Chapter 65: Strength of others
Rem and Ram continued their fight against Lye Batenkaitos and Roy Alphard, with the two oni sisters managing to keep up with the two Sin Archbishops of Gluttony. Rem was struggling for a bit since she was used to fighting with her morning star but due to her fusion with her counterpart, she was lucky to have the skillset her counterpart had. All of Ram's training was put to use, using not only her hand to hand combat but her water magic to help cover some distance between herself and Lye should he get too close to her. As she was able to keep up with her opponent, Lye Batenkaitos smiled as he started to enjoy the fight more and more, especially since this is his third major time fight with Rem. This has made him more and more invested in Rem, wanting to see if he can eat her once again.
"You are truly gormet~TSU!"
"Back off, witch cultist!"
Rem was able to keep up with Lye's aggressive nature, seeing how he is happy fighting her compared to her previous times. While the two were in an aggressive deadlock, Rem found herself about to be eaten by Lye once again until one of Ram's dream eaters jumped in between the two and managed to smack the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony's face. As Lye was caught off guard by this, Rem took her chance to attack with her water magic.
"El Huma!"
Rem creates a multitudes of ice spears all around her before firing them towards Lye, forcing the Sin Archbishop to use Leaper technique in order to move quickly to dodge the attacks. As Lye dodges the attack, he quickly uses Carnivorous Beast to increase his strength before charging towards his prey. Rem notices this and quickly summons her horn to increase her strength, knowing that things are going to get serious now. As she does this, she thinks back on the memories of her previous self from when she had no recollection of her past. She recalls every single moment of training she had received from her sister and how determined she was to be better than Ram.
("I'll surpass you, Ram-sama! I promise that I will, sister.")
("Hmph. I know you will, you are my sister after all.")
She recalled this dialogue between her other self and her sister, recalling how determined she was in not only surpassing her sister but wanting to make her proud. As this played in her mind, she noticed Lye charging towards her with incredibly speed. This forced Rem to be intelligent with her defense, managing to just barely dodge every attack until eventually she tried to block. As she blocked one of Lye's hits, she noticed that the attacks from the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony were extremely deadly, causing her to be hesitant for a moment due to how dangerous the fight has become. Lye continued his aggressive offense, causing Rem to be scared that she will get killed until her mind started to get filled of Sora.
("You are kind, hardworking, always doing your very best, and from what I can tell you are pretty strong. Without you, I don't think those children would've been saved. So thank you Rem, for having helped me save more innocent lives.")
("It's alright, because along with everyone else, you give me the strength I need to fight. You are my power.")
'Sora-kun...you are my strength too!'
The memories of what made Rem fall in love with Sora, causing her to looked at the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony with a hateful expression before turning it into one of determination. Having her one true love in her mind allowed the blue haired maid to all of a sudden gain strength to keep up with Lye Batenkaitos. Seeing this random amount strength coming from the blue haired maid she was just overpowering had surprised the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony himself.
'This one is definitely gourmet! We are excited~TSU!'
With Lye Batenkaitos excited, he starts to go all out against Rem all the while Ram and her two dream eaters were having a tough time with Roy Alphard. Compared to Lye, Roy is just interested in eating for the most part rather than the intense fighting. This pose as a problem since she can only use a limit amount of mana with only one elixir left to restore both her wounds and her mana. As it seemed like Roy was going to get the chance to "eat" the pink haired maid's name, the two loyal dream eaters jumped in to protect her from the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
Roy was surprised for a bit yet he was interested in how they tasted as well, attempting to "eat" the two dream eaters only for Ram to push back gluttony with her wind magic. Roy noticed this and quickly jumped out of the way, just barely managing to dodge Ram's attack but as he does this, the two dream eaters each fired their own magic abilities. One of them being a powerful fireball and the other a balloon type attack. Roy noticed the fireball and easily dodged it, yet the balloon was pretty interesting to the Sin Archbishop.
"Hm. We wonder what this does."
Roy having been curious about an attack for the first time in a long while went to try and destroy the balloon only to end up getting caught in an explosion. Roy was slightly wounded by the attack yet he was still able to move in hyper speed, forcing Ram to strategize with her two dream eaters in order to perform the best coordinated attack. As she was thinking this, Roy quickly charged at her in an attempt to eat her name and memories yet the dream eaters were able to protect the pink haired girl.
"Tsk. Let us eat!"
"Hm. El Fura!"
Ram send another powerful wind attack, attempting to keep Roy away from her while she tries to think of a way to beat this Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
'This one for sure is different compared to his brother. Hm. I'll need to use an all-out attack the second he lets his guard down.'
Going with an all-out plan, she looks at her two dream eaters before nodding at them, indicating that they should follow her lead. The dream eaters both looked at Ram for a moment before looking at Roy, understanding to be ready for what their owner is going to do. As Ram and her two dream eaters were ready for a fight, Roy just looked at the three with an annoyed facial expression before smiling.
"Hmph. What is a pervert like you smiling about?"
"Pervert? We do not care for your body. We want to eat! You are a feisty meal!"
"You will not get me!"
"We shall see."
Roy smiled as he got his knives ready to be used.
"Time to eat!"
Roy used lunar eclipse to bring forth a warrior that moves with incredible speed, increasing his speed enough to start causing problems for Ram and her two dream eaters. Ram was barely able to keep up with him and her two dream eaters were just barely able to block off his attacks. Seeing that this is a problem, she prepared to use her dangerous oni powers, knowing that if she can just hold him off for a few seconds with that power, she could maybe get a clean hit on him before she is forced to use her elixir. She waited and waited until she saw that Roy was gunning for her. She quickly commanded her two dream eaters to attack the Sin Archbishop, causing the two dream eaters to quickly summon two powerful blizzard attacks. Gluttony noticed this and was easily able to dodge both attacks before passing through both dream eaters. As he does this, he yells out at the top of his lungs,
"RAM!"
Ram stood still for a brief moment, waiting just for the right second before enacting her plan. Just as Roy's palm was about to touch her, she smiled while saying,
"I got you."
"Eh?"
Roy was confused by this, allowing Ram the second she needed to summon every ounce of oni strength she had in her before charging at Roy, managing to close the gap between the two. As she closed the gap, without hesitation she moved towards Roy to deliver a deadly blow. With all the strength coming from her right hand, she shoved it through Roy's stomach just as the Sin Archbishop attempted to back away from the fight. As he received this injury, Ram did not waited before swinging her left hand to deliver another blow to Roy in the form of a punch to the face with incredible force. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony was dumbfounded by this has he was sent flying into a wall thanks to his opponent's attack on his face. As he hits his back on the wall, he smiles since he feels that this "food" must have something important if she is preventing him from getting her name or memories.
He gets up slowly, ignoring the painful wound he received from the pink haired maid. Ram notices this and quickly was about to use her remaining elixir to heal herself only for a random green circle surrounded her with a couple of bells randomly appearing on top of her. She could feel her body healing up from having used her oni powers. At first she was confused until she saw that it was her dream eaters, both of them working together to create a powerful Cure ability in order for her to continue fighting. This caused her to smile since she has such reliable allies while also happy that she can still hold on to the elixir, just in case of emergencies. As she put away the elixir, she along with her dream eaters looked at Roy, seeing that he is slowly starting to speed up towards them in a threatening manner.
"We are going to eat you! RAM!"
"Hmph. You won't get the chance."
