snarky grin appeared on his face once he realized what that force was coming from.

He pulled the handle on the door and was met with a familiar blond tsundere.

"Hey, been a while Trixie. Glad to see the library hasn't changed-"

Once he said that she immediately looked up from her book with wide open eyes.

"-Since you threw me out yesterday."

After he finished his statement her eyes lowered once again and a scowl of deep annoyance showed on her face.

"Considering that you barged in and started bombarding me with questions you should be grateful I didn't splatter across the wall in fact."

Subaru grimaced at the thought. He had seen what Puck was capable of first hand so taking into account that this little girl is apparently on his level, that idle threat held a lot of weight.

"Ok harsh, but can you blame me? This is by far the most mysterious part of this whole mansion. A giant library that teleports from door to door, guarded by a tsundere loli? Like C'mon you can't expect me not be curious!"

He exclaimed while taking in the view of the numerous shelves that seemed to be neverending.

"Your curiosity is of no concern to me. Considering that you have no decorum whatsoever its a miracle that a devil like you has lived longed enough to come here I suppose."

Subarus curiosity got the better of him once he heard that nickname again.

"Again with that? Alright I'll bite why do you keep calling me the devil?"

As he said this he leaned against a bookshelf on his right shoulder with his arms crossed.

Beatrice's eye brows raised after hearing this.

"Is it not obvious? The miasma of the witch lingers on you and her doppelganger is infatuated with you."

Subarus eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Doppenlganger? What do you mean doppelgang-w-w-wait I-I wouldn't g-go that far! Me and E-Emilia are just friends! I-I mean I hope that changes one day but s-seriously there's no way she's into me. Im a shut in neet with damn near no redeaming qualitys and she's a princess that can 1v1 crazy assassins!"

The great spirt was only half way listening to the boys nonsense but she couldn't help but be bewildered at how he was approaching this.

'This boy is either dense or a complete fool for not noticing. Regardless it's not my responsibility to teach him social cues.'

"You are loved by the witch of jealousy and THAT is what you draw attention to infact? You truly are hopeless."

Subaru stopped his ramblings and looked towards the girl with even further puzzlement.

"Well kinda hard to care if I have no idea what it means."

Now it was Beatrice's turn to be confused by his words.

"Your as clueless as you are hopeless I suppose. How do you not know this basic information?"

The little girl had finally put down her book down entirely and gave the boy the common courtesy of looking directly at him.

"Regardless, all it means is that you are loved by the witch. That could be a multitude of reasons but usually those that have her miasma are witch cultists with the main desire of resurrecting the witch of envy."

"Mhm mhm very educational... WAIT THOSE THAT MAKE ME ONE OF THOSE CULTIST!?"

The boy screached in more of suprise rather then actual horror. He could infer that being in any sort of relation with the witch cult was bad off of principle alone but he had no idea how truly heinous they were.

His lack of true panic or fear made the great spirt look at him with a look a suspension. Not because she suspected him of anything nefarious but rather the opposite. He was truly oblivious to the most basic of information. Everything seemed to be new and fresh to him. He was like a baby...no it wasn't that. Mother had a word for someone like him. Someone that was a complete foreign entity. Someone with a complete unknown background that couldn't be tracked to any known map. She never specified that said person had to be from beyond the great waterfall but from what she could infer, the word she used was equivalent to that. What did she call them again? She had never come across such a person. It was...strange.

Yes, he is a simple oddity, nothing more nothing less. His existense has nothing to do with her directly. He was an enigma to be sure but she knew better then to get her hopes up just because he was "different". Unordinary never equaled salvation, she knew that to be true as their were countless people just as mysterious as this boy that were not "that person".

She finally came out of her thougts and noticed that the boy was STILL rambling on and on. A look of deeper annoyance was on her face now as she covered her ears from the unrelenting nonsense.

"Calm down devil, your hurting my ears! Witch cultists always carry around a gospel. So long as you don't have one you won't be associated with them."

Subaru visibly eased up once he heard that and then proceeded to take a stool to sit so he was now eye to shoulder level with beatrice.

"Whew that's relief! Never been a fan of religious zealots. Well since you gave me the background behind your nickname guess it's only fair that I give you mine."

Her curiosity grew a little but so did her annoyance.

"If it's a degrading term then I'll throw you out the window."

"Dully noted, Alright so we're I'm from the devil had many names Satan, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Iblis but his most popular name by far was lucifer. Anyways there was a...wait you guys don't have television. Ok there was this story where Lucifer decided to take a vacation in one of the most popular city's across the lands, Los Angeles."

Beatrice stiffened.

'Strange, none of those names refer to any of the warlocks that mother had mentioned. And I've never heard of this "Los Angeles" either. If what he says is true and not the ramblings of a mad man then he really is...'

"So what did he do at this "Los Angeles"?"

She said this with a dismay in here voice. While she wasn't aware of who this devil was or what his authority was capable of, she knew that any warlock with that many names can only spell destruction and chaos wherever they went.

