"Paralak!"
Darkness swirled around him, gathering towards Luna, coalescing into… absolutely nothing.
The mana dissipated, and Subaru sighed, letting his arm fall to his side.
"Ugh… another failure."
Luna hovered over to the side of his head, whispering consolation and encouragement.
Almost.
"Yeah, I suppose," Subaru replied. That casting had felt different, but whether Luna was right about them getting closer remained to be seen. For all he knew, he was going in a completely wrong direction. Who knew how many more failures it would take before he had a working version?
He had long since stopped keeping track of those failures. He had initially thought it would only take a handful of tries to get the spell working. After all, it should rank at about the same as a normal spell, the same as Shamak. However, it appeared he had underestimated the difficulty of achieving an El-level effect with his limited mana.
"Do not be so concerned. Creating an entirely new spell is not something done easily," a noble-sounding voice replied, accompanied by the faint sounds of footsteps on grass.
Subaru glanced over his shoulder, as Julius strode up to him.
"Do you ever grow tired of that?" Subaru asked, turning back to face the target. "Sneaking up behind me while I'm practicing?"
That drew a light chuckle from the knight. "Sneak up on you? I do no such thing. You simply lack awareness. You tend to block out everything else when you concentrate."
He stopped beside Subaru, causing Luna to blush and retreat behind him. She peeked out from behind him, and offered a quiet, Hello.
Progress.
"So, what are you doing here?" Subaru asked, allowing Luna to fade back into their contract. After a few minutes to compose herself, she'd be fine to come back out. Probably.
"Don't you have things to do for the selection? Or are the negotiations finished?"
"They are not so intensive that they require every hour of my attention," Julius answered. "Things are proceeding smoothly. In fact, the situation favours the Anastasia camp rather greatly. I can't help but feel that the Margrave's play has backfired."
The mere mention stole some of the energy from Subaru. He could hardly bear to think of what kind of pressure Emilia was under.
"To get back on topic," Julius said, "how are you doing so far? You were quite enthusiastic when you asked for my help, and I'm told you've been practicing regularly over the past few days."
Subaru huffed. "It's frustrating. No matter what I try, nothing is working."
Julius nodded sagely. "You are trying to do several things with a single step. Create an El-level effect, condense it into a single point, and launch it as a projectile. I believe you are making good progress though."
"Good progress?" Subaru's eyes lit up. "So that means it'll only take a little bit more to complete it, right?"
"Not necessarily," Julius cautioned, and Subaru's face fell. "Even though I've created a handful of spells, I cannot tell how long it will take to complete my trump card."
"Trump card?" Subaru snorted. "How can you call it that, when you won't even tell anyone what it's supposed to do?"
Julius shrugged. "I am still working though the specifics. It's not complete yet, after all."
He motioned towards the target with his head. "Why don't you try it again now? I might be able to give you some pointers."
"Eh? Oh, fine, I might as well." Subaru stretched, and brought his arm down, pointing his finger at the wooden stand.
"Alright Luna, let's make this look impressive!"
Darkness swirled by his hand, and Luna reappeared, steadfastly refusing to look in Julius's direction. Subaru could still feel her longing to go to him, but he could tell she was making a valiant effort to avoid thinking about it.
She gathered mana, and sent it over to him. He felt it gather at the tip of his finger, and he closed his eyes.
Visualise.
He wanted to block control of someone's body.
Visualise.
He wanted to contain the effect to a small area, right in front of him.
Visualise.
He wanted to fire the spell like an arrow, like the ice projectiles Emilia used.
His concentration cracked as a pair of purple eyes and a flash of silver hair raced though his mind, sadness and regret welling up inside him. He tried to keep the mana together, but it was faltering, slipping out of his grasp. The only thing he could do was try to salvage the situation.
"Paralak!"
Mana compressed chaotically, and the half-formed spell blew apart, distorting the air slightly.
"Hah…" Subaru let out a breath. "Well, that was worse than normal."
He turned to Julius. "Any thoughts? Was that too terrible to even tell?"
Julius raised a hand and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think so. It looks mostly ready, you just need to put it together."
He considered for a moment, then said, "I would suggest trying to visualise the spell in its entirety. Do not focus one any particular aspect, and do not be afraid to use more mana than you think is necessary."
"Hah?" Subaru tilted his head. "What do you mean by that? I don't think a spell that takes all my mana to cast will be that useful, even if it does what I want it to do."
"Spells have trade offs," Julius explained. "To some degree, simplicity, speed of casting, mana usage, and power are mutually exclusive. The spell you want to make is not that complex on its own, but you're creating it from various aspects of other spells. Once you figure out how to cast it, you can begin reducing mana usage and complexity."
Subaru tilted his head. While Paralak was shaping up to be a rather intensive spell, he probably still had the strength to hold onto a little bit more mana before casting it.
"Got it, I should solve my problem by doing the magical equivalent of throwing money at it until it goes away," Subaru quipped. "That sounds like something Anastasia's knight would suggest."
Julius smiled, and glanced back at the manor behind them. "I believe she would be thrilled to know we think so highly of her methods."
"Alright then," Subaru said, lifting his hand once more. "Luna, let's go!"
Mana gathered in his hand, but this time, he held it longer, waiting until he had almost twice as much as normal.
