A/N: As always, reviews/comments help to tell me how it's all going!~ Stuff's about to get crazy, for real for real-

Chapter Thirteen

Bonds of Sloth

"...That is all that is needed to know, I suppose."

About half an hour had passed since he'd come to the Forbidden Library, and Subaru couldn't help but feel like Beatrice had left out some bits and pieces about them during her explanation– But now he had some sort of basis for how the Witch Cult functioned, and the girl had answered some of his questions that she could.

For a bit, the conversations and cute anger that Beatrice would show on occasion helped to elevate Subaru's mood again, though it was hard to get the image of his last death out of his mind.

From what the girl had told Subaru, the Witch Cult were those who followed the Witch of Envy, Satella, and currently did dastardly things in order to continue her legacy. The Archbishops led the cult, but they were only bound by their devotion to the Witch, and seemingly had no friendly connection to any others within the group.

That sounded like a potential weakness to Subaru, to have their group so divided, but Beatrice insisted that it was not.

"There is power in the fear that they can impose by being so chaotic and unpredictable," she stated, "Betty knows many who have fallen mad to their terror…"

"You sure know a lot more than I would've expected for someone cooped up all the time," Subaru had commented. "Do the sisters or Roswaal come visit often and tell you things about the outside world?"

"Hmph, that fool has read every book in this library already, and others do not bother Betty usually, I suppose… Unlike some strange guest as of late."

Subaru chuckled at that last line. "Well, I needed info, and you're like… A librarian, so that's totally your job."

"Betty has no obligation to you," the girl stated, puffing her cheeks out slightly.

"You coulda banished me til I gave up," he said, cheekily reaching out and poking one of her drills. "Instead, I bet you wanted someone to talk to for once."

Beatrice scowled, and Subaru found himself receiving a face-full of books. Deciding not to pester her too much, less she truly sent him away for good, he spent a while perusing the library… Only to realize it was no good.

My reading skills are still pretty bad, he realized bitterly, putting a book back and returning to the entrance, where he found Beatrice intensely staring at the book on her lap.

"Whatever that book is, you're looking at it like it's calling you names or something."

Beatrice didn't respond. Subaru sighed and rubbed the back of his head, figuring that he might have outstayed his welcome.

I can't just rely on her for all the answers I need… I've got work to do.

As he went to leave, Subaru stopped as he heard a sharp intake of breath. As he turned, he saw Beatrice drop the book to the floor, looking visibly shaken.

"Uh…" Subaru felt concerned, walking over and grabbing the book that had fallen. "Are you.. good?"

"F-For just a second.. Betty saw.. Writing…" The girl was practically gasping out the words.

Confused, Subaru decided to take a look at the book… But that only made his questions grow.

"It's… blank?"

Beatrice's eyes began to tear up, and she snatched the book from his hands, clutching it tightly to her chest, trembling.

"Go… away…"

"Eh..?"

"Go away!" At her shout, books began to flutter around, and an incredibly powerful burst of wind sent Subaru flying out of the room, slamming hard enough into the wall to send him straight into unconsciousness.


"Subaru… Should I even ask?"

Joshua was giving the boy an incredulous look, while Meili sipped at her tea like it was just a normal occurrence by now.

It was the next morning, and Subaru had gathered his two co-conspirators for an important meeting— However, he had a brace on his neck, courtesy Slf Ram after she'd discovered him in a crater in the wall.

Subaru waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, it ain't important— I've got some info that we really need to worry about though."

He had to take a moment, unsure of how to put it. After all, if he misspoke, then perhaps that strange mist would attack.

"I… Spoke to that loli that protects the Forbidden Library, and—"

"Loli…?"

"-and she said that Emilia never returned to the mansion," Subaru finished, shooting a glare at Joshua after he questioned his words. "So this whole thing is bust!"

"She never returned…?" Joshua rubbed his temple. "That does complicate things…"

Meili raised a hand. "The village kids said they saw a weird carriage."

"Bingo!" Subaru gave the girl a thumbs up, thankful she gave that info instead of him having to explain how he already knew. "So the question is… Where the heck did that Roswaal guy take her?"