"Well first he partied like non-stop. Then he met a detective. Wait you guys probably don't have that here either. He met a knight. She was very beautiful and while she was immune to lucifers charms the same could not be said for the devil. He found it curious and somewhat vexing that a mortal could resist him so he followed her around, much to the knights dismay. He ends up helping her in her cases to stop murders, thiefs, and all sorts of bad people, all so he could get her to fall in love with him."

"I see..."

Beatrice seemed confilcted. She knew that not all individuals that carried an authority were bad, her mother was a prime example. Still she had never seen any other authority wielder outside of her mother's stories and that man. She would be lying if she said she had a positve outlook on them but she knew better then to assume they were as they presented themselves. Be it good or bad, warlock or witch, apostle or archbishops, none of them were as they seem.

"So what those this have to with the "Trixie" nickname?" Beatrice's tone was now neutral, no longer carrying any hint of annoyance.

If Subaru didnt know any better he'd think that she was actually invested in what he was saying.

'Progress!' The boy interanlly screamed

"Right *ahem* the knight had a daughter named beatrice. While the knight and the devil didn't really see eye to eye, her daughter loved him almost like a father. His chaotic nature resonated with the little girl and they became life long friends."

As he explained the relationship between the two her previous demeanor shifted into a more thoughtful expression. The story resonated with her far more then she thought it would.

"So what happened to the Devil and the Daughter?"

"I don't know."

Her expression then turned to confusion once he said that. Her hopes were crushed without the boy even realizing it.

"What do you mean you dont know!?"

Subaru was shocked that the great spirt raised her voice at him. He was just explaining a cool story with someone who happens to share the same name as one of the characters. He wasn't expecting this much of a reaction out of her.

"Sorry Sorry I never finished it! After the second season I got sooooo sick of the will-they-won't-they BS between the knight and the devil. Like seriously he tried for 2 seasons to explain that "Hey im the devil, no bullshit", and every single time something would happen for her not to believe him! It was sooooo frustrating!"

"I don't care about the knight! I wanna know what happens to the daughter in the end..." Her voice trailed off in the end. As if she was afraid of the answer but sought for it regardless.

"Well... I did see a couple of clips of the finale on YouTube but...Well regardless it dosen't matter I'm sure that the two stayed friends in the end."

The great spirt looked at Subaru with an incredulous look.

"How can you be so sure of that? Time is a person's greatest enemy in fact. Bonds decay and fall apart given enough time. How do you know that they didn't separate or grow out eachothers company or stopped caring for one another or-"

"Woah Woah Woah I feel like your reading to much into this."

"Answer the damn question!"

Her emotions were at an all time high. All she wanted was a proper answer to her question in hopes it could help her with her very long duty and so far he's given her nothing except for false hopes. It wasn't his intent but the great spirt felt like he was almost mocking her situation.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY STAY TOGETHER IN THE END!"

"I-I..."

The gravity of the situation finally dawned on him. He triggered a flag and he had no idea what had caused it or what the cause of it was. The only thing he had to go off of was the story between lucifer and Trixie but that piece of info seemed to only be digging his hole further. Out of options and out of time there was only one true answer he could give with what he knew right now.

"I don't know"

...

"Get out I suppose"

Before he could even get a word out he was blasted through the door.

"So Ram what do you think of our deeeeeear guest?"

It was nearing dusk as Roswaal sat in his chair with Ram laying on his lap. His hand was carresing her forehead with a stream of light emenating from his fingertips. This was an everyday occurance for the two. It was necissary for Ram to get her daily those of mana less she risk her life coming to an abrut end. Her laying in his lap was not a necessity but it was...nice.

"Barusu? He is simple minded and an overall nuisance but I sense no deception from him, he might as well be an open book. I saw how he interatected with Rem and he dosen't even seem to be aware of her... attitude towards him. He's like a puppy the way he seeks attention and praise wherever he goes. Someone should leash him before he gets out of hand."

As she finished her bold decleration, the glow from Roswaals hand began to disipate much to Ram's dissapointment.

"A very braaaaazen remark my dear. Although I since no bite In your words despite your low opinion."

"He may not be a threat but he is still a bother. Taking up the time of Emilia-Sama, Puck-sama, my dear sister, even you Roswaal-sama."

Roswaal stared of into the distance. His smile wavered for a few moments as he lamented on the time he spent with the boy. He had taken many apprentices under his wing in order to further his goals but none of them were so... pure in their intent. He didnt ask to be taught magic for any of the common reasions his other disciples had. He didn't pursue it for wealth, fame, vengeance, envy, or power. He wanted to learn for the sake of learning, for the sake of being better. It was something he hadn't seen in so long he nearly forgot a person like that existed. He reminded him of...

The clown brushed his lingering thoughts aside as he locked eyes with Ram. He regained his crooked smile and proceeded to shift his legs, indictating for Ram to stand up.

"Hmmm while I caaaannt speak for the others. I quite enjoooooy my sessions with Subaru-kun. He is...Unique."

Ram bregrudginly got up from Roswaal'a lap and walked out towards the main hallway.

"Uniqe is putting it mildly Roswaal-sama."

"Indeed"

'It is truly a shame though. I had such high hopes that this would be the run. No matter, this "divergence" will be rectified shortly.'

As he said this he clutched the book hidden within his coat.

'Im sure of it.'