"Para—!"
"Ice Brand Arts."
The glassy blue dagger sunk into the target with a thunk, and remained firmly embedded in the wood.
"Shape's gotten better," Subaru commented, walking over to take a look. He had managed to make the blade perfectly straight over the last week of practice, and now the daggers formed without the widening blade that was distinctive of the witch cult weapons. However, despite his best efforts, the knives still sported their cross-shaped handles. He frowned at the one on the dagger in front of him.
Is it just my mental state? Or have I gotten too used to forming them like this now? It'll be trouble if I can't get rid of it, people might recognise them.
Though, perhaps he was worrying too much. They were made of ice, and the blade was notably different. There was a chance that even someone familiar with the cult's weapons wouldn't realise what they were based on.
"At least it has good penetrative power," he said, walking around to get a side view of the target. The blade had sunk half-way into the plank of wood, and frost was starting to spread outwards from the point of impact, like a white bloodstain.
Muninn responded with affirmation, but she seemed distracted, more interested in what the other spirits in sight were doing.
Subaru sighed. Muninn wasn't really suited for the time-consuming and repetitive process of developing new spells. It would have been preferable if Huginn could work on it with him, but he needed the other fire spirit to help Luna recover mana.
He glanced over to them, practicing in the shade of the trees. Luna hurled mana at the shadows, frustration growing with every action, while Huginn hovered nearby, gathering mana from the heat of the day to resupply her, offering what placations he could.
He regretted not being able to help her more, but he had explained the process to the best of his ability. All that remained now was for her to practice.
He forced himself to turn away, and down at the dagger, which was starting to melt in the midday sun. He wanted his Ice Brand Arts technique to work, if only so that he'd be able to help when he eventually moved against…
Subaru felt a shudder go down his spine at the thought, images of a greasy-haired boy and a green-haired man flashing through his mind.
If Subaru ran into those two obstacles without the protection of stronger people, he'd almost assumedly be sent right back to the start again. Perhaps he'd be able to bluff his way past Petelgeuse by pretending to be a Sin Archbishop, but he knew nothing about how Batenkaitos would take it.
While he'd love to just conclude that he should just stay close to the knights, that wasn't a practical solution. Only Marcos was guaranteed to be strong enough to protect Subaru, and he was needed to actually kill the archbishops.
Both Batenkaitos and Petelgeuse had shown themselves capable of defeating normal knights. Batenkaitos could bring them down with just a scratch, and Petelgeuse could seemingly bring himself back from death, albeit in a different body.
Actually, he works for the witch. Couldn't she have given him an ability like mine? A 'Reincarnate by Death' or something? If he does, then he could be even harder to kill than I thought.
He sucked in a deep breath, and slowly breathed out.
Well, that's why I'm going through with this loop for. I'll find out about all the tricks those Archbishops possess. As for the others…
Subaru had managed to keep pace with the cultists that attacked them in the palace, when both the major players had lured far enough away that he hadn't encountered them. His simple spells should be enough to deal with them, if he used his illusion techniques to misdirect and confuse.
He doubted that trickery would work on the Archbishops. Batenkaitos had seen right through Velia's invisibility, and she was far more skilled with illusion than he was.
"Hah," Subaru sighed, shaking his head. "I really thought I would have had more progress with this. But I guess, there's only so much you can do with limited resources."
He had prioritised, just as Julius had said, focusing only on mana efficiency and power, sacrificing casting speed and simplicity. It took a great deal of effort to compress the ice into a bladed edge, and going through the entire three-word chant would mean his spell always would be ready well after his opponent's was.
Even so, the spell was limited to piercing a wooden target. All his improvements paled in comparison to the raw destructive power of his enemies.
It's like a sign from the gods, telling me to remain a utility caster. Haaa… Should I just stick to my tricks, then? Or should I try one last version? If I pour all my mana into the spell, I could increase the power more. That should be enough to make a difference during a fight, however mild it might be.
Might as well try it. He was almost done with his training for the day, so there was no reason to hold back.
"Muninn, we'll do one more, then we'll finish up."
Finish!
She paused, then seemed to realise what she had said, and tried to do damage control, insisting that she wasn't really that fussed if they did more, and that she definitely wasn't pining to go and play.
Subaru couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
Ah, that's right. I have everyone else, so I don't need to do this all by myself. It would be best if we had a weapon we could use on the archbishops, but I'm sure we'll be able to use Marcos to kill them. We need to be good enough, but no better than that.
He strode back a fair distance, then lifted his hand, and pointed his palm at the plank.
"Ice Brand Arts!"
Subaru pushed his mana out of his gate, allowing Muninn to gather it all together, where it swirled in his hand.
He strained to enforce the spell on the mana, as he wove strands of fire together, sucking the heat out of the air, particles of ice beginning to crystallise around him.
The air glowed white, and shards of ice began to combine together, forming into a longsword, with a wide blade and a hilt somewhat reminiscent of the one on Reinhard's sword.
It shot out, the air whistling as it passed, and crashed into the target like a runaway freight train, blasting right through it, and out the other side, embedding itself in a tree with a loud thump.
Boom! Muninn exclaimed, zipping over to it.