"Really, you must work on your mannerisms," Joshua muttered.

"Didn't I save your ass from an Assassin?"

Joshua scoffed. "My glorious brother, Sir Julius, would have never let me perish."

Meili sighed and took another sip of tea while the two bickered, until finally Subaru stood up and let out a yell.

"Gah! Sorry, standing so fast really hurt— But let's get back on track!" Rubbing his neck, Subaru motioned with his other hand towards the nearby windows, showing a view of the courtyard down below. "I've got a hunch about some danger that's coming… But I'll need you guys to believe me. It'll sound insane, but I swear that—"

He paused, seeing the neutral expression on Joshua and Meilis faces.

"Huh? You're actually listening?"

"While the way you carry yourself is infuriating, it is undoubtedly that same confidence that has led us to positive outcomes thus far," Joshua commented. "Especially in Picoutatte— Even if it was all under control."

Meili chuckled. "What Mr. Boring means, is we totally trust you when it comes to danger, even if you're a dummy otherwise."

Subaru grinned. "I've never felt more proud to be insulted and praised all at once…! Thanks."

The fact that they trusted him this much made his spirit burn hot, and fueled a new idea in his mind: To fabricate a classic lie that could never be disproven.

"Well, Beatrice, that's the librarian girl, says she's scared that the Witch Cult might attack," he said in a slight whisper, as if not wanting anyone to overhear.

The two in front of him seemed to go a bit pale. He chuckled nervously.

"It's… That bad, huh? I was kinda hoping that it was an exaggeration," Subaru said.

"It is… Quite an alarming concern," Joshua stated, rubbing at his temple. "Is there any basis for it?"

Subaru had to think about that. Why did they want to come here? To finish whatever had happened with the Oni sisters?… No, unlikely— Did they have connections to the Assassin Organization, perhaps?

He glanced at Meili, who narrowed her eyes at him.

"D-Don't look at me, I don't know why those creeps would come here," the girl insisted, crossing her arms.

"Right right… " Subaru raised a hand and dipped his head slightly in an apologetic motion.

"I… Likely know why," Joshua finally spoke up. As the two looked at him expectantly, he seemed to grow nervous, adjusting his monocle and looking away. "I do not know if I can do Lady Anastasia the disservice of saying."

Meili jabbed her elbow into Joshua's side, eliciting a slight gasp from him. "If you keep stuff from us, how are we gonna help?"

Subaru nodded in agreement. "It's now or never. We can't just sit around and wait til bad things happen!"

Especially when the attack happens in two days… He thought.

Joshua sighed and leaned in over the small table between them, and Subaru and Meili did the same.

"Lady Emilia is apparently quite infamous due to her appearance…. As a half-elf with silver hair, she has an unfortunate resemblance to… Her."

"Satella…?"

Joshua shot Subaru a disdainful look. "Yes… Apparently her safety is quite the concern, as most in this world have an issue with the Witch. My brother has known her for quite a while, and after the incident in the Capital, he held heavy regrets for not being able to ensure her safety due to other responsibilities."

"S-Sorry," Meili said softly.

"You do not need to take credit for the unfortunate circumstances, fate merely ended up that way," Joshua reassured her in his own stiff sort of way. "However… If this threat is real, then they incorrectly suspect that Lady Emilia is here, as we may have."

"May have?" Subaru was surprised by his wording.

"You do not fully trust the book-keeper, do you?" Joshua spread his hands before himself. "It would do them a favor to mislead us, would it not?"

Subaru had no way to refute those claims. He had a hunch that Beatrice was telling the truth, especially after multiple encounters with her, but his biased accounts of her wouldn't help to convince anyone.

"That's… fair," Subaru said, shaking his head. "But even if she is here, we can't let the attack happen."

"Precisely. Thus, it would be smart of us to stop them before they reach here," Joshua concluded.

Subaru raised an eyebrow at him. "You say us, but… You might wanna take account of the firepower we've got right now. No Julius, No Captain, No Cat Trio."

"I think I make up all of the muscle here," Meili said confidently. Subaru had to nod in agreement.

