Chapter Text
"You mutt! Disgusting, petulant, mongrel. . ! How dare you? How dare you? How dare you!? How dare you! HOW DARE YOU. . !"
Sirius's chains swung with such power that the very ground beneath her was sheared when the two made contact. How could all this be happening? Just moments ago, her predetermined destiny had rewarded her patience by reuniting her with her husband. And now. . .
"Well that's not very nice, is it? We've only just met. . ."
*WHOOSH*
Another fireball was quickly conjured out of nothing and launched mercilessly at the disinterested wolfman. To everyone's shock, he took a long toke from his large pipe and made no effort to dodge.
*WHOOSH*
In her fury, as the first spell made contact, Sirius conjured another before the smoke had even cleared and sent it flying at Halibel. She planned to rend him to something even less than smithereens.
*BOOM*
A loud explosion rang out as the air filled with smoke from the overwhelming barrage of magic. Small bits of cobblestone rained down from the sky, making tiny clatters resembling a light hail. It was beyond impossible for anyone to survive such an onslaught.
". . . . ."
". . . . ."
As the dust cloud began to dispel, a ridiculous sight greeted the rampaging Archbishop.
"I rarely get to show off to clients, y'know? Could ya' send over a couple more?"
Halibel looked back at the stunned reactions from Emilia and Beatrice and let out a short chuckle. Unfortunately, Subaru wasn't awake for him to tease, but he supposed that this would be alright for now. With the way chaos sprung up around Subaru, Halibel wouldn't have to wait too long for another chance™.
"M-Mister. . ! Thank you for helping us, but please don't take our opponent too lightly! She is reeeally dangerous!"
Emilia managed to stand herself back up, picking up the unconscious body of Subaru and the still petrified Beatrice. She was still perfectly capable of fighting, but with this stranger's appearance, she was beginning to contemplate just fleeing with Subaru and returning with help. So long as she could contact Reinhard and the rest of the camp, this battle could be classified as a victory.
"No need to thank me, I'm under Su-san's employ, so I suppose I should be thanking you two for safeguarding him until now."
At first, Emilia didn't seem to understand what Halibel was talking about, but she quickly realized that he was referring to Subaru.
"Ah~! You, don't you dare take him! I'll kill them all! All of them~! I'll kill them ALL!"
Upon seeing her attack dispelled once more by another person who dared intrude her reunion with Subaru, Sirius went ballistic. All semblance of strategy was thrown out the window as the Archbishop of Wrath launched attack after attack at the unfazed Shinobi.
*WHOOSH*
*WHOOSH*
*WHOOSH*
*WHOOSH*
"Hey, hey, I only said a couple. . . ? This fur keeps me warm enough and the smoke is only going to work in my advantage y'know. . ."
Halibel complained about the large plumes of smoke erupting from the flaming buildings on the side of the alley, but right after he finished talking, he put his mouth to his pipe and took another deep toke. It was just plain irresponsible to give a shinobi a smokescreen!
". . .We detest~! We despise~! We abhor~! You, you, you. . . whose name we don't know. . !"
The Archbishop of Gluttony, Roy Alphard, teleported right behind the back of the frozen Werewolf. This man who's name they did not know. . . he was truly dangerous. They could sense that. However, that also made him a feast potentially beyond anything they'd ever tasted.
He must devour their memories.
". . .fhuuuu. . ."
Halibel turned his head to meet the threat, blowing out the cloud of smoke straight into Roy's eyes.
". . .g-ghk?"
The urge to close his eyes, to blink, was overwhelming. The smoke stung. It stung so bad, it made his eyes water, it made him want to cry. Roy knew there would be dire consequences for closing his eyes and he fought to keep them open with all his might. Even so. . .
". . . . ?"
With his eyes only barely open, Halibel disappeared. His outline became one with the smoke clouds, almost as if the man had never even been there to begin with. The Archbishop was astonished such a thing could be possible. This was not some form of instant movement, as when Roy employed that technique a small vacuum of air was left behind. It was more like he'd faded away.