The next day Emilia and Subaru rushed out of there respective beds as soon as they awoke.

Emilia had damn near stacks of books to study on and she had a surge of energy to get it all down in record time. She was eager to spend time with her new friend and once she finished all her work for today, Puck couldn't give out a single excuse not see him.

Subaru was excited for different reasons. Today was the day he'd finally learn a new spell! Roswaal decided to accelerate his teachings even further meanwhile Puck had given him the day off. Therefore Subaru had pretty much half of the day to do whatever he wants AND gets a new spell in his arsenal.

Before Emilia decided to get deeper into her work, she went to the kitchen to procure a couple of snacks so she wouldn't get cravings midway through her session. She was dead set on conquering today in record speed and imminent hunger was NOT going to hinder her.

Subaru decided to seek out the twin maids to see if he could be of use to them. After "attempting" to recreate mayo from scratch with the Rem and bantering back and forth with Ram, his intinital opinion of them went from creepy voodoo dolls to misunderstood robots. He still found them a little unsettling but he decided that the least he could do was try and be cordual with them.

'Hmm I wonder what shenanigans Subaru is up to right now with his free time? I can't wait to get all my work done so I can see him!'

As she thought this she grabbed the handle reaching towards her destination. She was met with the twin maids preparing breakfast. Not unusual in the slightest except there was one other person looking at her from the opposite door.

'Man I can't wait to see what Ros-sama has in store for me today. Whatever this new spell is I know it's gonna be awesome! I can't wait to brag about it to Em-san!'

As he thought this he grabbed the handle reaching towards his destination. He was met with the twin maids preparing breakfast. Not unusual in the slightest except there was one other person looking at him from the opposite door.

"Ah"

Emilia and Subaru were face to face towards eachother. Neither expected to see the other so early in the morning and neither was ready to start a conversation either.

"Is there something you require Emilia-Sama?"

Rem was the first to break the silence as she addressed the royal candidate first to see why she went out of her way to come to the kitchen.

"R-Right I just came to grab a couple of things so I can focus more on my studies"

Twin maids looked at eachother, then looked at their misstress with raised eyebrows.

"We would've given you your meal shortly. Surely there wasn't a need to come here yourself?"

"I Knooooow but I didn't want to bother you too while you were working yknow?"

Ram spoke this time around

"Nonsense. It is our duties as the maids of Roswaals Manor to help with anything that concerns you. Please summon for us next time you wish to receive something. Now as for you Barusu?"

"Well... I literally have nothing to do right now so i was wondering if there was anything you two needed help with."

"Usually i would shoo you away as you would most definitely cause more trouble then actually help however you might come in handy. Rem and I were planning on gathering supplies from the nearby village. Having you there to take most of the lo- I mean assist us with bringing the supplies back would be ideal."

"I didn't realize we were walking distance from the nearest village. You can count on me Ram-oneesan, Remu-Rin!"

He gave them both a toothy grin and a thumbs up. Ram deadpanned at his antics meanwhile Rem couldn't help but draw a small smile.

"Hmph it's the least you could do for sponging off of us."

"Hey Subarus been working reeeeally hard since he came here thats not fair."

Emilia Interjected Rams insults with an offended look. She would have chitted her further if it wasn't for Subaru stopping her.

"No no they've got a point. Me getting taught magic only benefits myself. It's about time that I started pulling my weight around here."

He looked towards Rem as he said that, giving a subtle reminder to there previous mayo event. He felt guilty for doing DIY's with the last of their ingredients so he felt he was obligated to help them.

Rem could only shake her head in bemusment.

"Soooo Em-san, you said you were studying or something."

Once he said that Emilia looked to the floor awkwardly.

"Y-yes, I was just about to head back to my room."

'Although I kind of don't want to now'

"OH to be dwarted by the unforgiving hand of responsibilities! Truly the gods will do anything to keep us apart won't they!?"

Emilia giggled at his antics.

"Don't be so dramatic! I'll be sure to see you as soon as Im done...OK. Did I say it right?"

Subaru beamed at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"10/10 Subarism, Em-san! Can't wait to teach you more of them!

"Sister sister. Subaru is infecting Emilia-sama with his strange vocabulary."

"Rem Rem. Perhaps it would be wise not to converse with the beast lest we accidentally pick up its diseaee."

"Gah you two are impossible yknow that!"

"You two be nice!"

"Apologies Emilia-Sama."

The twins said in unison.

Subaru looked at the two increduosly.

'They didn't even say it to me.'

The day passed on fast for the two once they departed. After Emilia finished her studies in record time she went towards the main entrance to see Subaru walking back from his trip from Arlam Village along with the two maids at his side.

Ram's hands were practically empty compared to the workload in Rem's hands and that went double for the load that Subaru was carrying. Emilia was about to comment on the unfair distribution of weight but after seeing Subaru with a grin on his face along with the twin maids smiling towards him, she didn't want to ruin the moment.

'It's good to see there finally being friendly. I was a little worried that they might be bullying him.'

"Hey Subaru, glad to see your getting along wi- what happened to your hand!?" She spoke with a look of unneeded horror as she saw the bandage on Subaru's hand.