"Yeah! Well, I don't know if I'd call that a 'boom', but it's pretty impressive!" Subaru said, jumping forward to get a closer look. Three steps in, his legs gave out, and he barely managed to catch himself before he hit the ground. It really wouldn't do for a Sin Archbishop to return from training covered in grass and mud.
"Ah, that's right," he muttered. "Mana deprivation. I'd forgotten what this felt like." Too much time had passed since he had last used his gate intensively. He hadn't had access to the organ over the last few months, and he had begun to forget Puck's warnings about proper use of it.
"I'll need to be more careful, or I'll end up breaking it again."
Injured? Muninn asked. She had suddenly appeared at his side again, her enthusiasm at the power of the sword forgotten.
"No, it's alright. I just forgot to hold back enough," Subaru reassured her. "It won't happen again."
Muninn didn't look convinced. Subaru straightened up and continued walking toward the sword.
"Come on, I want to see what it did. Look at the hole in the target!"
The sword had punched right through it, and fragments of wood lay all over the grass. It was a pretty thick plank, so it was clear the sword held all the power Subaru wanted from it.
"I didn't really expect this much," he said, reaching the tree. Half of the blade was sticking out of the tree, condensation wafting up from the ice. Strangely, there was none near the hilt, which looked more like it was made of blue glass.
"That's weird," Subaru said, brushing his fingers against the handle. "It's warm. Well, not warm, but kind of… normal. And it's not as smooth as it looks. It kind of feels like one of the practice swords I used to train with."
He glanced at the blade. "But this part looks cold. If I just—ah!"
He immediately regretted touching the blade, as his finger felt like it froze to the bone in just a second. He waved his hand wildly, trying to shake out the cold, before realising that was a terrible way to warm it back up, and buried his hand in one of his tracksuit pockets.
It felt somewhat odd to be wearing a tracksuit when he was supposed to be one of the most evil people in the world, but then again, it was a rather unique outfit in this world. None of the cultists looked askance about it anyway.
"Ouch," Subaru said, his finger now safely warming up. "So I can hold the handle, but not the sharp bits. Understood."
He leaned closer, and tried to see where the condensation began.
"It looks like everything below the hilt is safe," he said, "which would make it more useful. I'll be able to wield it like this. The only problem would be…"
He met Muninn's gaze. "…how did this happen? I didn't try to make it like this. Did you?"
Muninn shook from side to side, conveying her own bafflement. Though, it was doubtful she understood enough to properly be baffled in the first place.
Subaru hummed thoughtfully, trying to think through the steps he had taken to make it.
"If I had to say, I think it's that my mental image of a sword is that of something I can wield. Therefore, I made a sword that I could hold without freezing my hand off."
That solution made the most sense on paper, but…
"How? How did I alter ice so that it isn't cold? And without even thinking about it to boot! I doubt I've suddenly become a genius mage, so there has to be another explanation!"
"Haaa…" He held his head in his hands. "The answer is 'magic', isn't it? I'm not going to get anything more satisfying than that, am I? I guess I should stop thinking about it."
Muninn projected the equivalent of a troubled smile.
Subaru sighed. "I'll just ask Roswaal about it when I see him next. He's bound to have some kind of explanation, and I'll be running into him again anyway. Maybe not this loop, but once Emilia is safe."
Until that point, there wasn't much point in trying to use him against the cult. The court mage was strong enough that the cult would lure him out of the city before the attack, the same as what they had done with Reinhard.
"That first time, they must have done something as well," Subaru mused to himself. "Reinhard and Felt had gone back to the Astrea lands, and I'm pretty sure Otto said something about unrest in the Mathers domain."
He hesitated as his thoughts drifted to the grey-haired merchant.
Otto… will he be alright? He should have already bought that oil, but nobody's going to buy it. Without the Taurus company, will he be able to make enough money to pay back his debt?
Subaru shook his head. No point in worrying about it. There's nothing I can do for him in this position, and trying to find out will direct the cult's attention to him. I don't want him involved in their schemes if I can avoid it.
Any further deliberations were interrupted by a pulse of mana, and a sense of elation which washed over Subaru.
He glanced over to where Luna and Huginn were still practicing, the Yin spirit having just thrown an enormous amount of mana at the shadows of the surrounding trees. For a brief moment, they formed into the clear shadows of flowers, before fading back into the dancing lights of the sun shining through leaves.
Succeed! Win! Luna celebrated joyously, prancing around the branches. Muninn rushed over, and they started chasing each other around the trees. Huginn looked on in exasperation, but Subaru could sense the pride in her achievement he felt but was trying to hide.
"Great job, Luna!" He called out, walking up to her. They stopped their antics, and all three spirits gathered in front of him.
Luna was now noticeably bigger than the other two, her aura of blackness was now twice the size of the little red spirits.
"Congratulations on ranking up! But unfortunately, we can't really celebrate just yet."
Luna bobbed her understanding. She had warmed up to him considerably over the last week. Now it felt as if their bond had never been broken.
"We'll be moving on to stage two now," he said. "There's a lot we need to prepare. Firstly, Luna, I want you to try and convince Sol to help us. If he does, we'll be able to start practicing illusions, and training him."
