Chapter 30: Hell awaits
Subaru charges at Elsa and tries to give in a powerful attack yet she manages to deflect all of the boy's attacks before attempting to disembowel him only for Beatrice to provide the boy cover. Subaru appreciated this and quickly went on the offensive against Elsa, having remembered her movements from the three times she had fought her. Having this knowledge gave him the slight advantage in deflecting some of her attacks before attempting to land a hit. While this is going on, Meili smiles and quickly sends in a couple of Mabeast to assist Elsa in the fight. Subaru took notice of this and quickly jumped away from the Bowel hunter to turn his attention towards the Mabeast for a quick moment. He casted Thunder to destroy the Mabeast before he returned to facing Elsa only for the Bowel hunter to land a kick on the boy's face. This caused Subaru's nose to break while Beatrice quickly casted a multitude of purple icicles to attack Elsa, pushing the Bowel hunter back for a moment to allow Subaru to regain his strength to get back into the action.
"Hurry up, I suppose!"
"Sorry! I wasn't expecting a kick to the fucking face."
"My that's not a nice thing to say."
"Shut up Elsa!"
Subaru got up and casted Cure on himself in order to heal his nose before returning back into the fight, this time with his motivation being that he needs to save this loop since it may be the only one that will allow him to have his Master and Emilia know that he can Return by Death. Not wanting to lose the best loop he has had, he started to aim in killing Elsa which she noticed. She smiled and started to go a bit serious on the fight, showing just how different their strengths are. As she was overwhelming the boy, she took a chance in stabbing Subaru in his left eye, causing him to lose his focus due to the pain he was enduring. As Subaru left himself open, Elsa immediately kicked the boy away from her, disappointed in how he is still a novice compared to Sora.
"That is quite disappointing, you are being trained by one of the strongest opponents I've ever encountered and yet you are a novice."
"He is a disappointment, I suppose, but I won't let you harm him."
"My, I'm surprised by how close you two are. Mind if I ask how is it you care for this weak boy?"
Beatrice looked at Subaru, seeing that he was in pain which made her go and heal his eye as she did not wish for Subaru to continue being in pain. While doing this, she answered Elsa's question in a confident tone.
"He has his uses, I suppose."
Elsa was unsure on how to take the response she got so she just shrugged it with an indifferent opinion. While Elsa waited until Beatrice was ready for a fight, Meili was preparing to send the Mabeast to attack the two yet Elsa told the little girl to stop.
"Why Elsa?"
"I want to wait until they are ready for a fight. It's not fun when they are not giving it their all."
"Okay."
Meili was surprised by this yet she listened to Elsa while Beatrice managed to heal Subaru's eye. As this happened, she whispered something to the boy.
"You told Betty that you would change the dark future awaiting for us all, I suppose. How do you propose to do that, in fact?"
Subaru stood silent when she heard what Beatrice asked her, knowing that whatever he says will be more than important if he wants to save this loop from failing like his previous ones. He closes his and takes a moment to think before finally giving Beatrice an answer,
"Because, we have Sora. He will guide us to a brighter future."
"Hmpt. You told Betty such grandiose things of changing the future but if you are saying that Sora will save us all, then I will trust your word, I suppose."
Beatrice got up and turned towards Elsa before summoning a swarm of purple icicles which got the Bowel hunter excited.
"Have a good taste of mana arrows of stagnant time, I suppose!"
All of the purple icicles get thrown in unison directly at Elsa, forcing the Bowel hunter to give it her all in deflecting each and every icicle.
"One look at an attack like this is enough to-"
Elsa paused herself as she felt something off, causing her to gain some distance from Beatrice to check on her hand. She looks and notices that her hand is covered in some sort of purple ice that is rapidly increasing by the second.
"Well, this was a mistake on my part."
"I'm much older than you. Now fall apart where you stand, I suppose!"
Beatrice closed her hand and began to send more purple icicles directly at Elsa, creating an explosion of purple mist around the Bowel hunter. As purple mist begins to clear, they see Elsa's body with her head and both of her arms gone. Subaru and Beatrice had their guards lowered when they saw that the frozen dead Elsa's corpse begins to fall to the ground and break into many pieces. As this happens, Sora and Replica Riku both jump towards Subaru's position with the two slightly injured.