"Oh this? That damn puppy went and bit me. Thought he had it out for me but then he went and bit Ram so i guess theres a silverlining."

Subaru said the last part with a condescending tone. His snide comment didn't go over the maids head as she gave the boy a look of annoyance.

"Its seems biting Barusu caused the beasts brains to go haywire from his disease. It's the only explanation for biting this beautiful lady's hand."

The boy's previous superior attitude turned into a look of baffelment.

"Were both victims here and somehow your pinning this on me?!"

Ram gave an equally condescending smile.

Their banter did nothing to ease the Half-elfs worries as she inspected him up and down.

"Are you sure your alright? Let me take a look at it."

"Yeah I'm good trust me. Rem went and healed my hand so I barely even feel it now."

Upon hearing that she looked over Subarus shoulder and starred at the maid.

"You did Rem?" She said with a look of suprise.

"Its only natural I tend to a guests needs."

"Still I'm grateful. Thank you Rem."

The maid gave no emotion aside from a slight smirk.

"Think nothing of it Emilia-Sama"

"Soooo Subaru how long till your lesson with Roswaal?"

"Still got about two hours what do you-"

Emilia grabbed both of his hands before he could get the rest of his sentence out.

"Great! I've wanted to talked to you for a bit!"

Subaru was a blushing mess with how close she was.

"U-Um s-sure. About what e-exactly?"

"Eh? I guess I didn't really think that far ahead."

She said with a cheeky smile and scratching the back of her head.

'It's kinda adorable how scattered brained she can be sometimes.'

2 and a half hours passed as Subaru and Emilia talked about well... everything. There conversations ranged from magic to foreign countries from both of there lands to the vast history between the modern day Japan and the dragon country lugunica. Subaru tried to give her a crash course on advanced technology as he promised her yesterday but every attempt at it made the Half-elf more confused by the second. She was fascinated at how his world seemed to be light years ahead of her own but she couldn't quite grasp the concept. The only thing she could wrap her head around was the cellphone item as he still had it on him after the loot house incident.

The loot house...she had been avoiding the topic with anyone around her ever since that day. Puck would ask her time and time again what she was talking about while at the moutain were Subaru introduced himself. Her speech about her previous lives didn't expose her secret but it did leave the great spirt with a plethora of questions that Emilia simply couldn't answer. Not because she didn't want to, Od knows if she could spill out her guts and tell her father everything she went through on that day she would do it in a heartbeat. She would cry to him for hours on end and curl up in a ball, telling him how terrified she was, how helpless she felt, how her self loathing almost consumed her, but she couldn't. If she did then the person that lifted her spirits when she needed it the most could die in an instant. All it took was one slip up for the boy she gave everything to protect, to end up dead with his heart crushed. It was unfathomably cruel to have a curse like this be sworn to secrecy but to have someone else suffer for her mistake was down right torture for the girl. The sheer amount of guilt she felt for being the boys demise not once but twice, ate away at her everytime she was alone with her thoughts.

Ironically though, thinking about the boy himself made her feel astronomically lighter. She would never forget what it took to get to this moment but she would appreciate the moment nonetheless. Her whims were ultimately selfish as she was using the boy to forget her past experience but she could care less at this point due to how free she felt when talking to him. There was no need to watch her words or be overly polite with him. She didn't have to worry about being judged around him. No expectations were needed to be met from him. He truly was her first and probably last friend.

"Hey um..."

"Hmm?"

Emilia was suddenly very tense as she proceeded to say her next few word.

"I just wanna say thank you for well... everything."

Subaru was confused at the sudden gratefulness but decided to brush it off.

"Em-san i don't remember doing anything worth praising. If anything i should be thanking you right? Free food, free housing, nice warm bed, the chance to study ACTUAL MAGUC and on top of it all i get to talk to one of the most beautiful girls in exis-"

"Subaru I'm serious."

The boy became stiff along with Emilia once he realized how adamant she was about this. It was abundantly clear that whatever she had to say it was very personal.

"That time at the loot house... it was probably-no. It was without a doubt the worst thing ive ever experianced."

She paused and gave out an audible sigh before continuing

"When I first came here, with Roswaal I mean, I thought I understood how daunting this new life would be. I thought I understood what I wanted...What I needed to do. I thought that if i needed to give my life then i'd be able do it with no hesitation."

The girl dug her fingers into her biceps as she stuggled to get out the words without the risk of reveiling too much.

"Od im such an idiot. I had no idea how terrifying it would be. Nothing could've prepared me for the idea of actually dying like that. At that moment i wanted to give up everything just to extend my own pathetic life."

Subaru could hear the frustration in her voice and see the sadness in her eyes. It was just now dawning on him how little he knew about her. They talked for nearly 2 hours yet this is the second instance that she's actually revealed anything about herself, the first being back in those ruins. It was vexing how little he knew. It was vexing that this was how she saw herself. It was vexing that he couldn't give her any real words of encouraging. All he had were facts and the one fact he knew about her was that she saved him, not the other way around.

"Emilia..."

"Subaru, you gave me the courage to push forward. Those words you said to me back then. Those things that you did. It all might seem insignifigant to you but for me..."

She slowly let got her arm's and lay down onto the ground. She starred at the sky in wonder for a moment before she tilted her head towards the boy she admired so much.

