-Deep Forest-
Subaru has been forcefully taken away from his friends and fellow mercenaries due to an unseen hand grabbing his ankle and pulling him deep into the forest.
"Ow! Yikes! Dang! Don't be so rough!" He shouts various grievances as he is dragged along the ground, hitting many twigs and a few rocks along the way.
Eventually he slams into a tree upside down and due to the unseen hand going through a small opening between two branches, he cannot travel any further. Thankfully, the unseen hand stops as well and doesn't try to force him through the small opening.
"Ugh…ergh!" He grits his teeth as he slams his foot into the unseen hand still holding onto him. Unfortunately for him, this has no effect whatsoever and after a few moments of trying, he hears a cry.
"Oooh! My brain…trembles!" A voice cries that is eerily very similar to Petelguese's manner of speech. Except this time, the voice is female rather than male.
Turning and arching his body over so he can see beyond the tree, Subaru sees a witch cultist member approaching him. He also sees that this member is the source of the unseen hand currently binding him.
"Who are you?" He asks suspiciously and with a hint of anger.
The cultist unfolds her face covering, revealing her hair to be of an orange-brown color and sporting some freckles on her face. Her eyes are purple in color and look somewhat similar to Subaru's in terms of being intimidating. Unlike his eyes though, her eyes look far more insane and sinister. Lastly she sports a slasher smile.
"Are you Petelguese's…" He starts.
"Finger? Yes!" She finishes for him. Two more unseen hands shoot out from her back and wrap around Subaru and the trunk of the tree, keeping him firmly in place and limiting his movement even further.
"I am a finger who reciprocates love! A faithful, diligent disciple who will carry out the Ordeal, following love's guidance!" She states proudly as she approaches him.
"Are you…a copy? A copy of the original Petelguese? If so, this can't possibly get any worse!" Subaru says.
The crazy woman sniffs him, which disgusts him. "Oh my! The level of love that cloaks you is not the same as any mere follower, it's equal to an archbishop! Which is very dissatisfying, displeasing, disproportionate, disagreeable. But…it's proof you are Pride!"
"S-Stop! Don't make me say it again. I'm…not even remotely close to Pride! I didn't even get a free book as part of the membership!" Subaru grits his face as he tries to fight the mounting pressure on his body.
"Oh ho! Stubborn, are we? Well, no matter. Soon enough you'll learn of the…huh?" She digs into her cloak to pull out the gospel, only to find that it is not in there. "The gospel…the book that allows me to reciprocate love! It's…it's not here?! She performs a backbend as she says this.
With the assistance of her unseen hands, she returns to an upright position by undoing the movements she just performed. "Was it you? You? You? You? You? You? You? You? Did you steal it?!" The unseen hands grip him tighter than ever before while she gets up in his face.
-Open Forest-
Rem, Julius, Wilhelm, and the rest have been fighting many Witch Cult members for the past few minutes. After what felt like an eternity, the amount of cult members coming to attack finally ceased.
Rem, currently with her horn manifested and her eyes taking on a hue of red, throws her Morningstar towards one of the last cultists remaining.
"Finally! I won't let any of you stand in the way between me and Subaru-kun anymore!" Rem exclaims once she finishes the task.
"I hope he is alright in that forest. I do wonder what dragged him in." Wilhelm expresses his concerns.
"I'm unsure." Julius says with honesty. "Though I did send in a spirit to help assist him. He should be alright."
"You two are awfully calm about this!" Rem exasperates. "He could be at death's door for all we know! That cult will stop at nothing to kill anyone that opposes them! Show more concern for his well-being! Now, let's go!" She instantly darts into the forest in the same direction he was pulled from.
Wilhelm silently follows. He thinks, I may not be the best at expressing emotions, but I am deeply concerned for him Rem-san.
Julius also follows behind silently.
-Deep Forest-
As they near Subaru's location, Rem and the others notice a lot of trees have fallen over. This only hastens Rem's anxiety and desire to see Subaru. Wilhelm and Julius also look noticeably disturbed.
The three suddenly hear a loud roar akin to that of a lion. Or well, whatever equivalent to a lion there is in this world. Wilhelm sees the source of the sound being Mimi and Tivey using their resonance power to knock down a tree next to the witch cultist.
He sees the cultist freaking out over this and rushes over towards the siblings somehow sensing and taking out the unseen hands that were aiming to kill them, despite the fact he cannot literally see them.
As he does this Rem sneaks around to be behind the cultist. She swings her Morningstar around and impales her while she is distracted by her unseen hands being taken out. It's not as direct of a hit compared to when she killed Petelguese, so she doesn't immediately die.
"My…My life is spilling out. My blood is running dry. My pulse, my life support…is ending. Ah! My brain…trembl-" Before she can finish her sentence, she dies and loses her balance, falling lifelessly to the dirt below.
"Hmph. That's right. That's what you deserve for trying to kill my hero." Rem gives her a derogatory look.
She goes to Subaru and makes sure he is alright while Julius goes off to inform Felix of the situation. He arrives a few minutes later and inspects the body, fully confirming that she's dead.
"So I suppose the first Sloth that was dyfeated was a double and this is the real one?" Felix asks, kneeling next to the body.
"No…I don't believe this is a matter of which is the real one." Julius says.
"Are you implying that there may be more than one Sin Archbishop of Sloth?" Wilhelm asks him.
"Either that, or all one hundred followers, including the fingers, are the Sin Archbishop of Sloth."
"How…how could this happen…" Subaru grits his teeth and clenches his hands. "I said we were going to do this with no losses, and yet this happens. I'm such a moron."
"Subaru-kun." Rem grips his right hand with both of her hands. "Please stop that line of thinking right now. This is not your fault. Don't even think for a second that this is your fault. With an enemy as sneaky and dreadful as the Witch Cult, losses are nigh-impossible to avoid. I wish it weren't so but…it is."
With Rem's constant love and support that Subaru wasn't even sure he deserved to have, he felt his anxieties slowly disappearing. "Thanks Rem." As long as I have Rem, everything will be ok.
He didn't notice that he never thought of Emilia even once while thinking that.
"It is unfortunate, but she is correct." Wilhelm closes his eyes for a moment and tilts his head, as if in deep thought. "Those five mercenaries were wonderful companions and they greatly helped us on our expedition. Their lives were not given in vain. We shall always remember them in our hearts as valiant warriors who fought for a greater cause."
"Well said." Julius gives his approval.
The five head back towards the mercenary group. There are five brown sheets laid out on the battlefield to cover up the fallen comrades. Or well, what's left of them.
"Subaru-dono." Wilhelm calls out to him, causing him and Rem to stop and turn around, "It may be inelegant for me to say this, but fight!"
He widens his eyes slightly in response. Wilhelm continues and narrows his eyes slightly, showing how important his next words would be, "Even if you have regrets, even if you are remorseful, you must fight. If you've made the decision to fight, to struggle, then fight with all you have. If you've strived to achieve a goal, do not lose sight of that goal. Do not give up for even a moment. Cling greedily to the victory you have within your sight. If you can still stand, if your fingers can still move, if all of your teeth haven't broken, stand and fight. You must fight."
Subaru gives him a deep stare for a few moments, trying to read his facial expression to see if there is any hint of doubt in his words. "Are you telling me to get stronger?"
"No." He shakes his head, "I'm telling you to be strong." Then, giving a soft smile that makes Subaru wish for a brief moment that this man was his grandfather, he asks, "Ready to go?"
Giving a smile in return, he says with determination, "Yeah, let's go." He's right. He and Rem are right. Even though we've had a few losses, we must push forward! Things are not always going to go the way I wish. This world gave me a harsh reality check for believing in that. However, even if things get difficult. Even if obstacles stand in my way, I'll fight for the future I wish and dream for! As for what that future is…that future is to have Emilia-tan on the Lugunica throne!
Rem also takes to heart what Wilhelm says, even if his words weren't aimed at her. I will fight! I will fight for Subaru-kun's sake! He thawed my frozen heart and started up time for me again when it had stopped so long ago. He's the reason I am who I am today. I have to thank Nee-sama too. Nee-sama gave up her horn to protect me. If it wasn't for her, I likely wouldn't even be alive today. I'll never be able to reach her level but…I'll protect and assist her however I can as well. Subaru-kun and Nee-sama are the most important people in my life. If anyone dares to get in their way, I will smite them with all the power I hold within me!
"You ok Rem?" Subaru asks her.
It is only then that she realizes she is lightly clenching her fists in a determined manner, as if she is ready to face whatever is to come. She quickly unclenches her fingers and gives him a smile. "Yes. I'm completely fine. Sorry if I worried you."
-Arlam Village-
Subaru and the others manage to arrive at the village safely and without any more hiccups. There they find Emilia, Ram, and Beatrice with the villagers.
"Emilia-tan!" Subaru smiles widely and waves as he approaches her. This is the first time he's seen her since he accidentally killed her by trying to say he could use Return by Death.
Unfortunately, due to all the planning and effort he's went through with the White Whale and Witch Cult, he briefly forgot about their argument they had back at the capital.
She gives him a frown. "Subaru…what in the world have you been doing out there?"
He stops in his tracks as he gives her a surprised look, "Huh?"
"I thought I told you to stay at the capital and get healed by Felix-san. Why do you keep doing reckless things like defeating a whale or taking out the Witch Cult? I get really worried about you, you know!"
Now Subaru fully remembers everything that happened back at the capital and why she's acting like this. He stepped way over his boundaries and failed to respect her boundaries. He betrayed her trust by following her into the royal selection room and proceeded to insult the knights, ultimately causing a lot of embarrassment for both himself and for Emilia. He told her that he was doing it all for her sake, but that was a lie. Or well, at least a partial lie. He truly wants to help her and does not regret for even a moment about standing up for her and declaring himself to be her knight, as that is what he truly believes he is.
However, he is also now able to admit that a good amount of reasoning for his motives were fueled by self-satisfaction and to have her owe him. He really loves her and he thought that if he did some cheap favors for her, then she'd have no choice but to return his affections. In the end, he learned the hard way that the world does not cater to his whims and it won't reward his selfish motives. Could he even say he truly loved her when he placed her on such a high pedestal and wanted to have her owe him something, like her affections? He doesn't know for sure, but what he does know is that he was in the wrong for disobeying her and trying to say he was doing it all for her sake when he really wasn't.
"I know you're worried Emilia-tan. I'm sorry. I really am. I promise there's a good reason I'm doing all of this, and it isn't just for your sake. I'm also doing this to protect Rem, Ram, Beako-chan, the villagers, and everyone else I know and care about. The Witch Cult is no joke and they will stop at nothing to destroy anything in the way of their goal. The White Whale could've devastated even more villages than it already has. I don't want to sound haughty, but without me providing them a few key details about the beast we would've never defeated it."
Emilia takes a moment to ponder what he is saying. "...alright. I'll believe you this time. BUT! You're going to explain to me in detail what happened later, and you're going to take it easy in the mansion for a while. I don't want to see you push yourself any harder, understood?"
He nods, "Yes I understand. I promise that I'll listen to what you have to say this time. We can talk more about it later but…let me just say I'm sorry for what I did at the capital. I was in over my head. I…I said some things I didn't mean. You don't owe me anything Emilia-tan."
She doesn't say anything for a few moments, but a small smile creeps on her face. "Yeah, let's talk later. I believe I said some unwarranted things as well."
While Subaru and Emilia have this conversation, Rem meets up with Ram for the first time since the former left for the capital.
"Nee-sama!" Rem rushes up to Ram and gives her a big hug, squeezing her tightly.
She responds by returning the hug, although not quite as tightly. A soft, warm smile appears on her face as well, an expression that only she and Roswaal have the privilege of seeing.
"Hello Rem. I'm very happy to see you are well. Barusu hasn't been giving you any trouble, has he?"
They separate from the hug and Rem fervently shakes her head. "He has not at all. He has went through a lot of issues that I don't really fully understand, but I'm just happy to see him smiling again. He's really cute when he shows passion for things he wants to do."
"I truly don't know what you see in that man." She sighs. "He is nothing extraordinary aside from his odd amount of good luck and his slight competence in housework. Though even that can be chalked up to good luck."
Rem frowns in response, "If you spent quality time with him, you'd see the amazing aspects and qualities of him."
Her sister only gives a humming sound in response. Rem is aware of Ram's less than stellar opinion of Subaru, if her constant insults of him and calling him "Barusu" are anything to go by. While Rem deeply wishes she would take the time to try to get to know him better and not be so negative about him all the time, she mostly respects her opinions on him. This doesn't stop her from trying subtly to change her mind once in a while.
The one thing she hopes doesn't happen is that Ram will fall in love with him. She already has to compete with Emilia for his heart. Though considering her current attitude with him and how much she loves and is affectionate with Roswaal, she isn't very worried that this will happen.
Rem decides to change the subject, "How's the evacuation going? It appears a lot of the villagers are still here."
"Frankly, not well. Emilia-sama has been trying to coerce them into leaving, but no one will take her seriously. Instead, accusations are being thrown left and right at her. Nothing me nor Beatrice-sama say is helping either. If Roswaal-sama were here he could probably convince them to evacuate."
"I see. Due to her half-elf lineage, right?"
Ram nods, "Yes."
The two hear a loud familiar voice and turn their heads towards the source. They see Subaru standing right next to the village well that is elevated slightly higher compared to everything else in the village. He easily gains everyone's attention with his loud voice.
"Attention everyone!" He announces. "I haven't seen you guys in a while. How has everyone been? As for me, I've been great! Still penniless and completely broke though! Working on fixing that. But in the meantime, I've got something I want to say to everyone. I know this is sudden, but I've got a favor to ask. It seems the Witch Cult has been trying to stir up trouble around here, so I brought some specialists to exterminate them. He gestures towards Rem, Julius, Ricardo, Wilhelm, and where many of the other mercenaries are stationed.
"Good to know that even during a time like this, Barusu is fully willing to admit his pitiful shortcomings." Ram snorts and smirks in amusement.
"Nee-sama…he's trying his best." Rem counters with a frown.
"While they do that, I'd like you all to leave the village for the time being. It hopefully shouldn't be any longer than a few days."
"Don't try to fool us!" One of the villagers says. "You're trying to sound all cheerful about this, but the villagers are frightened! We feared the Witch Cult would try something!"
"Why would they bother a remote village like this?" Another villager asks with a frightened tone.
"Obviously because of that half-elf!" Another responds a bit irritated. "Because the lord of this domain endorses a half-elf to be the next leader of Lugunica!
Tilting his head downwards and clenching his fists, Subaru starts to get irritated at the insults thrown towards Emilia. "Why do you have to make it about that. The half-elf thing…Emilia-tan has nothing to do with it!
"Subaru…" Emilia looks on with worry. Why? What does he see in me that he would go to these lengths? Am I missing something here? I haven't done that much for him, so why?
"If you mess with a half-elf, the Witch Cult shows up. Even the children of this village know that!" Another villager says.
"You…you guys seriously believe that?" Subaru says with an uncomfortably straight face. "That it's all the fault of the half-elf that lives in the mansion?!"
A long, very awkward silence follows. Subaru remembers the times that Emilia told him that the village didn't exactly trust her and were instead very wary of her. He then remembers once again about how he got too involved in her business.
"Am I being selfish again?" He wonders aloud.
This causes Emilia to go wide-eyed for a moment, I think…I think he understands what I was trying to tell him! But if that's so, why would he… She remembers what he said just a moment ago to her, That's right. He said he wasn't doing this just for my sake. He is doing it for Rem, Ram, Beatrice-san, and many others' sake as well. I might be able to trust him again.
Felix comes up behind Subaru and gives him a bit of a hard slap to his back. "'Lift your head, don't look down.' That's what Crusch-sama would say."
"Felix-san…"
"Did you think what you were doing was wrong? If nyot, there's no reason to look down. Or is it harder to lift your head here than it is to make a tantrum back at the castle?" He performs an open-mouth smirk as he spreads out his right shoulder towards him with his arm while having a half-open palm, furthering the effect of his teasing.
He gives a light sigh while smiling at him, "Yeah, you're right. Compared to that, this is nothing at all!" Turning back towards the crowd of villagers, he raises his voice once more.
"I understand your feelings and concerns very well! I won't try to tell you to change them now and obviously you'll have your own opinions. It hurts, but I understand." The crowd becomes intrigued by what he is saying. "But for now, please accept my request and evacuate the village for now! It's dangerous to stay here. That's the truth!"
Ram begins to make her way towards Subaru. Rem follows from behind, wondering why she wishes to go towards him. Once the former arrives, she says, "The words of my household's employee are those of our master, Roswaal-sama, himself."
"Ram…" He turns his head to her, surprised to see her standing up for him.
"Please follow his instructions immediately." She requests of the villagers.
Rem follows up, "As another employee of Roswaal-sama's estate. I humbly request as well that all of you follow Subaru-kun's instructions immediately."
This finally convinces the villagers to begin preparing to evacuate.
Subaru breathes a sigh of relief, "Phew, thanks for the save you two."
"Of course." Rem happily smiles.
"Although…" He looks at Ram, "having you take my side so easily is kind of a new feeling. I quite like it! Does that mean you finally acknowledge me?!" He asks with a hopeful tone.
"Hmph." She turns her head away from him. "You wish. I'm only doing this to make the evacuation process easier. This is what Roswaal-sama and Rem would've wanted."
"That's true. I do want this to be a success." Rem says.
As they wrap up their discussion, Emilia comes up to the three of them.
"Subaru, Rem, and Ram, thank you so much. I would've had them evacuate sooner, but they wouldn't listen to me because I remind them so much of that witch. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused."
Subaru says with confidence and pride, "Anything for my Emilia-tan! It's wrong for them to ostracize you simply because you resemble a horrible witch. What proof do they have that you're actually related to it? None! None I say!"
"It's no problem Emilia-sama." The sisters say in unison.
"Subaru!" A young girl calls his name loudly while approaching him.
He recognizes her instantly and grins, "Hey Petra-chan! Great to see you here! What's up? Stayin' out of trouble?"
"Of course I'm staying out of trouble!" She pouts for a moment before switching to a nervous expression. "Um…is this half-elf lady here really going to run away with us?"
"Well, why don't you ask her yourself? Also, her name is Emilia-san."
Nervously approaching her, Petra summons up all the courage she has within her little body and asks, "Um, Emilia-san? Is…Is it true you're going to run away with us?"
Reaching down to her height and giving a very friendly smile to calm her fears, she responds, "Yes I am. I want you all to be safe from the members of the Witch's Cult. I know you are all still very hesitant about me and I understand why. However, I want to show everyone that I can be trusted. So please, allow me to assist you and the other villagers in escaping."
Petra thinks about what she says for a few moments before slowly nodding, "Ok. If Subaru trusts you, then so will I. I'll tell all my friends to trust you!"
"Atta girl! That's a great attitude to have. Subaru personally approves of this behavior!" He flashes her a thumbs-up.
Everyone but Ram giggles at his behavior. Speaking of Ram, she decides to give one of her usual insults, "Barusu referring to himself in the third person is creepy. Never do that again."
"I find it pretty cute." Rem says. "It's kinda like he's a little kid!"
He scratches the back of his head, "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not."
"It's a compliment." She responds with her trademark smile.
Petra leaves and only a moment after she does, Felix approaches them.
"Hey Subaru-kyun, can I borrow you for a bit? I need help with loading some cyargo."
He nods, "Sure, I'll see you three later!" He waves to them as he leaves.
After he leaves, Rem looks around and notices Beatrice sitting down under a nearby tree, reading a book, prompting her to ask, "What's Beatrice-sama doing out here?"
"Well, she's supposed to help us with the evacuation process. She did help at first, but I think after seeing us fail at convincing the villagers to leave she decided to leave and read a book by herself." Emilia says.
"Typical of her. She may be a great spirit, but her laziness is most definitely her weak point." Ram says. Although she holds some respect for Beatrice, she is not above pointing out her flaws when the opportunity arises.
With the villagers finally moving to evacuate, they are able to convince Beatrice to assist them with the whole process.
Meanwhile, Subaru and Felix head towards one of the wagons.
"So…where are the crates we are supposed to load?" Subaru asks.
"We'll get to them. But first, come in here." He climbs into the wagon they are in front of and gestures for him to climb in as well, which he does.
"The contract said he'd buy their cyargo at the asking price, so we need to inspect the goods thoroughly." As he says this, he gets behind Subaru and places his arms on his shoulders.
"Huh? But that shouldn't be our job. Isn't getting the stuff loaded more impor-"
"Oh come on!" He says with a teasing voice.
Suddenly a gruff voice makes itself known as a villager enters the carriage, "Hey, hey! No lovers' quarrels in my carriage!"
"Hee Hee! Oopsies. You got in trouble Subaru-kyun." Felix gets up and wraps his arms around the villager's right arm. "There, he let his guard down."
Suddenly the guy's entire body vibrates extremely violently before falling flat onto the floor unconscious. Clearly whatever happened, it was Felix's doing.
The catboy explains, "This guy is working with the Witch Cult. I touched him earlier and confirmed it. Some weird spell is implanted into him, just like the fyingers of the Sin Archbishops."
Subaru is shocked, "There was one among the merchants?"
"That's why we came to this carriage specifically, to get right under his nyose."
Leaning down to the traitor, Felix calmly asks him "Now tell us all the details of what you're plotting. My hands can be among some of the gentlest in the kingdom. Yet they can also do some pretty nyasty things too."
"That's." The traitor starts.
"What?" Felix questions.
Showing a slasher smile, he finishes, "Right."
Felix's pupils instantly shrink as he realizes what grave situation they are in. "La! Protect him!"
A spirit that looks like a small shining red light instantly appears and puts up a shield around Subaru. Meanwhile, the traitor says, "And now, it's the beginning…of the end!"
The moment he says that, a giant explosion erupts in the village. Subaru is instantly knocked unconscious.
Some Time Later
Slowly fluttering his eyes open, Subaru is greeted to the sight of Felix, Rem, and Julius. Slowly sitting up, he takes in his surroundings. The village he once knew and loved was, for lack of a better word, simply gone. Several buildings and trees have been burning for what seems to be an hour or so now, though Subaru doesn't know how much time has truly passed. Smoke fills the sky. Everything is in a hazy fog. Embers fill the atmosphere around them, tempting to light something else on fire.
"Subaru-kun!" Rem instantly embraces him the moment he sits up.
"Rem…" He mutters, still unable to take in everything. He looks over to Felix and notices he is wearing a very simple and dirty piece of cloth that covers most of his body. "Felix-san, why are you dressed like that?"
"I had nyo choice. My healing magic doesn't regenerate clothes."
"Regardless of our current situation, I'm glad you three are alright." Julius says while looking at the surrounding environment.
This is when Subaru finally stands up and takes the time to really take in his surroundings. Aside from the obvious burnt up buildings and trees, he notices there are a lot of corpses on the ground, belonging to villagers, mercenaries, and members of the Witch Cult alike.
"How did they get into the village?" Subaru asks.
Felix answers, "Apparently they stowed away in the carriages. They were likely successful due to there being a fyinger among them that we didn't take care of in time. I failed, I'm sorry."
"Now's not the time for regrets." Julius says.
"What happened to Emilia-tan, Ram, Beako-chan and the others?!" He asks desperately.
"They all went to evacuate the remaining villagers who survived the attack to the mansion." Rem responds.
"Tivey went with them as well." Julius adds. Then he addresses Felix, "Ferri-chan, please go with them as well. Heal as many people as you can. We'll take care of things here."
He nods, says "Got it." and takes off.
"Alright, let's go crush the rest of those fingers!" Subaru states with determination.
"Yes!" Rem pulls out her Morningstar and once for the second time in one day pours mana into her horn to make it appear, granting her superior strength, stamina, and flexibility. "Let's crush them Subaru-kun!"
Julius only nods as the three rush off.
A few minutes later they come across Wilhelm who appears to be finishing off one of the fingers. They come just in time to see him stab the cultist straight through his ribcage.
Despite being dealt this fatal blow, the cultist shows a creepy smile. He says as Wilhelm dangles him in the air, "If one focuses on what the unseen arm does in battle, one will fail to see what is visible. That is sloth, yes?" Grabbing a dagger from inside his cloak, he quickly arcs the weapon around his body and aims for Wilhelm's eyeball.
Though instead of actually striking his eye, the cultist instead blows himself up, causing Wilhelm to sustain great damage.
"Wilhelm-san!" Subaru calls out as he rushes over and picks up his head. "We can't leave you like this, we gotta get you to Felix-san!" He states quickly, not doing well at hiding his great anxiety.
Sadly, they don't have any time for emotional chatting, as another Witch Cultist quickly makes her presence known by shouting "Why?!" Everyone quickly turns in her direction.
"Why?! "Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!" An army of Witch Cultists' appear behind her. "Why are you all still alive?! After the attack you just endured…why?!" Biting her fingers until they bleed, she adds, "Why do you not bend to my diligence?"
"Man, at a time like this, they just keep coming! Julius-san, Rem, will you help get Wilhelm-san to safety?"
"Yes, but what are you going to do?" Rem asks.
"Quite a bold thing for you to do, ordering me around. However, I shall acquiesce to your request." Julius says.
"I'm going to distract her."
"What?!" Rem exclaims in shock, "That's way too dangerous! If you do that, I'm going with you!"
"But you could get hurt Rem! I don't…" He has flashbacks to previous loops of Rem getting crushed and her body lying lifeless on the ground. "I can't see you get hurt again."
"The same goes for me!" She protests, "If you got injured beyond recovery I don't…I don't know how I could handle myself. Please Subaru-kun. I beg you."
"Dodge!" Subaru suddenly shouts, seeing an unseen hand flying towards them. Everyone obeys. Julius picks up Wilhelm to get him out of the way. A large crack in the street appears where the four once stood.
"It's now or never." Subaru states as he turns to the Witch Cultist. "Listen up! I'm the one you're gonna want. I'm the one who destroyed your precious gospel a while back."
"So it was YOU!" A bunch more unseen hands pop out behind her back and instantly chase after him.
"Yikes!" He quickly hops over a wooden fence. He turns around to see if the unseen hands are still following him, but to his surprise, they aren't. It doesn't take him long to figure out why.
"Die you cultist." Rem pulverizes the member with her Morningstar again, and again, and again. Her body becomes nothing but a bloody mangling of intestines, flesh, and bones. "For attempting to harm my hero, you will die several hundred times over."
"Wow Rem, you saved me again. I'm sorry I can't do anything in battle situations like these."
She shakes her head. "Your strategy, while really dangerous, was key to allowing her to get distracted so I could land a clean hit on her. So thank you for granting that opportunity. Though please, value your life a little more from now on."
He gives her a hearty smile, "Will do. There should be one more finger to go." His smile turns into a frown, though equally as prominent on his face is his determination.
As they head through the village, they eventually find the last finger mercilessly killing dozens of innocent villagers. Subaru and Rem both look on with pure hatred in their eyes. However, before either can make a move, a resounding voice echoes in their ears.
"That's enough, villain."
As everyone turns to the voice in shock, they find Emilia standing not far from everyone, with a palm outstretched. Dozens upon dozens of ice spears release in front of her. None of them hit the cultist, but they do freeze the surrounding area to a degree, putting out the nearby fires.
"Emilia…" Subaru mutters, forgetting the -tan suffix due to looking at her in awe.
"Stand down, villain. I won't allow you to do such wicked things."
The witch cultist instantly has streams of tears going down his face in awe of her speech. "How grand! How wondrous! What a lucky day to be alive!" Several unseen hands pop out from his back, just like all the other fingers.
Subaru is about to go after her to assist her, but Felix grabs his arm and pulls him back.
"What are you doing?! Do you want to make Emilia-tan fight him?!"
"Calm down nya. Have a little faith in her. The people you want to protect are not just those behind you."
The next few minutes go by with Subaru, Rem, and Felix watching Emilia, and eventually Puck, fight against the witch cultist. The witch cultist continuously says that he has finally found the witch and that his love will be returned, with Puck refuting that and saying his crush is one-sided. In the end, Emilia and Puck work together to send a giant crystal of ice barreling towards him, encasing him in it.
"Ah…this is true…true diligence!" The cultist spats out after getting encased in the ice.
Emilia jumps down in front of him and again holds out her palm. "Thank you for being defeated." Putting her outstretched palm just a few inches in front of his chest, she completely encases him in ice, with him laughing like a maniac the entire time.
All throughout the rest of the village, the last few members of the Witch's Cult get defeated.
"See, didn't I tell you?" Felix gives him a smirk.
"Wow, Emilia-sama really can fight." Rem is impressed by the display shown before her. Before this point, she nor anyone in the mansion have really seen her battle like this before.
Julius comes up and informs everyone that all the fingers have been eliminated.
"It's finally over…" Subaru sighs in relief. "It's actually over."
In front of him, Emilia begins to cry, although she makes no audible noises. Tears simply stream down her cheeks, messing up her natural beauty just a little bit.
Felix gives him a light smack on the back, "Go see her!"
He nods and is about to take a step forward when something comes over him. Something very dark and sinister. For a brief second, he lost control of himself. He trembles in place and stares at the ground in fear.
"Subaru-kyun?"
"Subaru-kun? What's wrong?" Rem asks with quickly increasing worry.
Without saying a word, he instantly runs away in the opposite direction of Emilia.
Rem, Felix, and Julius all instantly run after him.
-Deep Forest-
As Subaru runs deep into the forest he internally panics, I have to get away. I have to get away from Emilia-tan. From Rem. From everyone!
He doesn't fully look where he is going and trips on a tree root by accident, falling face first into the dirt below.
"Subaru-kun! What's going on?! Why are you running?!" Rem quickly asks, catching up to him in no time flat. Felix and Julius are right behind her.
"No…you…you have to get away. Get away from me!" He stands up again. Turning around, he says three words in an unfamiliar and eerie tone that makes the three present members' blood turn cold.
"You're too late."
"Subaru-kun…what's going on…?" Rem asks with suspicion and worry. Her words begin to feel like lumps coming out of her throat.
Julius says, "The moment I saw La was flung from his body, I had a bad feeling."
"La?" Rem inquires.
"One of the lesser spirits I command. It was the red one that was traveling with him."
"W-What's the bad feeling you got?" Felix asks.
"That…" Julius points to Subaru. "isn't Subaru-san."
Creepily turning around, these words come out of Subaru's body. "That's right. I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Sloth. Petelguese Romanee-Conti!" Just like in his actual body, Petelguese is able to disgustingly turn Subaru's head a full 90 degrees to his right side.
"How dare you…" Rem grips her Morningstar with all her might. "How dare you take over Subaru-kun's body!"
"Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! What a fantastic body this is!"
"That compliment is utter crap coming from YOU!" She fumes with newfound hatred for Petelguese. Among all the Witch Cult members she has encountered in her life, no one could top Petelguese in terms of utter despicableness, detestableness, and reprehensibleness. Her rage towards him would fuel enough fires to burn down a million earths.
The only reason she hasn't lashed out and grounded him into an absolute pulp yet is because he is inhabiting the very body of her hero. She is sure that his soul still has to be in there somewhere, he just lost control over his body. If she destroyed his body now, she'd likely kill Petelguese, but she'd also kill Subaru in the process. That would utterly devastate her, knowing she would be responsible for his death.
Moving Subaru's body around erratically to the disgust of everyone, he continues, "It's been decades since I've had a body fit me so well!"
"GET OUT OF THAT BODY RIGHT NOW!" Rem screams at him.
"You madman!" Julius draws his sword against Petelguese's neck.
This threat does not phase him in the slightest. In fact, he willingly brings his cheek against the sharp sword, drawing blood instantly. "Madman? That's right. I am driven mad with love!"
"GET OUT!" Rem screams again.
Julius pulls his sword back, realizing it's doing more harm than good.
Arching his head towards the sky, Petelguese continues his rant about love, "Generous love, respectful love, pure love, tender love, familial love, erotic love, friendly love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love! Love!"
"Shut up…SHUT UP about love! You don't know a single damn thing about love! You wretched beast!" Rem trembles in place. While she is saying these things with pure venom and hatred for Petelguese, deep inside she is worried sick about Subaru. Is he alive? Is he fighting to regain control? What's going on with him?!
Petelguese falls to the ground. The three gain a brief hope that Subaru regained control of his body.
"Subaru-san, wake up!" Julius begs.
"Wake up Subaru-kyun!" Felix also begs.
"Subaru-kun, please. Please…" Tears begin to fall from her eyes.
"It's no use." Petelguese fuels their fears, "This body is already under my subconscious control. There's no stopping me."
"Realize what you're about to do Subaru-san!" Julius yells at his body. "Remember what you came back here to do!"
"What?" Petelguese says.
"Don't 'what' me, you moron!" These words also come out of Subaru's body, but unlike before, they appear to sound normal.
Petelguese's voice returns, "I am Petelguese Romanee-Conti! This body has already become my finger!"
While these sentences are said, Subaru's body continuously clutches his head tightly, as if trying to fight a deep internal battle.
"Shut up!" The normal voice returns, "I'm Natsuki Subaru!"
"Subaru-kun! Subaru-kun! Subaru-kun! You're back!" Rem goes to embrace him, but he manages to stumble to Julius first.
"Julius…kill me! Use your sword to…"
"What are you saying Subaru-san?!" He gawks at the idea of killing him.
"Don't you dare Julius! Don't you dare kill him!" Rem manages to get between the two and embrace Subaru.
"Rem…" He gasps, clearly struggling very hard to remain in control. "There's…there's no point. If one of you doesn't kill me now…we can't win this.
"What are you saying Subaru-kun?! There's got to be a way! I'll find a way! I'll find a way to get that damned Petelguese out of your body safely, even if it kills me!"
"She's right! There's no way we can kill you!" Felix aggressively inputs his opinion.
"I cannot do it either." Julius says.
Subaru clenches his chest tightly and tries to put on a brave smile. "I'm…I'm sorry but…I don't think I'm going to make it."
"No…Subaru-kun no…" Rem, nearly bawling now, again embraces him tightly. "Please stay with us…with me…"
He returns the hug as best he can, although it is rather weak as he only has one arm available to embrace her, as the other is still being used to tightly grip his chest. He slowly lowers himself to the ground. Rem eases his fall and gently puts his head on her soft, warm legs.
"Rem…I'm sorry. I…never got to hear your request."
"W-Who cares about that now?! Subaru-kun, I…"
"I care."
"H-Huh?" Her tears, constantly flowing, have now begun to make a giant wet mark on his tracksuit.
"Please…tell me."
She spills all her feelings to him, "Subaru I…I love you. I love you so much. Words…words cannot describe how much I love you. My request is…I want to know. Do you love me? I-I'm so sorry, to request such a selfish thing at th-"
"Yes." He speaks this one word with gentleness, seriousness, and sincereness. "I…I love you Rem. As much…as Emilia-tan."
"Subaru!" She bawls straight into his chest, not caring for how she appears to others at this moment. This is her moment to be with Subaru, and she intends to have it last as long as possible.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end.
"AAAHHH!" Subaru screams as Petelguese nearly manages to take control again.
With the last bit of his available strength and free-will, he looks at all three of his companions and makes one final request to the three of them.
"Please…end me."
Now Felix begins to cry a little as he steps forward.
"NO! You will NOT kill him Felix-san! I will stop you at all costs from doing so!" Rem shouts as she instantly gets up and arms herself with her Morningstar.
"Rem-san." His eyes are physically filled with tears. However, there is a solemn look in his gaze. "I hate this just as much as you do. But, this is his last request, isn't it? It'd be selfish of us not to heed it."
"B-B-But…"
"He'll be at peace. I think this is the best thing we can grant him. Let's put him out of his misery." Julius says with a solemn but clearly somber tone.
"B-B-B-But…" She wants to counter their arguments. She wants to say that they'll find some sort of cure for this problem. However, no words can form out of her mouth.
"Finally! You're one persistent little fella, aren't you?" Subaru's body takes on Petelguese's manner of speech once again, confirming he has lost complete control of his body.
Upon hearing this, Rem falls to her knees in utter defeat. She puts her hands in her light blue hair and pulls it tightly. "What do I have to live for now? If Subaru-kun isn't here, then…"
"I can't…I can't do it. I can't use the power Crusch-sama gave me for this!" Felix shouts.
As Petelguese attempts to stand, Julius quickly kicks him down with his right foot. The latter says, "It was my lack of virtue that forced this undesirable decision on you, Ferri-chan, and Rem-san. I'm sure I'll be punished for it one day."
Petelguese gasps out, "I will never die."
Julius swings his sword at Subaru's body. It inflicts a fatal wound.
Felix continues to cry, seeing one of his friends die in such an unfortunate way.
Rem bawls her eyes out, unable to watch Subaru's body get slashed open. Only the sound of the sword swinging and the sound of spilling blood and guts confirms for her that:
Natsuki Subaru has died.
-Author's Corner-
A/N: Well…that's certainly one gruesome end, isn't it? I admit I actually teared up a bit writing that death scene out.
Here's an interesting note I forgot to include in the last chapter. I spent about half an hour trying to figure out what Emilia should call Roswaal. I couldn't easily find any instances of her referring to him by name. In the end I ended up looking at a few fanfics and determined a few of them have her call him Roswaal with no honorifics, so that's what I went with.
Finally, I've received a couple of comments stating that Rem's behavior regarding Julius is pretty OOC. I don't recall her having any sort of real animosity towards him in the anime, so is this a light novel exclusive interaction? Also, could someone point me to that interview that was mentioned about Tappei saying Rem would've gone ballistic on Julius at the royal selection? If these things can be confirmed, I'll rewrite those scenes involving her and Julius in some way.
Jason 4Rever: Thank you! As for 1. I'll try my best not to. As for 2. I have no plans on disappearing. Updates will likely take a week or 2 each though.
Guest: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter.
AstolfoBrHue: Thank you! Perhaps it'll happen at some point…we shall see.
Anon: Glad you're enjoying the story! I hope you liked this one as well.
Oxidant15p: Thank you for the kind praise! It's sorta difficult to determine whether the characters are acting like themselves or not, but I strive to do the best I can. Thanks for all your advice on Beatrice's speech patterns! I was somewhat aware of her other speech patterns, but I wasn't really sure how they were properly used until you told me. I think the reason a lot of people use only "I suppose" is because the anime, or at least the dubbed version of it, pretty much exclusively has her say that as part of her speech pattern. Thus fanfic writers aren't aware of the other two versions. For now she likely won't appear much, but I'll definitely keep your advice in mind as I write future dialogue for her. For now, I've implemented most of the changes you suggested.
mightiesthacker: Could you guide me in some way towards finding that interview? I looked and could find nothing of the sort. I don't plan on strictly following canon 100%, but I do intend to stay on the general track of it. There will be some major deviances, as you'll later see. I have to disagree with Rem's agenda to keep Subaru all to herself. Yes, if given the opportunity, she'd be more than happy to have him all to herself. However, as we've seen when Subaru attempts to run away with her, she puts his happiness above her own. She's aware of how much he loves Emilia, and is perfectly willing to be the second most important person in his heart. She'd never sabotage Emilia's chance to be with him, not on purpose anyway.
OreosAreYummy: First of all, nice username, I like it! Second of all, thank you! I hope you enjoy the direction I take it in.