Ram confidently spoke back as she slowly prepared her oni powers to return back to her, knowing that she needs to try her trick once again. She waited for the right moment to strike but as she was about to attack, the two oni sisters and the two gluttony boys all felt a massive shake as they could tell that a random explosion had happened nearby. This caused both fights to pause for a moment, both groups unsure if the explosion was from someone they know or some unknown entity. The four take a moment before resuming their fight with Rem taking the offense against Lye while Ram had her dream eaters on defense while preparing herself for another attack, allowing Roy to go on the offense of their fight. Rem was managing to slightly push back Lye, using her water magic to keep the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony from trying to escape while she uses her hand to hand combat experience to attack at full force towards her opponent. Lye was impressed by this since he really is facing a powerful Rem at this point, seeing that she is able to keep up on her own compared to their previous fights.
'This one's beyond gourmet! She will make a good meal~TSU!'
With this in mind, Lye attempts to eat Rem once again by waiting for the right moment to attack. Just as he tried this, she anticipated this and quickly casted another El Huma spell to keep gluttony away. Lye still tried to "eat" Rem regardless of the oni's attack yet this water magic attack proved to be too much for him. His entire left hand was damaged badly, causing him to quickly use Lunar Eclipse in order to gain some distance from Rem. As he gained his distance, he took a second before returning back to the fight at full force, completely out speeding Rem since she wasn't prepared to deal with Lye at his full power. She took a barrage of light attacks from Lye, landing every kick and punch he swung towards Rem's direction, overpowering her completely. Rem attempted to use all of her oni strength from her only horn to break out of the situation she was in yet Lye would not allow this to happen. He would continue to hurt Rem by hitting her in vital areas before finally going for the final "kill".
"We are going to enjoy the feast~TSU!"
"Tsk!"
Rem tried to do everything she could to get out of the situation she was in yet her body was worn out and she was fatigue from her oni strength. She just looked up with an angry facial expression while in her mind, she is completely scared.
'I-I'm so sorry Sora-kun...I just...'
Rem didn't know what to do and was about to accept her fate once again until a voice shouted a simple word,
"Reflecta!"
Rem opened her eyes as she saw a barrier be created, protecting her from Lye Batenkaitos' attack. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony noticed this and quickly regained his distance from Rem, a bit hesitant since he wasn't ready to face Sora once again. He looked up after landing on the ground and waited to see if it was Sora while Rem was attempting to look behind her to see Sora yet her strength was very limited. Just as she was about to turn around, she could hear a voice that isn't Sora's say to her,
"No need to push yourself, allow me to help out."
"Subaru?"
As Rem looked at the voice, she saw that it was indeed Subaru, wielding his new keyblade proudly. Subaru pointed his keyblade up before casting Cura on the blue haired oni, allowing her to regain her strength and to have her wounds be healed. This allowed her to move normally, which she was grateful for.
"Subaru, what are you doing here?"
"Shaula and I were going to investigate what was the case of the explosion but we stumbled on you and Ram's fight against those two gluttonies. So we decided to help out."
Rem looked at Subaru for a brief moment, seeing a bit of Sora's bravery him which caused her to smile, seeing just how alike both Subaru and Sora are when it comes down to protecting their friends. She smiled at him before saying,
"Thank you, Subaru-kun."
"Anything for a friend."
She nodded at his statement before the two turned towards the fight between Ram and Roy, seeing that with the assistance of Shaula, Ram is able to push the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony back. This allowed Rem to be calm now that she knows that her sister will be fine. As she smiled at her sister's efforts, she along with Subaru both turn towards Lye just as the barrier disappeared, both knowing that their fight against Lye Batenkaitos will start.
"This isn't going to be easy, Subaru-kun."
"I know but all the hell I've been through so far...this is nothing close to it."
Rem had a moment of pause, having recalled each and every loop her friend had gone through, from the ones killed by the hands of the bowel hunter, others witnessing her own death, and the betrayal of Roswaal himself, someone she deeply trusted.
'I...I need to get nee-sama away from that traitor.'
Rem thought, confirming to herself that she doesn't trust Roswaal and knows that he is dangerous. She even justifies this by thinking to herself that she would even trust Elsa more than Roswaal despite how brutal the Bowel Hunter as been to Subaru on other loops. As these thoughts were in her mind, she snapped out of it in order to be ready for a fight with the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony alongside Subaru, seeing the boy wielding his new Keyblade proudly. The pair waited for a brief moment before finally Lye charged at the two. Once the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony charged at the two with his weapons out and ready to kill, Subaru waited for a seconds before casting Fira, creating a powerful fireball to be used against him.
Lye noticed this and was about to dodge the attack with ease until three large icicles appeared out of nowhere. He took a moment before he realized that these three large icicles are Rem's doing, since they share the same look to the icicles the blue haired oni had fired at him earlier. He quickly used Lunar Eclipse to dodge the attacks thrown towards him, not having too much trouble doing this but as he dodges the fireball and the three icicles. As Lye was able to do this, he charged directly towards Subaru and Rem, preparing to end the two. Subaru stood silent for a moment before having a smirk.
"Time to use this old technique...El Shamak!"
As Subaru shouted this, a large dark mist covered the area which caused Lye's senses to be disoriented long enough for Subaru to charge at him in order for him to attack. Lye took a couple of hits from Subaru's powerful keyblade before his senses came back, allowing him to be able to dodge the attacks from the boy with ease. Just as Lye was about to easily take down the weaker keyblade wielder, he was caught off guard when he wasn't able to land a hit himself due to Rem interfering and assisting Subaru on the offensive.
This did pushed Lye back since he wasn't accounting for Rem to be back at full strength after the damaged he caused her. While Subaru and Rem were going on an offensive against Lye, Roy was being pushed back himself by Shaula's Hell's Snipe and Ram's wind attacks. Roy attempts to use Lunar Eclipse to escape the attacks from both Shaula and Ram yet the pink haired maid's two dream eaters were able to stop the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony from trying to gain too much of a distance.
"Time for you to die! For Ma~ster's sake!"
"Tsk!"
Shaula increased the amount of mana into her Hell's Snipe attacks, managing to eventually land a fatal blow on him. Roy was caught off guard by this since he was doing his best to dodge every attack thrown towards him and trying to kill the two dream eaters yet he didn't anticipate Shaula to increase the speed and strength of her mana attacks. As one of the deadly beams from the guardian of the watchtower pierces through his stomach, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony changed his strategy from trying to "eat" Ram into trying to escape. He looked up for a moment before jumping up while using Lunar Eclipse to use a couple martial arts skills to dodge Ram, her two dream eaters, and Shaula's attacks. As he used a few techniques from the memories he could gather, one of the dream eaters caught him off guard and landed a hit to his face, causing him to be open for Ram to land a powerful wind attack onto gluttony's chest. This caused him to receive an almost fatal scar which caused him to start panicking.
"We don't want to die! We don't want to die!"
Because of this fear, he started to use Solar Eclipse but without the help of Louis, he is slightly struggling to find the right person to save his life. Ram noticed this and quickly she charged towards the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony at full power, summoning her oni strength at its fullest to make sure that she can deliver the final killing blow.
"This time you are done, Sin Archbishop of Gluttony!"
"Tsk!"
Roy tried to dodge the attack from Ram after hearing what she had to say. He tried to escape with everything he got yet Ram was able to reach the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony's location before finally delivering the killing blow. She cut through Roy's chest deeply to the point where her hand had not only went through the body but also destroyed the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony's heart. Roy looked at Ram's eyes for the last few seconds of life, trying to find something to make his death feel peaceful yet the only thing he has in mind is Louis, how she just disappeared from him and Lye.
'Sorry Louis...Sorry Lye...we are just...'
Roy drew his last breath before being able to complete die, his last thoughts being about his family. As Ram could see that her opponent is dead, she pulled her hand out of Roy's body before watching his lifeless body falling to the ground.
"Hmph. Pathetic Sin Archbishop."