"For me it was exactly what I needed to hear. For me it was exactly what I needed to feel. For me it was exactly what I needed to fight."

Her voice resonated with passion and conviction unlike anything previous.

"Thats why Im saying thank you, Subaru. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for saving me."

Once Subaru heard this he was visibly shocked. He couldn't wrap his head around why she held him to such a high degree. He knew deep down her hope towards him was misplaced. He understood better than anyone how powerless he was that day. It was one of the major factors to him wanting to learn magic. He knew at the core of his heart that if it wasn't for Em-san he would've died on his first day here. That was why hearing the girl say these things was so baffeling to him. Emilia was everything he wanted to be that day. A hero that saved the innocent, someone that would risk their lives to keep their loved ones safe and succeed every single time. She was his savior, not the other way around.

"I...I didnt realize that's how you saw me that day. Its kinda jarring how differently we interpretted that day."

He began to push his arms behind him as he starred of into the distance.

"Regardless i still feel like I should be saying thank you to you and not the other way around."

Emilia looked at him in confusion but didn't say anything and decided to let him continue.

"When I first came here I was sort of expecting life to be on easy mode from here on out. I thought I was destined for greatness hell maybe I'm still am who knows? But when that assassin came so close to ending my life everything just haulted in my head. My dreams, my hopes, my aspirations... it all crumbled to dust as I saw how truly powerless I was. Nothing could've prepared me for the idea of actually dying like that. At that moment i wanted to give up on being anything special and run away as far as possible."

Emilia could see how truly disturbed and striken he was. She didn't like it. He wasn't supposed to be sad. He wasn't supposed to be angry. But she could also understand where he was coming from as she was in a similar position not to long ago. But it was her burden to bear not his. He didn't need to be hurt by this. Friends don't let there friends be sad.

"Subaru that's not-"

"But then you showed me how stupid I was for giving up so easily! You never faulterd for even a second! You were like a warrior out of those novels I fantasized about all the time. The way you battled against that crazy bitch no matter how dire the situation was just... awe inspiring. That's when I vowed right then and there that I would become strong like that someday no matter what."

He then began to look down directly into her eyes and put his left hand on top of hers. His heartbeat was surprisingly calm but the same couldn't be said for the poor girl as her heart was racing a mile a minute after his bold action.

"That's why I'm saying thank you. For allowing me to stay at this mansion to learn. For being my inspiration to become something more. And... for being my friend."

The words registered in her mind but she couldn't quite grasp them until a couple secounds passed. Her emotions were about to flood like a dam but she immediately put her hands to her face to stop the tears from flowing.

"NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE! I'm not doing it this time! I refuse to cry infront of you again! I'm suppose to be taking care of you not the other way around!"

She spoke in a frustrated and childish manner which earned a chuckle from Subaru.

"Hehe and here I thought project "make Em-san our new water supply" was fool proof! I have to step up my game if I want to have enough tears for the drought season!"

"Oh shut up Youuuuu!"

"Hahahaha"

"hehehehe"

As they laughed without a care in the world, Rem was looking at the duo with a conflicted eyes while doing laundry. Her posture visibly relaxed once she overheard everything he said.

'Perhaps I was wrong about him.'

"Phew what a day"

Emilia collapsed on her bed with a grin on her face. Today went just how she wanted it to be. Emilia did think it was strange that Puck was absent more then usual though. He didn't show up even once while she was talking to Subaru much to her suprise.

'Puuuuuuck I said I was sorry for yesterday, pleeeeease don't give me the silent treatment!'

She knew it was fool hardy to ask for Puck as it was well past his usual time of emergence but she had to get her feelings out nonetheless. While she was a bit saddened that Puck was being silent she couldn't help but be grateful for the predicament. Those last 2 hours were the most relaxed she had been in a while. A much needed distraction from her many stresses, both current and in the foreseeable future. As she drifted off to sleep her thoughts were filled with nothing but warm thoughts.

"*GASP!*"

Emilia woke up in the middle of the night with her fist clutched over her chest. She felt as if something was slowly tearing inside her. It didn't hurt by any means but it felt extremely uncomfortable. As she heaved in and out and slowly dropped her arm from her chest, she got out of bed and darted out of her room. She was running on pure instinct at the moment. She didn't know why she felt the need to do what she was doing but everything in her body was screaming to check on something, or someone.

'PLEASE LET ME BE WRONG PLEASE!'

As she darted across the hallways she caught a small whiff of blood from the direction that Subaru was sleeping. Her blood ran cold as she connected the dots to the possible outcome that layed before her. She ran as fast as her elven legs could take her, crashing into Subaru's room to make sure her prediction was false.

"Subaru! Wake up! Wake up right now!"

She shook him as hard she could but he wouldn't respond. His breath was still there but extremely shaky. She immediately tried to heal him of whatever illness was plaguing him but it did little to ease the pained look on his face as he slept.

'WHAT DO I DO!? WHAT DO I DO!? Whats wrong with him what can I do, what can I do to stop it!? Please someone just give me an answer!'