If Yang spirit could rank up to a quasi spirit as well, that would be a significant increase in the amount of mana they could use. Plus, his Akua spell might become strong enough to deflect spells, which would mean they'd gain a major defensive boost.
"After that, I'll start training you with Shamak and Paralak." Last time, he hadn't had enough time to train her in the paralysing spell, but he had plenty now.
"Muninn," he continued, the little spirit perking up as he said her name, "you've gotten a lot better at gathering and using mana, so I think it's time you started practicing spells."
Delight!
"Now, don't get your hopes up too much yet," Subaru said, raising his hands. "Remember, Sol has been practicing for ages, but his spell was—" —n't enough to protect Felt.
Much too late, Subaru remembered that his spirits didn't remember their battle in the palace. The world stilled, the colour fading away.
No… no! I didn't mean it! I wasn't going to tell them!
The witch didn't care about his silent pleas. Shadows gathered and rippled, and a black hand emerged, reaching out to caress his face.
Shit! Damn you! Damn you!
All he could do was to try and prepare himself mentally. He couldn't even grit his teeth in that timeless space.
Another one of the witch's arms reached around him and phased through his chest, her fingers wrapping around his heart.
Damn you!
Then his existence was reduced to nothing but pain. Anguish ran through his veins, and fire burned in his bones, as he was ground into ashes, into dust, into nothing. All he could feel was the hand around his heart, and the hand on his cheek.
Alarm!
Subaru blinked, disorientated by the sudden shift. Colour had returned to the world, and he was breathing heavily, one hand grasping at his chest.
His spirits flew around him widely, looking for danger. Or rather, he thought, Luna and Muninn are.
Huginn hovered in place, and appeared calm. Or at least, calmer than the other two. He could sense Subaru's emotional state, and though he was concerned about his pain, he could tell it had passed, and that Subaru felt no danger at the moment.
"Don't worry, I just made a mistake," Subaru said, lifting his hands to cut them off. The two spirits slowed down, and settled over his shoulders, still looking around for the assailant.
Concern!
Danger!?
"No, no, it's just… I shouldn't say some things," he hedged, unsure of how much he could get away with saying. This was the most restrictive the Witch had ever been.
So, I'm not allowed to talk about Return by Death, I'm not allowed to reveal I have an ability that lets me know the future, and now… I'm not allowed to reference things that didn't happen? That can't be it, I've made the occasional joke about people forgetting me. Is it just because they would have worked something out with that knowledge?
He turned his attention back to the spirits.
Huginn was deep in thought, and he pulsed inquisitively, apparently finding an answer to Subaru's odd behaviour.
Contract?
"Eh?" That was the same conclusion Reinhard had drawn. And it wasn't too far off, though the thought of a contract with that Witch made him sick to his stomach.
"Yeah, I suppose it's something like that."
His spirits deflated as the tension drained away, and they turned on him, showering him with reproaches.
"Alright, alright, I get it!" he complained, trying to shield himself with his arms. "I shouldn't break contracts. I didn't mean to anyway, it was an accident!"
They began settling down, still somewhat spooked. Huginn was satisfied by his explanation, and turned to the others, doing his best to reassure Muninn.
I'd better be careful about what I say from now on. Subaru thought. Luna's a quasi spirit now, and Huginn is really clever. If I say anything that could clue them in on my power, I'll probably go through that again.
He took a deep breath, and felt his pulse slow down to more normal levels.
"Well then, to get back on track, Muninn, you'll be learning the simple fire spell, Goa."
Muninn brightened, and twirled excitedly.
"Huginn, when you have time, I'd like for you to learn it as well, and maybe Huma too, if you have time between scouting trips. According to Coen, Mora should briefly be visiting the manor sometime this evening. He'll probably be gone for another week, but you can come back to report when he goes to sleep at night."
Understood.
Subaru nodded. "Good. There's more we need to do, but first we'll see what the cultists have to say for themselves. Their first report is going to be delivered today."
He manoeuvred around the trees to get a look at the manor's back doors. Coen stood at the entrance in his butler uniform, patiently waiting for Subaru's return.
"Guess they're ready for me. Alright, let's go. Luna, you go get Sol. Muninn and Huginn will be enough if I get into trouble."
The Yin spirit accepted hesitantly, and slowly drifted away though the forest, occasionally looking back in their direction.
"Hah," Subaru sighed, as the fire spirits faded away, settling into their invisible forms.
Honestly, everyone, it'll be fine. I've managed to fit in for a week already. I just need to keep doing what I've been doing.
The manor seemed almost empty now. The residents had been slowly bled away to do tasks in the city. They claimed it was to get the information Subaru wanted from them, though Subaru was sure that some of their eagerness to leave stemmed from their fear of a Sin Archbishop. He couldn't help but feel that they were wise to do so.
Coen seemed troubled by something as he led Subaru through the silent corridors. He was sniffing at the air occasionally, slightly turning his head this way and that, as if to catch an elusive scent.
"Something wrong?" Subaru asked, his voice taking on a lofty tone, now well-practiced from constant use.
"Ah, nothing, Lord Pride," Coen said hurriedly. "It's just that I—er… I'm unfortunately not well practiced with detecting the mark of the Witch. I merely thought I sensed something different."
"I see."