Ram turned to see Shaula heading towards Subaru and Rem's direction, knowing that she is heading to them just to help Subaru. She took one last glimpse at the dead Roy before turning towards her sister's location. While Shaula and Ram were heading towards Subaru and Rem's location, the pair were on the defensive when Lye managed to outwit the two with some skills he gathered from Lunar Eclipse.
"We are going to feast now! Time to eat~TSU!"
"That is not going to happen!" Subaru shouted in anger and confidence. He pointed his free hand towards the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, confident on the next move he is going to use against him.
"El Minya!"
Subaru shouted this with a couple of purple icicles appearing all around him, each one pointed towards Lye. As they were summoned, Subaru without hesitation send them towards his direction with Rem joining in as well as she creates a couple of icicles as well. This pushed Lye back for a bit since he wasn't expecting something like this from the weaker keyblade wielder. As he was forced back, he sensed a powerful beam of mana heading towards his direction which caused him to move even farther away to dodge this new attack. As he does this, he turns to see that it is Shaula, the guardian of the watchtower. As he notices her, he also notices Ram approaching the scene.
'Wait, wasn't brother dealing with her?'
Lye started to get a bit worried for his brother, knowing that Roy is a loose cannon. He looked around for a few seconds before spotting his brother's dead body, seeing that Roy is truly dead.
"...we...we are left, aren't we?"
"Yes you are." Subaru said in a cold manner.
"Hehe...we will feast on you all~tsu."
Lye looked at everyone but his face had one of hatred rather than intrigue. Rem and Ram both got themselves ready to fight while Subaru continued to have his weapon lowered, knowing that this isn't his fight to finish. Shaula was about to fire her Hell's Snipe to begin the fight only for her master to tell her,
"Stand down Shaula, I think Rem and Ram can handle him together."
There was a pause from everyone, all of them noticing what Subaru had said. Rem and Ram were unsure about this. Shaula looked at Subaru with a confused facial expression before asking,
"Are you sure, Maaaa~ster?"
"Yes." Subaru turned towards both Rem and Ram to tell them, "You two can handle this one without our help, right?"
"Hmph. Barusu, you should know by now that my sister and I are capable of handling this."
"Fair Fair. What do you think, Rem?" Subaru said calmly.
"...We can handle this, Subaru-kun. Just make sure you don't get hurt."
"Don't you worry Rem-Rem, I'll make sure I'm safe. I do have Shaula by my side." Subaru gave a thumbs up to Rem, allowing her to feel somewhat at ease. Shaula wanted to join in on the conversation.
"Yes! I will protect Master!"
"Haha...I know you will Shaula, and I'm counting on it."
Shaula had a happy smile when she heard this, seeing the level of trust her master has towards her. Both Rem and Ram nodded at Subaru as he looked at the oni sisters to check on them one last time, wanting to make sure that they will be alright. As they nodded, both Subaru and Shaula left the area to continue in investigating the explosion. Once Subaru and Shaula left the area, Rem and Ram stood silent for a moment looking at Lye, seeing that he is just standing there.
"Nee-sama, are you ready for this?"
"Yes Rem-san...are you ready for this?"
"I'm ready."
The two sisters nodded at each other with confidence before turning towards their common opponent with the two dream eaters standing side by side with the oni sisters. The place went silent for a moment before the oni sisters and the two dream eaters charged at the same time as Lye Batenkaitos charges towards them. As both sides charge each other, Rem and Ram waited for a moment before sending their combined attacks.
"El Huma!"
"El Fura!"
As the wind attack from Ram and Rem's water attack both at the same time made their way towards Lye, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony was able to dodge it with ease. As he dodges the attacks, he attempts to close in towards the oni sisters with rapid speeds only for one of the dream eaters to push him back by sending a balloon towards him. Having noticed from his brother's fight, the balloon is dangerous, so he avoids it.
As he lets his guard down for a second to avoid the balloon attack, he turns to see Rem's fist connect to his face, causing him to be send flying for a few seconds with a bruised cheek. He was able to regain his vision before using Lunar Eclipse to land safely on the ground, causing him to understand just how tough the situation has gotten for him. As he was analyzing for his strategy, both oni sisters charged at him at full force, both of them hoping to end the fight quickly.
'We won't fall here! We are fighting for Louis' sake~TSU!'
With Lye getting motivated to fight harder, he decides to use Solar Eclipse in order to find someone that he can use in order to keep up against Rem and Ram. He searched and searched until he found and interesting person to use. Both Oni sisters were about to land a hit on the sin archbishop until suddenly they noticed him change into someone that they weren't expecting.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Shouted Ram as she was furious with what she saw.
"..."
"We just thought to even the grounds a bit~TSU!"
Lye says has he is now in an exact body of Rem only in a maid outfit. Rem and Ram both looked at Lye with disgust and anger for even daring to do this, causing the pair to prepare their most powerful technique.
"How dare you defile my sister's body! You pervert!"
"You are going to die, witch cultist!"
Both Ram and Rem speak with anger in their voice before the two sides once again charge each other with the oni sisters managing to gain the offensive first. As the pair were giving it their all, Lye was able to easily dodge each attack since the memories of Rem before having eaten her allowed him to have an idea on how the two fight and what is their maximum capabilities, allowing him to have the advantage on strategy over the sisters. As he was blocking every single attack, he waited before landing a strong hit to Ram's stomach before kicking her away from the fight.
"Nee-sama!"
"Rem is next~TSU!"
Lye moved his attention towards Rem before trying to land a deadly blow to the blue haired oni's head only for her to barely block off the attack. As both Lye and Rem were fighting hand to hand combat in a one on one situation, Lye had the advantage since he knows how Rem fights which forced Rem to try changing up her fighting style. Using her water magic she managed to push Lye away for a brief moment before he charged back towards the blue haired oni.
"Rem is tough but Rem shall not get away~TSU!"
"You will not win, witch cultist!"
The two clash fists for a moment with Lye using his full strength and Rem summoning her oni powers once again, allowing her to be on equal terms against the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. The two continued to give it their all on equal terms until eventually Rem starts to slow down with her stamina and energy draining due to the oni powers being used past their limit.
'I can't lose...Rem must win, for Sora-kun's sake! For nee-sama's sake!'
With Ram and Sora on her mind, she decided to push beyond what her oni powers can handle. As she started to increase her strength and her speed, her eyes started to turn red with her mind slowly becoming a blur of rage. While this was going on, Ram quickly got up with her strength and stamina at its lowest yet with the assistance of her two dream eaters, she was able to get up. Once on her feet, she was healed by the dream eater which allowed her movement to be back to decent level. She turned towards her sister's location to see that Rem was abusing her oni powers since she was starting to not only have her eyes go completely red, she was also beginning to have a nose bleed.
'She is pushing herself too much. Ram must do something before Rem-san gets herself killed.'
Seeing that her sister is in danger, she takes a moment to close her eyes, knowing that what she is about to do is not only risky but can get her in serious trouble if done wrong. She kept her eyes close for a moment has she can feel her hidden oni powers still lingering in her blood. Once she could feel her oni power once again, she opened her eyes with her incomplete transformation and quickly charged at Lye, knowing that she has one shot at this if she wishes to end the fight. As she charges towards the fight with her inhuman speed, she moves her right hand forward in hopes of landing the deciding blow yet Lye was able to sense this and he quickly dodge the attack.
"Nee-sama shouldn't use her oni powers, they are bad for her."
"Don't you...FUCKING DARE CALL NEE-SAMA LIKE ME, WITCH CULTIST!"
Rem's anger skyrocketed when Lye was impersonating her, making the bloodlust to increase drastically. As her mind had gone completely in rage, she just started to attack Lye with everything she had in her, wanting nothing more than her opponent to be dead. She throws a barrage of attacks towards gluttony, slightly overwhelming him since he wasn't expecting Rem to show this amount of power.
