"Huh?!" Subaru exclaimed in disbelief. "Mabeast meat?! You've been eating that?! Petra's dad told me that shit was poisonous!"

[That's super bad to eat!] Spica agreed.

"It really tastes and feels like poison!" Shaula nodded vehemently. "I've had nothing else to eat for a whole four hundred years! Master better compensate me! I'll accept compensation in the form of Master's love, yeah!"

"You're four hundred years old?!" Subaru shouted in shock. "Wait, now that I think about it, what are you, even? Are you a Great Spirit or something?"

"Great Spirit? Ha! I am beyond such a thing!" Shaula suddenly pointed upwards, her legs twisted apart while Subaru cringed at the sight of her mimicking his introduction pose perfectly. "I am the Star Keeper Shaula! Crimson Scorpion of the mabeasts, apprentice to the Great Sage Flugel and guardian of the Pleiades Watchtower!"

"...first off: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!" Subaru screamed out all of his cringe at her introduction, wondering if there was some god laughing at him right now. Hopefully Satella wasn't looking at the moment. "Second off: 'Crimson Scorpion of the mabeasts'? You're a mabeast?!"

"Of course!" Shaula confirmed as she casually transformed her left forearm into a giant and wicked-looking pincer and back. "I'm the third strongest mabeast in the world!"

[...a lot of things make so much more sense now.] Sigma stated.

[She took on Subaru's punch like it was nothing.] Ari listed. [Her biology only matches humans on a superficial level.]

[And even a normal mabeast wouldn't easily ignore being set on fire.] Spica finished with a grumble, still annoyed at her failure to affect Shaula.

Thinking back to the wolgarms back at the forest near Irlam Village, Subaru frowned in worry. "Which are the strongest mabeasts then?"

"Hmm...Well, while there's the big white flying whale..." Shaula said after a beat, causing Subaru to suddenly remember what Felt and Rom had used as a password and wonder if this had been their reference. "I can beat that one easy, but the horned rabbit army and the black snake are too much for me alone."

"Too much for you?" Subaru thought back to how he'd almost died- Hell, he did die to this woman's lasers... and there were two mabeasts stronger than her?! "Rabbit army and black snake?"

"Yeah. Rabbit army that constantly multiplies and eat, and the black snake that's super tough and super strong with living acid venom!" Shaula kept adding to Subaru's future nightmares. "Master even said to never ever fight the black snake alone if I couldn't run away!"

'Flugel straight up told this powerful chick that running away was Option #1 for this black snake?!' Subaru sighed and bit his lip. 'What a world... With the fantastical racism and the Witch Cult around, it's easy to forget that the world's filled with actual monsters running about for the taste of human flesh... Hell, Petra and her friends even live right next to a forest filled with them, safe only because of Ros-chi's magic barrier. Still, Shaula's pretty childish for a monster that four centuries old...' "Shaula, how can you possess a human form? Are mabeasts able to do that if they get old or powerful enough?"

"Nope!" Shaula shook her head. "I'm me because Mother made me that way!"

"Mother...?" Subaru felt even more lost now, only for his stomach to growl again and remind him of his priorities. "Argh, nevermind! I need food, damnit!"

[That's right.] Ari agreed. [You have been in need of sustenance since your extensive healing back then.]

At his shout, Subaru and Shaula turned at the sound of a door opening at one corner of the library. Heading past it with Shaula dogging his heels, Subaru gasped at the sight of a kitchen. Not the Mathers mansion kitchen that he was still in the midst of getting to, but an actual modern kitchen with a gas cooker and table which looked familiar-

...wait, why was everything blurry?

"Master?" Shaula gingerly asked. "Why are you crying?"

Subaru blinked in surprise as Shaula gently rubbed a tear away from his eye. "Eh? Why, I wonder? It's not like it's something to cry over despite the-"

"Take care."

Subaru broke down.


"No good, eh?" Anastasia Hoshin muttered the moment Ricardo entered into her office.

"Sorry, Boss." Ricardo shrugged as he entered and sat down next to Julius, the knight shifting a little to make room on the couch. "None of our contacts back at Kararagi knew of a 'Natsuki' or a 'Subaru'."

[What a shame.]

"What a shame." Anastasia muttered in agreement to her unseen Spirit. "They've become quite valuable so recently."