"Pretty much! Rem and Ram, and even Beatrice, might he helpful, but as if they'd believe us…" Subaru trailed off as he saw that Joshua was looking at him intently. "W-What?"

"Subaru, your innate ability to get others to your cause is our strongest asset," the violet-haired boy stated. "You must get them to assist us, if you truly believe in a possible attack."

Subaru rubbed his aching neck, thinking about all the time he'd spent trying to do just that, and the harrowing results of those attempts.

It's not as easy as that, he thought, wanting to say that aloud, but knowing it wouldn't do anything… After all, Joshua was right— They were their only chance at surviving what was coming.

"Alright… I get it," Subaru groaned. "But you guys should be somewhere safe."

"Safe? But—"

Subaru interrupted Meili, saying, "The villagers shouldn't get involved, right? If the Mansion is the target, then someone needs to help them out down there. Otto can help too— I bet he's just complaining about being left out there anyways."

The young girl pouted slightly, but didn't seem to have a reason to reject that proposal. Joshua smirked slightly.

"You might make an Iron Fang yet, Subaru— Utilizing your assets properly shows some signs of competence," Joshua commented.

"Gee, thanks…"

With that, they began to construct a plan. It might not be fully realized til the attack began, but Subaru did his best to convey urgency to both of his companions so that they'd be prepared.

By the time their strategy meeting had completed, Subaru put his hand between them. They stared at it.

"Put your hands in, and then we'll let out a cheer," Subaru said. "To keep the spirits up!"

The two of them reluctantly put their hands on his. He lifted the hand pile up and down slightly two times, til the third when he lifted his hand into the air, and proclaimed:

"Team Suba-Shua-Li, go!"

Joshua and Meili stared at him blankly, their hands also raised, but didn't repeat the words.

"… We'll work on it," Subaru muttered, defeated by the awkwardness of the failed cheer.


The rest of the day and into the next morning, Subaru stayed more vigilant than he ever had before.

After all, there had been some kind of explosion when the Witch Cult had attacked. In a world of magic, it could have been any number of things— But Subaru couldn't write off a more traditional way of doing the deed.

All entire upper floors collapsed, like it was coordinated, he thought, remembering how they'd fallen straight down to the foyer.

Subaru began to notice some things he hadn't before. There seemed to be some villagers that would arrive on occasion, giving certain things to Ram, which he assumed were supplies. It seemed like, while Subaru was learning with Rem, her sister had been busy with other matters like that.

Nothing unusual there… Unless…?

Subaru had noticed one of the men who had come with a wagon of some sort of carpet slink away while someone else spoke with Ram. He made his way towards one corner of the Mansion, while Subaru watched with wide eyes.

What the hell…?

The man produced a sack from his person, and placed it amongst the hedging. After making sure it was hidden, he quickly went off to return to the wagon.

Silently praying that he was wrong, Subaru slowly approached the bag, removing it with shaky hands and opening it.

"Wha…?"

Inside the bag were peculiar orange stones. Somehow he had been expecting something else, like a pipe bomb or something that would be easily be discernable… But some crystals?

Is Ram doing some shady under the table deals..?! Where she'd come get these stones as payment once she did something bad?

The strange thought was all Subaru could think of, before he heard a voice behind him.

"What are you doing over there…?"

Subaru quickly turned, hiding the sack behind his back as he smiled nervously at Rem, who was looking at him incredulously.

"N-Nothing! I was just… I uh… Noticed some missing trim here—"

Rem's eyes went to his poor attempt at hiding what he was holding. "Is that sack… glowing?"

Confused, Subaru lifted the sack from hiding, and sure enough, a visible glow was emanating from it now.

"Uh…."

Thankfully, before Subaru blew himself up, Rem had managed to cast a flurry of ice to encapsulate it, before taking it and tossing it towards the nearby forest. The ensuing explosion made the trees tremble and rustle loudly, and Subaru gawked at the close call.

"What the hell were those?!"

Rem turned to him with a dark expression. He held his hands up innocently.

"I uh… I know what this looks like—-!"


Subaru soon found himself tied to a chair in his room, watching as Ram entered, looking at him like he was a bug waiting to be squashed.

