[The scene shows many of the soldiers and mercenaries sitting across the grassy field in a circle with one nasty-eyed young man sitting in the middle of them and speaking as loud as he can.
"We succeeded in taking out the White Whale thanks to all of you. But it's not over yet. I have to settle a score with the Witch's Cult guys who picked a fight with me. Once that's done, the White Whale subjugation will be complete." Subaru spoke to the troops around him while holding his fist up.
"The Witch's Cult is next?" A little demihuman girl asked in marvel while her twin brother played with his eyeglass while staring reluctantly at Subaru.
"Can we trust the allegations that the White Whale and the Witch's Cult are connected?" Tivey asked not noticing the annoyed glare his sister gave him.
"We only came as reinforcements for the White Whale's subjugation-"
*SMACK *
"What was that for?" Tivey shouted while holding his head in pain from the strike his sister gave him via her wand.
"If you can't believe him, then you just need to believe me!" Mimi declared while raising her wand high.]
"I apologize for my mistrust." The little demihuman boy bowed in shame.
"It's fine. Most of us here didn't believe him when he asked us." Otto said as he glared at the screen, remembering all of the times his friend was turned down or left to die by most of them.
"I think Cap'n died more times to our team than the bad guys."
Everyone widened their eyes in shock as the revelation of the shocked blonde boy sank in.
"Holy shit…"
"That's right…" Al mused while thinking.
Beatrice and Rem looked down in guilt and sadness, while Otto just kept his head down.
Ram remembered the moment the boy jumped off of the cliff to save her sister…. And possibly out of fear from her anger. She did not like how her chest was hurting for such a thought.
Anastasia and Priscilla immediately saw an opportunity to use this new piece of information.
"Such insolent creatures." Priscilla snorted as she saw the cracks in the boy's camp forming. She could already see the world turning in her favor once again. Soon. The boy will be beneath her sole.
"I wonder… would you still have your loyalty and heart serving mineself." The fiery princess mused while squeaking at the screen. Her eyes filled with curiosity and amusement. Wanting to see how hard will it be for his sanity to break once again.
["I'd prefer it if you believed me, though." Everybody looked at Subaru as he spoke out loudly. "I don't like to recall it, but I've run up against the Witch's Cult before. I found out then." He grimaced while closing his fists in anger.]
"He's doing his best to lead this army to save everyone," Frederica spoke softly with a smile. "He no longer cares about revenge for how they tortured him. He just wants to keep everyone safe."
"Cap'n…" Garfiel could only look at the screen with stars in his eyes. Childish as it may seem, the black-haired boy looked like a true knight and an even more awesome hero in the blonde's eyes. He was a legend come true. Someone Garfiel always wanted to help everyone who needed him. To be a shield from the pain and despair.
[Turning to the old man beside him, Felix inured. "Didn't you look into that, Old Man Wil?"
"I wouldn't call it definitive evidence, but the distributions of Whale appearances and Cult activities coincided in several respects," Wilhelm affirmed to the soldiers around him, making Subaru smile in gratitude.]
"It's been a common belief that the Cult and the Mabeasts operated alongside one another. There hasn't been any firm evidence of such a theory for centuries…. Until Subaru Natsuki uncovered their connection to defeat the cult." Wilhelm nodded his head as he remembered the battle after the Whale's defeat. His eyes showed a flicker of something akin to rage.
If the Whale truly operated within the cult's orders…. Then his wife was yet to be avenged.
Crusch and Rem pulled a face at the memory of the two Sins that showed up after the White Whale's defeat.
The duchess held a hand to touch her arm with a near-hateful scowl on her face. Remembering the phantom pain of her arm being torn off in a matter of seconds.
"If the Cult holds significant power over the great mabeasts…. Then that means… " Emilia glanced at Beatrice in horror. Alarming both Crusch and Rem they noticed the half-elf's expression.
The blonde girl only replied with a growl as a rage-filled scowl found its way to her adorable face.
"The Great Rabbit, I suppose." The spirit's tone sounded with hate as she thought about the cult sending over a great mabeast to her mother's tomb….Even if she was having conflicting feelings for her… It was still a sacred place that shouldn't be touched by such filthy individuals.
["That makes it doubly credible! On that note, we're going to head for the Mathers domain. The Witch's Cult is hiding in the forest there."
Subaru raised his arm and pointed a finger at the sky as he explained to everyone around him.
"The way to defeat them is as simple as it gets. Raid them before they can read our movements and crush them!"
A soldier raised his hand in the air, answering when Subaru turned to him.
"Is there a way to keep the villagers safe?"
Subaru comfortably answered that question. "I asked Anastasia-san and Russell-san to talk to the merchants along the highway."
An image of the previous merchant march Subaru came in contact with in his previous loop played.
"Under the condition that Margrave Mathers buys their cargo at the asking price, they'll ask the merchants to evacuate the villagers of Arlam and the residents of Roswaal's mansion. A messenger from Crusch-san's household is headed to the mansion with a handwritten letter. There will be chaos if we don't notify Emilia and the others about the alliance and all that."]
Emilia and Ram looked at one another and then glanced at Crusch.
The Duchess looked confused by this and turned to the other candidate staring at her.
"What is it Emilia-sama?"
"Um… I don't mean to offend you, Crusch-sama… but the letter we got from your camp….. it was blank" Emilia sounded her suspicion with guilt.
Crusch looked surprised and bewildered at this.
"That sounds like it was mistake… unless there was a spy from one of the camps." Frederica suddenly voiced her own suspicion.
"That is a serious hitch in the plan." Otto sounded in fear as he remembered what a blank letter meant. War with no attempt to negotiate.
"Um… I think I know what happened." Everyone looked at the soft speaking Rem as she raised her hand with her lip trembling a bit.
"What is it sissy? What do you know of the letter? Barusu said it was his fault but I doubt he was that stupid." Ram demanded with her signature abuse of the boy's name, making a few ladies in the room glare at her.
"He made us carry signs that he said would fix the problem of the blank letter… " Ricardo looked up with wide eyes. Noticing how Wilhelm, Julius and Felix all turned frigid and alarmed.
"How did he know about the letter being blank?" Ricardo asked softly, voicing what all the knights were thinking.
"I… wrote the letter detailing Subaru-kun's plan to Roswaal-sama's and Emilia-sama's graces so that everything can be perfect for my hero…"
Emilia and Beatrice took only a few seconds to register. Before widening their eyes in realization.
"What happened then? Why was the letter blank?" Ram asked heatedly as she felt a bad feeling from this.
"She was erased by Gluttony." Crusch immediately uttered with an alarmed expression.
Ram winced immediately and looked down with tears in her eyes.
"Since you wrote the letter and fought Gluttony before Subaru could reach the Mathers grounds, your existence being erased must've blanked your writing on the paper," Beatrice concluded with a soft hint of pity in her tone.
Rem looked horrified at the inclination that her stupid sacrifice made things even harder for Subaru.
"But Natsuki-san made it right though. He saved the village just fine." Otto said with a sharp look aimed for the maid.
Ram's eyes widened.
"That's what we've been thinking about…. He already knew about the letter being blank." Julius pointed out to those who weren't fighting with Subaru in the battle. Otto had to take a moment before his eyes widened as well.
"How could big bro know about the letter… being… blank." Felt slowly stopped talking as her face turned chalk white from the realization. The blonde girl slowly turned away from the group and stared at the screen with her face set in a pleading look. "Hells sake…"
"Please don't do this again." Otto shook his head and looked away from the cast towards the ground.
Garfiel just gritted his teeth and held his head in his palms while trembling. "What a joke…"
Crusch and Emilia looked at one another, each girl had looks of horror and disbelief. Slowly… softly… gently… Crusch and Emilia held each of Subaru's hands. Both ladies trembling with Emilia having tears of despair in her eyes as she remembered how many words of love and encouragement he gave her after taking a blast to the face. She didn't even know that he might've died.
"They said that the hunt for Sloth was one of the most excellent expeditions against the Witch's Cult. No casualties." Crusch noted in a hardened tone as she held the boy's hand and softly caressed it for relief and warmth. A glare of iron hatred on her face.
"But…. The Whale hunt… it went perfectly, nyan? If he died…. " Felix was alarmed and completely bewildered.
"It must've upd~aaa~ted once again. But to where?" Roswaal wondered where Subaru's spawn point had changed with a cold smile.
"He died once again." Reinhard closed his eyes and shook his head in condemnation and grief for his friend's painful battles.
"Young Subaru-dono also knew of a special power Sloth had that we still haven't seen appear on the screen." The hardened stern voice of Wilhelm cut into everyone's thoughts as he glared at the ground and kept his posture rigid a look of murderous intent clear on his face as he understood that he failed to protect the boy.
"What special power, I suppose? The authority of the unseen hand is all the sloth should get from the factor. In fact." Beatrice asked sharply, afraid of what Geuse's amazing magical knowledge was used underneath the cult's banner.
The soldiers all looked at one another with wide eyes as Wilhelm's words caught them by surprise.
"I think we should watch for now. It clearly will be solved 'ere." Anastasia voiced out her opinion with an aggravated look on her face as every mystery fed into the conclusion everyone wanted to avoid.
"Hm, he dies once again." Priscilla softly stated with a little narrowing of her eyes toward the screen while fanning herself.
Rem could only shed tears of grief for her hero dying possibly because of her mistake once again. Praying that the boy will not blame her for this…. In her heart, she knew that he would never do that…. Which made the guilt intensify.
["Sounds like we're all ready." An excited dogman announced.
"Yeah!" Two twins shouted from his lap.
"We have never enjoyed such an advantage in a battle with the Witch's Cult." Wilhelm nodded his head with some cheer in his eyes.]
"I never want an advantage like that if this is what we have to pay for it." The old man sternly refuted his screenself's words while shaking his head at the boy's pain. Remembering that he had to die and lose so many friends to get to such advantages.
"It's tactically sound," Heinkel surprised his father by interjecting with a scoff. "The kid's doing a miracle for you… Just take it."
Schult smiled at the drunkard beside him, knowing how hard he was trying to encourage Subaru's way of doing things over the worried people below them.
"If I had done better, he would never need to do such a thing…" Reinhard grits his teeth. "Dying to gather information… That's…"
"It's insane," Felt nodded her head alongside her knight's words.
"It's all he can do," Heinkel's voice was dark and firm as he earned a look from Reinhard. The knight looked at his father with surprise. Heinkel refused to meet his eyes as he stared at the screen instead. "Don't underestimate the useless… They are desperate enough to sacrifice even that for the people they love…"
"Father…" Reinhard looked a little struck at the tone Heinkel was taking. Wilhelm didn't want to look back in order not to ruin this moment.
Heinkel scoffed and looked away from the screen, refusing to meet Reinhard's eyes after he had defended Subaru's actions with such a soft look in his eyes.
Emilia and Crusch frowned as they looked between each other and then at the man behind them, having several confusing thoughts about the person who almost killed Subaru in front of them in the theater and his relationship with the Astrea men who knew and loved Subaru.
["Yeah. With Julius and his crew joining us, we don't have to worry about being outnumbered." Subaru turned to the knight with a smirk, only to find that same knight raising his hand in the air.
"I'd like to offer one correction. My name is Juli. Please take care to use it."
And as the soldiers glared tiredly at Julius, Subaru pointed at the knight with an annoyed glare on his nasty-eyed face.
"That's just gonna be a hassle in informal settings!"]
"Do you really think that's a good name dude?" Al asked in a normal uncaring tone as he usually did.
Julius didn't grace him with a response as the knight was heavily contemplating how his friend would die like the others in the room.
[Subaru looked down and closed his eyes. A look of reminiscence showed on his face.
"The battle with the White Whale was so tough, I thought I'd die."
A soldier had some blades sitting on the grass beside him. He had a look of grief as he caressed the blades.
"Some of us did die. Some others vanished, never to return."
Everyone stared at Subaru as he bowed his head.
"Let's win the war without losing anyone here."
He raised his head and met all of the fighters around him with a confident grin.
"Let's all go back home alive!"
And as the sun shined bright over him, the soldiers howled and cheered in excitement.]
"He's moving so many hearts…. I wish I could be like you Subaru." Emilia whispered with a sad smile on her face. The tears from the realization that the boy might die were still present but her amazement at his ability to lead the others was truly overwhelming. She wanted to be a leader like Subaru is, someday. She needed to be one so that he wouldn't be hurt again.
"An adequate job of raising morale." Crusch nodded her head in approval at the boy's speech. With a slight smirk showing how much she enjoyed seeing him lead her army to stop the evil murderers.
"Hmm…" Crusch hummed a bit while thinking the idea over… she couldn't ignore the painful tug at her heart at the image of the boy dying on the battlefield. The duchess just caressed his hand softly while in thought.
"I thought so too." Julius voiced his agreement but kept his eyes on the screen like a hawk, looking for any difference to indicate this was another loop.
"I mean…. Wasn't the morale high enough? They beat the White Whale." Felt muttered in confusion.
"The White Whale wasn't as easy as you think. The fear was instilled in everyone's hearts and the boy's plan was the only thing that forged a way out of that fight. When they learned that we will be facin' the Witch's Cult…. It was about to get messy." Ricardo explained while shaking his head as he remembered the looks on the soldiers' faces.
Garfiel narrowed his eyes a little after hearing this and shook his head. He would've helped. But he was too busy dancing like a fool in his cage while his Cap'n was suffering and leading everyone to safety.
"Subaru-kyun's speech was just perfect for everyone around him to hear, nyan. He was the one who made the final plan to fight the Whale… so when he said he had a plan for the cult too, everyone just followed him easily, nyan!" Felix spouted with a small smile before turning and watching the screen to see if anything went different.
The catboy gripped his fists hard and tried to pray for whatever entity out there that he could've at least helped the boy in any loop.
In any way.
Just give Felix a chance to be a friend to the man he respected and owed so much to.
[Scene change…
Subaru was riding Patrasche with the rest of the army catching up around him. A young man with purple hair and sharp eyes trotted on his blue ground dragon beside Subaru.]
At this sight, the soldiers all winced at the same time with looks of astonishment and despair going all around.
"What's up with you?" Garfiel asked as soon as he noticed the many bad looks on Felix, Julius, Ricardo, and Wilhelm.
Everyone in the theater looked at them with curious eyes.
"Julius-kun?" Anastasia asked expectantly of her knight.
The knight simply shook his head with a grim look on his face. "Just watch my lady…. Just watch."
The merchant princess had a look of understanding on her face. Shaking her head, Anastasia looked at the screen to continue watching… understanding the look on her knight's face… for a simple second, her eyes stared at the back of Subaru's unmoving head…. Filled with pity and emotion.
"Poor fella…." She whispered with her eyes beginning to form a glare of frustration. A boy so useful and detrimental to the country's advancement shouldn't be playing doggy for someone who only brings death and painful memories upon him.
The merchant princess was furious about Subaru's worth being devalued in such a way by his camp's incompetence at doing anything right for themselves and making this boy waste his life dying for their mistakes instead.
"He needs someone to help him," Anastasia muttered in a growl. "Someone that understands how useful he truly is." She hummed thoughtfully. Her eyes returned to look up at the screen. Her gaze was thoughtful and cool.
Her fists shaking in anger.
Not at all matching what her expression was portraying.
["You really managed to win?" The man asked while looking at the road ahead.
Subaru had a look of pity and disgruntlement as he gazed at the man. "Huh?"
"The subjugation of the White Whale was a long-standing wish that the Imperial Knights were to fulfill."
Subaru looks surprised at the knight. Julius turned to him with an earnest look on his face.]
Julius simply watched with an expectant look on his face. Wanting to see what happened between him and his friend in this loop. Wanting to see if he had failed and let Subaru suffer death for it.
A conversation that he was starting with Subaru.
This he had to see.
["It seems I owe you my thanks."
Looking away, Subaru grumbled. "You don't have to force it."
"For putting an end to a calamity that all nations ignored for far too long, I thank you." Julius's eyes were stern and filled with unwavering gratitude.
Honesty.
Subaru's face turned to one of struggle and shame as he stuttered slowly…
"I'm… grateful to you, too. For coming to back us up. Even after what happened."]
"This is kind of sweet." Emilia nodded her head in approval that her idiot wasn't so pitiful as to refute the knight's thanks.
"I feel like you'd have been really strong friends had not been for…. How you met one another." Reinhard winced at the memory of the fight as did Julius.
"…" The knight himself stayed silent and watched with unsure eyes.
"I don't know how to feel about this… but I did do my best in my time with him… I hope this me doesn't fail him." The knight said in a whispering tone with a pleading look showing on his charming face.
Anastasia patted her knight's arm with a confident grin. "Don't worry Julius~... What's to say that ya didn't die defending 'em in the end? Instead of thinkin' about some gloomy world where ya watch 'em die, be positive."
"Thinking about his death is your positive?" Otto seemed to turn his head and stare at the lady with a bewildered face.
Julius managed to snort at his lady's dark comedy.
[Julius listened to him with patience. The images of Subaru's humiliation at the capital played over his struggling voice.
"About that… I was… " Subaru flailed on Patrasche in frustration. "Oh, damn it! Crap! I know, okay?! I know it now!"
Patrasche huffed in deadpan annoyance at her rider.]
Many giggled softly at Subaru's behavior.
Julius just smiled softly as he would've loved to see this attitude back then. Disappointed that he hadn't had times like these with the boy for much longer.
Reinhard smiled softly at the two knights' making up. Warming as it looked he could tell that this scene weighed heavily on his friend. The fact that his long-awaited reconciliation with Subaru was taken away because of Return by Death must be bothersome to Julius' heart.
Reinhard just wished that his knightly friend make the most of this scene without letting the negative inclinations weigh him down.
Reinhard wished he had such a chance with Subaru.
"He's still stubborn." Rem voiced with a small smile at the boy's antics. Happy that he could let such a big humiliation go without hateful antics that would make him a bad person.
[Subaru stopped moving around and gritted his teeth before facing Julius with an earnest look.
"It was my fault," Subaru said softly to his future husban-
(Copypaster :- 😳)
"Sorry. I… I apologize."
Julius gave a nod of acceptance. "I apologize, as well. I can't take back my words and actions, but I apologize from the bottom of my heart for belittling you." The knight answered in earnest.
"I'm sorry, but… " Subaru glared at the road with a stubborn look. "I hate your guts. I feel bad for what happened, and I'm grateful you're here. But I hate your guts. I seriously hate you from the bottom of my heart! Hmph!" Subaru turned to the road with a stubborn pout on his face.
Julius looked surprised for a second before putting a smile on his face and turning to steer his dragon.
"That's as it should be. I'm quite certain I could never befriend you, either."
Subaru smiled and steered Patrasche to run forward.]
Julius looked a little disheartened for a moment but nodded his head silently in understanding. This moment was something he wished he would've experienced himself. The ability to apologize to the boy earnestly would be a godsend now but seeing this as a moment Subaru has lived through and accepted was good enough for the knight.
"You guys don't look like enemies at all though." Otto voiced out with a knowing smile to the knight while Garfiel raised a brow at the two of them.
Reinhard simply chuckled and smiled at Julius. Happy that his friend got a chance to conceal with Subaru.
He noticed how Wilhelm and Felix were looking at the screen. Which sent him into instant alarm.
The Sword Saint glanced back at the screen with a hateful itch present in his mind about something happening. He prepared himself to cover his lady's eyes in case of another…. Death.
"Subaru," Reinhard whispered in grief and sympathy for his friend's dark adventure.
[The screen focused on Subaru's confident smiling face as hope filled his eyes.
All right, as I say every time, let's get this fight started.
Bring it on, Fate.]
"He did so much to get to where he is…" Emilia couldn't help but shake her head as the memories of this arc began to play in her head. She never could've guessed that her Subaru had to undergo such a dangerous mission alone… defeating many impossible threats and dying with his sanity almost shattering for the sake of defending her and the villagers.
"He truly deserves all the praise and more," Crusch muttered as she also played the same events in her head. Sternly but softly patting the boy on the head.
Beatrice shivered and hugged Subaru closer as the memory of her abandoning him and her brother and long lost friend killing him played in her mind, filling her with guilt and sadness as she now understood that her contractor was even more amazing to have come back to save her.
[Screen change…
The scene pans across Roswaal's estate before changing to show a dark bed chamber.
The door opens and in walks a silver-haired girl.
Emilia softly sat on her bed with an unreadable expression on her face as she gazed at the ground.
A small cat slowly emerges from her hair, smiling at his daughter. "You must be exhausted, Lia. You should rest a bit."
"No. I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep. What about you? Aren't you tired?"
"I'm fine. The forest barrier is all fixed up, too. You don't have to worry about anything."
"Yeah." Emilia softly smiled at her floating cat father, her expression slowly turned to one of unease as she gazed at her blinded windows.
"But…" She softly distresses.]
"What were ya doin' after ya left big bro in the city?"
Emilia winced a bit at the bold question coming from Felt, unable to think of such a time when she was alone without Subaru and without her heart breaking.
"I-I… I wanted to keep everyone safe since we received the blank page… and I thought that a mabeast attack was going to happen again so I tried enforcing all barrier jewels." The half-elf shook her head in embarrassment at how stupid that idea was and just what her knight was dealing with without her.
"Huh? That's not a bad idea. You didn't know what the danger was." Felt nodded her head and smiled at the big sis in approval.
Emilia was confused and surprised by this acceptance of her uselessness. And by how warm her heart was for being at least understood and not brushed off.
Her expression to one of worry as she saw the next scene
[The scene changes to Subaru walking through a dense forest.
Slowly, he ventured through the forest and jumped over fallen tree trunks.
He stopped suddenly, his body tense.
This feels like the time I found a cockroach in the corner of a quiet room.
The area around him suddenly grows darker as the sun is blocked for some reason.
The boy smirks smugly. "You were drawn to the smell, huh? Perfect cockroach bait." He chuckled mockingly.
In a second… he was surrounded by hooded figures.]
"Shit," Heinkel muttered with a grimace. "That kid's dead for sure…"
"Have some belief in him!" Schult admonished the man while holding out a small fist.
"Damn… was he acting as bait?" Al asked in surprise at the boy's bravery.
"Yes… that was his plan in our loop as well." Tivey nodded and answered in a grave voice.
Garfiel growled in fury, swearing to protect his captain better so that he wouldn't play bait anymore.
"Why would he put himself in such a situation, I suppose?" Beatrice asked with her eyes wide and in alarm.
Rem glared hatefully at the cult members and shook her head in irritation that she couldn't be there for her hero… that she wasn't strong enough to help him or Crusch and got deleted out of the world's memory.
["Do I really smell that bad?" Subaru mocked as he kept his grin on his face even when the many cultists huddled closer toward him from every direction.]
Emilia watched with her eyes shaking with fury and confusion. Wanting to know why her knight would put himself in such an easy position for the cult to kill him.
"Steady everyone," Julius calmed her nerves from the back with his firm tone. "This is a part of his plan."
"Is this to drive out the big boss 'f these deranged lunatics, Juukilius?" Heinkel demanded with a knowing glance at the screen.
"Astute as always, Deputy Commander." Julius nodded his head begrudgingly. "It's not different from how he did things with us."
"Ah… Us?" Heinkel's eyebrow raised. "So… He's…" The man swallowed while looking at the ground with wide eyes. "Damn."
Schult looked confused by the man's words. "What do you mean, Heinkel-sama?"
It was Priscilla who answered, seeing Heinkel refuse to face the young boy. "Tis his destiny to fall in this loop based on his minimal information."
"He will die?!" Schult's astonished shout made Petra and Ram grimace with discomfort as they were the closest to the boy's side of the theater who had yet to react to the news appropriately.
"It is indeed, a failed loop…" Julius said, gripping his knee but keeping a serious expression.
["Thanks for coming to meet me. Sorry to say it when you just got here, but I'd rather discuss the details with your boss. So don't get in my way." Subaru ordered the huddled Cultists around him, not even blinking when they bowed deeply to him and vanished into thin air.
He sighed softly and kept looking onward. "If they'd stuck around long enough for me to order them to gather their stuff and go home, this would've been easier…"]
"What…" Reinhard whispered his confusion as he stared at the screen.
"What just happened?" Felt asked in astonishment.
"Now that I think about it… they did that to him once before as well… in a previous loop." Crusch recalled grimly while staring at the screen in confusion.
"It must be the Witch's scent… they see him as a member of their disgusting cause." Rem growled out while shaking in anger at such a thought of her hero joining the cult.
"I mean… He has the witch protecting him." Ricardo couldn't help but flinch as furious blue eyes glared at him.
"How could you say such a thing?! Subaru has been taunted by death and danger because of the Witch's sick pleasure. Didn't you see how she wouldn't allow him to share his pain with anyone else? She isn't protecting him!" Petra shouted in outrage.
The dogman knew when to shut his mouth and not fight back. But something the maid said was off. Being the mischievous free spirit he was, Ricardo faced the angry Petra with a confused expression.
"Now messy… I think we can all agree that the boy wouldn't have survived in our world had it not been for the Witch's power. I'm not saying that we should start singing her name with our praises but we shouldn't ignore the fact that she is saving the boy."
The dogman's words turned people's gears as everyone looked deep in thought, even the once angry glaring Petra softened her gaze and looked to the ground.
"But why would she help Subaru defeat the beasts she created and the cult she orders?" Emilia asked while looking quite afraid of the possibility of meeting the witch one day. Of seeing the reason for all her torment.
Of losing her love because the witch decided Subaru was boring suddenly.
Emilia held her knight's hand and leaned softly on his shoulder. Trying not to shiver in fear.
"What a position to be in… I wouldn't envy the boy for his power at all… not while everything around it is so unknown and controlled by the Witch of Envy." Anastasia mused to herself and roughly rubbed on her fox scarf.
[He continued walking into the dense forest.
He walked and walked.
Stripping some bushes from before him, A giant cove opening was shown.
A small mountain side with a strange square hole planted on it with steps leading inside. The same cave he was freed from by Rem.]
"Hm… So that's how he knew about their hideouts." Otto nodded his head and wondered what the plan was in this loop.
Julius and Wilhelm glanced at one another as they understood that anything wrong might happen here. Subaru clearly died since this wasn't what they planned in their take down of the sloth archbishop.
[Before the shaped cave opening, stood a figure clad in black with his green head pointed to the ground so that his face can't be scene.
"I've been waiting for you, believer in love." The nasty voice of the man sounded as his figure bowed theatrically.
"I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing sloth," The man finally raised his head and showed his demented wide-eyed face.
"Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti! TES~"]
"Disgusting cur," Priscilla growled while waving her fan furiously.
"He's still so disturbing and inhuman!" Frederica growled in disgust at the man's corpse-like face.
Petra just held on to the maid and glared at the green monster with tears in her eyes.
"I hate this guy," Felt shouted while grimacing at how weird he looked.
Ram also gritted her teeth and hatefully scowled at the man on screen, wanting nothing more than to bash his head in after what he had done to her sister.
Rem could only watch with worry and despair for her hero wishing that she was present to save him from facing off against the madman.
Emilia and Beatrice tried to hold their tears in at the completely insulting sight of their dearest friend and the monster he had become.
"I'm sorry, Geuse…"
"Mother Fortuna… I'm sorry I let him become like this…" Emilia shed tears as she watched the green person through wide disbelieving eyes. How much did this gentle and caring man suffer to transform into this… corpse monster.
All while she was sleeping, frozen in ice… her friend became a mad shell of himself… serving this Witch that couldn't care less of who was hurting and why… Just wanting nothing more than to be amused with people's pain.
Guese.
Subaru.
Her.
Envy never cared about any of them. Just how amusing breaking them can be.
Emilia glared hatefully through her tear-shedding eyes and held her beloved's hand tightly but warmly.
Protective. Wanting nothing more than to protect Subaru and avenge Geuse's pain.
Even vowing it.
["I welcome you, beloved child blessed with love! Wonderful! Wonderful!" As the madman wiggled around lewdly, Subaru slowly stepped towards him, stopping only when there were a few feet between him and the green-skinned madman.
Subaru's calm determined expression turned into a soft smile as he waved his hand to the Cult head before him.
"Hey."
Petelgeuse seemed to have frozen in the middle of a pose at the boy's strange calmness.
"I really appreciate the unexpected welcome. But I'm not sure I really feel this 'love' you keep bringing up." Subaru carried on talking calmly to the frozen green man.]
"Tis most surprising the boy's keeping his cool after what that filthy swan has done to him." Priscilla snorted while hiding her impressed expression behind her fan. "Great service, I am pleased."
"It's part of his plan to lure the head out." Julius said while leaning forward to see what would go wrong since there must have been a mistake made by someone on their team for Subaru to have Returned by Death.
"Learn to disguise your emotions… He took her advice after all." Otto shook his head and admired his brother's tenacity.
"Who?" Garfiel asked while keeping his demonic glare set on the green man, waiting to see what his captain will do to defeat this asshole.
"Remember what the Bowel Hunter said when she met Natsuki-san in the slums… Hide your fear… forget your anger…" Otto whispered to his blonde friend sternly.
Garfiel looked at his captain with his eyes wide. The thought that his captain would actually take that killer's words seriously made him look more shrewd and dangerous in any onlooker's eyes.
It was truly scary how cooler his captain was becoming.
He might become half as cool as Garf's amazing self.
"I could never possibly… Subaru's gone through so many amazing things." Emilia looked away from her knight to take the shock of seeing Elsa once again when she remembered due Otto's words.
"It's horrifying, not amazing, in fact." Beatrice snorted, glaring at the Archbishop who was wearing the face of her beloved friend.
[Petelgeuse's nerves seemed to have caught up with him as his body mechanically moved from it's frozen state while he spoke calmly.
"It always begins suddenly. Everyone, on a certain day, realizes that they are loved. They feel the love!" Petelgeuse pulled an intense glaring expression as he held himself tightly and repeated loudly. "The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love! The love!"
Subaru only smiled uneasily. "Um… And what am I supposed to do now?"
Petelgeuse stopped his weird dancing and suddenly smiled eerily. "Ah, the generous love of the witch… "]
"My ass…" Heinkel muttered while glaring at the man.
"What would he do if he knew how close Natsuki-kun has become to the Witch?" Anastasia asked while rubbing her scarf in frustration as she glared stiffly at the man on screen.
"It wouldn't be anything good." Rem shook her head at what might happen to her hero.
"Or … they place him higher in their organization." Ram suggested with a thoughtful look.
"Why is he waiting for Natsuki-san anyway? Is this how people get invited into the cult?" Otto asked as his gears began to turn.
Everyone watched with curiosity in their eyes.
"Information about the cult's initiation process has been sought after for centuries since it could be useful." Crusch muttered while keeping her eyes hardened at the screen.
[He turned to the boy with a wide-armed pose, as if to hug him. "You wouldn't happen to be Pride, would you? Of the six Sin Archbishops, only Pride's seat remains vacant."]
Many reactions were set after that quote had been uttered.
Disgust.
Surprise.
And outright fear… from one helmeted man sitting in the room.
"Could he be the Pride bishop?" Anastasia mused loudly with a thoughtful look.
"But Archbishops are only the people leading the cult, right? Big bro isn't one of 'em so he can't be a bishop." Felt nodded her head with a convinced look on her face.
"Not necessarily… We've always thought the Archbishops are the ones who hold more power than the rest of the cultists." Wilhelm interrupted their thoughts with a shake of his head. "Of course, I don't think Natsuki-dono could be a member of them… but he does have a power that's considered border on impossible… from the Witch herself as well."
Otto and Garfiel shook their heads at the man's words.
"We won't let him steer to such a path."
"Not after what we've seen 'ere."
Both boys cemented what most of the theater was thinking regarding Subaru being an archbishop.
"But it's very interesting to know that the bishops don't operate within each other's presence. I don't think we know what happened to Pride either." Crusch voiced her thoughts while glaring at the screen with interest.
"I-If that kid's an archbishop… It wouldn't fuckin' be any different from what I said…" Heinkel trembled for a second, remembering himself holding a knife over the boy's neck. "He would be a monster that needs to be put down… Before his power's used against us…"
"That's a cowardly way to think, Deputy Commander." Julius sternly glares, but Heinkel's expression immediately earns a look of shock from the knight.
Emilia and Crusch too, wanted to glare at the man but were suddenly welcomed to a sight most confusing.
"Goddamn…" Heinkel growls as he stands in place.
"Father?" Reinhard was already at attention, willing to restrain his father once more but he was stuck staring like the rest.
Heinkel was pulling on his arm with his other, as it tried to push against his well and take him towards Subaru in the front row. "Shit…"
"Are you okay?" Felt had to ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Does it look like I'm okay 'ere?!" Heinkel glared at Felt who shrugged as if he wasn't holding his own hand. "Shit's outta my fuckin' control…"
"A-Are you trying to attack Subaru again?" Emilia held a hand to her chest, frowning at the man with innocent eyes.
Heinkel clicked his teeth and growled in frustration.
"JUST SHUT UP AND WATCH!" Heinkel said against the chair as he rested his head on it, holding his arm.
"Another breach…" Otto spoke softly, looking at the man with pity. "The faster we watch, the weaker it will get… Or the more intense…"
"Just fuckin' take the chance and continue." Heinkel sighed, feeling the tiny hand holding onto his arm. "Back away kiddo."
Schult nodded his head, giving him all his trust and stepping back into Priscilla's leg.
[Petelgeuse slowly dragged himself closer to Subaru. "You have received the Gospel, haven't you?"
"The Gospel?"
Petelgeuse's eyes watered as he gazed at the boy.
"My brain trembles!" The madman shouted as he retracted his arm from his robe, grabbing a book from its pocket.
"Presentation of the Gospel! Proof of love!"]
Roswaal and Beatrice both glared at the book hatefully… but for different reasons.
"That book…. "
"It's the Cult's heart and soul…"
Reinhard and Julius glared at the book, their sense of duty kicking in to learn all they could about this interaction.
"Why does he have that?" Emilia whispered as she thought back to when he was still a good person and not this person… her thoughts only took her to a revelation of this being the fault of one person… Pandora.
Emilia was brimming with rage she thought about the woman.
[Subaru stepped back with a disgusted look on his face as Petelgeuse started scrolling through the pages of the book with wide excited eyes and a dragging tongue that was out and slithering.
He suddenly stopped and slowly looked at the boy with a confused expression.
"Huh? There is no account of you in my Gospel."
Subaru gazed at the book the green man was holding.
That book is the Gospel?
The Cult's head slowly raised his finger and pointed at Subaru. "Then why did you appear here? Why visit here? What fortune are you here to bring me?!" Petelgeuse grew more agitated as he held his book and glared at the boy.
Subaru's alarmed face changed into a nervous smile as he slowly reached for his pocket.
"Oh! So that's the Gospel! I see, I see!" He tapped the book Petelgeuse held infront of him and reached his hand out of his jacket pocket with a smile.
"I understand, I understand. You should have just said so." Subaru slowly tapped his pants and began looking in his back pockets.
Petelgeuse watched the boy with a bewildered expression.]
"What's he doing?" Priscilla asked in boredom, not even acknowledging the fight Heinkel was putting against his hand.
Glaring as everyone shushed her to keep quiet since they were on the edge of their seat.
["Aw, darn it! I'm sorry!"
As Subaru apologized with a sheepish smile, Petelgeuse's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What?" He growled out.
"My gospel is, well, you know…" Subaru smiled with a hand on his forehead as he proclaimed. "I used it as a coaster, and I got messy, so I threw it out."]
…
…
…
"Holy shit, he's a fuckin' bellend!" Heinkel had to stare at the screen with pure rage visible on his bastardly face. "THIS is what I'm here to watch?!"
Everyone watched with shocked expressions.
"Is he an idiot?" Otto whispered as his nerves trembled in fear for his friend.
"He's got some plan in mind." Crusch nodded her head and smiled softly at the boy's joke.
Garfiel and Ricardo were full on laughing on the floor at the man's face.
Al was chuckling as well.
"That's not a smart thing to do." Reinhard admonished worriedly for he was always taught about the dangers of making your opponent ang-
"Oh calm down Big bro has a plan. He wouldn't act like this if he didn't have one." Felt softly punched Reinhard's shoulder while smiling confidently, waiting to see her bro wreck the man's shit.
Emilia and Beatrice both had their eyes wide in alarm at the absurdity of Subaru's interaction before turning to worry immediately after seeing Petelgeuse's face.
Rem kept her stern glare firmly on the green man and held Subaru's shoulder protectively.
[The entire world fell silent.
The Archbishop could only stare at the boy with an expression of disbelief for a moment.
"Proof of love!" He shouted in rage.
"Authority of Sloth! UNSEEN HAND!"
Six black lean hands shot from his back towards Subaru.
The boy immediately jumped back from their reach, surprising the man greatly.
"What?!" He asked in disbelief.
"It's an unseen hand, right? So if I can see it, I can evade it!" Subaru said as he jumped out of the way from another attack by the hands.
"You can see my Unseen Hand?!" Petelgeuse shouted as a look of betrayal filled his expression.]
"Is that how he sees it?" Felt looked surprised by the difference shown between Subaru's ability to see the eyes.
"Why can Subaru see the hands then?" Petra asked with a worried expression as she watched the boy getting attacked by the magical power.
"It must be the witch's doing." Crusch answered with an agitated tone.
"Why… Why would she give Subaru such an advantage against one of her greatest worshipers?" Rem asked with a heated scowl on her face as she remembered all of Subaru's struggles.
Why hadn't the witch helped him throughout all of these struggles then?
Emilia looked a little apprehensively at the sleeping boy beside her.
Something doesn't feel right.
[Subaru dodged once again with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. "Okay, I'm just about done buying time!"
* WHOOOSH!*
"Buwaaahhhh!"
* CRACKKK!*
"Huh?!" Petelgeuse could only utter as two small demihuman twins jumped beside him and shot their wind attacks over the cave's opening behind him, making the mountain cave in and collapse into the dark hideout of the cult.
The screen showed every cult member inside getting trapped as the mountain fell upon them.]
"So we attack much early in this one?" Tivey started counting all the differences in this timeline to make sure he could learn where the tactics had failed.
Considering the boy had died, that means something went wrong with the plan. Tivey wanted to add the flaws to his mind so that his strategies were perfect.
"They trapped the evil bad guys!" Petra cheered at the sight of the cultists getting buried alive.
"This plan wasn't that altered…" Julius muttered as he noticed how similar this plan was to the version they had done in Subaru's successful loop.
"Where am I in this one?" The knight growled while glaring sharply towards the scene. Hating the feeling of him being useless as Subaru dies once again.
["Prepare to be buried alive! Suffer as you regret all the things you've done!" Subaru triumphantly shouted at the distraught Petelgeuse.]
Garfiel smirked wide and bumped his knuckles against one another in excitement. "Wish I was 'ere!"
Emilia held a hand to her chest while softly smiling at her knight's persistence. But the sadness in her eyes could not be ignored as she mourned for the man she once held as someone very dear.
[The madman softly whispered to himself brokenly. "How… How could this be? My fingers, so cruelly, so mercilessly, so chaotically, so arbitrarily, so artlessly, so meaninglessly… AAGRKKKKK! My brain… My brain TREEMBLEEESSSS!"
The man shouted in despair as his eyes widened so far back his eyeballs began to bleed.
"Yikes, that guy's kinda scary!" Mimi shouted as she ran away from the insane cultist.
"I think all the Witch's Cultists are like that."
With strands of his green hair ripped out from frustration stuck on his lean fingers, Petelgeuse bled as he bit on the tips of his nails so hard while bleeding from his eyes at the same time.]
The half-elf and the small spirit just watched with hung jaws and tearful eyes at Geuse's self-harm.
"Tck!" Priscilla clicked her tongue in annoyance at the sight as she fanned herself.
"This is so disgusting," Frederica growled and shook her head at the sight of the man.
["Yes, of course…. " His horrible face turned to the boy snappishly. "Fine. Fine!" He growled.
"I understand. Let's do this! I'm ready to do this! The time has come to learn which of us is worthy of her love! HER LOVE! YES, HER LOVE!"
"Sorry to interrupt your fun, but…"
"-OVE?!"
"I've got someone else lined up to take you on!" Subaru declared as a floating figure suddenly dropped from atop the mountain over Betelgeuse's head.]
Julius leaned forward with a surprised look on his face. If he was the one Subaru had dropped on Sloth…. Then he must've failed in defeating the bishop.
Eyes sharp, Julius watched with dread filling him.
[An Old Man with an intense glare suddenly dropped behind the Archbishop with his sword at the ready.
*SWOOOSH!*
With one slice of Wilhelm's sword…. The man was cut in half.
Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti… was dead.]
"Wait…" Otto looked taken aback for a moment.
"But that's…" Felt uttered with a shocked face.
"That wasn't even a fight!" Priscilla shouted in annoyance as she wanted to see that green freak suffer.
Emilia and Beatrice breathed a sigh of relief and both leaned closer to hug Subaru a bit. Both girls suffer from intense emotion from seeing their friend killed so suddenly yet feel relieved that he was put down to rest in peace at last.
Something didn't feel right though.
"But… how… Nyan?!" Felix looked bewildered as he tried to comprehend why this was a failed loop.
The cat boy grew more worried the more he thought about it.
"Things seem perfect now… too perfect," Frederica muttered with worry, making a certain pink-haired Oni snort.
"Of course they are." Ram tried not to show any emotion as she gazed heatedly at the screen. Her eyes were watchful of anything that might appease her very instinctive suspicions that something was going to go wrong.
"The Whale and this guy? Ya outdid yerself old man…" Heinkel growled and removed his arm from the other one.
"Has it stopped?" Otto asked with a worried glance towards the man's hand.
"Yeah… It's better…" Heinkel looked at his palm with confusion. "This place can't keep the kid safe forever…"
"Thank you for holding out…" Emilia surprised everyone by nodding towards the man who almost succeeded in hurting her knight a viewing ago.
"You did a job well done, Wilhelm-dono." Crusch voiced out her compliments towards the old man serving her cause.
The old knight simply bowed his head but never removed the look of apprehensiveness from his face.
"Subaru-dono's death… It should've happened here."
"It's the possession." Julius voiced out loud with a glare as sharp as his eyes. Gripping where his sword should've been as a way for comfort from this frustration.
"This Cult's ways…. Are so nasty… "
No one dared to question what the angry knight was talking about… they just watched the scene, knowing that whatever it was, it will be shown eventually.
[Scene change…
"I-It's over… right?" Subaru asked the catboy as he examined the torn green body.
"He's very much dead. The most powerful healer in the capital guarantees it." Felix assured cheerfully.]
"If only to have the satisfaction of doing this many more times to everyone in that damn cult… To Gluttony…" Felix growls under his breath, holding on to his skirt.
["I see." Subaru sighed in relief and turned to the old man that was cleaning his sword. "Wilhelm-san, I'm sorry to ask such an unreasonable favor."
The old man turned to the boy in confusion. "Was it unreasonable?"
Subaru bowed his head and explained. "Isn't cutting someone down from behind without warning the worst thing a knight can do?"
Wilhelm just continued cleaning his blade. "Chivalry is long dead." He stared at his blade with a reflection of his face on it.
"You need not concern yourself with that." Subaru could only smiled uneasily at the man before turning to the humming Felix.]
"... Fuck off." Heinkel glared at the old man with such annoyance it was practically poisonous for everyone near him.
Wilhelm couldn't help but give a soft smile towards the boy's noble attitude.
"Sadly, that's what seems to be the new trend nowadays." Anastasia muttered in discomfort at some very unpleasant memories.
Those who had ever participated in a fight also nodded their heads with looks of resentment and amusement.
Even Priscilla nodded her head. Her fiery eyes glaring with heat as she recalled what had happened to her because of believing in such ideals.
["Hmm… doesn't look like he's carrying anything useful."
Subaru knelt in front of the two twins as they both started pick pocketing the torn dead body.
"You mini guys are ransacking his corpse like it's the obvious thing to do…"
The small boy with the eyeglass through a weird fluffy pink ball he found in Betelgeuse's pocket and glared at Subaru. "I'm not mini. I'm Tivey. I think it's our right to search out the spoils of battle."]
"Don't touch something so disgusting." Ram said while shivering in disgust.
"How could he call us mini's? I thought he was cool…"
PAM!
"Ouch!"
"Don't diss on big boss bro! You're just mad cuz he doesn't talk about you that much."
"But he doesn't talk about you either, Mimi-EWOCH!"
"Hmph!"
[The boy picked up a dark-covered book. "What is this?"
"I think that's the book Betelgeuse called the Gospel," Subaru answered not expecting the faces of everyone around him to turn chalk white.]
"Huh?! I touched it?! No!" Tivey immediately tried to run and clean his hand but his sister hugged him to keep him in his seat.
["Eep! This is the Gospel?!" Tivey threw it away from him and into Felix's lap, making the catboy stand up and throw it away from him into the dirt.
"Oh no, I touched it!"
Subaru slowly picked up the book and scrolled through it.
"I can't read it…" Turning to the catboy beside him, Subaru opened the book towards the healer. "Felis, can you read this?"]
"Don't point it at me, nyan?!" Felix shouted in terror as many in the audience looked at the scene in horror.
"He's touching the gospel as if it's nothing!" Reinhard uttered in worry as the idea of his friend getting corrupted by the evil wills of the book immediately set in.
Beatrice just shook her head and looked apprehensive of this. She was disgusted by the mere fact that she had held the monster's book so lovingly… but she was also uncaring towards the book since it was just a fake replica.
A clown-dressed man also looked at the scene with indifference as if he was bored with the mere thought of the book itself. "A mere copy of the original… Useless."
[The knight could only flinch in terror and hid behind his hands. "Whao, nyo way! Don't point that thing at me! And don't do something as stupid as trying to read the gospel!"
"Is that dangerous?"
"The Gospel is the proof that one belongs to the Witch's Cult. It's their sacred text." Subaru found no one to explain to him but the toughest of the four around him, Wilhelm.
"Sacred text?"
"The rumors say that one is delivered to anyone with the potential to join the cult. And once a person gets it… imagine that! They're nyow a devout member of the Witch's Cult." Felix weighed in his explanation.
"How shady can you get? Well, I guess I'll take this with me. If I can decipher it, maybe I can figure out what the Witch's Cult really is." Subaru's speculation was cut off as Mimi came out of the discarded cloak of the once great Sloth.
"Hey, hey, we've killed the enemy here, so shouldn't we go make sure the other enemies are dead, too?"]
"That's kind of disturbing to hear from a child," Otto muttered with a shake of his head.
Garfiel just gave him an annoyed glance. Liking the personality of the little girl.
["You know, as adorable as you look, you say some pretty disturbing things."]
Otto snorted at the coincidence while Garfiel huffed at his own thinking not being on the same wavelength as his other two friends.
At least his captain agreed about the girl being adorable.
["Aw, I'm adorable? You're makin' me blush!"]
Mimi was humming to herself without a care in the world for what was happening on screen.
["So the subordinates that Petelgeuse called 'fingers' number ten in total?" Wilhelm asked as he strutted behind Subaru.
"I think one of them is pinned under there." Tivey pointed to the rubble that was once a cave entrance.
"Ten minus one is nine!" Mimi announced excitedly.]
The old man and the greatest knight both narrowed their eyes thoughtfully for a moment. Before glancing at one another.
"The possession… "
"Spirit power… Sloth is a spirit." Julius muttered softly before glaring at the screen with a look telling of his anxiousness.
Emilia frowned deeply as she remembered that fateful day in her forest.
She was helped by one of these fingers.
She was saved by them.
And now… to have Geuse and his fingers from the cult all getting hunted for the madness instilled into him…
The pain in her heart as she mourned all of the good people of the old cult who fought to save her was only comforted by the slight rhythmic beating of the sleeping boy's heart.
The one she was leaning on while watching the death of this mentally unstable organization.
Or a faction of it at least.
"You guys used to do so much good for us in the forest…" Emilia whispered to herself, remembering the supplies the cult would spread to the marginalized communities like her elven kind. "Just… How can so much go this wrong?" Her lips trembled.
["Then, shall we go?" Wilhelm started walking away with a very still suspicious Subaru still glaring at the dead body of the Archbishop.
Subaru slowly walked away….
Only to return with his arms up and his eyes fiercely on the torn corpse.
"But they really are dead, right? They're not gonna come back the second we look away, right?" Subaru glared stubbornly at the body to see if any inch of it was moving.]
"That is an excellent assessment." Priscilla nodded her head in approval of the commoner. She loved to make sure her enemies were truly put down once and for all. It was a truly wonderful instinct to have in a fight.
"He's been chopped in half. I don't think he could come back to life…. I think." Otto grimaced at the sight of the dead man. Starting to feel just as agitated and paranoid as Subaru on the screen. The more he thought about it, Otto began to believe that Subaru had the right idea.
"It's best to make sure about this." Garfiel nodded his head in agreement with his captain… And in agreement with his desire to see the green man getting more put down as well.
Reinhard stared at Julius with a nervous gaze. His friend had been staring at the screen with such heated concentration. As if the knight found something completely wrong and was waiting for something to happen.
He wished he could ask what it was that Julius was looking for with such indignity. But he was sitting far away from him and he had to stay close to his lady's side if he wanted to shield her eyes from another horrible… ending to Subaru's life.
The red-haired knight gritted his teeth and looked down to the floor. Guilty and angry at himself for not being there to help the young man.
A boy that had been suffering unjustified self resentment and hatred.
Just like him.
["Oh. Fine. If you're that worried, we'll make sure." Subaru barely dodged the fire blast Mimi throw towards the body of Petelgeuse, blowing it to ash.]
The little girl snorted lightly as her twin shook his head in exasperation.
"Oi! That was good!" Garfiel pulled a thumbs up towards the young girl with a glazing smirk on his face.
Showing his approval of the girl's violence and style.
Mimi smiled happily while kicking her legs in the air from happiness.
Ricardo snorted at the young love blooming before him.
"Been waiting for this." The dogman muttered softly while holding his mischievous intent down as he stared at the two.
He never got to play the tough father type. But he knew he would always have the chance to scare off boys from his sweet little Mimi.
And now was the time.
He couldn't wait.
[Scene change…
"We crushed two fingers." Julius reported as Subaru and his gang regrouped with his.
"A few of the cultists were skilled, but they posed no threat. We made no errors in driving them off."
"I'm glad it went well for you guys, too." Subaru sighed in relief.
"Given your demeanor, it seems I can assume your news is good, as well?" Julius asked awaiting the good news.
Subaru held his fist high with a victorious grin. "Yep! We took out Petelgeuse!"
"And since this guy is such a worrywart, we blasted him to bits with one more kaboom after we killed him!" Mimi shouted alongside Subaru making everyone smile.
Ricardo even shouted in cheer for the lady.
A soldier from beside him smiled with relief. "So that just leaves the simple task of mopping up the remnants, huh?"
"We'd better hurry up and take care of 'em before my lady turns into an old granny. Oh, that was my best joke, y'know!"
Sadly, only Mimi was laughing at the dogman's jokes.]
Especially his lady as Ricardo has learned the hard way what Mimi's stick could cause once it was shoved into his open crotch.
The pain and agony were felt throughout the male populace in the room as the dogman howled on the floor.
Anastasia just snorted over him returned the wand to Mimi and sat back down.
"My lady…." Tivey decided to shut up immediately as the calm and expressionless Anastasia glanced at him with fury.
Ricardo apologized and sat back down with a face looking like a stricken pup.
Sympathies were held for him and his pain.
Only by the males surrounding him.
"Ooof…" Heinkel winced from the back.
[Julius turned to Subaru and reported once more. "We rendezvous soon with the dragon-drawn carriages you arranged. Let's eliminate the remaining fingers and greet our victory together."
Felix turned to the boy excitedly. "Okay, Subaru-kyun, time for the bait. Put out that smell! Breath in… and out… "]
The healer winced back at some of the glares he got from the row before him.
"I wouldn't have asked to do it had I known! Nyan!"
Crusch shook her head and glanced at him. "It's fine Ferris. No one would've known that he was contacting the enemy of humanity to get that scent."
Felix was looking at his lady with hope and happiness. Seeing her treat him with mercy and not stiffly ignoring him anymore.
He hoped she would give him a chance to correct his attitude towards Subaru in all of the previous viewings.
He hoped many in the room would forgive him for his lack of tact.
Especially the sleeping black-haired boy sitting beside his lady.
[Mimi suddenly jumped onto Subaru's back. "And out… and out… and out…"
"Hey, hang on! Don't be crazy!" Subaru shouted as he found himself choked to death.
The soldiers around him laughed while Julius smiled in amusement.
Subaru's outraged expression turned to one of smiling relief. He looked on at the entire army before him.
"So I guess… Once this is all done, we'll all go back to being friend and foe."]
"Everything seems so peaceful," Frederica whispered with a reserved tone. Not liking how things suddenly turned bright. It usually meant… that darkness was coming.
She noticed how almost all of the knights and mercenaries that were present in the theater were looking at the scene with a fond yet anguished look.
"We would've liked to have these memories with the Boss bro…" Mimi whispered while holding her wand tightly.
Ricardo patted her head while frowning at the screen.
["How confident of you to worry about what's yet to come." Julius sounded from the side with an amused smirk.
Subaru grinned. "Hey, sue me. It's going almost too well, so maybe I let my guard down."]
"It's nice to have such a sweet moment between previous adversaries. But does anyone feel the tension?" Ram spoke from the back row, crossing her arms and masking her worry for Subaru. "Barusu's aura changed without his knowledge, I'm assuming this is the environment growing more thick with something coming…"
Most of the occupants in the room nodded their heads as the screen stopped on Subaru and Julius standing back to back with the entire world stopped.
Julius narrowed his eyes and prayed to his screen self that he was able to help the boy.
[And in a moment…
* WHOOOOOOSHHHHH!*
Subaru's eyes widened in terror….Julius stood by him side by side…
"GET DOWN!" Subaru shouted as a dozen black long hands shot from the depths of the woods toward the soldiers.
Everyone obeyed his shout and dropped. Only four unfortunate soldiers and one riger were left to be caught by the hands because they weren't fast enough.
Julius looked at the dangling men and animals in bewilderment as to him, they were just floating while to Subaru, the hands were crushing them in the air.
Slowly…
Subaru shouted in despair. As he witnessed the five living beings squeezed and twisted inhumanly until their bodies were nothing but sacks of meat oozing blood.]
"What the fuck?!" Felt shouted in shock while everyone around her watched the scene in horror.
"How?! He was supposed to be dead!" Otto shouted with a fearful look on his face.
"Shit!" Garfiel cursed as he grew more agitated at the sight of the bodies.
"Geuse… No… Sloth is dead, in fact! Why does the unseen hand still live, I wonder?!" Beatrice asked loudly while staring at the screen with wide-open eyes.
"Oi… What the hell's gonna happen to this kid?" Heinkel growled with a shocked expression, gripping his armrests and allowing Schult to hug his side tightly for protection.
The pure child couldn't look at the screen because of the corpses.
["What is this? What's goin' on?" Ricardo shouted as he held the twins close.
Subaru glared heatedly and looked around in panic as the soldiers ran into the woods.
The unseen hand?! Petelgeuse should be dead! So who's…
Before he could finish his thoughts, a hand black as the night caught his ankle and swept his entire form into the woods.]
"No!" Petra shouted on top of her lungs, wishing she could hold on to him and stop him from being dragged away.
Emilia, Beatrice, and Crusch seemed to jump in their seats with varying expressions of panic and horror.
[The soldiers and knights looked back in alarm to find the boy being dragged across the ground into the darkened woods.
"Subaru-dono!" Wilhelm and Julius ran after him only to be intercepted by a group of hooded cultists appearing from the ground.]
"Subaru-kun!" Rem screamed in horror while holding her hands together in a praying motion for the boy's safety. "I should've never let him go alone!" The maid uttered her guilt as the scene played out her hero being kidnapped by the black hands.
"This is bad… " The helmeted knight beside Priscilla muttered with a shake of his head.
["Damn it!" Subaru shouted as he was dragged across the dirt by the ankle.
The arm forced him into a secluded area, planting him against a tree.
He grunted and began kicking the arm to free his ankle.
"Ah!" A voice of a female sounded across the empty clearing of the woods.
"My brain… trembles…"]
"What…" Heinkel's eyes widened in instant recognition. "Isn't that what the dead guy keeps saying? But that's a woman…"
[Subaru looked to his side to find a hooded person walking toward him. The cultist had the unseen black hand erupting from his back and holding Subaru to the tree.
"Who are you?" Subaru asked n alarm.
The person took her hood off to reveal a manic grinning female.
"Wh-Who the hell are you?Are you Petelgeuse's… "
"Finger, yes!" The female grinned wider as she forced two more unseen hands to wrap around Subaru's body and the tree, crushing him.
"Let me go…" He stuttered while trying to free himself.]
"H-Huh?! What?!" Petra shouted her confusion as her panic finally reached it's limit as she saw the cultist reaching the boy.
"A-Are the fingers able to use Sloth's powers as well?" Crusch asked in a bewildered stutter. Surprised by this turn of events.
"It's something much more disgusting." The purple-haired knight couldn't keep the hatred in his tone from showing as he glared at the screen with one thought in his head.
This Cult was truly a disgusting organization.
"It is far beyond anyone to know about him, I suppose," Beatrice whispered to herself, feeling a torture inside of her heart. "No one will understand what your true form is like, Geuse… Please…"
[The female slowly walked towards the boy with a wide smile. "I am a finger, one who reciprocates love. A faithful, diligent disciple who will carry out the Ordeal, following love's guidance!"]
"Before you ask m~eee~, This kind of magic doesn't exist in any of my arch~iii~ves." Roswaal voiced without looking away from the screen with his same bored face.
"Then… What is this?!" Tivey shouted in bewilderment. "Can the Witch cult truly transcend and give powers like the unseen hands to others?"
Garfiel glared demonically at the screen while scratching his chair handles in frustration that he couldn't free his captain from the oncoming cultist.
[As he was squeezed to death, Subaru began thinking to himself. "A copy? A replica of… the original Petelgeuse? If so, this couldn't possibly get any worse!" He struggled to speak or breath as the female crushed his body against the tree.
"Sniff, sniff. The love that cloaks you does not compare to that of a mere follower. It is equal to that of a Sin Archbishop! It is exceedingly displeasing, dissatisfying, disagreeable, discomforting, disproportionate, discordant! But that is the proof that you are Pride!" The female grew nastier and more agitated with each word as she squeezed Subaru tightly.
"Don't make me keep saying it! I'm not even close to Pride! I've never even gotten a free book as a membership perk!"
"My! Are you being stubborn? Still, soon enough, you will quite readily… " The female suddenly grew horrified as she tried to pick something from within her cloak pocket only to find it empty.
"The Gospel…My love's guidance! The Gospel that allows me, though inexperienced, to reciprocate love! It is not with me now!" The female creaked her body and bent her spine into an unnatural shape.
"Was it you?" She asked before suddenly moving her body towards the boy's face while squeezing him harder.
"You?You?You?You?You?You?You?You? Did you steal it?!"]
"Subaru…." Emilia gasped as she watched with a broken expression the painful situation Subaru was forced into because of her choices.
Julius and Wilhelm were gritting their teeth in pure frustration as they wished for any of their screen selves or any of the other knights to come to rescue the boy from another mad cultist.
"Do they all act like that disgusting madman who killed my sister?!" Ram shouted in disgust as she learned that there might be 10 more monsters who have the same power that was used to twist her sister's body.
[The female's shouts were interrupted as a small red glowing spirit appeared between Subaru and the mad lady.
Both of them stared at the red dot for a moment.
"Wha…"]
Julius let a breath of fresh air enter his lungs as relief washed his face.
"A spirit?" Emilia widened her eyes and instantly looked at the only spirit knight that was around Subaru at the time.
She noticed Julius' relieved expression and started to feel her heart calm down.
"He will be fine… He will be okay… " The half-elf softly sank back to lean her head into the crook of Subaru's neck.
Anastasia slapped a hand on Julius' arm, giving him a proud grin. "Always rely on the knight of knights for the greatest customer satisfaction!"
"I hope I can be of help, Anastasia-sama." Julius looked at the screen reluctantly.
"Relax, I trust yer work… You won't let 'em get hurt." Anastasia smirked at him with such confidence that it filled his heart with warmth.
"I'm honored for your belief in me, my lady." Julius nodded his head humbly.
["A spirit?" The lady shouted in fear and jumped back with terror in her eyes as she gazed at the ball with hatred.
The red dot suddenly glowed brightly and freed Subaru from the unseen hands and made him fall to the dirt.
"A spirit!" The cultist started swiping her hands at the small red dot in panic.
"Damn it!"]
"She's scared… of a spirit?" Petra wasn't the only one who caught the scared expression on the cultist's face.
"Seems like my theory is proving more correct." Julius clicked his teeth, earning attention from many in the room. "The sloth archbishop is a spirit himself… The only damage that can truly be done to him is attacks from spiritual arts users like me and Emilia-sama."
"And Betty's contractor, in fact." Beatrice held her head low, unable to look at anyone since she knew the truth about Petelguese from her prior knowledge of the man he once was. "But Betty isn't with him right now, in fact."
"That's another thing too…" Reinhard tried to calm everyone down. "It's best not to be too hopeful… Because we still don't know what might happen in this failed loop."
"Ya had to remind us of that," Felt swiped a hand on her face from frustration and worry.
[The madwoman swiped her unseen hands all across the forest, breaking many trees and bushes.]
"Thank the power of the Od for your spirits, Julius-san." Otto praised the knight with a relieved face.
The knight only nodded his head and kept watching with a bewildered look.
"How did he die then? It's hard to believe Ia would let him die…. And the monster looks really scared of her, Nyan!" The healer growled out his question at the events playing. Confused as to what was truly happening in this loop.
"These Witch cult guys are fuckin' insane!" Heinkel's teeth were gritted as his arm trembled subconsciously. "How are we supposed to fight such cheating filth with these twists?!"
"We power through," Garfiel nodded his head, answering without any hesitation, which only managed to anger the man in the back.
"What bullshit is that?! So we can all die like the kid's gonna kick it at the end of all of this?!" Heinkel glared at those who were glaring at him from the knights and maids.
"I'd say some respect for Subaru's sacrifice must be brought to attention, Deputy commander." Julius seethed from his seat, already frustrated enough without the disrespectful drunk's commentary.
"Yer not hearin' what I'm sayin'!" Heinkel shook his head and bit his lip out of frustration.
"Enlighten the crowd, asshat," Felt growled while glaring at him with annoyance.
Heinkel didn't meet anyone's eyes. He merely looked at Emilia's expression for a second before looking down.
"If you don't find a way to fight them on common grounds… Then we're gonna stay oblivious to this kid's suffering every time he has to die because of another cheat…" Heinkel growled back to Felt's demand with nothing else to give but another cowardly retreat back into his seat.
"You're worried that Subaru will keep dying?" Emilia looked at Heinkel with equal surprise to everyone else.
"No, I'm worried that all of us will die. The kid's got a power that keeps 'em alive, he is the one who's fine." Heinkel snorted, crossing his arms in denial.
Felt and Julius looked at one another with surprised faces, not expecting such words from the drunkard.
Reinhard and Wilhelm locked eyes as well but had hopeful expressions on their faces after hearing their relative's tone and words.
[Suddenly, Mimi and Tivey showed up and shot their magic against the tree Subaru was stuck on, forcing the wooden blanks to drop into a nearby pool of water and making droplets of water splash all around the mad woman.
"Is that all you can do?" The lady mocked while smirking at the twins, not noticing how the water was making her unseen hands visible to the twins.]
"It can be seen even without Subaru-sama's connection," Crusch noted with an excited expression for finally finding a weakness in this monster's ability that didn't require her to place the boy in danger.
[
"If so… be dismayed! Disappointed! Dejected! Are you two slothful?!" The lady shouted in glee as she shot her hands towards the two small children.
Before the authority could reach the twins, Wilhelm's swords swiped through and cut all of the hands into pieces.
The old man moved in a split second, running across the water puddle and cutting the lady in half instantly.
Sword Demon.]
"Woah…" Otto breathed in awe at the man's ability.
Al whistled in amazement while the children cheered for the old man.
"Go Wilhelm-sama! Go!" Petra cheered away her worry and fear as she saw the evil monster being slain by the old knight.
The old butler simply bowed his head humbly. Not accepting any praise but not denying them their right to celebrate Subaru's safety either.
[As she bled, the woman had a distraught look on her face. "My life is spilling out… My blood is running dry. My diligent pulse, my life's support, is stopped. Disappeared. Ah, my brain… trembl-"
And the lady fell dead.]
"Good riddance!" Priscilla snorted at the mad cultist's death without remorse.
Many found themselves to be agreeing with the lady as heads nodded.
[Felix quickly came to inspect the body.
"So the first Sloth we defeated was a double, and this was the real one?"
"No," Julius answered from the side. "This may not even be a matter of which is the real one."
"You mean that there may be more than one Sin Archbishop of Sloth?" Wilhelm asked.
"Either that. Or all hundred followers, including the fingers, are the Sin Archbishop of Sloth." Julius answered with clear disillusionment in his eyes.]