The throne room had been overtaken by a flurry of activity. The Council of Elders consulted with advisers, the knights had broken into groups which started leaving the room, and the nobles mostly stood shell-shocked. Subaru could understand how they felt. It was as if the floor had been pulled out from underneath him, with only endless darkness beneath.
His four spirits had vanished into the air, having sensed the tension, conserving their strength in case of an emergency.
Subaru looked over to the front of the room.
Reinhard was long gone, but Roswaal was still in the room. Subaru supposed he would be faster than Reinhard anyway, considering that he could fly. Though truthfully that might not mean as much, since Reinhard apparently had the Divine Protection of Swiftness, which allowed any mount he rode on to travel at incredible speed.
The margrave had taken Marcos aside and was leaning in to discuss something. Emilia stood near them, fidgeting uncomfortably, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to.
"Bro, come on." Felt snapped her fingers in front of his face, dragging his attention to her. "We'll get in the way here. And anyway, I want to make sure Old Man Rom and the others are safe. That jerk said they'd be sent up soon, but they won't be allowed in here."
"Ah, right." Subaru spared one last look to the half-elf, then followed her to the exit. Will they really be okay? I know Sir Marcos will be with her, but wasn't he in the palace last time? Or wait…
He cast his mind back to that fateful day, trying to remember the exact details of the attack, which was now two months ago, from his perspective. Alexander said the Captain of the Knights wasn't in the city last time. And everyone says he's the strongest knight aside from Reinhard.
A glimmer of hope ignited in his chest. That means we have one more trump card here than last time, even with Reinhard and Roswaal leaving!
The outside of the throne room was just as busy, if not busier. Uniformed officials filled the corridors, and contingents of guards were moving towards the entrance.
"We'll wait here," Felt decided, standing up against a column on the main path to the entrance. The corridor was so wide that even with the constant bustle, they were far out of the way. The only potential problem was that they might not be able to spot their companions, but considering Old Man Rom's size, that was unlikely to be a problem.
"Ah, Subaaaru Natsuki." Roswaal's lilting voice startled him out of his pondering. The eccentric margrave walked up to them, with an armoured guard at his side.
"You," Felt said, with a hint of suspicion. "Shouldn't you be flying out to stop the great calamities?"
"It would dooo no good to leave without preparing those who remain as much as possible, no? As a representative of the kingdom, I'm assigning a bodyguard to you, Subaru. He shall carry out your orders, so that you'll have adequate support during this trying time. I believe you are acquainted with him?"
"Eh?" Subaru glanced at the guard at Roswaal's side. "I don't think I've met any—"
His breath caught as the guard lifted his visor, revealing a familiar face.
"Ah, no, Lord Margrave. I have not had the chance to introduce myself to Sir Subaru until now." The guard bowed his head to Subaru, crossing one hand over his chest. "Lady Felt, Sir Subaru, I am a Patrol Captain of the city guards, recently reassigned to the palace guards. My name is Alexander. I offer my greetings to you."
"Um, likewise."
Felt didn't respond, but she looked him over, and apparently decided the guard was harmless, and went back to staring at Roswaal.
"Well, if that is aaall, I must be off," the mage said, beginning to walk away. "It would be preferable if I could engage the White Whale faaar from the city's boundaries."
He stopped, and looked back over his shoulder with his single yellow eye, speaking without a trace of his usual clownish accent. "Do take good care in my absence, Subaru. I hope my return to the city will be marked by good news."
Then he left, the officials in his path flowing out of his way.
Felt shivered and rubbed her arms dramatically. "He's so creepy! I can't see why you like him."
"I don't like him!" Subaru protested. "But… Well, he sponsored Emilia, didn't he? No one else would have done that."
"I don't know." She shot a suspicious look at the mage's back. "It feels like he has his own schemes going on. Stay alert when dealing with him, alright?"
"Sure, sure," Subaru said with a slight smile. "Oh, Alexander. Um, I've never had a bodyguard. I'm not sure I really need one. I'll be with Fe— Lady Felt for the duration of the attack."
"Neither of you are allowed to call me 'Lady Felt'. My name is Felt, that's what you're to call me. That's an order from a royal candidate!"
"As you wish, Felt." Alexander smiled down at her. "As to your question, Sir Subaru, Lord Roswaal insisted. If you receive any more visions, you may need more soldiers to avert catastrophe."
Subaru barely contained his flinch at the guard's words. They think I might have more visions, but that's not how this shitty ability works! I know nothing about what the future holds now!
But revealing that wouldn't do any good at this stage. Subaru would come clean after it was over. After the Witch Cult had been defeated.
"I have been granted sufficient rank to command a contingent in service of your orders." Alexander tapped a symbol on his breastplate, a pair of silver dragon wings over a sword. The heraldry meant nothing to Subaru, but he supposed it indicated a rank.
"Um, you don't really have to call me 'Sir'. Just call me Subaru."
Alexander tilted his head. "As you wish. I take it we are waiting for your companions from your camp?"
