-On Route to Roswaal's Mansion-
It has been about 10 minutes since Subaru and the group of soldiers headed out to face the witch cult. Not much has happened within this short time, but Subaru's chance to chat with Julius came sooner than expected for him.
Julius approaches with his blue dragon and rides beside him. "Did you really subjugate the White Whale?"
"Huh?" He snides back.
Subaru's rudeness doesn't affect him much, "You know, the subjugation of the White Whale was a long-time wish of the Imperial Knights. We weren't sure if we would ever beat it."
This causes both Subaru and Rem to look at him with wide eyes.
"It seems I owe you my thanks for finally taking down that beast. So thank you." He says with no hint of mockery or insincerity.
Subaru looks away from him, "You don't have to force it. Besides, I was far from being the only person to take it on. Rem, Crusch-san, Wilhelm-san, and so many others were part of the key to defeating it."
"Still, for ending a calamity that the nations have dealt with for hundreds of years, I thank you, as well as all that were involved."
Subaru reluctantly looks at him. With great hesitance, he says. "Listen, I'm grateful that you are willing to come help deal with the witch cult. After that whole mock battle thing…" He clenches his fists currently holding the rope to control Patrasche. He flails about the ropes used to control the earth dragon as well as kicking his legs numerous times. Patrasche snorts at his behavior.
"Damn it! Listen! I know I was wrong! Ok! I was wrong at that time! Rem helped me overcome that…dark moment of my life. I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did at the royal selection."
Julius looks at him with a bit of a surprised look, but it quickly turns into a tiny smile, "I apologize too. I cannot take back my words or actions, but I realize I was too hasty in judging you. I apologize for belittling you."
"Thanks…" He accepts his apology with some reluctance. "Even so…I still hate your guts. I feel bad for what happened and I'm grateful for you here, but I still hate you so much!" He pouts heavily while going on a bit of a toddler tantrum.
His smile grows a little wider, "That's fine. I can't help how you feel. Maybe if we met under different circumstances, we would've gotten along better. For now though, do not worry. I do not intend to befriend you."
Subaru sets his eyes ahead on the road again and prepares to accelerate. However, before he does so, he says one last thing. "You may be right. Perhaps we could've easily become friends under different circumstances."
They accelerate as planned and once they are a good distance away from Julius, Rem calls his name. "Subaru-kun."
"I'm sorry Rem. I tried, but every time I look at him, I just can't help but feel hatred for him!"
"No, you did well." She tightens her grip around him ever so slightly, "You said what you truly felt about him. You may hate him, but you're grateful to him too. I think that's a start towards building a healthy relationship."
"You think so?"
"Yes." She says with confidence while smiling. "After all, you're way more honest with your words than I am."
He shakes his head, "Nah, you can be pretty blunt with your intentions." I know that firsthand…
Rem doesn't respond. Rather, she blames herself in her mind. No I'm not. If I was, I would've asked him by now. Even though it's selfish of me, I let fear take over me for a moment there.
"Subaru-kun?"
"Yes?"
"When this is all over, there's something I want to ask you. It's going to be a selfish request, but…"
"That's fine." Subaru smiles at her.
"Huh?"
He says in a serious tone, "Whatever you want to ask, no matter how selfish it is, I want to hear it. Rem, you may not realize it, but you saved me that day when I was ready to give up and run away. You…you gave me a reason to go on. A reason to keep living and to keep fighting. I want to repay the motivation you gave me however I can."
"You also saved me Subaru-kun, more than you'll ever realize. You don't owe me anything. But…alright. I'll tell you as soon as the witch cult is pulverized."
"Who says pulverized these days?"
Rem can only chuckle in return. The next few hours go by peacefully. The blue-haired maid takes this opportunity to get as much rest as she possibly can so that she is prepared to face the witch cult.
-Roswaal's Mansion-
"This is for us?" Ram, at the front door of the mansion, receives a letter from a messenger.
"Yes, the person who wrote and instructed me to deliver this letter to this mansion is Rem-sama. She said it was crucial that you and the residents of this mansion read the letter and act upon it with great haste."
Ram's eyes widen ever so slightly, although due to her pink bangs covering her left eye, the messenger can only see one eye widen. Rem sent this? What is going on over there at the capital? Did Barusu get caught up in some needless trouble again?