"Barusu, why did you wish to destroy the mansion?"

"I-I didn't, dammit! It was that guy who came to the mansion!"

Ram narrowed her eyes at him. "The one from the village?"

"Yeah, he looked super suspect so I followed him and…" He struggled at the rope bindings holding him in place. "He placed whatever the hell those crystals were!"

"They only exploded because you moved them around so much," Ram said. "They were probably volatile fire crystals of sorts."

Subaru blinked at her. "Oh… Well, er…"

The girl put a hand to her chin in thought. "I wonder if you are more devious than you let on…"

Subaru scowled. "Listen to me! It wasn't—"

"Sister, I have successfully gotten information from the man," Rem said as she entered. "It is true, what Subaru has said."

"Aha!… Ah!" Letting out a triumphant noise, Subaru accidentally moved too much in his chair and ended up falling over.

"Hm… This is an pre-emptive attack on Master Roswaal, is it not?"

"Or…!" Subaru wriggled around to be able to speak. "W-What if they wanted to target Emilia?"

The two sisters exchanged a look. Subaru quickly wondered if he'd made himself suspicious again, and had those worries confirmed as they moved towards the door.

"Don't move, Barusu—"

"How the hell would I do that?!"

Left in bitter silence for a short while, the two maids returned with an annoyed looking Beatrice eventually.

"Why must you be a constant pain in Betty's side?"

"I'm not some damned terrorist," the boy muttered from the floor. "Didn't you drain my mana and find that out?"

"This is true, I suppose… But you talked about targeting Emilia?" The girl came close, and Subaru suddenly got lifted by wind magic to sit upright. "Is this why you asked Betty about the Witch Cult?"

There was a visible reaction from the two maids behind Beatrice. Subaru gulped, and slowly nodded, not wanting to look at them.

"Y-Yeah… We had a hunch," he said plainly.

I'm totally gonna get ripped apart or something! They've gotta think I'm a crazy man— he thought, until support came from the last person Subaru expected.

"That man, he… He had a faint trace of the scent," Rem commented, looking towards the floor as she seemed to be holding herself back as best she could.

Ram grasped her sister's hand. "The Witch…?"

Rem nodded solemnly. "I may have gone too far because of that" she muttered.

Her sister squeezed her hand tighter. "You got the information we desired, sister. I do not blame you."

Subaru let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps Rem's rage was subdued a bit after letting it out on that guy, but it also presented an opportunity to offer an extension of gratitude and, perhaps, some sort of understanding.

"Thanks, Rem. I'm pretty bad at clearing my own name, it seems like," Subaru said with a chuckle.

The blue-haired maid stared at him for a moment, before bowing slightly, something that was almost a hint of a smile appearing on her face– To Subaru, it was a start.

"You are also bad at many housekeeping tasks," she commented.

"…And hopeless at being polite."

Subaru gasped dramatically. "Beako, do you at least have something nice to say?"

"Now what made you think you can call Betty that, I wonder…" The girl looked sternly down at him. "If this threat is true after all… Then you may be better off running away."

"Eh? They can't be that tough, can they?"

Subaru spoke nonchalantly, but he, of course, knew exactly what to expect. Enemies who moved silently and struck in the night, and someone with a crazy ability that Subaru had no information about at all.

"To underestimate the Cult, is to suffer a painful death, I suppose," Beatrice commented. "I will do my duty, and you–"

"H-Hey! Don't just lock yourself up in the damned library," Subaru exclaimed, wriggling in the chair. "Can't you help us out?"

"I… Am not contracted to this Mansion, nor to that man–"

"But if the whole place gets destroyed, then that puts the library at risk too, doesn't it?"

Beatrice scowled. "Your foolish logic cannot sway Betty's oath… Hm?" The girl looked surprised as she turned away from Subaru, only to find the two maid sisters bowing towards her.

"Please, Lady Beatrice," Ram began, "Our Master is to return soon– We cannot allow the Mansion to fall to ruin."

"Please, Lady Beatrice," Rem echoed, "Your wisdom can guide us through these trying times. Master Roswaal has always spoken greatly of you."