So he was sniffing to try and pick up on it. I suppose that's all the proof I need that the 'Witch's scent' and the 'mark of the Witch' are one and the same.
They strode in silence until they reached the door to the dining room. Coen bowed as he opened the door. His posture was excellent, and his movements were far more dignified than Subaru's ever had been during his brief stint as a butler. Subaru couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the sight.
He entered the room, and glanced around.
Lunch had already been served, but as usual, only a single place had been laid out. Standing by the side of the table was a brown-haired maid, around Subaru's height. Her uniform was far more modest than the other maid outfits he had seen in this world. He'd still have called it cute, had it not been for the affiliation of the person wearing it.
He had seen this maid a couple of times around the manor, though they hadn't exchanged words. Her eyes widened when she saw him, and her face paled very slightly.
She hurriedly curtsied, and murmured something under her breath.
Subaru couldn't make it out over the sound of the door closing behind him. It appeared Coen wouldn't be included in the report.
It must contain rather sensitive information, if this is not a task that can be passed off onto the newbie.
Subaru didn't say a word as he walked around to his seat, and sat down.
"Lord Pride," the maid began, "I am Griselda, an information manager for our operations in the city. I apologise for the delay in preparing your request."
"That is fine," Subaru said, picking up his knife and fork. Some kind of meat was on the plate in front of him. It kind of resembled a steak of some kind. He elegantly brought down his cutlery, and began cutting off a piece. Praise be the god of merchants, Otto Suwen, who saw fit to teach me noble manners.
Griselda nodded, and began her report. "First of all, we have determined the source of the sky-lights that appeared in the city last week."
Sky-lights? Ah, Reinhard's display. I was wondering what they made of that.
"Late that evening, the Sword Saint was patrolling the slums, whereupon he happened upon a dispute of some kind. He interfered, and caused a mana explosion. The process by which he accomplished this is currently unknown to us. It bears some resemblance to techniques known to be associated with the Astrea family, but due to the family's secrecy, we are unable to investigate further."
"What do you know of the dispute?" Subaru asked. It was unlikely that they had discovered anything related to Emilia, but there was a possibility that they suspected something because of the event.
"Unfortunately, we know little," Griselda answered. "One of the parties was an assassin known as the Bowel Hunter. She took refuge in one of the cult's safe houses in the city, and a cultist was dispatched to monitor her."
"El-ha dhid!?" Subaru exclaimed, mouth full of food. Griselda cut off, startled by the interruption.
He hurriedly swallowed, and his eyes shot up to meet the maid's. "She's… one of us?"
Griselda was unable to hide her revulsion. Her face twisted spitefully, and she looked away from him. "No, Lord Pride. That woman is not one of ours, or if she is, she is an unfaithful servant. She showed no gospel to the one who encountered her. It is possible that she was under the employ of one of our own, who granted her the knowledge of the safe-house. Needless to say, once our operative determined she was not a member, he followed only the instructions of the gospel, and offered no aid."
"I see."
Eh!? The cult could have hired Elsa? The thought was unnerving, but he shook his head almost immediately. No, they can't have, otherwise the cult would already know about Emilia. She probably just has some connections who told her about it.
But now I'm concerned. He frowned, as a previously unseen complication reared its ugly head. Who actually hired her? A noble who hates the idea of a half-elf becoming the Ruler? It didn't seem like many at the selection knew beforehand though… I'll have to look into it.
He eyed the cultist thoughtfully. Actually, I could make use of them instead. I just need to word it so they don't end up finding out about Emilia too early.
"Investigate her. I want to know who hired her. Do not attempt to communicate with her client, only confirm their identity."
Griselda bowed. "As you wish, Lord Pride. I will send a message at once." She paused. "I must mention, it is unlikely we will be able to find much. She has already left the city, and we don't know which direction she took."
She narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint appearing in them. "However, should the gospel guide us to her, we will be sure to take the answers by force. You have my guarantee."
Subaru shuddered. Man, she really hates Elsa. Is not showing a gospel that serious a crime? Shit, I didn't think about the fact that I might need to have one to show at some point. None of these rank-and-file cultists have asked to see it so far, but the other Sin Archbishops might.
Petelgeuse had mentioned it, he was pretty sure, but he couldn't remember the exact details of that exchange. He had been stressed out and chained to the wall, after all.
Should I start carrying around that gospel, just in case? It's not like I'm going to give into temptation and read something that'll get me brainwashed.
Griselda drew herself up straight, seemingly realising what tone she had just taken in the presence of a Sin Archbishop.
She glanced at him nervously, then recomposed herself, and continued, "We've dispatched several agents over the last few days, and we now have a near full grasp on our current operations in the city. In total, we have approximately two dozen settled members."
Eh?
"There may be more individuals who are passing through on missions of their own who have not made contact, but they are unlikely to cause any kind of disturbance without consulting with us."
Wait, hang on. There are only twenty four cultists in the city? If I remember correctly, that means half of them were in this building until a few days ago?
Which meant that the attack he had orchestrated last loop—the one on the very manor in which he stood—halved the cultists' numbers.
And put them on the warpath. Subaru felt like smacking himself. They must have drastically increased their presence in the city once they figured out they were being hunted. They wanted to see what was up. That's why they were able to attack the city so quickly that time.