At Felt's nod, he continued, "Once they arrive, I shall escort you to the campaign room, where the other Royal Selection Candidates are sheltering. Sir Julius is overseeing the defence of the city from there. Usually that would be the Vice-Captain of the Knights' role, but Sir Julius must remain close to Lady Anastasia."
"The Vice-Captain?" Subaru asked. He recalled Alexander saying something about him in the previous loop, but he couldn't remember exactly what. "Is he still with the knights? I thought he resigned temporarily."
Alexander tilted his head. "No? While he doesn't have the best reputation, and he rarely visits the capital, he wouldn't shirk his duty by being absent for such a significant event. He is leading the defence of the palace, from the front line."
Really? Then last loop, did that rearrangement only take place in the last few days? Or did it get cancelled this loop because of the danger posed by the Witch's Cult?
Too many things were changing for Subaru to keep track of. The butterfly had flapped its wings, and now Subaru was caught in the resulting storm.
"Ah! They're here!" Felt tugged on Subaru's sleeve, directing his attention to the group approaching them. Rom stood out amidst the crowd, but he could also spot Otto's green cloak and hat, a satchel slung over his shoulder. However, there was one notable absence. Subaru didn't see a sign of their resident spy.
Felt ran up to Rom, no doubt feeling better now that her family was safe. Subaru followed after her, and they stopped in the middle of the hallway, staying out of the way of the crowds.
"Where's Velia?" Subaru asked.
Otto pursed his lips. "I don't know. Reinhard stopped at the mansion to inform us about the situation, and then he took Velia aside while I was gathering these." He patted the satchel at his side.
"She went on ahead of us. She should have reached you first. You haven't seen her?"
"I didn't. But if Reinhard has assigned her a job, then it's probably fine, right?" Subaru asked. If he was being honest, it was probably better than fine. At least someone has a plan, because I sure as hell don't.
"Well, we'll wait for her near our safe room." Otto turned his head towards Alexander, and a flash of recognition crossed his face. "You're the one with that Divine Protection, aren't you?"
"Indeed I am. I have been assigned as a bodyguard to Subaru. It was judged that he should be within range of my influence so that if the Witch's Cult is able to activate their 'fear spell', he will still be able to convey any information he gains to the knights."
Otto nodded, not noticing Subaru's unease at the statement. "Then, our cards are in play then. We will see if the cult has any more unknowns to throw at us."
He looked down at his satchel. "I need to get this to the city's defensive command post. It contains everything the Felt Camp has gathered or inferred from the investigation, it could be useful when preparing the defence."
"I will guide you there now. Um, Mister Rom…"
"I'll wait in the servants quarters," Rom said, waving away Alexander's hesitation.
"No, you can't!" Felt cried out. "What if something happens?"
"Then I'll be able to defend some of the others," Rom replied. "Don't worry, I'll be safe. I doubt I'd fit in the place you're going to. And, I don't think they'd like for someone with my… 'history' to be there."
"Then I'll go with you!" She glared at Alexander, as if daring him to try and contradict her.
"That is workable," the guard said instead. "I can have a squad accompany you to an unoccupied safe room."
Rom laughed and patted Felt's head. "No, it's fine. You're a leader now, little one, you need to be able to stand on your own two feet. Weren't you telling me about what you were going to do once you got out of the manor?"
"I know but—"
"I'll be safe. Even if I'm not in the same room as you, there'll still be hundreds of guards waiting to take a piece out of the cult. The only problem is whether there'll be any left for me!"
Felt struggled for a moment, then the fight went out of her, and she sighed. "Fine. I'll go."
She hugged her grandfather once last time, then he nodded to them, and walked down the corridor, deeper into the palace.
"Well then," Alexander said. "We'll head over to the campaign room now. Once there, we can send someone to inform your missing friend."
"No need!"
Velia came up to them so fast and stealthily, she seemed to appear out of nowhere. She was dragging another girl by the hand, and looked like she was in a hurry.
"Um, are you re~ally sure? I mean…" the girl asked faintly. Subaru looked over her, but her features weren't anything remarkable. She wore a simple white robe with a hood that cast a shadow over her face.
"Nonsense, this is a far better idea than the alternative," Velia told her, then turned back to the others. "I need you to come with me. This might take a minute."
She glanced at the group, before her eyes settled on Alexander. "You'd be the guard, then? That's good. Come on, it's not far."
She strode off, still dragging the girl behind her.
Otto sighed. "This had better be important. We shouldn't be wasting time, even if the cult likely won't attack while Reinhard and Roswaal are still so close to the city."
Despite his complaints, they followed the elf and her captive deeper into the palace, away from the crowds of people.
"I think it's… this one." Velia said, stopping at a door, and peeking in. "Or not. Maybe… ah, here it is!"
She flung open another door, and led them inside. It was a small meeting room, clean, but rather abandoned looking. There was a single table in the centre of the room, with a number of chairs arranged around it.