"Shouldn't Rem have reached her limit~TSU?"
"Grrr!"
Rem was not able to form a sentence, she was just full of rage and bloodlust. As her attacks were landing, Ram fell to the ground with blood spewing out of her forehead where her horn was once at. She had pushed herself a bit more than when she was fighting Roy as her mind was slowly losing conscious.
'Rem-san...my little sister...I can't just...let you face that monster alone...'
The pink haired oni slowly got up with her dream eaters attempting to help her yet she gave them a look that signified that they should be helping Rem instead. The two dream eaters understood this but first they both casted Cure on Ram before going off to help Rem. As Ram's body was able to recover some of her strength, she knew that her mana is very low despite having been cured. She looks at the remaining elixir she has and debates to herself if she should use it, knowing that this would restore her entire mana completely.
As she was taking a moment to think, she looked at the battle going on without her and could see that her two dream eaters were keeping up with Rem and Lye yet at some point the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony would eventually overpower the three. Due to this, she put away the elixir, confident that she can make do with the remaining mana she has in her. As she put away the elixir, she ran towards the fight with her wand out, knowing that she just needs one good hit in order for Rem to deliver the finishing blow. Once she closed in, she waited for a brief moment until she found an opening. She pointed her wand and using the last of her strength she shouted,
"Huma!"
Lye noticed this and quickly tried to dodge the attack yet Rem managed to regained her sanity for a brief moment to pin Lye down. As she does this, the air attack managed to cut off Lye's right arm clean off. As this happened, Lye reverted back to his original body all the while managing to free himself from Rem's grip by hitting her face with the back of his head. Once freed, Lye tried to run away from the fight since he didn't want to die.
'We can't die! We can't die! If Louis is still there, we have to help her! We can't die! We won't allow ourselves to die!'
With this thought in his mind, he tried to escape the fight yet the two dream eaters surprise attacked him, managing to land a hit on his chest area and on his face. With these two hits disorienting him for a few seconds, Rem looked at the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony with anger and hatred, recalling everything the witch cult took from her.
'You took nee-sama's horn, you all took my parents! You all killed those I have grown fond of in many of those loops Subaru-kun experience! You even mad Sora-kun sad in one of those loops! I WILL NEVER ALLOW ANY OF YOU TO LIVE!'
Rem used the memories of Subaru's failed loops to be reminded of what she is fighting for, along with the painful memory of the fateful day her sister lost her horn, still holding guilt over it. This combination of anger allowed her mind to once again fill with intense rage. This rage caused her horn to once again be summoned, this time at full power which allowed Rem to move in super inhuman speeds. As she was rushing towards Lye Batenkaitos, everything was flashing in her mind.
All of the painful memories from her life, her good memories before having lost everything because of Lye, the memories of her amnesia self, and the memories that she doesn't remember since they never happened due to Subaru's Return By Death ability. All of this allowed Rem to close in on Lye to deliver the final blow. Similar to how Ram took down Roy, Rem used the same method and managed to punch through Lye's chest and reached his heart. Without hesitation she grabbed his heart and crushed it with extreme force, causing Lye to cough some blood.
"This is the end for you, WITCH CULTIST!"
As Rem shouted this and destroyed the Sin Archbishop's heart, he could only look up as the light from his eyes was fading rapidly similar to how his brother died.
'Louis...we are sorry...we failed you...hope that...you can still be...happy...'
Just as Lye was going to die, he had a few seconds left which he used them to speak with Rem, someone he actually had respect for.
"Rem is...really really really...gourmet...thank you for...this f..."
Lye wasn't able to finish his words as his body dropped to the floor with a smile on his face while blood came out of his mouth. Rem was struggling to regain some sanity in her since she was beyond what her mind was capable of regarding her oni powers yet seeing that she has finally beaten Lye Batenkaitos. As the body was on the ground, Rem fell near it as her body was completely exhausted from the constant use of her oni powers. As she collapse to the ground, she looked at the dead Lye and felt anger at first since she hated seeing the dead witch cultist smiling but after a few seconds, her anger slowly faded away. She started to think about something her amnesia self had learned from a young Sora.
("Sora, what is something you want to do when you grow up?")
("I don't know yet...but I want to be by my friends side. All of them!")
("All of them? Why all of them?")
("Because no matter what, I want to see them all happy. I want to stand by their side and watch them smile.")
'You are so kind hearted Sora-kun. Even has a kid, you were sweet and selfless.'
Suddenly Rem's anger calmed down as she had a smile on her face, having thought about the moment her amnesia self had with the young Sora, finding it weird that it is technically her experience as well. Before she passed out, she could feel someone trying to carry her up which helped get her mind back to focus. She looked to the thing helping her up to see that it is her sister, struggling to keep herself on her feet.
"Nee-sama?"
"Don't worry...sister...we will make it out of here together..."
"...yes!"
The two oni sisters with the dream eaters by their side begin making their way towards the library, figuring that it is the only safe place for them. As they were walking slowly towards the location of the library, Ram took this opportunity to say,
"I'm proud of you sister. You have grown quite strong, maybe even stronger than me."
"...I-I don't know about that nee-sama..."
"It is the truth, Rem-san."
Rem stood silent for a moment, not sure how to feel about what her sister had just said yet she had a small smile in her face, feeling happy that Ram was proud of her.
"...th-thank you, nee-sama."
Ram smiled when she heard this.
During the time Rem and Ram were facing off Lye, Subaru and Shaula both walked around the lower levels of the watchtower. As they were looking for the source of the explosion, Subaru started to think of the loop where Louis while she was taking control of him made a promise to save Shaula, something he is willing to do.
"Shaula...while we have time, I want to talk."
"Oooooh, what does maaaster want to talk about?"
Shaula attempted to kiss Subaru to which he dodge since he wants to reserve any kisses to Emilia, his fiancée. As he dodge this, Shaula looked at Subaru annoyed yet the boy continued to look at her in a friendly manner.
"I want to ask, what will you do after all of this is done, Shaula?"
"I must follow ma~ster's orders. Protect the tower from intruders."
"Fair but instead of that...why don't you come with us?"
"Huh?"
Shaula turned sharply towards Subaru as she heard this, a bit surprised that her master would suggest this. At first she was stunned, thinking that maybe she might have misheard him yet her mind was beginning to rush with emotions of happiness. She didn't think that her master would want her to join him and his group and yet...
"...b-but master...we have a contract that I have to be here and protect the tower and oversee the trials. And then after they are done..."
Shaula's tone was one of sadness since she knows what will happen after everything is done. Subaru picked up on this and knew that there was something else going on with Shaula, making him think of a plan to get Shaula to join them.
'She is contracted with that Flugel asshole and considering how important contracts are in this world...there is only one way to help get Shaula out of here.'
Subaru looked at Shaula in the eyes and grabbed her shoulder gently before finally saying,
"You are contracted to Flugel, correct?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Well then let's make a new contract but under my name, Natsuki Subaru."
"U-Um...okay m-master? What is the contract?" Shaula asked with a bit of interest.
"Once we are done here, once we are done with the trials of the Pleiades Watchtower, you have to come with us."
"Really?! Master would let me join him?!"
"Y-Yes, though you have to swear your loyalty to the Emilia-tan camp but other than that, you can join us."
Shaula just couldn't hold her excitement that this was really happening. She was actually going with her master somewhere, away from the tower yet she was curious if there was anything more of this contract. Before questioning it though, she gave Subaru a tight hug, almost squeezing the life out of him before she was able to question him about the contract.
"Okay Okay Okay Okay, what else is there in this contract Ma~ster?"