"That feels like an oversimplification, Anastasia-sama." Julius pointed out, in which he was absolutely correct.

The bottom-line was that 'Natsuki F. Subaru' was quite possibly the most wanted person in the kingdom right now, for the monumental deed of slaying a Sin Archbishop.

The Sages and the knights wanted them for questioning, in order to give their gratitude as well as grant honor to them while questioning their origin and motives.

The nobles were more concerned on the fact that the Sin Archbishop had been all but confirmed to a member of the royal family from many years ago, sharing the same name as an apparently reviled princess.

There was also the common worry that the Witch Cult were also on the hunt for Natsuki, seeking to avenge the fallen Archbishop, or worse, have them initiated as the new LUST.

(Anastasia doubted the latter, since they'd still never replaced Stride Vollachia with a new PRIDE as far as she knew.)

As for Anastasia herself, she really just wanted them for their company. Not that she wouldn't find a way to integrate them into her company or an alliance if they met, but Anastasia couldn't help but be curious of someone who had managed to slay one of the more infamous Sin Archbishops of all time.

LUST was well-known for the atrocities she left in her wake, scores of people forcibly transformed into animals(if they were lucky) and unrecognizable lumps of living flesh(the unlucky ones). One of the sure signs of her demise was the sudden return of the forcibly transformed people back into their original forms.

By now, even if Natsuki's name itself wasn't known, a good part of the kingdom was now aware that something had happened to LUST. By the time that Natsuki would eventually become a public figure, Anastasia had no doubt that they'd easily be matching the Sword Saint in terms of popularity.

"What do you think they're like?" Anastasia found herself asking. She'd rarely be so open, but the only others in the room were few of the ones she'd trust with more than just her life.

"I believe that they'd be a fine example of knighthood." Julius immediately spoke up. "I can't be sure if their encounter with LUST was deliberate or not on their part, but nobody would've blamed them for choosing to flee. The idea that they would instead triumph over one of the world's greatest evils is an example I wish to emulate."

"What a gentleman." Ricardo chuckled. "Well, I think they'd be one hell of a badass. I know enough of LUST that you can't fight her head-on. So they'd be one hell of a mage, at least."

"They'd have to be immensely skilled physically as well." Julius countered. "Many mages, knights and mercenaries alike have fallen to LUST as well."

Anastasia nodded in agreement to their deductions, noting that Natsuki's prowess was most likely a match to the Sword Saint. Not that anybody could match the Sword Saint, but she was reasonably sure that they were at least more powerful compared to all of the Royal Knights.

Still... "I wonder how 'n' why somebody so powerful never stood out before..."


Subaru didn't know how long he'd been crying or when he'd blacked out, but he soon came back to awareness with his head on Shaula's lap, both of them down on the ground while she gently stroked his head. Above them, his three Spirits hovered restlessly "Huh?"

"Do you feel better, Master?" Shaula asked from above, her boobs almost blocking the view of her face. "You used to do this for me whenever I got sad. Did I do it well?"

[Subaru, why were you crying?!] Ari yelled. [Please don't cry! You should smile more!]

[Shut up, fool!] Sigma physically smacked into Ari. [He was obviously remembering one of his bad memories. Humans do that, time to time.]

'It's okay, guys. I'll be alright...' Subaru sniffled and raised his hand to pat Shaula's head. "You did great, Shaula. You were... excellent."

Shaula pumped her arms up and beamed brightly. "Yay!"

Getting up, Subaru wiped his cheeks dry and looked over the kitchen. Checking the fridge and cupboards, they were all stocked full of various foodstuffs and ingredients that were somehow not absolutely rotten due to years of disuse.

Magical applications and implications aside, Subaru came to the unbelievable idea that the previous Flugel might have been one hell of a NEET who might have gotten extremely good at magic just for the sake of maximizing his indoor life.

(Subaru knew he would, back then.)

"Take a seat, Shaula." Subaru took off his tracksuit jacket and let her hold it for him. "With me here, I'll make sure you never have to eat mabeast meat again."

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Shaula cheered even louder than before, with Subaru deciding to ignore how she immediately wore his tracksuit and started to sniff it.


It's not fair!

IT'S NOT FAIR!

I want to enjoy Subaru's cooking, too!

AND THAT'S MY JACKET TO SNIFF, YOU SCORPION BRAT!


"Come here, Subaru. If you want to make something to eat while cooling down or preparing for an exercise, you should try what Mom is about to do."