He took another bite, but the meat was slowly starting to taste like ashes.
"Our finances are within acceptable limits," Griselda continued, "and the leases for the various buildings under our management have been maintained in a manner that doesn't draw attention to other aspects of our operations. Due to the expanded recruitment from the city, a new site is being planned in the southern slums."
"How many sites are currently operating?" Subaru pressed. If he could get some clear answers about their hideouts, that would make his mission much easier.
Griselda hesitated. "I apologise, Lord Pride. I do not know the total number. No one person is aware of all of our locations, in order to contain possible leaks. My apologies, but I'll only be able to get you the locations of our most common meeting areas."
Subaru sighed, covering it up by bringing his fork to his mouth. He kind of expected that, from the general paranoia the cult exhibited. "That's acceptable. Continue."
The maid nodded, and then launched into an explanation of the political climate in the city. Subaru had heard it all before, and from a much more detailed source. Otto had been following events closely, and had properly explained the ramifications of the death of the royal family, the actions of the Council of Elders to keep the kingdom running, and basically everything surrounding the selection.
Subaru hadn't paid much attention to Otto, and he definitely wasn't paying attention to the cultist. She seemed more focused on identifying the points of weakness in the political structure. She paid particular emphasis on the Barielle domain's recent change of lord, the unease of the civilians at having a foreign mercenary company stationed near the city, and the militarisation of the Karsten duchy.
"Wait, what is Karsten doing?" Subaru asked. He remembered Crusch's forces had attempted to fight the cult in the city. They had protected the entrance to the upper strata before they had been overwhelmed by Gluttony. Now that he thought about it, hadn't Otto mentioned something about her as well? Something about her buying up weapons?
"She is making contact with many former soldiers of the army, and going through the process with the palace bureaucracy to field a larger army," Griselda replied. "She has managed to attract several notable figures, including the husband of the former Sword Saint, and a particular metia manufacturer who is rumoured to be working on a new type of weaponry."
Husband of the former Sword Saint? That would be Reinhard's grandfather, wouldn't it? He didn't talk about his family much, but then, we had a lot of troubles we had to deal with at the time. More importantly…
"What kind of weaponry?"
"Unknown," the maid said. "We have attempted to find out on previous occasions, but their security is tight. The Karsten duchy is funding the research, and tightly controls information about it."
I guess that means it must be in early stages of development. They didn't use anything particularly notable last time, so whatever it is, it's not going to be ready for the attack.
"Keep me informed on her actions, but don't do anything that would rouse her attention. You can ignore the weapons," Subaru said, bringing the last piece of steak to his lips. "If that's all, you're dismissed."
It was late in the evening before Luna returned. Subaru's room had grown dark enough that he was able to practice the shadow-walking technique Coen had taught him over the past week.
Subaru had to admit, the young cultist was not a very good teacher. He constantly missed steps in his descriptions of the exercises, and his own grasp on the subject matter was rather lacking. The only reason he was teaching was because none of the higher-ranking cultists wanted to be near Subaru if they could avoid it.
That said, he was the best option for a teacher in Subaru's eyes. The other cultists were afraid of him, but that wouldn't last long if they saw him struggling to learn one of the cult's simple techniques.
And despite his shortcomings, Subaru found it rather easy to grasp the techniques he demonstrated.
Coen had been amazed when shadows had started gathering right after his first explanation of the practical side of the technique.
It was scary how readily Subaru started sinking into the darkness. In fact, the sudden sensation of vertigo had made him panic, and he had popped right back out, before he had even begun to disappear.
He had dismissed Coen quickly after that, and continued to practice in private, once his room had darkened toward the end of each day. He could have used the basement to extend his training hours, but he didn't particularly want to go down there. His only previous experience with the place had been rather unsettling, to say the least.
In his week of practice, he still hadn't conquered the odd feeling of the shadows. It felt like having pins and needles, being dunked in warm water, and being upside down, all at once. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but it was strange enough that he wasn't able to maintain the technique for long.
He had made some progress in that time. His feet would now start to disappear a moment after he started, which would invariably break his concentration again. Seeing parts of his own body vanish was vaguely nauseating, and it didn't help that the feeling got worse. It was like the world itself started pressing down on him from all angles once he actually entered the shadow. Subaru doubted he'd have been able to learn the technique if he had been at all claustrophobic.
The only real concern he had was that it seemed a little too easy. He was using far too little mana, in far too simple a pattern, for the magic to have any major effect, and yet, it worked regardless.
All he was doing was looping mana through his Od and body, then out his gate. The most complex part of the procedure was using that mana to tug at the shadows around him, and then pulling it back through his gate to repeat the cycle over again.
There was also an overpowering sensation of wrongness in the flow of mana. Like there was something else cycling though his body with the mana, that felt like it was stretching his gate unnaturally, despite him not being able to feel a thing from it.
It felt so strange, and yet so familiar. As if he'd be able to just reach out and—
Succeeded!
Luna's joyous cry broke Subaru's concentration, and the shadows flew away like smoke in the wind.
He blinked. Another time, then.
"You succeeded?" He looked up at the Yin spirit, and his eyes immediately caught on the point of light behind her. "Ah, you did! Great job!"