Ram bows to the messenger, "Thank you for delivering this. I will see to it that everyone here will read it immediately."
The messenger gives her thanks and bows as well before leaving the premises.
Ram quickly heads into the mansion and informs Emilia to meet her in the dining hall. After failing to enter the Forbidden Library numerous times, she eventually manages to get through with the last door and informs Beatrice of the same thing she told Emilia.
-Dining Hall-
"I'm surprised you called us all down here this early in the morning." Emilia says upon her arrival to the dining hall.
"Why did you call me down here I wonder?" Beatrice asks as she comes to stand next to Emilia. In her hands is the cat-like spirit Puck. "Well, as long as I get to see Bubby, it's worth it, I suppose."
"A letter arrived from a messenger that is associated with Crusch-sama's camp. It appears there is something very important written in here by Rem. The messenger asked for us to all read it together."
Emilia looks around for a particular lord who often wears clown makeup. "Where's Roswaal? He should hear about this too."
Ram frowns, "Sadly Roswaal-sama had to go out on urgent business this morning and won't be back for a little while. Whatever is in this letter will have to be dealt with without him."
Emilia asks, "Why would Rem be associated with Crusch-san's camp?"
Ram shrugs as she delicately opens the letter and places it on the table. Emilia, Puck, and Beatrice come towards it and read it alongside Ram.
Dear Residents of Roswaal-sama's Mansion,
This is Rem. My apologies for the short notice, but the purpose of this letter is to inform you all what has occurred with me and Subaru-kun since Emilia-sama went back to the mansion. The story is far too long to include here, but the White Whale has finally been defeated after running on a rampage for centuries. Crusch-sama, Anastasia-sama, and their respective camps all assisted in one way or another. Although the White Whale is defeated, it is not the only threat we are currently facing.
The Witch Cult, that wretched organization, is on the move. They appear to be after Emilia-sama. Subaru-kun, me, and many others are going to deal with them. However, you, as well as the villagers are at considerable risk right now. For everyone's safety, please evacuate the villagers and yourselves away from the village and mansion. A mercenary group is already on the way to assist you in this endeavor. They should arrive within a few hours of you receiving this letter. As for the rest of us, we will arrive as soon as we can.
Please stay safe,
Rem
"The White Whale has been defeated?! How…how did they do it?" Emilia is utterly shocked at hearing this news. No one has been able to destroy the beast for hundreds of years and now all of a sudden it's gone?
"She's saying some fairly absurd things. Is what she is saying true I wonder?" Beatrice asks.
"Rem is not one to lie." Ram comes to her sister's defense. "I for one trust what she says is true." Using her clairvoyance, she attempts to track them down with the various animals in the surrounding forest.
A few moments later, she says, "Using clairvoyance, I can see her and Barusu. They appear to be with many other mercenaries and are heading this way."
"How do they look? Do they appear injured at all?" Emilia quickly asks in concern.
"The image is fuzzy as they are quite far, but they appear fine. No injuries to note."
"Oh good! I'm so thankful they are alright. Subaru has been really reckless lately so I really don't want him pushing himself." Emilia recalls their argument back in the capital. Why, why does he keep pushing himself so hard? Why does he keep doing such absurd things for my sake? I never asked him to do any of this!
She then says aloud, "Subaru…just what are you planning? Don't tell me you plan to act all reckless again."
"I'm sure Subaru knows what he is doing. Let's put our faith in him for now." Puck advises as he begins to float away from Beatrice's hands, causing her to pout. "And besides, we have a job to do ourselves, don't we?"
"Betty cannot leave the mansion. You all will have to do the work I suppose." Beatrice says.
"I'm pretty sure I've seen you come to the village before, so you must be able to travel at least that far. Will you please help us?" Puck asks with the equivalent of a puppy dog face for cats.
The old artificial spirit immediately falls for his charms, "No fair! You cannot make that adorable expression and have me do nothing about it."
Puck smirks at his victory.
Emilia turns to Beatrice, "But what about you? Won't you be in danger if you can't leave beyond the village?"
"The Forbidden Library is more than enough to protect me I suppose. It won't let anyone in that Betty doesn't allow."