Subaru fished out a bottle of broth and some more ingredients out of the fridge before donning an apron and washing his hands.

"First, you slice some Japanese ginger and Western ginger as finely as possible. Be careful not to cut yourself~"

Subaru gingerly('heh.') cut the vegetables as finely as he could, them looking much rougher than he could remember Mom making them.

"Then, you debone the salmon and shred the flesh."

Bringing out the salmon he'd left to warm up in the microwave, Subaru carefully picked out the annoying tiny bones in them while hissing a little at the heat whenever he'd dig too deep with his fingers.

"Use some of the cucumbers I soaked in salt water and squeeze them within. Then put the ones you want into a separate bowl and rinse them off in the tap. When you're done with that, lightly squeeze out the water."

He wasn't sure if Shaula liked vegetables, but Subaru decided that he could take her portion if she didn't.

"It's like this, Subaru. Take half of the onions after you're done cutting them finely, then sauté them on low heat. When they're fully coated with oil, add just a dash of salt."

Subaru followed his memories as faithfully as he could, wincing a little less at the heat this time.

"And once they're caramelized... Eh? Oh, when they start looking brownish, cool them off. As for the other onions, leave them raw."

Subaru put the fried onions on a separate plate from the one with raw ones, the two dishes side by side.

"There, obligatory veggies at the ready, Mom." Subaru muttered before looking aside at the eagerly waiting Shaula. "Now for the meat portion."

"Place the chilled ground beef and a dash of salt in a bowl. Be sure to wash your hands again before mixing them well until it starts getting sticky."

Subaru crushed the meat patties in his hands repeatedly, Shaula's impatient drumming of her fingernails against the table somehow a reassuring background noise. "Don't worry, I'm moving as quickly as possible."

"When you've mixed the meat thoroughly, add some bread crumbs, eggs, nutmeg, pepper, both the raw onions and the sautéed ones... and some mayonnaise~!"

Subaru barely stopped his hand from reaching towards the fridge again. "Ah.. She nearly got me...!"

"Drop the meat from one hand to another repeatedly to remove any air trapped inside... And while doing that, you can shape them however you want. Whether you want it round or cube or thick or thin. Once you're done with that, leave them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so."

Subaru paused at that, eyeing the impatient scorpion girl behind him.

"Don't look so disappointed, Subaru. Even someone as awesome as your mom can't speed up time."

"...but I can." Subaru held his hand over the fridge after putting the patties in. "Authority of Pride: Return... Okay, I need to change that name. It'll work for the passive rather than the whole... overall. Anyways, fast forward 30 minutes."

A purple glow covered the entire refrigerator briefly before fading away. When he opened it, the patties had definitely cooled as if it'd been in there for thirty minutes rather than ten seconds.

So convenient.

"Warm up the frying pan and grill the patties on medium the crust starts forming, reduce the gas to low heat for 3 minutes. When the sides of a patty turn white, use the spatula to flip them over."

Subaru flipped over a patty, enjoying the sounds of the popping while Shaula had now moved to be drooling over his shoulder.

Well, as long as she was doing nothing to actually distract him.

"Once you've flipped over all of the patties at least once, cover them and leave them for two minutes with the gas off. Then turn it on again and grill for two minutes."

"Yes, I'm sure this is how it goes." Subaru told the despondent Shaula as she dropped her face onto the table.

"Poke the patties with a skewer. If you can see this translucent juice coming out, that means that it's done~!"

Subaru beamed at the end results of his work. If only Ram could see him right now, she'd be biting her thumb in jealousy.

"Here you go, Shaula." Subaru said as he placed down the two trays, shifting one towards her. "Hamburg with chilled ochazuke. Plus, orange juice!"

"Yay!" Shaula cheered as she dragged her tray close.

"We've got shredded salmon, ginger, salted kelp, sesame miso." Subaru pointed out each option in each small dish. "Pick any one you want to add, okay?"

"Itadakimasu!" After giving another huge clue that the previous Flugel was clearly Japanese, Shaula attacked her tray with gusto. "Wow! It's so good!"

"Thanks." Subaru ate his own meal at a more moderate pace, frowning a little at the taste. "Not as good as she made it... I hope it's not the lack of mayonnaise, though."

[Is mayonnaise yummy?] Ari asked.