"Master Sora, Asshole, how are you two working together? What happened to Capella?"
"Riku and I managed to team up against her once she turned into a dragon. We managed to knock her out but not for long."
"Wait, weren't you in that final form of yours?"
"Hehe so I might have used up a lot of my energy so I'm low on strength at the moment but I can still fight!"
"Well as long as you are okay Master is all that matters."
'Man this loop is turning out to be in our favor.' Subaru thought to himself as he began to smile, feeling hopeful. Subaru smiled as they all lowered their guard until he felt a shift in the air, something that struck him in his core. He looked at Sora and saw that he was stabbed in the back by Replica Riku.
"Master Sora!"
"Sora!"
Both Subaru and Beatrice were shocked by this yet filled with anger towards Replica Riku while the organization member enjoyed his victory.
"Sorry but I just want to take you out to prove just how incompetent of a guardian you ar-"
Replica Riku was also surprised by the sting he had in his back, which caused him to slowly turn towards his back side to see Elsa with a sadistic smile.
"What...?"
"My, you have such different insides than expected for a young boy."
"You...little..."
Subaru and Beatrice were shocked by this as they had thought Elsa had been killed by Beatrice's attack. First thing Subaru did was try to heal his master yet he realized that he ran out of magic strength, causing him to run towards Sora as he was beginning to fade away with Subaru holding his master.
"Master Sora...please don't die..."
"Hehe...don't worry Subaru...you'll be able to save us all...that's why I'm not afraid...but in the case you don't make it back in time...just know that I'm proud of you, you really made me...feel like I could be an actual keyblade master..."
"No, Master Sora! Please...!"
Elsa looked at Replica Riku for a moment before tossing him to the side, having seen that there is nothing useful to see anymore. She then approached Sora and for some reason she felt sad but ignored it within the few seconds she felt sadness. She looked at Sora very closely and saw that he was disappearing like if he was a spirit, making her to ask,
"Are you a spirit by any chance? I've never seen a normal human die like this."
Subaru looked at his master with sadness as the keyblade master disappeared right in front of him, leaving Subaru's soul damaged as he saw that this loop had gotten worse. Before he could do anything, they all hear a sinister feminine voice speak,
"That is a shame, I was hoping the boy was mine to kill. Oh how unloved he was. Hahahaha."
"You bitch..."
Subaru spoke with anger towards Capella, not liking how she was disrespecting his master. Before he could get up and do everything he can to fight off the Sin Archbishop of Lust, Beatrice approached him and said to the broken boy,
"This will be my last act, I suppose."
"Act? What are you talking about?"
"I will only save you...as a way to pay for my inability to save that person...forgive me, I suppose."
"Beatrice, what are you-?"
Beatrice pulled her hand directly towards Subaru and created a glowing light around the boy, causing him to disappear from the scene. As he was disappearing, all he could see was a little girl he cared about giving a sad smile at him before his vision was blinded by light.
Damn it Natsuki Subaru...you should've done this by yourself...this is all your fault for not being strong...I should have died instead of Master Sora. This is all my fault. Damn it why am I not fucking strong...fuck!
Subaru woke up back in the same cell he was in back when Garfiel didn't trust him at all in the previous loop. He walked outside and saw that it was snowing a couple days early with it being night time. This caused Subaru to fear the worst since he knows that snow is never a good thing. He walks around the forest on his own for a bit until he notices Ryuzu in the same attire he saw her his first time in Sanctuary.
"Ryuzu...can you help me out? I'm lost."
Subaru's voice is broken as he is still grieving the death of his master even though his Return by Death could reset and save everyone, he finds this situation much more difficult than with Petelgeuse and the White Whale. Ryuzu looked at Subaru for a moment before approaching the boy and grabbing his hand, leading the way for him towards Sanctuary. As he was being led by Ryuzu to the Sanctuary, all Subaru could think about is how he failed everyone in this loop. He failed his knight friends, he failed Beatrice, Frederica, Petra, Rem, and he failed his Master. The last thing he needs to do now is make sure Emilia is safe since he is going to inform her that he might end up using Return by Death to save his master and all those lost in the mansion.