"I think that is it. All I want is for you to be able to leave this tower and be happy."
Shaula was already at her maximum level of happy but hearing those words caused his happiness to go beyond that, completely off guard in how her master really cares for her. She wasn't sure what caused this change since from the beginning her master was distant and didn't seem to be interested in her. Because of this, her smile was slowly fading away since she didn't know what to think of now.
"Why is master being so nice then...?"
"Huh? Where is this coming from?"
"You have been distant. Even back then you were so cold to me..."
"I know and...I'm sorry but now I just want all of us to make it out alive. I don't want you or anybody else to be left behind which is why I want you to join us. You must've been here alone for so long, so why not join the group. Help us win the royal selection and maybe we can find you a hobby that isn't...killing intruders."
"Yes but will...will ma~ster be happy with me joining your group?"
"Yes, I, Natsuki Subaru, your "Master" will be happy to include you in the Emilia-tan camp...but under the condition that you form the contract with me. You become a member of the camp, fight by our side, and last but not least, be happy."
"...I, Shaula, guardian of the Pleiades Watchtower, will accept this contract with Ma~ster...under one condition."
Subaru was caught off guard with the last thing Shaula had said, somewhat skeptical in what her condition is, especially at how affectionate she is towards him. He took a deep breath before he asked her,
"What is your request, Shaula?"
Shaula looked at Subaru with a slight devious look for a brief moment before responding to Subaru's question with,
"A kiss."
As Shaula says this, she plucks her lips. Subaru stepped back for a moment, feeling his face turn completely red before he responded after calming himself down.
"Shaula...I can't do that, I'm well...engage with Emilia-tan now...wow it is still weird saying that. I know you want me to but I have to be loyal to Emilia-tan."
Shaula heard this and felt a bit hurt at first, feeling that she would never truly be happy yet she felt a bit happy that her master was being honest with her. She looked down with a sad smile and was about to say something until she felt a pat to her head, catching her off guard.
"But I can at least tell you that I love you."
Subaru didn't like using those three words too often with any other girl, not that he has said it to anybody aside from Emilia, Beatrice, and his parents but each one is under different circumstances. Although he isn't putting Shaula as a number two contender for his heart, he does care for Shaula. He looked at her and was unsure what she was thinking but before he could ask, she quickly said,
"...I've always wanted to hear that."
"Huh?"
The guardian of the Watchtower fell on her knees as she was in tears, completely overjoy by the words that were said to her by Natsuki Subaru. The boy was not only caught off guard by this but he wasn't sure why she was crying. Seeing that he didn't kiss her, he started to apologize.
"I'm sorry Shaula. I didn't mean to make you cry."
"I-It's okay M-Master, I'm just so happy right now. You finally said it! You finally said you love me! I'm so happy."
Shaula was crying so much, her tears filled with joy. Subaru looked at the guardian and just smiled at her before deciding to give her a hug, just to comfort her. The two stayed like this for a moment before finally Shaula was able to get back on her feet, having all her happy tears finally stop leaking from her eyes. She smiled at Subaru before accepting the contract as she held her right hand out.
Subaru recalled this motion from when Echidna attempted to make a contract with him and when he made a contract with Roswaal for the bet. He smiled and moved his left hand to touch Shaula's hand, confirming their contract. As their contract as now been set, both Shaula and Subaru's souls felt connected to each other for a brief moment. After it passed, the two nodded at each other before all of a sudden they hear a voice speak to the pair.
"Well Well, what do we have here?"
Both Shaula and Subaru got on their guard with Subaru pulling out his Rebirth keyblade. As the two looked at the direction of the voice, they notice that it was the one called Ansem. He looked at the pair with a curious facial expression to which both Subaru and Shaula didn't like. Subaru pointed his keyblade at the Organization member while saying,
"What do you want?"
"Put that weapon down, you aren't going to be winning any fight against me."
"Maybe not but I have my amazing ally, Shaula, here by my side."
"Yes! I will protect ma~ster!"
Shaula herself got ready to use her Hell's Snipe against Ansem. The Organization member stood silent for a moment before creating a corridor of darkness, preparing to leave which did confuse Subaru.
"Why are you leaving?"
"Because my work is done."
"What work?" Subaru asked in an annoyed tone.
"One that doesn't concern you."
As Ansem said this, he left the watchtower by going through the corridor of darkness. Subaru and Shaula tried to stop him yet the corridor of darkness closed before they could do anything. As it closed, Subaru started to suspect that something is going wrong since Ansem wasn't there in the previous loops. Due to this, Subaru turns towards Shaula to say,
"We need to get back to the others! I think they are in danger!"
"Don't worry, Shaula will help Master out!"
The two quickly start making their way back up the tower, with Subaru fearing that this won't be the loop he will succeed. As he thought of this, he recalled the loop when Emilia and Sora found out about Return By Death and how that loop ended with Emilia having broken because of the trials of the Sanctuary and Sora being killed by an Organization member.
'...no! I won't let it happen once again! Although it is Rem that knows instead of Emilia-tan, I won't fail on this loop! I have to succeed...I don't want to feel alone again!'
With determination to succeed, Subaru ran up the stairs with everything he had in him, wanting to make sure that this is the loop where they all make it out alive.
Sora and Emilia both made their way towards the top of the Pleiades watchtower, both of them determined to pass the trial and finish it together. As they make it to the top, the two encounter something they never thought they would. An existence whose name, nobody was unaware of in in the entire world. If the Witch of Envy was regarded as the symbol of fear, then it was the befitting symbol of hope and faith. For this existence had continued to accumulate meritorious deeds of such scale for the world. The name of that gargantuan and great existence—
"—Divine Dragon Volcanica." Emilia spoke with the name itself giving her a cold feeling while Sora was surprised to see the dragon himself. The Divine Dragon's stature was likely about fifteen or sixteen meters in height. Since it wasn't standing, had its wings and tail folded, its exact enormity couldn't be determined. But despite that it was this gargantuan, a matter of course that it couldn't be fit inside the tower. It was unquestionable that the first layer had been constructed in an open location because of Volcanica.
""
"...if the third layer was the Sage, the second layer was Reid, and then..."
"The first layer is for the Divine Dragon, the three greatest heroes."
Both Sora and Emilia puzzled this together.
"Could it be, that all three heroes of the great antiquity, are involved in the tower's Trials?"
"Maybe, Emilia."
Sora stood silent has he looked at the dragon with an interested look, this being another dragon he has seen in his life. This prompted him to speak to the dragon,
"Volcanica, we came here to take the Trial. The Trial of the first layer! We'll tackle it!"
"..."
"I don't know how tough the Trial it will be...but, Sora and I ask of you to hurry! We must hurry or Subaru and the others will be in trouble. Whatever it may be, bring it on!"
Striking her cheeks with her hands, Emilia reorganized her cowering emotions. Sora noticed this and quickly tried to reassure her by giving a warming friendly smile. Emilia noticed this and somehow found her cowering emotions to be taken away slowly, remembering just how cute a young Sora was and the cute smile he gave off. She nodded at him before the two turned their attention to the dragon, noticing the silence he was giving.
"Do you think that...the dragon is okay?"
"I don't know Sora but maybe the dragon is not saying anything because I'm a silver haired half elf..."
"Emilia, don't think like that."
"It's the truth Sora, a lot of people detest me because I look like—"
"—Satella." Sora interrupted.
"...yes..."
Emilia looked down as she was remembering everything bad that people had said to her due to her appearance. Sora took a moment to think, knowing that he needs to cheer his friend up but before he could say anything, the two noticed Volcanica slowly blinking. Afterwards, Volcanica moved its dragon jaws with grandeur,
"Thou, who hath reached the top of the tower. Step forth through the first floor, almighty petitioner."