"Only in moderation, Ari. My mom would disagree, though." Finishing off the cucumbers, Subaru left the kitchen with Shaula humming happily about her first good meal in centuries while having him carry her in a piggyback. "So, where's the next Trial?"

"Continue up that staircase!" Shaula pointed at the only staircase that was leading upwards, leaning forward and threatening to make Subaru keel over with her constant twisting about. "Up to the Electra floor!"

Following her direction, Subaru went up the flight of stairs until he was now before another set of doors similar to the first one. This one even had a set of inscribed words as well.

Second of the Three Hs: The Hands

Pushing them open, he was greeted this time with a strong tingle down his spine as air rushed past him.

Become Invincible against the Impossible.

The moment those swords screeched into his brain just like the first message/clue had, Subaru's Kenbunshoku screamed at the presence of something monstrous before him. Apparently, it wasn't just him that could sense it, because Shaula had started to shake while clutching his head.

"Get off and stay back, Shaula." It really worried Subaru at how quietly and quickly she'd obeyed, the usually clingy scorpion girl moving back as much as she could without leaving his sight.

"Compared to the other one, this clearly feels like a physical-type test..." Stepping forward into what he could see was a wide but desolate throne room with mist low to the ground, Subaru stalked forward warily until he could see the throne itself. "Are you... the Impossible?"

"My, it's been a damn while since someone other than the scorpion lass show'd up." Seated at the throne himself, there was the wildest man Subaru had ever seen. Ridiculously muscular body, barbarian long crimson hair that reminded him a lot of Reinhard's, a red kimono worn only from his left side and a predatory blue eye that looked like it alone would be enough to cut him if he faltered, with the other eye behind an eyepatch. "...oh? So that's how you're doing it."

Subaru, who had first winced from the sheer... presence in his voice, raised a curious brow at his words. "What are you talking about?"

"That don' matter. If you don't end up a corpse at my hand, you'll know soon enough." The man stood up from his throne... and promptly vanished. A millisecond later, Subaru dodged sideways, barely dodging a pair of fucking chopsticks that would've ripped through an eye. "Oh? And here I thought this'd be a quick endin'."

"You're joking! Spica, Sigma, Ari!" Subaru called out, only to be stunned at the lack of their usually eager response. "You guys?! What's happening?!"

"This is a combat test, specifically for you." The redhead gestured at the door, where Subaru could see his three spirits trying and failing to get past an invisible barrier. "It's one-on-one, no exceptions."

"WHAT?!" Subaru screamed before his Kenbunshoku forewarned him of another strike, his forearms feeling like they were going to break from the powerful stomp that slammed into them and sent him crashing into the wall many meters away.

"Master!" Shaula screamed from the door, about to push through herself only to freeze when the redhead directed his gaze to her. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

"And there she goes." The redhead shook his head at the fleeing girl before turning back to Subaru. "Oi, still alive, you(omae)?"

"Fuck you..." Subaru groaned as he stood back up, his arms screaming up at him before he immediately growing up in size as draconic scales replaced human skin. "I'll tear you apart!"

"Meh." The redhead actually scoffed. "I've killed bigger."

"...what-" That was all Subaru got out before he felt an immense pain in his jaw, a shockwave of wind bellowing from how hard the redhead had uppercut him while his entire body actually lifted up into the air against his will. "Damn you!"

Purple lightning surged to life before racing towards the redhead, who immediately vanished from his spot and reappeared beside Subaru's head to stab his chopsticks right into his giant eye.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGHHH!" Subaru screamed as he writhed and flailed from the pain, his massive body floundering about.

"Why in the world did you think that getting bigger would make you stronger against me?" The redhead grumbled as he seized Subaru's tail.

For an instant, Reality and Fantasy had an argument.

Reality declared that a human, no matter how strong, just couldn't move, let alone lift, a dragon that rivaled a grown whale in mass.

Fantasy however recounted that perspective was a thing in fantastical worlds, took one look at the man who's physical features looked too much like a similarly overpowered knight many miles away and had been displaying similar levels of superhuman prowess, and decided that Reality could go fuck itself.

And thus, Subaru felt the very uncomfortable sensation of being hoisted up and spun around many times before being flung hard enough to break a few more bones within his body against the wall.

"Listen well, boy. That form of yours is only good for enemies of similar size." The redhead shook his head in disappointment. "Growin' bigger ain't the answer when you meet someone stronger and faster than you. That just makes you a bigger target."