There was another door on the other side of the room, and a single painting hung on the wall opposite the window, of gently rolling hills.
"Huh," Velia said, looking around. "This used to be a guest room. At least they didn't get rid of my finest work." She strode up to the painting and eyed it critically. "Though, I have to admit, it doesn't seem like much now. I can't believe they actually bought it."
"Wait, you can paint?" Felt asked incredulously. "And what's one of your paintings doing in the palace?"
Velia shrugged. "I'd like to know the answer to that second question as well. I sold it to a noble collector, and later I learned that it got hung up in the palace. I didn't believe it until I snuck in to check for myself. As to that first one, well, you can't reach one hundred years without picking up a few skills. And painting is great practice for improving your mind's eye. I'd even recommend you try it, Subaru, once you get better with larger illusions."
"One hundred years…?" the girl wondered aloud. "Does that mean you're…?"
Velia smiled, and waved her hand over her face, causing her features to blur, and reform. Her vibrant red hair colour faded, leaving a light grey in its place, and her ears sharpened to knife-like points.
"I'm Velia. Spy, illusionist, and grey-haired elf."
"Eh?" Subaru glanced between the girl and Alexander, shocked that Velia would so casually reveal her secret.
The girl was taken aback, but she didn't seem frightened, exactly. Alexander made no reaction at all. He merely glanced at Velia's new appearance, then went back to watching the door.
"Oh, but before we go any further…" Velia reached over and tapped the window, causing it to darken momentarily. "That should keep any unwanted eyes out. Alright, you can take off that hood now, and we'll go over the plan."
"Plan? Did Reinhard ask you to do this?" Otto asked.
"Reinhard is on board, but the plan comes from someone else. The Captain of the Knights told me most of the details, so I'd guess it was him."
Felt tilted her head. "Isn't Sir Marcos going to be leaving the city?"
"Yes, yes, but hold your questions for a moment." She nodded to the girl, who reluctantly raised her hands and lowered her hood, revealing dazzling silver hair and sparkling amethyst eyes.
"E—Emilia!?" Subaru cried out. What!? How!? I heard her speak, and I could clearly see her, there's no way I wouldn't recognise her! Wait, that's the same cloak she was wearing on the first day! How did I not recognise it!?
Subaru wasn't the only one startled. Every one of his companions stood in various states of shock, except for Alexander, who once again, didn't look perturbed in the slightest.
"It's an interesting application of illusion isn't it? There's an unnoticeablity spell woven into the strands of the cloak," Velia said. "The spell is a little inefficient, but it's amazing work. I wish I could make an item like this."
"Wait, what's going on? Why is she— Why are you here, Emilia?" Subaru asked. "Shouldn't you be with the Captain of the Knights? Isn't he going to protect you?"
"No," Velia answered before Emilia had a chance. "We're playing a li~ttle trick on the cult. I'll disguise myself as Lady Emilia, and disguise her as me. Then I'll go with Sir Marcos's team to distract the cult, while she remains safe here in the palace."
"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. If I could do something…"
"Don't worry about it." Velia patted Emilia's shoulder. "It's only natural that a Royal Candidate be protected, and besides, this isn't the first time I'm playing the role of a body double. If the decoy team does run into trouble, I'm far more likely to get away than you would be."
She took Emilia's hand, and led her towards the door at the back of the room. "Come on, we need to exchange clothes. The illusions will work better if I can focus them around our faces. You lot stand guard."
They went through, and soon after, Subaru heard the rustling of fabric. He turned away, feeling his cheeks warm a bit.
His gaze met Alexander, who still didn't seem phased.
"How the hell are you so calm about everything?"
Alexander smiled sheepishly. "My apologies, Subaru. My Divine Protection is useful, but it also dulls my emotions. Due to it, I always remain calm."
He caught the expression on Subaru's face, and hurriedly continued, "Do not feel like you have caused offence. I am comfortable as I am, truthfully, I even prefer it. It seems like it would be quite a chore to live constantly dragged around by tides of emotions. I am satisfied with the few I do possess."
"Really? I can understand fear or sadness, but what about happiness? There are plenty of good emotions, you shouldn't have to miss out on them!"
"All emotions strip people of their rationality," Alexander explained gently, as if this was a difficult truth he had guided many to before. "They cause people to grow unconcerned with the future, or with the troubles of the present. Basking in exuberance can be just as terrible as wallowing in doubt."
He paused. "That is not to say those emotions are bad, I have seen jokes told between companions that can lighten their burdens, but the burdens themselves are borne from their worry. I experience neither the highs nor the lows, but I am comfortable with it."
Subaru's mouth opened and closed silently, as he tried to think of some kind of refutation, but nothing came to him. Luckily, he was spared from having to reply.
The door slammed open, and Emilia stepped out proudly, a mischievous grin lighting up her face. Subaru might have mistaken her for the real deal, if not for the terrible scar across her cheek.