As he was being walked by a Ryuzu, Garfiel is approached by Ryuzu Bilma to inform him that the eyes of the Sanctuary have spotted Subaru.
"The hell da ya mean one of em is guidin him?!"
"Young Su is with one of Ryuzu. He doesn't appear to be with Young So."
"What?!"
Garfiel begins to get angry when hearing this, surprised that only Subaru is returning to Sanctuary without Sora. This made him suspicious yet all he could do is observe Emilia's trial with Kenichi and Naoko. As the four are all awaiting for the trial, Subaru had joined them with one of the Ryuzus guiding him towards the trial. Garfiel noticed him and quickly charged at him and grabbed his throat.
"Ya got the fuckin nerve to return back here without ya master!"
"Hey asshole, leave my son alone!"
Kenichi quickly approached Garfiel and punched him in the head with lots of force, causing Garfiel to let his grip on Subaru to hold the injury on his head received by Kenichi. Naoka and Kenichi both hugged their son as he made it back to them safely.
"My baby, I'm glad you are safe."
"Yes, I'm glad you are okay as well my son. What happened to your master?"
"...Master Sora...he is dead..."
"What?!" Kenichi and Naoko were both shocked to hear this as they saw the broken voice in their son when he was speaking while Garfiel looked with an angry expression. He had not expected the one who nearly bested him to have died so easily, which makes him angry since he never got the chance to defeat Sora.
"Who killed em?"
"...some asshole who was taken down by the Witch's cult..."
"Da fuck!"
"I'm so sorry my son."
Kenichi hugged his son tightly as he knew how close Sora and Subaru were with the interactions they saw the day they arrived in the new world. As the Natsuki family were all together, Garfiel managed to recover from his small sting in his head and approached Subaru.
"Oy! Go in there'n get the princess! She's been there all day."
"What do you mean she's been there all day?"
"Emilia told us that she needed to pass the Sanctuary before the snow came so she decided to take the trail as long as it takes until she succeeds."
"What?"
Subaru, worried for Emilia's health, goes into the graveyard to check up on her, with fear in his heart that something bad happened to her as well. As he begins to enter the graveyard, Kenichi and Naoko were tempted to go follow their son to make sure their future Daughter-in-law is safe as well yet Garfiel grabbed the two to tell them,
"Don't! Ya two aren't qualified!"
"But we have to help Emilia and our son!"
"I'm not lettin ya!"
Garfiel got in front of the two and crossed his arms, showing that he will not let them enter the tomb. Kenichi was preparing himself to fight off against Garfiel only for Naoko to tell her husband to stop, knowing that he wouldn't stand a chance against Garfiel. Naoko and Kenichi both looked at the graveyard to silently pray for their son to save Emilia.
Subaru entered the graveyard and started to run quickly towards the room where he along with Sora and Emilia took the first trial, afraid that she is dead. As he enters the room, he notices Emilia standing there for a moment before turning towards his direction, calling his name in question at first before running towards him to make sure she is seeing him. As she got closer, she became extremely happy,
"Subaru? Subaru! I'm so happy."
All that Subaru has in his mind is that Emilia is safe, causing him to hug her tightly, not wanting to let her go while Emilia was stunned at this.
"S-Sorry...I'm just happy you are not dead...because Master Sora is dead..."
Emilia had a blank face for a moment before hugging Subaru back with a smile, enjoying the warmth she is receiving with the hug. There was a moment of silence before Subaru started to ask,
"Emilia...what happened with the trial?"
"Trial..."
"That's right, the Trial. I'm sorry Master Sora and I made you go through it alone. I want to apologize for that, and I want to know what happened. Really, it couldn't bother me in the least whether it was a failure...considering that I failed to save my Master..."
"Failure, yes, a failure. I can't overcome the first Trial, my past. And all this when you were expecting from me, and worried about me, I'm sorry."
"Ah, it's alright. Don't worry about it."
Subaru was angry with himself since he knows that he should've tried to solve everything on his own since now Master Sora is dead because he allowed him to join in the fight against Capella, Meili, and Elsa. He sits down and takes a moment to breathe in hopes that he can think clearly yet everything would shift when Emilia's face was close to his while speaking to her.
"Subaru, don't you sometimes want to touch my hair? Well I was thinking, sometimes I also want to do things like this to you. Hehehe, Subaru, sooo many openings."
"Emilia?"
"I thought, what if it went on, what if it went on that you abandoned me and left me behind, restart the world without me, what would I do...I thought about it so, soo, soo much. I thought that would be sooo scary. And so, when you came back to me, I was happy."
"..."
"Subaru. Why don't we be together forever? Be with me. Don't die and restart. Darling if I could only have you, then, there's nothing I would ever need any more-"
"..." Subaru was silent by this, had he wished to win Emilia be in love with him but not like this, not in a scary and obsessive manner that is unhealthy. He took a distance from Emilia while listening to her speak and speak with fever.
"Subaru, when you left me with your parents, I did felt nice learning more about your past and how you were sooo obsessed in being like your father. You even went so far as to act like him, trying to become him."
'Damn it, I didn't want her knowing that much of my past. Dang it mom, dang it dad.'
"But then I remembered how many times you died so you could save me, making me really happy. You are amazing Subaru. I wanted to repay you for all the times you had to suffer because I was weak, so I took on the trial again and again and again and again. And then you came in here and it made me really happy, which made me realize something. When I saw you just now, I couldn't stop it any more. In my chest, in the deepest part, there's a little me who's calling your name, Subaru. And so, I wanted to reach out like this, touch you, so much..."
"..."
"Subaru. I'm sorry for up to now. I've always been doing something awful. This is how you felt about me, and I always made you have to cope. That was something sooo awful of me, right now, I sort of understand. Feeling like this, but still having to cope, was really painful for you. You were coping and I was being so selfish. I was supposed...to want to think about you, to understand you, but I didn't understand you at all. I even tried to push you away when we first met. I left you in the capital all by yourself to cope. But, not any more. Now I'm always thinking about you, Subaru. Always thinking of you. And the same way you said you...love me, how you think that about me...now I might also...want to think like that about you, maybe."
"..."
"Or I mean, I'm sorry. That was unfair of me. You might've been scared, and not known what I'd think, but Subaru, you told me clearly. And so, me too, I'll say it clearly. I will state. I love you, Subaru."
Subaru walked out with his eyes completely stale while his parents went towards his position to check up on him. Garfiel and Ryuzu were both not sure on how to take this and were slightly unhappy with Emilia not being with Subaru.
"My son, what happened in there?"
"..."
"My baby, where is Emilia?"
"..."
"Oy! What the hell happen't princess?!"
"...If you mean Emilia...she said she loves me."
"Huh?" Garfiel looked at Subaru with anger in his eyes, not liking the response he got. Subaru continued to speak in a non caring attitude.
"She said she loves me, and as long as she has me, she doesn't need anything else."
"You bastard..." Garfiel's body begins to glow in red aura with his body growing slightly each passing second as his rage is what's causing him to transform. Kenichi and Naoko both looked at their son with a shocked expression when they heard this, beginning to puzzle that Emilia's mind must have broken. Subaru continued to speak.
"With that cute face, in that cute voice, so close that we could've melted together...That's what she said."
"You think this is the time for-"
"There's no way Emilia would say she loves me!" Subaru turned towards Garfiel with rage coming from his mouth, causing Garfiel to be stunned by this as he did not expect Subaru to say these words alongside Naoko and Kenichi. Before any of them could question Subaru, he continued to rant.
"Like there's any chance she'd ever say that. That she doesn't need anything else...Never."
"Wh-What are you-"
Subaru fell to his knees with his parents by his side, everyone watching as the boy continued to speak in sadness.
"If only Puck was by her side, if only I came here faster...there's no way she would fall all over me like that. Someone pushed her to the point that she had no choice but to rely on me."
Garfiel attempts to get closer to Subaru to interrogate him yet Kenichi with a knife on his hand gets in between the two, ready to defend his son. This annoyed Garfiel which caused him to yell at Subaru, "So that's why there's snow everywhere?! Drag't half-witch out here! If ya can't do that-"
"Bring Emilia out here and have her stop the snow? I can't do that."
"Why da fuck not?!"
"Emilia's not the one who's making it snow. It's someone else."
"Someone else?!"
"Where is Roswaal?"
Subaru asked his parents to stay there and wait in case Emilia tried to leave the graveyard while Garfiel and him went to confront Roswaal, both of them angry for different reasons. As the two confront Roswaal, he begins to speak to the two in a calm manner,
"Well, Well. Whaaaaaat an unusual pair you two make."
"You're the one making it snow in the Sanctuary, aren't you, Roswaal?"
Roswaal's smile went away within the second Subaru finished asking his question.
"Subaru-kun, did you hear that from me?"
Subaru stood silent as he noticed the question Roswaal asked, making him a bit confused yet he didn't want the magician to know that. Roswaal can tell that he is getting no response, making him understand the problem of asking that question.
"Hmm...I see."
"Ya not gonna deny it?!"
"I could feign ignorance, but you two clearly have some grounds for asking me this, so I suppose I shall respect that."
"Ha! Thanks a whole damn lot, dumbass! Maybe I oughta show a little respect for your stupidity, too!"
Ram noticed that Garfiel was attempting to harm Roswaal, causing her to get in between the two.
"I will not allow you to insult Roswaal-sama."
"This is no time for you to butt in!"
"It's you who needs to back off, Garf!"
"I don't wanna have to take this out on you."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds with determination before all of a sudden they felt something going through their chest, with Subaru in complete shock by this.
"Ram...You truly are an excellent servant."
Garfiel's mouth started to fill up with blood before he coughed, with some pieces of blood hit on Ram's face before he fell to the ground. As his back hits the ground, he grabs his chest in pain, bleeding out. Roswaal approaches Ram's ear to tell her,
"I am a man of my word. I shall offer this soul to you."
As Roswaal finishes speaking, he pulls his hand out of Ram's chest to see her fall to the ground with a smile forming. Once her body hit the ground, Garfiel went to heal Ram, attempting to save her while resisting to transform. Subaru did not want either of them to die, causing him to pull out his keyblade and attempt to heal the two since he could feel some magic return to him yet Roswaal immediately punched him hard in the stomach so that all the air inside of Subaru was knocked out. Subaru fell to the ground in pain and attempted to heal Garfiel at the very least, knowing that if he was healed, he would take care of Roswaal while he healed Ram only for Roswaal to not hesitate in kicking Garfiel's head hard enough to destroy it, effectively killing him.
"I cannot have you transforming here. Now, in accordance with my vow, shall we talk, Natsuki Subaru-kun?"
"You...Why did you kill them?!"
"They were interfering with our discussion. It was an awful thing to do to Ram, but had I not created an opening, I had little chance of defeating him."
"You son of a-" Subaru tried to attack Roswaal only to easily be disarmed and injured by a few attacks.
"You should stop that, you are not going to beat me."
"You bastard! There's no way I'm gonna..."
"Let me get away with this?"
"Huh? Stop...Stop looking at me like that! Who the hell you are?! You killed them, you said all that about the Witch's cult...I have to deal with this crap over and over!"
"Over and over. Yes, over and over, Subaru-kun."
"Tsk."
Roswaal smiles and notices the rage and anger in Subaru's eyes, making him realize that he needs to get his gospel in order for the conversation to continue without the need of violence. He heads to grab it while saying, "Very well. Since you do not understand, this might explain it for you."
Roswaal pulls out a gospel which catches Subaru's attention.
"You have one too?!"
"Ah, I guess I don't have to explain it to you who has the other one or what it does. After all, you've managed to redo this world multiple times."
"Wait...you knew?!"
Subaru looked at the gospel with disappointment since he knows that Beatrice most likely has been killed while also surprised that Roswaal knows he can reset time. Roswaal looked at Subaru's facial expression to come to the conclusion that Beatrice is dead.
"Judging from your expression, I assume Beatrice succeeded in fulfilling her dearest wish to disappear?"
"Her dearest wish? Dying...Dying is her dearest wish?! Is that what you're saying?!"
"That is what she wanted. I envy her. It would seem that I am incapable of fulfilling my dearest wish."
"What is it you want to do? Why are you like this?!"
"I cannot say. I have made a vow of my own. I will, however, say this. I am constantly doing my utmost to fulfill my dearest wish. All of my schemes, my inhumanity, and the assistance and backing I offer are for that purpose."
"You're following that book, too? Is this snow in the book too, then?! Did it tell you to make snow fall?! Why?!"
"Why else? To isolate Emilia-sama."
"Huh?"
"An unseasonal snowstorm where she happens to be, in a place with a deep connection to the witch. Garfiel would condemn her, and the villagers have experience with cold spells. Emilia-sama would then be isolated and become emotionally unstable. Like Sora-kun, your parents were not accounted for in the gospel but I guess I got lucky that Emilia still broke and you could never distance yourself from her if she were to lean on you."
"You bastard!"
"In any case, your current self cannot bring about the future indicated in the text. If there's a discrepancy, it must be corrected."
Roswaal started to approach Subaru in a threatening manner which caused Subaru to get his keyblade ready for a fight, questioning whether the magician was going to kill him. Roswaal responded that he wasn't going to kill Subaru but make him redo everything. Subaru used Reflect to stop Roswaal's attack yet he anticipated this. He dodged the exploding lights before managing to land a hit on Subaru, which led Subaru receiving a beatdown with Roswaal hoping that this would force the boy to restart everything. As he was distracted by this, he did not hear or sensed anybody behind him. Kenichi with the knife he got from Otto stabbed Roswaal in the back, leaving him open for Subaru to use his remaining strength to knock the magician down with one hit with his keyblade.
As Roswaal was on the ground, Kenichi began to beat him up for having harmed his son, using all of his strength to deliver the strongest hits to assure the clown felt all the pain he caused Subaru. Subaru got up slowly and healed himself to regain his strength while looking at his father beating up Roswaal.
"This is what you get, mother fucker!"
"Ooooh...you are quiiiiite violen-"
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Father, watch out!"
Subaru got in front of his father and quickly casted Fira in order to kill the rabbit that broke into the house, killing it in the process.
"Why is the Great Rabbit here?! It's only the second day?!"
"Theeeeeey must be attracted to this snow."
"Daphne did say the Great Rabbit is drawn to large amounts of mana..."
"Shit, son we need to go! Your mother is all alone and could be in danger!"
"Right!"
Subaru and Kenichi both started to head out yet Subaru was stopped when Roswaal said to him,
"Yoooou should be careful out there."
"Shut it! I will save my parents and even if things go wrong, I'll make sure that you pay for this timeline when we talk again!"
"You seem to be mistaken about one thing, Subaru-kun. Perhaps you can start over, but I cannot. My present self will end here. But that is fine. Another me, one who is not myself will be there after you start over. So long as that me fulfills my goal one day, it makes no difference."
"...that's not how any normal human thinks."
"The day will come when you truly catch up to me. Listen to me, Subaru-kun. There is one thing that is truly, truly the most precious to you. You must get rid of everything but that, and think of nothing but protecting that one most precious thing. By doing that you can become like me."
"Hey son, we have to go!"
Kenichi grabbed his son's arm and dragged him out of the room, causing Subaru to return focus on getting to his mother and Emilia. The two were running through the village, hearing the screams of the residence due to the rabbits eating them alive. Subaru wanted to cover his ears but he had to listen to the suffering of others for failing to save anyone yet again. As they ran and ran, they noticed the cathedral was on fire.
"What is going on?"
"Suwen and the other villagers..chose to die by burning alive..." Kenichi was very distrubed by this since he knew that there were children inside the cathedral. Subaru stood silent for a moment as he finally considered that this loop was hell. With his master dead, Rem and the maids dead, Beatrice possibly dead, Ram and Garfiel dead, and Emilia with a broken mind, he was living in hell.
"Let's get moving, dad."
"Right..."
The two continue to go through the hell around them with some rabbits jumping the two only for Subaru to hit them away, protecting his father more than himself as he ends up with many rabbits actually landing a couple of bites on him. Subaru healed himself a few times until he realized that he no longer had enough magic power to cast Cure. This posed a problem since he was really injured by the time they got to the graveyard. Naoko was standing there in slight fear as the rabbits were closing in yet when Subaru and Kenichi arrived, the two men got themselves ready for a fight.
"Any ideas, father?"
"Just protect your mom and yourself."
"Need assistance, Young Su?"
"Ryuzu! We need your help, get my parents out of here!"
"Wait what?! We are not leaving you behind!"
"I know father but I need to get Emilia out of here too! Just trust me please."
Naoko and Kenichi both looked at each other and knew that they didn't have time to argue with their son. They both nodded with Naoko telling her son,
"Please come back safe and sound, my baby boy."
"Don't worry mother, I'll make sure of that. Ryuzu, please get my parents out of Sanctuary as best as you can!"
"As you command, Young Su."
Ryuzu began to guide Naoko and Kenichi out of the Sanctuary through a path where the rabbits have yet to have gone in. As the three left, Subaru began to fight each rabbit as best as he could until he was about to be eaten alive once again only for some darkness to swallow him up.
Subaru woke up yet he realized he was bleeding out in some darkness, which made him pounder on whether or not this will be true death since he can feel his life truly slipping in a way that is different from his other deaths. As he was dying on the floor of darkness, he heard a familiar voice speak to him.
"That was a close call, you were almost about to be lunch for those little adorable but deadly things."
"...Huh?"
"So, you read the final part of my book?"
"What?"
"Come on kid, do you not know who I am? We talked before in your heart, don't you remember?"
"Huh?"
"Right Right, you are dying right now. I probably should heal you but what is the point. Darkness will prevail and light expires."
"...No it won't."
"Hmm."
"I won't...let that happen at all...!"
"How do you propose that, kid? You don't look like you'll be saving anybody, let alone yourself in that state. You also got The keyblade wielder killed."
"I...I will...save everyone..."
"Hehe alright kid, I'm curious to see how you do it. Now show me how to save everyone."
The mysterious figure moves his hand towards Subaru's position before sending him off to the outside world once again. As he is back, he runs into the graveyard to avoid the great rabbit but as he enters the graveyard, he begins to cough out blood.
'Shit...I didn't think I took too much damage...'
As Subaru was walking slowly with his body hurting from all the pain he received from the Great Rabbit. As he was walking towards the room Emilia was still in, all Subaru can think about is how he failed everybody in this loop. He then thought about how he is going to leave Emilia behind who knows that if he dies, he would restart everything. This line of thinking made him think whether he really is rewinding time or if he was moving through different realities and leaving others behind. This thought immediately made him uncomfortable and forced him to push it away while he begins to hear Emilia speak in a happy tone,
"Subaru? It is you, Subaru! Gosh, where have you been?"
"..."
"I was so worried. Are you exhausted?"
"...a little..."
"I see! All right, then."
Subaru closes his eyes, wanting to tell Emilia of the upcoming danger but not being able to due to his injuries making him lose his strength even faster. Before he could say anything he could hear Emilia saying his name. He opens his eyes to see her kneeling with a smile on her face.
"You like resting your head on my lap, right?"
Subaru approaches Emilia and lies on her lap and begins to rest himself, allowing the blood in his body to continue bleeding out while Emilia plays with his hair. Subaru notices that something is wrong since Emilia is not attempting to heal him. He looks up and sees the obsession in her eyes towards him, in one hand he wants this but in another he knows that she isn't the Emilia he wants.
"Subaru, did you get a little lighter?"
"I'm trying the shed-blood diet. It's ballast style, dumb the weight, unload more, kinda, like that..."
"I don't understand what you're saying, but you did something crazy for someone else again, didn't you? That's the kind of person you are, Subaru. I understand, but...I'm soooo worried."
"..."
"The truth is, I only want you to do that, for me. But, I know that's being selfish, and a Subaru who acts like he doesn't see other people for me, isn't something I want to see maybe...That's also me being selfish, I'm sorry."
Subaru's light in his eyes was just about to go out while Emilia's eyes continued to glow with obsession before she approached Subaru's lips to go for the kiss. The last thing Subaru felt was the soft lips of Emilia, the first kiss he had ever gotten, the kiss of death.
Subaru woke up back at the same time as his master and all his mind had was the last thing he experienced in his life, the fact that Emilia broke and kissed him. He touched his lips and concluded that he will rely on himself. After getting Sora killed previously, making him do the exact same thing he did in his very first loop, making sure that every emotion he felt in his first time to be recreated with effort on his part to make sure that he doesn't get everything wrong in the best timeline. The only change he was making was that night, instead of being with Emilia, he quickly went to talk to his parents.
"Mother, Father, I want to ask you two for a favor."
"Yes my baby."
"What would you like your amazing mother and amazing father to do, my son?"
"Can you both watch over Emilia for me?"
"Yes my son we can do that but what are you up to? I assume you could use some help."
"I appreciate that father but I can do it on my own."
"You don't have to do it all on your own, my baby. You can have your father help you out or even your Master can help. I think he is staying up and doing something outside."
"I know, he is meditating to make sure his strength is at full power, I think."
"You don't even know what your master is even up to? Come on, son."
"Hehe sorry, I guess I didn't pay attention to what he was up to but I really want you two to take care of Emilia while I take care of something."
"Okay dear, we will take care of my future daughter in law."
Subaru blushed by this statement before starting to make his way outside of the building, determined to ask Echidna for help since she might be able to help him in saving everyone. As he goes outside, he bumps into Otto who was just going to check on Subaru.
"Natsuki-san, what are you doing outside this late?"
"Oh Otto, I was just wanting to check on Master Sora since he was still outside."
"Right. I went to talk to him just a moment ago, he seemed to be alright so no need to worry about Sora-san."
"I appreciate it Otto. You should probably rest, tomorrow we are going to have a busy day."
"I should say the same to you."
"I will."
Subaru returned back to the house and waited until Otto left, wanting to make sure he didn't try to stop him from entering the graveyard alone. As he waited for an hour, he noticed his parents having fallen asleep next to Emilia, making him smile that the people he cares about are all together. He wondered how things would be with his parents now in the new world alongside him.
'I hope that I win your heart Emilia-tan, my parents will honestly accept you into our family.'
Subaru smiled before leaving the building and making his way towards the graveyard, not having noticed Sora was returning from his alone time and had spotted him heading to the graveyard. Sora followed his apprentice without letting Subaru know he was being followed, wanting to know what he was up to. As Sora saw that Subaru was entering the graveyard on his own, it made him realize that Subaru was going to try to take the trial on his own in Emilia's stead. This made him go run as fast as he possibly could to Emilia's room from the graveyard, wanting her to help him in stopping Subaru.
'What are you thinking, Subaru? I thought we were all in agreement that Emilia should be the ones to pass the trial? If Garfiel finds out about this, we are all in trouble!'
Sora ran as fast as he could into the house, making sure he doesn't awaken anybody since he knows that it would only cause a lot of problems for Subaru. When he entered Emilia's room, he noticed that Subaru's parents were asleep which caused him to quickly head towards Emilia's bed and pick her up. As he does this, he quickly takes her outside and awakens her there to which she was glad to be awaken since she felt like she was in a nightmare.
"Sora? What are you doing here? Wait, what are we doing outside?"
"Sorry but we have a problem...but first do you need a dream eater?"
"Dream eater? Oh, your spirits! No it's okay. Puck would get mad if I got attached to one of them."
"True, I mean they could help get rid of nightmares."
"I mean I guess, anyway what are we doing out here?"
"Right, Subaru went to the graveyard by himself. We need to stop him before something bad happens to him."
"What?!" Emilia was shocked by this and quickly went inside as quietly as possible to get into more appropriate attire before following Sora towards the graveyard, both of them determined to help Subaru in case he got himself into some trouble.
"That dunderhead, what was he thinking?!"
"I don't know but I have a feeling that he is doing this for you."
"He...doesn't trust me?"
"Not that, he wants you to be able to succeed which is why he wants to do things for you, because he is crazy about you."
"He is such a dum dum!"
"True but I know what he is doing, I mean I died for Kairi to save her."
"That is true…" Emilia had remembered the part of the story where Sora took his own heart to save Kairi, which made her understand that Subaru wishes to help her yet she still dislikes how he is doing things on his own. As they were going into the graveyard to look for Subaru, earlier Subaru had entered the graveyard and fell to his knees.
"Invite me, Echidna! I'll give you my life as many times as you want it! Or my pride or anything else! So please, Echidna! Let me..."
Subaru started to feel dizzy for a moment before falling on his side with his mind losing consciousness. As he closed his eyes, everything felt disoriented while he heard a voice speak to him similar to his.
"Behold an unthinkable present."