"!"
"—I, am Volcanica. In accordance with the ancient covenant, I ask the will of thee who hath reached the summit."
"...Huh?"
Emilia and Sora both noticed what he said, making the two be on guard.
"..."
"...Ah! We didn't introduce ourselves! Our apologize. I am Emilia, just Emilia."
"And I'm Sora, Keyblade Master."
"..."
"...Still, no good?"
"—Thou, who hath reached the top of the tower. Step forth through the first floor, almighty petitioner."
"..."
"—I, am Volcanica. In accordance with the ancient covenant, I ask the will of thee who hath reached the summit."
Both Sora and Emilia were unsure on what they should do now since they don't know what to do with Volcanica constantly repeating his line.
"Could it be, that Volcanica became such an old uncle that he forgot about the Trial...?"
"Maybe...I don't know, Emilia."
The two were silent for a bit until all of a sudden they noticed a dark aura surrounding the divine dragon, causing the two to prepare themselves for a fight. As the dark aura was increasing, Volcanica stopped speaking and started to move in a manner that indicated that he was going to attack the pair. The two wait for a brief moment before beginning to move, seeing Volcanica preparing to attack with full might at the two.
Sora and Emilia nodded at each other before beginning the fight with Emilia creating the most powerful icicles to send towards the divine dragon while Sora with Kingdom Key in his hand ran towards the dragon to counter the dragon's attack. Sora and Volcanica's attacks countered each other with Sora being send back onto the floor with force, landing on his back. As this happened, Emilia fired her powerful icicles towards the dragon, managing to land a few hits. The dragon didn't seem fazed by the hits and just prepared to throw its fire breath towards the duo.
"Sora!"
"On it!"
As Volcanica started to blow fire breath towards the two, Sora managed to recover quickly enough to get close to Emilia before using Reflega to create a powerful barrier around the two. As the barrier was created, it was able to withstand Volcanica's fire breath. After a bit, the barrier broke with Sora and Emilia charging towards the dragon together, both of them preparing themselves for whatever the divine dragon will through towards the two. As the pair were closing in on the divine dragon, Volcanica quickly flew high up which forced the pair to grab onto the dragon's tail.
As the pair were on the air with Volcanica, the dragon took notice of this and tried to shack them off. Both Sora and Emilia did their best to hang on to the tail, trying to avoid getting thrown off yet some unknown force pushed the two, causing the two to start falling. As they were falling to the ground, all of a sudden an invisible field in the air was created for the pair to stand on. As Sora was getting up, Emilia looked around and was completely confused on what is going on since she wasn't falling anymore.
"Sora, why are we in mid-air? What is going on?"
"I um don't know how to respond but we will be alright, Emilia."
"A-Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Emilia looked at Sora for a moment before getting up, feeling a bit weird that she can stand on mid-air as if she was standing on the ground. As she was trying to process this, Sora quickly starts to move towards Volcanica's position as the divine dragon begins to charge directly at the Keyblade Master and the silver haired half elf. Emilia looked up and could see that the divine dragon was going to attack her and Sora with its tail, causing her to quickly fire a beam of ice towards Volcanica. The divine dragon noticed this yet the dragon tanked the attack, not looking faced yet Sora charged in towards the dragon to land a powerful hit towards dragon's head.
This somewhat fazed the dragon yet it quickly went on the offense, managing to land a hit on Sora, sending him flying towards the invisible ground once again. As Sora was falling to the ground, the divine dragon turned its attention towards Emilia and swiftly charged at the silver haired half elf. Emilia was not sure how she was going to block off the attack but before she could react, she heard Sora shout,
"Emilia! Catch!"
Sora with everything he had threw his keyblade towards Emilia's direction, managing to barely reach her. She noticed this and quickly caught it, seeing that the keyblade could help do some damage to Volcanica. Though the second she grabbed the keyblade, she didn't realize it back then but now she knows just how powerful the weapon is.
'Wow...this power is just...how does Sora control it? How does Subaru handle it?'
Emilia could tell that the keyblade's power is much more than what she even has with her trump card. She eventually getting her senses back as she could feel the divine dragon close by to her, causing Emilia to confidently charge towards Volcanica. The dragon fired its fire breath towards Emilia once it had closed in on her yet she was able to move out of the way quick enough to dodge the attack before getting closer to the dragon. Once she was close, she used Sora's Kingdom Key to land a strong hit on Volcanica's head, inflicting some damage. As she does this, Volcanica quickly uses its tail to hit Emilia away from it. The silver haired half elf was caught off guard by this, yet she was able to get back on her feet.
As she does this, she feels the keyblade telling her to point it towards the divine dragon. She does this and waited for three seconds before the keyblade with Emilia's power shot out extremely powerful ice magic. Volcanica attempted to dodge the attack or deflect it but the ice magic had reached him in intense speed, ending up taking a massive blow since this attack was enough to push it back. As the divine dragon was sent back for a bit, Kingdom Key disappeared from Emilia's hand and returned to Sora's as he was making his move towards the divine dragon. As the keyblade master closed the gap, he jumps into the air and lands a few hits on Volcanica only to be stopped when a dark barrier appears around the divine dragon. Sora glides his way near Emilia as the two look to see if there is some way to not only break the barrier around the dragon but also defeat it.
"Sora, do you have a plan?"
"At the moment I don't...this dragon is really tough."
"It reeeally is."
The two take a moment to think of a plan, both of them knowing that they are reaching the limits of their strength. As they were thinking for a bit, Emilia had recalled something that the mysterious figure had given him. She looked at her crystal that contains Puck and was about to summon her father until Sora asked,
"What are you doing, Emilia?"
"Just um going to see if I can summon Puck. He might be able to help us."
"Hm...actually, mind if I try first?"
"Um...go ahead."
Emilia was unsure what Sora was going to do yet she knew he didn't had any malice intent. She took off her neckless containing the crystal where Puck residence in before giving it to the Keyblade Master. As Sora was holding the crystal, he attempted once again his summoning ability, hoping that this time it will work since previously he had caused an explosion on the previous Roswaal mansion. As he was attempting this, the tip of his keyblade was starting to glow with a sphere.
This signify that the summoning was going to work, making Sora excited since he will get to have Puck as a summoning ally and reunite both Puck and Emilia. He quickly held the crystal close to his heart, causing a bright light to appear in his chest for a moment before a circle of light surrounded the keyblade master. This prompts Sora to point his keyblade to the sky where a his keyblade started to shoot a couple of bright lights up. This happened for a moment until the last one fired when high up in the sky to brighten up the entire area for two seconds before revealing Puck, stretching as if he just woke up.
"Hm. Well, seems like I'm back."
"Puck!"
Emilia was so overjoy to see her father once again. Puck turned towards Emilia and smiled at her, happy to see his daughter once again. Before anything could be said between the two, all three of them noticed the powerful aura of the divine dragon slightly overwhelming them.
"Seems like I've been awoken in a very bad situation."
"Sorry about that Puck, but we need your help." Sora said.
"Don't worry Sora, I will help, especially for Lia's sake."
Sora nodded at this statement before the three of them all charged at Volcanica, going all out together. Sora switched Kingdom Key into Shooting Star before using its formchange, going into element form since he knew that he needed a long range weapons. As he quickly changed into the form, he pointed his two double arrowguns directly at the divine dragon before beginning to fire, being the first out of the three to start attacking. Puck noticed this and quickly tried to think of something to do about the shield covering the divine dragon, noticing that Sora's attacks weren't able to do anything due to the shield protecting Volcanica.
Looked at the dragon for a moment before coming up with an idea. He put his paws together on his right side before gathering all the mana he had in him towards his hands, beginning to create a small sphere of mana and power. Emilia noticed this from Puck and quickly prepared to fire her own powerful ice magic towards the divine dragon. Sora noticed this and quickly combined his double arrowguns into the magic launcher, preparing to shoot the divine dragon with his bazooka. As the three prepared to fire their strongest attack, Volcanica's dark aura started to increase even more, causing Sora to fire his bazooka as he needs to stop this before it is too late.
As the missile was fired, it took ten seconds before it landed on the barrier protecting the divine dragon. Sora's missile was able to land enough damage to weaken the barrier. Puck and Emilia fired their strongest attack in unison, managing to land on the barrier. The combined attack between the two was strong enough to not only break the barrier but also land a strong hit on the dragon. This weakened the divine dragon enough for Sora to revert back to his original form, wielding Kingdom Key to deliver the finishing blow. As Sora landed the determining blow, all the darkness in Volcanica exploded around the area, causing Sora and Puck to both instinctively go to Emilia to protect her.
As the two were trying to close in, the invisible floor disappeared as both Sora and Emilia started to fall. Sora was able to quickly recover by gliding yet he knew that he needs to help his friend. He glides his way towards Emilia and with Puck's assistance, the two grabbed her and assisted in keeping her from continuing to fall to her death. As the three got close to the top of the Watchtower, they were suddenly blinded by a random light before noticing that there was an odd pillar.
Puck was not sure on this yet Sora and Emilia recognized the pillar, looking like a black monolith from the first trial. Although it looked the same as the first trial they all took, what was different was that the monolith was not levitating and the presence of an eye catching feature at its surface, which was supposed to be completely levelled.
"Someone's, handprints?" Emilia said as not only her but Sora and Puck noticed it as well. The three take a moment to inspect closely to see that there are six in total, handprints of differing men and women, all of the handprints being of separate humans.
"...Could it be Shaula's Master-sama, or Reid?"
"Maybe."
The two were trying to connect the dots of who might it belong the handprints. The two notice that Volcanica's handprint was also here but all of the other handprints present belonged to humans, so it did not seem that any of his dragon traces had been left behind. As they were inspecting the handprints, Emilia had noticed something odd in one of the handprints.
"This handprint, is mine...?"
Emilia was confused by this yet she couldn't go in depth when the three heard someone say,
"—Thou, who hath reached the top of the tower. Step forth through the first floor, almighty petitioner."
"~hk! It came back!"
Emilia, Puck, and Sora all three got themselves ready for a fight, seeing that Volcanica had returned to them. Before a fight could break out, Sora noticed that the dark aura that was on the dragon is gone, causing him to lower his guard. Emilia and Puck still had their guards up until Volcanica said,
"What art thou doing."
"Um...?"
The three were completely caught off guard by this since they weren't expecting Volcanica to speak like that.
"You're saying, something different from what you had been constantly repeating earlier!" Emilia said while Volcanica stayed silent. After a few seconds Emilia continued to speak,
"Did you return to sanity? Then, can you talk about some stuff? Like about the Trial, or about changing the established rules of this watchtower, there's a lot of stuff I need to discuss..."
"..."
"Hey, please! Properly converse..."
"What were to happen should thou tumble. Should that perchance happen, I would be the one to accept reprimand...Since, everyone bows before thee."
"Volcanica...?"
"To where have Flugel and Reid gone? It would be lonesome for Shaula with not even any words of parting. Farsale too, would kick up such a racket."
"Farsale? Who is Farsale?" Sora asked as he wasn't aware of the name.
"Farsale Lugnica is the king from four hundred years ago. But why is Volcanica mentioning him?"
Emilia questioned this yet her mind was focused back on the black monolith. As she was looking at the handprints once again, she looked back at the one that looked like hers.
"Could it be, I...have forgotten about something, aside from mother and everyone else from the forest?! Puck, have I been here before."
"No Lia, you have not yet someone else with your handprint has been here."
"That is a bit of a concern." Sora says this after having noticed what Puck had said.
"It is..." Said Emilia.
"...What happened? Any worries?"
"Ah, um, I'm alright. Thank you for worrying. Thank you, but..."
"If something is the matter then speak up. If it is thy distress then I shalt take it away...Satella."
Emilia froze with Puck looking slightly angry at the divine dragon when he heard this, hating when people call his daughter by the jealous witch's name. Sora felt indifferent about this since he can sense no insult when calling Emilia Satella's name. He also was aware of just how Satella and Emilia both look exactly the same, having recalled the witch's tea party. Before Sora or Puck could say anything, Emilia asked Volcanica,
"Why, would you speak to the Witch of Envy, with kindness?"
"...Witch of Envy."
Volcanica's voice and eyes shifted from kind into aggressiveness, causing Sora to quickly go into his double form as he pulled out both Oblivion and Oathkeeper. As the Keyblade Master was at full power, his powerful aura was enough to get Volcanica's rage to drop for a moment as he noticed Sora.
"Who is thee?"
"My name is Sora! The Keyblade's chosen one!"
"Key...blade..."
The divine dragon stood silent for a moment, thinking on the weapon of Sora's. While it did that, Sora knew that Emilia needed to know something that Subaru probably didn't tell her. He looked at her for a moment as he reverted to his original form with Kingdom Key back in his hand while saying,
"I think you should know something...but promise that you won't get mad at Subaru."
"Um okay...I can keep a promise."
"Mind if I join in on this? I also want to know what is going on."
"Sure thing...well the thing is that...um how do I put this simply..." Sora paused himself as he wanted to see what was the right words to use. The situation regarding the witch's tea party was weird on its own but not impossible. He thought for a few more seconds before finally saying,
"Me and Subaru went to Echidna's weird realm and there we met all the other witches...including Satella herself."
"Wait wait wait wait...you two...met..."
Emilia was completely caught off guard by this while Puck was looking at the Keyblade Master with a serious facial expression.
"Yes...well...she isn't as evil as people say but...she does look a lot like you..."
"How alike?" Emilia said quickly, wanting to know this crucial information. Sora realized that maybe telling her this information wasn't a good idea but it is too late to regret anything now. He looked at the silver haired half elf's amethyst eyes for a second before looking up at the sky.
"It's like if you are the same person..."
There was a silent between the three, Puck immediately approaching his daughter to comfort her since he can see that she is distraught from the information she learned. Emilia was just unsure on what to say but she was able to snap out of it within seconds when she recalled that Subaru had also met Satella.
"H-How did Subaru reacted?"
"W-Well it is a long story to explain but me and him promised her that we would save her."
"Sora, no offense but have you two lost your minds?!" Puck said as he found both keyblade wielders reckless for having made such a promise to someone like the witch of envy.
"She isn't the witch of envy. The witch and Satella are two different people."
"How?"
"Well..."
"Let's not lose focus. We have a trial to beat."
Sora and Puck both turned towards Emilia, surprised by what she had said.
"Lia, are you okay?"
"D-Don't worry Puck, I'll be fine. And Sora...I will keep this promise between us. I won't tell that dunderhead about what you told me...though you both are such idiots!"
Sora wasn't sure what to say to Emilia regarding this yet all he did was nervously laugh for a moment before turning his attention to Volcanica along with Puck and Emilia.
"Satella."
The divine dragon spoke to which Emilia was trying her best to keep her compusre, not liking how she is being called that. Sora can tell that this is bothering his friend, causing the boy to quickly point his keyblade at Volcanica while saying,
"Why are you calling her that name? Her name is Emilia, not Satella."
"Yes, Lia is nothing like that woman you speak of."
"Satella, yes, Satella. We must stop thee who hast been reduced to the Witch of Envy."
The trio all looked at each other as they heard this, unsure on why the divine dragon just completely ignored what both Puck and Sora had said. Emilia looked at the two for a moment before thinking of a question for the divine dragon, seeing that it's not being hostile towards the trio.
