A/N: Hello everyone. Here's this week's chapter, its another long one. This one has a scene I really enjoyed writing for Rem. I hope you all enjoy it!
Chapter 97: The Race Is On
Finally out of the city limits, YN raced to pass any and all carriages that were in his way on the already narrow dirt road.
To the many cries and complaints of all the carriages that were upset this tiny metal box was not only faster than them, but also seemingly out of control, the three inside paid them no mind. With their attention on a higher and more important goal, they chased it without any other thought.
While finding which carriage was the correct one they needed to home in on, their only source of light other than the full moon above were the cars own headlights. Passing dozens of carriages in the process, what felt like nearly half an hour had passed with no sign of the one they were looking for. But as time went on, the carriages became more spaced out, and the distance between each increased.
Emilia: It looked like he may have stolen one close to the very front of the line...
As Emilia lamented, YN used his high-beams to look further down the highway, and to his surprise, there was one last carriage he could see.
YN: That's gotta be it. Has to be.
Making every effort to catch up, the carriage did indeed seem familiar.
Rem: Rem recognizes the cargo it is carrying. That is it.
On a rather straight section of dirt road highway now, YN closed in, but as he did—
YN: —Shit!
Jerking the wheel to avoid a totaling collision, a piece of the cargo on the back had fallen off the carriage before them, a large barrel filled with something heavy.
Emilia: Wahh~!
Emilia held on tight to handle above the passenger side door in response to the evasive maneuvers the car was now making. She still wasn't used to the feeling of the car and the way it moved. In fact, she had shown signs of car sickness on the way here, asking at times for YN to "move smoother."
Trying to get close again though, YN had to take evasive actions to avoid a collision with more falling cargo, but this time, they all saw the cause.
Standing atop the large flatbed carriage, the thief readied another price of cargo to be jettisoned off the back to keep them from getting too close. Choosing to fall back, YN tried to voice an idea for a new strategy.
YN: Emilia-sama, Rem. Can either of you shoot some ice spears to take out his wheels?
Emilia: I'll try!
Hanging her upper half of her body outside the window, Emilia called forth a single crystal of ice, and shot it with intent of dislodging one of the carriage's wheels. But, meeting her projectile halfway, was a bolt of fire.
Just like before, the thief utilized his fire magic to counter any ice projectile they could shoot at him. Unsatisfied with this though, Rem reached her hand around YN, pointed out of the driver's side window.
Rem: El Huma!
Generating several ice spears and launching them all at once, they were instead countered by a wall of fire eating them up on impact.
YN: Damn it! Anything we try he's got a counter to it!
Being forced to follow from a distance now, Flugal's tree began to come into view as the two raced along.
As YN racked his brain to figure out what it was they should do, Emilia suddenly opened her door.
Emilia: Get as close as you can. If you can dodge whatever it is he throws at you, I can make it to the carriage.
YN: A-What?! Emilia-sama, that's—
Emilia: —It's our only chance!
Defiant, Emilia craned herself out of the open door, and up and into the hood of the car.
YN: This is crazy!
Unable to hear him though, Emilia squinted her eyes as the rushing night time air made it hard to see.
Not wishing to see the half-elf fall off though, YN gingerly accelerated more, getting them closer until—
Emilia: Hiyaa!
Just as YN swerved to avoid a crate nearly as large as his car that had been kicked off the back of the carriage, Emilia leaped directly for it.
Landing gracefully, she kept her momentum going in a most unique way.
Emilia: Haa!
Emilia was propelled forward and upward, faster then YN was driving, by a large amount of ice suddenly being summoned forth from under her.
Like a rocket on rails, Emilia propelled herself to the very back of the large flatbed carriage the thief was on.
Nearly as soon as she landed however, an intense fight onboard kicked off.
Flames and pillars of ice flew up into the night sky as the thief's final stand was being made.
Rushing to catch up again, YN knew this was trouble.
Without Puck Emilia isn't as strong in a fight, and with that thief also guiding along the ground dragon's, he can try and shake Emilia off.
While usually the Divine Protection of Wind that all ground dragon's possessed stayed active while the carriage stayed in motion from them pulling it, either the carriage was so large the protection didn't cover it completely, or something had interrupted it.
Either way, Emilia's footing and balance was suffering in the altercation, putting her at an even larger disadvantage.
Rem: Emilia-sama needs assistance, please get us closer so Rem may assist.
YN: Okay!
Getting nearly side by side, Rem opened the passenger door just as Emilia had, but as she did, they each noticed something further down the highway.
YN: No... That's—! Rem don't—!
While Rem had also seen it, her priorities stayed the same.
As Rem stepped onto the hood, just beyond them and closing fast, was a thick, white mist that could only come from one source.
YN: Rem get back in! We can't enter that mist! If we do—!
Despite his earnest fear and yelling, Rem leaped to the carriage Emilia and the thief were still duking it out on.
Craning his head out of the window, YN pleaded to Rem to get back into the car.
YN: Rem please don't do this! Just grab Emilia and we'll go around and cut him off! We can find a better way to—!
Rem: YN-kun. Does the car still possess its spare wheel in the event it loses one?
As everyone continued to race towards the wall of fog laid across the highway, YN couldn't fathom why Rem was bringing this up all of sudden. She spoke her question bluntly, as if nothing else in the world really concerned her at this very moment.
YN: H-Huh? I— uh, yeah it does. What does—? —?!
Receiving her answer she had to be sure of, an unknown emotion glittered behind the soft azure blue eyes that looked down at YN from the carriage she was one.