"Don't mention it," Velia warned, clicking open a handheld mirror and stepping up to the window. Even her voice sounded like Emilia's, though the inflection was slightly off. "I need better light to cover the scar. But what do you think of Lady Emilia? It's a rushed job, but it should hold up long enough for Reinhard and the Margrave to return."
Another person stepped out of the doorway, wearing Velia's face and clothes, but clearly possessing an entirely different personality. She was timid, had her head lowered, and spoke with a slight quiver, unlike anything Subaru had ever heard from the spy. "Are you sure you want to do this? You shouldn't feel obligated just because I'm a candidate. It could be re—" she coughed as Velia's voice refused to carry her usual way of speaking.
"Really dangerous. There's no reason—"
Velia snapped her mirror closed, and turned to Emilia, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm doing this entirely for my own benefit. Even if you don't win this selection, the longer you stay in it, the more the public will grow used to you. I don't think that will end discrimination on it's o~wn, but…" She shrugged. "It would be nice to have a country where I could potentially walk freely with my original appearance. I feel like I should do my part to create the world I want to see. I'm going to be living in it for a long time, after all."
She turned to the others, and held out a hand to Subaru. "Reinhard gave you a conversing mirror, didn't he? Gimme, I need to connect it to mine."
Subaru fumbled around in his pocket, and took out the metia, handing it gingerly over to her. He was feeling so many mixed emotions at the moment, from anxiety at Velia's safety, to relief at the fact that Emilia wouldn't be in danger, to the bizarre feelings he couldn't properly explain, at seeing Emilia's face radiating a confidence he had never seen before. The scar had been completely covered up, to the point that only Velia's mannerisms gave her away.
You know, maybe Alexander has a point. Emotions are hard.
They parted ways once Velia finished fiddling with Subaru's mirror. She pulled the hood of Emilia's cloak over her head, and set off down the corridors back to Sir Marcos. Alexander then guided the rest of them towards the campaign room, with Emilia nervously keeping pace. She wore her green jewel around her neck, the only item Velia had allowed her to keep.
She fell in to walk beside Subaru, which he would have been overjoyed for, except for the fact that she looked exactly like Velia did in her red-haired disguise, which was confusing his already tortured feelings.
"Um, did you bring servants with you?" he asked, trying to make conversation to take his mind somewhere else. He didn't really want to know anything about those two, but if he was going to run into them, he'd rather have advance warning.
Emilia flinched. "No, it's just me. I— I can't really talk about it."
"Ah. I see."
The conversation died where it began, and they walked in an awkward silence for the rest of the trip.
Once they passed into the deepest sections of the palace, Alexander directed them to a large door, with ten menacing guards standing outside the entrance.
The lead one looked over the group, then let them inside.
To Subaru's surprise, the interior looked like a war room from his original world. They were entering from the side, near the back of the room. A large mirror hung on the wall, and several tables were set up with chairs facing it. There were several other mirrors lying face up on the tables, with uniformed officials attending to them.
Conversing mirrors. Subaru thought. There's loads of them. This must be the headquarters for all the guards in the capital.
Subaru could see many of the officials' lips moving, but not a sound escaped from them. Likely due to a magic of some kind.
On a hunch, he extended his awareness through his contract with Luna, and sensed slight ripples of Yin in the air around each official. So they're silencing spells. I guess it would be hard to listen if you were surrounded by the noise of everyone else's conversations.
Luna stirred slightly, but remained hidden. Subaru could feel the mutterings of his spirits in the back of his mind, but they all had the sense not to come out and distract him.
Of the three remaining Royal Candidates, only one was present. Anastasia stood beside Julius at a large table in the centre of the room. A large map of the city was laid out over it, with small blocks gathered across locations on top of it. The knight was talking to a handful of aides, directing their attention to locations as they set more blocks down.
Is that a tactical map of the capital and it's forces? It's like something out of a movie.
Aides went to and fro, carrying slips of paper from the table to the officials. No, operators would be a better word. The operators would write down what they heard from their mirrors, then an aide would take it and go back to the table, and set up a number of blocks at a location, based on what was on the paper.
"Lady Felt." Julius stepped away from the table and swept his eyes over the group, lingering on Emilia for a little longer, but if he noticed anything, he gave no indication of it.
He bowed to Felt, as strict with his noble sensibilities as ever. Once upon a time, that might have bothered Subaru, but now he found it reassuring. He considered Julius a friend, even with his overly noble attitude.
He's never met me, though. The sudden thought struck him like an arrow through the heart. He hadn't met the Finest Knight since his last death, which meant that from the knight's perspective, this would be their first official meeting.
Subaru withdrew a little, once again forced to acknowledge the fact that no one would remember the memories he treasured so much from previous loops.
And if I fail today, I'll lose even more.
He glanced at Felt, a new friend he had found in this loop, and at Otto, an old friendship he had managed to salvage. If he had to restart again…
He shook his head.
That won't happen. We're prepared this time. We can win this. Then, I can recover everything. Emilia is right here, and Julius, and Anastasia. I can befriend everyone again once the cult has been defeated.