"Wisdom huh? So she really is a super ancient lo–"

Before Subaru could finish, Beatrice kicked his chair over. He let out a curse as he tumbled over, the girl sighing.

"Betty can offer some assistance, I suppose… But it will come at a price."

Subaru finally managed to escape his bindings, shooting up to snap at them about knocking him over so much, til he saw Beatrice extend a small hand towards him. He gazed at it, then at the seriousness in those butterfly-laiden eyes.

"You will repay all the mana Betty uses," she stated, "With your own, Natsuki Subaru."

He didn't even have to contemplate it, reaching out to grasp her hand, grinning.

"Yeah yeah, you've got a deal."

Subaru wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he could feel something happen when he said that. That was when

"To make a contract with Lady Beatrice so easily, you are bold, Barusu," Ram commented.

"Contract? It was just a friendly kinda deal," he said with a laugh, before it hit him at once. "Contract? Like… Like a…?"

There was silence for a moment, before someone nearly burst out into laughter. Subaru expected it to be Ram, but saw that Rem had hid her face behind her sister, and was shaking slightly to hold herself back.

"Barusu… You did not figure out that she is a spirit?"

Subaru gulped and looked down to Beatrice, her expression looking a bit more devious than it had before.

"You are as helpless as they say, I suppose~"


When the next day had arrived, the next part of their plan had been initiated. After the first bomb was intercepted, there were no more that had arrived, which was worrying– If they messed with the Witch Cult's attack plan too much, it might actually change it enough to where Subaru would have no idea what to do next.

I've got backup at least, he thought as he watched Meili and Joshua head off with Otto towards the village that morning. As long as they stay safe, then we'll take care of things here!

The plan was a sort of bait-and-trap scenario. Rem, using her talent for creating ice with Water Magic, was able to create a sort of false capsule of frost, filled with bags of flour to slightly resemble a person within. It probably wasn't perfect, but according to Ram, it would work until they got close, at least.

Subaru, with a little bit of lessons with Beatrice, was able to lend a bit more support than he would have normally.

"Shamak, huh," Subaru muttered, looking down at his hands, feeling a bit of excitement at learning a new spell– The slight feeling of mystical wonder he'd felt on his first day returning.

"As you are, you will probably just explode if you use it recklessly," Beatrice told him, "But it seems that your teacher has helped you dampen your weak Gate's power, I suppose."

"The last time I tried to use a spell and let loose, I couldn't do it," Subaru said bitterly. "Some kind of teacher, huh?"

"Of course you will not be able to control your mana flow properly– You are practically a child."

"That's rich coming from you," Subaru said cheekily, only to get blown over by a blast of wind.

By the time the Sun was beginning to set, everything was in place. While Subaru hadn't convinced them himself that the Witch Cult was going to attack on this night, Beatrice had said something about having an idea of when it would happen herself. He wondered if it was related to that strange, blank book she had been staring at… But that was something to ask her another time.

"What are the odds that your Master swoops in and saves our asses if this goes wrong," Subaru asked Ram as they waited near the foyer.

"I do not think Master Roswaal would return at this late hour," Ram answered plainly. "Though he does have strange reasons for doing certain things."

"Would he like you calling his reasons strange?" Subaru nudged the girl.

Ram looked at him sternly, and he got the hint, holding up his hands innocently. After that, the two remained quiet, lurking in the darkness of the Mansion. As night fell, it became more and more quiet, the eerie silence smothering Subaru as his nerves grew by the moment.

What if they don't strike because we got rid of their bombs? He wondered. What if the plan changes and this was all for nothing? Are Li and Joshua alright…?

As his mind wandered, there was the slightest sound from outside, like a shift in the wind. Ram tensed up, and Subaru leaned in close.

"Was that…?"

Ram nodded silently. Subaru gulped, knowing that Rem must have communicated with her sister via the strange link that they held. The pink-haired maid closed her eyes, and Subaru watched as she focused intensely for a few moments, before seeming to return to consciousness, facing him.

"There are many of then coming, quickly."

"What was that? Did you do something?"