"...Were you close friends?"
"That day, I should not have hesitated. That day, had I not hesitated, everyone would have..."
No response to her question however, the trio notice Volcanica's trembling voice itself seemed as though the answer. The dragon lamenting on the name of the witch of envy for a moment before looking at the trio as if ready to fight.
"Seems like we are in for another battle." Puck spoke as the mana around him was being prepared to create some icicles.
"Just be ready."
Emilia nodded at this and got herself ready for another fight with the divine dragon. As it seemed like they were going to fight, Emilia looked back at the monolith and quickly decided to run towards it. As she does this, she sets her hand on the handprint that belongs to Satella just to see what will happen. Sora and Puck were surprised by this yet they noticed that the divine dragon was calmed itself down. Volcanica turned towards Emilia and spoke the same question yet this time it didn't sound like a trance.
"—I, am Volcanica. In accordance with the ancient covenant, I ask the will of thee who hath reached the summit."
Words she had heard, time and time again. Ask the will of the one who hath reached the summit. In other words, it was asking the emotions of the one who had reached the top. What did one wish to do, what did one wish for, what did one come here for. Emilia had plenty of answers for that question. What she wished to do, what she wished for, what had she come here for, the answers were many however, right now in these very moment, Emilia's urgent desire—,
"I ask. Thy will!"
"—For everyone, to get along!"
Subaru and Shaula both made their way close to the library and would've passed it if Subaru hadn't used his Cor Leonis ability to check on everyone. He noticed with his authority of greed that Rem and Ram were close by but they were weakened. This prompted him to quickly turn towards Shaula to tell her,
"Let's take a little stop at the library, Rem and Ram require our help."
"Whatever Ma~ster says, I'll follow!"
Subaru nodded when he heard this before the two went into the library to help the oni sisters. As they enter, Subaru immediately approaches the two as they show they are barely able to stand.
"Are you two okay?"
"Is Barusu blind or stupid?"
"Come on Ram, I'm being sincere here."
"And do you think I'm not, Barusu? You are a moron."
"Okay Okay, just here. Cura!"
Subaru pointed his Rebirth keyblade up towards the sky and casted cura on the two oni sisters, allowing them to regain some of their strength once again. The two oni look at Subaru for a moment before they each nod towards him, showing appreciation to what Subaru did. Subaru nodded back before he asked,
"How did it go against the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony?"
"Nee-sama and I were able to kill him, together."
"Yes but Rem-san finished the witch cultist. She should take credit."
"...I-I don't know nee-sama..."
Ram looked at her sister, having noticed what she said and the hesitation in her voice. This is new since she wasn't expecting her sister to have doubt in herself. She turned towards Rem and went to give a sisterly hug, wanting to comfort her. Subaru noticed this and smiled for a moment, happy to see Rem and Ram having a sisterly bond though Rem's inferior complex is an issue that should've been fixed when the amnesia Rem and the original Rem merged minds. Despite this, he figures that it might take some time before the inferior complex goes fully away. As he was lost in thought about Rem, he felt Shaula hugged him out of nowhere. Normally he would try to shake her off but seeing just how much this means to the guardian of the watch tower, he allowed it. As the library went silent for a moment, Subaru's senses went off when he could feel a cold nearby.
'S-Something is wrong. Why do I feel...wait, how long has it been?'
Subaru looked around the library quickly until suddenly a bit of shadows was starting to enter the library. Subaru tapped Shaula in the shoulder to alert her of the shadows entering the library. She opened her eyes and took note on what Subaru was pointing, causing her to prepare herself for the upcoming fight. Subaru turned towards Rem and Ram to alert them both of the impending threat. Before he could say anything, Rem almost fell to the ground for a brief moment since she felt overwhelmed of the witch's scent.
"Rem-san!"
"N-Nee-sama! Someone is here! Someone with a strong witch's scent!"
"What do you—"
"Rem! Ram! We need to get ready for a fight!"
Ram turned towards Subaru for a moment to see that he along with Shaula were preparing for a fight. She was confused at first until she saw that there were shadows entering the library. Rem also noticed this and quickly got herself ready for a fight with Ram pulling out his wand. Subaru looked at the two sisters as they stood side by side with him and Shaula. As the four were ready for a fight, Rem almost collapsed when the one controlling the shadows entered the library. The intense stink of the witch's scent caused Rem to feel that her nose was on fire since it was too much for her.
She covered her nose with one hand while having her other be ready for a fight. Subaru noticed this and wanted to help keep the slight pain Rem was feeling away from her, not knowing that he had activated a different part of the greed authority. He took in some of Rem's burdens and also felt his nose hurting but it wasn't as intense as what Rem had felt. Rem felt the pain slowly go away, allowing her to properly prepare herself for the fight ahead.
"Barusu, any plans?"
"We...we have to fight. Shaula and I can handle this, you two need to go."
"Wait but—"
"I'm sorry Rem but you and Ram are in no condition to fight. Just go and alert the others of this."
Rem and Ram both looked at Subaru with some concern since they don't want to leave him and Shaula to fight what seems to be the witch of envy herself yet they knew that they can't do anything. The two are still recovering from the fight against Lye Batenkaitos and are low on mana. The two were preparing to leave but first they both look at Subaru with Rem being the one to say first,
"Just be careful, Subaru-kun."
"Yes, what Rem-san said Barusu. Don't do anything stupid."
"I won't."
The two oni sisters nodded and quickly left, making their way towards the floor where Julius, Elsa, Beatrice, and the others are located. As the two leave, Subaru and Shaula were about to attack until the woman in the shadows started to speak.
"I love you."
"..."
"I love you. I love you."
"...I won't let you hurt master!"
As Shaula says this, she begins to fire her Hell's Snipe. Subaru noticed this and quickly was about to charge into battle but first he wanted to test something out. He fused with his keyblade to do a formchange. As Subaru formchange with his Rebirth keyblade, his clothing had changed into a more wizard like form with some shadows similar to the witch of envy surrounding him. Though his don't look as threatening, they do look similar. As Subaru's visual looks were different, the boy noticed that he was dual wielding his Rebirth Keyblade and the Starlight Keyblade, the first keyblade he had wielded.
'Not only do I look different but I feel powerful!'
As Subaru felt happy that he is all powerful, Shaula tapped him on the head to remind him that they are in the middle of something.
"Coooome on Ma~ster, we need to focus."
"R-Right, my bad."
Subaru looked at the witch of envy, having some fear that he might die here since his deaths were caused mostly by the woman in front of him. Although that fear was there, he was confident that with Shaula by his side and this new power within him, he might just make it out alive.
"Okay Shaula, let's do this!"
"Right Master!"
Author's note:
Sorry it took a little longer for this chapter, I had some life things to handle and the next chapter will take a little longer since it is the last one of this arc. After this arc is finished, I'll have the interlude be uploaded before taking a little break from the story. I am getting to the point of burnout and University will be starting for me.
What does this mean? It means that uploads of each chapter won't be weekly anymore but I won't stop until I finish this story.
Will Sora be the main focus on the next arc? Yes and no, Subaru as one last thing before his character arc in this version of Re:Zero is complete.
Will other Kingdom Hearts characters will appear in the next arc? Yes, two in fact. You'll know within the first two chapters.
Is Roswaal going to appear? Yes, he will have a named chatper (sort of).
Lastly, will Subaru start calling Sora well Sora instead of "Master Sora"? This upcoming arc will go into that but in short term, yeah. By the end of the arc, Subaru will call Sora just by his name.
I hope you guys are enjoying the story, it has gotten pretty long and I know I ain't the best writer but I will still give it my all to make this story good.