Encouragement! Luna projected through the bond, soon joined by Muninn and Sol.
There was a moment of silence, and then Subaru caught something from Muninn, resembling sad puppy eyes.
Huginn grumbled an acknowledgement, and sent Subaru a rather fake-feeling cheer.
Subaru smiled at their antics, and from Luna's subsequent smugness, he guessed that was the goal all along.
"Sir Marcos is leaving the city," an official said, his silencing field suddenly disabled. "Putting it up now."
The large mirror turned pitch black, then lit up, revealing a wide shot of Marcos and a group of seven others riding land dragons out of the city gates. Velia was among them, her newly silver hair streaming back in the wind. She had managed to school her face into a reserved, somewhat melancholy expression, accurate to what Emilia had usually looked like over the past day.
"Where is the connecting mirror?" Felt asked, studying the scene intently. "It's too high, and it's keeping up with that group, even though they're riding land dragons. Did you attach it to a bird or something?"
Startled, Subaru double-checked the mirror. Sure enough, the view was keeping pace with the group, as if it was a scene from an anime. He hadn't even noticed, since it had been so similar to what he had grown used to from helicopter footage and films.
"This is a special version of conversing mirror, created by Roswaal K. Mathers, the current Margrave's predecessor," Julius explained. "They do not connect directly to a mirror, rather, they allow viewing of the mirror's surroundings. This one is currently linked to one Sir Marcos is carrying."
"I see." Felt brought her attention away from them, and looked around the rest of the room. "Where are the other two candidates? Weren't we all going to evacuate to the same place?"
"That is correct," Julius answered. "This room is the safest place in the capital, however, Lady Crusch has chosen to return to her manor, and organise her men for the defence of the city. As to Lady Priscilla, she has not revealed her intentions. According to reports, her knight asked that they be accompanied by a squad while she 'goes for a walk'."
He paused. "We've assumed that she too means to battle the cult, though we are not positive. It is possible that she means to seek shelter elsewhere in the city."
Knowing her personality, she probably would just go for a walk in the middle of a dangerous situation like this, Subaru thought. I don't envy her knight. He must have a hard time of it.
Otto placed his satchel on a table, and started taking out documents. "These are the Felt camp's notes on the Witch's Cult. I've also collected some notes on possible locations the cult may strike, based on the vision. Could you look over them, Sir Julius?"
"Of course. Would you mind if I ask you to direct me to what you consider most relevant?"
The two of them sat down at the table, spreading the notes out in front of them.
Alexander retrieved chairs, and offered them to the group.
With nothing better to do, Felt and Emilia sat at the back of the room, while Subaru remained close to Julius and Otto, trying to memorise every detail they mentioned. On occasion, he'd glance up at the mirror on the wall, still displaying Velia and the knights riding through the open plains.
It hadn't been long since Reinhard had departed, but Subaru could already tell.
It was going to be a long day.
"Confirmed, we've sighted cultists in the city."
At the sound of the voice, Subaru snapped back to attention. In the hours since they had arrived at the room, little had changed. Otto finished his presentation of everything they had found out, and they had been left to wait in a nervous silence. Felt had tried to make conversation, but they had been too anxious to keep it up.
But now that Reinhard and Roswaal were too far from the city to turn back and help, the cult had shown their hand.
"They're in the northeast section, near the gates."
"There's a smoke plume rising in the south as well," another operator called out. "A team has already been sent to get a better look."
Julius nodded, looking down at the map. "Understood. Get me the approximate locations."
Over the next few minutes, aides placed red markers all over the map, concentrated around the gates in and out of the city.
"It looks like they're trying to keep us in," Felt said. She looked up at the mirror still focused on Velia and the knights. "How far away are they now? We wouldn't be able to help them even if we wanted to."
"They were on the road to Fleur until around forty minutes ago," Julius said. "Then they changed direction to go out onto the Great Plain. You are correct, there is little point in their attack now, if all they wanted was to prevent us from aiding them."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"What my knight is tryin' to say," Anastasia said, "is that the cult has another goal in attackin' us here. These two streets," she pointed at spots on the map, "are nowhere near the gates, and wouldn't prevent a sortie out of the city. But, the cult has attacked them anyway, and they've cut three southwest garrisons from reaching the eastern sides of the city. Any forces sent out from them would have to take the long way round."
"And the garrison fortifying the entrance to the upper strata has reported several cultists scouting the surroundings," Otto said. "If they wanted to prevent the knights deploying from the city, there are several less defended checkpoints they could have used. The only reason they would need to attack that garrison is if they planned to attack the palace itself."
"But there is no need to worry," Julius reassured them. "Lady Crusch is overseeing the defences there, and she's brought the soldiers of the Karsten house with her."
Subaru looked at the location they were talking about. It wasn't the most defensible area, only a grassy plain and a patch of trees, looking down a slope to the rest of the city. The main defensive value of the location came from the fact that any attacking force would have to pass through that narrow plain, since the rest of the upper strata was cut off from the city by massive cliffs.