She decided to stop thinking at this point and just listen to her instincts from here on. So far it's the only thing that's actually helped her in this predicament. She grabbed the boy and lifted him into a bridal position in her arms. She was out of the room in a split second with Subaru in tow as she screamed for the two people that could possibly help the boy.

"ROSWAAL! BEATRICE! PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP SUBARU IS SI-"

Her cry for help was interrupted however as her shadow seemingly morphed into a physical shape and aimed towards the two.

Emilia noticed the anomolly and within a fraction of a second, leaped out of the way of whatever the being was trying to do to her.

Once she caught sight of the assailant her eyes widened once she saw a body seemingly emerge from the shadows.

He wore a ragged hood with a leathery shirt laced with dark purple. his cape was a fur coat that went down to his legs, completely covering them making him seem even more like an entity then an actual person. What really caught her attention was the dagger in the man's hand. The dagger that was early similar to the Bowel Hunter's.

Emilias breath hitched once she connected the dots. She wasted no time In retaliating and conjured mutiple ice spikes in the ground to skewer the assassin. Although the man effortlessly slashed them away with 3 swings of his dagger, it was enough time for Emilia to take the opportunity to make a mad dash in the opposite direction. She knew if this assassin was anywhere near the Bowel hunters level she needed to retreat. It would be a tough fight and maybe she could even win but all that effort would be for nothing if Subaru died while she was fighting.

'This is bad this is bad this is bad! How did they even get in here?! Beatrice must've noticed there presence. WHY DIDN'T SHE SAY ANYTHING!'

"BEATRICE WHERE ARE YOU!"

She screamed the chant over and over in hopes of the great spirit having pity on her. Not due to her own immediate danger but in hopes that she could take Subaru away from the danger and maybe even figure our what is wrong with him.

As she ran at top speed across the mansion, she haulted once she saw another figure coming at her, the assailant wore the same attire as the other except it was a women and her hood was uncovered revealing her dark short hair.

The assassin had a dagger edging for the girl at ludicrous speeds. The Half-elf was able to side step by a hairs breath but her right arm took a noticeable gash afterwards.

She winced in pain but only for a second before she used her momentum to spin around and gave the women a devastating round house kick! The female assassin mitigated the damage by blocking with both of her arms and pushing her body away from the force of impact and then jumped towards the wall and landed on it like a spring pad to boost towards Emilias direction.

Emilia created an ice wall to stop the impending attack. The Assassin tried to go around it but the royal candidate was a step ahead as ice spikes started to shoot out the wall, immediately impailing the women in multiple areas leaving her immobile for the time being.

She turned to her right to try and bolt away in search for the great spirit but before she could act on the thought she was met with a dagger from the previous male assassin coming towards her.

She was out options at this point. No time to cast magic. No time to dodge. She couldn't block it with Subaru in her arms. There was only one option. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the blistering pain to follow but was instead met with silence.

Then she heard the rattling of chains and a massive crunch sound hit her ears immediately after. She opened her eyes to see what had happened. She wished she didn't as she was met with a mangled corpse of the previous assassin. Blood and guts were splattered all across the room with a good portion of it landing on her and Subaru.

A look of horror appeared on her face after seeing something so gruesome. She looked back and forth to see what had caused the massacre with the only evidence of a fight being the bashed in corpse. She then saw a flash of a metal chain and a ball racing towards her. She ducked by a hairs breath and the weapon crashed into the female assassin covered in ice, splattering the poor women across the wall behind her.

She followed the chain to see who her potential savior or opponent was and was met with a familiar maid. Her body was covered with blood, cuts and bruises. There were black feathers stabbed into her left leg and her dress was in shambles compared to its usual state. Her blue hair had a horn protruding from it with lightning crackling from the the tip.

"RAAAAAAHHHH!"

The Oni maid had a look of unbridled hatred on her face as she gave an ear splitting roar. Emilia was shocked to say the least, she didn't know what to think of the maid at this moment. Should she be afraid, relieved? She had no way of handling this situation. She was aware of Rems heritage and what she was capable of but she had never seen her like this. She decided to test her luck and see if she was reasonable enough to ask her most important question.

"Rem! Have you seen Beatrice!? She should be defending the mansion along side us so we need to find her! Somethings wrong with suba-!"

Before she could get out the boys name she was met with a spicked ball coming straight towards her. The hair on her neck was standing on end from the wind of the attack as she jumped backwards from the assault. Her luck was tested and she came out empty handed. She knew from that attack alone that there was no point in trying to reason with her so she did the only thing she could do without getting Subaru hurt, she ran away.

"ITS YOUR FAULT! YOU DID THIS TO HER! WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!"

She ran at full speed towards... well she didn't exactly have a destination in mind but she knew that those 2 assassins couldn't have been the only assailants considering how badly damaged Rem was. Wherever the rest of them are, chances are that Roswaal, Beatrice and Ram would be there as well. Now all she had to do was find them while dodging incoming assassins and a battle crazed Oni that thinks your the witch of envy... easier said then done.

She ran towards the main corridor that connected to downstairs. Once she saw the stairway she leaped over half of the steps and then jumped to the left to dodge the incoming flail and maneuverd her feet to slide down the railway. Once she made contact with the ground she bolted towards the nearest hallway.