Luna let out a modest 'ehehehe', and twirled in place. Sol cautiously approached, conveying his general distaste for the manor.
"Hello, Sol." Subaru greeted with a polite inclination of his head. "Has Luna explained everything to you?"
Affirmative.
His aura of light brightened momentarily, as the Yang spirit focused his full attention on Subaru.
Hesitation. Caution.
Subaru caught glimpses of the projected images, of bandits and rouges, being hunted down by the Royal Knights.
"Why not tell the knights about the attack now?" Subaru scratched his head. "Well, it's complicated. But you can trust me, just telling the knights without a plan won't turn out well. It's better if we learn what we can from the inside first."
Sol didn't seem convinced.
Unsure.
Subaru clasped his hands together, and pleaded, "It's only for a few more weeks. We'll get the city ready to defend themselves as well, I promise."
Sol hung in place for a moment, then acquiesced, and a contract settled on Subaru's mind. Subaru almost accepted it reflexively, but it felt different somehow.
After a moment of trying to feel at it, he figured it out. The contract was almost the exact same as the one Sol had offered in the previous timeline. It demanded that Subaru help him rank up to a quasi spirit, but there was another notable addition. If Subaru didn't actively work against the cult before the attack, the contract would be broken.
Sol wasn't strong enough that their contract would have any greater penalties, but his intentions were clear. He was only going to help Subaru if they tried to stop the cult and their attack.
But that was fine.
"I accept," Subaru stated, and Sol's presence lit up in the back of his mind.
After all, just watching and learning isn't going to cut it. I also need to make sure we can kill those Sin Archbishops. There's no way they'll just tell me things like that.
That was the final stage of the plan. He'd leak information to the city in the days leading up to the selection, and then turn on the cult viciously on the day of the attack.
The only question was what he wanted to do about the Great Mabeasts.
I don't remember anything about them during that first loop, but neither Roswaal nor Reinhard were in the city then. There could have been a report that only just made it to the palace, like there was in the second loop.
He shook his head. No, the cult wouldn't have wasted them on a distraction if there was no one to distract. They would have used them in the city, and I don't remember seeing any Kaiju running around. Therefore, it seems likely that they'll only call them up if Reinhard and Roswaal are still around.
Subaru smiled, a thin, malicious quirk of his lips. "Well, if they're going to such lengths to deprive me of my trump cards, I guess I should do the same."
If he caused enough of a fuss that the Sword Saint and the Court Mage stayed in the city, the cult would be forced to send their pets on a rampage in order to draw them out.
And then, those pets will die.
There could be no other outcome. Roswaal had been quite sure they would survive the battle, and Subaru had faith in Reinhard's abilities.
He's a living cheat! It won't take him more than a few hours to kill that oversized snake. I'm not sure Roswaal will be able to take on the whale, but he should manage to hold it off until Reinhard arrives. And if not… Well, this is a trail run. I'll be able to tell for sure next time.
Stare…
Subaru became aware of a number of gazes, interrupting his genius inner monologue.
Three points of light—Luna, Sol, and Muninn—watched him intently, and Subaru suddenly realised that over the last few minutes, he had been grinning and giggling to himself like some kind of madman.
He jumped to his feet, and waved his hands wildly.
"Ah, no, I have an explanation," he said. "I was just planning what we were going to do! It wasn't anything suspicious, I swear!"
…stare…
"C'mon, guys, you can tell I'm not crazy, right?"
He brightened and snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "I know, how about we start practicing! I can show you the illusions I've learned. And Sol, maybe I can start helping you—"
No.
In a flash of red light, Huginn materialised, right in front of Subaru.
Arrived, he conveyed, with an image of cultists in the entrance hall, greeting someone who was passing through the doorway.
"Ah." Subaru's mouth dried up.
"Mora's finally here."
The upper story of the manor contained many rooms, most of which had been converted into bedrooms. There was only one exception, a small room that had been set up for private meetings between high-ranking cultists.
There were no windows along the walls, only a single skylight in the roof that his spirits said was opaque from the outside, no doubt due to some kind of magic.
It was in this room that Subaru waited for the cult's 'coordinator'.
His four spirits remained invisible. Subaru didn't think his cover would be blown now he had a week of experience under his belt, but it was better to remain alert. Just in case.
But really, if they do find out now, what am I supposed to do? Fighting my way out and informing the knights just seems like a recipe to repeat last time. Realistically, I'd have to just reset.
He shuddered, and pushed the thought aside. He needed to remain calm for this.
The door opened, and the old man bumbled in, a paper package held in his hands.
Subaru felt himself deflate slightly. It was easy to believe that all the cultists were monsters when they weren't present, but this one didn't seem like anything other than a harmless old man.
And there's Coen too. He just seems like a scared kid who doesn't know what he's doing. In fact, the only regular cultist I seem to have met is Griselda.
"I'm sorry about the delay, Lord Archbishop," Mora said, placing the package on the table. "I was caught up in a few things out on the west side, and then when I heard you were looking into our city's situation, I simply had to lend a hand."
He chuckled, and sat down in the chair opposite Subaru's, his bones creaking and cracking as he did so.
"I'll admit, I did not expect a Sin Archbishop to show such interest in us."
Subaru's blood froze, but the old man carried on, a hint of approval in his tone. "My apologies for saying so, but the rumours of the other Archbishops are seldom good. I pity those whose gospels bring them into contact with them."
He sighed, and tapped his chest with his fingers. "But, who are we to go against the Witch's guidance? I pity them, but I envy them too, for their path is clearer than most."
He smiled, as if he and Subaru were sharing some kind of inside joke. "And clarity is far more valuable than most realise. It's only after you lose it that you realise how much you depended on it."
He smiled wistfully, then shook his head. "Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't bother you with my reminiscing." He pushed the package across the table to Subaru. "Your robes have been completed. If they are not to your liking, I can take them with me when I leave. I still have a few things to see to."
"That's fine," Subaru said. "I believe you are more useful to us when operating on your own digression."
Mora chuckled. "Oh no, I wouldn't say that. I won't deny that it is useful to have time to spend freely following the gospel's guidance, but my duties are of the more mundane variety. I do not receive much in the way of orders these days."
He tapped a hand to his chest, and Subaru heard something aside from the rustle of his clothes.
His gospel. They really do carry them everywhere, don't they?
"Though, I believe things are different for you, Lord Archbishop," Mora continued. "When Griselda informed me about it, I thought she was just nervous from her first time talking to you, but now that I can sense it for myself…"
He shook his head with a wry grin. "I did not expect such a drastic difference. The mark of the Witch lies far more heavily on you than it did when we last parted ways."
Wait… what? The witch's scent got worse? I mean, I guess there are levels of it, considering Petelgeuse compared mine to a Sin Archbishop, but how could mine have gotten any thicker since…
His train of thought slowed.
You know, rank and file cultists have a weak scent, and the higher-ranked Sin Archbishops have a stronger scent. It stands to reason that the source of a stronger scent would have to come from the witch herself. Is that it? She punished me and then left her scent behind?
Ignorant to Subaru's internal shock, the old man went on, "If it would not be too impertinent of me to ask… have you received a revelation? Do you have a mission for us?"
"Hmm?" Subaru looked up at the man. He hadn't planned to issue any major requests in order to keep the timeline mostly the same, but perhaps—if he phrased it right—he could make a more active use of the cult. It would undoubtedly destroy any chance of continuing this loop past the selection, but he had already resolved himself for that anyway.
"Actually, I do."
Mora perked up.
"I need plans," Subaru stated. "For now, only plans. Find out how to bring a large amount of cultists into the city in a short amount of time. Keep it confidential."
The old man's eyes widened. "A large amount of cultists? How many do you expect, Lord Archbishop?"
"Enough for a full invasion, with the aim of seizing the palace," Subaru said. "Including other Sin Archbishops."
Mora nodded slowly. "That will take time. How much—"
"Have it ready for me next week," Subaru interrupted. That should give him a rough idea of what they'd throw together in his absence. "We can work to improve on it afterwards. I'll also want a complete list of everything that could go wrong."
Preferably provided in the form of a checklist.
"I will do so to the best of my ability," Mora said, getting up from his chair. "How much confidentiality do you suggest I use?"
Subaru tapped his lips with a finger. Ideally, he didn't want any word of the invasion getting to the cultists outside the city until Emilia had been discovered, but having Mora work alone would likely give him a limited idea of what the cult could actually think up.
"Tell only people you can trust, and don't let word spread," Subaru said. "We don't want leaks before the plan is implemented."
Mora nodded. "It will be done, Lord Archbishop. If you don't mind me asking… How long do we have?"
Subaru tilted his head. He didn't really want to answer that, but there was a possibility that the plan would have to change based on where other cultists happened to be.
"It'll occur in two months," he said. "There'll be around a week to get our people inside the city before that, confidentiality can be dropped then."
"By your will, Lord Archbishop," Mora said, bowing deeply.
When he rightened himself, his face had changed entirely. He no longer had the calm and kind face of a grandfatherly old man.
Now there was a dangerous glint in his eyes, and his mouth was twisted into a sinister smile. It sent shivers down Subaru's spine.
"I will see to it at once." He turned on the spot, and exited the room, a new spring in his step.
Once the door closed, Subaru sat silently while Luna and Muninn moved forward to see if he was gone.
Clear.
"Haah." Subaru collapsed, stretching his arms out and resting his head on the table. "That was tense. He's the only one that doesn't seem to be afraid of me. At least I've got him on my side, for now."
Slowly, he drew himself back up and glanced at the empty air at his side.
"Huginn?"
Ready.
"Follow him."
In hindsight, I think it would have been better if I spread out the training montages more. I'm only now realising that they seem to take up most of what I write these days.
Well... they're mostly done now, so I'll just move on :p
I'm going to start trying to alternate between revision of previous chapters and posting new stuff. Note that I'm not rewriting, I just want to expand what's there with what I've learned so far. Though I'll probably try and do some tiding up as well, and anything that makes me cringe will probably be rewritten.
Also, I forgot to mention last time, Dorugi is writing a react fic to this story! You definitely shouldn't go bully him for more chapters. *wink wink*
And if anyone else wants to write spin-offs or the like, go ahead! I'm not fussed, just try not to step on each other's toes.