Rem raised a single hand upward, palm up, and chanted her magic.
Rem: El Huma.
Generating two, albeit small ice spears, no larger than her own arm, Rem waved her hand down towards YN, but not directly at him.
Time seemed to slow down for him at this very moment. Accompanying the emotion in her eyes was sheer sadness he'd only ever seen before while under a moonlit sky with the backdrop of a foggy, grass covered plane.
Just like the last loop when Rem had affixed his exhausted body to the back of a ground dragon and made him escape, the same look of endearment for him and sadness for herself crossed her beautiful face.
Impacting the drivers side tire, the ice Rem had cast easily pierced the rubber, deflating and destroying the rapidly rotating wheel.
YN: Rem—!
Losing control almost immediately, the car quickly fell behind the carriage as YN struggled to maintain a straight line.
Finally the momentum was too much, and the car spun out on the dirt road as it screeched to a halt on three tires.
No! Rem!
YN flung his door open and ran to the other side of his car where the carriage, and Rem, continued to thunder off, away from him and towards the white mist.
YN: Rem!
Standing at the back of the carriage and looking back at YN, Rem knew she had little time to reflect while Emilia was still fighting the thief, their cocktail of fire and ice making it apparent both sides were still in it.
Turning her back as the carriage entered the mist, YN felt his heart sink.
YN: No... No... Rem... Please...
YN reached out with a hand in vain as the white mist swallowed any last chance of him seeing her.
No wind blew across the plane, and as the mist muffled the sound of the carriage that had gotten away, the only sound was the rhythmic idle of the car's engine behind him. Blankly, YN stared off into the distance as the mist resumed its cloudy shape after the carriage so violently entered it.
Dropping his hand, a dread filled YN once more.
Rem is going to be erased again, won't she?
Fearing that if things continued this way and the loop would remain permanent, determination —or at least a sense of duty, began to return him.
YN chose for now to keep his obligation of returning to Fleur and waiting for Subaru, like they had planned and agreed upon.
Rem didn't want me to be erased, so it had to come to this...
Kicking the broken wheel, he knew Rem had perfectly calculated what destroying the tire would have done. Not only had it stopped him from following, it also would take enough time to fix that he knew he couldn't follow her, and that this also did not harm his ability to retreat.
Sometimes she really is smart... way smarter than I am.
Deep down, that was one of the many things YN adored the most about the maid.
Slowly, and with lethargic motion fueled by worry and fear, YN shut the car off, got out the spare tire, and set about trying to re-secure his means of transportation off the planes, and back to Fleur.
Limping back into town on the small spare tire, the sun had just crested the horizon as it was now day time again. The trip back had been long thanks to YN needing to go at a much slower pace. While the tiny spare would be fine to go at normal speeds on a paved highway, the Lifaus Highway was still nothing more than a simple dirt road, and thus, the small tire suffered.
Seeing someone return though, the authorities in charge of the highway were surprised to hear that the mist had returned, because to them, they had been given no reports of any sights since the night before when ultimately, the highway was reopened anyway.
I'm not sure if that means the other merchants got around it, or they all got erased by the Mist as well...
YN knew it was pointless to say anything more, so he moved on through town, and arrived back at the now vacant merchant circle where Otto and his troop had camped the night before.
Clearly having moved on, YN parked his car right in the middle, and rested his head on the steering wheel, tired from a full night of chases, and being chased.
At least waiting here, Subaru can't miss me if he comes into town...
While he hated to wait, YN knew there was no better option.
It's going to suck if Subaru made a lot of progress but we have to ditch this loop because I messed things up...
Viewing his involvement as a failure, he rested his eyes as his head leaned against the wheel.
Rem... Please... Please be okay...
Letting exhaustion overwhelm him, YN passed out, and fell asleep.
**HONK**
YN: —Whaa! Huh?!
With his eyes cloudy from having just woken up, the sudden jar of hearing his car horn nearly caused him to be disoriented.
?: Hey, wakey wakey.
Next to him was a familiar voice, just outside the driver's door, that was now open.
YN: —Ghaa?
Wiping his morning eyes, the familiar dark and orange shade of the tracksuit that belonged to the voice's owner became clearer.
Subaru: You look like you didn't have much better luck then I did.
Having chosen to wake up YN by honking the horn, Subaru stood back from the window as if expecting to be hit.
The bright, nearly mid-day sun was blinding to his morning eyes. He had gotten a bit of rest, albeit terrible quality.
Looking at Subaru though, YN answered his question with a single head shake.
Subaru: It must have been pretty bad if Rem and Emilia aren't here... I don't take it that they...
Not wishing to imagine if they had perished or not, YN shook his head again, but explained this time as he got out of the car and stretched his stiff body.
YN: I don't know, actually. We chased the thieves around town but they got away... We followed them down the highway but then the White Whale attacked...
Subaru: They didn't get erased, did they?
Replying with alarm, YN for a third time shook his head.
YN: That's where I don't know. Rem and Emilia were on a carriage and I was following along with the car. Rem and I saw the mist on the horizon but she chose to keep me out of it, and destroyed my tire so I couldn't follow her.
Kicking the small spare tire, Subaru hadn't noticed it until now.
Subaru: Not even Rem and you could stop the theft?
YN: I wouldn't say that. We just didn't know what to look for... But now I'd say we'd have a better chance...
Unsure if that was true, YN's mind still went over how Rem and him had gotten in each other's way while chasing the thief. It was reminiscent of the loops in Saluzzo, where they each hampered each other in an altercation, if only because they cared for each other's safety too much.
YN: But we uncovered some important information. The thieves and the Witch Cult might be linked after all. Rem all but confirmed it.
Subaru: What? That's not possible—!
Clenching his fists, Subaru was at a loss hearing that.
While Subaru lamented in frustration at information he was certain was correct, YN pointed over at Subaru's means of transportation, which he hadn't noticed until now.
YN: Is that yours?
A simple carriage was not far off, and at its helm was a ground dragon.
Looking over, Subaru nodded.
Subaru: Yeah. Courtesy of Anastasia Hoshin.
YN: She just gave you a carriage?
Confused on how and why she had done so, Subaru waved off the explanation.
Subaru: It's a long story, but I think we have other things to discuss first. But we should also get going towards the Mansion. If Rem and Emilia are alive, they'll be there.
YN: True... But we might have to take the carriage. My car doesn't like the dirt roads with the spare tire.
Seeing how that was true, YN and Subaru boarded the carriage and used the now, still open Lifaus Highway for their return trip to the Mansion.
With the ground dragon's Divine Protection of Wind initiating, the ride smoothed out, and allowed them to talk without raising their voices over the rumble of the road.
Subaru: How did you and Rem conclude that the Cult was working with the thieves?
Subaru brought the conversation back to where they had been before YN had pointed out his gifted carriage. With a return to the topic at hand, he looked out at the endless grasslands around them and explained.
YN: Before the thieves went into action, Rem could smell the Witch's Scent on one of them. There were two masked men, and a lady who was there. I guess they were watching us upon arrival and Rem only noticed them because one of them stunk, specifically the lady.
Subaru: Only one of them?
YN: I've got no idea how the Miasma works. But the lady wasn't actually involved in the stealing. She just pointed to the carriage that ended up being Emilia's and vanished.
Still doubtful of YN simply based on his own knowledge, Subaru inquired more.
Subaru: What did these thieves look like?
Recalling it, YN described them.
YN: They both wore masks, so it's hard to say... But one used Earth magic, and the other used Fire Magic, the fire one was the real threat.
With a hand to his chin and the other holding the reins of the ground dragon, Subaru searched his own memories.
Subaru: I remember one of them casting Earth Magic, but I never got a close enough look at them... I also never saw this other lady with them. What did she look like?
YN: Uhh, she has short auburn hair, maybe close to being orange, but she had a pretty distinct, freckled face.
Subaru: Short hair... Auburn-orange-ish.. Freckles... —No way!
Coming across the memories he knew that separated the thieves from any involvement with the Cult, the entire situation seemed to be flipped over on its head.
YN: What? What is it? Is that description familiar to you?
Unsure how this was possible, Subaru wore a serious face as he explained.
Subaru: The reason why that's familiar, and the reason I was certain the thieves and the Cult weren't working together is because—
Looking directly at YN as an ominous air circled about Subaru, it seemed this revelation was deeply troubling to him.
Subaru: —a woman who looked just like that from the Witch Cult killed the thieves.
YN: — — —
As a moment of silence passed by, YN was lost as to what this meant.
Subaru: If that woman is the same woman, why would she be working with the Witch Cult, as well as the thieves?
Still unsure how Subaru could know that, YN shook his head.
I think we both agree it has to be the same lady... Not many freckled faced girls that also smell like the Witch in this world I bet...
YN: How do you know she was part of the Witch Cult though? We also smell like that but clearly aren't members...
Subaru: *Sigh* It has to do with what I saw in the loop I stole your car...
YN: —? You ran into the Witch Cult? I thought you crashed trying to chase them down? Ram told me about how Emilia had found you passed out after chasing the thieves out of Fleur...
Subaru: That's true, but I didn't crash because of the thieves...
YN: Then what happened?
Subaru: It might sound odd, but a lot of it revolves around what happened in the very first loop as well...
Taking a deep breath, Subaru told the tale of the first two loops of this White Whale and Witch Cult attack conundrum.
Relaying what has occurred in the first loop, the same one where YN had been taken by the Witch Cult back to their lair, and how he had been forced to watch Rem suffer, Subaru explained what had happened after YN left.
The black haired boy had gotten as far as Fleur on the simple merit of hitch hiking, where upon arrival, had found Emilia hysterical. Puck had been stolen in a brazen attack on her carriage, she had nearly encountered the fabled White Whale, there were gaps in her memory now regarding the attack, YN and Rem had driven right past her, and no help had come from the Capitol for her as she was effectively stranded. To say the least, the poor girl was beside herself by the time Subaru had arrived.
But what had made matters worse was Subaru had yet again broken a promise to her, having left his treatment to seek her out.
Shortly after that fateful meeting, support did come for her, but on Emilia's orders, Subaru was not permitted to go back to the Mansion with her to help prepare a search party for Puck's crystal. She told him to do whatever he pleased since she obviously couldn't make him go back for his treatment.
Distraught, Subaru had wandered around until he met a merchant with gray-ish, silver hair, and a green hat who had been drinking a tad too much that evening. Convincing him, Subaru was given a ride by him to the Mansion, choosing to go down the Lifaus Highway which was now open again.
Yet, disaster had struck. The White Whale had chosen to attack them as they passed Flugal's tree. Escaping on foot after the carriage was destroyed, an injured Subaru walked away from the mist, and finding the half destroyed carriage and Otto's ground dragon seemingly waiting for him, he used it for the rest of his journey.
But on his way there as he entered the forested area of the Mather's Domain, he found the bodies of the dead thieves, stabbed with distinct, ornate daggers. The bodies of a few hooded men were also present, adorned in dark robes. Subaru had searched the bodies for the stolen Crystal yet found nothing. This was his first indication that the thieves and the Witch Cult were not working together, and were in fact, enemies.
It was on his way back into Arlem though, that he found true carnage. With YN being familiar with the scene as well, Subaru didn't need to explain much more, as he relayed how he had seen Subaru arriving back into the Mansion.
Taking in everything that Subaru had explained, YN ran his hand through his own hair.
YN: That... That is quite a bizarre adventure...
Subaru: Still wasn't as bad as what you went through. I still feel really bad about being such a prick right after you had just been through that.
Shaking his head in reply, YN didn't think it was much of a point to discuss now.
YN: You didn't know, and you were upset and bothered by everything you saw too.
Subaru: Maybe, but I couldn't have understood what that was like until the last loop either...
Having experienced what it was like to helplessly hold the one that he treasured the most corpse in his arms, it was only then could he sympathize with YN and realize the consequences of his haste.
Without wanting, or really without needing to explain his thinking on why he had done so, Subaru told of what happened after he had stolen YN's car and drove to Fleur, in hopes he could stop the theft before it happened.
Subaru: I got a little turned around trying to leave the Capitol and finding the right way to Fleur, so I didn't get there until dusk... I found Emilia but she wasn't happy at all to see me for obvious reasons...
Gazing out across the sunlit grassy plains, Subaru lamented each time Emilia had cursed his presence. Even though he was breaking promises, he was doing so for her own sake, for something he cherished as higher.
I haven't broken a promise to Rem yet... But I think if I had to for similar reasons as Subaru is for Emilia, I think she'd understand. I know she would for my sake, and I would understand too.
Contrasting the two relationships, it only made YN's heart yearn more for Rem and her safety.
Subaru: Her getting upset at me was actually the catalyst for the theft to happen. Two masked men suddenly appeared and caught us both off guard as they snagged Puck's crystal. I tried chasing them through the city but with only me and Emilia trying to catch them, it was easy for them to predict our movements...
YN: The driver of Emilia's carriage is also working with the thieves. That was probably part of it.
Subaru: You're joking.
Looking deadpan at YN with another revelation regarding the thieves, Subaru had to know more.
Retelling how it had been during their chase, Emilia had ordered the Knight who was her envoy and driver of the carriage she was in to pursue the thieves. While Emilia chased on foot (or rather, ice), Subaru pursued via car, and the Knight "perused" by carriage. Somehow, when then three had been split up, the carriage had been "taken" by the thieves from the Knight.
YN: He probably handed it right over to them.
Subaru: —tsk. He said they went down the detour route too when we found him running around like we were. That's probably exactly what happened. Damn it.
While Subaru cursed the one who had lied to him, he then went about questioning YN on how they had been chased down the Highway in this same Loop though. He briefly explained his and Rem's plot of creating a fake mist of steam in hopes of altering when the Highway would reopen.
Going back to Subaru's account, he spoke of how he continued in determination to find the thieves somewhere down the detour.
Subaru: —but that was when I had my first run in with the actual Witch Cult...
Tightening his grip on the reins, Subaru's frustration with them was clear.
He had been driving through the more wooded area of the detour, not far from Arlem in all actuality. It was night-time, but the headlights easily illuminated his way.
Coming across a ruined carriage on the way, Subaru had recognized it as the one the thieves had "stolen," or the one Emilia had been occupying until the theft.
Subaru: That's when I saw them...
The Witch Cult and its hooded members had captured the thieves, ambushed them as it would seem, given the wreckage. One was already dead, his body riddled with the same daggers Subaru had seen in the bodies of those in the village of Arlem the loop prior.
Subaru: I got out of the car, reluctantly as they stared at me... And that's when that creepy, green skinned guy popped out of the shadows... Petelgeuse...
While the memory was painful, Subaru recounted all that had occurred.
Subaru: He introduced himself as—
YN: —The Sin Archbishop of Sloth.
Subaru: —!
Surprised YN knew that, Subaru's voice got low.
Subaru: You ran into him too then...
YN: Yeah... He's the one who killed Rem...
Subaru: — — —
While Subaru had watched in horror at how the madman's ranting and raving had given birth to some sort of telekinesis, the remaining thief had been twisted and contorted as Petelgeuse hollered words of insanity, speaking of "her love" and "slothfulness."
Subaru knew he need not explain that to YN. He knew full and well enough he was already familiar with the ability, correctly assuming the same cruel death that had been given to the thief, had also been given to Rem.
There was a moment of silence now as Subaru further cursed his own former hostility to YN. It was one thing knowing he had held Rem's body as she died like he had with Emilia. However, it was an entirely different thing knowing YN had to have witnessed Rem die in such a horrific way.
But, knowing he had to share his knowledge, Subaru worked his words to dance around bringing up any further painful memories.
Subaru: I didn't see them the first time, but at the end of the last loop, I spoke with Petelgeuse more after Beako opened that portal and dumped me off in the middle of the forest. That ability of his is some kind of invisible shadow hands.
YN: 'Invisible shadow hands?'
Unsure of what he meant, Subaru described them better.
Subaru: He called them his 'Unseen Hands' and that they were some kind of gift from 'Her Love.' He got really mad that I could see them.
YN: Was anything different that time that maybe let you see them again?
Shrugging in reply, Subaru couldn't give YN an answer on that.
Subaru: All I know is that I couldn't see them the first time I came across him...
YN: What else happened during that first time? That thief got... strung up?
Trying his hardest to not remember Rem in a similar situation, YN swallowed his sadness and prioritized the here and now.
Subaru: He was held up, but before he died, that freckle-faced lady— the one you described, was told to kill him, ordered by Petelguese himself after during his ranting he realized the thief's actions weren't 'as slothful' as they had seemed.
Gesturing with his hands how the lady had killed the thief, a finger crossing his neck, Subaru mimicked how a knife had ultimately been the catalyst for taking his life.
YN: How merciful the Sin Archbishop is. A shining example of humanity.
With anger on his sarcastic voice as he replied, Subaru could tell the wounds of Rem's former fate were still fresh in YN's mind, even if they were not reality in this loop.
From there, Subaru explained how the same woman took Puck's crystal from the now dead body, and had actually returned it to him.
YN: What? But then why was that woman working with the thieves? I don't understand.
Subaru: Now you can see why I was so certain they weren't working together.
With such information being shared now, neither knew what conclusion to draw from this.
YN: Why would they give it back? Don't they want Emilia to have a harder time defending herself when they inevitably?
Subaru: After that lady handed me Puck's crystal, Petelgeuse started going off about how it was essential for me to have it so I could lure Emilia to them.
With anger returning to his voice as well, Subaru recalled how the Sin Archbishop had referred to Emilia as "that half-devil impersonating the vessel of her 'her love.'"
Subaru: He talked about some 'great ordeal being foretold' to them and asked me if I also had what they call one of their 'Gospels,' —these little black books.
YN: He asked me something similar.
Raising his brows to that in relief, Subaru seemed to calm down some.
Subaru: I know it all sounds far-fetched, but since you've met that madman too, you know what I mean when I say some of the strange stuff he said.
YN: That's the first I've heard about a 'great ordeal' though. Did he explain what that was?
Subaru: I didn't ask, but he did mention how they'd need Emilia's body. I assume he meant some kind of ritual or resurrection, but I'm not sure...
YN: So, what did you do from there?
Still unsure how this led into him wrecking the car, Subaru finally bridged the gap of this knowledge.
Subaru: I 'noped' right out of there. I got back in the car and ran Petelgeuse over. I don't think they were expecting that. I drove away a bit farther after that but then all of a sudden the earth started to shake and it threw the car off the edge of the road. I passed out after rolling and slamming into a tree.
Sighing as he recalled the accident, Subaru shook his head.
Subaru: Next thing I knew, Ram was sitting at my bedside in one of the guest rooms on the Mansion.
YN: Something similar happened to me after Rem strapped me to Otto-san's ground dragon after the White Whale attacked. I woke up with Ram right there...
Casting his eye's down, YN lamented how painful of a conversation it was in hindsight.
YN: She had no clue who Rem was. Ram. Rem's older sister, had no recollection of her younger sister.
As YN shook his head at the very idea of it still, Subaru could imagine how difficult that must have been for him.
Subaru: I think it was just after she left my side that she went to yours, because soon after that I got up in search of Emilia. I had no idea you were even in the Mansion until you showed at the door of her room...
With Subaru now lamenting his own memories of the last loop, there was silence between them again until YN spoke back up.
YN: What happened after Beatrice opened that portal? Where do you go?
Subaru: We got dumped off in the middle of the forest. The Witch Cult and Petelgeuse were there, like they were expecting us... He taunted me and taunted me, saying how he was going to mutilate Emilia's corpse... and he almost had, until that's when I first began to see them.
YN: The Hands?
Subaru: Yeah...
Wondering what sort of horrors he might have been forced to see had he not suddenly gained the vision to see the shadowy enigmas, Subaru explained what was already knowledge to YN.
He spoke of how Puck revealed his contract with Emilia, how he was to destroy the world upon her death, and just how quickly he overpowered Petelgeuse.
Subaru: I froze to death though, laughing...
While Subaru held his head as if he were ashamed, YN did his best to use his words to comfort his fellow wayward companion. He still needed to be careful though. It was crucial he kept his lack of surprise on knowing the consequence of Emilia's death hidden.
YN: That's all the more the reason to try and succeed this time though, right? We've gotta keep trying.
Subaru: I know... If not this loop, the next.
Hoping to somehow rectify their situation with knowledge of the current and past loops, the two pressed on down the highway, with the village of Arlem not far now.
Approaching where the perimeter of the village was, the ground dragon came to a halt. Snapping the reins a few times, the beast of burden refused to move under Subaru's command.
Subaru: What gives? C'mon we're so close.
YN: Is something spooking it?
Subaru: I don't know...
Jumping down off the driver's bench, Subaru tried to see what was wrong with the ground dragon. But staying perched up on a bench, YN turned his attention to the sky.
That's strange... I remember it being sunny this morning at the Mansion last loop...
As YN wondered why the change in weather was occurring, a single solitary object caught his vision.
Descending down from the heavens, a white spec fluttered about as it fell. It danced as it lost altitude and was pushed around by the smallest of gusts. Yet with little in the way of wind right now, its trajectory was predictable.
YN extended his hand outward to catch the falling spec, curious as to what it was. Falling gracefully, it landed in his palm, and quickly vanished.
Knowing of only one thing that was capable of performing such a stunt like a disappearing angel, YN looked upward again to several more of the specs falling.
Mouth agape, he knew this signaled only one phenomenon.
YN: Uhhh... Subaru.
As Subaru tried adjusting the ground dragon's harness, a vain attempt in trying to figure out why the beast wouldn't move, he hadn't noticed the weather around him beginning to form.
Subaru: What is it?
YN: It's... snowing.