Ignoring his question, Ram's eyes widened. She looked towards the nearby window, which had the curtains drawn, and then suddenly pushed Subaru along.

"Run–!"

By the time Subaru saw the ball of flame glowing through the curtains, they had barely managed to jump out of the way as it crashed into the wall they had been hiding in moments before. As they ran, more began to sail right into the windows every few seconds, til the entire hallway was engulfed in flames, trapping them right in the center of it.

"Even with no signs of life, they're really going this hard from the start," Subaru muttered, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve.

"El Fura!" She held out a hand towards the flames heading towards the foyer, blades of wind firing out from her to push apart the fire. "Come on, we cannot waste time."

They headed back to where they had been before, finding that half of the foyer had already gone ablaze. The fake stand-in ice casket atop the steps was showing signs of glistening as the heat grew in the room, not even the last freeze it had undergone not long ago able to handle it.

Dammit, that crazy guy better get in here quick or else–

The front doors to the mansion exploded open. Subaru watched in horror as strange, dark arms wriggled their way inside, before pulling the source of them into the room, his breath catching for a second as he recognized the person they were attached to

The man was incredibly thin and pale, and looked nearly like a living corpse as he practically floated inside, his phantom appendages hoisting him up.

"Well well… This is certainly interesting," he sneered with a wicked grin that flickered in the firelight.

Then, to Subaru's horror, he looked straight towards them.

It wasn't like they were able to hide anymore, but it seemed like he almost expected them there. Ram stepped forward, quickly raising a hand towards him.

"El Fura!"

Once again, blades of wind shot outwards– But as Subaru watched, more of the strange hands seemed to erupt from the man's back, coming forward to intercept the attacks. Ram seemed surprised by this.

"Will magic not work…?"

The man snickered and came closer, one of the hands shooting forward, right towards Ram. Subaru tensed up, but noticed that Ram's face was one of focus, and not worry for whatever was coming at her. For some reason, Subaru had a terrifying thought, and acted on his concern, jumping into her and pushing her out of the way, the hand slamming into the wall where she had been a moment before.

"Hmmm… That is…" The man's grin faltered as his two opponents slowly rose. "A lucky move? One born of ones pure, chaotic nature?" He let out a roar of laughter, his smile returning. "Yes, that is all! That. Is. All!"

Nearly a dozen more of the shadowy hands burst outwards towards them. Once again, Subaru grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her to the side to avoid some, but others split off and came right for them.

"Ram, can you not see those things?!"

As Subaru braced for impact, the girl suddenly pushed him away and yelled, "Ul Fura!"

Stumbling away, Subaru quickly found out why she had moved him away. The air around Ram seemed to shift and change into a violent maelstrom, the smoke and fire around her getting caught up in its wake to get smothered out completely.

"A truly, truly wonderful fighting spirit," the man said with a cackle. "It is so wonderful!"

"I will not speak to scum like you," the girl spat,

The hands that they had avoided earlier began to circle back, trying to encapsulate them in their grasp.

"Ram, behind…!"

"Duck, Barusu!"

Subaru dove to the ground, just as the violent storm around Ram began to fire off in various directions, shredding straight through many of the oncoming hands, as well as destroying much of the foyer around them and nearly slicing through their foe as well, the man having to dance around in the air to barely avoid the onslaught.

"Brilliant, Brilliant! You are truly beloved, are you not?!"

Daring to look up, Subaru was surprised to find that the man's eyes were locked on him, not the Oni attacking him. That was when something tugged at his leg, and Subaru looked, seeing one of the hands grasping his ankle.

"Ram– Agh!"

As he was pulled away, Ram watched in horror, the wind around herself beginning to falter, her breathing growing heavier.

Subaru struggled as two more of the hands grasped one of his arms and one of his legs, feeling like they were going to rip him apart as he was held right in front of the man, who came down to examine him closely.

"Hmm…" He squinted, leaning forward and getting a bit too up close and personal. "You do not seem to hold the qualities of someone beloved by her." The hands shook Subaru slightly, the man holding a hand to his ear towards Subaru's body, as if listening for something inside. "Hmmm… No no no, you are not loved at all, are you? And yet, you can see the Unseen Hands? Hmm.."

"Get away from me, you damned freak…!"

The man grinned and moved back just as a blade of wind flew between him and Subaru. The hands around his limbs began to squeeze, making Subaru let out a yell of pain that stopped Ram's next attack.

"I, on the other hand, am beloved by her gracious palms," the man said in an oddly fluttering voice. "I… am–"

"...Geuse?"

The man's mouth stayed open as he heard that gentle voice speak. He slowly looked over towards the foyer steps, where Beatrice stood, gazing at him with eyes quivering with tears. Subaru barely managed to turn his head to her, confused by the reaction.

"Bea… grr…" Subaru winced as the hands seemed to tighten even more on him.

"Hmm? A… spirit? A filthy, indignant spirit would interrupt, me?!"

Suddenly, the hands flung Subaru across the room, discarding him like trash. Before he suffered awful injuries from the force of the impact, Ram leaped in to grab him, both of them falling to the ground and tumbling, carried by his momentum. While it gave them a few new bruises, it was preferred to exploding against the wall, Subaru figured.

"What the hell is this guy…" He rubbed his head, slowly sitting up and watching as the man slowly brought himself towards Beatrice.

"I, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti– Archbishop of the Witch Cult," the man sneered, humor lost in his face. Two of his Unseen Hands slowly began to move to either side of Beatrice, stalking closer to her. "And who are you, but a lost, vile soul?"

Tears were streaming down Beatrice's face. She didn't seem to react to the hands approaching her, so Subaru prepared himself to yell to her– But the smoke that was filling the room sent him into a spiral of coughs. He slowly stood, bracing against the wall, trying to get closer.

"Barusu…" Ram's voice made him look over, seeing the girl rising to a knee. "You should… Flee."

Coughing, Subaru looked towards the scene up on the steps again. Beatrice lifted a shaky hand towards Petelgeuse, a dark grin appearing on his face as the hands encircled her head.

"Is this… Betty's fate?"

Subaru could see it now, the crushing force of the Unseen Hands crushing her head right then and there– If such a thing was possible for a spirit. Everything would be for not– There was no way that he would let anyone die here, especially after he'd asked for Beatrice's help…

I'll show you..! Subaru thought, remembering how the maids and the spirit had harassed him for being worthless. I'm not useless… I'm.. Natsuki Subaru…!

That's when Subaru found himself using whatever remaining energy he had to burst up through the flaming stairs, rushing towards Beatrice, who was slowly lowering her hand, seemingly unable to do anything against her opponent.

"SHAMAK!"

A black mist exploded outwards from Subaru, clouding most of the foyer in a magical mist that made it impossible to sense where one was. For a moment, it reminded Subaru of how it felt when he tried to explain Return By Death. In his panic, he stumbled forward, waving his arms frantically, expecting to run into Beatrice– But somehow, he'd gotten turned around, and ended up walking right off the side railing of the stairs, plummeting to the floor below.

Letting out a yell, Subaru was saved when a gust of wind blasted beneath him, bouncing him onto the ground with much less force, landing towards the broken front entrance.

"Dammit… I'm tired of getting… thrown around," Subaru muttered, coughing as he slowly lifted his head up from the floor.

Beatrice landed beside him, landing softly as if she weighed nothing. As he looked up at her tear-stained face, he didn't know what to say– Luckily, no words from him were necessary. Whatever had to happen, Beatrice knew exactly what she was going to do.

"Betty will expect her payment in full," the girl said softly in a hoarse voice, which Subaru presumed was due to her emotional state, and not because of the smoke around them.

Subaru rose to his feet, wiping away soot from his face as he stood behind her, looking up towards the looming figure of Petelgeuse as he slowly descended from the magical darkness of Shamak, cackling as more of his Unseen Hands exploded out from him.

"If ya' keep me alive, then that's a bet."

The face of death descended down upon Subaru and Beatrice in the hellscape that was once the foyer– And the battle for the Mathers Manor reached its peak.

To Be Continued

Next Chapter: Bonds of Greed