"C'mon, don't cry kid. Even if you had blinked, the result's the same."
A hand was suddenly on Roy's shoulder, but the feeling was so brief that Roy was left contemplating if it was merely a brush of wind.
". . .Where? Where~? Where~!? Where. . .!?"
At this point, even the briefest shifts in the air was setting Roy's hairs on end.
". . . . . . ."
A kunai came flying out of the smoke directly towards Roy's head. It was so fast, ridiculously fast. Despite the fact he was facing the attack, he was unable to completely dodge it.
". . .-gaaah~!"
The kunai embedded itself right into his hanging tongue, pinning it to his shoulder.
"I could've cursed ya' just then, right? Then it'd just be over for you. Try and dodge a couple more attacks at least."
The scene was dire for the Archbishop. His visibility had been cut down to only a few feet in all directions, the smoke only growing stronger by the minute. Now his enemy was completely shrouded and making a fool of him.
His only option was to teleport up onto the roof of one of the buildings overlooking the alley to improve his visibility, but even then, retreat was weighing heavily on such a decision.
". . . . ."
Light from the blue skies above pierced into Roy's eyes. He had escaped the cloud, but there was no visibility on the street below. Never before had Roy Alphard retreated in the midst of battle.
". . . . ."
He quickly scanned his right and his left, confirming that he was completely alone. There was no way to know everything that demi-human was capable of, short of eating their memories, but it was safe to say he'd briefly escaped Halibel's attacks. This comforting notion allowed him to gather his bearings and prepare to reenter the fight.
". . . . ."
"I've got to admit, it's pretty impressive how you move like that."
Roy's body, propelled by instinct, whipped around and sent a devastating kick towards the smiling werewolf standing behind him. If his tongue hadn't been pinned to his shoulder, it's certain he would have screamed.
This time, to his fortune, the kick connected, sending an inhuman amount of force rippling through Halibel's body. By any normal standard, this would've spelled the end for an opponent before they knew what hit them.
However, this person could not be measured by any normal standards. . . .
*POOF*
The spot where Halibel had been standing was stale air, a bundle of hair falling beside him the only marker that he'd been there at all.
"Clone~?!"
Roy was only just realizing that he hadn't been fighting with the real enemy since this started. Halibel was likely still in the same spot where he'd been when Roy had made his initial attack.
"No see, now I've got your attention diverted. . .The attack was actually from everywhere else."
". . . . !"
Despite having just surveyed his surroundings, somehow, when he turned back around, fifteen kunai from all different directions were mere centimeters from his head. It was inconceivable. Just one of his clones was capable of this. . ? This person was a monster of monsters.
"!"
By the skin of his teeth, his second teleport made it in time.
He fell forwards, onto his knees, breathing raggedly. The damage was beginning to accumulate from all the fighting he'd done earlier. First Subaru and Julius, then that half-elf and Sirius. Even with his ability to heal himself, there was a limit, and he was close.
"Impressive! Hey, you know you're the first person to escape that? Well, aside from me anyway."
Roy froze, only confused ramblings running through his brain. This was the first time he'd ever been so thoroughly thwarted by an opponent. The death of his brother Lye began running through his mind as the fate awaiting him seemed no different. Was this what he'd been feeling in his final moments?
"Run~? We run~? We should run~? Yes, we should run?"
"AH~! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Sirius and Halibel remained in their standoff, fireballs randomly emerging from the smoke and converging on him, Emilia, Beatrice, and the unconscious hostages. It was the pinnacle of strength that stood between them and that monster.
"Real limited vocabulary she's got. . ."
Halibel sighed as he sent more and more of her attacks careening away from them with a casual smirk. It was a bit presumptuous of him to step into the battleground not knowing anything, but considering the odd nature of his employer, Halibel decided to make an exception.
"U-Um! Sir, thank you for saving us. . !"
Emilia, out of obligation, felt she needed to thank this person one more time. His intervention had staved off certain death, but he had also placed himself in serious danger by making enemies of the Witch Cult.
"Ah, such heartfelt words shouldn't be directed towards me. Just recommend my services to all your friends and we'll call it even."