Subaru wasn't listening to any of that, his entire focus on the immense pain as half his world got blinded from him even as he slowly shrank back down to human. How could it be so different?! He'd fought a giant monster before in the form of Capella!

How was this guy terrifying him even worse?!


It's his skills and temperament.

HAH?! HOW ARE YOU SO CALM WATCHING THIS?!

Because one of us has to be. It is painful to see Subaru so scared-

THEN WE MUST KILL HIM! OUR PRESENCE HERE IS STRONGER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE! WE FIND HIM AND RIP HIM APART, PEICE BY PIECE!

Stop. Not only must we not interfere with Subaru's growth, you should know that Reid won't kill Subaru. Not until he has at least fought a different type of enemy that he'll be dealing with later.

AND WHO ARE THOSE?! WHO ARE THE ONES THAT SHALL CAUSE SUBARU MORE SUFFERING?!

Us. Enemies who not only possess immense raw power, but also great skill in utilizing it. He's grown slightly cocky since beating an Archbishop who only coasted along with her Authority. He needs to learn that not all of the Archbishops and his future enemies will be as similar.

...YOU SAY THAT LIKE IT IS NOT ALL OF THEM THAT ARE LIKE LUST.

Wrath and the Gluttonies aren't.

...FINE. BUT I WILL RIP REID APART IF I GET THE CHANCE.

Don't worry, I'll even help with that.


As soon as Subaru felt like he could breathe again, he had tried to fight through the pain. He honestly did, but that redheaded bastard didn't care. Once, he'd tried to change his archetype into one that would let him heal, but the redhead hadn't granted him the chance.

Then he'd tried to Moon Step out of the bastard's reach, but it had been immediately rendered useless when he'd simply jumped with enough force to slam into him in midair like a bull before kicking him(which broke even more ribs) into a pillar that he painfully fell down from.

By now, Subaru morbidly wondered how he was still alive. There had to be a limit to the passive durability his Zoan fruit offered, right?

"Is this the limit of yourself now?" The redhead grunted as Subaru stayed down for the sixth time, curiously never attacking as he'd done before until Subaru would stand up on his own again. "As I thought, you ain't worthy of bearing that 'F' in your name. Either get stronger right now, or leave. You ain't ever passing this Trial as you're now."

Subaru coughed bloodily with a heave that worsened his ribs, hating how everything seemed to be swaying now with black spots inching into the edges of his vision.

"Maybe in your next life, you'll be born better." The redhead turned about and began walking back to his crumbling throne. "Now, get the hell outta here and tell that lass to heal you before you bleed out and croak. Then come back 'n' try your best to knock me down."

'...my next life?' Those words gave Subaru something to cling on. 'That's right. I still have Return by Death... Starting allover from Mirula... I have a good idea of his fighting style now... When I'm all better... Once I blitz past the 1st Trial and return... I'll make myself better with my Authorities... I can get him next time...'

But even as Subaru came up with that plan, he found himself disagreeing with it almost immediately. Spitting out a loose tooth, Subaru growled as he got up again...

And turned to walk towards the redhead, who had paused to regard him. "You're... still walking towards your death?"

"I'm not... going to die!" Subaru growled back. 'How could I consider using Return by Death like that?! That's something a loser would do! And I came here with the express intention to stop being one!'

The redhead rolled his sole visible eye before vanishing from view again, Subaru already turning about to divert the slap that would slammed against his head from his blind left side. Letting Kenbunshoku guide him and ignoring the fresh bout of pain in his head, Subaru dodged under the harsh swipe of the bloodied chopsticks and punched him in the unguarded stomach with all of his might.

And all of a sudden, or maybe it was already predetermined by a superior power...

Just before impact, Subaru's fist blackened into shiny obsidian.

*BOOM!*

It was like a cannon shot upon contact, the redhead almost folding over before he flew backwards until he smashed into the wall with enough force to crater it before ironically dropping down into his throne.

"What the... hell...?" Subaru panted as he stared at his Busoshoku-clad fist, shocked at the manifestation.

"Ha... Hahahahahahahahaha!" The redhead cackled as he got up, palming at the visible bruise on his abs before that slowly faded away as he approached. "What the hell, lad?! See, you can do it if you try! Now..."