"Sir Marcos requests an update," one of the operators called.
Sure enough, Marcos's team had slowed their pace, and the green-haired knight was looking down at an object in his hand. The scene on the mirror showed them riding down a dirt road, not far from a forest. Several of the knights were watching the tree-line warily.
"I'll handle it." Julius walked around the tables, up to the mirror at the front of the room, and cleared his throat. "Sir Julius, reporting."
"I've already been told about the attack. How bad is it?" The knight's gruff voice emanated from the mirror.
"So far, the damage has been minor," Julius answered. "There have been few casualties, and the attacks have been focused around the gates. They've avoided direct confrontation, instead, they seem to be targeting infrastructure. However, judging from the scale of their operations, they do not have as many forces as we feared. I'm beginning to deploy knights for our counterstrikes. How are things on your end?"
Even from a distance and viewed from the side, it was easy to see Marcos's mouth make a straight line on the mirror. "We haven't seen a trace of the cultists, however, we've been followed by flying mabeasts for the last half hour. We've shot down a few, but more always appear. Given that the cult has shown it has the capability to influence the great mabeasts, I doubt this is a coinciden—"
He stopped suddenly, then pulled back sharply on the reins of his ground dragon. "Everyone stop!"
His voice now echoed from the large mirror at the head of the room.
The knights around him stopped their dragons, and Velia perked up, staying alert for danger.
"There are several mages hidden underground just ahead," he said, swinging out of his saddle, and standing between Velia and the presumed threat. "They planned an ambush here."
He stomped his foot, and a wave of earth spread out through the ground, causing an explosion just ahead of the group.
The earth upturned, giving rise to a massive cloud of dust. Then the cloud glowed, and several balls of fire shot out towards the group. Two of the knights raised their hands, and two barriers sprung into existence, one of wind, the other of ice, and the fire impacted them in large explosions.
"Ah, how splendid, how fantastic!" Subaru's blood chilled, as he heard the voice of the madman he had encountered once before. "You diligently protect the girl, never wallowing in Sloth, extending your awareness to search for us! We, who waited silently, motionlessly, diligently! And yet, and yet, and yet, you found us!"
The dust was blown away by a sudden force, and a man stood in its place, surrounded by cultists, his dark green hair waving slightly in the wind.
"Truly," his voice was now soft, with an undertone of maddened anger, "we were the slothful ones."
"That's him!" Subaru shouted, "That's Sloth! He's a Sin Archbishop!"
"Understood, Mister Natsuki," Marcos replied, his voice clear and steady. He directed his next words to the knights accompanying him. "There are only a few dozen of them, and they have no cover. Take them out, and protect our charge. I'm going to engage th—"
There was a sound like a crash of rock on steel, and Marcos was pushed back, his feet leaving tracks in the ground.
The cultists charged, flinging daggers and spells into the group of knights, who responded with spells of their own. The flashing lights caused the mirror to turn white in places, and it was difficult to make out what was happening.
Then, Marcos's voice shouted, and a wave of force shook the ground, causing a brief lull in the battle. It was all the Captain of the Knights needed.
He charged forward, crashing through two cultists without slowing, ignoring their attempts to stab him with their knives.
"To attack without preparation or stratagem, that is the epitome of Sloth!" The madman cried with glee. "Authority of Sloth, Unseen Hand!"
The air rippled as something struck Marcos, his armour buckling, but the knight continued rushing forwards. He slashed out with his sword in an arc, and was released from whatever was holding him back.
"What!" Petelgeuse shouted in shock. "To have overcome my Unseen Hands, my proof of the Witch's Love—"
With a single cleave of his sword, Marcos cut the Sin Archbishop in two.
The Sin Archbishop flopped to the ground, gasping in denial of the reality he had found himself in. "It— it cannot b—"
The life faded from his eyes, filled with hatred to the end, and he went silent.
The other cultists, seeing their leader go down with a single strike, immediately disengaged, fleeing from the knights to the safety of the trees.
The knights shot a few spells as parting shots, but made no effort to pursue. They were surrounded by the corpses of fallen cultists, but not a single one of them had been killed in the ambush.
"Wow," Subaru said, looking up at the mirror with a growing sense of relief. Marcos killed him so easily! If that's the best the cult can do…
He smiled, a fountain of joy springing up inside him.
Then they don't stand a chance! We'll win this easily!
"Everyone mount, I want us to be far away from here before they regroup." Marcos ordered. "Be on the lookout, we have killed this one, but there could still be more Arch—"
"Ah, ah, ah! When we were called out here, we doubted that there would be much point, but look at this feast before us!"
Subaru heard a new voice from the mirror, the high-pitched tone of a young boy. He felt shivers go down his spine. This voice was different from Petelgeuse's, but there was something similarly off about it.
But even that wasn't enough to put a damper on his mood. Surely, if it was Marcos, this new enemy would be cut down just as the last had been.
"Maybe this won't be a waste after all! We will certainly enjoy this feast!"
The knights whirled to face the newcomer, as he came into view on the mirror. He was short, with light-brown hair that came down to his knees. Two witch cult daggers had been strapped to his forearms, and his clothes were dirty with grime.
Marcos levelled his sword at the boy. "Identify yourself. I am not fond of slaying the downtrodden, but I will not spare you should you choose to fight us here."
"Ah?" The boy stopped, and the one eye visible through the gaps in his hair narrowed. "Are you pitying us? You, you knight, you adult who doesn't care?" His lips curled back into a snarl, and he hissed like a feral animal. "We remember eyes filled with scorn, eyes that look down on us!"
He crouched low, settling into a battle stance. "We are a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Gluttony, Lye Batenkaitos!"
Marcos exhaled softly in disappointment, but lifted his sword in a two-handed grip. "Captain of the Royal Knights of Lugunica, Marcos Gildark."
Lye grinned, then lunged, moving too fast for the mirror to accurately track. His daggers slashed out at Marcos, aiming for the throat, but a flicker of the knight's sword deflected them, sending the young cultist flying.
He landed lightly on his feet, and laughed wildly. "Ah, this is great, it's glorious, it's remarkable, isn't it good? ~ah!"
He smiled with unnatural joy. "Leaper!"
In the space of a heartbeat, he was in the air behind Marcos's head, two daggers slashing at his neck, but they drew only sparks, as Marcos angled his body so his pauldron deflected them.
Marcos whirled, his sword carving the air in two, but Lye was no longer there. This time, his dagger struck true, scratching the armour at the back of Marcos's left knee.
"Oh, oh, it isn't enough? ~ah!" He appeared over Marcos's head, and lashed out in a complicated series of stabs and slashes, almost every strike parried by Marcos's longsword. The few that got through hit only the armour on the knight's forearms, failing to do any real damage.
Subaru watched with bated breath. Lye Batenkaitos, a second Sin Archbishop, and one of the unknown ones at that. He didn't know whether to feel glad that it wasn't the dreaded 'Greed' that had appeared, or if he should be disappointed that Marcos wouldn't be able to kill both of the most terrible witch cultists in the space of a few minutes.
Marcos made a sudden counter, his sword making contact with the boy, launching him through the air.
But when he landed, Lye was still in one piece, with only his clothes appearing to have been damaged.
"Carnivorous Beast, ~ah!"
"Surrender now, and you will still survive." Marcos ordered. "I can guarantee your life."
Lye's expression darkened. "Pesky adult, interfering, offering pity that we don't want! We'll eat you! Leaper!"
He was behind the knight once again, but this time, he was greeted by the slash of a longsword.
The cultist twisted in mid-air to avoid it, and rammed one of his daggers at a gap in Marcos's armour. However, it wasn't the armour that gave way. The dagger buckled with the force of the blow, leaving one of the cultist's weapons useless.
"Eh?" He blinked in shock, but before he could make another move, Marcos rammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
"Wait!" A trace of panic had entered the Archbishop's voice, as he spasmed where he lay.
Marcos's foot made a creator in the earth where the cultist's chest had been, which Lye only narrowly avoided by leaping into the air again.
However, Marcos had somehow guessed where he would end up, and his sword was already travelling in an arc, aiming to sever the boy's neck.
"Carnivorous—"
Lye managed to twist to take the blow across his body instead, which allowed his incredible resistance to spare his life, but the sword launched him across the plain, and he tumbled to the ground.
"—Beast, ~ah!"
Despite the line of blood running up his body, the boy looked ecstatic, his eyes glinting like a predator on the hunt.
He put a hand to his chest, and a blue light shone, erasing his wounds.
"We didn't expect this, ~ah!"
He pulled the daggers off his hands, and let them drop, then smiled widely, baring his teeth.
"You are Gourmet. You'll taste marvellous, you'll taste delicious, you'll taste delectable, won't you taste great, of course you'll taste great! ~ah!"
He launched himself forward, extending a clawed hand.
Marcos levelled his sword at the boy, and Lye met it head on, crying out, "Palm of the Fist King!"
Sword met flesh, and the flesh won.
Marcos's sword shattered into a thousand glittering pieces, and the knight's eyes widened in shock.
In the blink of an eye, Lye struck out from all directions, showering Marcos in blows.
The knight blocked the first few with his forearms, each one cracking his armour, but as they racketed up in intensity, some got through, hitting him from the front and back and every side, knocking him off-balance.
"No!" Subaru couldn't believe his eyes. It couldn't end so easily, could it?
"Don't worry Subaru," Julius reassured him. "It isn't for nothing that Sir Marcos is known as 'The Boulder'."
The Sin Archbishop landed a devastating series of hits on Marcos's breastplate, creating large cracks in the metal.
"~ah! Thank you for this feas—urk!"
Marcos's arm snapped out, and he caught the young Sin Archbishop by the throat, preventing him from moving further, then the knight rammed him into the ground, holding him down by the neck.
"Gah! Guh!" The Sin Archbishop tried to speak, but Marcos only constricted tighter.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot risk my soldiers' safety. If you will not cooperate, I must end the threat you pose."
Lye narrowed his hate-filled eyes, and his skin crackled with lightning, which traveled up Marcos's arm, striking at him through the armour he wore, but the knight paid it no mind.
"Die now, and rest with your fellow—"
"Ah, to only focus on a single opponent, without heed of your surroundings, that is Sloth, yes?"
Subaru tensed. It can't be— That voice, it's different, but…
Marcos stumbled as if struck by a truck, loosening his grip on the Sin Archbishop.
His guard slipped for only a second, but a second was all Lye needed. He escaped from Marcos's grasp, and raked his claws across the knight's face, drawing blood for the first time.
But rather than press his advantage, he leapt backwards, landing on the grass next to a female cultist, who smiled with the same insane expression that Petelgeuse had worn.
Lye brought his bloodied hand to his mouth, and licked the blood from his fingers.
"Marcos Gildark, ~ah!"
The knight collapsed, and the rest of the knights immediately lashed out with spells, beginning to retreat.
Subaru's breath caught, and the room was suddenly filled with a flurry of activity.
"Get out of there, now!" Julius ordered. "Try to outrun them, they don't have land dragons! Keep your defences up!"
"Wha—?" Subaru gasped. He looked at the fallen knight, but he lay unmoving. "How—? How did Marcos—?"
He glanced up at the female witch cultist. "That— that was the same thing Petelgeuse did. No way, do more of them have that power!?"
"Ah, you seek to fight diligently to the end! On land dragons, no less, the most diligent of all creatures, who diligently work, diligently obey, diligently carry out their master's orders…"
The woman smiled, and tilted her head down to look upon the fleeing riders.
"…to their last breath!"
The earth underneath their feet erupted with fire, and cultists swarmed out of the trees, flinging spells and daggers at the group.
The remaining knights tried to hold them off, but one by one, they were cut down by the ferocity of the assault.
Velia stumbled as she hit the ground, her ground dragon's head falling beside her, but she managed to stay on her feet.
"No." Subaru heard the whisper from beside him.
Emilia was watching the screen, her eyes wide with desperation.
"No, not again, not now, please don't—!"
Velia drew her knives, and glanced around at the surrounding cultists, then snarled. She took off, ducking and weaving around the strikes of the cultists, who seemed hesitant to try and use their weapons on her.
"Oh? You fail to capture the girl, despite having the overwhelming advantage? That is Sloth! Sloth, Sloth, Sloth! Ah, forgive us who have sinned, who fail to live up to your Love!"
"~ah?" Lye's eyes lit up with curiosity, but he wasn't watching Emilia's retreating figure.
"What is this? It's strange, we haven't seen it before, it looks tasty."
In the blink of an eye, he was standing among the remains of the knights, and he slashed at the empty air.
Except it wasn't empty.
Velia fell back, suddenly visible, as the illusion she had created of Emilia running burst apart into motes of light.
"Damn you—"
"Palm of the Fist King!"
Lye's blow hurled her back, light and shadow melting off her body, revealing her original appearance.
She tumbled and rolled, finally coming to a stop at the woman's feet.
She tried to say something, but could only cough up blood.
"Ah." The woman's eyes went wide.
"You are not the half-elf. You are not her, not her, not her!"
"I'm sorry!" Emilia cried. "It should have been me, I never should have let this happen! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Anastasia's eyes widened, clearly she had figured out what had happened.
Petelgeuse's replacement cried out, and grasped her hair in her hands, pulling at it as if to rip it out.
"We have failed, we let ourselves be led astray, we have been Slothful!" Velia lurched, and flew up, suspended in the air by some invisible force.
"We have indulged in Sloth, oh, forgive us!" Velia's arms twisted, and she screamed as they were ripped from her body.
"Forgive this, our transgressions, our weakness of flesh, our failure to carry out the instructions of your gospel!" With one final shudder, Velia's head was ripped from her shoulders, and the mirror cut out, the last scene engraved into Subaru's mind.
"No," he said, denial the only emotion he could muster up, his voice blending with Emilia's. "No, no, no, no, nonononono…"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Sir Subaru, calm." Someone was speaking to him. He didn't want to pay attention. Couldn't pay attention. "You're in shock. Just listen to my voice. You need to remain calm. They'll be coming here soon."
Subaru felt his senses come back to him a little, but that only made him feel worse.
"They killed her." His voice was only a whisper. "They killed Marcos. What can we do?"
He looked up to meet Alexander's eyes. "There's no one else in the city who can fight them!"
Alexander tilted his head, his face filled with understanding, a hand on his shoulder, keeping him steady.
"Subaru…" he began gently.
"Who is Marcos?"
AN: A bit late again, but not as bad as I thought it would be.
I've looked back over my previous author notes, and man, I can really come off as self-deprecating sometimes. Please don't pay it any mind, I just like complaining :)