Beatrice and Emilia were both trying to ascertain the demi-human's association with Subaru, but were having trouble working up the nerve to ask him. If this man was aware of their history with Subaru, there was a non-zero chance they could be considered enemies as well. They fit all the criteria after all.
However, it was still something that needed to be broached.
"M-May I ask what your relationship with Subaru is?"
Emilia asked with hitched breath.
"Oh, Su-san? He's my employer. Real penchant for trouble!"
As he says this, he looks away from the oncoming attacks and gives a hearty laugh. For a moment, both Beatrice and Emilia feel their voices catch in their throat, as the onslaught of fire spells was not stopping.
"S-Shouldn't you be facing the fight, I suppose!?"
Halibel started to chuckle a little.
"This isn't a joke, in fact! W-We could all. . . !"
He picked up his giant pipe and swung it downwards, cutting through the plume of smoke and dissipating the remaining spells Sirius had cast. He did this, not looking away from Beatrice or Emilia for a single second.
"Yeah, that's exactly the face Su-san makes when I pop up behind him while he's in the shower."
Both of them look at him wide-eyed, not sure if they should be shocked at what he just said or what he just did. However, the moment passed before either of them could say anything.
"Don't get me wrong, that woman is dangerous. I just wanted to show off a little, is all."
He turned back to look at the still-enraged Sirius with a stone-cold expression on his face. The speed at which he shifted from joking quips to killing intent sending chills down Emilia and Beatrice's spine.
"The kid who just attacked my double is trouble too, but he's got too many openings. Just my clones should be enough to handle him."
His analysis, as usual, was spot on. Considering he'd left himself open to be cursed with the very first assault he made on Halibel, it was safe for him to delegate Roy to his doppelgangers. This woman, on the other hand, reeked of foul play. It wouldn't be as simple as killing her to remove her as an obstacle.
"That woman is Sirius Romanee-Conti, Sin Archbishop of Wrath. Her authority allows her to transmit feelings and emotions to others, I suppose. That's not the worst of it, I'm afraid. She can also transmit damage to everyone within her radius. A truly loathsome ability, in fact."
Halibel clicked his tongue at the news, now understanding why the wounds on Sirius were shared between Subaru, Kadomon, and Julius. Most of his moves were geared towards killing. This would prove troublesome indeed.
"S-She's also obsessed with Subaru for some reason. . ! We can't let her get anywhere near him or else she'll take him and run away!"
Emilia said this, unconsciously hugging him tighter, as she gestured to Sirius with residual contempt in her eyes.
"It makes sense now, Su-san's always been a magnet for crazy. Then again, I wouldn't hang around him if he was boring either. . ."
For a second, Halibel seemed self-aware of what he'd just said, indirectly calling himself crazy, but his face betrayed none of those thoughts to the two girls watching him.
"We can take him with us, I suppose. He's in danger the longer he remains here, in fact. . . !"
". . . ."
Halibel scratched his neck, trying to think of a way to say what he was thinking in the least rude way possible. Eventually though, he lamented and simply told them straight.
"I wouldn't be a responsible bodyguard if I just handed my friend off to people I didn't know, would I? Besides, if we use that woman as a metric, it's more likely than not that you two are crazy as well."
The two of them felt frustration for the briefest moment, but once again, they couldn't find the words inside them to deny Halibel's offhand remark. What type of person would go to such lengths as to shut down an entire city so they could hunt down someone who ostensibly wanted nothing to do with them? Hadn't this entire situation been of their own making? Subaru's death, the harsh overcorrection, and now Sirius's escape had all directly resulted from their own actions.
"C-Crazy. . .I-I guess you're right. I'm sorry we haven't been mindful of your position. . ."
Emilia loosened her grip on Subaru and laid him down next to Halibel. She could feel her hands quivering, the weight of Subaru's body having left her arms with nothing.
"Hey, hey, no need to be so down about it. Su-san wouldn't want to make a pretty girl cry, now would he? Just let me handle this situation and you can all work this out when he wakes up."