Subaru: — — —
At first not giving the statement much thought, Subaru quickly processed what that meant, and turned his attention to the sky as well. Sticking his hand out like YN was, he too felt the flakes fall upon his skin and melt.
Both of them knew the source of this snow, however. It was the same as the last time snow fell in the area, despite it not being the season for snow.
Dismounting the driver's seat, YN and Subaru silently agreed they couldn't waste any more time trying to get the stubborn beast to cooperate.
After all, what beast would go along with them if it could sense the end of the world not far off?
Trekking the rest of the way, the two knew it would only be a short time before they arrived in Arlem, and certainly a new set of questions would present themselves to be solved.
By the time they reached the village, a light dusting of snow was beginning to take hold and stick on the ground. But as they entered Arlem, it was quiet, and there were no children running up to greet them like what was usual when anyone from the mansion would arrive.
YN: — — —
Subaru: — — —
It was all too reminiscent of the time they each had arrived at the village with nothing but carnage to greet them, and as they entered in further, that same silent host it seemed was back again to greet them.
Under a fresh, thin, white blanket, the profiles of the villager's bodies could be seen. No blood or any defining features of who they were could be recognized beneath the snow they were now under, with the only exception being a few ornate daggers sticking above the white cloaks they all now wore, signifying who had slain them.
Yet again, the village had been massacred.
With nothing but a low howling wind, and the crunch of fresh fallen snow beneath their steps comprising the only sounds filling the frigged air, they each felt the weight of a thousand failures on their shoulders once more.
Yet with more harsh and grueling wintry winds batting them as they each stared at the carnage that littered the streets, the two set off slowly for the Mansion, fearful of what they may see.
But rounding the corner to the village center, the view of the road leading to the Mansion was what caught their eye.
Just short of departing the village, the carriage YN had so dutifully chased after and had been forced to disengage from laid toppled on its side, spilling what had remained of its cargo everywhere. Now covered by an ever increasing white blanket, it was quickly apparent cargo wasn't the only thing being slowly buried in the snow.
With several bodies lying on the ground, they would have only be noticed by the Witch Cult daggers in their backs, while others were so bloodied they did not require the same daggers in them to signal they were fatally injured by other means.
Approaching one of the bodies and cupping his hand inside the sleeve of his tracksuit, Subaru brushed the snow off one that had daggers protruding from their body, and upon its unearthing, he quickly recognized the victim.
Subaru: It's one of the thieves...
Coming over to look for himself, YN also recognized the masked bandit.
Realizing if the thief and the carriage were both here, that had meant the chase had continued until this moment, or they had at least subdued the thief when the attack had occurred.
Approaching another body, YN brushed the accumulating snow off this one, revealing its badly bloodied face.
Dark robes adorned this one.
A Witch Cultist...
Taming a closer look however, under the carnage and gore of their face, it was familiar.
YN: This is... —!
Moving the auburn hair back slightly, the remains of a freckled face could still be made out. Once again, this woman had shown up where the thieves had been.
Subaru: That's her... That's the one we've both seen before.
Having seen her walk the shadows with the thieves, and now adorning the robes of the Witch Cult, there was no question anymore that they were talking about the same lady.
Standing up and brushing the snow from their knees, the two reflected over what they were each seeing.
YN: I guess the chase continued here... but... isn't this a little early for the Witch Cult to be attacking? Doesn't that happen late this night instead?
Subaru: I thought so too... Unless...
Walking up to the overturned carriage, Subaru kicked the wooden flatbed that had once held precious cargo, and looked down at the long dead pair of ground dragons that had so laboriously pulled it.
Subaru: What if it's because the thieves aren't caught in time...? It looks like they bring the Witch Cult attack early.
YN: If Rem and Emilia all of sudden had the Witch Cult chasing them while also chasing the thieves, that could explain why the Witch Cult followed them all the way here...
Subaru: And if the villagers saw that, then the element of surprise they'd need would be gone, so they rushed the attack...
With the realization that things could in fact get more difficult for them, their frustration only mounted.
Subaru: I'm just going to check the thief and Witch Cultist's bodies for Puck's crystal really quick, just to be sure...
Knowing the snow overhead and around them was a clear sign of the end of the world, Subaru was still duty bound in the very least to be sure and cover his bases to be prepared for the next loop.
But, as YN circled around the carriage to inspect more while Subaru checked in vain for the crystal before heading off to the Mansion, he saw it.
Standing out due to its black color and shape that did not allow for it to have much snow easily accumulate, YN needed only a moment to know what it was.
YN: No...
As the snow crunched under each step he took approaching the familiar sphere, his heart pounded in fear of what he might find next.
Lodged into the ground, covered in frozen blood and spikes, was the morningstar that had tried taking his very own life many times before. Laying dormant in the cold a small gust of wind made the snow around it dance.
Timidly, YN reached down and picked up the chain it was attached to, having been fully buried and concealed by the snow.
Handful by handful, he unearthed the chain from the snow, the cold iron biting into his skin as he followed its path to where the hilt lay. Going off the road, and into the tall grass next to the treeline that bordered the pathway to the Mansion, YN slid down to the bottom of the small embankment.
It was there he saw it.
It was there, he saw her.
Atop a lump in the snow, buried in place by coldness was a single Witch Cult dagger protruding just above the frozen whiteness. Following the chain down to its hilt, he unearthed her delicate, frozen hand.
Dropping to his knees, his mouth went dry, his breath escaped out as steam from his body.
Yet again, her life was robbed from her.
Yet again, he had lost the one who held his heart.
YN: R...R—!
His voice was hoarse and dry from the dread he now felt, and combined with the cold air zapping any moisture from his throat, he couldn't even utter her name.
But, hearing his gasp and dry croak, Subaru approached from the other side to see what was causing this in YN.
Subaru: YN... did you find some—...!
Rounding the corner to see him, it was just as YN went to lift her stiff, yet still fair and gentle body out from the snowy grave that was not a fitting place for her to rest.
Seeing him bring something into his arms, as the snow fell off her azure hair, Subaru knew immediately who it was YN had uncovered.
Flipping her over in his lap on his knees, her frozen blood did not stain his clothes, but the warm tears he had falling on her did.
Ever so gently brushing the remaining snow from her smooth and brilliant hair, a blank expression adorned her round face as YN shut her eyes, forever sealing away their beauty so she could rest peacefully...
YN: R-Re—m...
Uttering her name finally, forcing himself to say it, a wave of sadness he hoped to never feel again washed over him, amplifying the stringing cold he now felt as conditions worsened.
Sliding down the embankment behind him, Subaru felt a need to help, but had no clue what to do. As he reached the bottom though, YN finally stood, the maid's tiny, fragile, lifeless body in his arms.
Subaru: —YN! I—...
YN: —The Mansion.
Not turning to face him, and concealing his face from him, YN moved to walk back up the short decline to the road again.
Leaving Subaru speechless, he watched as YN stopped once he drudged himself to the road once more, refusing to set down Rem so he could easily climb back up, making— no, forcing his legs to be enough to do so.
Subaru: Y-YN, I—! We can—!
YN: We need to go to Mansion. That's where Emilia has to be.
Speaking in a stoic, yet flat and deadpan way, he answered Subaru as he turned to walk up the snow covered path before things got any worse.
Without a second to spare, Subaru climbed up the frozen embankment as quickly as he could and ran to catch up with YN, nearly slipping and falling multiple times.
While too unsure if he could walk next to YN, Subaru opted to give him space, and walked a few paces behind him rather.
Trudging up the road to the Roswaal Mansion, for the second time YN was forced to carry the body of the one he treasured most across the frozen expanse.
By the time the three reached what felt like the summit of a mountain, no one presently in attendance could feel their toes or fingers. YN had clamped his fingers around Rem where he could in order to keep her secure no matter the cost. While the snow storm was a near white out by now, he could barely see the blueish-purple tint setting in on his fingers that were exposed to the blizzard around them.
But in truth, both Subaru and YN were both beginning to experience what felt like frostbite. On the tips of their noses, their cheeks, their lips, their toes, all of it ached and burned in the cold.
Yet reaching the gates of the Mansion, they had finally arrived. While the wind and snow blistered and beat them and obstructed their vision, they didn't need to trudge far past the gates in the nearly knee-deep snow that had accumulated to see what remained before them.
Shattered and destroyed, most of the Mansion was in ruin. Be it from the Witch Cult attack, or the large beast that currently sat among the pile of rubble, it wasn't clear who was responsible.
But staring back at them much like they stared at where the Mansion had stood, were to piercing yellow eyes, filled with anger and malice.
For the first time though since departing Arlem, Subaru stepped out past YN, and addressed the Great Spirit himself.
Subaru: Puck?! Is that you?! Where is Emilia?!
With silence as a response at first, the Harbinger of the End Times finally boomed out a response.
Puck: *Lia is dead.*
Biting his frozen lip, Subaru knew then at this moment, the loop was over.
Puck: *For your actions, Subaru, I will grant thee a punishment substantial for what I must grieve for.*
With a brighter flash of his eye, the silhouette of the Beast beyond the snow remained unmoving, not even a twitch of his tail was needed to command the mana he controlled to dole out that punishment to Subaru.
At first encrusting his legs, ice grew from the ever piling up snow.
Subaru: —Gah!
Growing more and more, the ice prison crept up his body until—
Subaru: — — —
Frozen in place like a statuette, Subaru was fully encased in a frozen hell.
But as YN looked on, a silent horror began to fester inside him.
That's this Loop... A Return is going to happen at any second...
Yet, as the longest of seconds ticked by, nothing happened.
Puck: *Now that he has been silenced, YN, we can speak.*
Booming his voice directly at him now, YN was still half focused on Subaru, waiting for a Return to trigger as he expected it should.
No... Don't tell me—!
Puck: *Do not mourn for his passage, for I have not permitted him to die. Yet.*
Confirming YN's worst fear that had begun to bud, he looked at the Beast in a deadpan manner.
Subaru... isn't dead... Which can only mean he's still alive... If he's frozen but not dead, that means—
Puck: *—Resign any foolish notions you have about escaping this situation. I intend for you to die on my own terms.*
Finally, the beast moved. Exiting its own silhouette, his fur covered, whiskered face came into better view, but the condescending, yellow eyes, radiating malice in their glowing hue, remained.
Puck: *YN, you have committed three sins.*
With his voice closer and louder, it strained YN's ears in the coldness they inhabited with the near-zero conditions around them. The vibrations Puck was causing just by speaking irritated every bit of frostbite currently on his body.
Puck: *First, you have repeatedly denied Lia's feelings of concern for your condition, and refused to seek the answers to the questions of kindness she has patiently asked of you time and time again.*
Knowing instantly what he meant, Puck damned YN for having never successfully understood what Emilia had meant with the questions regarding his Gate.
Emilia: —and you're sure you haven't noticed anything with your Gate? What about your magic?
As the half-elf's usual question buzzed in his mind, Puck announced his second sin as ice began to creep up YN's legs from the snow below.
Puck: *Second, you did not respect Lia's wishes for avoiding an unwanted reunion with Subaru. Your careless action was bringing him here when his, and your own treatment for that matter, are still ongoing. Lia worked hard to make sure you each received the best care possible, but you both squandered it. You knew full and well that Lia does not wish to see Subaru at this time at all, yet you permitted him to come here to her anyway. *
Scolding YN, the ice traveled up his waist. The ice had fully immobilized him, and was seeking now to cover the rest of him.
Puck: *Third, you failed to protect Lia in my absence. Not only as a member of her Camp, but as someone Lia dearly trusts, you let her perish at the hands of the Witch Cult. For that, there must be a severe punishment.*
Raising his head up high once more, his voice boomed louder, resonating against the fallen snow as he declared his intentions.
Puck: *In accordance with my Contract—*
YN: —'With your Contract, you'll now destroy the world because a world with Lia is not one you want to live in.' Is that about it?
Somehow managing to speak over the voice of the Great Spirit, YN had halted his words. As a moment of silence arose, so did a brief break in the snowfall, and the advancement of the ice around him.
But lowering his head, the angry Tiger-like Great Spirit had his head fill YN's vision, the contempt he felt for him was clear in his eyes as he spoke up in reply.
Puck: *How ever it is that you came to learn that, I do not know. Nonetheless, it is of little cause for concern now.*
Raising his head back up, the contempt didn't stop there.
Puck: *Perhaps Betty was correct in her warning to me; it was indeed a mistake to let an anomaly near Lia.*
Speaking as if he were some sickly, disease ridden animal or pest the half-elf had taken pity on, Puck bellowed out his final judgment.
Puck: *Just as I must see my beloved daughter, dead and frozen for all of eternity, you too, shall be forced to bear the same fate with your beloved. *
As the ice crept up farther, the word "beloved" rattled around in YN's mind upon hearing the word. Just like the times before, he couldn't quite focus on the meaning of its encased word, the beginning with "L" that was its root when in the same context as Rem.
This would have continued for some time, making him a prisoner of his own thoughts, however, something snapped him to, just as things were approaching an unsalvageable end.
The ice had begun to creep higher on him, but that included the one in his arms as well.
At first freezing the lowest hung tips of her maid dress she so delicately wore, YN refused to let this be his fate.
If we're both frozen here forever, I'll never save Rem! I can't allow that! I will not let this be the end for her— for us!
Resisting the ice, YN tried to force his hand to move. He had only one chance to get the angle right before it was too late.
The ice that slowly crept up his body began to lose pace suddenly as what appeared to be a white flash of light formed in his peripheral vision. A heat began to build in YN. While at first he believed it to be one of determination alone, he slowly realized it was actual heat.
Feeling like his own mana, this heat worked to beat back the ice just enough to give him the slightest mobility of his hand. While this hand had supported half of the maid in his arms, the ice that was still present had long since taken over that roll. Sitting on a bed of ice in his arms, he looked down at the kind and beautiful maid, the one person who held his heart and was everything to him.
Seeing her gentle face, so cold and fair, YN forced his frostbitten hand to move, shattering what felt like the freeze dried flesh, unfeeling and numb in the process.
As the warmth and strength built and built, YN aimed his open palm, purple and blue in color towards none other than Subaru.
Noticing his struggle though, the Great Spirit sneered at YN and his efforts.
Puck: *My strength as a Spirit far out measures your own. It is a fool's errand to fight against the inevitable.*
But, defiant to the last second, YN concentrated all that remained on this sudden surge in mana and heat into that curdled and mostly dead hand.
I won't let this be what becomes of us! I will... I will—!
YN: —save Rem!
Croaking out the name of the icy beauty in his arms, his frostbitten lips and face stung in harsh numbness as it moved to form the words. Summoning the last very bit of his energy, he struck against his stagnant Gate, and without fear of how bad the backlash could be, YN chanted his incantation on a dying breath.
YN: Jiwald!
A radiant and intense heat formed from the cascading rays of light that were projected from his dead hand. Colliding with the ice around Subaru, the magic made short work of his frozen armor, and quickly ended his life.
For the first time, YN had killed someone in this new world. And that someone has been none other than Subaru.
Instantly, his vision went dark, and all of his senses that were numbed by the cold and frostbitten surfaces vanished into nothingness, neither relieved, nor were they satisfied with a release of condition.
Such was the usual feeling of a Return, to have one's consciousness ripped from their body, and taken to a time from before. But despite the lack of body and senses now, one thing was relieved.
Rem... I'm coming back to you...
For the first time in many, many hours, YN's mind was to be at rest, for he knew that the one who held his heart would be right next to him as his consciousness returned to his body.
He didn't care if he would have to explain everything to her again, no matter how painful it was, if it meant he could see her face happy, healthy, and alive once more, he'd die a thousand times to make that a reality.
Because YN had begun to realize, Rem was everything to him, and he wouldn't stop for anything short of her being safe and happy.
Rem...
As his consciousness swirled around in the dark, inky, nothingness, his final thoughts in this realm were of the blue haired maid, and how he could ever hope to describe what his feelings for her entailed.
I promise Rem, I will find a way to tell you how much I need you... I'll find the courage to say it. I'll find a way to say it. I'll find the right word!
Feeling his mind begin to re-enter his body, YN prepared for the Return as the sensation of deep thoughts ran around in his free mind. It was the same sensation of when he heard that word with the context of Rem attached to it.
—That one, solitary word that will make you understand exactly what it is I feel for you, Rem. I will find it for you!