Rem was still hot on her tail while screaming her head off in rage. Emilia could hear her rants echo throughout the corridor. While her chants of her being a witch was vexing and quite frankly hurt after knowing her for so long, it wasn't anything she wasn't use to so she was able to tune it out and focus on what's important.

'Come on! They've gotta be here somewhere! There's no way Beatrice and Roswaal wouldn't be defending the mansion right now! WHERE ARE THEY!'

*BOOM*

As she thought this an all encompassing shockwave roared throughout the mansion. Her ears were ringing from how close it was from her but she was able to pinpoint were it came from.

'That's gotta be them! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let it be them! Hang on Subaru, they can help you!'

She made it to the cause of the explosion in record time. Rem should be right behind but she wasn't for some reason. Emilia payed it no mind and just counted her blessings. She arrived to the entrance of the mansion with mutiple corpses frozen in purple glass and a giant crater with black feathers scattered around it.

"Tch, he managed to avoid that in fact. Where did that annoying bird run off to."

The great spirt of yin was looking everywhere for a potential enemy. The battle seemed to have been victourus for the great spirt but she was still on high alert. Once she heard footsteps from her right she turned to her right and was about to cast a spell but haulted once she saw who it was.

"Beatrice!"

Once Emilia saw the blonde haired girl her nerves had simmered somewhat from relief. If anyone could fix Subaru it was her.

"Beatrice! Somethings wrong with Subaru, he's not waking up and he keeps coughing up blood!"

"Calm yourself Half-elf and stay alert! There's an enemy present and there's no telling when he'll strike."

Emilia heard her load and clear and took a defensive stance.

"R-Right, I understand but can you please see what's wrong with Subaru!"

"Hmph bring him here I suppose"

Beatrice inspected the boys condition. Once she got a good look at him she scowled as she immediately understood what the cause was.

"The boy has the same curse as the pink maid I suppose."

She pointed towards said maid behind the open door leading to the forbidden library where she layed on a bed panting from exhaustion.

"Can you heal him?!"

"The curse Is already active so I can't dispell it. The only way to get rid of it now would be to kill the caster."

Emilia gave a grave look in acknowledgement.

"So it's a shaman then."

"Yes in fact. That being said I can keep him stable in the meantime."

Upon hearing this, Emilias anxiousness had simmered somewhat. While her worries for Subaru were still at an all time high, she felt a bit more calm and collected now that she knew what was ailing him and there was someone that could take care of him.

"I understand... Thank you Beatrice."

"Do not thank me yet. All I've done is delay the inevitable I suppose."

"Still your trying. That's more than I could ask of you."

"Hmph you can show gratitude by giving me more time with Bubby I suppose"

"You got It Beatri-"

*RATTLE*

*WHOOSH*

There conversation was cut short as the chaotic Rem rushed Emilia with Subaru still in her arms. The Half-elf dodged out of the way but could see out of the corner of her eye why she was just now appearing.

Two injured assassins came in and rushed Beatrice. The great spirt casted Murak on her self and dodged around them, flooding them with a storm minya crystals. The 2 were ready for the onslaught as they used there fur coats to dispell the magic, along with there coats.

"You two are annoying infact."

"DIE WITCH! DIE DIE DIE!"

Rem was flaing her weapon with far more power but less precession, allowing Emilia to effectively dodge every attack thrown at her.

"Rem it's me, Emila! I know we don't know each other very well but you need to snap out of it! We need to find the shaman otherwise Subaru and Ram are-!

"DONT YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!"

Her attacks become more ferocious then ever as her flail tried to make contact with the royal candidate.

'Darn it Rem! This is getting us no where! I can't keep dodging forever, at this rate'

While Emilia was dodging Rems relentless assault. The raven haired boy in her arms was gaining consciousness from the need to vomit after the constant movement. He used the last of his strength to open his eyes and was met with the blurry image of silver hair and pale skin. If he didn't know any better he'd think he was looking at an angel.

"*Cough* *Cough* E-Em-san?"

Once she heard his voice the Half-elf haulted her movements and looked at the boy in eyes with shock.

"Subaru your awake?! Look don't talk just save your strength! Beatrice we'll take care of you short-!"

Her talk of reassurance was cut of as the spiked ball came at her with immense speed. The Half-elf didn't have enough time to dodge this time so she conjured a quick huma shield to block the attack.

*CRASH*

The flail made contact with the shield and shatterd causing the two to be sent flying from the attack. Emilias left arm took the brunt of the attack and accidentally let go of Subaru mid way through her desent, causing the two to separate. Her head was first to hit the ground causing her to black out for a couple of seconds. She woke up immediately after hearing the dreaded sound of chains coming towards her. She got up and conjured a much stronger huma shield expecting the worst but...

Nothing came.

Confused, she looked around to see where the attack was sent. All color left her body once she realized where the weapon was aimed towards. Across the room she could do nothing but watch as the spiked ball was shot directly towards the unconscious boy.

The boy in question could only stare in horror as the weapon came rushing towards him. Between the immense pain of the curse and the pain from being launched into the air and crashing down, Subaru was more terrified than he had ever been in his entire life.

As the mace grew closer and closer towards the boy, Emilia tried to reach for the chain that connected the ball in hopes of stopping it mid flight. She knew it was reckless, hell it could very well tear her arm off but that was trivial compared to the boys life.

' I have to reach it! if I dont!'

Her mind flashed to the many moments she shared with the boy. Some of them recent. Some of them technically never happend. All of them would be erased if she didn't make it in time.

'IF I DONT MAKE IT ALL OF THIS WAS FOR NOTHING!'

Emilia latched on to the chain and pulled with all her might. The force from her arms extended to the rest of chain and reached the spiked ball, forcing the ball back.

'YES! I did it! I did i-'

*Snap*

Her thoughts went to a hault once she felt an immediate *snap in her chest. She saw the ball go across her peripheral vision, or rather what was attached it.

Beatrice had enclosed the two assassins in purple glass and looked perplexed to find blood raining from the sky. She looked up and her face shifted into great shock once she saw what, or rather who, the cause of the rain was.

The upper body of a man could be seen dangling from one of the spikes on the ball. Red sprayed across the entire room from the corspe being lifting into the air along with the spiked ball.

Emilia eyes were bulging and not blinking despite the bloody rain. The flail separated from Subaru's upper body and landed right infront of Emilia. She didn't stop looking up from the intinital point of the massacre until she heard an audible *splat sound on the ground below her. She slowly crained her neck downward in order to delay the inevitable horror she was about to see.

The first thing she saw was his guts splattered across the floor. Her mind went to her first death were she saw Subaru hunched over, clutching his stomach but still reaching out for her.

The next was his chest which now had a large hole in it. Her mind circled back to when Subaru had died from having his heart crushed without her even knowing it.

Them she saw his face... the sheer terror on his face would haunt her forever. He wasn't supposed to look like that. He was supposed to be smiling, cheerful, maybe even sad sometimes, but not this. He wasn't supposed to be stricken with fear. He wasn't supposed to have his final moments like that. He wasn't supposed to die, It wasn't right, it wasn't just. It was wrong, It was unfair, why did he have to die when he did nothing wrong?

The Half-elfs mind was struggling to find an answer for this as she remembered all the memories she had with the boy. The good, the bad, the amazing, all those memories trampled on because of...because of her.

The blue Oni retracted her weapon and finally collapsed on the ground with vengeful tears in her eyes. Everything around her was hazy but she did understand one thing. Her sister was avenged and that was all that matter to the Oni.

Her mind started to race a mile a minute once she felt a burning sensation across her entire body. Before she could comprehend why she was feeling this way an insane amount of pressure went to her right cheek and her entire body slammed towards the floor.

"Ghk-Ack!"

She tried to to pull her arms up to defend herself but not only were they incredibly stiff but they were searing from pain due being encased in ice and having a pair of knees keeping them pinned. The only thing she could do was make out the image infront of her. As she did all previous anger she felt melted away and was replaced with something else, fear. The women in front of her was covered in blood from head to toe with pieces of organs dangling from her long silver hear. Her slender arms extended and was in position to throw a devastating punch. Her hands were clenched so hard that they were visible shaking and were drawing blood.

Her face was scrunched into the most disturbing and rage filled scowl possible. Her eyes had more rage in them then a wrathful archbishop. She clocked her fist back and slammed into the face with inhuman speed. Rem could barely process the hit as another one of even greater force came immediately after.

Blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after Blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after Blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after blow after BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER

BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER

BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER BLOW AFTER-

The maid was already long dead but the Half-elf didn't care. The maid was a pile of meat and bones at this point but the Half-elf didn't care. Beatrice saw the whole think with a look of terror and disappointment but the Half-elf didn't care. Her fist had all skin and meat scratched off revealing bone but she didn't care. This was no longer hatred as that would be too rational of a term to describe what she was doing at this moment. She was like a machine intent on doing one purpose without any thought behind it. Her eyes were blood shot and her fists were still pummeling away at the remnants of the poor girls skull as feathers started to fall around her.

Once she finally stopped she looked up while panting heavily. She hadn't even processed what she had done yet. The weight of the brutality she committed against another person hadn't dawned on her as she looked up towards the blood stained ceiling.

Black feathers started to flood her vision as well as the silhouette of a person in the air above her. She couldn't make out what they looked like as she was too distracted by the massive wings that protruded from the individuals body.

"So pretty." The Half-elf whispered as she started in awe at the individual above her.

The next thing she knew her vision started to spin around uncontrollably.

She felt immensly lighter as she was now looking down a couple feet in the air and caught the image of Beatrice fighting... something. Then she crashed down to the ground and saw something through her bloodshot eyes. She tried to move her arms and legs to get up but they wouldn't respond for some reason. She tried to blink but her eyelids wouldn't cooperate for some reason. She tried to breath but her lungs wouldn't respond for some reason. She tried to move her head but it wouldn't move for some reason.

Her vision started to clear up ever so slightly and the Half-elf finally understood why her body wasn't responding. She saw her body still on her knees on top of the maid...without a head.

'Ah'

That was the last thought she had as her mind slipped away into nothingness.

Darkness

Total Loops: 3

Total Loops in the Manor: 1