The half-elf looked at her former knight's unconscious form and tried to figure out what to do in this situation. She'd initially been grateful just to survive as long as she did, and that was still true. However, a new feeling of emptiness was weighing on her shoulders.
'Even now, after everything I've done. . . all the mistakes I've made. . . Somehow, it's led to this again. Like it always was before. I've been completely, and utterly, ineffectual.'
Her efforts had not been enough. The collateral damage in this city, the escape of their prisoner, and now even her own life. . . ! How was it, that even whilst unconscious, Subaru was still responsible for cleaning up her messes? This was where she'd hoped to take a stand, to finally begin to pay back some of the trust that had so willing been given to her by her camp, her friends, and the person to whom she owed the unimaginable.
'H-How can I face him like this. . ? I've chased him down, set Mabeasts on him, and jeopardized the lives of everyone in this city. There's no way to look at him and honestly say I've changed. . !'
Many of these decisions had not been merely her own, but the despairing half-elf did not care to make excuses for herself anymore. She should've told Otto to shut down the trade embargo the moment she was made aware of it. She should've left Reinhard and Felt alone when they told her Subaru was not there. She should have listened to Beatrice when she said Subaru would never want to speak with them again. Instead, she'd fled from her responsibilities.
"C-Calm yourself, in fact. . ! That troublesome person is transmitting all those emotions to me, I suppose!"
Beatrice looked at Emilia and tried to shake some sense into her. That same agonizing feeling was sinking deep into her heart as well, which Beatrice had chalked up to Sirius's authority. In reality, this had nothing to do with Wrath. Beatrice's own feelings had been stirred up wildly at Halibel's astute observation too, however she lacked the ability to differentiate between those feelings and the ones she felt whilst under Sirius's influence.
"You two wanna' be useful? I'd appreciate it if ya' took all those other injured people and moved them somewhere safe. Don't worry, I'll let my slavedriver boss know ya' worked overtime."
". . . . ."
Halibel shot the two of them a smile and patted Beatrice on the head with his hand. The gesture was not lost on either Beatrice or Emilia, who realized that this person was someone who understood Subaru quite well. After all, this was exactly how Subaru had dealt with them in similar situations in the past.
'T-This is. . ! I've been so caught up in everything we've been doing wrong that I never even stopped to ask. . .'
Emilia stood up, abruptly taking Beatrice's hand and making eye contact with the chuckling wolfman.
'What would Subaru do?'
Subaru would never lay around moping in a time like this. He would find some opportunity to help, if even in the smallest way. That was all that mattered. So what if they'd done some terrible things? So what if they were responsible for this fight? They would each answer for their actions in due time, but that was only possible if they won this fight right here and now.
The certainty of victory that Halibel's presence had brought them was the only thing that afforded them the luxury of such gloomy thoughts, but that was merely a mirage. There was no such thing as certainty, especially in a chaotic life and death struggle between two warriors. Perhaps there would still be casualties? Maybe there are people here who only they could help? Both of them were quite adept at healing magic after all.
'He wouldn't settle for anything less than his best effort. . . !'
Emilia looked to Beatrice, gave a quick nod in the direction of where she wanted to move the injured bodies, and looked back at Halibel. His back was now turned and he was fully facing his enemy. There was nothing else that he needed to tell them, their role had become clear.
"Beako, please cast Murak on these two and we'll move them behind some cover."
Beatrice looked at Emilia, surprised to hear her using that nickname for her once again, but still ultimately complying with her instructions. They both picked up the respective bodies of Kadomon and Julius and slowly dragged them over to a wall of ice that was left over from Emilia's initial clash with Sirius.
"Now then. . . I think it's time to test the waters, wouldn't you agree?"
Halibel had a wily grin forming as he rapidly evacuated his original position and closed in on Sirius. For a brief moment, Subaru was to be left unguarded, but this was on purpose.
"Ah~? You, you mangy mutt, have finally decided to leave us be? Truly, the werewolf is the antithesis of the love I aspire to~! For you, whose perennial nature is that of the betrayer, you seek to destroy our love as you did Iris. How pitiful~!"
She began to make her way towards Subaru, despite Halibel's trajectory clearing marking her the object of an imminent attack. It was when he reached less than a foot in front of her, that Halibel's body disappeared rapidly.
"My love~! Ah~! How joyous, how sweet this feeling is. . ! Despite all the tribulations, you returned to me once more~! I cannot bear to be separated a moment longer!"
Sirius leapt forward, her chains swinging rapidly next to her as she quickly approached the spot upon which her 'husband' lay unconscious. Perhaps by mere coincidence, one of her chains blocked a kunai that had been thrown from her blindspot.
"Hmm~?"
She momentarily twisted her head and found one of Halibel's kunai on the ground.
"Impressive, you called my bluff. Although, from the sound of it, you might have just gotten lucky."
Immediately, Sirius propelled herself upwards and looked down to see where Halibel had just appeared. Unlike Gluttony, who had a semblance of a tactical mind, Sirius was not concerned with the significant advantage in speed and intelligence her opponent possessed. All she cared about was getting to Subaru's body before anyone could stop her.
"Normally you'd be dead right now, I did curse you about five times with my first attack. However, it appears the effects of those are distributed too. Thank goodness, I didn't use my better moves."
As quickly as he said those words, several more kunai emerged from the smoke and were struck down by Sirius's chains. It was typically a bad idea to outline one's weaknesses to an enemy, but Halibel hoped he could get a reaction out of her that he could use to better understand her ability.
"Curse? Ah, I see~! Yes that is befitting the wolfman. You, whose existence is loveless, curse this world with your survival."
"Now now, you don't want to hurt my feelings do you? Then again, I suppose it would be just as pitiful to go out without dealing me any damage, so I guess you're right on the mark."
Instantly, Sirius put a hand to her chest and let out an exasperated breath. Her body had become so difficult to move all of a sudden. . . It was like gravity itself had become ten times stronger. She initially mistook this for an ability, but. . .
"I see you're feeling it now. I am as well, so don't go calling this unfair, ya' know."
Halibel appeared out of his camouflage right beside her, the werewolf also panting hard as he began walking towards her at a steady pace.
"W-What di. . d. . . .y. . .?"
Every syllable that came out of Sirius's mouth was slurred. Just the movement of her mouth was so tiring that she'd been unable to finish the taunt she'd prepared for him.
"I can't directly injure you, but I can at least restrict your movement for the time being. This curse will gradually sap you of your mana until you pass out."
Halibel's breathing became more steady, but he was still laboring immensely to avoid showing any signs of fatigue to his enemy. This would at least erode their will to continue fighting for the time being.
"All those spells you cast put you at a deficit. Even with a large mana reserve like yours, everyone reaches their limit eventually. I think I'll continue to play around with you until the guards arrive."
The werewolf smiled, pulling out a couple more kunai, before deciding how he wanted to resume. Every bit of damage he inflicted on Sirius would be reflected to him, that bit was certain. However, he was more than willing to sustain some small injuries if it'd help pass the time.
"A. . .a. . .h ~ha. . . . Y-You, truly are. . . cursed~! Y-. .*hahgh*. You . . . shall. . . .remain loveless forever. . ."
For the briefest of moments, Halibel's eyebrow twitched.
"You may be right, but I've never been too interested in things like that anyway. People make great entertainment, so my life really isn't bad."
He showed a toothy smile and lazily threw one of his knives directly at her, deliberately holding back his power to make the knife take longer to hit.
". . .!"
Sirius just barely dodged it, her body beginning to slump downwards as the curse continued sapping her of mana.
"See what I mean? Truly, this is what it's all about, isn't it? You of all people should understand, after all, witch cultists end innocent lives for entertainment constantly. I just happen to have my fun hunting monsters."
Sirius's eyes retained their manic gaze, just as they had towards every other person she had killed. It was unregistering, bloodshot, and just ominous. However, to a man like Halibel, those eyes were the only thing that could make him smile.
It was because they held true intent to kill.
"This next one has a cool side effect, I'm excited to see how you'll react."
Halibel halfheartedly chucked another kunai at Sirius, expecting her to finally succumb to his initial curse and be struck by his kunai.
*SWING*
Instead, with her last burst of energy, she managed to block the kunai with a chain. It was sent flying into the sky far beyond the cloud that still encircled the two of them. She'd needed to use all her remaining mana to muster up the strength in her swing to block the attack, and she fell over unconscious right after completing it.
"Well, looks like I win. . ."
Halibel said this to no one as he looked around at the empty scenery. The sight begrudged the werewolf, who moments ago, had an adoring audience to all his amazing feats.
"All that's left to do now is take you to some of the surviving guards before I pass out myself."
*SWISH*
A sheen of metal from high in the sky caught Halibel's view. It was the kunai that Sirius had launched up just moments before she'd fainted. He was not too worried about it at this point, nor was he worried about Roy, as they'd likely been caught up in the aftermath of Sirius's authority as well.
However, when he saw the path that his kunai was falling, his eyes widened.
*THWACK*
In the end, the kunai found it's mark in the unguarded body of Natsuki Subaru.
"I Love You."
The voice spoke tenderly to him.
'W-What. . ? Where am I?'
It was dark, a realm of nothing but shadows and his mind. There was nothing here, not even a body for him to comprehend the nothingness which surrounded him.
". . .I Love you, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You. . . ."
The words whispered themselves into his ear over and over and over again. They were spoken with such softness, but something about it felt wrong. He couldn't shake the feeling that these words were an omen of disaster.
'This. . .isn't good. . . .'
The pull of sleep beckoned to him with increasing intensity. There was little he could do to resist this overwhelming force that threatened to drag his consciousness into slumber besides think. He had no body with which to delineate himself from the void upon which he existed.
"Disgusting and shameful, nothing more than the result of self… CONCEIT. Yes, Believer in Love, how very sinful, how dirty you are! Just so so so so worthy of… DISDAIN! Slothful. You are truly… slothful!"
A voice screamed out to him with petulant vigor.
"What were they even thinking, that a guy like this would kick the satisfied me to the curb? Shouldn't it have been obvious from the beginning if you knew your place? Who are you to stand in my way, a nuisance! A hindrance! I am the most satisfied man in the world, one who worries about nothing and only wishes to pursue his simple joys and live a fulfilling life, undisturbed and free of greed, and yet you would interfere with that? To now thoughtlessly encroach on my space; from any logical approach, this would indicate a clear infringement of my rights. . . !"
Another voice, laced with spite, directed it's ire towards him.
". . .?"
Suddenly he could feel hands and a face. . . ! He had hands and a face! Perhaps. . .perhaps he could add more features?
"I Love you, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You. . . ."
She continued her whispers with increased fervor, renewed excitement for him as he came ever closer to joining her in this place. By this point, any remnants of his own thoughts were gone from his mind.
'Next time. . .' he thinks to himself. . .
As feeling started to return to him, the weightless existence he'd just experienced had been replaced by a hard, cold surface. His back was the first part of his body to signal his brain of his new surroundings.
". . .ughh. ."
Subaru's consciousness began to re-emerge, but it was immediately overpowered by a pounding headache. It was like all the blood in his body decided to rush to his brain. If there was any food left in his body for him to throw up, he'd undoubtedly keel over from the overpowering nausea that accompanied that pain.
"H-Huh? What's going on? Wasn't I just caught up in those shadows?"
The grassy plain that surrounded him was a vibrant green, aside from the occasional bright red and orange flowers. This was most certainly not the capital. He ran through all the places he'd seen throughout his journey in this world, but none of them matched the odd scenery that filled his eyes.
In fact, the place he found himself in now was unlike any place he'd seen in Lugunica.
"All of my injuries are still here. . . so I suppose I can rule out being Isekai'd again. . ?"
He wasn't even sure if he'd been sent back to his old world, or maybe even a new one. For all he knew, he could've been transported to somewhere on Earth! Not that he wanted to entertain this thought in the slightest. . .
Above all, he hoped that he remained in the world with all his comrades.
"Comrades. . . Oh! I forgot!"
The calm breeze turned to a silent chill. The grass stopped swaying and the falling leaves froze in place.
At first, Subaru could only feel panicked. There were so many people he'd put in danger; Kadomon and Julius being the first he could think of. It was no stretch to say that all of them had been on the brink of death just moments ago.
"I-I don't think this is the afterlife. . ."
He leaned forward onto his knees and stood himself up. Both his legs were still super wobbly, so for now the best he could do was walk slowly.
'I-I really hope Kadomon and Julius are alright. . . I could never look their families in the eye if I was the one who got them killed. . .'
Subaru put a hand on his chest, feeling his heartrate skyrocket in accordance with his raised anxiety. Just the prospect of either of them dying was something he didn't want to entertain. It was something that simply could not be allowed after all they'd been through.
"Hello. . ?"
He called out to the open field, nervously turning his head to face the tree line. He expected at least one person to be there with him, but right now it appeared he was all alone.
"I-Is anyone there. . !?"
As he hobbled towards the trees, Subaru's breathing grew faster and faster. By all accounts he should be relieved that he's alone after the hell he'd just experienced. However, the cost of that calm silence was an eeriness beyond anything he'd ever felt before.
"P-Please. . ! Someone. . !"
His steps grew quicker, and soon enough, he broke into a slow run. All the while, his thoughts raced about everything he'd experienced up to now. His tumultuous first week at the Astrea estate, the cat and mouse battle between him and that assassin, the bonds he built with Old man Rom, the battle he'd just fought with his newfound friends. . .
'T-They couldn't be. . ! Those were real, I-I'm not just imagining things!'
Subaru huffed the air like it was that of an alien planet. He'd begun questioning his memories, his very existence. . . What just happened to him. . !
That was when. . .
". . .T-Thank God!"
In front of his eyes, in a crushed patch of grass, lay the unconscious, breathing bodies of Julius Juukulius and Kadomon. They were both strewn about on the grass, sleeping without a care in the world. Each were both gravely injured, as was Subaru, but they were alive.
And perhaps even more importantly, REAL!
"Haaaaaa. . ."
Subaru leaned backward onto a tree, letting it support his weight as he let out a deep sigh of relief. The worst had been averted. His two compatriots had survived and they'd escaped danger. At least he wouldn't be trapped in this nightmare scenario all alone. . .
". . . ?"
He then turned his head over to another patch of grass right beside theirs. Over there he found something he would never have expected in his wildest dreams.
"W-Who are these two. . . ?"
The body of a beautiful silver haired half-elf and her great spirit, peacefully sound asleep.
Authors Note:
This is it, the big cliffhanger. I've finally done it! I've reached this point! I know you've been waiting for an update for like over seven months, but I really am so excited to write the next chapter as its got some of the most exciting ideas I've had for this fic that I've literally had to wait several years to get to write! All of you, in the comments, feel free to vent about how slow I am to update, I get that its annoying, as I also read fics so I know what it's like to have to sit and wait forever. A side note, I'm also kind of sick of writing fight scenes for now, so this fic is gonna chill out for the time being. Lots of crazy developments in my own life are going on as well, mostly good, but they have kind of kept me from writing. I will never stop though! For this chapter's poll, I want to skip an A, B, or C and I want you to give what you think all the character's back in the capital's reactions will be to this crazy event. Yes, before you ask, they are all in Vollachia. I promise not to let it be boring!
Here's my typical plugs that I normally put at the end of each of my chapters:
I also have a discord server for anyone interested in getting updates for when new chapters are releasing. We've got roles, a lot of active members, and an overall good vibe going on. It's pretty decked out by this point, so I suggest you check it out:
https://discord.gg/tgMtCvdasb
I also do have some other announcements though! My server members have been really active recently and we've actually done a couple live reads of my chapters. Since it turned out pretty decent, I thought, why not just do them for all my stuff? Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that I've begun setting up a backlog of live readings for people to listen to (if they're interested in that kind of thing). If you want to participate in those, then join the discord!