Chapter 129: Insubordination
Roswaal: My, don't you three just look terribly aaaaangry.
Having trekked through the ever thickening snowpack, the trio now stood in the shack the Margrave had taken his "forced" residency in. Still bound to his bed and wrapped in bandages, he spoke in a cheery, quirky way to the three that only had scowls on their face in return.
Subaru: Yeah. You could say we're all pretty pissed off.
In the cold temperatures even inside the shack, the three before Roswaal all breathed out plumes of steam, greatly characterizing their dispositions as of now.
It was all Garfiel could do to keep himself from fully transforming right here and now. While nothing yet had been truly said aloud, from the air Roswaal gave off, it was all the golden-haired youth needed to know that the Margrave was definitely the cause of this snow and the conditions of things as of now.
Roswaal: Hmmm, I see, I see...
Closing his eyes, he put a bandaged hand to his chin and nodded. Opening only one eye, his yellow one, Roswaal inquired for more information.
Roswaal: I'm quite curious though, how diiiid this triple-alliance form as such? YN-kun and Garf-kun both had quite the bout of fists... And if I seem to remember right, Garf-kun also said he'd rip poor Subaru-kun in half if he got the chaaaaaaance.
Taunting them, YN now took his turn to speak, undisturbed by Roswaal jabs to probe for weakness here.
YN: We've all set aside our differences to deal with the guy who's left the air conditioner on for too long.
Roswaal: Hmm? I'm afraid I do not follow you...
Obviously confused by the word choice involving foreign concepts, YN had actually made Roswaal open both eyes and perk up slightly, losing the whimsical tone to his voice in exchange for a more neutral one.
Subaru: He's saying we know it's you making it snow. So fess up.
Roswaal: — — —
Instantly it seemed, the atmosphere in the shack changed. As Roswaal remained silent, the three before him met it as well as they could. With a tense standoff now brewing, the silence at long last was broken by the one who started it.
Roswaal: Subaru-kun?
Lifting his chin slightly and folding his arms in reply, Subaru acknowledged the Margrave in his bed.
Roswaal: Did you hear that from me?
Subaru: — — —
As Subaru remained silent, the air of the room turned even thicker with intrigue, something even Garfiel could feel. Leaving it to them both to handle it though, he remained silent too. For now.
That's... not something a normal person would ask...
While Roswaal was far from "normal" for nearly anyone who ever met him, even this spoken oddity was something that left YN with a funny feeling. He wasn't sure if it was just the tone he used, or if it had been purely the subject matter.
Just as YN was about to break the silence in the room and ask what Roswaal meant by such a strange question, the Margrave lazily lifted his hand in the direction of his employee, as if gesturing him to halt before he even started.
Roswaal: If possible, I'd rather the anomaly remain silent. Tis' not a question for him.
Almost asking Subaru now to curtail YN's input, the entire conversation's hierarchy was thrown into near chaos, causing the trio to truly question what was going on now.
Subaru: Uhh... I've got no idea what you mean, Roswaal.
Stiffly answering, Subaru knew just as much as YN did that this question narrowly fit into the category of being related to Return By Death.
Blank expressioned, Roswaal at first seemed to be processing that answer, and with a rapid change of demeanor, he sighed and gave them all a weak smile, as if slightly disappointed.
Roswaal: That is a rather unfortunate conclusion. I must apologize, I said something strange there, I misspoke.
Pretending as if his previous question bore no weight or suspicion to it at all, the one who had remained the quietest now wasn't going to stand for it.
Garfiel: So you ain't denyin' it, huh? Yous really are the one makin' it snow?!
Teeth bared, Garfiel stomped the ground hard enough to crack the floorboard beneath him. Yet, as if completely unphased by this, the Margrave only shrugged as his weak grin remained.
Roswaal: What would be the poooooooint of doing so? I obviously cannot excuse my self out of this one. After all, my usual behavior hasn't earned any trust from anyone here.
Flat out saying he wouldn't deny being responsible, but yet still failing to actually say it was his doing, this choice of words only served to make Garfiel more enraged.
Garfiel: I've had enough of this shit! I finally got enough reason ta clobber ya now!
Beginning the start of his beastification again, the formerly cracked floorboard now shattered under his foot as the golden-haired youth launched himself forward, a claw aimed directly for Roswaal.
Truly unable to do anything but take a step back should Garfiel also decide to turn on them, the two fellow wayward traveling companions could only watch on as the situation devolved into a physical squabble.
But just as the wood in the floorboard had snapped, so did the hinges on the door that lead to the adjacent room.
?: —I will not permit such violence towards Roswaal-sama!
Busting in from that room, a vestige of pink flew to intercept Garfiel. Meeting him halfway to Roswaal, the pink-haired maid responsible for this sudden stop of motion came into a clearer picture for everyone in the room.
Ram had Garfiel's formerly extended arm twisted behind his back. As she subdued Garfiel, Ram used her superior Oni strength to thwart the shark-toothed youth's waning power, as he did not wish to harm the one whom's grasp he was now in.
Garfiel: Grrrr... Ram! Get off of me! I'm going to put this clown bastard in his place! He's stirred up too much shit!
As Ram only tightened the hold she had on Garfiel should he actually try and fight back, she said not a word, nor did she move to pin him to the ground. Getting a better hold of him with the way she bent his arm back, her footwork was to remain out of reach of Garfiel's other arm.
While Subaru was unsure what the goal was now, as in, if Ram's endpoint here was to get Garfiel to give up, or actually break his arm, YN was too distracted by the Margrave's seemingly stealth-like movement.
Subaru hadn't noticed it while Garfiel was held down, and if he had, he perhaps only thought Roswaal was moving farther away for safety in the back of his mind, but as of now, the supposedly bedridden Roswaal was now standing, still fully bandaged, as if he had no real injuries to speak of.
Seeing him now take a step towards the two entangled Demi-humans, still in their standing submission-hold, YN heard Roswaal speak as well.
Roswaal: Ram—
With the lower half of his body hidden behind the two still in their quarrel, YN couldn't make out what Roswaal was doing.
Is he going to separate them? Surely Ram didn't step out of line doing this. She protected him after all. Is he—?
Before YN could finish theorizing what was going to happen next here, he felt a warm sensation take over the side of his vision as a familiar white spec of light emerged.
Algol: —! —! —!
Frenzied from something, YN could now see his contacted spirit had shown itself now for unknown reasons, to which he also noticed Roswaal was right behind Garfiel and Ram now, and as he realized how close he was—
Roswaal: —you really are a loyal servant.
Still speaking to Ram with this oddly heartfelt tone, as if pained by something, another familiar sound entered YN's head.
*—Ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum-dum-ba-dum-ba—*
The drum beat sound he had heard plenty of times, usually signaling danger.
Shit—!
Given almost no time or reason even to react, YN did the only thing he could do, and that was move forward.
On pure instinct alone, Algol provided mana to YN's body, and using that strength, he acted.
YN: —Nee-sama!
Reaching out, YN grabbed hold of the pink-haired maid by her bare shoulders, and pulled back as hard, and quickly as he could manage in this lightning reaction.
Just as Garfiel was going to growl more about his restraint, his words suddenly had no breath to form from.
Feeling herself be pulled from behind with tremendous force, all as if in slow motion, from where Ram looked down to Garfiel's back with his arm still twisted, a rupture formed from it.
Skewering him, Roswaal's hand, stiff and straight out, pierced Garfiel's abdomen like a sharp lance.
As her hold of Garfiel's arm was pulled apart, Ram could only look down at the strike she knew was also meant for her.
After all, she knew dying as a decoy was her maidly duty.
Cruelly, the Margrave had meant to impale Garfiel, with Ram as a sacrifice. Roswaal knew this. Ram knew this. An entire lifetime of discipline and training made this easy for the maid to accept. She was to instinctively hold the target so her employer, —whom she'd never dare question, could easily end the threat to his life.
To truly pierce one with no chance of error meant of course such a strike couldn't be restrained. Any and all chances of failure needed to be eliminated. So of course, the strike would need to pierce her too.
Yet, Ram was denied this death by YN.
As one target was eliminated though, Ram could do little in the way of worry about this. What was done was done. While her feelings for Garfiel were complicated at best, he still had struck at the man that was her esteemed master. An unprovoked attempt on his life was a very serious matter.
Only now, where Garfiel had been first for the strike, and her second, the tables were now turned, and the one who had saved her, the one whom Ram's heart felt an immeasurable confliction about for reasons she did not understand, was now in the position she had just been in.
Now, Ram was first to be pierced in this second incoming strike, to be skewered like Garfiel.
And second, was YN.
Knowing what was to occur next before anyone could even process what had just happened, Ram felt a rush of pure fear shoot down her spine. Not only fear for herself. No. That was dwarfed by the fear she now felt for YN.
As time seemed to flow normally to her once more, Ram saw the hand that was meant to kill her momentarily halt its trajectory, as its owner also now processed what had just been done to his plans.
Pulling Ram close to himself as he heard the sound of ripping flesh and muscle, the cracking of bones, and a single wheeze of breath, YN tried everything in his power to get the pink-haired maid as far from the danger as he could.
Looking over her head as he held her back to his chest, his hands still tightly gripping to her shoulders, YN saw the red ribbon of blood flowing from Garfiel's back. As the Margrave's outstretched hand was clearly responsible, YN could only look on, wide eyed as blood dripped from the tense fingers.
What—?! Roswaal could have killed them both like that! What if I hadn't grabbed Ram?!
Leaving no additional time though, as YN looked to the Margrave in question now, he felt his entire body shudder to a standstill.
Never before, had YN seen such a dark, dreadful, and malevolent look in one's eyes before. Even as he felt threatened by the look, and with Ram still held in his arms, YN's mind came to one sudden realization.
Roswaal: 'Ram, you really are a loyal servant.'
The Margrave's last spoken words spelled it all out for YN.
He... He really did mean to kill Ram?!
Roswaal: First, the tiger—
—And she's still in danger!
Roswaal: —and now the Anomaly!
With brute strength alone, the Court Magician had Garfiel slide further down his forearm, making more room for his next targets.
Just as Ram held Garfiel for his first strike, she was now the one being held to make Roswaal's next target just as immobile and vulnerable.
Still shuddered by the sight, and even though the drum-beat was still echoing loudly in his head, YN was rendered unable to move or evade in the smallest way at the horror of it all.
Finally though, with the fear for YN's life now reaching a climax in her conflicted heart and mind, a conclusion was reached for Ram.
Between the two she held in her heart for a multitude of reasons, understood and unknown, —accounted for and spontaneous, Ram made a clear, and conscious choice.
Using all the strength she possessed, Ram turned her body and freed herself of YN's arms.
And in doing so—
Ram: —Gah!
—she pushed YN away at the last moment, just like he had pulled her away, saving her.
As he felt the force applied to him, he fell backward, but just as it had been in slow motion for Ram, the same rang true for YN.
Roswaal's hand, exactly as it had been for Garfiel, pierced Ram. Tearing her black dress and white apron, YN saw the already bloody weapon begin to rob the pink-haired maid of her life.
Fully emerged, from her back to her torso, Ram too had been skewered, all the while, the perpetrator's face, the Margrave, remained unnerved.
Ram had well and truly been stabbed in the back as she had pushed YN off her to save him. Facing him still, as a small trail of blood now escaped from her lips, she still somehow managed to croak out words.
Ram: YN... why... why did you try to save Ram...?
As if she couldn't believe that someone had tried to rescue her from such a fate, even if it had failed, it still left her questioning why YN of all people would go to such lengths for her when she herself felt she was condemned to such a fate; to only ever be fodder for someone else's life.
Even with her injury, she spoke to YN, and horrified by what he saw before him, his mind could only focus on answering the maid, as he knew her time wasn't long for this world anymore.
YN: Ram... What—? What kind of question is that...?
For the first time, Ram's psyche, the basis of her motivation and purpose was laid out for YN to actually see. While it still made little sense to him at this moment, he nonetheless was clued into the way Ram viewed herself and what she felt she was worthy of.
With death creeping closer for the maid, an intoxicated expression came across her face. To her, her original goal had been thwarted, but her new one had already been accomplished.
In one quick motion, Roswaal removed his arm from the two before him. Unable to stand on their own from this though, they each fell like ragdolls. While Garfiel fell back with Roswaal sidestepping, Ram fell forward, and catching her, was YN.
YN: Ram!
Bracing her fall, YN caught the pink-haired girl as gently as he could, damning the mess of blood she brought with her.
Looking down at the maid now in YN's embrace as an expression of panicked horror was painted across his face, Roswaal conferred his final judgment.
Roswaal: You truly were a loyal maid, —until this.
Even at her expense, in the end, Roswaal thought little of his most loyal and trustworthy maid due to her sudden acceptance of her truest feelings.
As YN felt the oni's precious, tiny breaths of desperation to stay alive and the warm sensation of her blood seeping out onto his clothes, he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.
Not only was he guilty of failing to save Rem in the Loop he had fought Elsa, but now he was guilty of not being able to protect Ram either.
YN: — — —
The crimson shade of red that was Ram's blood was now the only color he felt could truly see, much like it had been with Rem's fatal injury. Visions of both the maid's blood and wounds now couldn't stop flashing in mind.
I've failed them both... I've failed them both—!
Short, shallow breaths on the edge of his sanity were the only noises YN could make at that moment. He couldn't control his lungs to form coherent words to the maid dying in his arms. He was truly frenzied, so much so that he was completely oblivious to the golden-haired youth's desperate wails for the maid too, as he tried to pull himself across the floor to her.
Garfiel: —Raaaam! —Raaaam!
Reaching out, bleating her name while he too was a bloody mess, the faint glow of mana was had in his outstretched hand, trying in vain to cast healing magic on her.
The only thing that had caught YN's attention back from the hell his mind was spiraling out of control into, was the dull, but distinct sound of a crack, not unlike an eggshell being broken.
His leg now bloodied and still wound out from the motion, Roswaal had cruelly finished off Garfiel with a single strike to the head. Washing the adjacent wall in a mess of red gore, YN found new horror in this merciless ending of the boy's life.
Roswaal had truly killed Garfiel, kicking him while he was down, no less.
Utterly mortified, YN felt as if everything he was seeing had to be a bad dream of sorts. To see such carnage, it almost drowned out the horror and failure he was experiencing from the twins.
The only thing that could bring his mind back to the present though, were the soft, weak words of the dying girl in his arms. Starting to speak again, Ram looked up at YN, the same intoxicated look remaining on her face.
Ram: My... My wish had been a good death... protecting Roswaal-sama... but YN saved me from that...
Speaking as if YN had denied her the one thing she wanted, a wash of frustration and anger entered his voice as he argued back.
YN: Of course I saved you! I'm going to keep saving you over and over again from such a terrible wish—!
To only aspire to die for someone as cruel, morose, and uncaring as Roswaal... YN wasn't about to let Ram, the twin sister of the one he loved more than anything, be entwined to such an awful fate.
Roswaal!
Letting mana build in his palm he used to keep both him and Ram upright, YN cursed the Margrave in his mind.
How dare you use Nee-sama like this! To just so carelessly cast her aside! —And then belittle her too?! Rem certainly wouldn't stand for it. Not in a million years. —So I won't either!
Gritting his teeth, YN felt his mana peak in his palm.
I've got nothing left to lose now! I'll burn Roswaal away to ashes if it's the last thing I do—!
About to raise his palm and jettison what felt like everything he had in the form of Yang magic at the Margrave, Ram's sudden words halted that.
Ram: YN doesn't need to save Ram from that anymore...
Vanishing from his palm, the mana YN had accumulated, vacated to let him fully concentrate on what Ram was saying, as he could hear an emotion in her words unlike anything he'd heard before.
Ram: —the moment you saved me... I had a new wish... and now... it's already been fulfilled...
As the maid struggled to speak, YN could see the life in her precious crimson eyes begin to fade as her death was near.
Ram: That wish... it... It was to save you.
YN: —!
Feeling tears of great guilt well up in his eyes, YN's throat went dry.
But as this exchange went on, Roswaal uncaringly wiped the blood from his leg he had used to end Garfiel with on the side of the bed he had risen from. Looking again to the two on the floor, he spoke with words of utter contempt for them now.
Roswaal: It's time to punish this turncoat maid and this troublesome anomaly.
Winding up for another kick, just like he'd done for Garfiel, YN could only tense his grip on Ram. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop this. Roswaal was just too powerful, and YN was just too vulnerable. In one last act of desperation, he leaned forward, trying to cover Ram with his body and do his best to protect her, even if in vein from this inbound strike.
Yet, as he did this, slightly muffled from his embrace around her, Ram yelled out.
Ram: —Go!
Using the last of her life force, Ram summoned her wind magic, and pushed YN away from her.
*Crash*
Moved just far away enough to clear the kick, a small splatter of blood spayed YN as Ram's life was taken by her employer.
For a second time, the pink-haired oni had been able to fulfill her new last wish; she had saved the one who held her heart's life at the expense of her own. In the very last seconds of her life, Ram felt a genuine value to her own existence.
To herself, she finally felt useful. And it had been for the one person, the only one that had come out on top on the confliction she felt in her heart.
YN.
Stunned and wide eyed, YN could only gaze at the utter obliteration of Ram's body from the force the kick had delivered.
As the vision of carnage before YN overtook his mind, an emotion unlike he'd experienced before took control of him.
YN: ROSWAAL!
Yelling at the top of his lungs, the feeling of the drops of blood that were not his own, but Ram's, running down his face fueled his rage.
Although he'd been more silent from the display of violence compared to YN, Subaru finally emerged from underneath an overturned table and a few chairs that Ram's wind magic had knocked into him. With the impact finally getting him to snap to the situation at hand, he too now yelled at Roswaal.
Subaru: What the hell is wrong with you?! You just killed Ram like it was nothing!
Throwing aside one of the chairs in anger, its old wooden frame splintered into its core pieces. With one leg of it spinning to the blood covered foot of Roswaal, he looked down at it with a face that lacked any real emotion before responding.
Roswaal: It would have been troublesome had Garf-kun transformed. Even I would have trouble casting the magic necessary to sustain this potent weather and fend him off. It would have been unsightly for a Court Magician to appear so weak.
Subaru: Are you telling me that you killed them both for appearances?!
As Subaru was the one doing the yelling now, YN couldn't have responded to any of Roswaal's words right now even if he had wanted to. Currently, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and could only muster enough mental fortitude to crawl backwards more towards Subaru as the Margrave answered him.
Roswaal: While appearances aaaaare important, it's also the principle—
At Subaru's side, YN wiped his face, and turned to look down at the smeared blood now on his hand.
—Ram's blood.
The same blood, that Roswaal was now once more wiping off his leg and hand on the bed's once white sheets. —Sheet's this one's blood certainly had dressed this bed in not long ago.
Continuing to speak, Roswaal did so now with a more somber expression as he too looked at all the blood.
Roswaal: —Traitors should be dealt with, as should any you coerce to your side.
Unsure of who he directed these words of "you" at, the Margrave's melancholic expression turned into a look of discontent as his eyes narrowed in on YN.
Roswaal: —Perhaps I should have better anticipated that the Anomaly could have corrupted the unyielding loyalty I had instilled in Ram.
Through cleaning himself of the blood he had spilled, Roswaal turned to them as Subaru reached down to help YN stand too.
On opposite ends of the room, a battlefield of carnage separated them. Both Garfiel and Ram's bodies were hardly recognizable, apart from a few stained articles of clothing. All of this had been done with not a shred of magic cast. As this realization set upon each of the wayward travelers, their thoughts recalled how they had heard Roswaal was not only talented in magic, but also was incredibly strong. However, to this extent it was far beyond their expectations.
Seeing how the two before him were still in disbelief of everything, Roswaal, with a wry smirk, held his hands out wide.
Roswaal: 'Mages are weak in physical combat' is such an antiquated notion. Anyone who's taken up arms against me thought the very same. As to what happened to them, you can see here.
YN: It's sick you'd reduce Ram to a mere example. —A talking point, no less.
Teeth clenched and anger apparent, YN had finally regained enough composure to articulate his disgust with Roswaal.
Roswaal: Ahh, but between you both, our dear YN-kun should understand exactly what I mean the most. He too understands what it's like to be a physically powerful mage.
YN: —I'm nothing like you.
Crossing his arms, Roswaal nodded seemingly in agreement as he shut his eyes.
Roswaal: True. You are an anomaly after all.
At the utterance of this word again, a rage piqued in YN.
YN: Quit calling me that! Stop hiding behind that phrase!
For what felt like an uncountable number of times, YN was once more referred to as an "anomaly." While Subaru was perhaps the only other person to have ever noticed this, sans Rem, he did see a pattern forming about it.
Roswaal, Beako, Petelgeuse, and Echidna all have called him that too... And if there's one thing that unites them all...
'Connecting the dots' on what these four had in common, Subaru's thoughts spilled out into a mumble he spoke under his breath. Seeing and hearing this though, Roswaal ignored YN's shout of frustration at him as his attention shifted to the one he truly was interested in speaking to here.
Roswaal: Hmm? A thought do we have, Subaru-kun?
Prompting him to speak up, Subaru did.
Subaru: Why... —why kill both? What's the motive behind that?
Subaru's thinking had brought him to a conclusion he needed to inquire about; how much of everything Roswaal was doing was instructed to him by his Gospel?
Thanks to Echidna's influence, Subaru had actually managed to be able to read the chicken scratch writings that were formerly illegible in the Gospel Petelgeuse had once used. And at his latest visit with Beatrice, she too had revealed what was in her Gospel as well, or really, lack thereof.
What Subaru needed to find out now, was how much of Roswaal's actions were simply unavoidable. How much was happenstance? —From actions taken by others as reactions, and what were things that would occur no matter what?
If Subaru could find that out, he could better form a list of things he and YN had to thwart, and in doing that, could better escape this series of Loops they found themselves in. It could even lead to him understanding why YN was an "anomaly."
Roswaal: Garf-kun would have gotten in the way of our conversation. That's a reason as good as any, is it not? As for Ram... her death is unfortunate...
Glaring now at YN, the Margrave went on.
Roswaal: —I wanted to give her a good death by restraining the threat against my life. It was the only way for me to deal with him while keeping up the magic to change the weather.
Subaru: So it wasn't your Gospel that told you to do that?
Raising his brows to Subaru, Roswaal turned and retrieved a black book from under the pillow of the bed he stood next to.
Roswaal: I see you're already familiar with thiiiiiiis then. Good. That saves me the explanation. But you should know, this isn't some defective copy, it's the real deal, of which, only two exist.
Subaru: Quit dodging the question, Roswaal. Did that book tell you to kill them both? What about this snow?
Roswaal: I am called upon to do many things by the Gospel's writ, but ultimately, all that I do, instructed to or not, is for one thing, and one thing only.
Unsure if he had simply been given a broad goal alone by the Gospel for him to figure out on his own on how to reach, or specified steps to follow, Subaru could only assume the former, given how vague the writings he had read in Sloth's Gospel had been.
Subaru: Which is it, Roswaal? What things did that book tell you to do?
Roswaal: Only things that are necessary for fulfilling my dearest wish.
Smiling as he said that, Roswaal seemed to liken himself to a moral high-ground of sorts.
Subaru: What... what is that wish?
Seeking more information, Subaru was denied it.
Roswaal: I cannot tell you. My contract forbids me from doing sooooooo. All I may confess to you, is that I am always doing things to further my own dearest wish, whether it is foretold to me or not.
Despite the questioning, Roswaal still refused to outright answer anything it seemed, which only in turn fueled the growing rage in YN.
YN: So you just killed them out of your digression then? If that's the case, I don't know what's actually worse; that you'd do something so heinous just because some stupid book told you to, or that you just decided it was necessary all on your own.
With a darker aura to him, Roswaal replied to YN, clearly taking offense at his words.
Roswaal: Ram's wish, the meaning behind her death, is tainted thanks to you.
His gaze cast back to Subaru, the Margrave went on.
Roswaal: It's shameful that Ram had to be put down thanks to the Anomaly's actions, but thankfully his intervention still allowed Garfiel to be caught off guard, and created a new opening for me to exploooooooooit.
At the pure, amoral, and coldly calculated deduction of results spoken by Roswaal, it served only to infuriate YN, and dumbfound Subaru.
Roswaal: Truly it seems the only one here who has been blessed enough to fulfill their deepest wish has been Beatrice.
YN: What does that mean?
Roswaal: She has vanished, has she not? Why else would you both be here?
Subaru: Dying... like that... That's not right for that to be her wish!
Roswaal: And who are to dictate what one's wishes can or cannot be? Would you really tarnish her death now?
Subaru: She deserved to be helped!
Roswaal: In all the four hundred years she's been bound to that dusty excuse of a reading room, you don't think someone would have come along to deliver her from her grief? That child has been clinging to old promises and crying on about them most of her life, and I've known her since the day she was born.
Even as Roswaal's words frustrated them both greatly, —at the carelessness of them, it seemed only YN had remained undistracted by the details enough to realize what the Margrave had just mentioned.
'Four hundred years?' 'I've known her since the day she was born'? Huh? What does he mean by that?
Of course by this logic, YN knew this meant Roswaal had to be that old, or older. But as this tense situation progressed, the here and now took priority, so this notion was forced to take a backseat in his mind.
Subaru: ...Killing Garfiel, and by association, Ram too, served only the simple purpose of protecting you? 'Can't fulfill your goal if you're dead?' That must mean this snowfall is something more important than that choice.
Only wryly smiling at this conclusion Subaru had come about to, Roswaal was pushed for more answers.
Subaru: What's the purpose behind the snow then, huh Roswaal? Why were you told to do this?
Roswaal: You are still assuming I was told specifically to do that. The real answer I'm afraid, is not so siiiiiimple. What I have been instructed to do... that answer will be much more displeasing for you to hear.
YN: Spit it out already. You making it snow makes zero sense to us. How does that benefit you in anyway?
Shrugging, the Margrave shook his head and closed his eyes.
Roswaal: Who ever said that anything I am instructed to do is to myyyyyyy benefit? If only such a thing were true...
Looking sternly at Subaru now, with a stone cold lack of empathy in his asymmetrically colored eyes, Roswaal spoke the truth.
Roswaal: Why else would I create this snow, if not to isolate Emilia-sama?
Subaru: — — —
Both receiving a mental gut-punch, while Subaru was wide eyed at this confession, YN could only kick himself for not realizing that earlier, given everything he knew about Emilia.
Shrugging at them as if it were not completely obvious, Roswaal smugly explained the symbolism he had weaponized against the innocent half-elf.
Roswaal: 'Sanctuary,' —it's very origin and idea are deeply connected to the Witch, and so is Emilia-sama. If an intense and sudden blizzard befell the Sanctuary while she was trying to liberate it, what would the people think of her, I wonder?
Keeping the two stunned silent from the sheer tenacity of Roswaal's methods, the Margrave continued to surprise them with how calculated it all was.
Roswaal: Garf-kun of course is also an important catalyst for this. It is his voice that would speak out against her, and rally the villagers of both Arlem and Sanctuary against her for her failures. He can be made to play the perfect antagonist.
Unable to hold his tongue like Subaru, YN spoke out.
YN: What's the point of all this really then?! Why make an adversary out of Garfiel? Why willingly fall into the trap of the Sanctuary to force Emilia-sama to save it, only to then turn around and sabotage it?!
Angry Roswaal's explanation left them with more questions than answers, the Margrave sighed at first, lamenting he needed to explain this to YN of all people, but seeing Subaru was just as lost, went on to proudly elaborate on his methods.
Roswaal: The purpose is simple. Emilia-sama is already a weak person, if she is utterly cornered and isolated, she will naturally cling to no one but the two of you. Ideally, in the future, things would need to move to exclude YN from being her confidant too. After all, there can only be ooooone knight per Candidate.
Declaring his intention to make Emilia no more than damsel in distress; an easily manipulable and predictable puppet to be controlled by Subaru, Roswaal was not at first questioned on why he'd want this, but rather, his intention to remove YN from that as well.
Subaru: Why remove YN? What has he done other than help Emilia too? You yourself said we've both earned the right to continue to support her. So why change that now?
Roswaal: I meant every word of what I said! Eventually though, Emilia-sama will need to entrust everything to only a siiiiiingle person. One that is willing to give her unyielding approval. One that will support her with their entiiiiiiire heart and soul. Because of that, you will one day need to turn on him. Don't you waaaaant Emilia-sama to be solely reliant on no one but you? Is that not your deepest wish?
Subaru: YN already told Emilia he couldn't be that for her when she asked. He backed up my claim to be that for her when she doubted me, and it allowed me to prove to her I was ready to be all of that for her. It's only thanks to YN that I'll get to be that.
Focusing only on the aspect of betrayal Roswaal spoke of, Subaru entirely brushed off the notion of temptation he flaunted at him.
Roswaal: It is precisely because YN-kun's heart is already set on someone else, that he may one day become competiiiiiition for that. I do not speak that his feelings for the one he cherishes will wane, or that he'll have a change of heart, —not at all. But it will actually be caused by the exact opposite of that.
YN: How does that work?
Not following the Margrave's logic, Roswaal held up a single finger and closed his eyes as he elaborated.
Roswaal: As time goes on, and YN-kun becomes more desperate to save the one he loves, he'll continuously view Emilia-sama becoming King as his best chance for Rem to receive treatment for her ailment. It will be from that, the competition will be born. Subaru-kun will need to realize that this growing devotion to Emilia-sama will rival his own, and his desire to have her entrust everything to him, and him alone will be in jeopardy, for once she does offer that to him, he could never neglect it.
YN: —That wouldn't happen! —Ever!
Furious Roswaal was talking as if he understood them both in such an ill way, YN barked back, trying desperately to kill the logic behind his thinking.
YN: Subaru wouldn't ever do such a thing to Rem and I, and the same is true for me in regards to Emilia-sama and him!
Boldly stating that their trust and mutual assistance trumped any situation like the one Roswaal was describing could ever come to fruition, Subaru felt that was a notion he could support too. After all, Emilia in her desperate state had already tempted Subaru with just what Roswaal was suggesting when he had gone into the Tomb for her just a short while ago. YN could tell by the way Subaru spoke about the encounter that he had kept himself from drowning in Emilia's embrace. This only strengthened the emotion in the words he had struck back at Roswaal with.
Hearing this continued defiance to his plans and the resistance to things he had already written off as "futile," Roswaal doubled down. With a look that was a mix of contempt and smug superiority, he too partook in this battle of "gatcha!"s.
Roswaal: Even after seeing such carnage before you, and hearing of such things you both utterly detest, how is it that you both remain so calm in the face of it all?
YN & Subaru: — — —
Unable to respond for reasons they both understood, they knew the safest avenue to take here was a silent one, as the answer to Roswaal's question involved the one thing they could not speak of so freely.
Not accepting this though, Roswaal dug more into it, fully taking advantage of this weakness.
Roswaal: Subaru-kun, you've lashed out at me for lesser things, just as you did during the Royal Selection Conference. And YN-kun... I'm surprised you aren't shooting Yang magic from your fingers or pushing your muscles to the limit.
Wanting to take that as a challenge, Subaru held a pausing gesture to YN as he opted to respond to Roswaal on his behalf with a more level head.
Subaru: We both know this isn't something we can fix by lashing out... It would sour the moment.
Roswaal: ...And by 'moment' do you mean 'gathering information?'
YN & Subaru: — — —
Almost taking the words right out of their mouths, Roswaal had used the exact words they'd used to describe their strategy.
Subaru: What are you trying to say...?
As Subaru lowered his pause to YN, as if he now felt the time for words might be drawing to a close, he spoke in a low tone to Roswaal. Truly, the conversation matter was reaching new boundaries when it came to Roswaal and keeping their taboo ability a secret.
Roswaal: What I'm trying to say? Hmm...
Grinning with a wide, smug smile, the clown without makeup on took a step back, and held his arms out wide.
Roswaal: —Congratulations, and welcome.
Like some showman at a circus, Roswaal held the energy and disposition of an entertainer to a show YN and Subaru had never imagined they'd be introduced to.
Roswaal: —I've been waiting for you to finally stand before me like this~~.
With a small hint in his chest at what Roswaal was potentially getting at, YN wanted to extinguish that as a possibility immediately.
YN: What the hell does that mean?!
Clearly still only speaking to Subaru and choosing to not acknowledge YN at all, Roswaal begrudgingly did so as he cast a lazy glare at him at first. But, this quickly turned into a taunting, sarcastic response and expression as he answered.
Roswaal: That depends, doesn't it? I suppose this does apply to you. You've known for a while now, haven't you? Or maybe you've only been told relatively recently?
Subaru: ...What would he have been told? Roswaal, you better start making sense...
Getting the same harrowing inkling YN had now, Subaru tightly closed his fists at his sides, also fearful of the same conclusion YN was coming to.
Roswaal: I will be more blunt—
Dropping his outstretched arms, a more cunning expression went across the Margrave's face.
Roswaal: You both just watched me murder these two. You both were shocked by my transgression—,
Looking to YN, he went on.
Roswaal: —and some of you were disgusted. Rightfully so. But—
Ending his anecdote to the groundskeeper, Roswaal went back to addressing them together.
Roswaal: —it was only juuuuust that. There was no grief, no loss of reason... No lashing out.
As Roswaal moved closer to the purpose of his spiel here, he spoke in a lower and more ominous voice.
Roswaal: —Almost like... there was no real consequence to all this?
Hearing his chief point be said aloud, immediately, YN didn't like where this was headed even more so than before.
This sounds almost identical to Rem's reasoning when she first learned about Return By Death...
YN was the only one here who could draw on a previous experience when it came to someone discovering things that were otherwise unexplainable due to Return By Death. Taking a split second glance to his side, YN could see a similar anxiety on Subaru's face. With Subaru's silence keeping YN from speaking either, this prompted Roswaal to go on.
Roswaal: This lack of a more deep and guuuuuuutteral reaction could only be expected out of someone who has lost only things that are easily recoverable. Sure, they may become a tad upset, but with no real consequences, comes the pointlessness of the despair that would normally follow to anyone else, thus, it does not manifest.
Subaru turned a side eye of his own to YN, and spoke out of the corner of his mouth to his fellow way traveling companion.
Subaru (whisper): You heard the same thing... right?
As if asking if he should doubt his own ears, YN could only swallow hard as he rigidly nodded his head in confirmation, a sweat growing on each of their brows.
They each halfway expected a black hand to suddenly conjure itself from a dark mist and punish them with a stinging pain with such words and ideas being spoken so outwardly.
Yet, none did.
Still though, in this tense brewing silence, YN's fears only magnified.
Did Roswaal find a loophole of his own like Rem did? Did he find a way to be hinted towards the existence of Return By Death?!
Panic was beginning to set in on YN's mind.
While he wasn't alone in this feeling, the intensity for him had shocked him silent while Subaru could only hang his head and mumble under his breath.
Subaru (whisper): At this rate... I'm surprised there wasn't a Consequence...
Putting a hand to his face now too, he covered it as he continued to mumble, obscuring his voice to Roswaal but keeping it enough so YN could hear too.
Subaru (muffled): —It's too much of a coincidence though... How the hell would he know about it if he did...?
Clearly seeing they were disturbed now, Roswaal continued to bite in.
Roswaal: Hmmm?~~ I'm curious now... What has you so afraid of all of sudden that it has turned your attention away from this mess?
Further using Subaru's reaction to prove his previous point that they viewed the tragic killings before them as unlasting, —that just as Roswaal described, could be undone, YN began to feel his knees shake as the horrible theory in his mind seemed more and more likely.
An overwhelming guilt was taking over YN, a guilt he had wielded for some time now, but until only recently, hadn't needed to shoulder it all alone.
As much as I hate to think it... maybe it was a bad idea to keep Subaru in the dark about Rem finding out about Return By Death... If I need to rely on Subaru to find our way out of these messes, he really should get all the help and knowledge I can give him...
At a monumental moral crossroads, YN shuttered at the idea of what might come of their friendship if he told Subaru at this juncture.
Roswaal: —Ahhh, it has something to do with your Contract, doesn't it?
Cutting off YN's thoughts, such heavy words couldn't be ignored.
Roswaal: That would explain your cautious demeanor and lack of words right now...
Speaking to Subaru as he has said that, the Margrave turned his gaze to YN.
Roswaal: ...It might even prove to be a useful hypothesis against YN-kun too...
Looking back to Subaru now, Roswaal gave him a sinisterly cunning grin as he held a hand to his chin, as if he'd just solved a particularly difficult riddle or puzzle.
Roswaal: I think I'm beginning to understand the fiiiiner details of how it all works now!
YN: 'Finer' details?
Subaru: How 'it' works?
As if questioning if they'd heard him right at all to begin with, the vagueness of what Roswaal spoke with would remain unspecified not a second more.
Subaru: —hk!
Biting his lip, Subaru could no longer deny that Roswaal was privy to information he shouldn't have.
Subaru: No way... You actaully—?!
—To continue to hold out on hope that the Margrave was simply misinformed, or was bluffing was to deny the fact straight to it's face; something Subaru couldn't do.
Subaru: —You... You know. You know... about me?!
Speaking an equally vague, yet identifiable term, Roswaal's smirk gained even more sick satisfaction to it.
In as self-congratulatory way as he could say it, the clown with no make-up answered the trembling boy's question, continuing to hold his chin and nod as he did so, proud he could now reveal what he had come to learn.
Roswaal: As far as what I've read, —what has been written to me by Sensei's guidance; yes. I do know, dear Subaru-kun, that you possess the power to rewind time—,
A massive lump growing in his throat, YN could see Subaru turn ghost-white pale as well.
Roswaal: —cooooooorrect~~?
YN's heart immediately sank, lower than a well-digger's shoes.
Somehow, in some way, Roswaal had found out at least partially of their ability, or sometimes, their curse.
YN's mind fluttered with potential causes for this. Did he find out in a way that was like Rem did, via a loophole? Or had the effect of Gluttony's Authority rendering Rem from existence gone as far as to place that knowledge she had into someone else?
Meanwhile, Subaru too was silent. A worried and horrified air lingered about him not due to Roswaal knowing, rather, his thoughts were fixated on the potential of another catastrophe enveloping the Sanctuary. Would the Witch of Envy once more possess Emilia and force a reset? Could Subaru deal with this without Echidna's foresight in preparing him a way out? While this wasn't at the level of what occurred during the tea-party, it felt equally as dangerous.
Roswaal: —Your shared silence is gooooolden. It might as well be a clear admission of my claim.
With neither able to think of a safe response, the Margrave went on.
Roswaal: —After all, you both aren't denying such an outlandish thing.
Still, the two before him were caught wordless.
Roswaal: Maybe your Contract isn't as complex as it appears to be. Maybe you caaaaaan say what you please regarding it, but you were just too afraid to tell anyone but that Anomaly.
Malevolently, Roswaal now seemed to try and provoke a response out of Subaru if he was going to remain silent.
Roswaal: Were you too afraid to tell anyone else? Were you afraid of what they'd think? No one would ever understand what it's like... They would judge you quite harshly, is what you fear.
That's wrong!
Clenching his teeth in anger at Roswaal's words, it took every drop of YN's better judgment to hold his tongue. He wanted nothing more than to shout about how Rem hadn't rejected him due to it. That Rem had learned to sympathize about it. That Rem shared his pain from it.
Rem can break whatever dumb stereotype you want to put on someone! She's that special and kind!
Roswaal went on about how time manipulation was the epitome of Yin magic, and how even Beatrice expending all of her magic could only hold time in place for a few brief seconds, and that reversing the flow of time was something altogether much more powerful. As a student of all forms of magic, Roswaal seemed enamored by the subject and its usefulness. But as he went on about it, Subaru stayed silent in his shock, and YN could only barely bottle his anger.
His clenched hands shaking, Roswaal noticed this, and addressed how different YN's disposition was compared to Subaru.
Roswaal: You look as if you're paralyzed by its mention. Is it from fear as well? It must be. It's a scary thing for him to have, isn't it? It's essentially the ultimate power over life and death. I think it's quite telling the way you feel about it... After all, Subaru-kun here didn't use it to save your dear Rem, did he?
YN: Roswaal..!
Rage building up, YN could feel his body growing hot.
Roswaal: Ahhh; it's anger. Perhaps YN-kun was forced to choose a lesser of two evils. He sacrificed the girl to not risk undoing Subaru-kun's achievements.
YN: That's not true!
Roswaal: —Or maybe he simply saw Rem's usefulness come to an end.
YN: Roswaal, you motherfu—!
Igniting Yang magic in the palm of his hand, YN sent out a cascade of light and heat at the one accusing him of such morose things
Subaru: —Stop!
Grabbing YN's arm as he extended it out to Roswaal, Subaru redirected the Yang magic down to the floor. Burning a hole in the floorboards, Roswaal hadn't even so much as flinched from the beams of light reaching as close as a finger's width away from his feet.
Realizing he had given into such petty rage, YN didn't fight back against Subaru now restraining him.
Even as he was threatened though, Roswaal could only find the brief squabble before him amusing.
Roswaal: It is truly baffling. Before you lie the reasons you shouldn't let such a future continue to be, yet you fight along, letting it persist. Why is that? What more do you have to gain by letting everyone suffer?
Accusing Subaru now of prolonging everyone's pain, he too now lost his cool.
Subaru: Roswaal..!
Releasing YN, Subaru began his bout of shouting at the Margrave.
Subaru: So what you're asking us to do is just undo the things you don't like then, huh?! Is that what you're getting at when you ask me that?! You think it's that easy?! Seeing the people you love suffer over and over again?!
Even as Subaru hollered in his anger now, YN with his more level head carefully went over what Roswaal had just said, and realized something.
YN: Subaru, hold on! You need to calm down now!
Completely ignoring YN, Subaru spat out more of his frustrations and disgust with Roswaal, making sure to air out just how upset he was.
Subaru: If you want things turned back so badly why don't you just speed things along for us then!? Just end it all right now! You've written all of this off already if you've killed Ram and Garfiel! Do it! Just k—
YN: —Not another word!
Putting a hand over Subaru's mouth and restraining him, YN had just stopped Subaru from revealing the key secret to their Ability.
After all, this ability was referred to "Return By Death" for a reason.
Just as Rem at first hadn't conceived the trigger, Roswaal was also in the dark about it.
If Roswaal really did find out about Return By Death from nowhere but his Gospel, and the Witch doesn't immediately show up, he might not have the whole picture on how it works.
Recalling the words Roswaal had spoken about his "Sensei's writings," referring to his Gospel, and how Echidna was the one who had constructed both his and Beatrice's Books of Wisdom, YN began to put all the clues together. After all, the author of their books also ended up being completely captivated by the concept of Return By Death.
Given it took Echidna actually looking into our memories of our past conversations with her to fully understand how Return By Death works, if you couple that with how Gospels— especially how the Books of Wisdom behave and operate in such an unknown way... Who's to say if Roswaal figures out Return By Death in this Loop, he won't have a way to tell himself that in future Loops?!
Truly fearful of Roswaal finding this out only once could spell future, unlimited damage later on, YN swallowed his own rage at the Margrave for his accusations regarding Rem. Right now, YN prioritized the future and saving Rem than letting out some petty, short sighted anger.
Keeping Subaru restrained, YN pulled him back, and whispered into his ear, hoping it would go unnoticed by Roswaal as he tried to put the black-haired boy back in his place.
YN (whisper): Roswaal doesn't know it's caused by death. If he finds out now, it could be disastrous later on.
Hearing YN's words, Subaru's anger immediately vanished as well. Looking to YN as he was released, he then looked back to Roswaal, and then to YN once more. With a single nod, Subaru more or less ascertained what YN was getting at.
If Roswaal finds out it's death that causes the Reset, he'd just kill me whenever a Loop begins to go sideways for him. Both YN and I would be powerless to solve it.
Even as the two stood united in their understanding now, a guilt still lingered in YN on the subject.
It's only thanks to me dealing with someone finding out about Return By Death before that I think I was able to figure out Roswaal doesn't know the second half of it...
Thinking more on it, his mind changed slightly.
No, I have to Rem thank for that actually. If it weren't for her, there's no telling how much trouble we'd be in right now.
Once more finding another way the blue-haired maid had saved them all from disaster even in her sleeping state, YN's heart fluttered as he thought of her.
Rem...
With a nod from Subaru, it was conveyed to YN that he too understood the threat of Roswaal knowing it was death that was the key to this 'turning back time' business.
It's a hard pill to swallow... Subaru knows I'm guilty of abusing my knowledge of Return By Death, just as we know Roswaal definitely would.
YN felt a heavy sin in his chest realizing that his actions made him as culpable as Roswaal could be for things he'd done in the past.
I've killed Subaru in the past to trigger a Reset when I wasn't happy with the persisting Loop... It's a terrible thing, and I know I don't deserve the trust he still has in me... but I have to honor that existing trust by helping prevent this now!
As the two both looked to Roswaal again, they both knew that as of right now, he had no intention of killing either of them. But—
Roswaal: —It seems I'll need to be a bit more foooorceful in convincing Subaru-kun to turn things back. It may be foolish to do this and stain our future relationship, but it seems it must be done.
Hearing that threat, they now both knew that Roswaal was prepared to use whatever 'methods' he had to corner Subaru into 'rewinding time.'
YN: Subaru. Plan B.
Subaru: Gotcha.
Raising his hand up high suddenly, this sudden motion halted Roswaal as Subaru yelled out.
Subaru: Everyone! Inside! Now!
Within only a few seconds of his command, the small room was flooded with a dozen or more new bodies.
Their pink hair waved about as they lined up and got into position, some guarding the two wayward traveling companions, some moving to flank the clown who wore no make-up.
En mass, the small shack was now filled nearly to the brim with Ryuzu replicants, having come in through the windows and doors, all simultaneously.
Roswaal: My, isn't this a surpriiiiiiise. I'd heard YN-kun had taken the Command Authority, but I figured his hoooooonest nature would have made himself honor the deal with Garf-kun, yet here Subaru-kun is with it.
Subaru: What can we say? We needed an ace in the hole. Our favorite groundskeeper here convinced Garfiel that letting me hold onto it was a good enough compromise for now.
While it had been a hard sell, YN had been successful in convincing Garfiel to wait just a bit longer in turning over the Command Authority to him. Subaru had argued that if Roswaal had come to learn that YN currently possessed the Command Authority, the Margrave would assume YN had already relinquished it back to Garfiel upon their arrival here to confront him. If push came to shove, that element of surprise of someone else besides the golden-haired youth possessing it might be invaluable.
Of course though, YN needed to compromise where he had to.
Under the conditions that Rem be taken into the Cathedral the Arlem Villagers were still using as a boarding house to function as a neutral holding place for her to remain, and that the Command Authority instead be held by Subaru, —someone Garfiel could easily overpower, the golden-haired youth agreed to the plan.
But with Garfiel now dead, not leaving the Command Authority in his possession proved to be immense foresight, as this was a tool not lost to YN and Subaru now.
Roswaal: Is your plan really as simple as trying to overwhelm me?
Asking if they were serious or not, Subaru took the Margrave's sarcastic remark as a bluff.
Subaru: If you were so worried that Garfiel transforming was going to give you trouble, this many smaller attackers ought to be enough to give you a problem!
Roswaal could only smirk at the challenge being issued to him by the black-haired boy.
Roswaal: I may be outnumbered, however—
Trying to catch him off guard, Subaru launched the Ryuzu clones into action.
Subaru: —Get him!
Roswaal: —It is foolish to try and overwhelm a mage with just sheer numbers!
With the altercation now starting, YN moved in alongside the Ryuzu copies, building up a considerable amount of mana in his dominant hand. Only halfway to the Margrave, he had already dealt with two clones already.
He didn't even react earlier when my Jiwald burned a hole in the floor and nearly took his legs out, I gotta get close up for this to work I can already tell!
YN knew he needed a point blank attack opportunity if he was going to be successful at taking down Roswaal, after all, he was aware of just how widely different their skill levels were.
Rushing in alongside Roswaal's flank, YN went to unleash his Yang magic.
YN: Jiwald—!
Roswaal: —Goa.
Even as three more Ryuzu replicants latched themselves onto Roswaal and his attention was turned away from YN, the magician had raised his palm directly at him.
YN: —tch!
Meeting his Yang magic with his fire magic, the two spells seemingly canceled each other out, but the force of the whiplash from their contact sent YN flying backwards.
YN: —Gah...
Knocked back, YN went to stand but was frozen in place at the threat before him.
Still with it facing him, a small fire continued to be ignited by Roswaal on his palm. Swatting away the three other Ryuzu clones attacking him with little effort, as if they were annoying flies, the Royal Court Magician looked at YN with utter contempt before he sought to end him there and now.
Roswaal: Ul Goa.
In a split second, the small pilot light of a flame in his palm grew to encompass nearly YN's entire vision. As the heat of this fire kissed the skin of face, it was all YN could do but brace for an impact, and hope he was incinerated quickly.
Yet as his eyes squinted, the light from the incoming fireball was dimmed, and the heat he felt slightly subsided.
For only a brief second before it was vaporized, YN saw the figure that had taken the shot meant for him.
Fading away to nothing was their long pink hair and coat of white as the fire consumed them.
YN: —!
While he was horrified by the sight, he at least was saved from seeing any gore or carnage due to the fact his savior's bodies were made entirely of mana by the nature of their creation.
Saved from certain death, a Ryuzu copy had sacrificed themself for YN.
YN: — — —
Wide eyed, it was one thing to see these Ryuzu clones cut down by Roswaal, but to have one sacrifice itself for his own sake, hit YN deep on an emotional level.
As he could only utter a few short, shallow breaths in shock at this, it was only the small, dull cling of a tiny trinket hitting the floor in front of him that snapped him back to reality.
Landing right at his feet, he saw it.
Forming a small "X" shape, the once pink hair-clip was now almost completely burnt to a black crisp, spare a few minor spots the flames hadn't reached on it.
YN recognized this small hair-clip after all, and seeing it here now, his heart sunk.