This explanation is barely enough to convince Emilia to not be too worried about the old spirit. While she doesn't know the specific details, she is aware that Beatrice has formed a contract that prevents her from going far from the mansion. "I see." She smiles. "We better get to work then!" Though I'm most definitely going to drill Subaru for being so reckless yet again! Why won't he understand…
-Forest-
Subaru walks alone in a forest. He maneuvers his way around various bushes and steps over large logs once in a while. The sun shines brightly above, but the overhead trees make the ground very shady.
As he walks along, he is reminded of a time where he had to corner a cockroach in his bedroom. He remembers how annoying it was to catch it as it would jump all over the place whenever he tried to place a small cup over it.
Feeling a sinister presence all around him he smirks and mumbles, "You were drawn in by the smell, huh? I guess I really do smell that bad." Now that I think about it, how does Rem tolerate the stench? I feel bad for her having to deal with it.
Six members of the Witch Cult approach him. Despite the number approaching him, Subaru remains calm and even begins to speak to them, "Thanks for coming to meet me. Sorry to have to say this when you've just arrived, but I'll leave you to work the details out for yourselves. Don't get in my way."
The members bow to him slightly before immediately teleporting away. Subaru gets a sickening feeling in his stomach. "If they stuck around long enough, perhaps I could've ordered them to pack up their stuff and go home. That would make this easier…"
Pushing his way through a few more tree branches, he comes upon a ruin that looks like a classic entrance to a dungeon. In front of the entrance is no other than Petelguese Romanee-Conti.
"Welcome! I've been waiting for you, believer in love…" The man greets him with a deep bow and creepy voice.
"In the Witch's Cult, I am a Sin Archbishop, representing sloth, Petelguese Romanee-Conti!" He sticks out his tongue, dripping wet with saliva. Subaru winces in disgust.
"I welcome you, beloved child, blessed with love. Simply wondrous! Wonderful! Amazing!" He shakes his legs back and forth with glee.
"Hey." Subaru greets him casually, "I appreciate the erm…cheerful welcome, but I'm not too sure of this love you're talking about."
Petelguese quickly puts his hands out in front of him and shakes them, "It always starts out suddenly. On a certain day, you realize that you're loved! You feel the love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love!" He rambles on and on like the equivalent of an insane drunken man.
"So…what do I do now?" He asks awkwardly.
"You wouldn't happen to be Pride would you?" Creepily approaching him, he continues, "Of the six Sin Archbishops, only Pride's seat remains vacant. You do happen to have the gospel, don't you?"
"The gospel?" Subaru questions. Out of all of his experiences with the cult so far, this is the first time he's ever heard about a gospel. Though in actuality, he has technically heard about it once in a previous loop. However, he was imprisoned and so out of it that he never registered anything Petelguese said about it.
"Oh…my brain trembles!" Arching his back to a very uncomfortable nearly 90 degree angle, Petelguese reaches into his cloak and pulls out a black book. As he does so, Subaru looks visibly disturbed.
Opening it up and flipping through the pages like a madman, he says with increasing farcical enthusiasm, "Presentation of the gospel, proof of love. Proof! Proof! Proof! Proof! Proof! Proof!"
Suddenly, he deadpans, "Huh? My gospel has no account of you. How odd. How deceitful! How unfortunate! Why did you come then? What is your goal? What fortune do you have to deliver upon us?"
Subaru, not really sure how to reply, comes up with an excuse of why he knows nothing about the gospel.
"Oh, hehe, so that's the gospel, right? Well, you see I DID have a copy of it. But I kinda accidentally stepped on it after having accidentally stepped on some dog poop earlier on. So I uh…threw it out. Can't have it smelling up my home now can I?" He gives an awkward open mouth smile.
Petelguese is initially silent, but quickly freaks out, "Proof of love!" Suddenly, tons of extremely long unseen hands pop out from his back. "Authority of Sloth: Unseen Hand!" All the hands go straight for Subaru.
Subaru, ironically able to see the unseen hands, hops back and dodges all the hands. Petelguese gasps in shock, "What?"
"That's an 'unseen hand' right? If I can see it, I can dodge it!"
"You can see my unseen hand?!"
"Ok, I'm finally done buying time!"
"Huh?"
Hearing a giant crack sound, Petelguese turns around to see his stronghold starting to severely crack and collapse.
The cause of the cracks is quickly revealed. Mimi and Tivey quickly jump past Subaru and send out many resonance waves, causing the structure to entirely collapse on top of the witch cultists that are residing within.
"Prepare to be crushed and buried alive!" Subaru states with confidence as brings up a hand and turns it into a fist, simulating the crushing of the witch cultists. "Suffer and regret what you've done!"
"How…how could this be?" Petelguese trembles as usual, but this time it appears to be out of fear. "My fingers, so cruelly, so mercilessly, so chaotically, so arbitrarily, so whimsically, so meaninglessly…" He proceeds to violently pull hair from his head while blood flows from his eyeballs. "My brain…my brain TREMBLES!"
"Yikes! That guy is scary!" Mimi says as she and Tivey run away from the maniac.
"Pretty sure all members of the Witch Cult are like that." Tivey responds.
Now biting his hands so hard that all of his fingers bleed, Petelguese prepares to strike once more. "Yes, of course. Fine. I understand. I understand. Let's do this. The time has come to see which of us is more worthy of her love! Her love! Yes, her love! The blood flows from his eyes more profusely than before. Subaru has never seen a person as insane as him in his life.
How does he live with that level of self-harm? Losing that much blood normally would cause you to lose consciousness at the very least! He wonders. However, the thought doesn't stay with him for long. Getting his mind back to the plan at hand, he says, "Sorry to interrupt your fun, but…"
"-ove?" Petelguese screeches.
Subaru finishes, "I have someone else to take you on!"
Suddenly, a person leaps up with the sound of chains following. Closing in on Petelguese from behind, the only thing he hears is the word "Die!" before a giant metal black ball with pink spikes impales him right through his stomach. The impact is so forceful his body splits in two and instantly dies.
Standing beside the dead body, the killer reveals herself before Subaru, Mimi, and Tivey. Some of the blood has splattered onto her maid outfit, causing her to not have the most stately appearance.
"Are you alright Subaru-kun?" The girl asks, looking at him with a worried expression.
"Yep! All good here. Well done Rem!" He pats her head affectionately, causing her to smile widely.
"Awww!" Mimi oooh's at the two of them acting flirty. The two blush slightly in response.
"Finally, one of the dreaded cultists is dead. And one of the archbishops no less." Rem says.
A short time later Felix shows up and looks over the body.
"It's…it's over right? He's dead, right?" Subaru asks anxiously.
"Yep! He's very much dead! There's nyo coming back from this. The capital's most powerful healer guarantees it." Felix assures him.
Subaru breathes a sigh of relief, "That's good." He turns to Rem, "Sorry for springing this task onto you Rem. Are you feeling tired at all?"
"It's no problem at all! I feel fine. Like I've said, I've been wanting to settle the score with the Witch Cult for years now. You've given me a chance to avenge both my village and Nee-sama. So thank you Subaru-kun." She gives him one of those smiles that is filled with deep gratitude and love.
"Hmm, it seems this guy isn't carrying anything useful." Tivey notes as he and Mimi ransack through his corpse.
"Wow…you two little fellas and ransacking through his corpse like it's nothing." He says feeling both impressed and disturbed by their behavior.
"I think it's our right to search out the spoils of battle." Moving his hand through Petelguese's cloak, he eventually comes upon a black book. "What is this?"
"I think that's the book Petelguese referred to as the 'gospel'." Subaru explains.
Everyone freaks out upon hearing that. Tivey immediately throws it as far as he can. "Ah! I touched it! Please don't curse me!" He yelps.
Subaru picks it up and flips through a few pages. However, he cannot decipher anything within it. "I can't read it." He then flashes it forwards towards Felix and Rem, "Can either of you read it?"
They quickly hide their faces from the horrid book. "Nyo way! Don't point that thing at me!" Felix quickly says.
"Subaru-kun! Please put that book down. You should never ever associate yourself with it, let alone try to read it!" Rem pleads.
"Is it that dangerous?" He asks.
Felix explains, "Owning a gospel is proof that one belongs to the Witch Cult. It's their sacred text."
"Sacred text?"
Rem adds on, "I've heard rumors that one is handed out to anyone who is considering joining the cult. Usually once someone gets their hands on one, they become a member."
"I see. Perhaps I should take this with me. If I can decipher it, I could learn more about the Witch Cult."
"Please don't Subaru-kun!" Rem pleads, "I'm…I'm sorry, but I really don't want you to own anything related to the Witch Cult. There has to be other ways to learn about them."
Seeing her distressed face, Subaru realizes just how much she despises the Witch Cult. He's seen her level of hatred before. The reason Rem was so suspicious of him in the first place was because he had the scent of the witch, which was the same smell the Witch Cultist's have. However, her abhorrence towards them seems to be much higher compared to everyone else. I've heard her mention that the cult wiped out her village and took Ram's horn, but she's never really elaborated further than that. Maybe I should ask her if she's willing to tell me more about what happened back then.
He rubs the back of his head while tossing the book to the side, "Yeah, you're right. It'd look really bad for me if I was caught lugging it around anyway."
Mimi climbs out from under Petelguese's cloak and says, "Hey, since we've killed this guy here, shouldn't we go check to see if the other enemies are dead too?"
Subaru gives them a more or less disturbed smile, "You know, for as cute as you look, you say some really disturbing things…"
She laughs lightly, "Aww! I'm cute? Stop with your flattery! You're makin' me blush here!"
"There were ten fyingers, right?" Felix asks.
"I think one's stuck under here. So this one is dead." Tivey says and points to the boulders that once made up a stronghold for the Witch's Cult.
"Ten minus one is nine!" Mimi states proudly.
"Shall we go?" Rem asks the group.
Subaru nods, "Yep, let's go."
The group begins to leave the area, only for Subaru to moonwalk back to the killing ground. "He's really dead right? Like, it won't be that cliche where as soon as we turn our backs he's gonna backstab us or something, pretending to be dead the whole time?"
"Geez!" Mimi expresses her annoyance. "Fine!" She points her wand towards Petelguese and fires a pink ring. It explodes upon contact and a large pink cloud of smoke surrounds the area for a moment before passing.
Now he's completely blasted to smithereens. His body is nothing more than mere chunks of flesh thrown about everywhere, presuming they weren't charred in the explosion.
"There! Satisfied now?" She grins at her accomplishment.
Subaru gives a nervous chuckle, "Hehe yep. He definitely ain't coming back from that." For a little cat girl, her power is scary high.
They meet back up with Julius, Ricardo, and the others in another section of the forest. There they confirm that both sides managed to defeat their enemies. They share some light-hearted chatter before confirming their final plans to take out the last few members of the cult.
Suddenly, an unexpected attack comes out of nowhere and Subaru yells at everyone to get down, having sensed it coming just a moment before. They do as told and a few seconds later Subaru gets up and looks into the sky. There he sees several unseen hands tightly binding five of the merchant members. He can barely even blink before the unseen hands twist and turn the bodies. They turn so tight that the bodies cannot handle the internal pressure anymore and literally explode from the inside out. Blood and gore spread everywhere.
"What the heck is this?!" Ricardo shouts as he shields Mimi and Tivey from the gore.
Unseen hands! Subaru notes while frantically looking around seeing if anyone else has gotten hurt. Petelguese should be dead! We made double sure of that! So why?!
He doesn't have time to think much further before one of the unseen hands grapples him by the ankle and pulls him deep into the forest.
"Subaru-dono!" Wilhelm calls out.
"Subaru-kun!" Rem also calls out.
Him, her and Julius all instantly head after him, but a bunch of Witch Cult members show up out of nowhere and block their path.
"Damn you all!" Rem pours mana into her horn, causing it to appear. She wields her ball and chain, called Morningstar, in her hands. "Not a single one of you are allowed to lay a finger on Subaru-kun!"
Saying that, she strikes the front-most witch cultist with her Morningstar. Wilhelm and Julius follow from behind, striking at the other cultists and beginning a battle.
-Author's Corner-
A/N: Things proceed mostly smoothly for Subaru and the others so far, minus the latest arrival of Witch Cult members. Now that Rem's letter isn't erased, Emilia and the others are aware of what is going on from the get-go.
Thanks for all the support so far! It's more than I anticipated. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
AstolfoBrHue: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
Guest: Thanks! Well, here is another chapter for you to hopefully enjoy. I agree, I think it will be very good for Subaru's mental state for her to be there.