The redhead flung away his chopsticks before reaching out as if to drag the air. Immediately afterwards, darkness gathered into a formless mass before he gripped it tight, the shadows immediately solidifying into a jet-black sword. "Don't go loosening up, yet. Keep that fist clenched just like that. Here's where the fun really starts."

"...well, if you're finally giving me room to breath." Subaru breathed in before clapping a hand over his destroyed eye. "Authority of Pride... Clockwork Phantasm, return my eye... no, my entire body back to a point when it was uninjured."

-:|:-

Confirmed.

Authority of PRIDE: Return by Death has been upgraded into Authority of PRIDE: Clockwork Phantasm.

Synthesis at 64.7%

-:|:-

For a briefest instant, Subaru shuddered from the immense pain that returned, only for the pain to immediately vanish. Opening the eye, Subaru sighed in relief as he could now see again with both eyes. "Now, then..."

Raising up his fists, Subaru grinned when they became shiny black on command, albeit flickering a little. "Let's go."

The redhead grinned wide enough to expose sharp teeth. "Reid Astrea."

"...of fucking course." Subaru rolled his eyes at who he now knew to be Reinhard's blood relative of some sort. "Future knight of Emilia-tan, Natsuki F. Subaru!"

Subaru charged forward just as Reid swung, unleashing a consuming wave of black magical energy that obliterated everything in it's path. "Unbelievable! In that case... Haste!"

The ground shattered from how hard he kicked off with his boosted speed, haki-clad fists repeatedly clashing against slashing shadows. Still despite everything, along with Subaru's renewed resolve and attained Busoshoku haki, Reid was still triumphing over him physically.

With each strike against each other, Subaru felt his wounds increase from the intensity of the strikes. But he still pushed on. He just needed one moment.

One moment to turn the tides... 'There!'

"Clockwork Phantasm... stop, time!"

A purple wave of energy flew out from Subaru as the world stood still and muted in colors in the form of almost visible sound, resembling a discordant mix of thunder and an speaker feedback.

But only for two seconds before the sound seemed to rush back while Subaru had been charging while prepping for his most powerful punch yet. Subaru grinned just as time began to flow again after he'd planted his fist into Reid's face. "EAT IT!"

A monstrous blast of lightning erupted from his haki-clad fist against Reid's face, sending the man flying back in a smoking heap until he'd crashed into- Sorry, through a pillar and into a rolling tumble.

'Finally... I knocked that bastard down!' Subaru panted only to start coughing violently. 'Still I didn't expect Clockwork Phantasm to affect everything instead of just this asshole, even if it faded away in just two seconds. Still...'

Subaru raised up his hands to stare at them in worry. "I wasn't complaining since it'd been convenient... but..."

Now that he thought about it... hadn't he... been developing a little too quickly...?


-:|:-

Synthesis at 65.2%

-:|:-


"Well, damn." Reid muttered as he stood back up. "Guess ya pass the Trial, you."

Subaru blinked. "Eh? But I didn't defeat you."

Reid burst out laughing as if he'd heard something extremely amusing. "This Trial ain't about something as impossible as beating me. Don't you remember the words at the beginnin'?"

Become Invincible against the Impossible.

Subaru's eyes widened. "But it said 'Become Invincible against the Impossible.' I'm pretty sure I was the opposite of invincible back there."

"Keh! Bein' invincible ain't the same as bein' invulnerable!" Reid tossed his sword at Subaru, causing him to shriek when it landed blade first a few inches from his foot. "Bein' invincible is to be incapable of being conquered, defeated, or subdued! When you're faced with the Impossible odds, ya gotta be Invincible against them! Take that sword as yer trophy, Flugel. Yer might be needing it..."

Staring as Reid disappeared into the mist(with even his Kenbunshoku registering his absence), Subaru sighed and fell to his knees as the familiar floating screen from before returned.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have conquered the Trial of the Body: Invincibility of the Luminary!

You have attained the Shadow Sword Chernabog.

"MAAAAAAAAAASSSTERRR!" Shaula suddenly tackled him off his feet, extremely ecstatic at his victory while his Spirits joined in dogpiling him.

Then Subaru was unfortunately reminded of all the broken bones and bruised flesh he'd acquired in the past two minutes.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!"


𝟚𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕠𝕗 ℙ𝕝𝕖𝕚𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕤: 𝕀𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕦𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕪